"It was exactly eight million one hundred and sixty-nine thousand pounds, ten shillings and sixpence." He then sat down without any further remark.
GENERAL J. C. SMUTS —Photograph Copyright by Harris & Ewing
When one of his colleagues asked him where he got this information he said:
"I dug it out of my own mind. It will take the Nationalists a month to figure it out and by that time they will have forgotten all about it." And it was forgotten.
Smuts not only has a keen sense of humor but is swift on the retort. While speaking at a party rally in his district not many years after the Boer War he was continually interrupted by an ex-soldier. He stopped his speech and asked the man to state his grievance. The heckler said:
"General de la Rey guaranteed the men fighting under him a living."
Quick as a flash Smuts replied:
"Nonsense. What he guaranteed you was certain death."