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By  Ralph  Kilpin. 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


THE  OLD  CAPE  HOUSE 


'first,  an'  it  like  you,  the 
house  is  a  respected  house.' 

Measure  for  Measure 
Act  II.       :     Scene   1. 


RT.    HON.   J.   X.   MERRIMAN.   P.C.,    L.L.D.   (b.  1841) 

Member  of  the  old  Cape  House  from  1869  to  '910.  He 
served  in  five  out  of  the  twelve  Cape  Ministries  and  was 
Prime  Minister  at  the  date  of  Union. 


photograph  hy  E.  Peters  ("  Hood's  St 


")    Captr  Town. 


The  Old  Cape  House 

Being  pages  from  the 
History  of  a  Legislative 
Assembly.  5*  3*  *?  & 

By  Ralph  Kilpin, 

Second  Clerk- Assist  ant  of  the 
Union  House  of  Assembly. 

with  a  foreword  by 
TheRt.HonJ.X.Merriman,PC.,LLD.,M.LA. 


CAPE  TOWN:  T.  M  ASKEW  MILLER 


TO  THE  MEMORY  OF 
Tbe, 

FOUNDERS  OF  THE 
OLD  CAPE  HOUSE 

THIS  BOOK  IS  DEDICATED. 


.-*  .«';• '  M 
-.  ^ .».  j  fc  «.^ 


FOREWORD. 

BY  THE  RT.  HON.  J.  X.  MERRIMAN, 

P.C.,  LL.D.,  M.L.A. 

AS  one  who  has  for  fifty  years  occupied  a  seat 
as  a  Member,  first  of  the  Parliament  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  then  of  the  Parlia- 
ment of  the  Union  of  South  Africa,  I  hail  with  pleasure 
Mr.  Kilpin's  attempt  to  give  a  connected  sketch  of 
the  history  of  the  body  that  was  the  founder  of  all 
legislative  traditions  in  South  Africa. 

Parliamentary  history  began  in  1854  at,  or  shortly 
after,  the  time  when  the  wisdom  of  Lord  Elgin  and 
of  the  Whig  statesmen  of  Early  Victorian  days  hit  upon 
the  most  successful  experiment  in  the  government 
of  dependencies,  by  entrusting  to  the  people  the 
management  of  their  own  affairs,  the  disposal  of  their 
own  Crown  lands  and  the  responsibility  for  their  owrn 
financial  vagaries. 

In  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope  for  the  first  period  these 
gifts  were  circumscribed  by  an  Executive  appointed 
by  and  responsible  to  the  mother  country.  This  regime 
lasted  from  1854  to  1872.  It  was  a  period  of  profound 
peace  and  of  great  educational  value. 


viii  FOREWORD. 

Speaking  generally,  the  representative  assembly  was 
hostile  to,  and  jealous  of,  the  appointed  Executive.  In 
consequence  there  was  a  far  more  rigid  scrutiny  of 
the  finances  and  a  greater  reluctance  to  incur  loans 
than  has  been  manifested  under  the  boon  of  party 
government,  when  power  and  place  depend  upon 
placating  the  electorate.  But  whether  this  is  post  hoc 
or  prop/er  hoc  it  is  not  for  me  to  say. 

In  1872  the  full  benefits  of  cabinet,  with  party, 
government  was  granted.  In  judging  of  the  results 
three  points  may  be  noted  :  Great  Britain  was  slowly 
emerging  from  the  cold  fit,  when  eminent  statesmen 
could  talk  of  '"those  horrid  colonies";  the  era  of 
Lord  Carnarvon's  federation  proposals  which  led  up 
to  the  annexation  of  the  Transvaal  ;  the  appointment 
of  Sir  Bartle  Frere — that  unflinching  advocate  of  a 
forward  policy  both  in  territorial  extension  and  in 
native  affairs — which  paved  the  way  not  only  for  the 
era  of  native  wars  which  lasted  till  1883,  but  for  the 
genesis  of  anti-British  feeling  of  which  perhaps  the 
end  is  not  yet  in  sight.  The  cold  fit  in  Great  Britain 
has  been  succeeded,  with  a  brief  interval  of  lower 
temperature,  during  the  term  of  office  of  Lord  Derby, 
to  which  we  owe  the  presence  of  Germany  on  our 
borders,  by  the  flamboyant  imperialism  of  Mr.  Joseph 
Chamberlain  and  the  succession  of  dire  events  which 
\vere  moderated,  but  not  terminated,  by  the  odyssey 
of  that  distinguished  pilgrim  to  the  illimitable  veld. 


FOREWORD.  ix 


In  1872,  or  thereabouts,  the  British  moneylender 
discovered  the  colonies  and  began  to  oblige  them  with 
capital  on  easy  terms,  which  created  a  more  or  less 
fictitious  prosperity  and  shed  a  lustre  over  the  period, 
while  it  has  piled  up  burdens  for  which  a  grateful 
posterity  will  no  doubt  rise  up  and  call  them  blessed. 

In  1872  the  noble  and  distinguished  order  of  St. 
Michael  and  St.  George  burgeoned  forth  for  the  grati- 
fication of  colonial  statesmen  and  those  whom  they 
delight  to  honour,  until  the  dominions  are  adorned 
with  a  twinkling  splendour  and  one  star  calleth 
another  to  promote  the  true  imperial  feeling. 

In  all  these  movements  the  Cape  Parliament  has 
borne  a  not  undistinguished  part,  verifying  the 
predictions  of  that  astute  statesman,  Lord  Elgin. 
Synchronising  as  it  did  with  the  discovery  of  the 
Diamond  Fields,  the  new  Government  in  the  Cape, 
under  the  prudent  guidance  of  Mr.  Molteno,  felt  itself 
justified  in  entering  on  a  large  project  of  railway 
communication,  which  has  been  continued  and  expanded 
until  the  line  which  in  1872  had  its  terminus  at 
Wellington,  some  fifty  miles  from  Table  Mountain, 
has  reached  the  Congo  and  ramified  over  the  whole 
sub-continent,  making  possible  the  vast  expansion  of 
enterprise  and  trade  which  have  made  South  Africa 
the  treasure  house  of  the  world.  Some  day  tardy 
justice  will  be  done  to  the  first  Premier  under  responsible 
government  in  South  Africa,  who,  by  the  confidence 


FOREWORD. 


that  he  inspired,  both  in  the  commercial  classes  and 
the  conservative  land-holders,  enabled  the  first  not 
inconsiderable  steps  to  be  taken  in  railway  construction, 
and,  by  so  doing,  laid  the  substantial  foundation  of 
the  successful  enterprise  that  adds  so  much  to  our 
prosperity. 

Possibly,  however,  the  most  distinguishing  mark 
of  the  Cape  Parliament  in  its  second  period  was  the 
appearance  of  Cecil  Rhodes,  and  the  opportunity  that 
it  gave  him  for  putting  into  practice  that  discovery  of 
the  practical  application  of  vast  wealth  to  political  ends, 
which  for  good  or  evil  is  destined  in  the  hands  of 
imitators  to  go  far. 

That  great  man  always  said  that  South  Africa  was 
the  most  interesting  part  of  the  British  Dominions,  and 
certainly  he  did  his  fair  share  in  verifying  the  truth  of 
his  obiter  dictum. 

On  the  whole  the  Cape  Parliament  did  not  play  an 
unworthy  part.  It  was  always  decorous  to  the  verge 
of  dulness,  and  if,  in  its  inordinate  love  for  legislation, 
and  its  fondness  for  shuffling  off  awkward  questions 
to  the  interminable  investigation  of  commissions,  it 
displayed  a  somewhat  laissez  alter  indifference  to  its 
duties  as  a  check  upon  administration,  in  these  respects 
it  was  no  worse  than  similar  bodies  elsewhere. 

In  the  Cape,  as  in  other  Parliamentary  countries, 
the  Caucus,  the  Machine,  the  Press  and  the  Platform 
came  as  rival  forces,  and,  as  their  influence  and  power 


FOREWORD.  xi 


waxed,  those  of  Parliament  waned.  But  it  merged  its 
existence  in  that  of  the  Union  before  the  lamentable 
example  of  the  British  Parliament  had  made  it  clear 
that  some  radical  change  is  wanted  if  Parliaments  in 
future  are  to  retain  their  position  in  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  free  peoples. 

If  one  had  to  choose  an  epitaph  for  the  Cape  Parlia- 
ment now  merged  in  the  Union  splendour,  perhaps  it 
would  not  be  inappropriate  to  write  the  hackneyed 

lines — 

"  Beneath  the  good  how  far, 

How  far  above  the  great." 
R.I.P. 


Introductory  Note. 


Old  Cape  House  is  not  offered  to  the  public  as  a 
manual  of  procedure  or  as  a  political  treatise.  The  desire  of 
the  writer  having  been  rather  to  interest  than  to  inform,  it  has 
been  his  endeavour  to  keep  his  reader  and  himself  well  in  touch 
with  the  customary  atmosphere  of  the  House,  without  losing 
sight  of  its  honourable  traditions,  or  unnecessarily  obtruding  its 
official  and  technical  elements. 

In  the  form  of  articles  ^Uhe  Old  Cape  House  first  appeared 
m  "TT/ie  Cape  ^,4rgus  and  "TT/ie  Cape  ^imes,  and  by  the  kind 
permission  of  the  Editors  of  those  journals  they  are  now  re- 
printed with  some  additions  which  seemed  to  be  called  for,  as 
well  as  with  annexures  containing  facts  and  figures  which  may 
be  useful  to  readers  who  take  more  than  a  passing  interest  in 
the  Parliamentary  history  of  this  country. 

Thanks  are  due  to  many  friends,  who  have  supplied  inform- 
ation and  illustrations;  to  members  of  Parliament  for  their 
encouragement — especially  to  the  "Father  of  the  House"  who 
writes  the  Foreword ;  and  to  my  father  (who  sat  for  thirty 
years  at  the  Table)  for  permission  to  make  use  of  his  note- 
books and  his  Cape  Cioil  Service  List. 


R    K 


House  of  Assembly, 
Cape  Town 

llth   Mav,    1918. 


Table  of  Contents. 


PAGE 

FOREWORD  BY  THE  RT.  HON.  J.  X.  MERRIMAN,  P.C.,  LL.D., 

M.L.A.         . .         . .          . .        . .        . .         . .       . .     vii 

INTRODUCTORY  NOTE  xiii 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  CAPE  CONSTITUTION  (1795-1872) 
THE  OLD  CAPE  HOUSE  : 

I.  In  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge  0 854- 1 884)  ..        25 

II.  The  Building  of  the  "  New  "  Houses  of  Parliament   .  .        53 

III.   In  the  "New"  Houses  of  Parliament  (1885-1910)   ..        61 

THE  SPEAKERS  OF  THE  CAPE  HOUSE  .- 

I.  The  Hon.  Sir  Christoffel  Brand,   Kt.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D. 

(1854-1874) 97 

II.  The  Hon.  Sir  David  Tennant,  K.C.M.G.  (1874-1896)     115 

III.  The    Hon.    Sir    Henry   Juta,    Kt.,   K.C.,  B.A.,    LL.B. 

(1896-1898) 131 

IV.  The  Hon.  Sir  Wm.  Bisset  Berry,  Kt.,  M.A.,  M.D.,  LL.D., 

(1898-1908)  145 

V.  The  Hon.  Sir  James  Molteno,  Kt.,  K.C.,  B.A.,  LL.B. 

(1908-1910) 159 

ANNEXURES : 

A.  Executive  Councillors,    1854-1872  ..  ..169 

B.  Cape  Ministries,    1872-1910  170 

C.  Members'  Length  of  Service        ..          ..          ..          ..175 

D.  Additional  Representation  Acts    ..          ..          ..          ..176 

E.  Constitution  Ordinance  Amendment  Acts,   1854-1910..      177 

F.  Duration    of    Sessions    and    Payment    of    Members, 

1854-1910       ..         ..     ' 181 

G.  Parliaments  and  Sessions.   1854-1910 182 

INDEX  187 


List  of  Illustrations. 


RT.  HON.  J.  X.  MERRIMAN Frontispiece 

FACING 
PACE 

LEGISLATIVE  COUNCIL  CHAMBER,  1834-1884         3 

PLAN  OF  CAPE  TOWN,  1833  4 

OLD  SUPREME  COURT  BUILDINGS,  1832     . .         . .         . .         . .        6 

HON.  WM.  PORTER 8 

LETTERS  PATENT,  1850  ..10 

MR.  JOHN  FAIRBAIRN 12 

S.S.  "LADY  JOCELYN  "         16 

GOVERNMENT  HOUSE,  1832 18 

HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY,  1854-1884     ....  ..25 

PLAN  OF  HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY,  1875         26 

MR.  SAUL  SOLOMON 28 

OPENING  OF  PARLIAMENT  IN  GRAHAMSTOWN       38 

BUILDING  OCCUPIED  BY  HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY  IN  GRAHAMSTOWN      40 
PLAN    OF    BUILDING    OCCUPIED    BY    HOUSE    OF    ASSEMBLY    IN 

GRAHAMSTOWN 42 

HON.  SIR  JOHN  MOLTENO 46 

DESIGN  FOR  "NEW"  HOUSES  OF  PARLIAMENT     ..         ..         ..       53 

THE  "NEW"  HOUSES  OF  PARLIAMENT,  1885-1910         ..         ..       61 

HON.  SIR  THOMAS  UPINGTON         . .         . .         . .         . .         . .       66 

HON.  J.  H.  HOFMEYR  68 

RT.  HON.  SIR  GORDON  SPRIGG 70 

RT.  HON.  C.  J.  RHODFS       ..  72 

COL.  THE  HON.  F.  SCHERMBRUCKER  80 

DEBATING  CHAMBER,  HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY,  1910..         ..         ..       90 

HON.  SIR  CHRISTOFFEL  BRAND        97 

HON.  SIR  DAVID  TENNANT 115 

HON.  SIR  HENRY  JUTA         ..131 

HON.  SIR  WM.  BISSET  BERRY  ..         ..  ..145 

HON.  SIR  JAMES  MOLTENO ..159 

THE  SPEAKERS'  CHAIRS  161 


The  Story  of  the  Cape  Constitution. 

1795-1872. 


THE  LEGISLATIVE  COUNCIL  CHAMBER  IN  THE  OLD 
SUPREME  COURT  BUILDINGS. 

The  three  upper  window?  facing  into  the  courtyard  belong  to  the 
"  Record  Room  in  which  the  Legislative  Councils  held  their  meetings 
from  1834  until  the  "New"  Houses  of  Parliament  were  completed 
in  188-4. 


Spe 


Gordon    Pilkington 


The  Story  of  the  Cape  Constitution. 

1795-1872. 

SIR  BENJAMIN  D'URBAN,  the  new  Governor, 
had  been  expected  at  the  Cape  for  some  days. 
On  Thursday,  the  16th  of  January,  1834,  his 
ship — a  handsome  teak-built  sailing  vessel  of  611 
tons  burthen,  with  "  elegant  accommodation  "  for 
passengers — was  sighted,  and  Cape  Town,  ordinarily 
so  calm,  was  soon  bustling  with  excitement.  Rustling 
skirts  fluttered  towards  the  jetty  near  the  Castle, 
while  gentlemen,  wearing  swallow-tails  of  blue,  buff 
or  brown,  hurried  to  and  fro  in  the  shade  of  the 
Heeregracht,  or  Adderley  Street,  as  it  is  now  called, 
and  by  half-past  one,  when  Sir  Benjamin,  his  wife, 
his  daughter  and  his  suite  drove  up  to  Government 
House,  troops  had  lined  Grave  Street  and  the  Parade, 
and  guns  were  booming  a  salute  from  the  Castle. 

Having  been  sworn  in  by  the  Chief  Justice,  Sir 
John  Wylde,  His  Excellency  was  introduced  to  a  large 
number  of  those  present  and  his  commission  was  read 
aloud.  So  far  the  proceedings  had  been  more  or  less 
of  a  social  character,  but  in  days  gone  by  the 
constitution  was  developed  or  confirmed  by  the  instruc- 
tions issued  to  the  Governor,  and  with  the  reading 
of  the  commission  it  was  soon  realised  that  the  dawn 
of  a  new  era  in  the  government  of  the  Cape  had  begun. 


THE   CAPE   CONSTITUTION. 


Under  the  short  period  of  British  government  from 
1795  to  1803  the  Governor  alone  had  wielded  all 
executive  and  legislative  power,  and  this  system  had 
been  restored  in  1806  when  Cape  Town  capitulated 
to  General  Baird.  For  a  time  things  had  gone  fairly 
well  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  settlement  had 
made  no  effective  protest  until  Lord  Charles  Somerset, 
choleric  and  sometimes  vindictive,  had  shown  what 
a  headstrong  Governor  in  a  wayward  mood  could  do. 
Then,  owing  to  the  complaints  of  the  British  settlers, 
a  commission  of  enquiry  had  been  sent  to  investigate 
matters,  and  two  years  later  (in  1825)  a  council  of  six 
official  members  had  been  established  to  "  advise  and 
assist  in  the  administration  of  the  Government." 
Bureaucracy,  however,  had  given  little  more  satisfaction 
than  autocracy,  and  up  to  the  time  when  Sir  Benjamin's 
commission  was  read  three  well-supported  movements 
had  been  made  to  obtain  a  form  of  government  in 
which  the  people  themselves  might  share. 

The  commission,  after  appointing  Sir  Benjamin 
Governor  of  the  Cape  and  its  dependencies,  went  on 
to  provide  that  the  settlement  was  henceforth  to  be 
administered  by  a  Governor  with  a  Legislative  Council 
as  well  as  with  an  Executive  Council.  This,  at  all 
events,  was  something  achieved.  The  Legislative 
Council  was  to  consist  of  the  Governor,  the  officer 
next  in  command  of  the  forces,  the  Secretary  to  the 
Government,  the  Treasurer-General,  the  Auditor- 


Explanation. 

1.  Colonial  Office  in  which  Coun-  < 
a!  of  Advjce  me[  in  18Z5        Li. 

?    /  eai<slxttvf>   Cn/inr/I*.  l#t\4-'R4'~t 


cil  ofAdv/ce  met:  in 

egJJ/a tive  Coun c//j, 
old  Sureme  C. 


(UIU  o^ACOTC  Ln   DL  UgJ  ) 

3.<5i{e  of  Hs  of  A^tmbty  \ 

((joede  Hoop  Lodge),  Jffif -31  .+  iu 

f  Site  of  ~Ne.v Houses  of           (  1 '_]"] 

~PArhfimrnt     IRR^-  /Q//1  "• ' 


'    '..^ |     I  .ef  ^  jf | 


|  *-L*iX™° 

Keizer*gra.chl  \^r 

rrr^rrrd^      F^ 


PLAN    OF    PART    OF    CAPE    TOWN     IN    1833 
— showma;  the   sites   of    the  various   buildings   occupied 


SECRET   SESSIONS.  5 


General  and  the  Attorney-General,  together  with  not 
fewer  than  five  nor  more  than  seven  leading  inhabi- 
tants, to  be  selected  by  the  Governor. 

"  All  men  will  view  this  as  an  important  boon," 
wrote  John  Fairbairn  in  the  Commercial  jtfdoertiser 
two  days  later.  '  It  may  not  come  up  to,  or  it  may 
exceed,  the  expectations  of  some  ;  but  we  repeat  that 
it  will  yield  satisfaction  if  for  no  other  reason  than  it 
furnishes  a  pleasing  and  unerring  proof  .... 
that  the  barrier  which  has  hitherto  stood  between  us 
and  the  exercise  of  the  proudest  privileges  of  British 
subjects  is  soon  to  be  thrown  down  and  that  the  Eye 
of  the  Community  is  about  to  be  admitted  into  the 
hitherto  darkened  chamber  of  Cape  legislation." 

The  old  "  Council  of  Advice,"  appointed  in  1825, 
had  totally  excluded  the  "  Eye  of  the  Community." 
None  of  its  members  were  'chosen  to  represent  the 
people,  and,  with  closed  doors,  it  had  met  in  the  old 
"  Colonial  Office  "  buildings  that  used  to  stand  in 
the  north-east  corner  of  Government  House  gardens, 
where,  instructed  by  Lord  Charles  Somerset,  it  had 
been  sworn  to  the  strictest  secrecy.  The  House  of 
Commons  itself  had,  and  still  has,  semi-obsolete 
orders*  declaring  it  to  be  a  gross  breach  of  privilege 
to  publish  anything  occurring  in  the  House  ;  but 

'  These  orders  are  now  acknowledged  to  apply  only  to  mala  fide  reports 
and  although  the  public  and  the  press  may  be  excluded  it  was  considered 
necessary  in  1916  to  provide  for  the  prohibition  of  reports  of  secret  sessions  by 
means  of  an  Order  in  Council  under  the  Defence  o'  the  Realm  Act,  1914. 


THE   CAPE   CONSTITUTION. 


these  orders  were  drafted  in  the  dark  days,  when 
conflicts  between  the  Crown  and  the  Commons  often 
resulted  in  the  sudden  death  of  a  member,  and  the 
idea  then  was  to  keep  the  proceedings  from  the  ears 
of  the  King. 

In  the  new  Legislative  Council,  of  which  certain 
leading  inhabitants  were  to  form  a  part,  the  King's 
representative  (Sir  Benjamin  D'Urban)  was  himself 
to  preside,  and  it  was  hoped  that  the  doors  would  be 
thrown  open  to  the  public  and  the  Press.  But  when 
the  Council  first  met  on  the  2nd  of  April,  1834,  in 
the  Old  Supreme  Court  Buildings  (the  Slave  Lodge 
of  the  Dutch  East  India  Company  !),  its  doors,  too, 
were  closed,  and  nothing  more  than  the  colourless 
'  Votes  and  Proceedings  "  were  made  public.  This, 
it  is  true,  was  in  accordance  with  the  practice  in  New 
South  Wales  and  Van  Diemen's  Land,  but  it  was  a 
severe  blow  to  the  progressive  section  of  the  community 
of  the  Cape,  and  was  the  signal  for  a  renewed  effort 
to  obtain  a  thoroughly  representative  assembly. 

A  meeting  of  citizens  was  held  in  the  Commercial 
Hall  (where  the  post  office  stands  to-day)  and  at  one 
o'clock  on  the  22nd  of  October,  1834,  three  gentlemen 
(Mr.  Collison,  Mr.  Waters  and  Mr.  Thompson) 
knocked  at  the  door  of  the  Council  Chamber  and 
craved  admission  in  the  name  of  the  public.  Within 
the  Chamber  the  question  was  keenly  discussed,  and 
it  was  not  until  they  had  heard  the  clock  in  the  public 


EXTERIOR  OF  THE  OLD  SUPREME  COURT  BUILDING? 
IN  1832,  FROM  THE  FOOT  OF  GOVERNMENT  AVENUE. 

In  these  buildings  (formerly  the  Slave  lodge  of  the  Dutch  Fast 
India  Company)  were  the  Supreme  Court,  the  Government  Offices 
and  the  Legislative  Council  Chamber,  1834-53  and  1854-H4. 

Pen-and-ink    sketch    from    a    litho«ra,,hed   drawing   l,\    H.   C.   dc    Me, lion. 


ADMITTANCE   OF   THE   PREKH.         7 

buildings  strike  four,  that  Mr.  Colhson  and  the  two 
gentlemen  who  had  accompanied  him  were  informed 
of  the  result.  On  the  Governor's  recommendation 
new  standing  orders  had  been  adopted,  they  were  told, 
and  in  future  each  member  of  the  Council  would 
be  entitled  to  admit  one  person  to  be  present  at  its 
meetings,  and  each  newspaper  could  send  one  reporter 
on  the  strict  understanding  that  they  were  bound  to 
withdraw  on  a  motion  made  to  that  effect  by  any 
member. 

