In general, all laws necessary for the strengthening of the
Government and kingdom, and the regulation of State affairs,
and for the Constitution of Ministries, must receive the
sanction of the National Assembly.
Article 17.
The necessary Bills for making new laws, or for the
alteration, amplification, or cancellation of existing laws,
will, when desirable, be prepared by the National Assembly to
be submitted to His Imperial Majesty the Shah for signature
with the approval of the Senate, and to be then put into
execution.
Article 18.
The regulation of financial matters, the modification of the
Budget, the alteration of the arrangement of taxation, the
refusal or acceptance of impositions, as well as the
inspections which will be undertaken by the Government, will
be done with the approval of the Assembly.
Article 19.
The Assembly will have the right, for the purpose of reforming
financial matters and facilitating the relations of the
Governors and the apportioning of the provinces of Persia, and
the reappointment of Governors, after the Senate has given its
approval, to demand from the Government authorities that the
decision arrived at should be carried out.
Article 20.
The Budget of each Ministry must be finished for the
succeeding year in the last half of each year, and must be
ready fifteen days before the 20th March.
Article 21.
Should it be necessary with regard to the constitutional laws
of the Ministries to make a new law, or to alter or cancel
existing laws, it will be done with the consent of the
National Assembly, whether its necessity be first pointed out
by the Assembly or by the responsible Minister.
Article 22.
Whenever a part of the revenue or property of the Government
or State is to be sold, or a change of frontier or border
becomes necessary, it will be done with the approval of the
National Assembly.
Article 23.
Without the approval of the National Assembly no concession
whatever for the formation of Companies or Associations shall
be granted by the Government.
Article 24.
Treaties, Conventions, the granting of concessions,
monopolies, either commercial, industrial, or agricultural,
whether the other party be a native or a foreigner, can only
be done with the approval of the National Assembly. Treaties
which it may be in the interests of the Government or nation
to keep secret are excepted.
Article 25.
All Government loans of any nature whatsoever, whether
internal or foreign, will be made with the knowledge and
approval of the National Assembly.
Article 26.
The construction of railways or roads, whether the cost be
defrayed by the Government, by Associations or Companies,
whether native or foreign, can only be undertaken with the
approval of the National Assembly.
Article 27.
Should the Assembly find in any place a fault, in the laws or
an irregularity in their fulfilment, it will draw the
attention of the responsible Minister to the same, and he will
have to give the necessary explanations.
Article 28.
Should a Minister, in contravention of one of the laws which
have received the Imperial sanction, by misrepresentations
obtain the issue of a written or verbal order from His
Imperial Majesty the Shah, and excuse himself thereby for his
delay and negligence, he will by law be responsible to His
Imperial Majesty the Shah.
{155}
Article 29.
Whichever Minister who in a matter or matters should not be
able to answer for his actions in accordance with the laws
approved by His Imperial Majesty, and if it should be apparent
that he has broken the law and transgressed the stipulated
limitations, the Assembly will petition His Imperial Majesty
for his dismissal, and when his fault has been determined by
the Courts of Justice he will not again be allowed to serve
the Government.
Article 30.
The National Assembly has the right whenever it considers it
desirable to make petitions direct to His Imperial Majesty by
the means of a body composed of the President and six Members
elected by the six classes. The time for the audience must be
arranged for through the Minister of Court.
Article 81.
The Ministers have the right to be present at the sittings of
the National Assembly, and to sit in the place set apart for
them, and to hear the debates of the Assembly; and should they
think it necessary, they may ask the President for permission
to speak and give the necessary explanations for the
discussion and investigation of affairs.
Article 32.
Any individual member of the public may make a statement of
his case, or complaints or criticisms, to the office of the
Assembly, and, if the matter concerns the Assembly itself, a
satisfying answer will be given to him; but should the matter
concern one of the Ministries, it will be sent to that
Ministry for investigation, and in order that a satisfying
answer be given.
Article 33.
New laws which are necessary will be prepared at the
responsible Ministries, and will be given to the National
Assembly by the responsible Minister or by the Sadr Azam, and
after receiving the approval of the Assembly will receive His
Imperial Majesty’s sign-manual and be put into execution.
Article 34.
The President of the Assembly can, if necessary, of his own
initiative or by the desire of ten Members of the Assembly or
of a Minister, form a Secret Committee, without the presence
of newspaper reporters or spectators, composed of a number of
persons chosen from among the Members of the Assembly, at
which the other Members of the Assembly will not have the
right to attend. The result of the deliberations of the Secret
Committee can, however, only be put into execution when the
Secret Committee in the presence of three quarters of the
persons elected accept the point at issue by a majority of
votes, and if the matter be not passed by the Secret
Committee, it will not be stated in the Assembly and will
remain secret.
Article 35.
Should the Secret Committee be instituted by the President of
the Assembly, he has the right to inform the public of any
part of it he thinks fit; but if the Secret Committee is
instituted by a Minister, the publication of the debate can
only be subject to that Minister’s permission.
[Articles 36-42 are regulative of the transaction of business
between the Assembly and the Ministries of the Government in
matters of debate, inquiry, action on bills, etc.]
THE INSTITUTION OF THE SENATE.
Article 43.
Another Assembly, called the Senate, will be constituted,
composed of sixty Members, whose sittings will coincide, after
its constitution, with those of the National Assembly.
Article 44.
The Regulations of the Senate must receive the approval of the
National Assembly.
Article 45.
The Members of the Assembly will be chosen from among the
enlightened, intelligent, orthodox, and respectable persons of
the State, thirty persons on behalf of His Imperial Majesty,
of whom fifteen from among the inhabitants of Tehran and
fifteen from the inhabitants of the provinces, and thirty
persons on behalf of the nation, of whom fifteen persons
elected by the people of Tehran and fifteen persons elected by
the people of the provinces.
Article 46.
After the constitution of the Senate all affairs must receive
the approval of both Assemblies. If those affairs are
initiated by the Senate or by the body of Ministers, they must
first be determined in the Senate and passed by a majority,
and then be sent to the National Assembly for approval; but
affairs initiated in the National Assembly will, on the
contrary, pass from that Assembly to the Senate, with the
exception of financial matters, which will be the prerogative
of the National Assembly, and the Senate will be informed of
the arrangements made by the Assembly regarding these affairs
in order that the Senate should make its observations on the
same to the National Assembly, which is, however, at liberty,
after the necessary investigations, either to accept or to
refuse the proposals of the Senate.
Article 47.
So long as the Senate is not constituted affairs will require
only the approval of the National Assembly and the sign-manual
of His Imperial Majesty to be put into execution.
[Article 48 provides for the constituting of a "third
assembly," composed of an equal number of members from the
National Assembly and the Senate, to deal with cases in which
those two bodies are in disagreement, and for the ultimate
dissolution of the National Assembly, preparatory to the
election of a new one, in case no settlement of the
disagreement is reached.
Article 49 allows the new Tehran deputies then elected to
begin their labors, outside of the points at issue, as soon as
they are ready.]
The conclusion of the Constitution is as follows:
Article 50.
During each term of election—that is to say, during two
years—a general election will not be called more than once.
Article 51.
It is decreed that the Sovereign who succeeds us should
protect these limitations and Articles, which aim at the
strengthening of the State and of the foundations of the
kingdom, and the protection of justice and contentment of the
nation, which we have decreed and put into execution, and
which they must look upon as their duty to fulfil.
In the month of Zilkade the Unclean, 1324.
O God the Almighty!
The Constitutional Laws of the National Assembly and the
Senate, containing fifty one Articles, are correct.
14th of the month of Zilkade, 1324
(30th December, 1906).
In the handwriting of Muzaffer-ed-Deen Shah;
It is correct.
(Sealed) Valiahd (Mohammed Ali Shah).
(Sealed) Mushir-ed-Dowleh (the Grand Vizier).
{156}
CONSTITUTION OF PERSIA:
The Constitutional Law, as passed by the National Assembly
and signed by the Shah on October 8, 1907.
One hundred and seven articles "to complete the fundamental
laws of the Constitution of Persia" were "added to the
Constitutional law "by the signature of the Shah on the 30th
of December, 1906. The first two are as follows:
Article 1.
The official religion of Persia is the branch of the Twelve
Imams of the Shia Sect of Islam. The Sovereign of Persia must
be of, and contribute to the spread of, this religion.
Article 2.
The National Assembly has been founded by the help of the
Twelfth Imam, the bounty of His Islamic Majesty, the
watchfulness of the Mujteheds and the common people. The laws
passed by it must never to all ages be contrary to the sacred
precepts of Islam, and the laws laid down by the Prophet. It
is obvious that the decision as to whether the laws passed by
the Assembly are in opposition to the precepts of Islam rests
with the Ulema. It is therefore officially decreed that for
all ages a Committee composed of five persons, who shall be
Mujteheds and religious doctors, and who also must be
acquainted with the requirements of the times, shall be
elected in the following manner: The Ulema and doctors of
Islam who are recognized by the Shias as the centre of
imitation shall make known to the National Assembly the names
of twenty of the Ulema possessing the above-mentioned
qualities. The National Assembly shall, by agreement on
casting of lots, elect five of them or more, according to the
requirements of the age, and admit them as members. This
Committee shall discuss and thoroughly investigate the Bills
brought in by the National Assembly, and reject every one of
these Bills which is contrary to the sacred precepts of Islam,
in order that it may not become law. The decision of this
Committee is final. This Article will not be liable to change
until the advent of the Twelfth Imam.
[Articles 3-7 relate to boundaries of the Kingdom, its
capital, its flag, protection of the lives and property of
foreigners, and the integrity of the Constitution.
Articles 8-25 are in the nature of a "bill of rights,"
affirming equality of rights to all; immunity from arbitrary
arrest, punishment, exile or sequestration of property;
freedom of "the study of teaching of arts, letters and
sciences" "except in so far as they are forbidden by the
Sheri"; freedom of publication for all "except heretical
works"; freedom of "societies and associations which do not
provoke religious or civil strife"; inviolability of postal
and telegraphic communications, except under authority of law.
All primary and secondary schools are placed under the
direction and surveillance of the Ministry of Education.
Articles 26-29 define, as follows:
THE POWERS OF THE REALM.
Article 26.
The powers of the realm spring from the people. The
Constitutional Law defines the method of using those powers.
Article 27.
The powers of the realm are divided into three parts:—
Firstly, legislative power, whose province it is to make and
amend laws. This power emanates from His Imperial Majesty the
Shah, the National Assembly, and the Senate. Each one of these
three sources possesses the right of originating laws; but
their passing is conditional to their not being contrary to
the laws of the Sheri, and to the approval of the two
Assemblies, and to their receiving the Imperial signature. But
the making and approval of laws relating to the revenue and
expenditure of the realm belong to the National Assembly
alone. The interpretation and commentary of laws is the
peculiar duty of the National Assembly.
Secondly, the judicial power, which consists in the
distinguishing of rights. This power belongs to the Sheri
Tribunals in matters appertaining to the Sheri, and to the
Courts of Justice in matters appertaining to the civil law
("urf").
Thirdly, the executive power, which rests with the Sovereign.
