The Inner History of the National Convention of South Africa (with a Memorandum by Mr. Gys. R. Hofmeyr, one of the Secretaries to the Convention)¶
Walton, Edgar H.; Hofmeyr, Gys R. (1912). The Inner History of the National Convention of South Africa (with a Memorandum by Mr. Gys. R. Hofmeyr, one of the Secretaries to the Convention). T. Maskew Miller, Cape Town and Pretoria; Longmans, Green & Co., London.
| Type | book |
| Scope | Economics and economic history of apartheid |
| Method | archival narrative |
| Period studied | 1859–1910 |
| Regions | Cape Colony, Natal, Transvaal, Orange River Colony/Free State, Rhodesia, Basutoland, Bechuanaland and Swaziland (High Commission territories), Mozambique (Delagoa Bay) |
| Themes | origins segregation, politics ideology elections, business and state, macro fiscal finance debt, mining migrant labour, resistance social movements, comparative theory |
| Citation key | walton1912 |
Argument¶
A Cape delegate and participant gives a narrative account of the 1908-09 National Convention that framed the South Africa Act. Union is presented as the outcome of customs, railway and financial rivalry between the four colonies, which failed at the 1908 Pretoria conference. Walton traces the compromises the delegates made: unitary rather than federal union, English-Dutch language equality, a white-only Parliament with the Cape franchise entrenched, weighted provincial representation, a divided capital, Union-controlled railways and finances, and deferral of native policy and the Protectorates. The book is a record of white elite bargaining in which the 'native question' was repeatedly postponed or subordinated to white unity. Hofmeyr's appended memorandum vouches for general accuracy and asks that more of the speeches be recorded and that some passages be toned down or cut.
Evidence and method¶
Walton's own notes and memory of the Convention's closed sittings (no verbatim record of speeches was kept), the official minutes, delegates' resolutions and amendments, Lord Selborne's 1907 despatch and Cape ministers' minute, Rhodes's notes on federation, a statistical comparison of the colonies' finances compiled for the Convention, and the text of the South Africa Act 1909 and schedule with a subject index. Hofmeyr's memorandum adds a Secretary's recollection and corrections.
Place in the debates¶
- Federation vs. unification of the South African colonies (see Pre-Union colonial economy, the mineral revolution and the South African War). Walton, a committed unificationist, argues that union was the only solution to the customs, railway and financial rivalries and that federation had already failed. He records that the Natal federalists lost the vote and then tried to win 'practical federation under a nominal union' through provincial powers.
- Native/Coloured franchise and the 'native question' in Union (see Pre-Union colonial economy, the mineral revolution and the South African War). The account shows the Convention choosing white political unity over a non-racial franchise. The Cape vote was safeguarded by a two-thirds entrenchment, but non-whites were barred from Parliament and a uniform franchise was shelved. Walton presents this as a necessary compromise, noting that the right to sit 'had never been exercised'.
- Railways as a revenue instrument vs. 'business principles' (inland vs. coastal interests) (see Pre-Union colonial economy, the mineral revolution and the South African War). The Convention sided with the inland (Transvaal and Free State) view that railways should be run at cost and not as a taxing department. Walton reports this as a decision that was considered experimental.
- Role of mining capital and Transvaal wealth in the politics of union (see Pre-Union colonial economy, the mineral revolution and the South African War). Walton records Cape and Natal fears that gold would dominate Union, and Transvaal fears of exploitation. He treats Transvaal financial strength and its dependence on mine labour (the Portuguese treaty) as bargaining chips in the Convention.
Findings¶
- The Convention arose directly from the failure of customs and railway negotiations among the colonies, fears of inter-colonial conflict being explicit. (p. 24)
-
Lord Selborne's despatch cast the colonies' competing railway and tariff systems as a source of potential war, to be removed by union. (p. 22)
It is not an exaggeration to say that a field more thickly sown with the seed of future quarrel and strife than the railway systems of South Africa does not exist
-
Botha made Transvaal entry into Union conditional on the gold industry being trusted to a common parliament, and pointed to a customs war as the alternative. (p. 80)
Yet he was there to say that the Gold Mining Industry as well ,as ,all the other assets of the Transvaal would be put into the common pot.
-
Botha and de Wet told the Convention that a native franchise clause would sink Union in the northern colonies, so it was removed from the draft. (p. 138)
not five per cent. of the electors of the Orange River Colony would support Union.
-
The franchise settlement entrenched Cape non-white voting rights behind a two-thirds majority of both Houses but excluded non-whites from Parliament. (p. 155)
The Cape had to give up the right of coloured\ men to sit in ,Parliament and though the dele-gates knew there would be protests against this sacrifice
-
The Convention resolved that the Union should take over railway finances, separating them from general revenue and running them at cost under a commission, which was an inland victory over the earlier practice of using railway surpluses as revenue. (p. 249)
At the same time it was understood clearly that the principle advocated by the Northern delegates had been accepted definitely and that so far as the Convention was concerned the deci-sion was :final.
-
The Transvaal-Delagoa Bay traffic split agreed alongside the Portuguese treaty allocated railway traffic among ports. (p. 260)
Delagoa Bay 50 per cent., Natal 30 per cent. and the Cape ports 20 per cent.
-
Seats in the House of Assembly were allocated to the provinces on a white male adult basis adjusted by political compromise, with Natal over-represented. (p. 179)
if Natal secured fifty per cent more representa-tion than it was entitled to still there is no question that without this inducement it would have been difficult to carry the Constitution
-
Native Affairs and the High Commission Territories were centralised in the Governor-General in Council, with the transfer of the Protectorates deferred and subject to imperial safeguards. (p. 302)
the Union took over s11:ch, native territories only as had already been incorporated into the respective Colonies and that the remainder continued to be administered by the Imperial authorities.