Here  was  one  grievance  removed,  and  from  that 
time  onwards  a  full  account  of  the  debates  was  published 
in  the  Commercial  Advertiser  ;  but  at  this  time 
the  population  consisted  of  about  115,000  persons, 
excluding  some  34,000  slaves,  and  many  of  the 
colonists  felt  that  on  this  score  alone  they  were 
entitled  to  a  more  representative  form  of  government. 
Appeals  were  again  made  to  the  British  Government, 
but  there  was  always  some  "  insuperable  obstacle  "  ; 
and,  indeed,  the  colonists  themselves  were  not  united 
on  every  point.  Those  of  the  Western  Province  wanted 
the  Colony  undivided,  but  the  majority  of  those  in  the 
Eastern  Province  desired  a  separate  administration. 

At  last,  on  the  2nd  of  November,  1846,  Earl  Grey, 
Secretary  for  the  Colonies,  announced  in  an  oft-quoted 
despatch  "  that  on  a  question  of  this  nature  some 
difficulties  may  be  wisely  encountered  and  some  apparent 
risks  well  incurred  in  reliance  on  the  resources  which 


THE   CAPE   CONSTITUTION. 


every  civilised  society,  especially  every  society  of  British 
birth  or  origin,  will  always  discover  within  themselves 
for  obviating  the  danger  incident  to  measures  resting 
on  any  broad  and  solid  principle  of  truth  and  justice." 

This  despatch  was  addressed  to  the  Governor,  Sir 
Henry  Pottinger,  but  nothing  was  done  until  Sir  Harry 
Smith  succeeded  him.  Sir  Harry  had  been  given  a 
copy  of  the  despatch  before  he  left  for  the  Cape,  and 
on  his  arrival  took  an  early  opportunity  of  personally 
consulting  Mr.  Porter,  the  Attorney-General,  as  to  the 
precise  form  of  representative  government  likely  to 
prove  acceptable  to  the  colonists. 

In  Mr.  Porter  the  country  was  fortunate  to  have  the 
very  man  most  fitted  to  give  sound  advice.  In  1839  he 
had  been  offered  the  post  of  Attorney-General  at  the 
Cape,  and,  although  only  a  young  man  practising  at  the 
Irish  Bar,  his  friends  were  not  half  sure  that  it  would  be 
wise  for  him  to  accept  the  position,  as  it  was  felt  that 
his  intellectual  strength  and  rare  gift  of  oratory  would 
win  for  him  even  greater  promotion  in  his  native 
country.  He  accepted  the  appointment,  however,  and 
in  time  took  all  the  Cape  could  offer.  So  great  was  his 
love  of  fairness  and  justice,  his  zeal  and  his  capacity 
for  work,  that  at  the  Bar,  in  the  Legislative  Council,  and 
afterwards  in  the  House  of  Assembly  he  would  often 
furnish  the  opposite  side  of  a  case  rather  than  achieve  an 
unmerited  success.  Nothing  seemed  to  overtax  his  brain 
and  no  amount  of  detail  clouded  his  power  of  lucid  ex- 


HON.   WILLIAM   PORTER,   C.M.G.    (i>.  1803.  J.  I8tt» 

Attorney-General  from  1839  to  1866  and  member  for  Cape 
Town     from     1869     to      1873.        He    drafted     the    original 
Constitution    Ordinance     as    well    as     the     "  Responsible 
Government       Act. 
From  a  portrait  in  the  possession  of  Mi«s  F.    A.  VV.itermeyci  . 


MR.    PORTER. 


position.  He  never  expressed  an  opinion  without  having 
made  the  fullest  investigations  and  everything  he  under- 
took he  did  thoroughly. 

What  Mr.  Porter  did  was  to  draw  up  a  memorandum 
which  formed  the  basis  for  all  future  discussion.  It  was 
submitted  to  the  Executive  Council  and  three  judges 
in  March,  1848,  and  four  months  later,  in  the  form  of 
a  draft  constitution,  was  sent  to  England  by  Sir  Harry 
Smith,  who  just  previously  had  admitted  that  "  the 
Legislative  Council  is  regarded  in  this  colony  as  a 
failure." 

It  is  impossible  to  say  what  course  events  would  have 
taken  had  it  not  been  for  the  great  anti-convict  agitation 
which  shortly  afterwards  shook  the  Colony  to  its  founda- 
tions. On  the  one  hand  the  Dutch  and  English  were 
thrown  together  in  a  common  aversion  to  the  landing 
of  criminals  on  their  shores,  but,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  incurred  the  displeasure  of  the  Colonial  Office  in 
England.  The  colonists,  however,  were  encouraged  by 
success  and,  utilising  the  organisation  which  had  been 
perfected  by  John  Fairbairn,  the  energetic  secretary  of 
the  Anti-Convict  Association,  they  redoubled  their 
exertions  until,  on  th<i  23rd  of  May,  1850,  Letters  Patent 
were  issued  by  the  Queen  in  Council  laying  down  the 
main  principles  of  a  constitution  on  the  lines  of  Mr. 
Porter's  draft  and  leaving  the  details  to  be  filled  in  by 
the  Governor  with  the  assistance  of  the  Legislative 
Council. 


io  THE   CAPE   CONSTITUTION. 


The  Council,  however,  barely  existed  at  this  time, 
as  five  of  the  unofficial  members  had  resigned  on  account 
of  the  convict  question  and  others  had  refused  to  be 
nominated  in  their  places.  Dislike  was  openly  shown 
for  the  nominative  system,  and  Sir  Harry  Smith  conse- 
quently took  the  wise  course  of  asking  all  the  divisional 
road  and  municipal  boards  in  the  Colony  to  select 
members  for  nomination.  Christoffel  Brand,  Sir  Andnes 
Stockenstrom,  Reitz  and  Fairbairn,  who  were  returned 
at  the  top  of  the  poll,  were  then  nominated  and  in 
addition  the  Governor  selected  Mr.  Godlonton  from 
further  down  the  list. 

An  unusual  amount  of  interest  was  shown  when,  on 
the  6th  of  September,  1850,  the  new  Council  met. 
Even  before  the  doors  were  opened  at  one  o'clock  quite 
a  large  number  of  citizens  had  gathered  outside,  and  the 
Chamber  was  soon  crowded  with  strangers  delighted 
to  see  Stockenstrom  and  Reitz  sitting  on  the  left  of  the 
Clerk  and  Fairbairn  and  Brand  on  his  right.  For  a 
short  while  the  business  was  conducted  smoothly,  but  a 
section  of  the  public  soon  began  to  get  impatient  with 
the  slow  progress  that  was  being  made,  and  a  fortnight 
later  Sir  Andries  Stockenstrom  presented  a  petition 
from  225  residents  of  Cape  Town,  praying  the  Council 
to  confine  themselves  to  the  framing  of  the  constitution, 
and  Mr.  Montagu,  the  Secretary  to  the  Government, 
having  presented  another  petition  to  the  opposite  effect 
the  proceedings  became  decidedly  animated.  Both 


LETTERS  PATENT  AUTHORISING  THE  ESTABLISHMENT 
OF  A  PARLIAMENT  AT  THE  CAPE. 

By  this  writ  of  Privy  Seal,  dated  the  23rd  May,  1850,  it  was  ordained 
that  a  Parliament  should  be  constituted  by  an  Ordinance  to  be  passed 
by  the  then  existing  Cape  Legislative  Council, 

From    the   original    document   (measuring   -'9    l-v    21    inches)    in    the   Cape   Archive 


DRAMATIC    RESIGNATIONS.  u 


parties  had  carefully  prepared  for  the  fray,  and,  after  a 
heated  discussion,  Sir  Andries  Stockenstrom  produced 
and  dramatically  held  up  a  document  containing  eleven 
"  reasons  for  dissent."  One  after  the  other,  the  four 
"  popular  "  members,  Stockenstrom,  Brand,  Fairbairn 
and  Reitz,  identified  themselves  with  it,  appended  their 
signatures,  tendered  their  resignations  and  made  farewell 
speeches,  after  which,  we  are  told,  the  meeting  broke 
up  with  "  tremendous  cheering. " 

The  Council  being  again  without  a  quorum,  Sir 
Harry  Smith  appointed  the  remaining  members  a 
commission  to  consider  the  constitution.  A  week  after- 
wards they  presented  their  report,  and  a  few  days 
later  it  was  forwarded  to  England. 

But  meanwhile  the  members  who  had  resigned  were 
requested  by  the  Municipalities  of  Cape  Town  and 
Green  Point  to  draw  up  a  constitution  according  to  their 
own  views.  This  resulted  in  the  famous  "  Sixteen 
Articles,"  and  Mr.  Fairbairn  and  Sir  Andries  Stocken- 
strom were  deputed  to  convey  them  to  England. 

Mr.  Fairbairn  had  now  reached  the  zenith  of  his 
fame.  He  had  arrived  at  the  Cape  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
nine  to  take  up  a  literary  career  with  Thomas  Prmgle, 
the  poet,  and  had  been  foremost  in  every  movement  for 
the  improvement  of  the  country.  "  An  accomplished 
scholar,  well  versed  both  in  ethical  and  physical  science," 
as  Pringle  had  said  of  him,  sincere  and  persevering, 
having  at  heart  only  the  welfare,  prosperity  and 


12  THE   CAPE   CONSTITUTION. 

advancement  of  all  classes,"  as  he  himself  had  said,  he 
had  been  instrumental  in  securing  the  freedom  of  the 
Press,  trials  by  jury,  the  construction  of  roads  and 
bridges,  the  development  of  education,  and  had  largely 
assisted  in  averting  disaster  when  the  Cape  was 
threatened  with  becoming  a  penal  settlement.  Regardless 
of  financial  loss,  he  had  for  many  years  battled  un- 
flinchingly against  overwhelming  odds.  He  had  made 
many  public  enemies,  especially  in  the  Eastern  Province, 
but  in  private  he  never  spoke  ill  of  any  man  nor  harboured 
bitter  feelings.  His  intention,  as  he  had  expressed  it, 
was  to  soothe  the  minds  of  the  people,  at  that  time 
highly  exasperated  by  the  oppressions  of  the  local 
Government,  and  to  convince  them  that  institutions 
similar  to  those  of  England  would  protect  them  against 
the  recurrence  of  the  many  evils  they  had  endured. 
In  appearance  he  looked  the  ardent  reformer  he  was. 
His  upper  lip  was  firm  and  his  thick  hair  was  brushed 
straight  across  a  thoughtful  brow,  while  his  eyes,  grey- 
blue,  deep-set  and  piercing,  rather  suggested  the 
"  second  sight  "  he  was  supposed  to  have. 

This  was  the  man  in  whose  hands  the  greater  portion 
of  the  Cape  unhesitatingly  placed  their  hopes  and 
aspirations.  Sir  Andnes  Stockenstrom  was  in  bad 
health  and  unable  to  proceed  at  once  to  England,  but 
Fairbairn  was  soon  ready  to  make  his  departure,  and 
on  the  26th  of  October,  1850,  between  two  and  three 
thousand  inhabitants  assembled  in  and  around  the 


MR.     JOHN     FAIR  BAIRN:    (;,.,•„    1794.   ,/i:-,/    !%4). 

The  Father  of  the  South  African  Press  "  whose  pertinacity 
and  unflinching  zeal  were  important   factor?   in    the  struggle 

for  representative  government.  .Member  of  the  Legislative 
Council,  1850.  and  of  the  House  of  Assembly.  1854-1863. 
From  an  autographed  drawing  in  the  City  Hall,  Cape  Town. 


MR.    FAIRBAIRN'S   MISSION.         13 

Town  House  to  bid  him  good-bye.  A  box  was  handed 
to  him  containing  the  "  Sixteen  Articles,"  engrossed  on 
a  scroll  over  eight  feet  long  (now  in  possession  of  his 
grandson),  duly  signed  and  sealed  by  the  Commissioners 
of  the  Municipality  of  the  City  of  Cape  Town,  together 
with  supporting  petitions  and  resolutions.  Amidst 
enthusiastic  cheering  he  rose  to  reply  in  his  broad 
Scotch  dialect  to  the  speeches  that  had  been  made,  and 
when  he  had  ended,  says  an  eye-witness,  he  stood 
silent  for  a  moment,  overcome  with  emotion.  "  Gentle- 
men," he  said,  "  for  a  short  time  I  bid  you — farewell. 
God  bless  you."  "  God  bless  you,"  shouted  the  excited 
multitude,  and  down  to  the  wharf  they  trooped  to 
witness  his  embarkation.  The  Madagascar,  the  ship 
he  was  to  sail  in,  was  swinging  at  anchor  some  little 
way  out,  but  nearly  fifty  sailing  boats  gaily  decorated 
provided  an  escort,  and  when  the  time  came  to  bid  a 
final  farewell  a  band  played  "  Rule  Britannia,"  the 
little  boats  put  back  to  land,  and  cheer  after  cheer  was 
raised  until  the  blue-coated  figure  standing  on  the 
quarter-deck  grew  dim  in  the  distance. 

The  proceedings  were  almost  unparalleled  in  the 
Colony,  and  showed  the  intense  interest  in  public  affairs 
lhat  Fairbairn  himself  had  awakened.  But  even  among 
the  onlookers  there  were  a  few  staunch  Government 
supporters  who  viewed  the  wooden  casket  containing 
the  "  Sixteen  Articles  "  as  a  kind  of  Pandora's  box 
filled  with  all  manner  of  evil  things,  and  on  the  other 


14  THE   CAPE   CONSTITUTION. 

side  of  the  water  his  official  reception  was  by  no  means 
cordial.  Public  interest  had  not  moved  so  fast  as  it  had 
at  the  Cape,  and  in  the  letters  they  wrote  to  the  Cape 
both  Fairbairn  and  Stockenstrom  sometimes  expressed 
high  expectations  but  more  often  showed  a  deep  des- 
pondency. They  saw  and  wrote  to  everyone  who  could 
advance  their  cause,  but  in  the  middle  of  it  all  came  a 
Kafir  war,  and  although  interest  in  South  African  affairs 
was  quickened,  the  realisation  of  the  colonists'  dream 
was  deferred  for  a  time.  Among  the  useful  things  they 
did  in  England  was  to  give  evidence  before  a  Select 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  and,  moreover,  they 
were  able  to  get  a  legal  opinion  on  a  constitutional  point 
of  considerable  importance.  The  Governor,  unable  to 
fill  the  vacancies  in  the  Legislative  Council  occasioned 
by  the  resignation  of  the  four  "  popular  "  members, 
had  again  found  himself  in  a  quandary,  from  which 
Earl  Grey  had  sought  to  extricate  him  by  "  additional 
instructions  "  declaring  the  competency  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council  to  act  with  its  reduced  membership. 
'  Was  this  constitutional  ?  Would  the  acts  of  such  a 
Council  be  valid?  "  were  questions  Fairbairn  and 
Stockenstrom  put  to  three  eminent  lawyers,  Sir  Fitzroy 
Kelly,  Spencer  Walpole  and  J.  R.  Kenyon. 

'  We  are  of  opinion,"  was  the  answer,  "  that  the 
instructions  .  .  are  .  .  .  altogether  invalid  and  void. 
It  is  clearly  established  that  by  the  law  of  England  a 
legislative  constitution  once  granted  by  the  Crown  to 


PROVOKING   DELAYS.  15 

a  Colony  is  irrevocable,  except  by  the  authority  of  the 
Imperial  Parliament  or  by  the  act  of  the  local  legislature 
with  the  consent  of  the  Crown." 

Sir  John  Russell  disagreed  with  the  opinion,  but  a 
conflict  was  averted  by  the  Governor  being  instructed 
to  fill  the  vacancies  to  the  best  of  his  ability  and  to 
proceed  with  the  draft  Ordinance,  which  was  returned 
to  the  Cape  in  a  more  complete  form. 

On  the  27th  of  November,  1851,  Fairbairn  and 
Stockenstrom  returned,  and  on  the  same  day,  by 
a  curious  coincidence,  the  draft  Ordinance  and 
the  covering  letter  were  published  in  the  Government 
Gazette.  Again  there  were  innumerable  delays,  due 
this  time  to  two  official  members  of  the  Council,  Mr. 
Montagu  (the  Secretary  to  the  Government)  and  Mr. 
Rivers  (the  Treasurer-General),  having  changed  their 
minds  as  to  the  advisability  of  having  a  representative 
assembly,  but  at  last  the  draft  was  considered,  passed 
and  sent  to  England  for  the  last  time. 

Eagerly  the  expectant  colonists  awaited  an  Order 
in  Council  ratifying  the  constitution,  but  the  only  news 
they  got  was  bad.  It  was  rumoured  that  extensive 
alterations  were  to  be  made  and  that  by  the  time  the 
constitution  was  returned  it  would  not  be  worth  having. 
Uncertainty  gave  rise  to  mistrust  ;  public  meetings  were 
again  started  and  the  British  Government  was  inundated 
with  petitions,  addresses  and  resolutions. 

A   change   in    the   Government   brought    relief,    and. 


16  THE    CAPE   CONSTITUTION. 


with  the  Duke  of  Newcastle  as  Secretary  for  the 
Colonies,*  the  fears  of  the  colonists  were  set  at  rest. 
The  few  alterations  that  were  made  were  not  very 
important. 

It  only  remains  for  me  now,"  wrote  Newcastle, 
"  to  assure  you  that  in  transmitting  to  the  Colony  of  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  Ordinances  which  confer  one  of 
the  most  liberal  constitutions  enjoyed  by  any  of  the 
British  possessions,  Her  Majesty's  Government  are 
actuated  by  an  earnest  desire  to  lay  the  foundation  of 
institutions  which  may  carry  the  blessings  and  privileges 
as  well  as  the  wealth  and  power  of  the  British  nation 
into  South  Africa  ;  and  whilst  appeasing  the  jealousies 
of  sometimes  conflicting  races,  to  promote  the  security 
and  prosperity,  not  only  of  those  of  British  origin, 
but  of  all  the  Queen's  subjects  so  that  they  may  combine 
for  the  great  common  object — the  peace  and  progress 
of  the  Colony." 

The  ship  that  carried  the  constitution  in  its  final 
form  was  the  Lady  Jocelyn.  She  dropped  anchor  in 
Table  Bay  as  the  sun  rose  on  the  21st  of  April,  1853, 
after  a  passage  of  thirty-seven  days  from  Plymouth 
and  in  herself  showed  the  progress  the  world  had  made 

Die  delays  which  occurred  when  Earl  Grey  was  Secretary  for  the  Colonies 
1846-52)  gave  rise  to  the  following  epigram  quoted  in  the  "Life  of  Sir  C. 
Napier  "  : — 

This  point  was  long  disputed  at  the  Cape, 
What  was  the  devil's  colour  and  his  shape? 
The  Hottentots,  of  course,  declared  him  white, 
1  he  Englishmen  declared  him  black  as  night ; 
But  now  they  split  the  difference  and  say. 
Beyond  all  question  that  Old  Nick  is  Grey. 


THE   MAIL   STKAMF.R     LADY    /OCf-LY.\ 

— which  earned  the  Constitution  Ordinance  in  it? 
final  form  to  the  Cape  in  1853.  The  ship  is 
depicted  in  a  hurricane  in  the  Ray  of  Bengal  ten 
years  later. 


ARRIVAL  OF   THE   CONSTITUTION.  17 

since  Sir  Benjamin  D'Urban  had  landed  with  the 
commission  containing  the  germs  of  a  free  constitution. 
Square-rigged  on  all  three  masts,  a  sailing  ship  at  first 
glance,  she  was,  according  to  the  company's  advertise- 
ment, in  reality  "an  iron  ship  of  1,800  tons  propelled 
by  the  screw,"  carrying  sixty-seven  passengers  for  the 
Cape,  Mauritius,  Ceylon,  Madras  and  Calcutta — a 
veritable  leviathan  compared  with  the  ships  of  1834  ! 
A  fine  ship  well  suited  to  carry  a  fine  constitution. 

The  constitution  provided  for  a  Parliament  to  consist 
of  the  Governor,  an  elective  Legislative  Council  of 
fifteen  members  and  an  elective  House  of  Assembly 
of  forty-six  members,  and  took  effect  from  the  1st  of 
July,  1853.  The  old  Council  held  its  last  meeting  on 
the  14th  of  October,  1853.  On  the  16th  of  November 
a  proclamation  was  issued  calling  upon  the  registered 
constituencies  to  elect  members  for  the  new  Legislative 
Council  and  on  that  date  the  old  Council  expired. 

After  the  elections  for  the  House  of  Assembly  Cape 
Town  was  the  scene  of  general  festivities.  Balls,  levees, 
dinners  and  receptions  were  given,  and  members  of  the 
new  Parliament,  including  those  from  the  Eastern 
Province  who  had  arrived  by  H.M.S.  Dee,  were  feted 
by  all. 

It  had  been  intended  to  hold  the  opening  ceremony 
in  the  little  room  (afterwards  known  as  the  "  Record 
Room  ")  which  had  been  occupied  by  the  old  Legislative 
Council  in  the  Supreme  Court  buildings,  and  was  to  be 


iS  Tllfi   CAI>K   CONSTITUTION. 

the  temporary  Chamber  of  the  new  Council,  but  at  the 
last  moment  this  plan  was  abandoned  and  it  was  decided 
to  use  the  State  Room  in  Government  House. 

A  throne  was  set  at  the  south  end  of  the  room  under 
a  rich  canopy  of  scarlet  cloth,  the  music  gallery  at  the 
opposite  end  was  prepared  for  ladies,  and  various  other 
arrangements  were  completed  only  just  in  time.  At 
half-past  ten  on  the  morning  of  the  1st  of  July,  1854, 
the  gates  leading  into  Government  House  gardens  from 
the  Avenue  were  thrown  open  and  a  large  crowd  flocked 
on  to  the  lawn  outside  the  State  Chamber.  A  moment 
or  two  later  the  steady  tramp  of  soldiers  was  heard, 
and  with  band  playing  and  colours  waving,  in  marched  a 
guard-of-honour  from  the  73rd  Foot  Regiment,  halted, 
formed  up  in  a  line  alongside  the  stoep,  and  ordered 
arms  with  a  crash.  Never  before  had  there  been  such 
a  brilliant  state  function  in  the  Cape.  There  were  judges 
in  their  crimson  gowns  ;  bishop  and  clergy  ;  naval, 
military  and  Indian  officers  ;  the  corps  diplomatique, 
and  a  Turk  with  a  fez. 

At  a  quarter  to  twelve  the  President  and  members  of 
the  Legislative  Council  arrived  and  took  their  seats  on 
the  right-hand  side  of  the  empty  throne.  Precisely  at 
twelve  His  Honour  the  Lieut. -Governor,  Mr.  (afterwards 
Sir  Charles)  Darling,  made  his  appearance  ;  a  salute 
of  nineteen  guns  was  fired  from  the  Castle,  the  guard- 
of-honour  presented  arms  and  the  band  struck  up 
God  Save  the  Queen." 


'    • 


•  ••• 


GOVERNMENT    HOUSE,    CAPE    TOWN.    IN    1832 

— showing  the  exterior  of   the  State  Chamber  m  which  the 
first  Cape  Parliament  wa=  opened  in   1854. 

From  a  lithographed  drawing  by  H.  C.  de  MeiMon. 


A    STEPPING   STONE.  ig 

All  being  in  readiness,  the  House  of  Assembly  was 
summoned  from  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge,  was  bowed 
in  by  its  newly  elected  Speaker  and  took  its  place  on  the 
left  of  the  throne.  The  opening  speech  was  read  and 
the  Parliament,  so  often  within  reach  and  so  often 
snatched  away,  was  a  real  living  institution. 