That is to say, the Laws and Decrees will be executed by the
Ministers and Government officials in the name of His Imperial
Majesty in the manner defined by law.
Article 28.
The three above-mentioned powers shall always be
differentiated and separated from one another.
Article 29.
The particular revenues of each province, department, and
commune shall be regulated by the Provincial and Departmental
Assemblies in accordance with their own particular laws.
[Articles 30-34 define the status of the members of the
National Assembly.]
RIGHTS AND POWERS OF THE CROWN.
[Articles 35-57 set forth the rights and powers of the Crown.
The sovereignty of Persia is declared to be "a trust which, by
the grace of God, has been conferred on the person of the
Sovereign by the people." The succession is vested in Muhammed
Ali Shah Kajar and his descendants; the Crown Prince to be
"the eldest son of the Sovereign whose mother is a Persian and
a princess." Provision is made for the election by a joint
committee of the Senate and the National Assembly on the
succession of a minor, who cannot govern personally till his
age is eighteen. The powers of the sovereign are thus
defined:]
Article 43.
The Sovereign cannot, without the approval and sanction of the
National Assembly and the Senate, interfere in the affairs of
another country.
Article 44.
The Sovereign is absolved from all responsibility. The
Ministers of State are responsible in all matters.
Article 45.
All the Decrees and Rescripts of the Sovereign shall only be
put into execution when they have been signed by the
responsible Minister, who is responsible for the accuracy of
the contents of that Firman or Rescript.
Article 46.
The dismissal and appointment of Ministers are by order of the
Sovereign.
Article 47.
The conferring of commissions in the army and orders and
honorary distinctions, with due observance of law, is vested
in the person of the Sovereign.
Article 48.
The Sovereign has the right, with the approval of the
responsible Minister, to choose the important officials of the
Government Departments, either at home or abroad, except in
cases excepted by law. But the appointment of the other
officials does not concern the Sovereign, except in cases
defined by law.
Article 49.
The issuing of Firmans for the execution of laws is one of the
rights of the Sovereign, but he may not delay or suspend the
execution of those laws.
Article 50.
The supreme command of the military and naval forces is vested
in the person of the Sovereign.
Article 51.
The declaration of war and the conclusion of peace rest with
the Sovereign.
{157}
Article 52.
Treaties which, in accordance with Article 24 of the
Constitutional Law of the 14th Zilaadeh, 1325 (30th December,
1906), must be kept secret, must, on the removal of this
necessity, and provided that the interests and security of the
country demand it, be communicated by the Sovereign to the
National Assembly and the Senate, with the necessary
explanations.
Article 58.
The secret clauses of any Treaty cannot annul the public
clauses of that Treaty.
Article 54.
The Sovereign can summon the National Assembly and the Senate
to an extraordinary Session.
Article 55.
Coins shall be struck, according to law, in the name of the
Sovereign.
Article 56.
The expenses of the Imperial household must be defined by law.
Article 57.
The powers and prerogatives of the Sovereign are only such as
have been defined by the existing constitutional laws.
[Articles 58-70 relate to the Ministers, who must be
Mussulmans and native Persian subjects, princes of the first
rank not eligible. They are severally and jointly responsible
to both Assemblies. Commands of the sovereign cannot divest
them of responsibility, which is to be defined by law. The
Assembly or the Senate can accuse and prosecute them for
offenses before the High Court of Appeal.]
JUDICIAL TRIBUNALS.
[The Judicial Tribunals of the Kingdom are the subject of
Articles 71-89. "The Supreme Court of Justice and the
subsidiary Courts" are declared to be "the official centres to
which all suits must be referred, and judgment in matters
appertaining to the Sheri rests with the fully qualified
Mujteheds." Suits relating to political rights concern the
Courts of Justice, excepting those which are excepted by law.
No Court of Law can be instituted except by law. One Court of
Appeal for the whole Kingdom is to be instituted at the
Capital. The sittings of all tribunals shall be public, except
in cases when the tribunal judges that this would be
prejudicial to order or decency. "The Presidents and the
members of the Courts of Justice will be chosen in the manner
decreed by the law of the Ministry of Justice, and will be
appointed by virtue of a royal Firman." No judge may be
suspended, temporarily, or permanently, without a trial or
proof of offence. Military tribunals will be instituted
according to a special law.]
MISCELLANEOUS.
[Provincial Assemblies of elected representatives are
provided for in Articles 90-93.
Articles 94-103 have relation to finances. They declare that
no taxes may be levied or exemptions from them allowed except
by law; that no favor to individuals shall be shown in
taxation; that nothing shall, on any pretext, be demanded from
the people, otherwise than by law; and provision is made for
the creation of a State Accounts Department, to be chosen by
the National Assembly.
The last four articles relate to the Army, which is required
to be in all particulars under regulation of law. "The army
vote must pass the National Assembly every year."]
----------CONSTITUTION OF PERSIA: End--------
CONSTITUTION OF RUSSIA, The so-called.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA, A. D. 1904-1905.
----------CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH AFRICA: Start--------
Omitting the preamble, which sets forth the desirability and
expediency, "for the welfare and future progress of South
Africa, that the several British Colonies therein shall be
united under one Government in a legislative union under the
Crown of Great Britain and Ireland," the provisions of the
enactment for that purpose by the Parliament of the United
Kingdom, approved September 20, 1909, are as follows:
I.—PRELIMINARY.
1. This Act may be cited as the South Africa Act, 1909.
2. In this Act, unless it is otherwise expressed or implied,
the words "the Union" shall be taken to mean the Union of
South Africa as constituted under this Act, and the words
"Houses of Parliament," "House of Parliament," or
"Parliament," shall be taken to mean the Parliament of the
Union.
3. The provisions of this Act referring to the King shall
extend to His Majesty’s heirs and successors in the
sovereignty of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland.
II.—THE UNION.
4. It shall be lawful for the King, with the advice of the
Privy Council, to declare by proclamation that, on and after a
day therein appointed, not being later than one year after the
passing of this Act, the Colonies of the Cape of Good Hope,
Natal, the Transvaal, and the Orange River Colony, hereinafter
called the Colonies shall be united in a Legislative Union
under one Government under the name of the Union of South
Africa. On and after the day appointed by such proclamation
the Government and Parliament of the Union shall have full
power and authority within the limits of the Colonies, but the
King may at any time after the proclamation appoint a
governor-general for the Union.
5. The provisions of this Act shall, unless it is otherwise
expressed or implied, take effect on and after the day so
appointed.
6. The colonies mentioned in section four shall become
original provinces of the Union under the names of Cape of
Good Hope, Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State, as the
case maybe. The original provinces shall have the same limits
as the respective colonies at the establishment of the Union.
7. Upon any colony entering the Union, the Colonial Boundaries
Act, 1895, and every other Act applying to any of the Colonies
as being self-governing colonies or colonies with responsible
government, shall cease to apply to that colony, but as from
the date when this Act takes effect every such Act of
Parliament shall apply to the Union.
III.—EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT.
8. The Executive Government of the Union is vested in the
King, and shall be administered by His Majesty in person or by
a governor-general as His representative.
{158}
9. The Governor-General shall be appointed by the King, and
shall have and may exercise in the Union during the King’s
pleasure, but subject to this Act, such powers and functions
of the King as His Majesty may be pleased to assign to him.
10. There shall be payable to the King out of the Consolidated
Revenue Fund of the Union for the salary of the
Governor-General an annual sum of ten thousand pounds. The
salary of the Governor-General shall not be altered during his
continuance in office.
11. The provisions of this Act relating to the
Governor-General extend and apply to the Governor-General for
the time being or such person as the King may appoint to
administer the government of the Union. The King may authorise
the Governor-General to appoint any person to be his deputy
within the Union during his temporary absence, and in that
capacity to exercise for and on behalf of the Governor-General
during such absence all such powers and authorities vested in
the Governor-General as the Governor-General may assign to
him, subject to any limitations expressed or directions given
by the King; but the appointment of such deputy shall not
affect the exercise by the Governor-General himself of any
power or function.
12. There shall be an Executive Council to advise the
Governor-General in the government of the Union, and the
members of the council shall be chosen and summoned by the
Governor-General and sworn as executive councillors, and shall
hold office during his pleasure.
13. The provisions of this Act referring to the
Governor-General in Council shall be construed as referring to
the Governor-General acting with the advice of the Executive
Council.
14. The Governor-General may appoint officers not exceeding
ten in number to administer such departments of State of the
Union as the Governor-General in Council may establish; such
officers shall hold office during the pleasure of the
Governor-General. They shall be members of the Executive
Council and shall be the King’s ministers of State for the
Union. After the first general election of members of the
House of Assembly, as hereinafter provided, no minister shall
hold office for a longer period than three months unless he is
or becomes a member of either House of Parliament.
15. The appointment and removal of all officers of the public
service of the Union shall be vested in the Governor-General
in Council, unless the appointment is delegated by the
Governor-General in Council or by this Act or by a law of
Parliament to some other authority.
16. All powers, authorities, and functions which at the
establishment of the Union are in any of the Colonies vested
in the Governor or in the Governor in Council, or in any
authority of the Colony, shall, as far as the same continue in
existence and are capable of being exercised after the
establishment of the Union, be vested in the Governor-General
or in the Governor-General in Council, or in the authority
exercising similar powers under the Union, as the case may be,
except such powers and functions as are by this Act or may by
a law of Parliament be vested in some other authority.
17. The command in chief of the naval and military forces
within the Union is vested in the King or in the
Governor-General as His representative.
18. Save as in section twenty-three excepted, Pretoria shall
be the seat of Government of the Union.
IV.—PARLIAMENT.
19. The legislative power of the Union shall be vested in the
Parliament of the Union, herein called Parliament, which shall
consist of the King, a Senate, and a House of Assembly.
20. The Governor-General may appoint such times for holding
the sessions of Parliament as he thinks fit, and may also from
time to time, by proclamation or otherwise, prorogue
Parliament, and may in like manner dissolve the Senate and the
House of Assembly simultaneously, or the House of Assembly
alone: provided that the Senate shall not be dissolved within
a period of ten years after the establishment of the Union,
and provided further that the dissolution of the Senate shall
not affect any senators nominated by the Governor-General in
Council.
21. Parliament shall be summoned to meet not later than six
months after the establishment of the Union.
22. There shall be a session of Parliament once at least in
every year, so that a period of twelve months shall not
intervene between the last sitting of Parliament in one
session and its first sitting in the next session.
23. Cape Town shall be the seat of the Legislature of the
Union.
SENATE.
24. For ten years after the establishment of the Union the
constitution of the Senate shall, in respect of the original
provinces, be as follows:
(i) Eight senators shall be nominated by the Governor-General
in Council, and for each original province eight senators
shall be elected in the manner hereinafter provided:
(ii) The senators to be nominated by the Governor-General in
Council shall hold their seats for ten years. One-half of
their number shall be selected on the ground mainly of their
thorough acquaintance, by reason of their official experience
or otherwise, with the reasonable wants and wishes of the
coloured races in South Africa. If the seat of a senator so
nominated shall become vacant, the Governor-General in Council
shall nominate another person to be a senator, who shall hold
his seat for ten years:
(iii) After the passing of this Act, and before the day
appointed for the establishment of the Union, the Governor of
each of the Colonies shall summon a special sitting of both
Houses of the Legislature, and the two Houses sitting together
as one body and presided over by the Speaker of the
Legislative Assembly shall elect eight persons to be senators
for the province. Such senators shall hold their seats for ten
years. If the seat of a senator so elected shall become
vacant, the provincial council of the province for which such
senator has been elected shall choose a person to hold the
seat until the completion of the period for which the person
in whose stead he is elected would have held his seat.
