FULL TEXT OF THE FRANCHISE LAW. PUBLISHED JULY 26, 1899. LAW NO. 3.
WHEREAS, It has appeared desirable to amend and amplify certain
provisions of the laws with reference to naturalization and the
obtaining of the full franchise; and
WHEREAS, These amendments will not permit of delay by being
published three months beforehand in terms of Article 12 of the
Grondwet, and as they have already been accepted by the people in
principle; it is hereby enacted that:
ARTICLE 1.--Each white male stranger, who has reached the age
of sixteen years, and who settles or has settled in the South African
Republic with the intention of residing there, shall in future be able
to obtain letters of naturalization, provided that he fulfills the
following provisions and enactments--
(_a_) The applicant shall produce a certificate from the Field-Cornet
and the Landrost of his ward and district, countersigned by the
Commandant of the district, to show that he was, during the
time--required in his case--preceding the naturalization, continually
registered on the Field-Cornet's list; was during this time domiciled in
the South African Republic; and during this time obeyed the laws of the
land and committed no crime against the independence of the South
African Republic.
If the Field-Cornet and Landrost are not from their personal knowledge
able to grant such certificate, they shall do so on the strength of
affidavits of the applicant and two well known, fully enfranchised
burghers of the ward and district, declaring that the applicant has,
during the necessary period, been domiciled in the South African
Republic, and has during that time obeyed the laws of the land, and has
committed no crime against the independence of the South African
Republic.
If the Field-Cornet and Landrost and Commandant refuse to grant such
certificate or to sign it, the applicant may appeal to the Executive
Council.
If the Field-Cornet's books are destroyed or lost the applicant shall
prove to the satisfaction of the State Secretary and State Attorney, by
means of affidavits, that he was registered.
(_b_) The applicant shall produce a sworn declaration made by himself to
the effect that he has had no dishonouring sentence passed on him, and
shall produce further proof of good behavior.
By dishonouring sentence shall be understood a sentence for the crimes
of high treason, murder, rape, theft, fraud, perjury, or forgery.
(_c_) The applicant shall produce proof that he possesses unmortgaged
fixed property to the value of £150, or pays rent to the amount of £50
per annum, or draws a fixed salary or wage of £100 per annum, or makes
an independent living by farming or cattle-breeding.
(_d_) The person desiring to be naturalized shall, before the official
granting of the letters of naturalization, take the following oath, by
which he will be understood to renounce and give up all burgher rights
enjoyed in and burgher duties and subjection to any State or ruler:
"I swear (or I solemnly declare that the taking of an oath is not
permitted by my religion, and promise), faithfully in all righteousness,
and in terms of Law No. ____, of 1899, with which I declare to be
acquainted, that I shall be loyal to this State, shall honour and
support its independence, shall subject myself to the Grondwet and the
lawful authorities of the land, and shall in all respects conduct myself
as it behooves a loyal burgher of this State. So truly help me God--or
that I solemnly promise."
Before a person who has already been naturalized is admitted to the full
franchise, he shall, when he makes application therefor, besides
fulfilling the other requirements of this Law, again produce proof of
fulfilment of the provisions and enactments of Sections _a_, _b_ and
_c_.
No person shall be entitled to or be allowed to obtain letters of
naturalization or full franchise unless he has fulfilled the
aforementioned provisions, with the exception of cases for which this or
any other Law makes special provision.
ARTICLE 2.--Each person who comes or has come to the South
African Republic to stay shall, after at least two years, and after
fulfillment of the provisions of Article 1, be able to obtain letters of
naturalization, and shall, at least five years after naturalization, be
able to obtain the full franchise, provided that in both instances, six
months before the expiration of the fixed period, he gives written
notice of his intention to apply therefor to the State Secretary through
the Field-Cornet and Landrost of his ward and district.
The Field-Cornet shall be bound, under pain of a fine of not more than
£10 in each case of neglect, to send this notice to the State Secretary
through the Landrost as soon as possible, and at the most within thirty
days of the sending in thereof, for publication in the _Staats Courant_
for general information, and the State Secretary shall without loss of
time publish such notice three consecutive times in the _Staats
Courant_.
ARTICLE 3.--Each person who comes or has come into the South
African Republic to stay shall, at least seven years after sending in to
the Field-Cornet a notice of his intention to be naturalized, in
accordance with the form contained in Schedule A, be able to obtain
letters of naturalization with the full franchise on fulfilling the
provisions of Article 1.
Such notice shall be sent by the Field-Cornet to the State Secretary and
be published by him, all under the same provision and punishment as set
forth in the foregoing article.
If the person desires to obtain letters of naturalization with full
franchise after seven years, he shall also, at least six months before
the expiration of the period, give written notice to the State
Secretary, the Field-Cornet and Landrost of his ward and district.
This notice shall also be sent to the State Secretary by the
Field-Cornet, and the latter shall publish it in the _Staats Courant_,
all under the same provision and punishment as set forth in Article 2.