But  it  would  be  a  mistake  to  suppose  that  all  the 
colonists  were  content  with  what  they  had  got.  The 
constitution  was  what  is  known  as  "  representative," 
but  the  officers  who  comprised  the  Government  were 
debarred  by  the  Constitution  Ordinance  from  becoming 
members  of  Parliament.  Sitting  and  speaking  in  either 
House  solely  by  virtue  of  their  permanent  Downing 
Street  appointments  they  were  independent  of  political 
parties  ;  and  requiring  no  parliamentary  support  they 
could  view  an  attack  on  their  policy  or  administration 
with  composure.  If  Parliament  differed  from  them  it 
could  be  dissolved,  but  they  went  on  for  ever.  "  Repre- 
sentative "  government  was,  in  fact,  only  a  stepping 
stone  from  which  the  Colony  might  pass  either  forward 
to  full  "  responsible  "  government  under  which  ministers, 
by  being  made  eligible  for  election  to  either  House, 
would  be  answerable  to  Parliament  for  their  conduct, 
or  back  again,  as  some  colonies  did,  to  "  Crown  Colonv" 
government. 

Discussions  on  the  subject  were  raised  in  both 
Houses  almost  at  once  and  continued  until  Governor 
Wodehouse,  after  making  three  reactionary  attempts  to 


20 


THE   CAPE   CONSTITUTION. 


amend  the  constitution,  brought  matters  to  a  head  by 
dissolving  the  House  of  Assembly  in  1869  and  submitting 
to  the  electorate  a  draft  Reform  Bill  under  which  it  was 
proposed  to  revert  to  a  system  not  unlike  the  old  by 
reducing  the  two  Houses  of  Parliament  into  one.  This 
Bill  was  introduced  into  the  new  House  of  Assembly 
in  1870;  but,  much  to  the  delight  of  the  majority  in 
the  House  of  Assembly,  it  was  defeated  by  thirty-four 
votes  to  twenty-six.  The  anti-reform  party  shook  hands 
all  round,  even  the  gallery  cheered,  and,  according  to 
an  imaginative  reporter,  "  Mr.  Ziervogel  skipped  down 
Grave  Street  like  a  young  lamb,  and  Mr.  Solomon 
popped  into  his  carriage  like  an  industrious  flea." 

Next  year,  Mr.  (afterwards  Sir  John)  Molteno 
carried  a  motion  in  favour  of  "  responsible  "  government, 
and  in  the  year  following  (1872),  when  a  remarkably 
short  Act  giving  effect  to  the  resolution  was  passed,  he 
was  called  upon  to  form  a  Cabinet  under  a  constitution 
that  had  taken  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  century  to 
evolve. 


The  Old  Cape  House. 


I. 

In  the 

Goede  Hoop 
Lodge, 
1854-1884 


Che  Banqueting  Hall  of  the  GOEDE  HOOF  LODGE 


BUILDING    OCCUPIED    BY    THE    HOUSE    OF    ASSEMBLY, 

1*54   1884. 

^ith  the  exception  of  the  session  held  in  Grahamstown  in  1864,  this 
hall  was  occupied  until  the  "New"  Houses  of  Parliament  were 
completed.  It  war  situated  at  the  top  cf  Grave  (now  Parliament) 
Street,  and  was  destroyed  by  fire  on  the  21st  February.  1892.  On  its 
site  was  built  (lie  present  Good  Hope  Hall 
!  ii.iwn  from  a  pliotoeraph  in  the  possession  of  A  Flliott. 


I. 

In  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge, 

1854—1884. 

THERE  is  no  getting  away  from  the  fact  that  the 
building  occupied  by  the  Cape  House  of  Assem- 
bly during  its  first  thirty  years  of  existence  was 
far  from  what  it  should  have  been.  Originally  it  had 
been  proposed  that  the  Supreme  Court  should  be 
used  by  the  House  of  Assembly  until  other  arrangements 
could  be  made,  but  the  Banqueting  Hall  of  the  Goede 
Hoop  Lodge  was  used  instead,  and  whatever  attractions 
the  hall  may  have  had  by  reason  of  its  surroundings, 
it  was  certainly  more  suitable  for  the  entertainment 
of  convivial  brethren  of  the  Lodge  than  for  the  housing 
of  colonial  statesmen.  The  gardens  attached  to  it 
were  irreproachable.  A  fountain  tinkled  in  the  centre 
all  day  long  and  spreading  oaks  tempered  the  heat 
of  summer.  Nor  was  the  exterior  of  the  building 
unattractive.  Besides  the  mam  entrance,  it  had  two 
pillared  doorways  leading  into  the  garden,  while  its 
dull  green  slate  roof  harmonised  with  the  foliage. 

Lack  of  accommodation  was  its  chief  sin.  The 
whole  building,  offices  included,  was  not  much  bigger 
than  the  dining-room  of  the  Union  Houses  of  Parliament, 


2(>  /AT    THE   (iOKDK    HOOP   LODGE. 

while  the  Debating  Chamber  measured  only  twenty 
feet  across.  It  is  true  that  there  were  only  forty-six 
members  in  1854,  but,  divided  into  two  rows  on  each 
side  of  the  House,  there  remained  an  aisle  of  barely 
four  feet  between  the  two  front  benches  ! 

Yet,  even  in  its  cramped  surroundings,  the  House 
had  a  dignified  appearance.  It  is  unlikely  that  the  most 
critical  member  of  the  Mother  of  Parliaments  would 
have  found  anything  to  smile  at,  and,  notwithstanding 
the  disheartening  sentiments  of  the  London  Times, 
it  required  only  a  few  sessions  to  show  that,  in  its 
composition,  the  Cape  House  would  bear  comparison 
with  any  in  the  world.  On  its  eighteen  inch  flooring 
boards  scenes  were  enacted,  oratory  displayed  and 
statesmanship  revealed  of  which  any  Parliament  might 
be  proud. 

In  1854  the  public  gained  admittance  through 
the  main  entrance  facing  down  Grave  Street,  and, 
after  passing  into  a  narrow  passage,  visitors  were 
ushered  into  what  was  called  the  "  public  gallery  " 
—a  few  seats  arranged  in  rows  and  separated  from 
the  '  House  "  by  a  rail  of  rough  unpamted  pine 
and  a  green  baize  curtain.  At  two  o'clock  a  great 
hand-bell  was  rung,  and  when  prayers*  had  been 

On  the  4th  of  July,  1854,  the  fourth  sitting  clay  ol  the  first  session,  Dr. 
Abercrombie  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  so  far  no  prayers  had  been  read,  and 
the  House  unanimously  resolved  "That  the  business  of  this  House  be  commenced 
iy  prayer  to  Almighty  God."  The  prayer  used  by  the  old  Legislative  Council 
Irom  1834  to  I8';>3  was  then  adopted  with  slight  modifications,  and  was  substan- 
tially the  saint'  r.s  that  now  used  by  the  Union  House  of  Assembly. 


UJ 
Q 
CC 
< 

o 

Q. 
O 
O 

X 

UJ 
Q 
UJ 
O 

a 


MEMBERS 
ENTRANCE 


PL\N  OF  THE  BUILDING  OCCUPIED  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF 
ASSEMBLY,   1854  '84. 

The   drawing   is    dated    1875,  and   shows    the   arrangements   as  finally 
adopted.     The   "  member's  entrance"   shown  here  was  originally  used 


a  public  entrance,  and  th 
om    a   plan    in    the   I'nlon    Ho 


Speaker's  Cha 

of   As 


OFFICERS   OF   THK   J/OUNK. 


read  the  curtain  was  drawn  aside  and  the  House, 
its  members,  its  officers,  and  the  Press  gallery  were 
exposed  to  view. 

At  the  upper  end  of  the  hall  facing  the  sea  sat 
the  stern-visaged  Speaker  (Sir  Christoffel  Brand)  on 
an  old-fashioned  Dutch  chair  mounted  on  a  small 
platform  about  two  feet  high.  Immediately  below 
him  were  the  Clerk  and  the  Clerk-Assistant  seated 
at  a  deal  table  covered  with  green  baize  (even  then  the 
predominating  colour),  and  piled  high  with  books. 
The  bearded  Clerk,  Mr.  H.  J.  P.  le  Sueur,  was  the 
nephew  of  the  then  Postmaster-General,  and  the 
Clerk-Assistant,  Mr.  C.  J.  Brand,  Jun.,  was  a  son 
of  the  Speaker.  Close  to  the  bar  of  the  House,  Major 
Longmore,  the  Sergeant-at-Arms,  had  a  raised  seat 
from  which  he  would  constantly  descend  to  announce 
in  a  loud  voice  "  a  Messenger  from  His  Excellency 
the  Governor,"  or  "  Messengers  from  the  Honourable 
the  Legislative  Council." 

These  were  the  officials  of  the  House,  but  just 
behind  and  to  either  side  of  the  Speaker's  Chair, 
half-hidden  by  a  screen,  were  the  representatives 
of  the  Press  :  William  Buchanan  and  his  son  James 
(afterwards  a  Judge  of  the  High  Court  of  Griqualand 
West)  representing  the  Commercial  jldoertiser  and 
ZKCail  on  the  one  side,  and  R.  W.  Murray,  Sen.  ("Lim- 
ner "),  representing  the  ^Conitor  on  the  other. 
The  Commercial  Advertiser  and  <J$£ail  printed  by 


JN  THE  GOEDE  HOOP  LODGE. 


far  the  better  reports  of  what  took  place,  but  Murray's 
pen  was  never  still,  and  it  is  largely  due  to  his  sketches 
of  members  and  reminiscences  of  early  Cape  days 
that  it  has  been  possible  to  reconstruct  the  House 
as  it  was.  It  should  be  remarked,  however,  that 
he  was  by  no  means  impartial.  A  close  examination 
of  the  articles  he  wrote,  and  the  periods  at  which 
he  wrote  them,  unfortunately  exposes  a  strong  political 
and  even  personal  bias.  One  of  his  duties  as  editor 
of  the  -JXConitor  was  to  oppose  Fairbairn,  and  Fairbairn, 
according  to  the  ^Tom/or,  never  uttered  a  wise  word 
in  the  House.  Speaker  Brand  he  soon  fell  foul  of, 
and  henceforth  Brand  was  transformed  from  an  able, 
impartial,  fearless  Speaker  to  a  doddering  old  red-faced 
man  whom  "  it  was  high  time  should  be  pensioned." 
Saul  Solomon,  whom  he  lauded  to  the  skies  in  1854, 
was  ten  years  later,  when  Murray  edited  an  Eastern 
paper,  nothing  less  than  narrow-minded,  ungenerous 
and  spiteful  ! 

But  to  return  to  the  House  as  visitors  saw  it  in  1854. 
On  the  front  benches  on  the  Speaker's  right  sat  the  four 
executive  officers,  W.  Hope  (Auditor-General),  H. 
Rivers  (Treasurer-General),  W.  Porter  (Attorney-General) 
and  Rawson  W.  Rawson  (Colonial  Secretary),  followed 
by  Fairbairn,  Watermeyer,  Ziervogel,  Molteno,  Memtjes 
and  Laws.  On  the  left  front  benches  were,  to  mention 
only  a  few,  Arderne,  Fairbridge,  Tancred,  Wiggins 
and  White,  while  in  a  back  bench  behind  Wiggins 


MR.     SAUL     SOLOMON:     (b»™    1817.   ./.v.f  1892) 

A  dwarf  in  stature  and  a  giant  in  intellect.  He  is  seen  in  his 
back  bench  seat  in  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge.  He  represented 
Cape  Town  from  1854  to  1868  and  from  1870  to  1883 


From  a    portrait   by 
Parliament 


\V>    H     Schroder,    1883     in    the    Union    House 


PROMINENT   MEMBERS.  29 

sat  Saul  Solomon,  the  brainiest  man  in  the  House. 
Advocate  J.  H.  Brand,  another  of  the  Speaker's  sons, 
who  in  1863  became  President  of  the  Orange  Free 
State,  was  absent  on  circuit  during  the  early  part 
of  the  session,  but  he  took  his  seat  in  time  to  show 
his  abilities  in  discussions  on  some  of  the  most  important 
matters  of  the  session.  Could  anyone  wish  to  see 
a  collection  more  brilliant  than  this  in  a  colony  which 
at  that  time  could  boast  of  not  more  than  140,000 
white  inhabitants  ? 

The  Legislative  Council  consisted  of  only  fifteen 
members.  Presided  over  by  the  Chief  Justice,  Sir 
John  Wylde,  they  sat  round  a  horse-shoe  shaped  table 
(recently  broken  up)  in  the  upper  room  in  the  Old 
Supreme  Court  Buildings  that  formerly  had  been 
used  by  the  Council  of  1834-'53.  There  seems  to  have 
been  a  plentiful  supply  of  green  baize  in  those  days, 
for  this  table,  too,  was  covered  with  that  material. 

Numerically,  the  Council  was  thus  far  weaker 
than  the  Assembly,  but  among  its  members  were  such 
sterling  men  as  H.  E.  Rutherford,  F.  W.  Reitz,  J.  B. 
Ebden  and  J.  de  Wet  for  the  West,  and  Sir  Andries 
Stockenstrom,  R.  Godlonton,  G.  Wood  and  H. 
Blame  for  the  East  ;  and  that  they  appreciated  their 
functions  and  valued  their  opinions  as  much  as  did 
the  House  of  Assembly  is  seen  from  the  innumerable 
disagreements  between  the  two  Houses. 

Troubles    over     money    bills     began     in     the    first 


30     IX  THE  GOEDE  HOOP  LODGE. 

session  and  ended  rather  curiously.  The  Constitution 
Ordinance  expressly  permitted  the  Council  to  amend 
Bills  appropriating  money  for  the  service  of  the  Crown 
or  imposing  taxation,  and  no  sooner  had  the  House 
of  Assembly  sent  the  first  Appropriation  Bill  to  the 
Council  for  concurrence  than  that  august  body  became 
inordinately  inquisitive.  It  wanted  to  know  why  the 
Speaker's  salary  was  fixed  at  £800,  why  the  Governor 
did  not  want  more  money  for  Road  Boards,  and  several 
other  things  besides.  Conferences  were  held  between 
the  two  Houses,  and  eventually  the  Council  decided 
to  give  the  Governor  money  for  Road  Board  officials 
whether  he  wanted  it  or  not. 

The  Assembly  was  up  in  arms.  The  Council  amend 
a  money  bill  ?  Never  !  According  to  the  letter  of 
the  law  it  certainly  had  the  right  to  do  so,  but  what 
of  that  ?  The  time-honoured  constitutional  practice 
of  the  Imperial  Parliament  was  good  enough  for  them, 
and  so  they  rejected  the  amendment.  The  Council 
insisted  on  the  amendment,  but  instead  of  being  content 
with  saying  so,  they  decided  to  inform  the  House 
of  Assembly  that  '  the  Bill  is  consequently  lost." 
The  bearers  of  the  message  were  duly  announced, 
walked  up  the  floor  of  the  House,  and  were  on  the  point 
of  handing  it  to  the  Speaker,  when  that  astute  custodian 
of  the  Assembly's  privileges  spied  the  accompanying 
The  message  he  would  receive,  but  not  the  Bill, 
lor,  said  he,  if  the  Bill  were  lost  in  the  Council  the 


DISPUTES    WITH   THE   COUNCIL.       31 

bearers  of  the  message  could  not  possibly  have  it  in 
their  possession.  But  the  bearers  seemed  to  think 
it  had  been  found  again.  They  persisted  in  handing 
over  the  Bill  and  firmly  placed  it  on  the  Speaker's 
desk.  The  Speaker  just  as  firmly  picked  it  up  and 
dropped  it  on  the  floor,  and  there  it  expired — the 
first  Appropriation  Bill  and  the  first  bill  to  "  drop  " 
in  every  sense  of  the  term. 

The  Governor  was  thus  left  without  funds,  but 
he  soon  found  a  way  out  of  the  difficulty  by  embodying 
such  of  his  requirements  as  were  non-contentious  in 
a  supplementary  Appropriation  Bill.  This  Bill  was 
passed  by  both  Houses,  and  at  the  prorogation  ceremony 
His  Excellency  took  the  opportunity  of  asking  them 
to  think  over  their  troubles  more  calmly  during  the 
recess.  But  from  that  day  to  this  the  two  Houses 
have  continued  to  wrangle,  and  R.  W.  Murray  tells 
us  that  when  a  few  years  later  they  attended  the  cere- 
mony connected  with  the  laying  of  the  foundation 
stone  of  the  patent  slip  at  Simonstown,  they  were 
so  much  at  loggerheads  that  the  band  struck  up,  "  Oh, 
dear,  what  can  the  matter  be?  "  much  to  the  amusement 
of  Sir  George  Grey  and  the  guests. 

Messages  between  the  Upper  and  Lower  Houses, 
by  the  way,  were  at  first  conveyed  by  two  members 
specially  deputed  on  each  occasion,  and  one  can  under- 
stand the  feeling  that  prompted  the  House  of  Assembly 
to  abandon  this  practice  after  a  three  years'  trial 


32     IN  THE  GOEDE  HOOP  LODGE. 

It  was  then  (1857)  proposed  that  one  of  the  officers 
of  the  House  should  be  empowered  to  carry  messages 
to  the  Council,  but  no  one  appears  to  have  been  par- 
ticularly anxious  constantly  to  tramp  Grave  Street 
and  climb  the  twisting  staircase  to  the  Council  room. 
When  the  Clerk  of  the  House  was  suggested  he  looked 
down  his  nose,  and  when  the  Clerk- Assistant  was 
mentioned  he  looked  out  of  the  window  to  see  what 
the  weather  was  like.  The  Clerk  of  the  Papers  had 
his  turn,  but  when  the  qualifications  of  the  doorkeeper 
had  been  discussed  the  doubtful  honour  was  thrust 
upon  the  chief  officer  as  the  most  suitable  to  be  trusted 
with  the  dignity  of  the  House. 

The  distance  which  separated  the  Colonial  Lords 
from  the  Commons  was,  however,  even  greater  than 
that  which  separated  their  Imperial  prototypes  from 
one  another  in  the  days  of  old  when  the  Commons 
resorted  to  the  Chapter  House  in  Westminster  Abbey 
and  left  the  Lords  in  possession  of  the  Parliament 
buildings  over  the  way,  and  the  result  was  that  the 
Clerk  of  the  House  had  often  to  dash  to  and  fro  more 
like  a  professional  sprinter  than  a  sedate  official.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  is  not  difficult  to  understand 
how  it  came  about  that  before  the  two  Houses  were 
brought  under  one  roof  the  Clerk-Assistant  was  also 
deemed  to  be  a  person  worthy  of  the  dignity  of  carrying 
messages. 

No  legislative  body  could  have  been  more  jealous 


INTEMPERANCE.  33 

of  its  dignity,  but  the  most  austere  assembly  in  the 
world  is  subject  to  the  frailties  of  the  flesh.  It  is  said, 
for  instance,  that  in  the  English  House  of  Commons, 
at  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  was  not 
thought  peculiar  for  a  party  of  Cabinet  Ministers, 
stripped  to  their  shirts  and  riotously  intoxicated, 
to  climb  the  nearest  signpost  in  order  to  drink  the 
King's  health  from  a  suitable  point  of  vantage.  Al- 
though the  Cape  House  never  got  quite  so  far  as  that, 
there  is  one  notorious  instance  of  intemperance.  A 
member  (who  shall  be  nameless),  after  giving  cause 
for  comment  during  the  whole  afternoon  of  the  9th 
of  June,  1857,  reached  an  unmistakable  stage  after 
dinner.  He  wanted  pen  and  ink  and  paper,  and 
insisted  that  the  Clerk  of  the  House  should  supply 
him  from  the  drawer  in  the  Clerk's  desk.  As  the 
drawer  was  locked,  the  key  was  angrily  demanded, 
and  it  looked  as  though  an  unseemly  altercation  was 
about  to  take  place,  until  Mr.  Molteno  made  a  timely 
interference  and  asked  the  House,  through  the  Speaker, 
to  order  the  withdrawal  of  the  member. 

The  House  was  more  than  willing,  but  the  member 
demurred.  Then  a  bright  idea  struck  him.  Why 
should  he  be  bullied  ?  Why  had  the  House  suddenly 
decided  to  get  rid  of  him  ?  He  appealed  for  protection 
and  peace,  as  well  as  for  pen  and  ink.  '  Ve-ry  well," 
he  said,  when  this  was  refused.  '  I  will  seek  my 
own  protection,  Mr.  Speaker  [he  pronounced  it 


J4  fX    THE   (10KDE   HOOP   LODGE. 

'  Shpeaker  '] .  I  have  allowed  this  to  go  on  too  long  ! 
Am  I  to  give  up  an  opinion — when  I  have  a  self-con- 
viction ?  For  what  reason  is  all  this  brought  forward  ?  " 

"  Be  at  peace,"  interjected  Mr.  Fairbairn.  '  Take 
the  advice  of  friends  and  quit  the  Chamber." 

'  Well,    well,"     continued    the    fuddled    member, 
there  is  my  hand  and  my  word  of  honour.     If  you 
are  satisfied   I   am  for  peace,   I  will  sit  down." 
'  Will    you   withdraw  P  "    asked   the   Speaker." 

"NO,"  came  the  stentorian  reply  ;  "  I  throw  myself 
on  the  hands  of  gentlemen."  The  question  was  put 
that  the  offender  be  placed  in  the  custody  of  the  Ser- 
geant-at-Arms,  and  was  carried  by  acclamation.  The 
Sergeant-at-Arms  approached  his  prisoner,  and  for 
a  moment  they  looked  at  one  another.  Then,  turning 
about,  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  headed  for  the  exit, 
followed  by  the  delinquent,  who,  with  one  eye  cocked 
on  the  shining  mace,  strutted  out,  singing  "  Rich 
and  rare  were  the  Gems  she  wore." 

I  know  of  only  one  other  instance  of  a  member 
being  placed  in  custody.  '  While  Mr.  Shepperson 
was  addressing  the  House,"  read  the  Journals  dated 
the  22nd  of  May,  1856,  "Dr.  Tancred  repeatedly 
interrupted  the  proceedings."  Mr.  Speaker  called 
him  to  order,  but  Dr.  Tancred  not  only  persisted 
in  '  vexatiously  interrupting  the  House,"  but  refused 
to  leave  the  Debating  Chamber  until  conducted  out  by 
the  Sergeant-at-Arms. 


DR.    TANCREISS   PECCADILLOES.       35 

Left  alone,  the  House  quickly  resolved  that  Tancred 
"  had  made  himself  guilty  of  contempt  of  this  House, 
and  that  he,  therefore,  be  committed  to  the  custody 
of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  until  he  shall  have  satisfied 
the  House."  Tancred  was  brought  to  the  bar,  informed 
of  the  decision,  and  again  removed  in  charge.  He 
appears,  however,  to  have  been  an  unwilling  guest, 
for  no  sooner  was  his  fate  determined  than  he  seized 
a  sheet  of  foolscap  and  hastily  scrawled  in  letters  an 
inch  big  :  "  Dr.  Tancred  for  Clanwilliam,  seeing  that 
the  Chair  and  Speaker  must  be  upheld,  gives  his  un- 
conditional apology  to  the  Speaker  and  this  Honourable 
House."  But  this  Honourable  House  was  in  no  hurry 
to  see  Dr.  Tancred  for  Clanwilliam,  and  by  postponing 
the  consideration  of  his  belated  retraction;  allowed 
him  to  remain  in  the  company  of  the  Sergeant-at-Arms 
for  five  days. 