{159}
25. Parliament may provide for the manner in which the Senate
shall be constituted after the expiration of ten years, and
unless and until such provision shall have been made—
(i) the provisions of the last preceding section with regard
to nominated senators shall continue to have effect;
(ii) eight senators for each province shall be elected by the
members of the provincial council of such province together
with the members of the House of Assembly elected for such
province. Such senators shall hold their seats for ten years
unless the Senate be sooner dissolved. If the seat of an
elected senator shall become vacant, the members of the
provincial council of the province, together with the members
of the House of Assembly elected for such province, shall
choose a person to hold the seat until the completion of the
period for which the person in whose stead he is elected would
have held his seat. The Governor-General in Council shall make
regulations for the joint election of senators prescribed in
this section.
26. The qualifications of a senator shall be as follows:
—He must—
(a) be not less than thirty years of age;
(b) be qualified to be registered as a voter for the election
of members of the House of Assembly in one of the provinces;
(c) have resided for five years within the limits of the Union
as existing at the time when he is elected or nominated, as
the case may be;
(d) be a British subject of European descent;
(e) in the case of an elected senator, be the registered owner
of immovable property within the Union of the value of not
less than five hundred pounds over and above any special
mortgages thereon. For the purposes of this section, residence
in, and property situated within, a colony before its
incorporation in the Union shall be treated as residence in
and property situated within the Union.
27. The Senate shall, before proceeding to the dispatch of any
other business, choose a senator to be the President of the
Senate, and as often as the office of President becomes vacant
the Senate shall again choose a senator to be the President.
The President shall cease to hold office if he ceases to be a
senator. He may be removed from office by a vote of the
Senate, or he may resign his office by writing under his hand
addressed to the Governor-General.
28. Prior to or during any absence of the President the Senate
may choose a senator to perform his duties in his absence.
29. A senator may, by writing under his hand addressed to the
Governor-General, resign his seat, which thereupon shall
become vacant. The Governor-General shall as soon as
practicable cause steps to be taken to have the vacancy
filled.
30. The presence of at least twelve senators shall be
necessary to constitute a meeting of the Senate for the
exercise of its powers.
31. All questions in the Senate shall be determined by a
majority of votes of senators present other than the President
or the presiding senator, who shall, however, have and
exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY.
32. The House of Assembly shall be composed of members
directly chosen by the voters of the Union in electoral
divisions delimited as hereinafter provided.
33. The number of members to be elected in the original
provinces at the first election and until the number is
altered in accordance with the provisions of this Act shall be
as follows: Cape of Good Hope, fifty-one; Natal, seventeen;
Transvaal, thirty-six; Orange Free State, seventeen. These
numbers may be increased as provided in the next succeeding
section, but shall not, in the case of any original province,
be diminished until the total number of members of the House
of Assembly in respect of the provinces herein provided for
reaches one hundred and fifty, or until a period of ten years
has elapsed after the establishment of the Union, whichever is
the longer period.
34. The number of members to be elected in each province, as
provided in section thirty-three, shall be increased from time
to time as may be necessary in accordance with the following
provisions:
(i) The quota of the Union shall be obtained by dividing the
total number of European male adults in the Union, as
ascertained at the census of nineteen hundred and four, by the
total number of members of the House of Assembly as
constituted at the establishment of the Union:
(ii) In nineteen hundred and eleven, and every five years
thereafter, a census of the European population of the Union
shall be taken for the purposes of this Act:
(iii) After any such census the number of European male adults
in each province shall be compared with the number of European
male adults as ascertained at the census of nineteen hundred
and four, and, in the case of any province where an increase
is shown, as compared with the census of nineteen hundred and
four, equal to the quota of the Union or any multiple thereof,
the number of members allotted to such province in the last
preceding section shall be increased by an additional member
or an additional number of members equal to such multiple, as
the case may be:
(iv) Notwithstanding anything herein contained, no additional
member shall be allotted to any province until the total
number of European male adults in such province exceeds the
quota of the Union multiplied by the number of members
allotted to such province for the time being, and thereupon
additional members shall be allotted to such province in
respect only of such excess:
(v) As soon as the number of members of the House of Assembly
to be elected in the original provinces in accordance with the
preceding subsections reaches the total of one hundred and
fifty, such total shall not be further increased unless and
until Parliament otherwise provides; and subject to the
provisions of the last preceding section the distribution of
members among the provinces shall be such that the proportion
between the number of members to be elected at any time in
each province and the number of European male adults in such
province, as ascertained at the last preceding census, shall
as far as possible be identical throughout the Union:
(vi) "Male adults" in this Act shall be taken to mean males of
twenty-one years of age or upwards not being members of His
Majesty’s regular forces on full pay:
(vii) For the purposes of this Act the number of European male
adults, as ascertained at the census of nineteen hundred and
four, shall be taken to be—
For the Cape of Good Hope, 167,546;
for Natal, 34,784;
for the Transvaal, 106,493;
For the Orange Free State, 41,014.
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35.
(1) Parliament may by law prescribe the qualifications which
shall be necessary to entitle persons to vote at the election
of members of the House of Assembly, but no such law shall
disqualify any person in the province of the Cape of Good Hope
who, under the laws existing in the Colony of the Cape of Good
Hope at the establishment of the Union, is or may become
capable of being registered as a voter from being so
registered in the province of the Cape of Good Hope by reason
of his race or colour only, unless the Bill be passed by both
Houses of Parliament sitting together, and at the third
reading be agreed to by not less than two-thirds of the total
number of members of both Houses. A Bill so passed at such
joint sitting shall be taken to have been duly passed by both
Houses of Parliament.
(2) No person who at the passing of any such law is registered
as a voter in any province shall be removed from the register
by reason only of any disqualification based on race or
colour.
36. Subject to the provisions of the last preceding section,
the qualifications of parliamentary voters, as existing in the
several Colonies at the establishment of the Union, shall be
the qualifications necessary to entitle persons in the
corresponding provinces to vote for the election of members of
the House of Assembly: Provided that no member of His
Majesty’s regular forces on full pay shall be entitled to be
registered as a voter.
[Section 37 of the Act applies to the elections of members of
the House of Assembly all existing election laws in the
respective provinces relating to the elections for their more
numerous Houses of Parliament, excepting that it requires all
polls to be taken on one and the same day throughout the
Union.
Sections 38 to 43 inclusive provide for the creation of a
joint commission to determine the first division of the
provinces into equalized electoral divisions, and for
subsequent commissions of three judges of the Supreme Court of
South Africa for re-divisions, as they may become necessary.]
44. The qualifications of a member of the House of Assembly
shall be as follows:—He must—
(a) be qualified to be registered as a voter for the election
of members of the House of Assembly in one of the provinces;
(b) have resided for five years within the limits of the
Union as existing at the time when he is elected;
(c) be a British subject of European descent.
For the purposes of this section, residence in a colony before
its incorporation in the Union shall be treated as residence
in the Union.
45. Every House of Assembly shall continue for five years from
the first meeting thereof, and no longer, but may be sooner
dissolved by the Governor-General.
46. The House of Assembly shall, before proceeding to the
despatch of any other business, choose a member to be the
Speaker of the House, and, as often as the office of Speaker
becomes vacant, the House shall again choose a member to be
the Speaker. The Speaker shall cease to hold his office if he
ceases to be a member. He may be removed from office by a vote
of the House, or he may resign his office or his seat by
writing under his hand addressed to the Governor-General.
47. Prior to or during the absence of the Speaker, the House
of Assembly may choose a member to perform his duties in his
absence.
48. A member may, by writing under his hand addressed to the
Speaker, or, if there is no Speaker, or if the Speaker is
absent from the Union, to the Governor-General, resign his
seat, which shall thereupon become vacant.
49. The presence of at least thirty members of the House of
Assembly shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the
House for the exercise of its powers.
50. All questions in the House of Assembly shall be determined
by a majority of votes of members present other than the
Speaker or the presiding member, who shall, however, have and
exercise a casting vote in the case of an equality of votes.
BOTH HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.
[Section 51 prescribes the oath or affirmation of allegiance
to the British Sovereign which each senator and member of the
House of Assembly must subscribe to before taking his seat.]
52. A member of either House of Parliament shall be incapable
of being chosen or of sitting as a member of the other House:
Provided that every minister of State who is a member of
either House of Parliament shall have the right to sit and
speak in the Senate and the House of Assembly, but shall vote
only in the House of which he is a member.
53. No person shall be capable of being chosen or of sitting
as a senator or as a member of the House of Assembly who—
(a) has been at any time convicted of any crime or offence for
which he shall have been sentenced to imprisonment without the
option of a fine for a term of not less than twelve months,
unless he shall have received a grant of amnesty or a free
pardon, or unless such imprisonment shall have expired at
least five years before the date of his election; or
(b) is an unrehabilitated insolvent; or
(c) is of unsound mind, and has been so declared by a
competent court; or
(d) holds any office of profit under the Crown within the
Union:
Provided that the following persons shall not be deemed to
hold an office of profit under the Crown for the purposes of
this subsection:
(1) a minister of State for the Union;
(2) a person in receipt of a pension from the Crown;
(3) an officer or member of His Majesty’s naval or military
forces on retired or half pay, or an officer or member of the
naval or military forces of the Union whose services are not
wholly employed by the Union.
54. If a senator or member of the House of Assembly—
(a) becomes subject to any of the disabilities mentioned in
the last preceding section; or
(b) ceases to be qualified as required by law; or
(c) fails for a whole ordinary session to attend without the
special leave of the Senate or the House of Assembly, as the
case may be; his seat shall thereupon become vacant.
[Section 55 imposes a penalty of £100 for each day on which
any disqualified person may knowingly sit in Parliament.]
56. Each senator and each member of the House of Assembly
shall, under such rules as shall be framed by Parliament,
receive an allowance of four hundred pounds a year, to be
reckoned from the date on which he takes his seat: Provided
that for every day of the session on which he is absent there
shall be deducted from such allowance the sum of three pounds:
Provided further that no such allowance shall be paid to a
Minister receiving a salary under the Crown or to the
President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of
Assembly. A day of the session shall mean in respect of a
member any day during a session on which the House of which he
is a member or any committee of which he is a member meets.
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[Sections 57-58 relate to the privileges of each House of
Parliament and its right to make rules and orders of procedure
for the conduct of its business.]
POWERS OF PARLIAMENT.
59. Parliament shall have full power to make laws for the
peace, order, and good government of the Union.
60.—
(1) Bills appropriating revenue or moneys or imposing taxation
shall originate only in the House of Assembly. But a Bill
shall not be taken to appropriate revenue or moneys or to
impose taxation by reason only of its containing provisions
for the imposition or appropriation of fines or other
pecuniary penalties.