The applicant shall then, on application for the letters of
naturalization with full franchise, further give proof that he has sent
in the notice, in accordance with the form of Schedule A, mentioned in
the first paragraph of this article, for proof of which it will be
sufficient to produce a copy of the _Staats Courant_ in which the notice
was published.
ARTICLE 4.--Each person who has come to the South African
Republic to stay before the coming into force of this Law shall, on
fulfilment of the provisions of Article 1, be able to obtain letters of
naturalization at least seven years after his coming into the country.
In case the applicant is not entitled to the full franchise six months
after the coming into force of this Law, he shall give proof that he,
within six months after the coming into force of the Law sent to the
Field-Cornet of his ward a written notice of his intention to become
naturalized.
If he neglect to send in this notice, in accordance with the form
contained in Schedule A, or if he does not produce the certificate
mentioned in Article 1, Section _a_, the applicant shall not be entitled
to the full franchise in terms of this Article, but only in terms of
Articles 2 and 3.
Such notice shall be sent by the Field-Cornet to the State Secretary,
and the latter shall publish the same in the _Staats Courant_, all under
the same provisions and punishment as set forth in Article 2.
If he is naturalized after this Law comes into force, he may obtain the
full franchise after five years from the date of his naturalization,
and, if he chooses, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1 of
this Article.
ARTICLE 5.--Nothing provided in this Law shall prevent the
Executive Council from granting letters of naturalization with or
without the full franchise to persons who take a position in the service
of the country, or have rendered services to the country, or who have in
any other respect rendered themselves of service to the country,
although in their case they have not fulfilled the provisions of the Law
provided that they take the oath in accordance with Article 1.
ARTICLE 6.--Youths not born in the State, and whose fathers
have obtained letters of naturalization or full franchise before they
(the youth) had reached the age of sixteen years, have the same
franchise as their father.
Youths born in this State, whose fathers were neither naturalized nor
had the full franchise, may be naturalized at their sixteenth year by
taking the oath mentioned in Article 1, and may, five years after that,
obtain the full franchise by fulfilling the provisions mentioned in
Article 1, Sections _a_ and _b_. They shall also, on their sixteenth
year, by giving notice as contained in Schedule A, be able to obtain the
full franchise five years thereafter, on fulfillment of the provisions
contained in Article 1, Sections _a_, _b_ and _d_.
ARTICLE 7.--The application for naturalization and the full
franchise must be sent with the necessary proofs to the State Secretary
by the Field-Cornet, through the Landrost, and the latter shall refer
these to the State Attorney, who shall send them back to the State
Secretary with his advice. If the State Secretary and State Attorney
have no legal objection to the granting of the letter of naturalization
or full franchise, then this shall be granted. If there is any
objection, the Executive Council shall decide.
The letters of naturalization and full franchise shall be signed by the
State Secretary and State Attorney. The State Secretary shall cause the
letters of naturalization and full franchise to be granted by an
official appointed for that purpose, and cause the necessary oath of
naturalization to be taken before this official.
The letters of naturalization shall bear a stamp of £2 sterling; the
granting of the full franchise to persons who are already naturalized
shall be free of cost.
ARTICLE 8.--No person who is not considered as a white
inhabitant of the South African Republic shall obtain the franchise, in
accordance with Article 9 of the Grondwet.
ARTICLE 9.--All laws and provisions, in so far as they are in
conflict with this Law, are hereby repealed.
ARTICLE 10.--This Law comes into force immediately after
publication in the _Staats Courant_.
S.J.P. KRUGER,
_State President._
F.W. REITZ,
_State Secretary._
GOVERNMENT BUILDINGS,
PRETORIA, July 26, 1899.
* * * * *
SCHEDULE A.
I ___________________ at present resident at ______________ in the South
African Republic, formerly residing at ________________ in ___________
whose occupation is __________ desiring to reside for good in the South
African Republic, hereby give notice that I, _______ years from date,
will make application for letters of naturalization with the full
franchise, and declare that I am acquainted with the duties imposed on
me by Law No. ____, 1899, to obey the laws and commit no crime against
the independence of the South African Republic.
* * * * *
PROPOSED MODIFICATIONS.
PROPOSAL OF GREAT BRITAIN FOR A JOINT INQUIRY.
_British Agent to South African Republic, August 2, 1899._
Her Majesty's Government authorize me to invite President of South
African Republic to appoint delegates to discuss with delegates to be
appointed by me on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, whether Uitlander
population will be given immediate and substantial representation by
franchise law recently passed by Volksraad, together with other measures
connected with it, such as increase of seats, and, if not, what
additions or alterations may be necessary to secure that result. In this
discussion it should be understood that the delegates of Her Majesty's
Government would be free to make any suggestions calculated to improve
measures in question and secure their attaining the end desired.