One  of  the  first  things  the  House  had  done  on 
its  meeting  in  1854  was  to  appoint  a  Select  Committee, 
comprising  Porter,  Fairbairn,  Fairbridge,  Watermeyer, 
and  Ziervogel,  to  frame  Standing  Rules  and  Orders. 
These  were  drafted  with  the  greatest  care,  and,  with 
only  a  few  alterations,  were  adopted  by  the  House 
in  the  same  session.  They  numbered  only  173,  and 
by  enunciating  sound  principles  without  entering  into 
many  details,  remained  in  use,  with  a  few  additions, 
for  twenty-nine  years. 

Dr.  Tancred  was   the  first   to   test   them,   and   this 


36     IN  THE  GOEDE  HOOP  LODGE. 

is  the  most  charitable  light  in  which  that  insufferable, 
thick-skinned  nuisance  may  be  remembered.  At  first 
he  shocked  the  House,  then  by  turns  he  angered  and 
amused  it,  until  finally  Speaker  and  members  decided 
to  disregard  his  antics.  One  day  he  would  mimic 
a  member,  another  day  he  would  defy  the  authority 
of  the  Chair,  but  on  the  24th  of  April,  1856,  he  exceeded 
all  Parliamentary  bounds. 

The  House  was  in  committee  on  the  report  of  a 
Select  Committee,  when  Dr.  Tancred,  who  favoured 
the  separation  of  East  from  West,  interrupted  Mr. 
Ziervogel  by  shouting  out,  "  Separate,  separate," 
to  which  Mr.  Ziervogel  retorted  with  some  warmth  : 
'  Perhaps  the  House  would  be  glad  to  separate  from 
Clanwilliam  and  its  honourable  member  too — and  the 
sooner  the  better."  The  afterthought  was  the 
finishing  touch. 

'  What's  that  you  say  ?  "    roared  Tancred,  red-hot 
with    rage.      "  One   member   is    as   good    as    another." 
'  Yes,"    replied  Ziervogel,     "  and  perhaps   a    little 
better." 

This  was  too  much  for  Tancred.  Inarticulate, 
he  sprang  from  his  seat,  threw  his  pocket-handkerchief 
in  Ziervogel's  face,  and  significantly  walked  outside. 

Ziervogel  was  sensible  enough  not  to  follow  him. 
Nothing,  he  assured  the  outraged  House,  that  was 
done  by  Dr.  Tancred  could  offend  him.  When  the 
committee  had  reported,  and  the  insult  was  brought 


A   FRIVOLOUS  AMENDMENT.        37 

to  the  Speaker's  notice,  Tancred  was  summoned 
to  his  seat  and,  after  he  had  offered  a  very  poor  apology 
to  the  House,  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  let  the  matter 
drop. 

Failing  separation  from  the  Western  Province 
the  Easterns  naturally  urged  that  Parliament  should 
sometimes  hold  its  meetings  in  their  part  of  thecountry. 
The  Governor  was  empowered  by  the  Constitution 
Ordinance  to  summon  Parliament  to  meet  anywhere 
in  the  Colony,  but  notwithstanding  growls  from  the 
East,  Parliament  was  only  once  summoned  to  meet 
outside  Cape  Town.  In  1855  an  Eastern  moved 
'  That  the  just  claims  of  the  Eastern  Province  require 
that  the  next  session  of  Parliament  be  held  in  some 
suitable  town  in  the  Eastern  Province  .  .  .  but 
there  were  many  obstacles,  such  as  the  transference 
of  the  Parliamentary  records,  and  Dr.  Tancred,  in  a 
facetious  mood,  moved  as  an  amendment,  in  words 
curiously  resembling  those  of  the  original  motion, 
that  the  Governor  be  requested  to  instruct  the  Colonial 
Secretary  (Rawson  W.  Rawson)  to  carry  the  Cape 
Archives  on  his  back  to  the  town  selected,  and  further, 
to  instruct  a  medical  officer  '  to  attend  the  Colonial 
Secretary  and  support  him  in  his  bodily  and  mental 
exertions."  The  amendment,  needless  to  say,  was 
not  seconded,  and  the  original  motion  was  negatived. 

But  in  1863  a  similar  motion  was  carried,  and, 
although  it  was  defeated  in  the  Council,  the  Governor 


38     L\  THE  GOKDE  HOOP  LODGE. 


decided,  owing  to  his  inability  to  pass  certain  measures 
in  Cape  Town,  to  hold  the  next  session  in  Grahamstown. 
At  the  prorogation  ceremony  he  announced  his  intention. 
The  Western  members  were  thunderstruck  and  strongly 
protested,  but  their  protestations  were  in  vain,  and 
held  in  Grahamstown  the  next  session  was. 

The  Sergeant-at-Arms  lugubriously  packed  up  the 
mace*  and,  pestered  by  reporters,  curious  to  see  his 
precious  charge,  travelled  by  sea  and  land  to  the  City 
of  Saints.  The  Speaker  drove  overland,  and  found 
the  jolting  he  got  on  the  journey  extremely  disagreeable. 
Grahamstown,  on  the  other  hand,  was  delighted, 
and  the  hotel  proprietors  beamed  at  the  prospect  of 
unusual  profits. 

As  the  buildings  in  the  Drostdy  grounds  had  just 
been  vacated  by  the  garrison,  the  old  military  hospital 
(now  used  as  a  botany  room  by  the  Rhodes  University 
College)  was  prepared  for  the  House  of  Assembly, 
and  three  wooden  Crimea-huts  (subsequently  destroyed 
by  fire),  which  stood  close  by,  were  allotted  to  the 
Legislative  Council.  The  services  of  a  local  carpenter 
were  requisitioned  to  make  the  interior  of  these  buildings 
resemble  the  two  Houses  in  the  Cape,  and,  so  successful 
were  his  efforts,  that  before  Parliament  met,  the  Cape 

I  In*  mace  is  now  used  in  the  Union  House  of  Assembly,  and  is  a  replica  of 
that  which  Kas  been  in  use  in  the  House  of  Commons  since  the  Restoration.  Cost- 
ing 100  enini-as,  it  was  ordered  from  England  in  1854,  and  arrived  the  following 
year  in  a  French-polished  oak  case.  In  1892  a  new  case  was  made  from  the  wood 
"  \  an  Riebeek's  Thorne,"  a  mimosa  tree  some  320  years  old  which  was  blov>-n 
down  ui^t  outside  the  Houses  of  Parliament  in  that  vear. 


OPENING  OF  PARLIAMENT  IN  THE  SHAW  COLLEGE. 
GRAHAMSTOWN,  1864. 

The  troops  are  seen  presenting  arms  as  the  Governor  s  carnage  draws 
up  at  the  entrance  to  the  building  in  High  Street.  The  building  is 
now  used  for  various  purposes,  and  the  facade  has  been  entirely  rebuilt. 

Fiom  a  wet   plate  negative  in  the  possession  of  A.  Flliott 


THE  ORAHAMSTOWN   SESSION.      39 

Town  House  of  Assembly  and  the  one  in  Grahamstown 
were,  in  the  words  of  a  man  who  knew  both  places, 
"  as  like  as  two  peas."  There  were  the  same  four 
rows  of  seats  covered  with  sham  morocco,  the  same 
square  table  with  mahogany  brackets  for  the  mace, 
and  the  same  desks,  screens  and  glass  ink-stands. 

Amid  great  rejoicings  of  the  inhabitants,  the  opening 
ceremony  took  place  in  the  Shaw  College  in  High 
Street  on  the  28th  of  April,  1864.  Members  of  Par- 
liament foregathered  in  houses  just  opposite  the  college, 
and  the  Westerns  noted  with  amusement  the  "  Separ- 
ationist  "  inscriptions  on  some  of  the  streamers  that 
adorned  the  street.  "  Look  out  for  squalls,"  read 
one  ;  "  Shall  you  remain  ?  "  bluntly  queried  another  ; 
and  "  Shall  we  keep  company  ?  "  was  the  strange 
device  of  a  third.  When  the  ceremony  was  over  members 
of  both  Houses  returned  to  their  respective  buildings, 
and  West  prepared  to  tackle  East  in  its  own  stronghold. 

During  the  session  a  peculiar  informality  was 
disclosed  which  resulted  in  a  notice  being  served  on 
the  Speaker  by  a  firm  of  Cape  Town  attorneys. 
Preceding  the  session,  there  had  been  a  general  election, 
and  the  Constitution  Ordinance  provided  that  when 
all  the  results  had  been  proclaimed  in  the  Qazettz 
the  Governor  might  summon  Parliament  by  procla- 
mation. Now  not  only  was  this  proclamation  issued 
a  few  hours  before  the  publication  of  the  Clanwilliam 
election  results,  but  it  was  known  that  on  the  date 


40     IN  THE  GOEDE  HOOP  LODGE. 


on  which  the  proclamation  purported  to  be  signed  in 
Cape  Town  the  Governor  was  actually  in  the  Eastern 
Province  and  that  he,  therefore,  could  not  possibly 
have  affixed  his  name  to  the  proclamation  as  by  law 
required. 

The  two  members  for  Clanwilham  (Mr.  Boyes  and 
Mr.  Steele)  expressed  themselves  highly  aggrieved. 
They  drew  up  a  "  solemn  declaration  and  protest," 
and  through  their  attorneys  called  upon  Sir  Christoffel 
Brand,  the  Speaker,  to  show  cause  why  the  proclamation 
summoning  Parliament  to  meet,  as  well  as  the  whole 
proceedings  at  Grahamstown,  should  not  be  declared 
"  null  and  void,  illegal  and  of  no  effect." 

The  document  was  considered  by  a  Select  Committee 
which  reported  to  the  House,  and  the  House,  to  the 
credit  of  the  Western  members,  told  the  Speaker  not 
to  take  any  notice  of  it. 

After  sitting  for  three  months  in  Grahamstown, 
both  Houses  met  once  more  in  the  Shaw  College — 
this  time  for  the  prorogation  ceremony — and  heard 
that  the  Governor  regarded  the  session  as  a  success. 
The  Westerns,  however,  took  a  different  view,  and  those 
who  still  remained  lost  no  time  in  getting  back  to  theii 
homes. 

The  next  session  (1865)  was  the  longest  in  the  history 
of  the  Cape  Parliament,  and  one  of  the  liveliest  that 
took  place  in  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge.  By  an  Act 
of  its  own  the  Imperial  Parliament  attempted  to  force 


BUILDING  OCCUPIED   BY   THE   HOUSE  OF  ASSEMBLY  IN 
GRAHAMSTOWN   IN   1864. 

View  of  the  old  military  hospital  in  the  Drostdy  grounds.  The 
members'  entrance  to  the  debating  chamber  has  Keen  converted  into 
the  window  shown  on  the  extreme  right.  The  steps  which  led  to  the 
entrance  have  been  removed,  and  the  trees  hav  bet  n  lately  cut  t.own 
From  a  recent  photograph  i-v  Lt.-Col.  H.  Greener. 


OBSTRUCTION.  41 


the  Cape  Legislature  to  annex  British  Kaffraria,  and 
Saul  Solomon  promptly  moved  a  resolution  that 
took  three  pages  of  printed  foolscap,  roundly  denouncing 
the  Imperial  Parliament  for  "  violating  our  Constitu- 
tional rights  "  by  attempting  to  force  the  hand  of 
the  Cape  Parliament  and  censuring  the  Governor  for 
carrying  out  his  instructions.  At  a  quarter  to  one  on 
a  chill  morning  of  the  24th  of  May — the  Queen's 
Birthday  of  all  days — the  motion  was  agreed  to  without 
a  division,  and,  having  thus  disposed  of  the  Imperial 
Parliament,  and  the  Governor,  Westerns  and  Easterns 
joined  issue  on  the  additional  number  of  seats  to  be 
allocated  upon  the  annexation  of  Kaffraria. 

Parnell  had  not  yet  shown  how  to  employ  "  the 
sacred  right  of  obstruction,"  but  the  Easterns  managed 
fairly  well  for  themselves.  They  read  pages  and  pages 
from  blue-books,  quoted  extensively  from  Webster's 
Dictionary,  and,  not  unnaturally,  showed  a  predilection 
for  excerpts  from  ,/J  T^ow  at  the  Oxford  ^/Jrms.  The 
Westerns  put  in  an  appearance  as  little  as  possible, 
and  the  Easterns  took  advantage  of  the  fact  by  arranging 
with  three  or  four  members  to  read  extracts  to  empty 
benches,  and  at  regular  intervals  to  draw  attention 
to  the  want  of  a  quorum  (twelve  members).  The 
bell  would  then  be  rung  as  in  a  division,  and  the  Westerns 
would  be  obliged  to  muster  in  sufficient  force  to  form 
a  quorum  and  so  prevent  the  count-out  which  would 
have  meant  that  the  Bill  before  the  House  would 


42  IX    THE   (iOEDE   HOOP   LODGE. 

lapse  and  have  to  be  revived  by  a  fresh  motion  involving 
fresh  discussion.  On  one  day  alone  there  were  fifty- 
eight  counts,  and,  before  the  Bill  was  passed,  there 
were  over  four  hundred,  five  of  which  did  result  in 
the  House  being  counted  out. 

The  Bill  had  hardly  been  read  a  third  time  when 
both  parties  put  their  quarrel  on  one  side  in  order  to 
honour  a  man  to  whom  honour  was  due.  William 
Porter  was  about  to  retire  from  the  office  of  Attorney- 
General  and  the  House  unanimously  decided  to  pass 
a  vote  of  thanks  for  the  exceptional  services  he  had 
rendered.  During  his  term  of  office  he  had  done  as 
much  as  any  to  create  the  proper  tone  in  the  House 
and  to  mould  its  character.  He  had  prepared,  and 
written  in  his  own  hand,  almost  every  bill  introduced, 
and  was  admired  as  much  for  his  oratory  and  brain- 
power as  for  his  downright  honesty,  his  regard  for 
the  feelings  of  others,  his  manliness  and  his  modesty. 

He  was  now  sixty  years  of  age,  and  grey-bearded, 
but  his  tall  figure  was  as  erect  as  ever,  and  when  he 
strode  into  the  House  just  before  the  Orders  of  the 
Day  were  read  on  the  21st  of  August,  1865,  there 
was  an  expectant  silence.  A  few  days  before,  when 
a  vote  of  thanks  had  been  passed,  it  had  been  resolved 
that  the  Speaker  should  communicate  the  resolution 
to  Mr.  Porter  in  the  House,  and  the  galleries  were 
crowded  in  anticipation  of  the  event.  Members  and 
the  public  rose  as  he  entered,  and  when  Mr.  Speaker 


a  QD  oaa°°° 

a  an p    GOOD 


MEMBERS      f@)   5PEAKE.K'i 
ENTRANCE    ^    ENTRANCE 


PLAN   OF  THE  BUILDING  OCCUPIED   BY  THE  HOUSE  OF 
ASSEMBLY   IN  GRAHAMSTOWN,   1864. 

Slight   structural    alterations   have   «mce   been  made. 


MR.    PORTER'S  FAREWELL.  43 

after  an  appropriate  address  handed  to  him  a  scroll 
on  which  was  engrossed  as  many  words  of  heartfelt 
thanks  as  could  be  worked  into  formal  phraseology, 
Mr.  Porter  held  an  admiring  audience  spellbound 
by  a  speech  that  was  as  eloquent  as  it  was  humble. 
And  when  he  finished  speaking  there  was  a  spontaneous 
burst  of  cheering,  in  which  the  strangers  in  the  gallery 
lustily  joined,  despite  the  remonstrances  of  the  Sergeant- 
at-Arms. 

Mr.  Porter,  even  when  a  member  of  a  conservative 
Executive,  had  been  in  favour  of  party  government, 
and  sitting  as  a  private  member  for  Cape  Town  in 
1872  he  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the  "  Responsible 
Government  Bill,"  which  he  had  been  called  upon 
to  draft,  pass  through  the  Assembly  after  a  hard  fight 
and  scrape  through  the  Council  by  the  casting  vote 
of  the  Chairman  of  Committees. 

In  this  year  (1872)  the  House  consisted  of  sixty-six 
instead  of  the  original  forty-six  members,  and  of  these 
only  five  who  had  sat  in  the  first  House  remained  to 
hand  on  its  traditions.  They  were  Molteno,  Porter, 
Solomon,  Ziervogel,  and  the  Speaker,  Sir  Christoffel 
Brand.  But  there  had  been  added  at  least  five  new 
members  of  note  to  transmit  the  unwritten  laws  to 
the  younger  generation,  namely,  J.  X.  Merriman, 
T.  C.  Scanlen,  G.  Sprigg,  Tennant  (afterwards  Speaker) 
and  J.  H.  de  Vilhers  (afterwards  Lord  de  Villiers), 
and  with  such  members  to  show  the  way  the  House 


44     IN  THE  GOEDE  HOOP  LODGE. 

entered  into  a  period  of  transformation  that  lasted 
until  the  old  buildings  were  forsaken.  The  introduction 
of  responsible  government  meant  an  organic  change, 
but  it  was  not  revolutionary,  and  the  process  of  develop- 
ment was  far  slower  than  might  be  expected.  Many 
responsibilities  properly  attaching  to  the  Government 
but  filched  by  a  House  envious  of  executive  control 
continued  to  be  undertaken  by  the  House  ;  the  old 
rules  still  obtained,  and  Ministers  were  at  first  prone 
to  forget  that  they  depended  on  the  good-will  of  Parlia- 
ment for  their  existence. 

In  1874,  however,  when  Sir  DavidTennant  was  elected 
Speaker,  the  character  of  the  House,  from  the  arrange- 
ment of  the  Debating  Chamber  to  the  form  of  its 
proceedings,  underwent  a  noticeable  change.  Like  all 
new  brooms  he  made  a  clean  sweep.  The  Speaker's 
Chair,  which,  in  1866,  had  been  moved  from  the  upper 
end  of  the  Chamber  to  a  position  facing  across  the 
floor,  was  placed  at  the  lower  end  of  the  Chamber, 
a  proper  Press  gallery  was  built,  and  the  attendants 
were  smartened  up  with  new  uniforms. 

Sir  David  had  read  the  signs  of  the  times  aright. 
He  recognised  the  spirit  of  evolution  that  was  at  work, 
and,  as  Speaker,  took  far  more  upon  his  shoulders 
than  had  his  predecessor,  who,  in  accordance  with 
ancient  custom,  had  regarded  himself  merely  as  the 
mouthpiece  of  the  House,  and  had  frequently  referred 
back  to  the  House,  or  the  Select  Committee  on  Standing 


CHAIRMEN   OF   COMMITTEE*.          45 

Rules  and  Orders,  questions  that  he  had  been  asked 
to  decide.  In  some  cases  Sir  David  followed  this 
practice,  but  with  the  accumulated  precedents  that 
had  been  established  and  a  good  conception  of  the 
sense  of  the  House,  he  generally  stated  exactly  what 
should  or  should  not  be  done.  He  discountenanced 
frivolous  motions  of  the  Tancred  type,  and  drafted 
revised  rules. 

Simultaneously  the  status  of  the  Chairman  of 
Committees  was  greatly  improved.  Hitherto  each 
Committee  of  the  Whole  House  had  chosen  its  own 
Chairman,  and  sometimes  as  many  as  twenty  members 
were  selected  during  one  session.  Some  were  good 
but  others  were  indifferent,  and  even  bad,  and  as 
none  had  the  advantage  of  continuous  experience,  a 
feeling  had  been  growing  that  only  one  member  should 
be  elected  for  all  Committees.  Among  the  most  success- 
ful Chairmen  had  been  Mr.  W.  Walter,  and  on  him, 
in  1875,  was  conferred  the  distinction  of  being  appointed 
first  permanent  Chairman  of  Committees  of  the  Cape 
House.  Elected  for  George  in  1859,  firm,  upright 
and  impartial,  he  was  much  respected  by  both  sides 
of  the  House,  and  invested  the  new  office  with  the 
authority  to  which  it  was  entitled. 

In  1872  a  blow  was  struck  at  the  old  party  divisions 
of  East  and  West  by  passing  an  Act  establishing  seven 
circles  instead  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Provinces 
for  the  Council  elections.  In  1882,  at  the  instance  ol 


46          L\    THE    (iOKDE   HOOP   LODGE. 

J.  H.  Hofmeyr,  an  Act  was  passed  (without  a  division 
in  the  House  of  Assembly)  permitting  the  use  of  the 
Dutch  language  in  debates.  In  1883  both  Houses 
surrendered  to  the  Supreme  Court  their  exclusive 
right  of  determining  the  validity  of  elections,  and 
in  the  same  year  passed  the  Powers  and  Privileges 
of  Parliament  Act,  which  at  last  enabled  them  to 
stretch  an  arm  beyond  their  walls  and  put  an  end  to 
insults  which  they  had  previously  allowed  to  pass 
unnoticed. 

These  were  some  of  the  more  important  changes 
that  took  place  during  the  period  1872-1884,  but 
there  were  many  others.  Although  replies  to  the 
Governor's  opening  speech  had  long  been  discarded, 
the  opening  ceremony  was  as  much  as  ever  a  public 
entertainment,  but  from  1881  the  grand  finale,  the 
prorogation  ceremony  in  Government  House,  was 
discontinued,  and  only  revived  on  three  later  occasions. 
In  1882  the  Governor  virtually  abandoned  the  practice 
of  sending  messages  to  the  House  by  one  of  his  household 
staff  and  communicated  with  the  House  through 
his  Ministers.  In  every  direction  there  was  a  tightening 
up  of  procedure  and  economising  of  time.  The  leisurely 
old  days  when  it  took  five  hours  to  print  a  page  of 
foolscap,  when  the  House  adjourned  for  a  Government 
House  ball,  and  when  a  member  sought  to  postpone 
a  discussion  because  the  Speaker  had  influenza,  were 
fast  disappearing. 


HON.   SIR   JOHN   MOLTENO.    K.C  M.G.    (b.  1814.  ,/.  1886). 

Sir  John,  or   "The  Lion  of   Beaufort"  as    he  was   called,  headed 
the    movement  for    Responsible  Government,    and  was   the    first 
Prime    Minister.      He    represented  Beaufort  West  from    1854    to 
1878  and  Victoria  West  from  1880  to  1883. 
From  n  rlrawimj  by  W.  H.  Schroder  in  "  Hct  Volksblad,"  1884. 


THE   F1RNT   PRIME    MINISTER.         47 

Meanwhile  three  Ministries  rose  and  fell.  When 
the  new  constitution  came  into  force  on  the  29th  of 
November,  1872,  the  Governor  asked  Mr.  (afterwards 
Sir  Richard)  Southey  to  form  a  Ministry.  On  his 
declining,  Mr.  Porter,  who  had  drafted  the  Bill,  was 
approached,  but  he,  too,  refused,  as  also  did  Mr. 
Solomon,  and  so  it  came  about  that  "  Molteno, 
the  lion  of  Beaufort,  the  alpha  and  omega  of  every 
question,  the  great  Sir  Oracle  of  the  Assembly,"  formed 
the  first  Ministry. 

Of  his  trials  and  tribulations  the  reader  will  get 
a  full  account  in  The  Life  and  Times  of  Sir  John 
Charles  Molteno,  which  gives  *  a  minute  description 
of  the  trouble  beginning  with  a  native  squabble  at 
a  drunken  feast,  centreing  round  the  resultant  Kafir 
war  that  set  all  the  frontier  ablaze,  and  ending  with 
the  dismissal  of  the  Molteno  Ministry  on  one  of  the 
biggest  constitutional  issues  the  Colony  ever  knew. 