(2) The Senate may not amend any Bills so far as they impose
taxation or appropriate revenue or moneys for the services of
the Government.
(3) The Senate may not amend any Bill so as to increase any
proposed charges or burden on the people.
61. Any Bill which appropriates revenue or moneys for the
ordinary annual services of the Government shall deal only
with such appropriation.
62. The House of Assembly shall not originate or pass any
vote, resolution, address, or Bill for the appropriation of
any part of the public revenue or of any tax or impost to any
purpose unless such appropriation has been recommended by
message from the Governor-General during the Session in which
such vote, resolution, address, or Bill is proposed.
63. If the House of Assembly passes any Bill and the Senate
rejects or fails to pass it or passes it with amendments to
which the House of Assembly will not agree, and if the House
of Assembly in the next session again passes the Bill with or
without any amendments which have been made or agreed to by
the Senate and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it or
passes it with amendments to which the House of Assembly will
not agree, the Governor-General may during that session
convene a joint sitting of the members of the Senate and House
of Assembly. The members present at any such joint sitting may
deliberate and shall vote together upon the Bill as last
proposed by the House of Assembly and upon amendments, if any,
which have been made therein by one House of Parliament and
not agreed to by the other; and any such amendments which are
affirmed by a majority of the total number of members of the
Senate and House of Assembly present at such sitting shall be
taken to have been carried, and if the Bill with the
amendments, if any, is affirmed by a majority of the members
of the Senate and House of Assembly present at such sitting,
it shall be taken to have been duly passed by both Houses of
Parliament: Provided that, if the Senate shall reject or fail
to pass any Bill dealing with the appropriation of revenue or
moneys for the public service, such joint sitting may be
convened during the same session in which the Senate so
rejects or fails to pass such Bill.
64. When a Bill is presented to the Governor-General for the
King’s Assent, he shall declare according to his discretion,
but subject to the provisions of this Act, and to such
instructions as may from time to time be given in that behalf
by the King, that he assents in the King’s name, or that he
withholds assent, or that he reserves the Bill for the
signification of the King’s pleasure. All Bills repealing or
amending this section or any of the provisions of Chapter IV.
under the heading "House of Assembly," and all Bills
abolishing provincial councils or abridging the powers
conferred on provincial councils under section eighty-five,
otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of that
section, shall be so reserved. The Governor-General may return
to the House in which it originated any Bill so presented to
him, and may transmit therewith any amendments which he may
recommend, and the House may deal with the recommendation.
65. The King may disallow any law within one year after it has
been assented to by the Governor General, and such
disallowance, on being made known by the Governor-General by
speech or message to each of the Houses of Parliament or by
proclamation, shall annul the law from the day when the
disallowance is so made known.
66. A Bill reserved for the King’s pleasure shall not have any
force unless and until, within one year from the day on which
it was presented to the Governor-General for the King’s
Assent, the Governor-General makes known by speech or message
to each of the Houses of Parliament or by proclamation that it
has received the King’s Assent.
67. As soon as may be after any law shall have been assented
to in the King’s name by the Governor-General, or having been
reserved for the King’s pleasure shall have received his
assent, the Clerk of the House of Assembly shall cause two
fair copies of such law, one being in the English and the
other in the Dutch language (one of which copies shall be
signed by the Governor-General), to be enrolled of record in
the office of the Registrar of the Appellate Division of the
Supreme Court of South Africa; and such copies shall be
conclusive evidence as to the provisions of every such law,
and in case of conflict between the two copies thus deposited
that signed by the Governor-General shall prevail.
V.—THE PROVINCES.
ADMINISTRATORS.
68.—
(1) In each province there shall be a chief executive officer
appointed by the Governor-General in Council, who shall be
styled the administrator of the province, and in whose name
all executive acts relating to provincial affairs therein
shall be done.
(2) In the appointment of the administrator of any province,
the Governor-General in Council shall, as far as practicable,
give preference to persons resident in such province.
(3) Such administrator shall hold office for a term of five
years and shall not be removed before the expiration thereof
except by the Governor-General in Council for cause assigned,
which shall be communicated by message to both Houses of
Parliament within one week after the removal, if Parliament be
then sitting, or, if Parliament be not sitting, then within
one week after the commencement of the next ensuing session.
(4) The Governor-General in Council may from time to time
appoint a deputy administrator to execute the office and
functions of the administrator during his absence, illness, or
other inability.
69. The salaries of the administrators shall be fixed and
provided by Parliament, and shall not be reduced during their
respective terms of office.
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PROVINCIAL COUNCILS.
70.—
(1) There shall be a provincial council in each province
consisting of the same number of members as are elected in the
province for the House of Assembly: Provided that, in any
province whose representatives in the House of Assembly shall
be less than twenty-five in number, the provincial council
shall consist of twenty-five members.
(2) Any person qualified to vote for the election of members
of the provincial council shall be qualified to be a member of
such council.
[Sections 71-77 are regulative of the elections, the terms
(three years), and the sittings of the Provincial Councils.
Sections 78-84 are creative of Executive Committees, for which
each Provincial Council shall elect "from among its members,
or otherwise," four persons, to be joined with the
administrator of the Province, the latter being chairman of
the Executive Committee thus constituted. This Committee, "on
behalf of the Provincial Council," being appointed to "carry
on the administration of provincial affairs," and, "subject to
the provisions of this Act," to be invested with "all powers,
authorities, and functions which at the establishment of the
Union are vested in or exercised by the Governor in Council,
or any minister of the Colony."]
POWERS OF PROVINCIAL COUNCILS.
85. Subject to the provisions of this Act and the assent of
the Governor-General in Council as hereinafter provided, the
provincial council may make ordinances in relation to matters
coming within the following classes of subjects (that is to
say):—
(i) Direct taxation within the province in order to raise a
revenue for provincial purposes:
(ii) The borrowing of money on the sole credit of the province
with the consent of the Governor-General in Council and in
accordance with regulations to be framed by Parliament:
(iii) Education, other than higher education, for a period of
five years and thereafter until Parliament otherwise provides:
(iv) Agriculture to the extent and subject to the conditions
to be defined by Parliament:
(v) The establishment, maintenance, and management of
hospitals and charitable institutions:
(vi) Municipal institutions, divisional councils, and other
local institutions of a similar nature:
(vii) Local works and undertakings within the province, other
than railways and harbours and other than such works as extend
beyond the borders of the province, and subject to the power
of Parliament to declare any work a national work and to
provide for its construction by arrangement with the
provincial council or otherwise:
(viii) Roads, outspans, ponts, and bridges, other than bridges
connecting two provinces:
(ix) Markets and pounds:
(x) Fish and game preservation:
(xi) The imposition of punishment by fine, penalty, or
imprisonment for enforcing any law or any ordinance of the
province made in relation to any matter coming within any of
the classes of subjects enumerated in this section:
(xii) Generally all matters which, in the opinion of the
Governor-General in Council, are of a merely local or private
nature in the province:
(xiii) All other subjects in respect of which Parliament shall
by any law delegate the power of making ordinances to the
provincial council.
[Sections 86-93 are regulative of the exercise of the powers
thus conferred.]
94. The seats of provincial government shall be—
For the Cape of Good Hope, Cape Town;
for Natal, Pietermaritzburg;
for the Transvaal, Pretoria;
for the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein.
VI.—THE SUPREME COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA.
95. There shall be a Supreme Court of South Africa consisting
of a Chief Justice of South Africa, the ordinary judges of
appeal, and the other judges of the several divisions of the
Supreme Court of South Africa in the provinces.
96. There shall be an Appellate Division of the Supreme Court
of South Africa, consisting of the Chief Justice of South
Africa, two ordinary judges of appeal, and two additional
judges of appeal. Such additional judges of appeal shall be
assigned by the Governor-General in Council to the Appellate
Division from any of the provincial or local divisions of the
Supreme Court of South Africa, but shall continue to perform
their duties as judges of their respective divisions when
their attendance is not required in the Appellate Division.
97. The Governor-General in Council may, during the absence,
illness, or other incapacity of the Chief Justice of South
Africa, or of any ordinary or additional judge of appeal,
appoint another judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa to
act temporarily as such chief justice, ordinary judge of
appeal, or additional judge of appeal, as the case may be.
98.—
(1) The several supreme courts of the Cape of Good Hope,
Natal, and the Transvaal, and the High Court of the Orange
River Colony shall, on the establishment of the Union, become
provincial divisions of the Supreme Court of South Africa
within their respective provinces, and shall each be presided
over by a judge-president.
[Further prescriptions on the same subject are contained in
this and the next section of the Act.]
100. The Chief Justice of South Africa, the ordinary judges of
appeal, and all other judges of the Supreme Court of South
Africa to be appointed after the establishment of the Union
shall be appointed by the Governor-General in Council, and
shall receive such remuneration as Parliament shall prescribe,
and their remuneration shall not be diminished during their
continuance in office.
101. The Chief Justice of South Africa and other judges of the
Supreme Court of South Africa shall not be removed from office
except by the Governor-General in Council on an address from
both Houses of Parliament in the same session praying for such
removal on the ground of misbehaviour or incapacity.
102. Upon any vacancy occurring in any division of the Supreme
Court of South Africa, other than the Appellate Division, the
Governor-General in Council may, in case he shall consider
that the number of judges of such court may with advantage to
the public interest be reduced, postpone filling the vacancy
until Parliament shall have determined whether such reduction
shall take place.
[Rules concerning the cases, civil and criminal, which may be
appealed from inferior courts to the Appellate Division, and
not to the Supreme Court, are laid down in sections 103-105.]
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106. There shall be no appeal from the Supreme Court of South
Africa or from any division thereof to the King in Council,
but nothing herein contained shall be construed to impair any
right which the King in Council may be pleased to exercise to
grant special leave to appeal from the Appellate Division to
the King in Council. Parliament may make laws limiting the
matters in respect of which such special leave may be asked,
but Bills containing any such limitation shall be reserved by
the Governor-General for the signification of His Majesty’s
pleasure: Provided that nothing in this section shall affect
any right of appeal to His Majesty in Council from any
judgment given by the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court
under or in virtue of the Colonial Courts of Admiralty Act,
1890.
107. The Chief Justice of South Africa and the ordinary judges
of appeal may, subject to the approval of the Governor-General
in Council, make rules for the conduct of the proceedings of
the Appellate Division and prescribing the time and manner of
making appeals thereto. Until such rules shall have been
promulgated, the rules in force in the Supreme Court of the
Cape of Good Hope at the establishment of the Union shall
mutatis mutandis apply.
[Other details concerning the rules and the sessions of the
several provincial and local divisions of the Supreme Court,
the execution of their writs and other processes, etc., are
set forth in sections 108-116.]
VII.—FINANCE AND RAILWAYS.
117. All revenues, from whatever source arising, over which
the several Colonies have at the establishment of the Union
power of appropriation, shall vest in the Governor-General in
Council. There shall be formed a Railway and Harbour Fund,
into which shall be paid all revenues raised or received by
the Governor-General in Council from the administration of the
railways, ports, and harbours, and such fund shall be
appropriated by Parliament to the purposes of the railways,
ports, and harbours in the manner prescribed by this Act.
