Boer Politics Part 10

But, to be logical, he ought to regret that the Puritans of Ma.s.sachusetts opened wide the doors of the frontiers of their young Republic to English, Irish, and German immigrants, and, having given them equal rights with themselves, fused and made them into citizens of the United States. My present object however is not to discuss theories, but to state facts.

[Footnote 19: _Le Siecle_, April 9th, 1900.]

2.--_Policy of Reaction._

In the Conference which resulted in the Convention of 1881, Messrs.

Kruger and Jorissen stated to the English Commissioners that the Franchise would be extended to whites after one year's residence. (V.

chap IV. -- 3.) This period had been fixed in 1874. In 1882 it was altered to five years' residence.

However, the Boers felt it expedient to offer a satisfaction of some kind, and, in accordance with their usual methods, conceived in 1890 the device of creating a Second Volksraad, deprived of all executive power, to which naturalised aliens were eligible.

But more especially, after the deep levels began to be worked in 1892, when vast outlays of capital were required, and a long duration to gold mining undertakings was ensured, the Uitlanders began to feel that they must no longer be regarded as suspicious aliens, liable to be expelled from the country at any moment. In 1892, they accordingly formed an a.s.sociation, _The National Union_, "for the purpose of obtaining by all Const.i.tutional means, equal rights for all the citizens of the Republic and the redress of grievances." Far from desiring to place the Republic under control of the British Government, they affirmed the maintenance of its Independence.

In his manifesto, Mr. Leonard, Chairman of the Union, demands: (1) The establishment of the Republic as a true Republic; (2) A Const.i.tution which should be drawn up by competent men, to be elected by the whole population, and which should be a guarantee against all hasty modifications; (3) An equitable system of franchise, and honest representation; the equality of Dutch and English languages.

The Government of Pretoria had done everything that was possible to provoke and justify these demands.

In 1894, ignoring the three months' delay between the promulgation and enforcing of a law required by the Const.i.tution, it was enacted that children born in the Transvaal of alien parents should not be recognised as citizens, unless their fathers had taken the oath of allegiance.

One Uitlander wrote: "Thirteen years ago I entered my name on the Field Cornet's book, in the belief that I should receive the franchise at expiration of four years. For nine years I have been deprived of my rights; and I may have to wait twenty years in this country without becoming a citizen."

The Boer government, instead of becoming more and more liberal in proportion to the wealth and power with which its alien residents have endowed it, has grown more and more reactionary; and this state of reaction has been marked by a series of broken pledges.

I now proceed to give an account of the varying phases of the Franchise Question, since the beginning of the Conference at Bloemfontein.

3.--_The Bloemfontein Conference._

The Conference at Bloemfontein opened on the 31st of May and closed on the 5th of June, 1889. Mr. Chamberlain's Despatch, of the 10th of May, to Sir Alfred Milner, suggests that he should adopt "a spirit of conciliation in order to arrive at an acceptable arrangement which might be presented to the Uitlander population, as a reasonable concession to their just demands."

The position a.s.sumed by the English Government was a very simple one; it had declined to interfere to a large degree, and it desired to interfere still less, in the disputes between the Uitlanders and Boers. It was of opinion that the only way of putting an end to them was the granting of the franchise, so as to enable them to attend to their own interests.

The English Government, far from desiring to increase its intervention in the actions of the Transvaal Government, desired to say to the Uitlanders: "You have your electoral rights; make use of them in your own defence."

As was easy to foresee, President Kruger, in accordance with his custom began on a number of side issues, instead of going straight to the point, thus employing the method, known to most of us who have had dealings with mistrustful and ignorant peasants. He raised among others the following questions: (1) Swaziland, which he wanted to annex; (2) The mobilisation of the army; (3) The payment of the Jameson Raid indemnity (of which we will speak later); (4) The Uitlanders' pet.i.tion; (5) The Gold law; (6) The Mining law; (7) The Liquor law; (8) The Tariff law; (9) The Independence of the Republic; (10) The Dynamite Monopoly; (11) Arbitration on all disputed points; (12) British intervention in the internal policy of the South African Republic. And then, added Mr.

Kruger ingeniously, when all these matters have been disposed of, we can take up the question of Franchise.

At the very first sitting Sir Alfred Milner declined to enter upon those subjects; at the second sitting he proposed the following conditions for the Franchise; (_a_) A five years' residence; (_b_) Declaration of intention to settle in the Transvaal; (_c_) Oath to obey the laws, and to fulfil all the obligations of citizenship, military service included; (_d_) The Franchise to be accorded only to men of good repute, holders of a given amount of property or of a given income; (_e_) a certain number of seats to be reserved in the Volksraad for districts where Uitlanders were in the majority.

After keenly contesting these points, Mr. Kruger gave renewed proof of his 'intellectual superiority' by advancing counter proposals bristling with conditions such as sorcerers exact to enable them to accomplish their miracles. As there is always at least one impossible of realisation, the dupe is always in the wrong; in the same manner, it was Kruger's aim to be able to say to the Uitlanders, who did not obtain the Franchise: "It is your own fault. You have not carried out the conditions!"

Oh! Mr. Kruger showed again at Bloemfontein how very clever he is, and how worthy of Bismarck's admiration--but, Bismarck only entered upon a policy which he could carry through.