The  crisis  arose  in  connection  with  the  use  of  Imperial 
troops  and  the  control  of  Colonial  forces,  but  of  the 
forces  themselves  there  could  be  nothing  but  praise, 
and  the  House  showed  its  feeling  in  a  manner  even 
more  elaborate  than  when  it  paid  its  tribute  to  Mr. 
Porter.  Sprigg,  who,  without  a  general  election, 
had  formed  a  new  Ministry,  moved,  and  Molteno, 
who  now  sat  on  the  Opposition  benches,  seconded, 
a  resolution  that  a  vote  of  thanks  be  accorded  the 
successful  commanders.  Political  differences  were  laid 


48    IX  THE  GOEDE  HOOP  LODGE. 

aside,  the  resolution  was  agreed  to,  and  on  the  3rd  of 
July,  1878,  the  heroes  of  the  hour,  General  Thesiger 
and  Commodore  Sullivan,  appeared  in  person  to  receive 
the  gracious  thanks  of  the  House  through  Mr.  Speaker 
Tennant.  The  whole  House  was  specially  prepared 
for  the  occasion.  Outside  the  building  the  Cape  Town 
Artillery  had  drawn  up  their  guns,  while  inside  tables 
and  blue-books  had  been  removed,  and  two  crimson 
easy  chairs  placed  within  the  bar.  As  the  Speaker's 
gallery  behind  the  bar  was  apportioned  to  the  blue 
and  scarlet-coated  officers,  distinguished  strangers  were 
placed  on  either  side  of  the  Speaker's  Chair. 

At  two  o'clock  Sir  David  Tennant,  robed  in  state 
gown  of  black  and  gold,  took  the  Chair,  and  having 
read  prayers,  invited  the  General  and  the  Commodore, 
who  waited  without  the  bar,  to  take  their  seats  on 
the  floor  of  the  House.  The  Sergeant-at-Arms  bearing 
the  mace  took  up  his  position  on  the  General's  right 
and  the  Speaker  proceeded  in  appropriate  terms  to 
convey  to  the  Imperial  and  Colonial  forces  the  highest 
compliment  Parliament  can  offer.  Two  soldierly 
replies,  and  the  hall  emptied.  The  Artillery  fired  a 
salute  that  shivered  a  pane  of  glass,  and  the  proceedings 
were  at  an  end. 

Thereafter  the  Opposition  settled  down  in  earnest 
to  oust  the  Government.  Sprigg  fell  to  Scanlen,  and 
just  before  Scanlen  succumbed  to  Upmgton  the  House 
moved  over  to  the  buildings  now  occupied  by  the 


THE  LODGE    VACATED.  ^ 

Union  Parliament.  No  guns  proclaimed  the  event. 
The  change  from  old  quarters  to  new  marked  the 
end  of  a  distinct  period  in  the  development  of  the 
Cape  House;  but  when,  during  the  recess  of  1884, 
Messrs.  Bull  and  Son,  the  contractors  for  the  new 
buildings,  had  handed  over  the  keys  of  the  new 
quarters,  the  Speaker  and  his  staff  moved  silently 
down  Grave  Street  without  ostentation  of  any  kind. 
For  a  short  time  the  Native  Affairs  Department 
made  use  of  the  old  Lodge,  but  in  1892  it  was  destroyed 
by  fire,  and  after  being  rebuilt  was  used  for  almost 
every  purpose  under  the  sun.  To-day,  however, 
as  the  office  of  the  Cape  Town  branch  of  the  Government 
Printing  and  Stationery  Department,  it  is  once  more 
the  home  of  blue-books — blue-books  that  contain  the 
history  of  every  question  that  exercised  the  ingenuity 
of  our  early  legislators.  Buried  away,  they  are  the 
dead  bones  of  the  past,  but  the  spirits  of  their  authors 
still  meet  one  at  every  turn. 


II. 

The 

Building 
of  the 
"New" 
Houses  of 
Parliament. 


ORIGINAL    DESIGN    FOR  THE   HOUSES  OF   PARLIAMENT 

— By  Charles  Freeman,  as  modified  and  approved  by  a  special 
commission  in  1874.  The  corner-stone  war  laid  in  the  following  year, 
but  the  building  was  never  completed. 

t-raph    on    invitation    lards   issued    for    the   ropvr- stone 


II. 

The  Building  of  the  "New"  Houses 
of  Parliament. 

A  CHAPTER  OF  ACCIDENTS. 

DO  you  think  that  the  public  and  strangers  can 
have  any  respect  for  the  Parliament  of  this 
country  when  they  see  the  members  of  the 
two  houses  in  the  two  different  places*  which  they 
now  occupy  ?  " 

The  question  was  put  by  a  member  of  a  Select  Com- 
mittee of  the  "  Upper  House  "  to  Major  Longmore  in 
1859. 

Major  Longmore  must  have  smiled.  He  was  Sergeant- 
at-Arms  of  the  "  Lower  House,"  but  he  was  also  a  poet 
and  a  philosopher.  "  As  to  gaining  more  respect," 
he  answered,  "  their  acts  will  be  the  source  of  respect 
shown  to  them." 

The  Select  Committee,  however,  was  sensitive 
about  visitors  commenting  on  the  "  pig-sty  places  in 
which  discussions  were  held,"  and  seriously  contem- 
templated  appropriating  the  Public  Library  buildings, 
then  being  erected,  for  the  Houses  of  Parliament. 

*    Hie  Record  Room  of  I  lie  Old  Supreme  Court  Buddings  and  the  Goede  Ho^p 

I  .odge. 


54       KRKCTION   OF   NEW   BUILDINGS. 


Mr.  Scott  Tucker,  the. Civil  Engineer,  urged  the 
committee  to  construct  new  quarters  on  the  site  that 
was  eventually  adopted,  but  the  Parade,  Caledon  Square, 
Greenmarket  Square,  the  Paddock  half-way  up  Govern- 
ment Avenue,  and  a  space  at  the  top  of  the  Avenue  were 
also  mooted,  and  had  their  supporters. 

Captain  George  Pilkington,  R.E.,  the  first  Colonial 
Engineer,  had  previously  submitted  a  design  for  the 
buildings,  but  in  the  end  the  Committee  decided  that 
Mr.  Scott  Tucker  should  draft  fresh  plans,  and  that  the 
site  should  be  determined  later.  By  "  later  "  the  Com- 
mittee meant  "  soon,"  but  it  was  not  until  the  23rd  of 
September,  1874,  that  the  present  position  was  finally 
settled  upon  by  a  Commission. 

Meanwhile  Scott  Tucker's  plans  met  the  same  fate 
as  Pilkington's.  They  were  laid  aside,  and  in  1873  three 
prizes  were  offered  for  the  best  designs  for  the  new 
Houses  of  Parliament.  Seven  were  received,  and  the 
Commission  that  selected  the  site  decided  that  the  first 
prize  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  guineas  should  be  awarded 
to  Mr.  Charles  Freeman,  an  officer  in  the  Public  Works 
Department. 

When  Mr.  Freeman's  design,  "  Spes  Bona,"  after 
some  modification,  was  officially  adopted,  he  must  have 
counted  himself  a  lucky  man,  yet  in  only  a  few  months 
he  was,  for  a  time,  to  rue  the  day  he  ever  set  pencil  to 
paper  in  the  competition. 

Great  preparations  were  made  for  the  12th  of  May, 


AN   IMPRESSIVE   CEREMONY.         55 

1875,  the  day  on  which  the  foundation-stone  was  to  be 
laid.  Miniature  photographs  of  the  new  buildings  (see 
illustration)  were  pasted  on  elaborate  invitation  cards, 
the  day  was  proclaimed  a  public  holiday,  and  crowds 
gathered  from  far  and  wide  to  witness  the  event. 

Bunting,  flags,  sunshine  and  colour  made  the  proper 
background,  and  in  the  foreground  stood  a  tripod  from 
which  hung  the  foundation-stone,  a  massive  block  of 
granite  engraved  in  letters  of  gold,  "  A.D.  1875."  Near 
the  stone  sat  His  Excellency  the  Governor,  Sir  Henry 
Barkly,  and  when  all  was  ready  and  speeches  had  been 
made  the  real  ceremony  began. 

In  a  cavity  of  the  stone  were  placed  a  glass  tube 
containing  specimens  of  the  coins  of  the  realm,  together 
with  a  parchment  scroll,  engrossed  with  the  names  of 
eminent  persons  present,  at  the  foot  of  which  was  the 
name  of  Mr.  Charles  Freeman,  architect. 

Corn,  wine  and  oil  were  poured  on  the  stone  by  three 
Masters  of  Masonic  Lodges,  and  thereafter  the  Dean 
prayed  that  "  God  Almighty  might  grant  that  the 
building  thus  begun  in  His  name  might  be  happily 
carried  on  to  its  complete  termination  without  injury  or 
accident,  and  that  when  completed  it  might  be  used  for 
the  good  of  this  Colony,  to  the  honour  of  our  Queen  and 
to  the  happiness  and  good  government  of  our  people." 

A  silk  flag  bearing  the  newly  designed  Cape  Arms* 

*  The  Cape  Arms  were  not  formally  granted  by  the  Queen  until  29th  May,  1876. 
For  Royal  Warrant  see  Cape  Gazette,  1st  Sept.,  1876. 


50       ERECTION   OF  SEW   BUILDINGS. 

was  hoisted  over  the  stone,  but  the  building  thus  begun 
was  never  completed,  and  the  corner-stone  itself  has 
vanished. 

Mr.  Freeman  was  appointed  Resident  Architect  to 
supervise  the  work  and  the  unexpected  happened.  The 
foundations  had  to  be  sunk  deeper  than  had  been 
anticipated,  water  had  to  be  drained  off,  and  the  probable 
expenditure  was  found  to  be  far  greater  than  had  been 
estimated. 

In  submitting  his  design,  Freeman  had  roughly 
calculated  that  the  cost  of  building  would  not  exceed 
£50,000  (the  maximum  fixed  by  the  terms  of  the  compe- 
tition), and  the  Public  Works  Department  had  checked 
his  figures.  But  now  it  was  found  that  with  the  modifi- 
cations that  had  been  made  the  cost  would  be  quite 
double  that  amount. 

Someone  had  to  suffer,  and  Freeman  suffered  acutely 
—for  a  time.  It  was  pointedly  remarked  that  his  designs 
were  very  similar  to  a  building  in  Illinois,  and  that  they 
had  many  points  in  common  with  Scott  Tucker's. 

Mr.  Freeman  was  openly  accused  of  neglecting  his 
duty  by  concealing  information  as  to  the  increased  cost, 
and  ten  months  after  the  foundation-stone  had  been 
laid  he  was  dismissed  from  office. 

Then  followed  a  period  of  doubt  and  uncertainty. 
The  House  of  Assembly  decided  to  appropriate  the 
Commercial  Exchange,  which  stood  on  the  Parade.  A 
Bill  was  introduced  for  this  purpose,  but  the  Council 


THE  MISSING  CORNER-STONE. 


threw  it  out.  During  the  suspense  the  foundations 
which  had  been  laid  were  found  to  be  faulty,  and  at  last 
Mr.  Greaves,  of  the  Public  Works  Department,  who 
had  been  brought  out  from  England  in  connection  with 
the  building  that  had  been  started,  was  entrusted  with 
the  preparation  of  entirely  new  designs. 

In  rebuilding  the  foundations,  the  corner-stone  which 
had  been  so  reverently  laid  was  surreptitiously  removed, 
and  left  to  lie  neglected  among  the  refuse  that  surrounds 
all  new  buildings.  The  coins  and  parchment  scroll, 
however,  were  rescued,  soldered  up  in  a  tin  box,  and 
quietly  placed  in  a  secret  place  made  for  it  in  the  pro- 
jecting foundations  of  the  entrance  to  the  Parliamentary 
Library. 

Even  after  the  fresh  start  had  been  made  there  was 
much  wavering.  Those  who  were  to  inhabit  the  buildings 
became  uneasy  lest  red-brick  would  have  a  meretricious 
appearance,  and  wondered  whether  there  were  not  too 
many  ornamentations. 

Were  the  outlines  all  that  might  be  desired,  was 
Doric  the  most  suitable  style  after  all,  and  would  it  not 
be  better  to  face  the  building  with  granite  ?  were  questions 
that  assailed  their  doubting  minds.  More  resolutions, 
more  correspondence,  and  another  Select  Committee, 
and  it  was  resolved  that  the  building  should  proceed 
as  Mr.  Greaves  had  planned  it. 

And  so  at  last  in  1884,  after  thirty  years  of  uncer- 
tainty, the  Houses  of  Parliament  were  finished  at  a  cost 


58       ERECTION   OF   NEW   BUILDINGS. 

of  £220,000.  There  was  no  dome,  there  were  no  statues 
on  the  parapets,  and  there  were  no  fountains  as  originally 
provided  by  Mr.  Freeman,  but  then  his  design  would 
have  exceeded  the  £50,000  limit  prescribed  by  the 
competition  ! 

How  Mr.  Freeman  must  have  chuckled  afterwards. 
As  a  builder  and  designer  he  started  business  on  his 
own,  and  before  he  died,  a  few  years  ago,  could  point 
in  Cape  Town  alone  to  the  Wesleyan  Church,  the 
Standard  Bank,  and  a  host  of  other  buildings,  including 
his  own  premises  in  Strand  Street,  as  monuments  to  his 
success  and  architectural  ability. 


HI. 

In  the 
"New" 
Houses  of 
Parliament, 
1885-1910. 


THE   'NEW   HOUSES   OF   PARLIAMENT,    I8S5   1910. 

^ith    the    addition    of    a    new  wing   on    the    further   side,  these 
buildings  arc  now  used  Ky  the  Union  Parliament. 
From  a  phonograph  hy  K.  Peters  ("  Hood's  Studio  "),  Cape  Tow,, 


III. 

In  the   i4New"   Houses  of  Parliament, 

1885-1910. 

FROM  the  raised  throne  in  the  Legislative  Council 
Chamber  of  the  "  new  "  Houses  of  Parliament 
His  Excellency  the  Governor,  Sir  Hercules  Robin- 
son (afterwards  Lord  Rosmead)  bowed  twice.  '  Mr. 
President  and  Gentlemen  of  the  Legislative  Council," 
said  he,  and  there  was  a  ring  of  satisfaction  in  his  voice, 
"  Mr.  Speaker  and  Gentlemen  of  the  House  of  Assembly, 
in  meeting  you  for  the  first  time  in  this  Chamber,  I 
desire  to  offer  you  my  congratulations  on  being  able  to 
assemble  in  a  building  worthy  of  the  Legislature  of  the 
Colony,  and  to  express  a  hope  that  the  erection  of  this 
handsome  and  convenient  structure  indicates  an  in- 
tention on  your  part  to  proceed  in  the  future  in  that 
course  of  progressive  and  useful  legislation  which  has 
been  pursued  in  the  past." 

Outside  the  "  handsome  and  convenient  structure  " 
horse  and  foot  regiments  made  as  brave  a  show  as  wet 
great-coats  and  a  raw  and  gusty  day  in  the  month  of 
May,  1885,  would  allow,  but  within  the  building  there 
was  seldom  a  more  spectacular  opening  ceremony. 


JN   THE   NEW   BUILDINGS. 


Hitherto  these  ceremonies  had  been  held  at  Government 
House  whither  both  Houses  of  Parliament  had  proceeded, 
but  now  that  Parliament  was  properly  housed  the 
position  was  reversed.  Now  the  Governor,  amid  all  the 
pageantry  befitting  the  occasion,  could  come  to  Parliament, 
and  men  and  women  tricked  themselves  to  show  their 
appreciation  of  the  removal  of  the  legislature  from  barn 
to  palace.  Sir  Thomas  Scanlen  wore  the  star  of  the 
K.C.M.G.,  the  Speaker's  train  was  carried  by  his  little 
grandson  attired  in  Highland  costume,  the  Clerk  and 
Clerk-Assistant  for  the  first  time  donned  bob-tail  wigs 
and  wore  uniforms  beneath  their  gowns,  while  the 
judges  looked  as  grave  as  when  twelve  years  later  they, 
with  General  Goodenough,  were  themselves  commis- 
sioned to  open  Parliament  during  the  absence  of  the 
Governor. 

"  Palatial,"  '  magnificent,"  and  even  "  stunning  " 
were  words  one  might  have  heard  as,  the  ceremony  over, 
members  of  the  House  of  Assembly  wended  their  way 
back  to  their  own  side  of  the  building.  But  the  smell 
of  fresh  paint  and  varnish  in  ornate  surroundings  did 
not  appeal  to  them  all,  and  there  were  some  faces, 
tanned  with  the  fresh  air  of  the  veld,  that  during  both 
the  opening  ceremony  and  the  brilliant  reception  given 
by  President  and  Speaker  the  same  night,  betrayed  the 
sadness  that  comes  in  parting  with  an  old  home,  be  it 
even  a  barn.  In  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge  the  garden 
had  been  the  lobby,  and  intercourse  was  governed  by 


DIVISION    LOBBIED.  63 

the  freedom  that  the  garden  inspires.  Now  pillars  of 
marble  with  Corinthian  capitals,  tesselated  floors,  and  a 
Debating  Chamber  only  a  few  feet  smaller  than  that  of 
the  House  of  Commons  gave  rise  to  a  new  feeling  of 
formality.  The  draughts  were  abominable,  the  light 
was  trying,  the  acoustic  properties  bad,  and  poor  Mr. 
Greaves,  of  the  Public  Works  Department,  was  kept 
busy  for  many  a  year  later  trying  to  remedy  the  defects. 
There  was  only  a  small  refreshment  room,  but  a  handsome 
library  and  a  comfortable  billiard  room  made  up  for  a 
good  deal.  And  then  there  were  the  division  lobbies. 

Now  thereby  hangs  a  tale,  for  the  history  of  divisions 
in  the  Cape  House  is  peculiar.  For  the  first  five  years 
of  its  existence  the  Cape  House  thought  it  necessary  to 
preclude  strangers  from  witnessing  it  divide,  and  when 
a  division  was  called  the  Speaker  ordered  the  Sergeant- 
at-Arms  to  clear  the  gallery  ;  but  in  1859  democracy 
gained  a  point  and  strangers  were  allowed  the  privilege 
of  hearing  Mr.  Speaker  direct  the  Ayes  to  take  their 
seats  on  the  right  of  the  Chair  and  the  Noes  on  the  left. 
In  1866,  however,  when  the  Speaker's  Chair  from  facing 
down  the  length  of  the  hall  was  moved  so  as  to  face 
across  the  floor,  it  had  a  long  bench  opposite  it,  and 
only  an  imaginary  line  divided  the  right  of  the  House 
from  the  left.  The  Standing  Rules  and  Orders  Com- 
mittee, fearing  complications — a  member  might  easily 
have  been  cut  in  twain — recommended  that  the  Speaker's 
library  and  the  Clerk's  offices  should  be  used  as  lobbies; 


64  IX    THE   NEW    BUILDINGS. 


but  although  the  report  was  adopted  and  the  arrangement 
of  the  House  was  not  altered  for  some  time,  there  is  good 
reason  for  believing  that  lobbies  after  being  given  one 
trial  were  never  again  used  in  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge. 

And  so  it  came  to  pass  that  when  members  saw 
lobbies  with  tellers'  boxes  opening  into  the  Debating 
Chamber  in  the  new  building  they  looked  askance  at 
one  another.  The  rules  sanctioned  this  method  of 
dividing,  but  members  did  not  like  it.  It  was  hinted 
that  stock  farmers  objected  to  being  counted  in  the 
same  way  as  their  sheep  ;  but,  be  this  as  it  may,  the 
new  lobbies  were  only  twice  used,  and  the  doors  leading 
into  them  from  the  House  were  shortly  afterwards 
covered  with  oak  panelling. 

Whatever  doubts  there  may  have  been  as  to  the 
quality  of  the  buildings,  there  were  none  as  to  the 
excellence  of  the  members,  except  in  respect  of  the 
growing  number  of  lawyers — a  section  of  the  House 
that  probably  sacrificed  more  than  any  other  in  ac- 
cepting election.  It  has  ever  been  the  lawyers'  lot  to  be 
misunderstood  in  Parliament.  In  the  reign  of  Edward 
III.  "gentlemen  of  the  long  robe"  were  actually 
excluded  from  the  House  of  Commons,  and  when 
they  were  admitted  Pitt  spoke  of  them  as  "  the  bloated 
spiders  of  Westminster  Hall !  "  The  old  objection 
was  that  these  gentlemen  were  inclined  to  pursue 
their  own  interests  rather  than  those  of  the  State, 
but  the  more  modern  view  probably  arose  out  of  the 


LAWYERS.  65 

difficulty  some  lawyers  found  in  distinguishing  matters 
of  public  policy  from  matters  of  law. 

In  the  Cape  House  it  was  much  the  same,  and 
in  1886  we  find  Sir  James  Rose  Innes,  then  a  brilliant 
"  legal  '  member,  and  now  Chief  Justice,  complaining 
that  the  Colonial  Secretary  '  talked  like  a  lawyer." 
For  his  own  part  he  vowed  that  he  sloughed  off  his 
lawyer's  skin  before  he  left  his  chambers,  and  consigned 
his  legal  precedents  and  methods  to  his  wig-box  before 
he  turned  his  face  towards  the  Houses  of  Parliament. 
The  lawyer,  he  contended,  who  did  not  pro  hoc  vice 
cease  to  be  a  lawyer  could  not  aspire  to  statesmanship. 
Lawyers,  moreover,  would  naturally  excel  in 
laying  down  the  law,"  and  nobody  dislikes  being 
lectured  more  than  a  member  of  Parliament.  Perhaps 
it  was  this  feeling  that  stifled  the  picturesque  practice  of 
hearing  counsel  at  the  bar  of  the  House  in  opposition 
to  private  bills.  Four  times  the  House  suffered  itself 
to  be  thus  lectured.  The  Sergeant-at-Arms  carried 
the  mace  beyond  the  bar,  Mr.  Speaker  put  on  his 
three-cornered  black  hat,  and  counsel,  wigged  and 
gowned,  held  forth  with  invariable  eloquence  and 
skill.  But  as  a  rule  members  slipped  out  one  by  one 
to  the  tea  room,  and  left  poor  counsel  labouring  away  at 
empty  benches.  Only  once  did  pleading  at  the  bar 
produce  a  tangible  result,  and  as  the  successful  barrister 
was  Mr.  Advocate  Rose  Innes,  his  obiter  dictum  on 
the  subject  of  lawyers  in  Parliament  has  added  weight. 


66  7j\-    THE   NEW   BUILDINGS. 

It  is  hard  to  say  whether  lawyer  or  layman  was 
the  Demosthenes  of  the  House.  Opinions  on  the  subject 
vary,  and  as  the  standard  of  eloquence  changed 
considerably  during  the  existence  of  the  Cape  Parliament 
it  is  difficult  to  make  comparisons.  Porter  and 
Upmgton,  for  instance,  were  products  of  different 
days,  and  consequently  differed  vastly  in  their  style  ; 
yet  who  shall  say  that  the  one  was  greater  than  the 
other  ?  In  Porter's  day  an  audience  asked  first  that 
its  ear  should  be  pleased  and  then  its  mind  ;  it  adored 
an  apt  quotation  and  revelled  in  a  drawn-out 
peroration  full  of  flights  and  flourishes.  Upmgton, 
on  the  other  hand,  lived  at  a  time  when  appeal  to 
reason  was  beginning  to  be  the  first  requisite,  and 
men,  intolerant  of  affectation,  took  fright  at  flamboyant 
effects.  Short  speeches,  rich  in  figurative  language 
and  historical  allusion,  delivered  earnestly  in  a  musical 
voice,  however,  were  always  the  most  impressive. 
Such  were  Mr.  Merriman's  speeches,  of  which  his 
oration  on  women's  suffrage  in  1907  was  a  good 
example. 