There shall also be formed a Consolidated Revenue Fund, into
which shall be paid all other revenues raised or received by
the Governor-General in Council, and such fund shall be
appropriated by Parliament for the purposes of the Union in
the manner prescribed by this Act, and subject to the charges
imposed thereby.
[Sections 118-123 provide for a commission "to institute an
inquiry into the financial relations which should exist
between the Union and the provinces"; prescribe the division
to be made meantime of the Consolidated Revenue Fund; make the
interest of the public debts a first charge on that fund;
transfer to the Union all stocks, moneys, and securities, all
crown lands, public works, etc., and all rights in mines and
minerals that belonged to each of the colonies at the
establishment of the Union.]
124. The Union shall assume all debts and liabilities of the
Colonies existing at its establishment, subject,
notwithstanding any other provision contained in this Act, to
the conditions imposed by any law under which such debts or
liabilities were raised or incurred, and without prejudice to
any rights of security or priority in respect of the payment
of principal, interest, sinking fund, and other charges
conferred on the creditors of any of the Colonies, and may,
subject to such conditions and rights, convert, renew, or
consolidate such debts.
125. All ports, harbours, and railways belonging to the
several Colonies at the establishment of the Union shall from
the date thereof vest in the Governor-General in Council. No
railway for the conveyance of public traffic, and no port,
harbour, or similar work, shall be constructed without the
sanction of Parliament.
126. Subject to the authority of the Governor-General in
Council, the control and management of the railways, ports,
and harbours of the Union shall be exercised through a board
consisting of not more than three commissioners, who shall be
appointed by the Governor-General in Council, and a minister
of State, who shall be chairman. …
[Of the remaining sections of the Act (127-152) the following
are the more important or the more significant.]
133. In order to compensate Pietermaritzburg and Bloemfontein
for any loss sustained by them in the form of diminution of
prosperity or decreased rateable value by reason of their
ceasing to be the seats of government of their respective
colonies, there shall be paid from the Consolidated Revenue
Fund for a period not exceeding twenty-five years to the
municipal councils of such towns a grant of two per centum per
annum on their municipal debts, as existing on the
thirty-first day of January nineteen hundred and nine, and as
ascertained by the Controller and Auditor-General. The
Commission appointed under section one hundred and eighteen
shall, after due inquiry, report to the Governor-General in
Council what compensation should be paid to the municipal
councils of Cape Town and Pretoria for the losses, if any,
similarly sustained by them. Such compensation shall be paid
out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for a period not
exceeding twenty-five years, and shall not exceed one per
centum per annum on the respective municipal debts of such
towns as existing on the thirty-first January nineteen hundred
and nine, and as ascertained by the Controller and
Auditor-General.
134. The election of senators and of members of the executive
committees of the provincial councils as provided in this Act
shall, whenever such election is contested, be according to
the principle of proportional representation, each voter
having one transferable vote. The Governor-General in Council,
or, in the case of the first election of the Senate, the
Governor in Council of each of the Colonies, shall frame
regulations prescribing the method of voting and of
transferring and counting votes and the duties of returning
officers in connection therewith, and such regulations or any
amendments thereof after being duly promulgated shall have
full force and effect unless and until Parliament shall
otherwise provide.
136. There shall be free trade throughout the Union, but until
Parliament otherwise provides the duties of custom and of
excise leviable under the laws existing in any of the Colonies
at the establishment of the Union shall remain in force.
137. Both the English and Dutch languages shall be official
languages of the Union, and shall be treated on a footing of
equality, and possess and enjoy equal freedom, rights, and
privileges; all records, journals, and proceedings of
Parliament shall be kept in both languages, and all Bills,
Acts, and notices of general public importance or interest
issued by the Government of the Union shall be in both
languages.
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138. All persons who have been naturalised in any of the
Colonies shall be deemed to be naturalised throughout the
Union.
140. Subject to the provisions of the next succeeding section,
all officers of the public service of the Colonies shall at
the establishment of the Union become officers of the Union.
141.
(1) As soon as possible after the establishment of the Union,
the Governor-General in Council shall appoint a public service
commission to make recommendations for such reorganisation and
readjustment of the departments of the public service as may
be necessary. The commission shall also make recommendations
in regard to the assignment of officers to the several
provinces. …
142. After the establishment of the Union the Governor-General
in Council shall appoint a permanent public service commission
with such powers and duties relating to the appointment,
discipline, retirement, and superannuation of public officers
as Parliament shall determine.
143. Any officer of the public service of any of the Colonies
at the establishment of the Union who is not retained in the
service of the Union or assigned to that of a province shall
be entitled to receive such pension, gratuity, or other
compensation as he would have received in like circumstances
if the Union had not been established.
147. The control and administration of native affairs and of
matters specially or differentially affecting Asiastics
throughout the Union shall vest in the Governor-General in
Council, who shall exercise all special powers in regard to
native administration hitherto vested in the Governors of the
Colonies or exercised by them as supreme chiefs, and any lands
vested in the Governor or Governor and Executive Council of
any colony for the purpose of reserves for native locations
shall vest in the Governor-General in Council, who shall
exercise all special powers in relation to such reserves as
may hitherto have been exercisable by any such Governor or
Governor and Executive Council, and no lands set aside for the
occupation of natives which cannot at the establishment of the
Union be alienated except by an Act of the Colonial
Legislature shall be alienated or in any way diverted from the
purposes for which they are set apart except under the
authority of an Act of Parliament.
148.—
(1) All rights and obligations under any conventions or
agreements which are binding on any of the Colonies shall
devolve upon the Union at its establishment.
(2) The provisions of the railway agreement between the
Governments of the Transvaal, the Cape of Good Hope, and
Natal, dated the second of February, nineteen hundred and
nine, shall, as far as practicable, be given effect to by the
Government of the Union.
IX.—NEW PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES.
149. Parliament may alter the boundaries of any province,
divide a province into two or more provinces, or form a new
province out of provinces within the Union, on the petition of
the provincial council of every province whose boundaries are
affected thereby.
150. The King, with the advice of the Privy Council, may on
addresses from the Houses of Parliament of the Union admit
into the Union the territories administered by the British
South Africa Company on such terms and conditions as to
representation and otherwise in each case as are expressed in
the addresses and approved by the King, and the provisions of
any Order in Council in that behalf shall have effect as if
they had been enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland.
151. The King, with the advice of the Privy Council, may, on
addresses from the Houses of Parliament of the Union, transfer
to the Union the government of any territories, other than the
territories administered by the British South Africa Company,
belonging to or under the protection of His Majesty, and
inhabited wholly or in part by natives, and upon such transfer
the Governor-General in Council may undertake the government
of such territory upon the terms and conditions embodied in
the Schedule to this Act.
X.—AMENDMENT OF ACT.
152. Parliament may by law repeal or alter any of the
provisions of this Act: Provided that no provision thereof,
for the operation of which a definite period of time is
prescribed, shall during such period be repealed or altered:
And provided further that no repeal or alteration of the
provisions contained in this section, or in sections
thirty-three and thirty-four (until the number of members of
the House of Assembly has reached the limit therein
prescribed, or until a period of ten years has elapsed after
the establishment of the Union, whichever is the longer
period), or in sections thirty-five and one hundred and
thirty-seven, shall be valid unless the Bill embodying such
repeal or alteration shall be passed by both Houses of
Parliament sitting together, and at the third reading be
agreed to by not less than two-thirds of the total number of
members of both Houses. A Bill so passed at such joint sitting
shall be taken to have been duly passed by both Houses of
Parliament.
SCHEDULE.
1. After the transfer of the government of any territory
belonging to or under the protection of His Majesty, the
Governor-General in Council shall be the legislative
authority, and may by proclamation make laws for the peace,
order, and good government of such territory: Provided that
all such laws shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament
within seven days after the issue of the proclamation or, if
Parliament be not then sitting, within seven days after the
beginning of the next session, and shall be effectual unless
and until both Houses of Parliament shall by resolutions
passed in the same session request the Governor-General in
Council to repeal the same, in which case they shall be
repealed by proclamation.
2. The Prime Minister shall be charged with the administration
of any territory thus transferred, and he shall be advised in
the general conduct of such administration by a commission
consisting of not fewer than three members with a secretary,
to be appointed by the Governor-General in Council, who shall
take the instructions of the Prime Minister in conducting all
correspondence relating to the territories, and shall also
under the like control have custody of all official papers
relating to the territories.
{165}
3. The members of the commission shall be appointed by the
Governor-General in Council, and shall be entitled to hold
office for a period of ten years, but such period may be
extended to successive further terms of five years. …
14. It shall not be lawful to alienate any land in Basutoland
or any land forming part of the native reserves in the
Bechuanaland protectorate and Swaziland from the native tribes
inhabiting those territories.
15. The sale of intoxicating liquor to natives shall be
prohibited in the territories, and no provision giving
facilities for introducing, obtaining, or possessing such
liquor in any part of the territories less stringent than
those existing at the time of transfer shall be allowed.
16. The custom, where it exists, of holding pitsos or other
recognised forms of native assembly shall be maintained in the
territories.
17. No differential duties or imposts on the produce of the
territories shall be levied. The laws of the Union relating to
customs and excise shall be made to apply to the territories.
18. There shall be free intercourse for the inhabitants of the
territories with the rest of South Africa subject to the laws,
including the pass laws, of the Union.
19. Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, all revenues
derived from any territory shall be expended for and on behalf
of such territory. …
----------CONSTITUTION OF SOUTH AFRICA: End--------
----------CONSTITUTION OF TURKEY: Start--------
CONSTITUTION OF TURKEY.
The following is a synopsis of the Constitution promulgated
December 23, 1876, the first year of the reign of Abd-ul
Hamid, then soon withdrawn, and practically forgotten for
thirty-two years, but brought to light by the revolution of
1908 and promulgated anew, on the 24th of July in that
memorable year;
See, in this Volume,
TURKEY: A. D. 1908 (JULY-DECEMBER):
THE INDIVISIBILITY OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE.
The Sultan, the supreme Caliph of the Mussulmans and sovereign
of all Ottoman subjects, is irresponsible and inviolable. His
prerogatives are those of the constitutional sovereigns of the
West. The subjects of the empire are called, without
distinction, Ottomans. Individual liberty is inviolable, and
is guaranteed by the laws.
Islamism is the religion of the state, but the free exercise
of all recognized creeds is guaranteed, and the religious
privileges of the communities are maintained. No provision
investing the institutions of the state with a theocratic
character exists in the constitution.
The constitution establishes liberty of the press, the right
of petition to both chambers for all Ottomans, liberty of
education, and the equality of all Ottomans before the law.
They all enjoy the same rights, and have the same duties
toward the country. Ottoman subjects, without distinction of
religion, are admitted to the service of the state. Taxation
will be equally distributed; property is guaranteed, and the
domicile is declared inviolable. No person can be taken from
the jurisdiction of his natural judges.
