Various - Selected Official Documents of the South African Republic and Great Britain
V >>
Various >> Selected Official Documents of the South African Republic and Great Britain
Selected
Official Documents
OF THE
South African Republic
AND
Great Britain.
* * * * *
A documentary perspective of the causes of the war in South Africa.
* * * * *
EDITED BY
HUGH WILLIAMS, M.A., B.L.S.,
_Library of Congress_,
AND
FREDERICK CHARLES HICKS, Ph.B.,
_Library of Congress_.
PREFACE.
The universal interest in the affairs of the South African Republic is
responsible for the idea that a selection of documents illustrative of
the South African controversy will be appreciated by American readers.
The documents which are here reprinted are by no means unobtainable;
but, to the general reader, they have been hitherto quite inaccessible.
Only the largest public libraries have the proper sources of
information, and even with these books at hand the student has been
forced to delve in a mass of irrelevant material for the hidden object
of his desire.
The present compilation has been made in the hope of meeting the
immediate demands of the public. To avoid cumbersomeness, many important
documents have necessarily been omitted; yet as far as possible, the
editors have given a complete series of documents. The arrangement is
partly chronological, and we hope altogether logical. Commencing with
the London Convention of 1884, which defines the status of the South
African Republic in its relations with Great Britain, we follow with the
revised Constitution of 1889, and its complementary law of June 23,
1890, which granted representation in a second Volksraad to burghers of
two years' standing. The latest legislation concerning the right of
franchise is given in the enactment of July, 1899. This law, together
with negotiations looking toward further concessions to the Uitlander
population forms the subject of our third chapter. No agreement having
been reached, and numerous complications having arisen, conspicuously
the movements of British troops, the Ultimatum of President Kruger on
October 9, precipitated a state of war.
In presenting this Ultimatum President Kruger knew that the Republic
would not have to fight alone, but that there would be practically a war
of the South African Dutch against the English. The declaration of the
Orange Free State to Great Britain will therefore be of interest, as
expressing the grounds of sympathy between the South African Republic
and the Orange Free State, and the latter's view of the _causa belli_.
Lastly we add the constitution of the Orange Free State that the
political status of the two republics may be appreciated by comparison
of their constitutions.
The documents have been compiled from the _Codex van de Locale Wetten
der Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. Groeningen, 1894_; _The Political Laws
of the South African Republic. London and Cape Town, 1896_; and the
_State Papers of Great Britain, London, 1884-99_.
WASHINGTON, _February 10, 1900_.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
CHAPTER I.
1. Convention of London, February 27, 1884 7
2. Ratification by Volksraad, August 8, 1884 14
CHAPTER II.
3. Constitution of the South African Republic, revised and published
December 25, 1889 16
4. Establishment of the Second Volksraad, June 23, 1890 40
CHAPTER III.
_The Franchise._
5. The Franchise Law. July 26, 1899 47
6. Proposed modification
(a) Proposal of Great Britain for a joint inquiry, August 2, 1899 53
(b) Alternative proposal of the South African Republic--The five
year franchise, August 19, 1899 53
CHAPTER IV.
7. Ultimatum of South African Republic, October 9, 1899 57
8. Reply of Great Britain, October 10, 1899 61
CHAPTER V.
_Dual alliance of the South African Republic and the Orange Free
State._
9. Resolution of Orange Free State Volksraad, September 27, 1899 62
10. Correspondence between Great Britain and Orange Free State,
October 11, 1899 63
CHAPTER VI.
11. Constitution of Orange Free State, revised and published, 1868 65
CHAPTER I.
CONVENTION OF LONDON, _February 27, 1884_.