But  if  any  attempt  were  made  to  catalogue  all  the 
speakers  of  the  Cape  House,  Sir  Gordon  Spngg's 
rhetoric,  Saul  Solomon's  logic,  Sauer's  searing 
criticism,  Sir  Thomas  Fuller's  and  Sir  Bisset  Berry's 
diction,  and  Sir  Thomas  Smartt's  fluency  would  have 
to  be  mentioned, and  still  the  list  would  be  far — very 
far — from  exhaustive,  for,  according  to  a  magnanimous 


HON.  SIR  THOMAS  UPINGTON,  K.C.M.G.,  Q.C.  <••..  IN-I.  rf.  1898) 

Mr.  Porter,  Mr.  Mcrnman  and  Sir  Thomas  ranked  as  the  three 
greatest  orators  in  the  House.  With  only  a  short  interval,  whilst  a 
judge  he  sat  continuously  from  1878  until  his  death.  He  served  in 
four  Ministries  and  was  once  Premier. 

From  a  drawing  hv  \V.  H    Schroder  in  "  Het  VolU.iati."    1835 


ORATORS. 


assertion  by  Judge  Cole,  "  we  are  all  fluent  speakers 
in  this  country." 

As  a  matter  of  fact,  however,  some  of  the  greatest 
statesmen  the  Cape  produced  were  not  great  speakers. 
Rhodes'  speeches  were  not  polished,  and  J.  H.  Hofmeyr, 
the  Maker  of  Ministries — who,  by  his  skilful  leadership 
of  the  Afrikander  Bond,  changed  the  whole  political 
complexion  of  the  House  after  the  general  election 
of  1884 — in  spite  of  his  careful  choice  of  words,  was 
always,  in  Mr.  Sauer's  words,  "  the  most  misunderstood 
public  man  in  South  Africa." 

The  truth  is,  of  course,  that  the  greatest  thinkers 
are  not  always  the  greatest  speakers.  The  man  of 
few  ideas  who  persistently  hammers  away  at  a  subject 
from  one  angle  will  often  make  a  better  impression 
than  the  man  with  a  flood  of  ideas  who  attacks  the 
subject  from  every  point  of  view. 

And  then  there  were  the  members  who  hardly 
spoke  at  all.  Since  the  word  "  Parliament  "  is  derived 
from  the  French  "  to  talk  "  Parliamentary  government 
is  of  course  synonymous  with  government  by  discussion, 
and  from  the  earliest  days  there  were  members  who 
could  talk  for  hours  on  end.  T.  H.  Bowker  in  1861 
spoke  on  the  Separation  Bill  for  an  hour  on  a  Saturday 
night  and  took  breath  as  Sunday  drew  near,  only  to 
continue  from  2  p.m.  until  7.20  p.m.  on  the  following 
Monday.  Utterly  exhausted,  he  ended  by  saying 
that  he  would  rather  die  on  the  floor  of  the  House 


68  IN   THE   NEW   BUILDINGS. 

than  surrender  his  cause,  but  there  were  many  who 
realised  that  even  in  Parliament  silence  is  sometimes 
golden.  Who  in  recent  times  will  forget  the  self- 
enforced  silence  of  Dr.  Jameson  during  the  whole 
of  the  1900  session  ?  Or  the  effect  produced  by  certain 
members  who  spoke  only  when  their  acknowledged 
grasp  of  a  subject  warranted  the  attention  of  the 
entire  House  ?  Some  were  silent  because  they  preferred 
to  listen  and  to  think,  and  others  because  they  realised 
that  debating  m  Parliament,  where  most  are  practised 
speakers,  is  a  very  different  matter  from  speaking  on 
a  public  platform. 

One  member  in  particular  was  so  nervous  that 
he  is  said  never  to  have  produced  a  single  speech, 
although  he  made  copious  notes  for  several,  and  was 
a  member  for  twenty  years.  Once  he  certainly  rose 
and  caught  the  Speaker's  eye,  but  before  the  Speaker 
could  call  upon  him  he  gasped,  snatched  up  his  notes 
and  left  the  House  !  Better  such  a  fate,  nevertheless, 
than  that  of  the  "  woodcutter  "  member,  who  spoke 
on  woodcutters  only  and  at  all  times,  no  matter  what 
was  under  discussion  ;  his  grief  was  so  painfully 
apparent  when  it  was  made  clear  by  Speaker  or 
Chairman  that  woodcutting  was  not  a  universal  topic 
or  a  central  problem  around  which  higher  politics 
revolved,  and  his  foible  was  so  easily  the  sport  of 
those  jesters  with  which  the  high  court  of  Parliament 
always  abounds. 


HON.   JAN   HENDRIK   HOFMEYR    (6..,,,  1845.  dM  iw> 

"  On/e  Jan,'  by  his  leadership  of  the  Bond,  chanced  the  whole  political 
complexion  of  the  House  after  the  general  election  of  1883.  Me  was  a 
member  from  1879  to  1895.  and  Minister  without  Portfolio  in  1881. 

From    a    hitherto    unpublished    drawing    l,y     I.    M.   Solomon. 


CAP   AND  BELLti.  69 

To  be  a  Merry  Andrew  was,  indeed,  the  secret 
ambition  of  many  a  member,  and  after  Dr.  Tancred 
died  in  1866  there  were  several  who  sought  and  wore 
the  cap  and  bells.  Colonel  Schermbrucker  was  a 
Bavarian  by  birth,  had  fought  in  the  trenches  of 
Sebastopol,  was  large  of  build,  wise,  and,  when  the 
House  entered  the  new  buildings,  held  Cabinet  rank, 
but  when  freed  from  the  responsibilities  of  office, 
he  tried  on  the  cap,  and  found  it  fitted.  His  wit  was 
not  nimble.  His  success  in  his  new  role  lay  rather 
in  drollery  and  ponderous  loquacity,  which,  combined 
with  his  knowledge  of  the  rules  of  debate,  made  him 
at  once  a  prince  of  obstructionists,  the  torment  of 
Speakers  and  the  idol  of  the  gallery.  With  an  eye  on 
the  gallery  and  his  hand  on  his  heart  he  vowed  that 
he  was  the  ardent  admirer  and  champion  of  the  fair 
sex,  and  in  the  same  breath  demanded  that  there  was 
only  one  right  for  women  :  the  right  to  contribute 
to  the  comfort  of  man.  At  a  moment's  notice  he 
would  gladly  undertake  to  hold  up  the  House  for  an 
afternoon.  He  angrily  hurled  back  the  '  base 
insinuation  that  he  was  a  fool  and  jester  "  and  airily 
told  a  Minister  to  "  shut  up  "  —yet  when  he  died  of 
dropsy  in  1904  he  left  no  enemies.  Would  that  all 
jesters  might  have  that  epitaph. 

These  were  a  few  individual  types  that  went  to 
make  up  the  House  of  Assembly,  but  it  is  not  to 
individuals  that  we  refer  in  speaking  of  "  the  House." 


THE  NEW   BUILDINGS. 


'  The  House  "  had  an  individuality  of  its  own,  and 
required  no  legal  fiction  to  prove  it  a  distinct  entity. 
Out  of  the  clash  of  political  ideals,  personal  ambitions, 
and  points  of  view  there  had  early  been  evolved  a 
collective  personality  that  was  a  being  apart  from 
members,  yet  comprised  them  all,  and  reacted  upon 
their  personalities.  '  The  House  smiled  "  does  not 
necessarily  mean  that  every  member  smiled,  any 
more  than  the  familiar  phrase,  "  This  House  is  of 
opinion  "  means  that  every  member  is  of  the  stated 
opinion.  This  probably  applies  to  most  representative 
assemblies,  but  it  was  particularly  true  of  the  Cape 
House. 

That  it  was  an  essentially  human  "  House  "  was 
apparent  to  all  who  saw  it  under  varying  conditions, 
and  one  illustration  will  be  enough  to  show  its  depth 
of  feeling.  In  1898  the  death  of  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg's 
old  friend,  Sir  Thomas  Upington,  was  announced. 
The  Premier,  Mr.  W.  P.  Schreiner,  in  moving  a  motion 
of  condolence,  made  a  fitting  speech,  and  Mr.  Merriman 
paid  an  eloquent  and  generous  tribute  to  his  old 
opponent ;  but  it  was  Sir  Gordon  who  accidentally 
showed  the  real  feeling  of  the  House.  He,  a  champion 
who  was  accustomed  to  take  as  many  hard  knocks 
as  he  gave,  who  had  been  dubbed  "  the  Apostle  of 
Vigour,"  rose  slowly  to  his  feet.  "  Mr.  Speaker,"  he 
began,  in  an  uncertain  voice,  and  again,  "  Mr.  Speaker, 
I  beg — to  second — the  motion."  He  got  no  further. 


% 


RT.  HON.  SIR  GORDON  SPR1GG,  P.C.,  G.C.M.G.  (b.  mo,  ./.  1<>13). 
"  The  Apostle   of   Vigour,"  who  was   for    36   years   a  member  of    the 


House.      He    served    in    s 
Minister. 
From  a  portrait  bv  u..  Rowortli 


.Ministries,    and    was    four    times    Prime 


tl-c  L' 


THE    FEELINd   OF   THE   HOUSE.        71 

For  a  moment  he  stood,  and  then,  overcome  with 
emotion,  sank  back  into  his  seat.  Eyes  sought  the 
pattern  of  the  carpet,  and  to  many  the  highly  polished 
desk- tops  seemed  blurred.  A  hoarse  sob  broke  the 
absolute  stillness,  and  once  more  there  was  silence, 
until  Major  Tamplin  rose  to  the  occasion  and  spoke 
manfully  "  on  behalf  of  the  Bar."  Sir  Gordon  was 
not  given  to  joking  ;  but  the  next  day  he  joked,  and 
the  House  laughed — a  laugh  that  was  sadder  to  hear 
than  the  gayest  air  played  by  a  band  after  military 
funeral. 

Nor  does  the  illustration  end  here,  for  when,  ten 
years  later,  after  being  absent  from  the  House  for 
several  years,  Sir  Gordon,  bent  with  age,  reappeared 
and  made  a  speech  that  betrayed  only  too  plainly  how 
weak  his  mind  had  grown,  the  House  cheered 
encouragingly,  and  Mr.  Sauer  voiced  the  pleasure 
with  which  it  had  listened.  And  when  still  later  Sir 
Gordon  passed  away,  those  who  had  been  with  him 
in  the  days  of  his  strength  overlooked  the  shortcomings 
time  had  produced,  and  remembered  only  the  strong 
man,  who,  through  Gurney's  reporting  staff,  had 
fought  his  way  from  a  shipbuilder's  yard  until  he 
himself,  covered  with  honours,  had  four  times  steered 
the  Ship  of  State. 

Complaints  were  sometimes  made  that  the  House 
had  grown  stiff  and  formal  since  it  had  occupied  the 
new  buildings,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  it  was  always 


72  IN   THE   NEW   BUILDINGS. 

homely  in  regard  to  its  own  affairs.  Only  in  such  a 
House  would  the  Speaker  have  continued  to  read 
from  the  Chair  letters  inviting  members  to  luncheons, 
dinners,  dances,  sea-trips,  and  similar  frivolities,  and 
only  such  a  House  would  have  paid  the  attention  it 
did  to  these  matters.  As  late  as  1897  we  find  that  it 
so  enjoyed  a  short  voyage  on  the  flagship  at  Simon's 
Bay  that  it  actually  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Rear- 
Admiral  Sir  Harry  Rawson  for  his  invitation  and 
courtesy.  And  so  pleased  was  Sir  Harry  with  the 
coveted  distinction  that  during  the  next  session  he 
invited  the  House  to  another  trip,  and  added  a  luncheon 
and  an  exhibition  of  torpedo  and  gun -firing.  The 
House  promptly  accepted  the  invitation,  and  adjourned 
for  the  whole  sitting  day  ! 

In  matters  sartorial  the  House  was  even  less  formal 
than  it  had  been  in  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge.  R.  W. 
Murray  tells  us  that  Rawson  W.  Rawson,  Colonial 
Secretary  during  the  first  Cape  Parliament,  for  several 
sessions  attended  the  House  in  his  official  dress  of 
blue  and  silver,  with  glittering  buttons,  silver-lace 
cuffs,  and  silver-lace  collar,  and  for  many  years  it  was 
the  fashion  for  members  to  wear  their  best-go-to- 
meetings  as  an  outward  and  visible  sign  of  respectability. 
But  at  about  the  time  the  House  changed  its  quarters 
it  also  changed  its  tailor,  Mr.  Rhodes  remarking  that 
he  believed  he  could  legislate  as  well  in  a  suit  of 
Oxford  tweeds  as  in  anything  else.  The  change  was 


RT.   HON.   C    J.    RHODES.    P.C..    D.C.L.    (/,   1855  ./.  1902) 

Mr.  Rhodes  was  twice  Premier  and  represented  Barkly  \Xest  from 
1880    until    his   death. 

'Dreamer   devout,   by    vision   led 

Beyond   our   guess   or   reach, 

The   travail   of   his   spirit   bred 

Cities-    in    place   of   speech." 

—Kiblin*. 


LOUD  LAUGHTER:'  73 


not  instantaneous,  and  during  the  ninth  Parliament 
(1894-1898)  a  large  number  of  members  were  still 
to  be  seen  wearing  their  silk  hats  while  sitting  in  the 
House,  but  frock  coats  were  gradually  put  away  by 
members  for  opening  ceremonies  and  by  the  Treasurer 
for  budget-speech  day,  until,  by  and  by,  there  came 
a  time  when  it  was  not  considered  a  breach  of  etiquette 
for  legislators  to  discard  their  waistcoats  on  a  hot 
summer's  day. 

Were  further  proof  required  of  this  having  been  a 
human  House,  one  had  only  to  hear  it  laugh.  It 
laughed  heartily,  although  there  was  really  nothing 
much  to  laugh  at,  and  incidentally  supported  the 
theory  that  the  mainsprings  of  laughter  are  incongruity 
and  surprise.  When  Mr.  Rose  Innes,  one  of  its  most 
esteemed  and  learned  members,  unconsciously  placed 
on  his  head  a  silk  hat  to  which  a  gigantic  official 
envelope  adhered,  the  House  shouted  with  laughter  ; 
whenever  the  electric  light  failed  at  night  the  House 
tittered  at  the  expense  of  the  member  speaking  in  the 
dark,  and  the  member  himself  would  stop,  giggle, 
begin  again,  and  sit  down  amidst  "  loud  laughter  "  ; 
and  when  Sir  Pieter  Faure  suggested  that  certain 
members  would  benefit  their  health  by  a  trip  to  Robben 
Island,  the  veracious  reporter  once  more  recorded,  in 
parenthesis,  "  loud  laughter." 

But  by  far  the  greatest  characteristics  of  the  House 
were  its  decorum  and  constant  endeavour  to  act  up 


74  IX   THE   XEW   BUILDINGS. 

to  its  title  of  "  honourable."  If  ever  the  House 
responded  as  one  man,  it  was  on  this  question.  Loose 
charges  of  corruption  were  strongly  deprecated,  and 
he  was  a  brave  man  or  a  fool  who  would  lightly  impute 
improper  motives  to  the  Cape  Legislature.  In  1888  a 
hue  and  cry  was  raised  over  a  newspaper  article  which 
appeared  to  reflect  on  the  integrity  of  members  of 
a  Select  Committee,  and  the  House  as  with  one  voice 
denounced  the  imputation  ;  while  in  1898,  when  a 
young  and  inexperienced  member  in  a  rash  moment 
charged  another  member  with  improperly  influencing 
a  Select  Committee,  the  House  was  so  disgusted  with 
the  flimsy  grounds  for  his  accusation  that  it  ordered 
the  entries  in  the  Journals  to  be  expunged. 

An  important  ruling  showing  how  closely  the 
House  guarded  its  honour  was  given  four  years  later. 
The  conduct  of  certain  members  of  Parliament  had 
been  impugned  on  account  of  alleged  irregularities  of 
the  political  party  (the  Afrikander  Bond)  to  which 
they  belonged.  As  was  usual  in  such  circumstances, 
members  of  the  party  at  once  pressed  for  an  enquiry 
to  clear  their  honour,  and  on  a  question  being  raised 
as  to  the  competency  of  the  House  to  deal  with  a 
matter  which  might  be  contested  in  a  court  of  law, 
Mr.  Speaker  Berry  ruled  that  where  the  honour  of 
members  of  the  House  was  at  stake  the  House  reserved 
to  itself  the  right  to  deal  fully  with  the  question. 

It   might   be   expected   from    these  precedents   that 


'HONOURABLE  MEMBERS:'  75 

the  House  would  be  so  anxious  to  place  the  purity  of 
its  proceedings  beyond  suspicion  that  it  would  welcome 
an  Act  that  would  remove  a  possibility  of  a  member's 
honour  being  impugned.  On  the  contrary,  it  seems 
that  a  number  of  members  resented  the  very  suggestion 
that  there  could  be  such  a  possibility,  and  when  a  bill 
was  introduced  in  1897  to  debar  members  from  being 
Government  contractors,  one  member  stated  '  that 
such  legislation  was  uncalled  for,  and  was  an  undue 
reflection  upon  the  integrity  of  members  of  Parliament, 
and  also  upon  the  people  who  sent  them  there. 
Members  were  altogether  above  any  suspicion  of 
corruption."  Although  passed  by  the  Council,  it  was 
found  impossible  to  push  the  bill  through  the  House 
of  Assembly,  and  in  the  matter  of  contracts  our 
legislators  consequently  remain  freer  to  this  day  than 
members  at  Westminster. 

Had  these  been  all  its  characteristics  the  Cape 
House  might  have  been  one  of  those  visionary  assemblies 
of  which  a  harassed  Speaker  might  dream  during  the 
recess.  But  being  a  human  House  and  no  vision,  it 
had  its  faults  like  ordinary  mortals.  Let  it  be  admitted 
at  once  that  with  age  it  became  quick-tempered. 

It  was  always  the  custom,  as  Sir  Edgar  Walton 
once  remarked,  "  for  both  sides  of  the  House  to  extend 
the  utmost  courtesy  to  new  members,"  and  chivalrously 
to  refrain  from  taking  an  unfair  advantage  of  those 
who  could  not  be  present  to  defend  themselves,  but 


76  IN   THE  NEW  BUILDINGS^ 

m  times  of  suppressed  excitement  an  aggravating 
laugh,  a  supercilious  smile,  a  jibe,  or  a  saucy  retort, 
and  swords,  had  they  been  allowed  in  the  Chamber, 
would  have  leapt  from  their  scabbards.  This  is  no 
exaggeration,  and  accounts  for  the  practice  which 
prevented  Mr.  Rothman  from  entering  the  House 
with  an  umbrella,  and  Sir  Thomas  Upington  with  a 
stick,  to  lean  their  frail  bodies  upon,  without  having 
first  obtained  leave. 

As  it  was,  blood  was  only  spilled  upon  the 
floor  of  the  House  by  accident.  In  1892  Colonel 
Schermbrucker,  after  remarking  in  the  course  of  a 
speech  that  '  there  seemed  to  be  a  certain  spirit 
aroused  which  made  the  most  ordinary  action  a  matter 
of  the  deepest  pain,"  suited  the  action  to  the  word  by 
knocking  a  glass  of  water  over  the  leader  of  the  Oppo- 
sition and  badly  cutting  his  own  hand.  Schermbrucker, 
being  a  gallant  soldier,  continued  his  speech  with  an 
angry  exclamation  and  undimmished  gesticulations, 
and  it  was  only  at  the  Speaker's  urgent  request  that 
he  suffered  his  bleeding  hand  to  be  bandaged. 

Deeds  of  violence,  such  as  a  disgraceful  bout  of 
fisticuffs  that  once  took  place  in  the  passage  of  the 
Goede  Hoop  Lodge,  were  fortunately  almost  unheard 
of,  but  words  of  heat  were  common  enough. 

Now  the  somewhat  bewildering  rules  of  procedure 
are,  after  all,  simple  in  their  aim,  for,  while  protecting 
the  minority  against  the  majority,  they  have  for  the 


IMPROPER   BEHAVIOUR,  77 


most  part  the  same  objects  as  the  rules  which  individuals 
consciously  or  subconsciously  observe  in  coming  to 
a  fixed  resolve  without  undue  haste,  and  in  speaking 
and  behaving  with  propriety. 

The  unwritten  rules  of  good  behaviour  were  simply 
the  code  of  gentlemen,  but  some  of  those  which 
appeared  among  the  Standing  Orders  are  worth 
examining.  First  of  all,  by  a  rule  adopted  in  1854, 
the  House  attempted  to  discourage  improper  language 
by  placing  the  offender  in  a  Parliamentary  pillory  and 
exposing  him  to  public  obloquy.  "  All  imputations 
of  improper  motives,"  read  the  rule,  "  shall  be  con- 
sidered as  highly  disorderly  ;  and  such  conduct  shall 
be  minuted  in  the  Journals  if  it  shall  appear  to 
a  majority  of  the  House  to  be  necessary." 

This  rule  continued  in  force  until  1883,  when  the 
mere  minuting  of  improper  behaviour  was  deemed 
inadequate,  and  was  superseded  by  a  House  of 
Commons  rule  that  had  been  designed  in  the  good 
old  days  to  prevent  duelling  by  demanding  what 
amounted  to  an  immediate  public  apology  from  the 
delinquent.  Duelling,  however,  had  grown  out  of 
date  when  the  rule  was  adopted  in  the  Cape.  Members 
rarely  carried  their  quarrels  outside  the  Debating 
Chamber  itself  ;  besides  which,  "  sending  a  challenge 
to  fight  to  a  member  "  became  an  offence  punishable 
by  fine  and  fee  under  the  Powers  and  Privileges  of 
Parliament  Act  of  1883. 


78  IN   THE  NEW   BUILDINGS. 


What  was  wanted  was  a  quick  method  of  preventing 
scenes  and  checking  words  of  heat  as  they  arose.  The 
House  of  Commons  rule  which  had  been  adopted  was, 
however,  cumbersome  and  circumscribed.  Objection 
had  to  be  taken  immediately  the  offensive  words  were 
used — not  an  instant  later — and,  on  motion  made, 
the  Speaker  or  Chairman,  if  he  thought  the  occasion 
warranted  it,  ordered  the  Clerk  to  take  down  the 
words,  and  the  Speaker  ordered  their  withdrawal  if  he 
considered  them  unparliamentary.  Debate  was  not 
only  allowed  as  to  whether  the  words  should  be  taken 
down  but,  after  this  had  been  agreed  to,  further 
discussion  was  allowed  as  to  whether  the  words  taken 
down  were  those  actually  used,  and  in  the  Cape  it 
happened  once  at  least  that  members'  memories  were 
so  at  variance  that  no  decision  was  arrived  at,  and  a 
great  deal  of  time  was  wasted  in  angry  argument. 

The  rule  has  now  become  a  dead  letter  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  and  was  form  all  v  applied  on 
only  five  occasions  m  the  Cape,  but  from  these  it 
will  be  seen  how  exacting  the  House  always  was. 

On  the  first  occasion  (1886)  Mr.  Merriman  objected 
to  the  imputation  contained  in  the  statement  that  he 
was  expected  to  "  reply  to  the  specific  charges  made 
....  as  to  what  became  of  the  ten  thousand 
pounds  given  by  a  certain  company  to  secure  the 
passing  of  a  certain  bill." 

In   1888  Sir  Thomas  Upington,  Attorney-General, 


WORDS  OF  HEAT.  79 


objected  to  the  statement  "  that  he  held  a  brief  for 
the  other  side." 