The Council of Ministers will deliberate under the presidency
of the Grand-Vizier. Each minister is responsible for the
conduct of the affairs of his department. The Chamber of
Deputies may demand the impeachment of the ministers, and a
high court is instituted to try them. In the event of the
Chamber adopting a vote hostile to the ministry on any
important question, the Sultan will change the ministers or
dissolve the Chamber. The ministers are entitled to be present
at the sittings of both Chambers, and to take part in the
debates. Interpellations may be addressed to the ministers.
Public functionaries will be appointed in conformity with the
conditions fixed by law, and cannot be dismissed without legal
and sufficient cause. They are not discharged from
responsibility by any orders contrary to law which they may
receive from a superior.
The General Assembly of the Ottomans is composed of two
Chambers, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies, who will
meet on the 1st of November in each year, the session lasting
four months. A message from the Sultan will be sent to both
Chambers at the opening of each session. The members of both
Chambers are free with regard to their vote and in the
expression of their opinions. Electors are prohibited from
imposing binding engagements upon their representatives. The
initiative in proposing laws belongs in the first place to the
ministry, and next to the Chambers, in the form of
propositions. Laws must be first submitted to the Chamber of
Deputies, then to the Senate, and finally to the imperial
sanction. The Senate is composed of members nominated by the
Sultan and chosen from among the most eminent personages in
the country. The Senate votes the laws already passed by the
Chamber of Deputies, and returns to the latter, or rejects,
any provisions contrary to the constitution or to the
integrity or safety of the state. In the event of a
dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, the general election
shall be held and the new Chamber meet within six months from
the date of dissolution. The sittings of the Chamber of
Deputies are public. The deputies may not be arrested or
prosecuted during the session without authority from the
Chamber. The Chamber votes the laws article by article, and
the budget by chapters. There is to be one deputy for every
fifty thousand inhabitants, and the elections will be made by
secret ballot. A special law will determine the mode of
election. The mandate of a deputy will render him ineligible
for any public office, except for a ministry. Each legislature
will continue for a period of four years. The deputies will
receive 4,600 francs for every session, which will last from
November to March. The senators are appointed for life by the
Sultan, and will receive 2,300 francs monthly. Judges are
irremovable.
The sittings of the tribunals are public. The advocates
appearing for defendants are free. Sentences may be published.
No interference can be permitted in the administration of
justice. The jurisdiction of the tribunals will be exactly
defined. Any exceptional tribunals or commissions are
prohibited. The office of Public Prosecutor is created. The
High Court, which will try ministers, members of the Court of
Cassation, and other persons charged with the crime of _lese
Majeste_, or of conspiracy against the state, will be
composed of the most eminent judicial and administrative
functionaries.
No tax can be established or levied except by virtue of a law.
The budget will be voted at the commencement of each session,
and for a period of one year only. The final settlement of the
budget for the preceding year will be submitted to the Chamber
of Deputies in the form of a bill. The Court of Accounts will
send every year to the Chamber of Deputies a report upon the
state of public accounts, and will present to the Sultan,
quarterly, a statement showing the financial condition of the
country. The members of the Court of Accounts are irremovable.
No dismissal can take place except in consequence of a
resolution adopted by the Chamber of Deputies.
{166}
The provincial administration is based upon the broadest
system of decentralization. The Councils-General, which are
elective, will deliberate upon and control the affairs of the
province. Every canton will have a council, elected by each of
the different communities, for the management of its own
affairs. The communes will be administered by elective
municipal councils. Primary education is obligatory.
The interpretation of the laws belongs, according to their
nature, to the Court of Cassation, the Council of State, and
the Senate.
The constitution can only be modified on the initiative of the
ministry, or of either of the two Chambers, and by a vote of
both Chambers, passed by a majority of two-thirds. Such
modification must also be sanctioned by the Sultan.
_Appletons' Annual Cyclopaedia, 1876,
pages 773-774._
See amendments, in this Volume, under
TURKEY: A. D. 1909 (APRIL-DECEMBER).
----------CONSTITUTION OF TURKEY: End--------
CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES:
Proposed Income Tax Amendment.
See (in this Volume)
UNITED STATES: A. D. 1909 (JULY).
CONSTITUTION OF VENEZUELA, New.
See (in this Volume)
VENEZUELA: A. D. 1904.
CONSTITUTION, A World:
The Making of it in Process.
See (in this Volume)
WORLD MOVEMENTS.
CONSTITUTION ISLAND.
"In the Hudson River opposite West Point lies Constitution
Island. It is a wood-covered tract of nearly three hundred
acres, and for many years it has been coveted by the
authorities of the Military Academy and the War Department.
Its owner, Miss Anna Bartlett Warner, was always willing to
sell to the Government, but Congress could never be induced to
make the necessary appropriation for its purchase. Now Mrs.
Russell Sage has joined with Miss Warner in making a gift of
the island to the Nation, to be used as a part of the military
reservation at West Point."
_The Outlook,
September 19, 1908._
CONSTITUTION-MAKING, and Unmaking, in Servia.
See (in this Volume)
BALKAN AND DANUBIAN STATES: SERVIA.
CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRATS.
See (in this Volume)
RUSSIA: A. D. 1905-1907, and 1906 and 1907.
CONSULAR SERVICE, The Reform of the American.
See (in this Volume)
CIVIL SERVICE REFORM: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1906-1909.
CONSUMPTION.
See (in this Volume)
PUBLIC HEALTH: TUBERCULOSIS.
CONVICT LEASE SYSTEM:
Its abolition in Georgia.
See (in this Volume)
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY.
COOK, Frederick A.:
Claimant of North Pole discovery.
See (in this Volume)
POLAR EXPLORATION.
COOLEY, Dr. Harris R.:
Director of Charities and Corrections, Cleveland, Ohio.
See (in this Volume)
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY.
COÖPERATION, Industrial and Commercial.
See (in this Volume)
LABOR REMUNERATION.
COPENHAGEN: A. D. 1906.
Conference of the International Woman Suffrage Alliance.
See (in this Volume)
ELECTIVE FRANCHISE: WOMAN SUFFRAGE.
COPYRIGHT:
The new Law in the United States.
"To the general surprise, the new copyright bill slipped
through both houses of Congress yesterday [March 3, 1909]. It
consists of one complete and consistent copyright statute, in
sixty four sections. The term of copyright is lengthened. The
bill leaves the present first term of twenty-eight years
unchanged, but provides for a renewal term of twenty-eight
years instead of fourteen, thus making possible a period of
protection of fifty-six years from the publication of the
work. The bill also provides for the extension of subsisting
copyrights upon the same basis.
"Copyright may now be secured for all the ‘writings’ of an
author, using the constitutional expression. In enumerating
and classifying works protected by copyright, the bill is more
explicit than the present statutes, and adds the following new
designations: ‘Lectures, sermons, and addresses, prepared for
oral delivery’; ‘dramatico-musical compositions’; ‘plastic
works of a scientific or technical character’; ‘reproductions
of a work of art,’ and ‘ prints and pictorial illustrations,’
in lieu of ‘engravings,’ ‘cuts,’ and ‘chromos,’ and ‘works of
art’ instead of the present specific designations, ‘painting,’
‘drawings,’ ‘statue,’ and ‘statuary.’ Express provision is
made that compilations, abridgments, adaptations,
arrangements, dramatizations, or translations and works
republished with new matter shall be considered new works
subject to copyright.
"As regards a musical work, the bill provides, as does the
present law, that the author shall have the sole right to
perform the work publicly for profit, but adds the sole right
‘to make any arrangement or setting of it or of the melody of
it in any system of notation or any form of record from which
it may be read or reproduced.’ The composer’s control of the
reproduction of his music by mechanical instruments is
qualified as follows:
(a) to cover only music published and copyrighted after the
act goes into effect;
(b) not to include music by a foreign author or composer
unless the foreign state or nation of which he is a subject
grants to citizens of the United States similar rights;
(c) whenever the owner of a musical copyright has used or
permitted or acquiesced in the use of his work upon parts of
instruments serving to reproduce mechanically the musical
work, any other person may make similar use of the work upon
the payment of a royalty of two cents on each part
manufactured, notice to be filed in the copyright office of
such use or license to use by the copyright proprietor.
"American manufacture is required in the case of a book, not
only as regards type-setting in the United States, but ‘if the
text be produced by lithographic or photo-engraving process,
then by a process wholly performed within the limits of the
United States.’ The provision is also extended to
illustrations within a book, and to separate lithographs and
photo engravings, ‘except where in either case the subjects
represented are located in a foreign country.’ The printing
and binding of the book must also be performed within the
United States.
{167}
Photographs are released from the present requirement that
they ‘shall be printed from negatives made within the United
States or from transfers made therefrom.’ The ‘original text
of a book of foreign origin in a language or languages other
than English ’ is also excepted from the requirements of
type-setting in the United States. A new _ad interim_
protection is given books printed abroad in the English
language. If one complete copy of such book is deposited in the
copyright office not later than thirty days after publication
abroad, copyright is granted for a period of thirty days from
the date of receipt of the copy. If an authorized edition of
the book is produced from type set in the United States during
this second thirty days, the full term of copyright is
secured.
"The much discussed provisions prohibiting the importation of
copyrighted books are considerably modified. The importation
of piratical copies of any work copyrighted is prohibited, and
the importation of any books, '_although authorized by the
author or proprietor_,’ which have not been produced in
accordance with the manufacturing provisions, is prohibited.
The Act of 1891 permits importation of books in 'the case of
persons purchasing for use and not for sale, who import,
subject to the duty thereon, not more than _two_ copies
of such book at any one time.’ The new law permits
importation, ‘not more than _one_ copy at one time, for
individual use, and not for sale,’ and adds the proviso that
‘such privilege of importation shall not extend to a foreign
reprint of a book by an American author copyrighted in the
United States.’ The Act of 1891 allows importation in good
faith for the use of societies _incorporated_ or
established for educational, philosophical, literary, or
religious purposes, or for the encouragement of the fine arts,
or for any college, academy, school, or seminary of learning.
The new law confines the privilege to incorporated societies
or institutions, but adds scientific societies and ‘any State,
school, college, university, or free public library’; but
while the Act of 1891 permits ‘_two_ copies in any one
invoice’ to be so imported, the new law provides for ‘not more
than _one_ copy of any such book in one invoice’ when
‘for use and not for sale.’
"In the case of infringement, an injunction may issue, as now,
and damages be recovered as well as all the profits due to the
infringement."
_New York Evening Post,
March 4, 1909._
COPYRIGHT:
Pan-American Convention.
See (in this Volume)
AMERICAN REPUBLICS.
CORINTO, Treaty of.
See (in this Volume)
WAR, THE REVOLT AGAINST: A. D. 1902: CENTRAL AMERICA.
CORPORATE WRONGDOING:
Summary of recent Governmental Action against it in the
United States.
See (in this Volume)
COMBINATIONS, INDUSTRIAL: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1901-1906.
CORPORATION TAX, United States.
See (in this Volume)
TARIFFS: UNITED STATES.
CORPORATIONS:
Forbidden to contribute to Political Elections.
See (in this Volume)
UNITED STATES: A. D. 1907 (JANUARY).