_A Convention Between Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland and the South African Republic._
Whereas, The Government of the Transvaal State, through its Delegates,
consisting of Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger, President of the said
State, Stephanus Jacobus Du Toit, Superintendent of Education, and
Nicholas Jacobus Smit, a member of the Volksraad, have represented that
the Convention signed at Pretoria on the 3rd day of August 1881, and
ratified by the Volksraad of the said State on the 25th October 1881,
contains certain provisions which are inconvenient, and imposes burdens
and obligations from which the said State is desirous to be relieved,
and that the southwestern boundaries fixed by the said Convention should
be amended, with a view to promote the peace and good order of the said
State, and of the countries adjacent thereto; and whereas, Her Majesty
the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, has been
pleased to take the said representations into consideration: Now,
therefore, Her Majesty has been pleased to direct, and it is hereby
declared, that the following articles of a new Convention, signed on
behalf of Her Majesty by Her Majesty's High Commissioner in South
Africa, the Right Honorable Sir Hercules George Robert Robinson, Knight
Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint
George, Governor of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, and on behalf
of the Transvaal State (which shall hereinafter be called the South
African Republic) by the above named Delegates, Stephanus Johannes
Paulus Kruger, Stephanus Jacobus Du Toit, and Nicholas Jacobus Smit,
shall, when ratified by the Volksraad of the South African Republic, be
substituted for the articles embodied in the Convention of 3rd August
1881; which latter, pending such ratification, shall continue in full
force and effect.
ARTICLES.
ARTICLE I, II.
(Articles I and II relate entirely to the settlement of the boundary
lines of the Republic.)
ARTICLE III.
If a British officer is appointed to reside at Pretoria or elsewhere
within the South African Republic to discharge functions analogous to
those of a Consular officer, he will receive the protection and
assistance of the Republic.
ARTICLE IV.
The South African Republic will conclude no treaty or engagement with
any State or nation other than the Orange Free State, nor with any
native tribe to the eastward or westward of the Republic, until the same
has been approved by Her Majesty the Queen.
Such approval shall be considered to have been granted if Her Majesty's
Government shall not, within six months after receiving a copy of such
treaty (which shall be delivered to them immediately upon its
completion), have notified that the conclusion of such treaty is in
conflict with the interests of Great Britain or any of Her Majesty's
possessions in South Africa.
ARTICLE V.
The South African Republic will be liable for any balance which may
still remain due of the debts for which it was liable at the date of
Annexation, to wit, the Cape Commercial Bank Loan, the Railway Loan, and
the Orphan Chamber Debt, which debts shall be a first charge upon the
revenues of the Republic. The South African Republic will moreover be
liable to Her Majesty's Government for L250,000, which will be a second
charge upon the revenues of the Republic.
ARTICLE VI.
The debt due as aforesaid by the South African Republic to Her Majesty's
Government will bear interest at the rate of three and a half per cent.
from the date of the ratification of this Convention, and shall be
repayable by a payment for interest and Sinking Fund of six pounds and
nine pence per L100 per annum, which will extinguish the debt in
twenty-five years. The said payment of six pounds and nine pence per
L100 shall be payable half yearly, in British currency, at the close of
each half year from the date of such ratification: _Provided always_,
That the South African Republic shall be at liberty at the close of any
half-year to pay off the whole or any portion of the outstanding debt.
Interest at the rate of three and a half per cent. on the debt as
standing under the Convention of Pretoria shall as heretofore be paid to
the date of the ratification of this Convention.
ARTICLE VII.
All persons who held property in the Transvaal on the 8th day of August
1881, and still hold the same, will continue to enjoy the rights of
property which they have enjoyed since the 12th April 1877. No person
who has remained loyal to Her Majesty during the late hostilities shall
suffer any molestation by reason of his loyalty; or be liable to any
criminal prosecution or civil action for any part taken in connection
with such hostilities; and all such persons will have full liberty to
reside in the country, with enjoyment of all civil rights, and
protection for their persons and property.
ARTICLE VIII.
The South African Republic renews the declaration made in the Sand River
Convention, and in the Convention of Pretoria, that no slavery or
apprenticeship partaking of slavery will be tolerated by the Government
of the said Republic.
ARTICLE IX.
There will continue to be complete freedom of religion and protection
from molestation for all denominations, provided the same be not
inconsistent with morality and good order; and no disability shall
attach to any person in regard to rights of property by reason of the
religious opinions which he holds.
ARTICLE X.
The British Officer appointed to reside in the South African Republic
will receive every assistance from the Government of the said Republic
in making due provision for the proper care and preservation of the
graves of such of Her Majesty's Forces as have died in the Transvaal;
and if need be, for the appropriation of land for the purpose.