Personally I wish to add the expression of my earnest hope that
Government of South African Republic may accept this proposal, and that
we may proceed to discuss the composition of the proposed Commission,
method of procedure, and place of meeting, at once. Government of South
African Republic will, I feel sure, agree with me that, if proposal of
Her Majesty's Government is accepted, the inquiry should be held as soon
as possible.
ALTERNATIVE PROPOSAL OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC.
_F.W. Reitz to British Agent._
_19th August._
_Sir_, With reference to your proposal for a joint enquiry in your
dispatches of the 2nd and 3rd August, Government of South African
Republic have the honour to suggest the following alternative proposal
for consideration of Her Majesty's Government, which this Government
trusts may lead to a final settlement: (1) The Government are willing to
recommend to the Volksraad and the people a 5 years' retrospective
franchise, as proposed by His Excellency the High Commissioner on the
1st June, 1899. (2) The Government are further willing to recommend to
the Volksraad that 8 new seats in the First Volksraad, and, if
necessary, also in the Second Volksraad, be given to the population of
the Witwatersrand, thus with the 2 sitting members for the Goldfields,
giving to the population thereof 10 representatives in a Raad of 36, and
in future the representation of the Goldfields of this Republic shall
not fall below the proportion of one-fourth of the total. (3) The new
burghers shall equally with the old burghers be entitled to vote at the
election for State President and Commandant-General. (4) This Government
will always be prepared to take into consideration such friendly
suggestions regarding the details of the Franchise Law as Her Majesty's
Government, through the British Agent, may wish to convey to it. (5) In
putting forward the above proposals Government of South African Republic
assumes: (_a_) That Her Majesty's Government will agree that the present
intervention shall not form a precedent for future similar action and
that in the future no interference in the internal affairs of the
Republic will take place. (_b_) That Her Majesty's Government will not
further insist on the assertion of the suzerainty, the controversy on
the subject being allowed tacitly to drop. (_c_) That arbitration (from
which foreign element other than Orange Free State is to be excluded)
will be conceded as soon as the franchise scheme has become law. (6)
Immediately on Her Majesty's Government accepting this proposal for a
settlement, the Government will ask the Volksraad to adjourn for the
purpose of consulting the people about it, and the whole scheme might
become law say within a few weeks. (7) In the meantime the form and
scope of the proposed Tribunal are also to be discussed and
provisionally agreed upon, while the franchise scheme is being referred
to the people, so that no time may be lost in putting an end to the
present state of affairs. The Government trust that Her Majesty's
Government will clearly understand that in the opinion of this
Government the existing franchise law of this Republic is both fair and
liberal to the new population, and that the consideration that induces
them to go further, as they do in the above proposals, is their strong
desire to get the controversies between the two Governments settled, and
further to put an end to present strained relations between the two
Governments and the incalculable harm and loss it has already occasioned
in South Africa, and to prevent a racial war from the effects of which
South Africa may not recover for many generations, perhaps never at all,
and therefore this Government, having regard to all these circumstances
would highly appreciate it if Her Majesty's Government, seeing the
necessity of preventing the present crisis from developing still further
and the urgency of an early termination of the present state of affairs,
would expedite the acceptance or refusal of the settlement here offered.
_21st August._
_Sir_, In continuation of my dispatch of the 19th instant, and with
reference to the communication to you of the State Attorney this
morning, I wish to forward to you the following in explanation thereof,
with the request that the same may be telegraphed to His Excellency the
High Commissioner for South Africa, as forming part of the proposals of
this Government embodied in the above-named dispatch: (1) The proposals
of this Government regarding question of franchise and representation
contained in that dispatch must be regarded as expressly conditional on
Her Majesty's Government consenting to the points set forth in paragraph
5 of the dispatch, viz.: (_a_) In future not to interfere in internal
affairs of the South African Republic. (_b_) Not to insist further on
its assertion of existence of suzerainty. (_c_) To agree to arbitration.
(2) Referring to paragraph 6 of the dispatch, this Government trusts
that it is clear to Her Majesty's Government that this Government has
not consulted the Volksraad as to this question and will only do so when
an affirmative reply to its proposals has been received from Her
Majesty's Government.
NOTE.
In reply to the above proposals of the South African Republic, the
Secretary of State for the Colonies declared Great Britain "unable to
appreciate the objections entertained by the Government of the South
African Republic to a Joint Commission of Inquiry," and refused to enter
into a consideration of the alternative proposals of the South African
Republic.
As a consequence of this refusal, the South African Republic
communicated to Great Britain that the "proposal for a five years'
franchise and extension of representation of the Witwatersrand with the
conditions attached thereto" had lapsed, whereby also lapsed the
necessity of laying it before the representatives of the people for
ratification.
During the month of September following, the negotiations failed to
produce any agreement, and matters remained in this unsatisfactory state
until, on October 9, 1899, the ultimatum of President Kruger brought
affairs to an actual crisis.