CORPORATIONS AND THE PUBLIC.
See (in this Volume)
Combinations, Industrial, &c., and Railways.
CORPORATIONS, The Bureau of.
Its establishment in the Federal Administration
of the United States.
See (in this Volume)
UNITED STATES: A. D. 1903 (FEBRUARY).
CORRAL, Ramon:
Vice-President of Mexico.
See (in this Volume)
MEXICO A. D. 1904-1905.
CORREGAN, Charles Hunter:
Nominated for President of the United States.
See (in this Volume)
UNITED STATES: A. D. 1904 (MARCH-NOVEMBER).
CORTELYOU, George B.:
Secretary of Commerce and Labor and Secretary of the Treasury.
See (in this Volume)
UNITED STATES: A D. 1901-1905, and 1905-1909.
COST OF LIVING.
See (in this Volume)
LABOR REMUNERATION: WAGES, &c.
COSTA RICA.
See (in this Volume)
CENTRAL AMERICA.
COUNTRY LIFE COMMISSION, Report of the.
See (in this Volume)
UNITED STATES: A. D. 1908-1909 (AUGUST-FEBRUARY).
COURTS, Industrial, German.
See (in this Volume)
LABOR ORGANIZATION: GERMANY: A. D. 1905-1906.
COURTS OF LAW.
See (in this Volume)
LAW AND ITS COURTS.
COWPER-TEMPLEISM.
See (in this Volume)
EDUCATION: ENGLAND: A. D. 1906.
CREEK NATION, Alleged frauds on the.
See (in this Volume)
INDIANS, AMERICAN.
CREMER, William Randal:
Originator of the Inter-parliamentary Union.
See (in this Volume)
WAR, THE REVOLT AGAINST: A. D. 1904-1909;
also NOBEL PRIZES.
CRETE: A. D. 1905-1906.
Insurgent demand of Union with Greece.
Investigation of discontent by the Protecting Powers.
Resignation of the High Commissionership by Prince George.
Appointment of Zaimis.
A determined revolutionary movement to secure union with
Greece was set on foot in March, 1905. Remonstrance against it
by Prince George was unavailing, and the National Assembly,
newly elected on the 2d of April, gave support to the
insurgents, proclaiming the desired union of Crete with "her
mother Greece," and ordering the Greek flag to be raised over
the public buildings of the island. The government of Greece,
while declaring its sympathy with the feeling which the
movement expressed, could not give countenance to it, and
urged the insurgents to lav down their arms. The latter,
however, continued to hold the interior of the island and to
make attacks on the Mohammedan population, until the approach
of winter, when, on the 19th of November, they gave up their
arms. The four protecting Powers then appointed a commission
to investigate the grounds of discontent in the island, and
its report made in the following spring justified a good deal
of the Cretan complaint of arbitrary rule. In May a new
Assembly was elected, in which the Government won 78 seats,
the Opposition 36, and the Moslems were represented by 16. In
July a resolution in favor of annexation to Greece was voted
by acclamation in the Assembly, and its sittings were
suspended to await the decision of the Powers. The latter
announced a little later the intention to organize a
gendarmerie to take the place of foreign troops in the island;
and also to extend the operations of the Greek Finance
Commission to Crete. Prince George now expressed his
unwillingness to continue in the office of High Commissioner,
and, on the request of the Powers, the King of Greece
nominated M. Zaimis to succeed him. The nomination was
accepted, and Prince George withdrew from the island, after
issuing a farewell proclamation, September 25th. M. Zaimis
arrived and assumed office on the 14th of October, being
warmly received. He was understood to have the powers of a
Greek Viceroy, with a mission to prepare the island for
annexation to Greece.
{168}
"I should not like," said a writer in the summer of 1905, "to
speak too positively of Prince George’s mistakes; but I have
met no European who has lived in the island who had a good
word to say for his administration. On the one hand, he played
the despot. The local independent newspapers were destroyed,
and the right of public meeting withdrawn. Worst of all, the
mayors and prefects, who had originally been elected by the
inhabitants of their districts, were degraded to the position
of mere officials nominated by the Prince. At the same time,
he aspired to be a sort of party leader. Quite early in his
term of office he contrived to alienate the best men among the
leaders who had conducted the insurrection with so much
patience and wisdom. The President of the Provisional
Government, Dr. Sphakianakis, an extremely able and, what is
rarer, a wise and disinterested man, went into retirement when
the Prince arrived. …
"By the summer of last year, [1904] when the Prince cast
Professor Jannaris, a philologist of European reputation, into
Canea gaol, the rift between himself and his people had become
desperate. … It was now quite clear that no solution remained
save union with Greece. To Prince George it provided an
honorable and graceful path of retreat. He could retire and
bring with him in his withdrawal a great gift to the Greek
nation, and confer, at the same time, contentment on Crete. …
Prince George, accordingly, devoted the closing months of 1904
to a tour among the European courts. The Powers had never
intended to make him the permanent sovereign of Crete. His
mandate was only for three years, and it had already been
prolonged for a second term. He urged that the time had at
length arrived for a definite solution, which could only be a
union with Greece. But either his pleading was half-hearted or
the Powers were deaf. His term was once more extended, and he
was weak enough, or vain enough, to accept the dangerous
mission. He returned to Crete and reported his failure.
"What followed is recent history. For a month or two the
Cretans were passive, and then suddenly they rose in arms. A
sort of provisional government was established at Therisso, a
stronghold in the mountains, near enough to Canea to threaten
the Prince’s administration, far enough from the sea to be out
of range of the European war-ships. Dr. Sphakianakis and MM.
Venizelos and Foumis are at its head, and it soon received the
allegiance of the whole interior. Simultaneously, under very
strained conditions, a general election was held; and, though
the members were probably drawn for the most part from the
Prince’s party, the Chamber adopted the programme of the
insurgents and solemnly proclaimed the annexation of the
island to Greece. The Prince threatened, but he had no force
behind him; and he too could only reiterate his prayer that
Europe should assent to union. It is a whimsical display of
unanimity. In other lands, subjects rebel to emphasize some
difference of opinion with their rulers. The Cretans have
taken up arms to prove how violently they all agree."
_H. N. Brailsford,
The Future of Crete
(North American Review, August, 1905)._
CRETE: A. D. 1907-1909.
How and why the Cretans have been restrained by the
Four Protecting Powers.
In February, 1907, the Cretans framed and adopted a new
Constitution, providing for an Assembly of sixty-four
Deputies, elected every two years, and continuing the
executive office of High Commissioner, with a Council of
three. They were fully exercising all the rights of
independent self-government, under the protection of the four
Powers which still maintained the old "Concert," namely, Great
Britain, France, Russia, and Italy. The Turkish Government
touched them in no other way than through the theoretical,
intangible suzerainty which the Sultan claimed. But that
claim, acknowledged by their potent protectors, barred them
from annexation to the kingdom of their fellow Greeks, which
was their heart’s desire. If Turkey had continued in the
condition to which it had sunk when the Powers set them free
from all but a fiction of feudal law (see in Volume VI. of
this work, TURKEY: A. D. 1897-1899) there seems little doubt
that they would have won their wish in no long time, with the
help of those Powers; but the great change in Turkish
conditions which came about in 1908 was not favorable to
Cretan hopes.
To the Cretans, in October, 1908, the Turkish Revolution
appeared to have brought them the best of opportunities for
breaking the irksome thread of an unexercised Ottoman
sovereignty. Bulgaria snapped the thread; why should not they?
But Bulgaria had no responsible guardians to look after her
conduct; while Crete was, unfortunately at this juncture, the
ward of an international trust company, whose responsibilities
for her were made immeasurably more serious by the very
circumstances which invited her to an escapade. The
revolutionary undertaking of the Young Turks, to reform their
own nation, claimed the sympathy and good will of every
right-feeling government in the world. Great Britain, France,
and Italy, at least, could not afford to lay, or consent to
the laying, of a straw of difficulty in its way. A declaration
of Cretan independence and annexation to Greece, countenanced
by the Powers, would have raised excitements in Turkey more
than likely to wreck the reform movement in a catastrophe of
war, which might involve much larger fields than those that
lie between Turkey and Greece. The action of Bulgaria and that
of Austria in annexing Bosnia and Herzegovina had put a
dangerous strain on the situation; but neither of these had
tried Turkish feeling as it would have been tried if Crete and
Greece had been suffered to follow their example by the four
protecting Powers.
The attempt was made in Crete on the 12th of October, 1908,
when the Assembly voted union with Greece, and elected a
committee of six members to conduct the Government in the name
of the King of Greece, under Greek laws. The four Powers
intervened in a soothing way, agreeing to treat with the
Turkish Government on the subject, provided that order in the
island should be maintained and protection afforded to the
Mohammedan population. In the previous May they had decided to
withdraw the forces they were jointly keeping in Crete, and
had announced that their evacuation of the island should be
completed by the end of July, 1909.
{169}
When the time thus appointed drew near there was some anxiety
as to what might follow the withdrawal of troops; but the
Powers adhered to their agreement. Meantime the Turkish
Government was giving plain expression to its determination to
"maintain Ottoman rights in Crete." Early in July, 1909, the
intentions of the four Powers were made known by an
announcement to the French Chamber of Deputies from the
Foreign Minister of that Government. The international
contingents of troops, he stated, would be recalled by the
contemplated date of July 27; but four war ships
(stationnaires) would be sent, one by each Power, "to guard
the Ottoman flag and the flags of the four Powers, as well as
to ensure, in case of trouble, the protection of the
population. A declaration would be addressed to the people of
Crete promising, in particular, that the Powers will continue
to occupy themselves with the Cretan question in a benevolent
spirit, but adding that it is their duty to see that order is
maintained and the safety of the Mussulmans in Crete assured;
that with this object they reserve the right of adopting such
measures as may be expedient for the restoration of
tranquillity, in case disturbances should break out which the
local authorities were unable to quell. The declaration
addressed to the Cretans to be communicated to the Porte and a
declaration to be made at Constantinople, in order to give an
exact account of the spirit in which the foregoing measures
have been adopted."
This decision was communicated formally to the Greek and
Turkish governments a little later. The latter, in reply,
thanked the four Powers for their promise to safeguard Ottoman
interests in the island, but declared that it could not
tolerate "any extension of the privileges of the Cretans
beyond those guaranteed by their autonomy, least of all any
such extension as might give rise to the supposition that
Crete was in any way politically connected or dependent on the
Hellenic kingdom."
The attitude of the four Powers in their action was stated
very distinctly to the British House of Commons on the 22d of
July, by Sir Edward Grey, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, as
follows:
"The _status quo_ maintained in Crete is that Crete
remains in trust to the four Powers who hold the island in
trust, and continue to maintain the obligations of preserving
the supreme rights of Turkey. That is the _status quo_,
and to put any other interpretation upon it and say that it
means this or that, or that it amounts to virtual annexation,
is misleading and is not true. That is not intended. The
question of Crete has been exceedingly difficult, partly for
the very reasons which I have already named, that it was
raised at a time when the Turkish Government itself was
passing through a stage exceedingly difficult, but exceedingly
hopeful. What we have desired to do with regard to Crete is to
secure that nothing shall happen which will be damaging to the
prestige of the new _régime_ in Turkey, and by being
damaging to that prestige make the prospects of reform and of
the increasing welfare of Turkey less hopeful."