In  1890  Sir  Thomas  Upington,  again,  objected  to 
the  statement  "  that  he  would  vote  against  anything, 
even  if  originally  introduced  by  himself,  in  case  it  were 
supported  by  Mr.  Sauer,"  then  Colonial  Secretary. 

In  1899  Mr.  Sampson  objected  to  it  being  said 
"  that  he  made  a  false  statement  in  the  House,  being 
in  the  employ  of  De  Beers'  Company." 

And  in  1902  Mr.  Merriman  objected  to  the 
accusation  "'  that  he  did  not  condemn  men  in  the 
Intelligence  Department  of  the  enemy  with  whom  he 
was  cheek  by  jowl,  day  by  day,  in  Cape  Town." 

On  each  of  these  occasions  the  words  were  with- 
drawn after  more  or  less  commotion  ;  but  after  1902 
the  Speaker,  when  appealed  to  at  the  proper  time 
found  it  far  more  efficacious  to  demand  a  withdrawal 
less  formally.  Sometimes  he  would  invite  ar  expression 
of  regret  in  the  guise  of  a  personal  explanation  and 
sometimes  when  not  appealed  to  he  even  found  it 
advisable  to  be  a  little  deaf.  Did  he  hear  Sir  James 
Sivewnght  declare  that  he  was  sick  of  a  certain 
member's  drivel  ?  Did  he  hear  a  certain  member, 
after  being  continually  interrupted  on  points  of  order, 
exclaim  to  his  tormentor,  "  Oh,  sit  down,  you  damn 
fool  "  ?  Or  did  he  hear  Colonel  Schermbrucker  say 
to  a  Minister,  "  If  there  is  any  fool  in  the  House,  it 
is  you  "  ?  The  records  are  silent. 


So  IN   THE   NEW   BUILDINGS. 


During  the  period  of  stress  and  storm  from  1899 
to  1902,  when  shots  echoed  across  the  veld,  many 
epithets  were  exchanged  in  wordy  warfare  that  it 
would  have  been  futile  to  try  to  check ;  but  this 
much  was  ever  clear,  that  the  Speaker  was  constantly 
on  the  alert  to  protect  a  member's  personal  honour 
and  the  proceedings  of  the  House  from  attack,  a  task 
in  which  he  was  always  aided  by  members  scrupulously 
observing  the  unwritten  rule  that  the  word  of  a 
member  is  the  word  of  a  gentleman,  and  must  be 
accepted  without  dispute. 

This  rule  for  "  taking  down  words,"  like  another 
which  became  obsolete,  was  never  discarded.  A  rule  to 
enforce  the  attendance  of  members  by  a  "  call  of  the 
House,"  which  Hatsell  in  the  eighteenth  century 
regarded  as  a  relic  of  the  dark  ages,  was  adopted  in 
1854.  Moved  only  four  times,  it  was  either  defeated 
or  withdrawn,  and  was  never  invoked  while  the  House 
sat  in  the  new  buildings.  Yet  it  appeared  in  each 
edition*  of  the  Standing  Rules  and  Orders. 

Herein  lay  a  further  characteristic  of  the  House  : 
its  conservatism,  no  matter  what  political  party  held 
the  reins  of  government.  Rules  that  emerged  from 
the  mists  of  antiquity,  fashioned  from  experience, 

*  The  original  rules  printed  in  1854  were  reprinted  ;n  1861,  together  with  a 
few  additions  that  had  been  made  and  some  House  of  Commons  rules  that  applied 
to  the  Cape  House  ;  in  1864  the  Cape  rules  were  again  reprinted,  and  it  was  not 
until  1883  that  they  were  rc::ised.  In  1896  they  were  reprinted  with  a  few  more 
additions;  in  1900  they  were  again  revised,  and  in  1906  the  last  edition  of 
the  rules  was  printed  with,  slight  alterations. 


THE  COLONEL   BLOWS    HIS   OWN   TRUMPET, 


COL.   THE   HON.   F.   SCHERMBRUCKER    (h.  njjj,.  J.  iw-n 

In  early  life  he  distinguished  himself  a.-,  a  fret-  lance  in  politics 
and  a  brave  soldier.  He  was  a  member  of  the  House  in  1868. 
of  the  Legislative  Council  from  1882  to  1888  and  again  o(  the 
Hou'-e  of  Assembly  from  1889  until  his  death.  He  was  an  adroit 
speaker  with  a  fund  of  good  humour  (sec  p.  69). 

From  a  caricature  hv  W    H.  SchroiVr  in  "  T\,t  C'ar<-  Lantern."  1S.S7. 


STABILITY    OF   PROCEDURE.  81 

tempered  with  cold  calculation  and  tested  by  practice, 
were  particularly  venerated,  and  when  a  change  was 
suggested,  the  necessity  for  the  change  rather  than 
the  utility  of  the  new  rule  had  first  to  be  proved. 
Thus  when  in  1889  it  was  proposed  that  there  should 
be  a  committee  of  selection  to  nominate  the  members 
of  select  committees,  the  motion  was  negatived,  and 
when  in  1895  it  was  proposed  that  proceedings  on 
public  bills  should  not  be  terminated  by  prorogation, 
the  motion  met  the  same  fate.  Yet  both  of  these  rules 
might  have  been  useful,  as  their  recent  adoption  by 
the  Union  House  has  shown. 

Stability  of  procedure  was  always  the  watchword. 
It  is  almost  better  that  the  law  of  Parliament  should 
be  certain  than  that  it  should  be  sound,"  William 
Porter  had  once  remarked,  and  for  the  tradition  that 
prevented  unnecessary  tinkering  with  the  rules  members 
had  much  to  be  thankful,  since  even  the  best  of  them 
sometimes  showed  that,  stable  as  the  procedure  was, 
they  had  some  difficulty  in  remembering  it.  So  old 
a  Parliamentary  hand  as  Mr.  Sauer  (who,  in  1896, 
was  whispered  to  be  a  candidate  for  the  Chair)  once 
insisted  that  he  had  a  perfect  right  to  "  name  a 
member  for  disorder — that  dreaded  right  which  is 
vested  in  the  Speaker  alone  ;  and  even  Sir  Gordon 
Sprigg  so  far  forgot  that  "  the  House  "  was  just  as 
much  an  individual  as  himself,  as  to  move  that  "  This 
House  agrees  by  a  majority  "  to  a  certain  course  of 


IN    THE   NEW   BUILDINGS. 


action,  and,  what  is  more,  the  motion  was  adopted 
by  the  House  ! 

Another  old  rule  to  which  the  Cape  House  rarely 
had  recourse  related  to  the  exclusion  from  its  precincts 
of  all  and  sundry  who  were  not  members.  Centuries 
ago  Elsygne,  the  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Commons  in 
the  Long  Parliament,  who  resigned  before  Cromwell 
carried  off  the  mace,  wrote  on  the  exclusion  of 
strangers  that  "  the  House  often  runs  into  great  heats 
on  this  subject,"  and  added  that  "  it  is  a  necessary 
but  unpleasant  part  of  the  Speaker's  duty  to  determine 
whether  individual  applications  for  admission  come 
within  the  customary  exceptions." 

The  Cape  House  seldom  ran  "  into  great  heats 
on  this  subject  "  ;  but  in  1888  there  was  a  notable 
exception.  A  certain  newspaper  in  Cape  Town  had 
long  nursed  a  grievance  against  the  officials  of  the 
House,  and  freely  indulged  in  gibes  and  jeers  at  their 
expense.  When  Mr.  Sauer  accidentally  brushed  off 
the  Clerk's  (Mr.  Noble's)  wig,  this  newspaper  went 
into  ecstasies  of  delight  and  chuckled  in  print.  It 
was  for  ever  teasing  the  Speaker,  and  towards  the  end 
of  the  session  took  full  advantage  of  an  unfortunate 
escapade  of  one  of  its  journalists. 

The  journalist,  while  in  the  Press  gallery  behind 
the  Speaker's  Chair,  espied  a  friend  sitting  in  the 
Speaker's  gallery  at  the  opposite  end  of  the  House, 
and  with  the  coolest  effrontery  in  the  world  broke 


WHOSE  HOUSE  IS  IT?  83 


every  rule  of  the  Press  gallery  by  calmly  strolling 
through  the  side  galleries — private  secretaries,  heads 
of  departments,  distinguished  strangers,  and  Govern- 
ment House — in  full  view  of  the  House,  in  order  that 
he  might  have  a  chat  with  him  ! 

A  messenger  was  sent  in  pursuit,  and  a  policeman 
told  to  turn  him  out  in  case  of  trouble.  The  journalist 
was  furious.  '  Whose  House  is  it  ?  "  he  screamed 
(again  in  print)  almost  every  day  during  the  following 
week.  Was  not  a  member  of  the  Press  gallery  as  good 
as  a  member  of  the  House  ?  Who  were  the  flunkeys 
who  dared  tell  him  where  his  proper  place  was  ?  How 
came  it  that  the  Speaker  only  could  issue  tickets  ?— 
and  a  hundred  other  questions.  A  few  members 
backed  up  his  complaint  in  the  House,  and  the  matter 
was  referred  to  the  Select  Committee  on  Internal 
Arrangements  ;  but  all  this  pother  had  only  the  effect 
of  placing  a  room  at  the  disposal  of  the  Press  gallery, 
in  which  the -members  of  the  "  Fourth  Estate"  might 
make  themselves  tea  and  transcribe  their  notes — and  this 
on  the  suggestion  mildly  made  by  another  journal  ! 

Speaker  and  Clerk  were  so  viciously  lampooned 
for  what,  at  the  worst,  was  only  a  crude  application  of 
a  time-honoured  rule,  that  it  is  rather  a  pity  that  the 
following  verses,  from  a  long  manuscript  poem  sent 
by  an  anonymous  author  to  the  Clerk  of  the  House, 
are  only  now  published.  The  verses  are  addressed  to 
the  journalist  who  caused  the  commotion  :— 


84  IN    THE   NEW  BUILDINGS. 

And  think,  although  you  may  be  somewhat  late, 
That  you,   a  "  member  of  the  Fourth  Estate," 
Were  best  employed  in  backing  up  the  laws 
Than  breaking  them  yourself — without  a  cause, 
Attacking  those  who  with  an  easy  grace 
Just  push  you  back  into  your  proper  place. 

Don't  enter  where  you  have  no  right  to  be, 
No  stranger  you,  but  an  habituee 
And  un-"  distinguished  "  but  for  idle  "  gas," 
Which  only  helps  to  show  you  are  an  as- 
Sailant  to  wholesome  rules  by  wise  men  made 
Not  to  be  broken,  but  to  be  obeyed. 

As  to  the  work  of  the  House,  most  people  know 
that  for  many  years  country  members  were  paid  for 
ninety  days'  absence  from  home  and  that  it  was  not 
often  that  they  were  away  for  a  longer  period.  In 
the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge,  however,  when  country 
members  were  paid  for  only  fifty  days  and  local 
members  were  not  paid  at  all,  sessions  often  lasted 
longer  than  three  months,  and  once  (in  1863)  extended 
to  five  and  a  half  months.  After  responsible  government 
was  granted  in  1872  there  was  a  noticeable  drop  m 
the  length  of  the  sessions,  but  once  the  House  settled 
down  it  always  worked  in  earnest.  Private  members 
had  far  more  initiative  than  the  pressure  of  Govern- 
ment work  allows  them  now,  and  notwithstanding 
the  constitutional  principle  that  Ministers  should  be 


THE   ORDER   LIST.  85 

responsible  for  the  good  government  of  the  country, 
the  tendency  for  private  members  to  introduce  public 
bills  was,  if  anything,  on  the  increase  in  the  later 
days  of  the  Cape  House.  The  "  Innes  "  Liquor  Act, 
the  "  Beck  "  Election  Act  and  the  "  Juta  "  Irrigation 
Act  are  among  the  well-known  statutes  introduced 
by  private  members,  and  one  member  (Mr.  Jagger) 
alone  introduced  as  many  as  six  public  bills  in  five 
years  and  succeeded  in  passing  half  of  them. 

No  doubt  it  was  the  small  amount  of  time 
specifically  allotted  to  the  Government  under  the 
rules  that  accounted  for  the  artistry  of  the  Order 
Paper.  So  as  to  get  the  greatest  amount  of  work  done 
in  the  shortest  time,  days  were  as  carefully  planned 
out  as  a  traveller  maps  his  course.  In  consultation 
with  the  Clerk  of  the  House  the  Prime  Minister  would 
daily  plot  to  pass  his  measures  by  dangling  a  "  plum  ' 
just  within,  or  sometimes  just  beyond,  the  reach  of 
members.  The  plum  was  some  subject  which  the 
House  was  anxious  to  handle,  and  the  path  which  led 
to  it  lay  over  thorny  little  questions  that  the  Govern- 
ment wanted  to  see  out  of  the  way.  And  thus  it  often 
came  about  that  members  with  pockets  bulging  with 
notes  for  the  big  affair  actively  helped  to  clear  the 
Paper. 

Yet  even  this  House  was  sometimes  justly  accused 
of  hasty  legislation.  There  was,  for  instance,  the 
remarkable  case  in  1894  when  the  Paarl  Tramways 


86  IN   THE 'NEW  BUILDINGS. 

Private  Bill  was  hurried  through  its  stages  at  such 
a  pace  that  only  after  it  had  been  passed  by  both 
Houses  was  it  discovered  that  a  clause  imposing  a 
penalty  had  not  had  the  amount  of  the  penalty  filled 
in.  Fortunately  the  mistake  was  found  before  the 
Governor  had  given  his  assent  to  the  measure.  It 
happened  in  the  last  week  of  the  session,  but  there 
was  just  time  for  the  Governor  to  exercise  his  right 
of  returning  the  Bill  with  the  necessary  amendment, 
and  to  have  it  adopted  before  Parliament  was  pro- 
rogued. The  Speaker  (Sir  David  Tennant)  was  much 
perturbed  at  the  slur  cast  on  the  House,  and  spoke 
his  mind  freely,  but  this  did  not  prevent  several  other 
bills  from  being  passed  in  a  hurry  or  similar  lapses 
from  occurring. 

From  being  the  official  masters  of  the  House  before 
responsible  government  was  introduced,  the  Govern- 
ment, after  the  introduction  of  the  system  in  1872, 
became,  in  theory,  only  the  agents  of  Parliament,  but 
virtually  they  remained  the  masters  —  with  this 
difference  :  that  being  no  longer  permanent  officials 
they  depended  for  their  existence  on  the  confidence 
placed  in  their  proposals.  It  is  true  that  in  the  Cape, 
even  after  responsible  government  was  granted,  it  was 
not  necessary  for  a  Minister  to  be  a  member  of 
Parliament.  Mr.  Stockenstrom  and  Sir  Richard 
Solomon  were  Attorneys-General  for  a  short  time 
without  having  seats  in  either  House,  just  as  Mr. 


MINISTERIAL    RESPONSIBILITY.        87 

Gladstone  was  once  Secretary  of  State  without  being 
a  member  of  Parliament.  But  such  a  position  was 
recognised  as  unsound,  and  when  it  came  to  passing 
a  contentious  measure  Ministers  became  at  times 
only  too  glad  to.  regard  themselves  as  ordinary 
members  of  the  House,  if  the  House  would  let  them, 
pleading  that  this  or  that  was  really  a  matter  for 
Parliament  to  decide. 

Thus  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  in  1890,  when  Prime 
Minister,  introduced  a  railway  scheme  involving  over 
seven  and  a  half  millions,  and  submitted  to  several 
defeats  on  the  various  items  before  the  House  made 
it  clear  that  the  Government  must  hold  definite 
opinions  on  such  important  matters  of  policy,  and 
must  stand  or  fall  by  its  opinions.  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg 
resigned  and  Rhodes  took  office,  but  in  1898  there 
was  a  far  more  extraordinary  case. 

After  the  general  election  in  1898  Sir  Gordon 
Sprigg,  once  more  Prime  Minister,  finding  his  party, 
returned  by  some  fifty  thousand  electors,  practically 
equal  to  the  Opposition,  which  was  returned  by  only 
thirty-five  thousand  electors,  decided  to  bring  in  a 
bill  to  provide  for  a  more  proportionate  representation. 
This  he  did  on  the  second  day  of  the  ensuing  session, 
but  before  he  got  any  further  with  the  bill  he  was 
defeated  on  a  motion  of  no  confidence,  and  Mr. 
Schremer  took  office.  Now  Mr.  Schremer  maintained 
that  numbers  were  of  little  significance  and  held, 


88  AY    THE   NEW   BUILDINGS. 

with  Pliny,  that  it  was  the  ownership  of  land  that 
counted.  "  Look  at  the  land  that  we  on  the  Govern- 
ment side  represent,"  he  exclaimed,  and  then  proposed 
that  Sprigg's  bill  should  be  shelved  and  the  whole 
matter  gone  into  during  the  recess. 

The  debate  waxed  warm,  and  the  two  parties  being 
almost  evenly  matched,  a  deadlock  arose.  What  was 
to  be  done  ?  Mr.  D.  C.  de  Waal,  a  Bondsman  and  a 
supporter  of  the  Government,  fearing  that  a  very 
desirable  Railway  Bill  before  the  House  would  be 
dropped  if  the  deadlock  continued,  took  a  course 
which  was  as  singular  as  it  is  difficult  to  reconcile  with 
the  principles  of  responsible  government.  He  moved 
that  a  suggestion  thrown  out  by  Mr.  Rhodes  early 
in  the  debate  should  be  formally  endorsed  by  the 
House  :  that  the  Premier  (Mr.  Schreiner)  and  the 
leader  of  the  Opposition  (Sir  Gordon  Sprigg),  together 
with  a  few  members  to  be  nominated  by  them  should 
form  a  conference  to  devise  a  compromise.  The  move 
was  made  with  dramatic  suddenness,  the  party  whips 
cracked,  and  Ministers  at  once  gathered  together  in 
an  impromptu  Cabinet  meeting,  while  one  of  them 
scoured  the  buildings  to  see  what  damage  had  been 
done.  Mr.  Schreiner  admitted  frankly  to  the  House 
that  he  did  not  like  the  proposal — it  was  not  practical 
politics  for  one  thing — and  if  it  were  agreed  to  he 
would  have  to  "  consider  the  position.  Mr.  Theron, 
the  President  of  the  Bond,  and  Sir  Frederic  de  Waal, 


A    UNIQUE   CONFERENCE.  89 


then  the  Secretary,  strongly  opposed  the  motion,  but 
the  adverse  vote  of  one  member  of  the  party  was 
enough  to  nullify  the  Government  majority. 

On  Friday,  the  4th  of  November,  1898,  the  House 
came  to  a  division.  Every  member  was  present,  and 
when  the  tellers  handed  in  their  division  lists,  Mr. 
Speaker  Berry  announced  that  thirty-nine  were  for 
the  conference  and  thirty-nine  against,  and  that  to 
keep  the  question  open  he  would  give  his  casting  vote 
for  the  conference.  The  Opposition  cheered  loud  and 
long  at  their  victory,  and  shortly  afterwards  the  House 
adjourned.  The  Government  used  the  week-end  in 
which  to  ruminate,  and  when  the  House  re-assembled 
on  the  Monday,  Mr.  Schremer  was  able  to  say  that 
he  had,  as  promised,  '  considered  the  position, "  and 
had  decided  to  appoint  the  conference. 

It  was  a  conference  unique  in  the  history  of 
responsible  government,  to  be  sure,  but  the  result 
was  satisfactorv  to  both  parties.  Mr.  Schremer,  Mr. 
Sauer  and  Dr.  te  Water,  for  the  Government,  and 
Sir  Gordon  Sprigg,  Mr.  Rhodes  and  Sir  James  Rose 
Innes  for  the  Opposition,  hammered  out  a  compromise. 
The  old  bill  was  withdrawn,  and  a  new  one  introduced 
and  passed. 

In  England,  where  Ministries  as  a  rule  resign 
after  defeats  of  any  political  significance,  the  authority 
of  Parliament  over  the  Government  is  implied  more 
clearly  than  in  the  colonies  where,  owing  to  the 


90  IN   THE  NEW   BUILDINGS. 

comparatively  small  legislatures,  defeats  are  more 
likely  to  occur  from  the  defection  of  a  few  members. 
Until  1868  it  was  even  considered  necessary  in 
England  for  a  Government  defeated  at  the  polls  to 
admit  its  subservience  by  finally  accepting  defeat  in 
Parliament. 

Twice  a  semblance  of  this  old  doctrine  found  its 
way  into  the  Parliamentary  history  of  the  Cape,  but 
on  both  occasions  it  was  uncertain  whether  the 
Government  had  actually  been  beaten  at  the  polls. 
The  first  instance  was  rather  curious.  Scanlen  was 
Prime  Minister  and  accepted  defeat  in  1884  over  so 
small  a  thing  as  a  "  bug  "  —an  insect  pest  that  had 
made  its  appearance  in  the  Colony — although  the  real 
cause  of  defeat  was  a  notice  of  motion  given  by  the 
Premier  the  previous  day,  in  which  it  was  proposed 
to  cut  ofl  certain  portions  of  the  Transkeian  Territories 
from  the  Cape  ;  while  the  second  instance  was  Spngg's 
defeat  by  Schreiner  after  the  general  election  of  1898. 

Altogether  twelve  Ministries  sought  the  confidence 
of  the  Cape  Parliament ;  all  were  its  virtual  masters 
and  all  felt  its  lash.  High  hopes  had  been  entertained 
for  its  success,  and  when  the  end  came  with  the  advent 
of  Union,  Mr.  Merriman,  the  last  Premier,  was  able 
to  proclaim  with  a  clear  conscience  that  these  hopes 
had  not  been  in  vain. 

Its  legislation  had  been  liberal,  and  its  control  of 
finance  had  never  flagged  ;  its  character  was  undefiled 


DEBATING    CHAMBER.    HOUSE   OF   ASSEMBLY,    1910. 

On    the   Speaker  s   neht  Mr.  Mernrnan    and  several  members  of 

his  Ministry  may  be  distinguished. 

From  a  photograph  by  K    Pfers  ("  Hood's  Stvdio  "\  Cape  Town 


VALEDICTION.  91 


and  its  little  faults  had  only  endeared  it  to  members. 
In  it  men  had  "  found  their  own  level,"  had  loved  and 
hated,  had  bitten  the  dust  or  achieved  renown.  Some 
had  learned  for  the  first  time  how  to  take  defeat  v/ith 
a  smile  and  hope  to  win  another  day.  Historical 
friendships  had  been  formed  and  Death  had  claimed 
its  toll.  Hence  there  was  a  note  of  sadness  rather  than 
of  boastfulness  in  the  valedictory  speeches  made 
when  Parliament  broke  up  on  the  9th  of  April,  1910. 
I  do  think,"  said  Mr.  Mernman,  who  had  done  as 
much  for  the  House  during  the  second  half  of  its 
existence  as  William  Porter  had  done  during  the  first 
half—  '  I  do  think  that  we  may  be  proud  of  the 
character  that  this  Cape  Parliament  has  obtained.  We 
have  had  many  years  of  stress  and  strain,  but  we  have 
had  no  unseemly  scenes,  and  there  has  not  been  the 
slightest  reflection  on  the  purity  of  the  House  in  any 
degree.  ...  I  hope  that  those  of  us  who  are 
fortunate  enough  to  obtain  seats  in  the  Union  Parlia- 
ment will  carry  into  it  the  high  traditions  of  the 
Parliament  which  is  now  breaking  up,  and  by  so  doing 
build  up  the  future  character  of  the  Parliament  of 
South  Africa." 