ARTICLE XI.
All grants or titles issued at any time by the Transvaal Government in
respect of land outside the boundary of the South African Republic, as
defined in Article I, shall be considered invalid and of no effect,
except in so far as any such grant or title relates to land that falls
within the boundary of the South African Republic; and all persons
holding any such grant so considered invalid and of no effect will
receive from the Government of the South African Republic such
compensation, either in land or in money, as the Volksraad shall
determine. In all cases in which any Native Chiefs or other authorities
outside the said boundaries have received any adequate consideration
from the Government of the South African Republic for land excluded from
the Transvaal by the first Article of this Convention, or where
permanent improvements have been made on the land, the High Commissioner
will recover from the native authorities fair compensation for the loss
of the land thus excluded, or of the permanent improvements thereon.
ARTICLE XII.
The independence of the Swazis, within the boundary line of Swaziland,
as indicated in the first Article of this Convention, will be fully
recognized.
ARTICLE XIII.
Except in pursuance of any treaty or engagement made as provided in
Article IV of this Convention, no other or higher duties shall be
imposed on the importation into the South African Republic of any
article coming from any part of Her Majesty's dominions than are or may
be imposed on the like article coming from any other place or country;
nor will any prohibition be maintained or imposed on the importation
into the South African Republic of any article coming from any part of
Her Majesty's dominions which shall not equally extend to the like
article coming from any other place or country. And in like manner the
same treatment shall be given to any article coming to Great Britain
from the South African Republic as to the like article coming from any
other place or country.
These provisions do not preclude the consideration of special
arrangements as to import duties and commercial relations between the
South African Republic and any of Her Majesty's colonies or possessions.
ARTICLE XIV.
All persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of
the South African Republic (_a_) will have full liberty, with their
families, to enter, travel, or reside in any part of the South African
Republic; (_b_) they will be entitled to hire or possess houses,
manufactories, warehouses, shops and premises; (_c_) they may carry on
their commerce either in person or by any agents whom they may think fit
to employ; (_d_) they will not be subject, in respect of their persons
or property, or in respect of their commerce or industry, to any taxes,
whether general or local, other than those which are or may be imposed
upon citizens of the said Republic.
ARTICLE XV.
All persons, other than natives, who establish their domicile in the
Transvaal between the 12th day of April 1877, and the 8th August 1881,
and who within twelve months after such last mentioned date have had
their names registered by the British Resident, shall be exempt from all
compulsory military service whatever.
ARTICLE XVI.
Provision shall hereafter be made by a separate instrument for the
mutual extradition of criminals, and also for the surrender of deserters
from Her Majesty's Forces.
ARTICLE XVII.
All debts contracted between the 12th April 1877 and the 8th August 1881
will be payable in the same currency in which they may have been
contracted.
ARTICLE XVIII.
No grants of land which may have been made, and no transfers or
mortgages which may have been passed between the 12th April 1877 and the
8th August 1881, will be invalidated by reason merely of their having
been made or passed between such dates.
All transfers to the British Secretary for Native Affairs in trust for
Natives will remain in force, an officer of the South African Republic
taking the place of such Secretary for Native Affairs.
ARTICLE XIX.
The Government of the South African Republic will engage faithfully to
fulfil the assurances given, in accordance with the laws of the South
African Republic, to the natives at the Pretoria Pitso by the Royal
Commission in the presence of the Triumvirate and with their entire
assent, (1) as to the freedom of the natives to buy or otherwise acquire
land under certain conditions, (2) as to the appointment of a commission
to mark out native locations, (3) as to the access of the natives to the
courts of law, and (4) as to their being allowed to move freely within
the country, or to leave it for any legal purpose, under a pass system.
ARTICLE XX.
This Convention will be ratified by a Volksraad of the South African
Republic within the period of six months after its execution, and in
default of such ratification this Convention shall be null and void.
Signed in duplicate in London this 27th day of February 1884.
[Signed] HERCULES ROBINSON,
[Signed] S.J.P. KRUGER,
[Signed] S.J. DU TOIT,
[Signed] N.J. SMIT.
RATIFICATION BY VOLKSRAAD.
