THE FRANCHISE.
AFTER THE CONFERENCE OF BLOEMFONTEIN.[20]
1.--_A Krüger Trick._
The Anglophobe Pro-Boers of course blame Mr. Chamberlain for the rupture
of the Bloemfontein Conference, and extol the forbearance of Mr. Krüger,
who carried off his proposal to have it passed 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. Krüger should first have come to an
understanding upon it. By passing 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. Krüger 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 Siècle_, April 10th, 1900.]
2.--_The Bill passed by the Volksraad._
The bill introduced into the Volksraad on July 13th was passed 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
entitled 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. Krüger'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. Krüger 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. Krüger who had "reduced from nine to seven
years the term first proposed by him at Bloemfontein."
3.--_Pretended Concessions._
The changes referring to the "redistribution" of seats in the Volksraad
were numerous. Mr. Krüger posed as making a huge concession to mining
districts in raising the number of seats to twelve; but six of these
were for the second Volksraad. Now the second Volksraad must always have
the same number of members as the First; thus the apparent concession
was merely a valueless automatic arrangement, for it is well understood
that the second Volksraad is simply a show institution, devised in 1890.
The various schemes for redistribution lead one to the conclusion that
the number of members in the First Volksraad were to be in inverse ratio
to the population.
The Uitlander looked with mistrust upon a law voted one day which could
be modified the next by a simple resolution of the Volksraad; he
considered it an illusion which might vanish at any moment Mr. Krüger
and his friends thought proper.
4.--_The Joint Commission._
The British Government might have replied that it did not recognise this
law, and have confined itself to the proposals put forward by Sir Alfred
Milner at the Bloemfontein Conference. It did not take this attitude
which, in France, would have been advised by the most half-hearted of
our Nationalists, had the French Government been engaged in similar
negotiations.
In his despatch of July 27, Mr. Chamberlain appears to think that "the
concessions made to the Uitlanders to guarantee them something of the
equality promised them in 1881 were made in good faith; but this law of
July 19th is full of complicated details; he therefore proposes that it
should be examined by a joint commission." In the Colonial Secretary's
despatch of August 2nd to Pretoria, he adds: "It is understood that the
Commission to examine into the question of the Uitlanders' Electoral
rights shall be prepared to discuss every subject that the Government of
the South African Republic may desire to bring before it, including
arbitration, exclusive always of the intervention of Foreign Powers."
5.--_Bargaining._
The Government of Pretoria had put the law in force without waiting to
consider these remarks.
On August 15th a despatch of Sir Alfred Milner's makes mention of a
proposal of the State Attorney to the British Government to waive their
invitation to a joint enquiry, in respect of the concession of a
retrospective Franchise of seven years being substituted for mere
naturalisation, and of an increase in the number of seats. Such a
proposition on the part of the Government of Pretoria shows plainly that
it wished to evade enquiry into a law so fettered with formalities that
its working was chimerical. And when Sir Alfred Milner referred to his
proposal at Bloemfontein, the State Attorney decreased to five years the
term of retrospective registration, gave eight seats to the Rand, and
two to other mining districts.
Upon which Pro-Boers exclaim: The Government of Pretoria has made every
possible concession!
6.--_The Conditions, and Withdrawal of Proposals._
They prove by that exclamation that they had not read Sir Alfred
Milner's despatches of the 22nd and 23rd of August.
The Government of Pretoria made these concessions, indeed but on
condition: (1) That the British Government shall withdraw its proposal
for a joint Commission to enquire into whether the law was workable; (2)
That the British Government shall renounce suzerainty; (3) That
arbitration--apart from Foreign Powers, with exception of the Orange
Free State--shall be granted immediately upon the Franchise Law being
settled. On August 28th Mr. Chamberlain replies. Concerning the
suzerainty, he refers to his despatch of July 13th; he consents to
discuss the Constitution of a Tribunal of Arbitration from which Foreign
Powers, and foreign influence, shall be excluded; he concludes by
proposing a fresh Conference.
What is the reply of the Boer Government on September 2nd? The
withdrawal of its proposals of August 19th and 21st, relative to the
five years' Franchise and increase of number of seats in the Volksraad.
Thus, at the end of three months' negotiations, no conclusion had been
arrived at.
It is to this despatch of September 2nd, that Mr. Chamberlain's despatch
of September 8th, replies; in that despatch he states, that he is still
prepared to accept the proposals of August 19th concerning the
Franchise, provided that the enquiry by a Commission, joint or
unilateral, prove that the law is workable.
The representation of Uitlanders in the Volksraad, is, of course, only
possible on condition that they had the right to make use of the English
language.
On September 23rd, the Transvaal Government replies that the _taal_, a
language not spoken by any but Boers, is to remain the only language
used in the Volksraad, and in dilatory phraseology paves the way for the
ultimatum of October 9th. Here we have a summary of the negotiations
relating to the franchise, from the time of the Bloemfontein Conference.
7.--_The Franchise is Self-Government._
Confronted with these facts, the Pro-Boer cries: "Ah, but Mr. Krüger was
obliged to protect himself. He could not have his burghers swamped by
Uitlanders. He was perfectly right."
Good. There is the theory that honest dealing is unnecessary in public
negotiations; an apology for that system which is in direct
contradiction to the maxim of private law that you cannot give and
withhold at one and the same time.
"But why should the English insist upon obtaining the franchise for
Uitlanders?"
In order that there should be no more need for the British Government to
concern itself in Transvaal affairs, Sir Alfred Milner was right when he
said to the State Attorney (despatch of August 15th):
"I am sure that the present proposal is made _bonâ fide_ in order
to establish the rights of British subjects once for all; and the
Government of the South African Republic need not entertain any
fear that we should wish to intervene in its internal affairs in
future."
On August 28th, Mr. Chamberlain speaks the same language; at the same
time justly observing, that only a portion of the Englishmen residing in
the Transvaal would seek to become naturalised.
In point of fact when in February, 1896, the British Government demanded
autonomy for the Rand, and on this proposition being refused, demanded
at Bloemfontein the Franchise for Uitlanders, it was neither bent upon a
policy of absorption nor of conquest. They desired to place
self-government in the hands of the Uitlanders, in order to be able to
say to them: "Now manage your own affairs with the Boers, obtain respect
for your rights by constitutional measures. We are no further concerned
in the matter."
It was not the conquest of the Transvaal that was desired by the British
Government, it was the establishment of an autonomous Republic.
The Uitlanders of British, Australian, German and American extraction,
inter-mixing with the Boers, would soon have merged their national
characteristics, and have become simply citizens of the South African
Republic.
The Boers might have constructed a vast, wealthy and powerful State in
which for generations to come, they would have held the supremacy. As a
conquered people they will be compelled to accept the constitution they
might have granted, and granted the more readily as they would have
reaped the largest share of the benefits.