THE FRANCHISE.[19]
1.--_Impossible Comparisons._
Dr. Kuyper favors us with a long dissertation upon the various laws of
naturalisation existing throughout the world. But he cannot compare a
country such as Belgium with 226 inhabitants per square kilomètre, or as
France with 72 per square kilomètre, with a country that has two
inhabitants to the square kilomètre. Had he been logical, he would have
said that the 9,712,000 square kilomètres of the United States should
always have been exclusively peopled by the 600,000 or 700,000 Sioux
Iroquois and Apaches who used to dispute them.
Dr. Kuyper will reply that they were Redskins and so do not count. Be it
so! Though the theory of inferior races has very grave consequences from
the standpoint taken up by him.
But, to be logical, he ought to regret that the Puritans of
Massachusetts 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 Siècle_, April 9th, 1900.]
2.--_Policy of Reaction._
In the Conference which resulted in the Convention of 1881, Messrs.
Krüger 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
Association, _The National Union_, "for the purpose of obtaining by all
Constitutional 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 Constitution
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 Constitution, 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 assumed 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 Krüger, 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' petition;
(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.
Krüger 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. Krüger 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
Krüger'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. Krüger 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 Krüger'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 Krüger
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
Krüger'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. Krüger.
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. Krüger calmly proceeds to adjourn to another seven years
the Uitlanders who had already put in nine years of residence, total 16
years. Yes, Mr. Krüger 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. Krüger 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.