_August 8, 1884._
The Convention was ratified on August 8, 1884 by the Volksraad in a
resolution as follows: "The Volksraad having considered the new
Convention concluded between its deputation and the British Government
at London on 27th February 1884, as likewise the negotiations between
the contracting parties, which resulted in the said Convention, approves
of the standpoint taken by its deputation that a settlement based upon
the principle of the Sand River Convention can alone fully satisfy the
burghers of the Republic. It also shares the objections set forth by the
deputation against the Convention of Pretoria, as likewise their
objections against the Convention of London on the following points:--
"1st. The settlement of the boundary, especially on the western border
of the Republic, in which the deputation eventually acquiesced only
under the express conditions with which the Raad agree.
"2nd. The right of veto reserved to the British Crown upon treaties to
be concluded by the Republic with foreign powers; and
"3rd. The settlement of the debt. Seeing, however, that in the said
Convention of London considerable advantages are secured to the
Republic, especially in the restoration of the country's independence,
"_Resolves_, With acknowledgment of the generosity of Her Britannic
Majesty, to ratify, as it hereby does, the said Convention of London."
CHAPTER II.
CONSTITUTION OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC.
ARTICLE 1.--This State shall bear the name of the South African
Republic.
ARTICLE 2.--The form of government of this State shall be that
of a republic.
ARTICLE 3.--It desires to be recognized and respected by the
civilized world as an independent and free people.
ARTICLE 4.--The people seek for no extension of territory, and
desire it only in accordance with just principles, when the interest of
the Republic makes such extension desirable.
ARTICLE 5.--The people desire to retain and maintain their
territory in South Africa unimpaired. The boundaries thereof are fixed
by proclamation.
ARTICLE 6.--Its territory is open for every foreigner who obeys
the laws of this Republic. All who are within the territory of this
Republic have equal claims to protection of person and property.
ARTICLE 7.--The land or farms situate in this territory which
have not yet been given out, are declared to be the property of the
State.
ARTICLE 8.--The people claim the utmost social freedom, and
expect the result from the maintenance of their religious belief, from
the observance of their obligations, from submission to law, order and
right, and the maintenance of the same.
The people permit the spread of the Gospel among the heathen under fixed
precautions against deceit or misleading.
ARTICLE 9.--The people will not allow any equalization of the
coloured inhabitants with the white.
ARTICLE 10.--The people will not suffer any slave trade or
slavery in this Republic.
ARTICLE 11.--The people reserve to themselves the protection
and defence of the independence and inviolability of the State, subject
to the laws.
ARTICLE 12.--The people entrust the legislation to a
Volksraad--the highest authority in the land--consisting of
representatives or deputies of the people, chosen by the enfranchised
burghers; but with the reservation that a period of three months shall
be left to the people to enable them if they so wish to communicate to
the Volksraad their verdict on a proposed law; except those laws which
can suffer no delay.
ARTICLE 13.--The people charge the President with the task of
proposing and executing the laws; he also brings before the Volksraad
the appointments of all civil servants for ratification.
ARTICLE 14.--The people entrust the maintenance of order to the
military force, the police, and other persons appointed by the law for
that purpose.
ARTICLE 15.--The people place the judicial power in the hands
of a Supreme Court, Circuit Court, Landrosts, Juries, and such other
persons as shall be entrusted with judicial powers, and leave all these
free to discharge their function according to their judgment and
consciences, according to the laws of the land.
ARTICLE 16.--The people shall receive annually from the
Volksraad an estimate of the general income and expenses of the State,
and learn therefrom how much every man's taxes shall amount to.
ARTICLE 17.--Potchefstrom, situated on the Mooi River, shall be
the capital of the Republic, and Pretoria the seat of Government.
ARTICLE 18.--All services rendered on behalf of the public are
remunerated by the public.
ARTICLE 19.--Freedom of the press is granted provided the
printer and publisher remain responsible for all the documents which
contain defamation, insult, or attacks against any one's character.
OF THE PROTECTION AND DEFENCE OF THE STATE.
ARTICLE 20.--The people shall only appoint as representatives
in the Volksraad those who are members of a Protestant Church.