The last of the international contingents left Crete on the
26th of July; whereupon the Cretans ran up the Greek flag on
the fortress evacuated. Some days passed before the naval
_stationnaires_ of the four Powers arrived on the scene,
and Turkey opened a somewhat sharp correspondence with Greece.
The Powers intervened, assuming responsibility for conditions
in Crete, and asking that communications on the subject be
addressed to them. At the same time, the Cretans were
admonished to take down the Greek flag. As they did not do so,
sailors from the war ships were landed on the 18th of August,
who lowered the flag and cut the flag-staff down. Sixty were
left on guard to prevent further demonstrations of a
provocative kind. To the time of this writing (February 1,
1910) nothing has occurred since to disturb the quiet in
Crete. In November, however, the Turkish Government addressed
to the four Powers a request for a definite settlement of the
status of Crete. The reply, given on the 9th of December, was
as follows:
"The protecting Powers do not deem the moment opportune for
diplomatic negotiations tending to establish a definite
_régime_ in the island. The circumstances have not
changed since the date of evacuation of the island by the
international troops. Though infractions of the _status
quo_ had been committed, they were at once suppressed, and
if more serious infractions occurred the Powers would meet
them in accordance with the standpoint expressed in their
Notes of July last with regard to the supreme rights of the
Sultan. In present conditions negotiations on the Cretan
question might excite public opinion in Turkey and elsewhere,
and lead to dangerous complications."
----------CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY: Start--------
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY: THEIR PROBLEMS.
"Black Hand," The:
Sicilian Blackmail Terrorism brought to the United States.
"Toward the end of the last century the Sicilian gangs which
made their living by blackmail became aware that not a few
Italians who had left their home country as peasants had
acquired wealth across the Atlantic. Even the ordinary
workman, they learnt, who could gain only 40 cents a day in
Sicily, could make about four times that wage in New York.
Accordingly they hastened to exploit by their familiar methods
the rich field of the Italian colony in that city. It was not
long before the American police found themselves faced by an
elaborate machinery of crime far more ingenious and
complicated than anything with which they had previously had
to deal. The Black Hand, as the society called itself,
proceeded normally to extort what it wanted by frank demands
and threats, and it did not hesitate at kidnapping, outrage,
and murder when these means seemed necessary to its ends."
_New York Correspondent London Times,
March 16, 1909._
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY:
Cleveland’s Farm Colony.
"A City in the Life Saving Business" is the title given by Mr.
Frederick C. Howe to an article in _The Outlook_ of
January 18, 1908, descriptive of the Farm Colony which the
City of Cleveland, Ohio, has substituted for the old time
"work-house" or "penitentiary" for the detention and treatment
of its vagabonds and petty offenders.
{170}
The change has been wrought within the past seven years by the
City Director of Charities and Corrections, Dr. Harris R.
Cooley. The following facts of it are summarized from Mr.
Howe’s article:
The colony occupies the larger part of a 1900 acre farm, on
which some other institutions, such as a city infirmary, are
to be placed; but the ex-workhouse-prisoners are, so far, the
interesting occupants of the farm. They are prisoners with no
prison. They wear no convict garb, drag no ball and chain, are
surrounded by no wall or stockade, are watched by no armed
guards. They are working a quarry, making roads and sewers,
gathering stone, doing all descriptions of farm work, as free
in their movements as farm laborers who work for hire. And out
of hundreds on whom this treatment has been tried for nearly
seven years "only a handful," it is said, "have ever taken
advantage of their liberty. And it was the other prisoners who
were most incensed at their escape."
These unimprisoned prisoners are put on honor; they are
treated as men to whom society would like to do good. It gives
them a few weeks or months of healthful, honestly laborious
life, in the midst of wholesome and beautiful surroundings
(for the farm is nobly situated); and when they are dismissed
from it they do not go dispirited and weakened and marked with
a prison brand, as they would go from a workhouse, but
strengthened in body, helped to self-respect, and encouraged
to a change of life by the experience they have had. It is not
punishment they have received, but a revelation, in most
cases, of a better side of life than they had known. And this
treatment is proving its success.
There are classes for instruction, on various lines, at the
farm, and some come back, for evening study, after their
release. Two years ago one of the released colonists began the
formation of a Brotherhood among those who came out, to assist
their fellows and take care of them till they got a new
footing in the world; and no less than 427 had received that
helping hand of fellowship when Mr. Howe wrote his account.
The Brotherhood was then occupying a rented house, on the
furnishing of which it had expended over $2000, made up within
its own ranks.
Besides its Farm Colony, Cleveland has established another,
somewhat similar, farm for boys. This, called Boyville, is 285
acres in extent, and the young delinquents sent to it live in
cottages, named Washington Cottage, Lincoln Cottage, etc.,
each with a motherly woman in charge. They are kept in
attendance at a school pursuing the same studies as in the
city schools; their big playground affords them all kinds of
healthful sports. They have horses, cattle, goats and dogs to
take care of, and they are drilled in a fire company which is
expected to protect the property of Boyville.
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY:
The Convict Lease System:
Its abolition in Georgia.
During the Civil War the Penitentiary buildings of the State
of Georgia, at Milledgeville, were destroyed, and for many
years subsequently the prevailing conditions were not
favorable to their replacement. There grew up, in consequence,
an evil practice of working convicts in chain-gangs, leading
finally to the leasing of such gangs to contractors. A
frightful brutalizing of all concerned in the operation of the
vicious system—convicts, overseers, and lessees alike—is said
to have been the result, as it could hardly fail to be. Within
late years public attention, in Georgia and outside of the
State, was increasingly drawn to the treatment and condition
of the chain-gangs, by shocking stories of barbarity and
depravity; yet the evil was hard to reform, because of the
profit which the State derived from the hire of its criminals.
Years of agitation and exertion by right-minded people in
Georgia were required to overcome the sordid influence of this
fact, and it was not until September, 1908, that the
Legislature, called in special session by Governor Hoke Smith
to deal with the question, passed an Act which brought the
lease system to an end on the 31st of March, 1909. Provision
was made at this important session for an establishment of
State farms on which convicts can be employed; for introducing
a parole system into the penological policy of the State, and
for the institution of juvenile courts. The legislative
session was a memorable one.
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY:
English Court of Criminal Appeal.
See (in this Volume)
LAW AND ITS COURTS: ENGLAND.
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY:
The English Prevention of Corruption Act.
The object of the English Prevention of Corruption Act, passed
in 1906, is to check the practice of giving and taking secret
commissions, which, as the late Lord Russell of Killowen
caused the country to realize, was widely prevalent in
commercial and professional circles, as well as in the humbler
sphere of the "servants’ hall." Before the passing of the Act,
of course, it was illegal to give and receive secret
commissions. After the Act came into force, it became
criminal. The provisions of the measure make it a
misdemeanour, punishable, on summary conviction or on
indictment, with fine or imprisonment—
(1) For any agent corruptly to receive any gift or
consideration for doing or not doing any act, or showing or
not showing favour or disfavour, in relation to his
principal’s affairs;
(2) For any person corruptly to offer such gift or
consideration to any agent;
(3) For any person to give to an agent, or for any agent to
use, any false or defective receipt or other business document
with intent to deceive the principal.
Two years after the Act came into force its effects were
discussed by a writer in the London _Times_, who said:
‘The circumstances that the fiat of the Attorney-General must
be obtained before any prosecution can be instituted under the
Act, and that, until recently, there was no organization
qualified to take active steps to prevent the Act from
becoming a dead letter, account for the comparatively small
number of cases in which proceedings have been taken under the
Act during the past two years. Fifteen prosecutions have been
authorized by the Attorney-General. In 12 cases there have
been convictions, one case has been abandoned, and two are
still pending. These figures show, at any rate, that
prosecutions are not lightly instituted, and that the charges
which have been preferred against offenders have been, as a
rule, well founded.
{171}
"It is undoubtedly true, in this matter as in others, that
‘everybody’s business is nobody’s.’ Soon after the passing of
the Act it was realized that, if it was to prove effective
‘for the better prevention of corruption,’ some organization
must be formed to give effect to the measure—to furnish
information in respect to its provisions, to investigate
complaints, and, if necessary, to institute prosecutions. A
society was formed, therefore, with the title of ‘The Secret
Commissions and Bribery Prevention League,’ to work on lines
similar to those of the societies which strengthen the arm of
the law so effectively in respect of cruelty to children and
cruelty to animals. … The committee has investigated a large
number of cases which have been brought to their knowledge,
they have given advice freely to members and others interested
in the working of the Act, they have issued thousands of
circulars and letters, as well as occasional ‘news sheets,’
they have made representations to the War Office and other
public bodies as opportunities occurred, and have summoned
various trade conferences for the consideration of points of
importance arising out of the Act. The value of the League’s
work is emphasized by the fact that the members include many
important limited liability companies and trade associations,
and that the League is becoming in a special sense
representative of the commercial community as a whole."
CRIME AND CRIMINOLOGY:
Indeterminate Sentence and
the Parole System of New York State.
The first provision in New York for indeterminate sentences
was by Section 74, Chapter 382 of the Laws of 1889, as
follows: "Whenever any male person over sixteen years of age,
shall be convicted of a felony which is punishable by
imprisonment in a State prison, for a term to be fixed within
certain limits by the court pronouncing sentence, the court
authorized to pronounce judgment upon such offender, instead
of pronouncing upon such offender a definite sentence of
imprisonment in a State prison for a fixed term, may pronounce
upon such offender an indeterminate sentence of imprisonment
in a State prison for a term with minimum and maximum limits
only specified, without fixing a definite term of sentence
within such limits named in the sentence, but the maximum
limit so specified in the sentence shall not exceed the
longest period for which such offender might have been
sentenced, and the minimum limit in said sentence specified
shall not be less than the shortest term for which such
offender might have been sentenced. The maximum term specified
in such indeterminate sentence shall be limited in the same
manner as a definite sentence in compliance with the
provisions of section six hundred and ninety-seven of the
Penal Code."
A Parole Board was constituted under this Act, composed of the
Superintendent of Prisons and the chief officers of the four
State Prisons.
"It will be noted that this law permitted the indeterminate
but did not abolish the definite sentence. Its provisions
applied to all classes of male felons over sixteen years of
age. No distinction was made between the first offenders and
the professional and persistent criminals. The court in its
discretion could impose either form of sentence on any
convicted male felon provided he was more than sixteen years
old. How general the preference of the judges was for the
definite sentence is shown by the fact that during the twelve
years that this law was in force approximately 13,000
prisoners were received at the prisons, only 115 of whom had
indeterminate terms. …
"As there were but 60 men paroled during the life of this
statute (1889 to 1901), there was naturally but slight
progress made during that period toward organizing,
systematizing and perfecting the parole system; but some
experience was gained and data secured that has since been
useful. …
"The Legislature of 1901 passed two important and effective
laws relative to the parole of prisoners which became
operative September 1, 1901. The first amended Section 74 of