Evidence ledger¶
Sources used¶
| Source | Kind | Period | How used |
|---|---|---|---|
| Author's personal notes taken during the National Convention sittings (1908-09) | other | October 1908 – May 1909 | Sole basis for the reconstructed speeches and debates of the secret Convention, supplemented by memory. |
| Official Minutes of the National Convention | commission or official report | 1908-1909 | Record of resolutions, amendments and divisions, used as the skeleton that Walton's notes amplify and referred to for detail. |
| Rhodes's manuscript notes on federation | other | c. 1890s-1902 | Quoted to show Rhodes favoured federation with local control of land, minerals, labour, railways and defence federal. |
| Cape Ministers' Minute, November 1906, and Lord Selborne's despatch of 7 January 1907 | commission or official report | 1906-1907 | Establishes that railway and customs rivalry between colonies drove the push toward union. |
| Transvaal Ministry's minute acknowledging Lord Selborne's despatch | commission or official report | 1907 | Evidence of Transvaal interest in incorporating Portuguese East Africa. |
| Cape House of Assembly debate, 23 July 1907 (Malan motion on union) | parliamentary debates | 1907 | Shows non-party consensus at the Cape for exploring union. |
| Pretoria Customs and Railway Conference resolutions, May 1908 | commission or official report | May 1908 | Resolutions A-F establishing the Convention's composition and voting. |
| Convention statistical committee's compiled 'book of figures' and comparative summary tables (1908) | official statistical series | Census 1904; debt to June 1908; revenue/expenditure 1908-09; trade 1907 | Summarised in a comparative table of population, public debt, revenue, expenditure, railway profit and trade for the four colonies. |
| 1904 Census of European (white) population and voters' roll figures | population census | 1904 | Used to compare white population with voters and to compute parliamentary seat allocations and the male-adult quota. |
| South Africa Act 1909 and Draft Constitution (precis) | legislation gazette | 1909 | Reproduced in the appendix; the outcome of the debates. |
| Lord Selborne's suggestion for native franchise (High Commissioner proposal) | commission or official report | 1908 | Presented the civilisation qualification with graduated fractional votes before the Convention committee. |
| Report of the Native Affairs Commission (suggestion of native representatives) | commission or official report | c. 1903-05 | Cited by delegates for separate native representation. |
| Petitions on Women's Franchise submitted to the Convention | other | 1908-09 | Signature counts for and against women's suffrage used to infer that most women opposed it. |
| Cape Town Branch of the Afrikaner Bond criticism of the Draft Act; Cape, Natal, Transvaal and ORC parliamentary responses | newspapers periodicals | February–May 1909 | Reconstructs public reaction and the amendments requested. |
| Memorandum by G. R. Hofmeyr, Secretary to the Convention | other | 1911-12 | Insider verification of the accuracy of Walton's record, noting omissions and insertions, based on memory. |
Inference¶
Quantification: Descriptive tables.
Narrative insider reconstruction of secret Convention debates from the author's notes and memory, supplemented by the official minutes, quoted state papers and a few summary statistical tables; claims about motives and outcomes rest on recorded speeches and votes, with no systematic analysis.
Key claims¶
| Claim | Basis | Strength |
|---|---|---|
| The Convention arose from the failure of the colonies to agree on customs tariffs and railway rates at the 1908 Pretoria conference, i.e. economic rivalry drove political union. (p. 26) | Cape Minute of 1906, Selborne despatch of 1907 and the Governor's Speech, all quoted. | Partial data |
| Delegates adopted legislative union over federation by a large majority, partly for cost reasons and to avoid trade rivalry. (p. 96) | Author's notes of speeches, supported by Australian cost figures cited by Jagger and the vote of the Convention. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
| The native franchise could not be extended to the Union because Transvaal and Free State leaders said their electorates would reject union; the result was a compromise protecting Cape black and coloured voters while confining Parliament to Europeans. (p. 155) | Recorded speeches of Botha, de Wet and Smuts, committee reports and division votes (24 to 6). | Illustrative or anecdotal |
| Seat allocation was settled by political bargaining, giving Natal and the ORC more seats than a white male adult basis would, against the Transvaal's voters' basis. (p. 179) | 1904 census-based white population/voter figures and the committee's computed seat tables. | Partial data |
| Railways were to be run on 'business principles' favouring cheap inland transport, reflecting the northern colonies' victory over using railway profits as general revenue; the Transvaal's financial strength shaped Union finance. (p. 249) | Description of colonial revenue arrangements and committee reports; comparative revenue/debt tables. | Partial data |
| The Cape had suffered post-war financial depression while the Transvaal ran surpluses from railways, customs and the gold profits tax, which shaped fears and bargaining over union. (p. 232) | Author's general narrative; no specific tables cited beyond summary statistics. | Asserted |
| The capital was divided (Pretoria executive, Cape Town legislature) as a compromise after deadlock between Cape and Transvaal delegates with Free State holding the balance. (p. 282) | Author's notes and official minutes of motions and committee reports. | Illustrative or anecdotal |
The author's caveats¶
Walton states that no records of speeches exist, that the account rests on his own notes and memory, and that the book cannot claim the character of newspaper reports. Hofmeyr's memorandum warns that the record is far from full, may include later insertions, and that delegates might wish to alter speeches.
Gaps in the evidence¶
The speeches rest on one delegate's recollection, so statements of motive and economic interest cannot be tested independently; the official minutes record only motions and divisions. The unpublished 'book of figures' of colonial finances, trade and population, and the colonial Hansards, Chamber of Mines and commercial-congress material, would permit checking the economic claims about railways, customs and mining interests. The colonial blue books and 1904 census exist in archives and are available today.
Replicability: Data poorly documented.