According to Kruger's proposal, every new-comer must within a fortnight of arrival have himself inscribed as a candidate for naturalisation and the Franchise; the former would be granted after two years; the latter after five more years; seven years in all. But should the first formality have been neglected within the stated time, the Uitlander was to forfeit for good and all the right of obtaining either the one or the other! The first condition having been fulfilled, the inscribed Uitlander was to prove "his obedience to the laws"; but President Kruger did not signify how he was to give this negative proof.

He had, moreover, to prove that he had "committed no act contrary to the Government, or its independence." But to vote against any candidate of Kruger's is, in the Transvaal, an act contrary to the Government. What Uitlander then could ever have obtained his naturalisation? "Two years of continuous registration,"--but are the registers carefully kept in the Transvaal? These formalities accomplished, and naturalisation obtained, there followed five years of registration, and the obligation of permanent residence. A stay at the Cape, a voyage to Europe, would have sufficed to forfeit the whole benefit of the formalities observed, including inscription during the first fourteen days after arrival.

Finally, the retrospective clause demonstrates the cunning nature of the methods employed by Mr. Kruger.

First it deals with a nine years' residence, _plus_ two years for naturalisation, _plus_ six months' declaration, in all eleven years-and-a-half, at the least.

The wording of the clause is as follows:--

"The Residents in the South African Republic before 1890, who shall become naturalised within six months of the promulgation of the proposed law, after giving six months' notice of their intention to apply for naturalisation, shall obtain the full franchise two years after naturalisation, instead of five years. Those who have not been naturalised within six months will have to fulfil the conditions applying to new comers."

Look at the trickery of this regulation. A man must apply for his naturalisation six months beforehand, and he is bound to be naturalised within six months of the promulgation of the law. If he does not make his application on the very day of the promulgation, he loses all the advantages of his residence in the Transvaal before 1890, and he must wait another seven years. Note, that on the actual day of promulgation the administration of the Transvaal could never, even in good faith, have dealt with the 20,000 or 30,000 declarations that would have been made; and Mr. Kruger calmly proceeds to adjourn to another seven years the Uitlanders who had already put in nine years of residence, total 16 years. Yes, Mr. Kruger is very clever to have invented such a skilful contrivance; to have had the audacity to propound it; and to hold the opinion of Europe in such contempt that he could think it possible to make the majority of people the dupe of such schemes; and he has succeeded!

Sir Alfred Milner replied in the courteous language of diplomacy that after the interchange of these two propositions, Mr. Kruger and himself found themselves on exactly the same ground as before the Conference, and that, therefore, there was no object to be gained by prolonging it.

CHAPTER XIV.

THE FRANCHISE.

AFTER THE CONFERENCE OF BLOEMFONTEIN.[20]

1.--_A Kruger Trick._

The Anglophobe Pro-Boers of course blame Mr. Chamberlain for the rupture of the Bloemfontein Conference, and extol the forbearance of Mr. Kruger, who carried off his proposal to have it pa.s.sed by the Volksraad, and "his" burghers.

They do not reflect, that, had he honestly desired to put the matter on the road to settlement, Mr. Kruger should first have come to an understanding upon it. By pa.s.sing it through the Volksraad as law, he should have cut the cable, were he in reality, anything but an autocrat, and such ratifications anything but mere formalities.

Mr. Kruger had the condescension to say to England, "So you will have none of my proposals which compel those already in the Transvaal to an eleven or twelve years' residence, coupled with impossible formalities, before obtaining the franchise? Very well, I will renew my offer to you in the name of the Volksraad and of "my" burghers, and if you are not satisfied, leave me alone to hoodwink a large proportion of enlightened men on the Continent into believing that I am simply the victim of Mr.

Chamberlain's animosity, and England's greed."

[Footnote 20: _Le Siecle_, April 10th, 1900.]

2.--_The Bill pa.s.sed by the Volksraad._

The bill introduced into the Volksraad on July 13th was pa.s.sed on July 19th, with only the addition of one amendment to Article 4, by which residents in the Transvaal, prior to the promulgation of the law, were ent.i.tled to obtain naturalisation after seven, instead of nine years of residence, on condition that they had complied with the requisite formalities, and had submitted to the delays before stated. People admired Mr. Kruger's generosity. Nine or ten years, instead of eleven or twelve, for the Uitlanders already settled in the Transvaal! What sacrifices he was making to ensure peace! What magnanimity towards Uitlanders! The first paragraph of Article 4 runs thus:

"Article 4. All persons who shall have settled in the South African Republic prior to the commencement of this Act, and who shall be eligible according to the conditions laid down in Article 1, may obtain letters of naturalisation seven years after arrival in the country."

This article, therefore, only accorded naturalisation to former residents; their seven years in the country counted no more than two.

Suppose them naturalised; in reality, they are deprived of all nationality.

They belong no longer to the land of their birth; if wronged, or maltreated they have no claim upon it for redress.

They are not burghers: they have no political rights; they are, in fact, minors who have lost their guardian.

This condition was to last for seven years in a country where changes are made by the week.

The art of importing confusion into the simplest matters, has been most successfully practised by Mr. Kruger and Dr. Leyds. They have even succeeded in persuading thinking men that the Uitlanders should have accepted with enthusiasm the law of July 19th, and that they should have been deeply grateful to Mr. Kruger who had "reduced from nine to seven years the term first proposed by him at Bloemfontein."