ARTICLE 21.--The people desire the growth, prosperity, and
welfare of the State, and with this view provision for suitable school
teachers.
ARTICLE 22.--Providing also that in time of peace precautionary
measures are taken to enable the State to wage or withstand a war.
ARTICLE 23.--In case of a hostile attack from outside,
everyone, without distinction, shall be held bound to lend his
assistance on the promulgation of martial law.
ARTICLE 24.--No treaty or alliance with foreign powers or
peoples may be ratified until the Volksraad has expressed its feelings
upon the same, the treaty requiring to be ratified and passed or else
cancelled according to the judgment of the Volksraad, with exception of
those treaties which the Government is empowered by law or Volksraad
resolution to make.
ARTICLE 25.--In case of threatening danger for the State or in
time of war, the right of judging as to whether such treaty or alliance
is advisable or not is left to the Commandant-General advised by the
Military Council, if the commandos are in the field, and there is no
time to consult the Executive Council.
OF THE VOLKSRAAD, THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY, OR THE LEGISLATIVE POWER.
ARTICLE 26.--The Volksraad shall be the highest authority of
the country, and the legislative power.
ARTICLE 27.--No civil servants are to be representatives of the
people.
ARTICLE 28.--The Volksraad shall consist of at least twelve
members, who must possess the following qualifications:--
They must have attained the age of thirty years, and be born in the
Republic, or have for fifteen consecutive years been burghers entitled
to vote, be members of a Protestant Church, reside, and possess
immovable property, in the Republic. No persons of notoriously bad
character, or who have had a dishonouring sentence pronounced against
them, and no uncertified or unrehabilitated insolvents shall be
eligible. They may not be related to each other in the relationship of
father and son or stepson. No coloured persons or bastards shall be
admitted into our Assemblies. In like manner no military officer or
official of the State, who draws a fixed annual or monthly salary, shall
be eligible as member of the Volksraad.
ARTICLE 29.--The members of the Volksraad are elected by a
majority of votes from among the electors of each district. No one shall
be considered as elected who has not obtained at least sixty votes.
Every one who is born in the country and has attained the age of
twenty-one years, or has become naturalized, shall be a burgher
qualified to vote. The members of the Volksraad are elected for the
period of four years.
ARTICLE 30.--No one shall be eligible who has not received a
requisition signed by at least twenty-five voters. The voters in one
district are at liberty to vote for a candidate living in another
district. (That is to say, they may be represented by a candidate who
resides in a district other than that in which the voters reside.)
ARTICLE 31.--Every enfranchised burgher is allowed, if he
wishes, to bring accusations against the President or members of the
Executive Council for contravention of their duties or official crimes,
and send those accusations to the President of the Volksraad, under the
address; "To the Hon. President of the Volksraad," who then shall act
according to his judgment of the affair.
ARTICLE 32.--The election of members for the Volksraad shall
take place in the month of January or February, or in exceptional cases
upon such times as shall be fixed. For each district two members shall
be chosen, except the districts Pretoria, Potchefstrom, Rustenberg,
Lydenburg and Vryheid, for which three members shall be elected.
Elective districts on the Gold-fields shall each elect one member. At
the expiration of the second year it shall be decided by lot which half
of the members shall go out; the other half shall vacate their seats at
the end of the fourth year, and so on. New members of the Volksraad
shall be chosen from the districts whose members fall out. Retiring
members are re-eligible.
ARTICLE 33.--The Volksraad appoints, outside its members, a
Secretary, to be proposed by the Executive Council.
ARTICLE 34.--A Volksraad member who absents himself, and does
not comply with the notice to attend, incurs a penalty of Rds. 75.
ARTICLE 35.--The reasons for a Volksraad member's
non-appearance are:--
(1) Indisposition and bodily infirmity, to be proved by the member
chosen or summoned, by a signed declaration of the Landrost, Commandant,
or Field-Cornet of his division.
(2) Such unforeseen circumstances, being actually proved, as make it
impossible for him to be present, or to remain there.
ARTICLE 36.--All objections, excuses, and notices mentioned in
Articles 34 and 35 shall be sent into the President and be decided upon
by the Executive Council. Provision shall be made as soon as possible to
fill in the places open in consequence.