Much  of  the  lustre  that  was  shed  by  the  Old  Cape 
House  was  undoubtedly  due  to  the  brilliancy  of  some 
of  its  members— of  whom  only  a  few  have  been 
mentioned — the  soundness  of  its  rules,  and  the  influence 
of  a  clean  Executive  Government.  But  experience  in 


92  IN   THE  NEW  BUILDINGS. 

other  Parliaments  has  shown  that  under  one  Speaker 
the  same  House  may  be  at  least  as  orderly  as  it  was 
disorderly  under  another,  and  if  one  seeks  for  an 
explanation  of  all  that  "  the  Old  Cape  House  "  came 
to  mean  it  is  principally  to  its  own  Speakers  that  one 
must  turn. 


The  Speakers  of  the  Cape  House. 


I. 

The 

Honourable 
Sir  Christoffel 
Brand,  Kt., 
D.C.L.,  LL.D. 
1854-1874. 


HON.  SIR   CHRISTOFFEL  BRAND,  D.C.L.,  LL.D. 

Speaker  of  the  HOIHL-  of  Assembly,   1 854-! 874. 
Drawn    from    photographs. 


I. 

The  Hon.  Sir  Christoffel  Brand, 

Kt.,  DC.L.,   LL.D. 
1854—1874. 

TO  us  who  live  in  the  turmoil  of  the  twentieth 
century  it  is  a  far  cry  to  the  days  when  Captain 
Cook,  in  the  reign  of  King  George  the  Third, 
ploughed  the  seas  to  Australia  by  way  of  the  Cape. 
Yet  the  grandfather  of  the  first  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Assembly  (of  whom  many  South  Africans  still  have 
a  personal  recollection)  was  a  great  friend  of  this  illus- 
trious captain,  and  we  learn  from  an  old  number  of  the 
Cape  Monthly  Magazine  that  on  the  visit  of  the  last 
expedition  to  Simon's  Bay  on  its  way  home  after 
Captain  Cook  had  met  his  death,  Mr.  Brand,  then 
the  Resident  at  Simonstown,  was  much  affected  at 
the  sight  of  the  ships  returning  without  their  old 
commander. 

Old  Mr.  Brand,  who  was  still  Resident  in  1795 
when  the  English  fleet  arrived  in  Simon's  Bay  to  take 
possession  of  the  Colony  on  behalf  of  the  Prince  of 
Orange,  received  and  passed  on  nearly  all  the  communi- 
cations leading  up  to  the  landing  of  General  Craig  and 
the  fight  at  Muizenberg.  The  Colony  changed  hands, 


MR.    WEAKER  BRAND. 


but  he  remembered  his  friends,  and  when  his  grandson, 
the  future  Speaker,  was  born  at  Simonstown  on  the  21st 
of  June,  1797,  it  was  on  account  of  a  lasting  affection 
for  Sir  Joseph  Banks,  the  naturalist  who  accompanied 
Captain  Cook,  that  Chnstoffel  Joseph  Brand  was 
given  his  second  Christian  name. 

Like  his  father,  Mr.  J.  H.  Brand,  who  was  appointed 
a  member  of  the  old  Court  of  Justice,  Chnstoffel  soon 
manifested  a  leaning  towards  the  study  of  law,  and 
on  leaving  school,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  entered 
the  office  of  a  well-known  Cape  Town  attorney,  Mr. 
J.  S.  Mernngton.  Two  years  afterwards  he  proceeded 
to  the  University  of  Leyden,  where  he  took  his  degree 
of  Doctor  of  Civil  Law  and  also  that  of  Doctor  in 
Literature.  His  thesis  for  the  former  degree  was 
entitled  De  Jure  Coloniarum,  and  so  boldly  demanded 
a  more  responsible  position  for  the  colonies  that  it  is 
not  surprising  to  find  that  on  his  return  to  the  Cape 
at  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  intimately  associated 
himself  with  the  leading  questions  ot  the  day.  He 
identified  himself  with  the  Press,  and,  through  the 
columns  of  the  Zuid  j4frikaan,  became  the  vehement 
opponent  of  the  Government  and  a  keen  antagonist  to 
Mr.  John  Fairbairn,  then  the  leader  of  the  Press, 
until  events  connected  with  the  anti-convict  agitation 
and  the  movement  lor  representative  government 
led  to  a  partial  reconciliation. 

But   Mr.   Brand   did   not   neglect    the   career   upon 


A    FEARLESS   ADVOCATE.  QQ 

which  he  had  originally  embarked.  Gifted  with  a 
retentive  memory  and  studying  law,  "  not  as  a  man 
does  who  regards  it  only  as  a  means  of  his  own  livelihood 
but  as  a  student  who  loves  his  subject  for  its  own 
sake,"  he  by  degrees  built  up  a  great  reputation  for 
himself  as  a  profound  lawyer  and  a  fearless  advocate. 
He  was  more  than  once  offered  a  seat  on  the  Bench, 
but  fearing  the  possibility  of  having  to  don  the  black 
cap  on  the  finding  of  an  incompetent  jury,  never 
accepted  it. 

In  1850  he  was  appointed  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lative Council,  but  resigned  a  few  days  later,  when  it 
was  stated  by  the  Government  that  the  Council  would 
be  required  to  consider  several  matters  besides  the 
draft  of  the  new  constitution  then  before  it.  And 
when  the  constitution  came  into  force  three  years 
later  and  elections  were  held  for  the  first  Parliament 
in  the  Cape  Mr.  Brand,  who  was  by  that  time  at  the 
head  of  his  profession,  was,  without  a  contest,  elected 
a  member  of  the  House  of  Assembly  for  Stellenbosch. 

The  House  met  in  the  Banqueting  Hall  of  the 
Goede  Hoop  Lodge  on  the  30th  of  June,  1854,  and 
it  was  at  once  evident  that  the  choice  of  Speaker  lay 
between  Mr.  Brand  and  his  eld  rival,  Mr.  Fairbairn. 
Mr.  Barry  moved  that  "  Mr.  John  Fairbairn  do  take 
the  Chair  of  this  House  as  Speaker,"  while  Mr. 
Memtjes,  seconded  by  Mr.  C.  A.  Fairbridge,  moved 
that  "  Mr.  ChristofTel  Joseph  Brand  do  take  the 


ioo_  ME.   SPEAKER  BRAND. 

Chair  of  this  House  as  Speaker."  Mr.  Fairbairn  could 
not  have  expected  much  support  from  the  Eastern 
Party,  and  when  both  candidates  had  addressed  the 
House  and  retired,  the  first  motion  was  put  and  nega- 
tived by  twenty-four  votes  to  nineteen.  On  the  other 
mot'ion  being  put,  the  voting  was  reversed,  and  Mr. 
Brand  was  declared  elected  by  a  majority  of  five. 
"  Mr.  Brand,"  the  Journals  state,  "  was  then  conducted 
to  the  Chair  by  his  mover  and  seconder  and,  having 
expressed  his  humble  acknowledgments  to  the  House, 
took  the  Chair." 

Mr.  Fairbairn,  be  it  said,  was  the  first  to  congratulate 
the  Speaker  and  the  House  upon  its  choice.  He  bore 
his  rival  no  grudge,  and  at  the  end  of  the  session, 
in  true  parliamentary  spirit,  took  the  opportunity 
of  formally  moving  "  That  this  House  cannot  separate 
without  expressing  the  obligation  the  members  feel 
themselves  under  to  the  Speaker  of  this  House  for 
his  judicious,  able,  patient,  and  courteous  conduct 
during  the  session." 

At  this  time  Mr.  Brand  lived  in  Boom  Street  (now 
called  Commercial  Street),  which  at  one  time  had  been 
a  fashionable  quarter  of  Caoe  Town,  and  one  can 
picture  him,  a  short  man  in  antiquated  surtout  and 
stock,  sitting  on  the  high  stoep  placidly  helping  himself 
to  liberal  pinches  of  snuff  while  receiving  the  con- 
gratulations of  his  friends.  House  and  stoep  have 
since  disappeared.  They  have  made  way  for  a  modern 


DIFFICULTIES   ENCOUNTERED.      101 


cabinet  factory  and  the  typical  Dutch  buildings  of 
his  neighbours,  shorn  of  their  surroundings  and  sadly 
neglected  have,  for  the  most  part,  been  converted 
into  registered  boarding-houses  for  the  coloured  com- 
munity !  Mr.  Brand  never  lived  long  in  one  house, 
but  much  of  his  time  was  spent  in  his  chambers  (one 
of  the  rooms  now  occupied  by  the  Police  Court)  in 
Wale  Street,  for,  although  he  bestowed  incessant  care 
on  his  work  in  the  House  during  the  session,  like  Thomas 
Richardson,  a  Speaker  in  the  reign  of  James  the  First, 
he  continued  to  practise  as  a  barrister. 

For  several  reisons  his  term  of  office  was  fraught 
with  singular  difficulties.  He  had  to  bear  the  brunt 
of  his  political  utterances  prior  to  his  election,  he 
was  without  Cape  precedents  to  guide  him,  and  there 
were  many  members  who  little  realised  their  responsi- 
bilities. Strength  of  character,  however,  coupled 
with  the  advantages  derived  from  his  legal  training 
and  knowledge  of  constitutional  law,  enabled  him 
from  the  outset  to  exhibit  a  sound  conception  of  the 
functions  of  his  office.  Occasionally  he  would  corres- 
pond with  Sir  Erskine  May  on  points  of  procedure 
and  assimilating  the  practice  of  the  House  of  Commons 
by  methodically  entering  excerpts  from  standard 
works  of  reference  in  note  books  kept  for  that  purpose 
he  was  able  to  enforce  his  authority  in  a  manner  which 
surprised  many  of  his  intimate  friends. 

Thus  in   1855,  when  the  House  was  in  Committee 


102  MR.    SPEAKER   BRAND. 

on  the  Report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  the  Burgher 
Force  Bill,  Dr.  Tancred  having  "  made  himself  guilty 
of  interruption  in  the  due  proceedings  of  the  Committee 
and  of  improper  and  disorderly  conduct  and  disobedience 
to  the  decision  of  the  Chairman,"  Mr.  Speaker  did 
not  hesitate  to  save  the  dignity  of  the  House  by  acting 
on  the  precedents  established  in  the  House  of  Commons 
on  one  or  two  rare  occasions.  He  immediately  resumed 
the  Chair,  called  the  attention  of  Dr.  Tancred  to  the 
charges  preferred  against  him,  and  told  him  that  if  he 
desired  to  explain  he  might  do  so  in  his  place,  but  if  he 
intended  to  answer  the  charges  brought  against  him 
he  should  do  so  at  the  bar  of  the  House. 

Dr.  Tancred  said  he  thought  he  would  like  to 
explain  ;  but  he  did  so  in  such  a  manner  that  the 
Speaker  again  called  him  to  order,  and  rising  from 
his  seat,  pointed  out  to  Dr.  Tancred  in  particular 
and  the  House  in  general  the  error  of  their  ways.  "  Let 
not  the  members  of  this  House  forget,"  he  said  in 
measured  terms,  '  that  we  are  here  assembled  for 
the  good  of  the  country.  On  the  subjects  which  are 
submitted  for  our  consideration  various  opinions  are 
entertained,  and  strongly  too  ;  but  if  a  majority  have 
come  to  a  certain  decision,  let  the  minority  submit." 
Dr.  Tancred  thereupon  promised  to  behave  himself 
better  in  future,  but  no  sooner  had  he  been  forgiven 
and  the  committee  was  once  more  at  work,  than  he 
forgot  all  his  good  intentions  and  made  things  so  lively 


FIRMNESS.  103 


that  the  Chairman  declared  he  could  no  longer  go  on 
with  the  business  and  the  Speaker  once  more  took 
the  Chair.  The  jovial  doctor  was  placed  at  the  bar 
of  the  House,  and  after  he  had  made  a  statement 
was  marched  off  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms  only  to  be 
brought  back  and  once  more  forgiven  on  the  same  day 
upon  his  stating  that  if  he  had  given  offence  it  was 
quite  unintentional  and  he  regretted  it. 

The  firm  attitude  taken  up  by  the  Speaker  on  all 
such  occasions*  was  greatly  appreciated  by  the  House, 
and  at  the  close  of  the  first  Parliament,  in  1858,  Mr. 
Fairbairn  again  took  the  opportunity  to  place  on 
record  the  high  sense  it  entertained  of  the  '  faithful, 
judicious,  firm  and  temperate  conduct  of  Mr.  Speaker 
and  of  the  indefatigable  devotion  of  his  talents  and 
learning  to  the  regulation  of  its  proceedings  and  of 
the  uniform  courtesy  which  he  has  manifested  towards 
the  members  of  this  House."  The  motion  reflected 
the  feeling  of  the  House,  and  was  carried  by  acclamation 
—all  the  members  rising. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  second  Parliament  on  the 
16th  of  March,  1859,  Mr.  Brand  was  unanimously 
re-elected  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly.  Amongst 
other  important  work  transacted  by  this  Parliament 
the  motion  in  favour  of  responsible  government  attracted 

*  During  a  scene  of  great  excitement  on  Molteno  s  motion  for  Responsible 
Government  on  4th  June,  1863,  Sir  ChnstofTel  Brand  declared  the  sitting  sus- 
pended until  8  p.m.  and  left  the  Chair.  At  the  request  of  Mr.  Walter,  however, 
he  resumed  the  Chair  and  the  debate  was  formally  adjourned. 


104  MR.   SPEAKER  BRAND. 

a  good  deal  of  attention  and  gave  rise  to  a  rather  amusing 
incident. 

The  motion  was  down  for  Tuesday,  the  22nd 
of  May,  1860,  and  the  Speaker's  gallery,  such  as  it 
was  in  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge,  was  filled  with  ladies, 
while  the  public  gallery  was  overflowing.  The  occasion 
was  regarded  with  particular  solemnity,  and  the  Speaker 
after  reading  prayers,  exhorted  all  who  were  to  engage 
in  the  coming  struggle  to  remember  the  rules  and  not 
to  do  anything  out  of  time  or  place.  Suddenly  there 
was  a  rat-a-tat-tat  on  the  green  baize  screen  which 
divided  the  House  from  the  public,  and  Mr.  Josias 
Rivers,  the  Governor's  Aide-de-Camp,  dashed  up 
to  the  Table  without  the  slightest  announcement  to 
deliver  a  message  on  the  contemplated  visit  of  His 
Royal  Highness  Prince  Alfred.  The  Speaker  was 
aghast.  "  Mr.  Speaker,"  say  the  Journals,  "  called 
the  Sergeant-at-Arms  to  the  Table,  and  directed 
him  if  in  future  a  messenger  come  to  the  House,  to 
inform  him  that  he  is  desired  on  his  entrance  to  the 
House  to  observe  towards  the  House  due  obeisance, 
according  to  the  Rules  of  the  House  ;  "  "  and  the 
Sergeant,"  was  the  less  sober  comment  of  the  jQjgus 
a  few  days  later,  "  placed  his  hand  on  his  sword- 
handle  and  looked  as  if  he  would  just  like  to  see  that 
white  choker  and  silk  facings  try  it  on  again  !  " 

About  two  months  after  this  incident  the  Colonial 
Aide-de-Camp  brought  over  to  the  House  a  message 


KNIGHTHOOD.  105 


which  more  nearly  affected  the  Speaker.  It  was  to 
say  that  it  was  the  intention  of  his  Grace  .the  Duke 
of  Newcastle  to  recommend  Mr.  C.  J.  Brand  to  Her 
Majesty  for  the  dignity  of  knighthood  by  letters  patent  ; 
and  on  the  next  day,  the  last  of  that  session,  the  House 
recommended  that  the  fees  attendant  on  the  issue 
of  the  letters  patent  should  be  met  out  of  the  public 
revenue.  Mr.  Speaker,  so  doughty  on  other  occasions, 
was  deeply  touched  by  this  graceful  act,  and  could 
only  say  :  '  The  House  will  allow  me  to  express  to 
the  House  my  humble  thanks." 

But  the  Speaker's  path  was  not  strewn  with  roses, 
and  his  words  were  not  idle  when  on  being  re-elected 
in  1859  he  had  appealed  to  members  for  their  full 
confidence  and  co-operation.  For  the  part  he  had 
played  in  politics  before  his  election  had  been  important 
and  there  was  always  a  sprinkling  of  members  who 
were  inclined  to  attribute  his  actions  to  political  motives, 
It  should  be  remembered,  too,  that  in  those  days 
the  issues  before  the  country  were  far  less  complicated 
than  they  are  to-day,  and  underlying  all  was  the 
provincial  question  of  East  versus  West.  With  few 
exceptions  members  dropped  automatically  into  the 
one  camp  or  the  other.  The  Speaker  scrupu- 
lously avoided  coming  into  contact  with  either  of  the 
parties,  but  he  did  not  escape  criticism.  His  casting 
vote  was  consequently  an  unending  source  of  trouble, 
and  on  at  least  one  occasion  necessitated  a  long  ex- 


io6  MR.    SPEAKER  BRAND. 


planation  to  the  House.  On  the  15th  of  July,  1862, 
a  thin  House  could  not  make  up  its  mind  whether 
it  truly  represented  the  country,  and  whether  or  no 
the  Governor  should  be  requested  by  address  to  dissolve 
Parliament  in  order  to  take  the  sense  of  the  country 
on  certain  questions. 

Thirteen — that  unlucky  number  ! — were  of  one 
opinion,  and  thirteen  of  the  other.  The  Speaker  gave 
his  casting  vote  for  the  address,  and  the  fat  was  in 
the  fire.  He  explained  his  reasons  at  the  time,  but 
this  was  not  enough.  The  resolution  was  shortly 
afterwards  rescinded  by  twenty  votes  to  fifteen,  and 
both  in  and  out  of  the  House  unpleasant  things  were 
said.  The  Speaker's  feelings,  although  well  hidden 
by  his  mask-like  face,  were  known  to  lie  with  a  certain 
section  of  the  House,  and  with  that  section  he  had 
given  his  vote  ;  and  gossips  out  of  doors  pointed  to 
the  fact  that  the  Speaker's  son,  Mr.  (afterwards 
President)  J.  H.  Brand,  had  also  voted  for  the 
address. 

So,  before  beginning  the  business  of  the  next  day, 
the  Speaker  entered  into  a  lengthy  exposition  of  the 
grounds  upon  which  he  gave  his  casting  vote,  and 
warmly  disclaimed  having  been  influenced  in  his  decision 
by  any  desire  to  further  the  objects  of  any  clique 
or  party,  and  after  defending  the  vote  on  legal  and 
constitutional  grounds  he  added  for  the  information 
of  the  gossips  that  he  and  his  son  never  discussed 


A    TROUBLESOME  RESIGNATION.     107 

matters  connected  with  their  parliamentary  or  pro- 
fessional work. 

The  leaders  of  the  House  were  quick  to  reassure 
its  venerable  Speaker  that  he  was  above  suspicion, 
and  that  he  had  done  more  for  the  House  than  they 
could  possibly  say,  but  on  his  re-election  for  the  third 
time,  at  Grahamstown,  in  1864,  he  once  more  empha- 
sised how  necessary  it  was  for  him  to  have  the  unbounded 
confidence  of  the  entire  House. 

In  that  same  year  (1864),  however,  there  took 
place  what  was  probably  the  most  unpleasant  incident 
in  his  career — an  incident  which  grew  out  of  all  pro- 
portion to  its  importance  and  even  threatened  to  under- 
mine that  confidence  he  had  sacrificed  so  much  to 
earn. 

The  whole  matter  began  by  two  members,  Mr. 
Chabaud,  that  '  hairbramed,  mad-cap,  excitable 
fellow,"  and  Mr.  Aspelmg  betting  at  a  Grahamstown 
club  table  one  Friday  evening.  Mr.  Chabaud  for 
some  unearthly  reason  wagered  that  at  three  o'clock 
on  the  following  Monday  afternoon  he  would  no  longer 
be  a  member.  Aspelmg  having  accepted  the  bet 
Chabaud  straightway  wrote  a  letter  of  resignation 
to  the  Speaker,  handed  it  to  a  messenger  and  then 
straightway  changed  his  mind.  But  the  letter  had 
by  this  time  reached  the  Speaker,  who  was  dining 
not  far  off.  Now  it  happened  that  the  Speaker,  as 
he  afterwards  stated,  was  not  well,  and  was  on  the 


io8  ME.    SPEAKER  BRAND. 

point  of  going  to  bed,  so  after  glancing  cursorily  at 
the  letter  he  gave  it  to  Mr.  Neethling,  who  was  dining 
with  him,  and  remarking  that  it  looked  as  if  Mr. 
Ghabaud  was  going  to  resign,  asked  Mr.  Neethling  to 
show  it  to  Mr.  Molteno.  With  the  letter  once  more 
in  his  possession  the  Speaker  then  went  to  bed  and  half 
an  hour  later  Mr.  Molteno  called  on  him  and  said  he 
was  authorised  by  Mr.  Chabaud  to  ask  that  it  might 
be  returned. 

The  Speaker  handed  the  letter  back,  and  when 
the  House  met  at  two  o'clock  the  next  day  stated 
the  facts.  The  Constitution  Ordinance  provided, 
however,  that  "  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  member 
of  the  House,  by  writing  under  his  hand  addressed 
to  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Assembly,  to  resign 
his  seat  ;  and  upon  such  resignation  the  seat  of  such 
member  shall  become  vacant."  Then  arose  a  conun- 
drum :  When  is  a  member  not  a  member  ?  Had 
Mr.  Chabaud  the  right  to  withdraw  his  resignation 
once  it  had  been  sent  to  the  Speaker  ? 

A  Select  Committee  was  appointed  to  find  the 
answer,  but  after  sitting  for  four  days  and  cross-ex- 
amining the  Speaker,  the  President  and  the  Attorney- 
General,  as  well  as  others  who  were  concerned,  it  could 
only  report  that  it  was  unable  to  solve  the  riddle  or 
even  express  an  opinion. 

The  report  was  considered  on  the  28th  of  June, 
and  Mr.  Scanlen  moved  that  it  was  not  in  the  discretion 


THE   CASTING    VOTE.  109 

of  the  House  to  reinstate  Mr.  Chabaud.  But  matters 
had  now  taken  a  new  turn,  and  the  Speaker's  conduct 
was  seriously  criticised.  Mr.  Solomon,  ever  the 
Speaker's  champion,  tried  his  utmost  to  keep  the  debate 
within  its  proper  limits,  but  many  hard  things  were 
said  against  the  veteran  in  the  Chair.  At  last  the 
House  divided,  and  it  was  found  that  nineteen  were 
for  the  motion  and  nineteen  against,  so  that  once  more 
the  Speaker  was  called  upon  to  give  his  casting  vote. 
He  carried  out  the  painful  duty  with  the  utmost  fear- 
lessness. He  saw  no  means  of  keeping  the  question 
open  and  so,  according  to  the  rules — not  rules  of  the 
House,  but  rules  of  action  which  Speakers  usually 
adopt — he  gave  his  honest  and  conscientious  personal 
opinion,  which  was  with  the  "  Noes."  Shortly  after 
the  decision  had  been  given  Mr.  Chabaud  resumed 
his  seat  amidst  the  cheers  of  a  few  of  the  Western 
members. 

But  in  reality  things  had  gone  from  bad  to  worse, 
and  two  days  later  Mr.  Painter,  seconded  by  Mr. 
Scanlen,  moved  a  substantive  motion  to  the  effect 
that  the  Speaker  had  failed  in  his  duty  to  the  House. 
The  House  went  into  Committee  on  the  motion,  and 
the  Speaker,  exercising  his  undoubted  right,  attended 
the  Committee  in  his  capacity  of  a  member  and  made 
a  most  powerful  speech  in  defence  of  his  conduct. 
It  was  said  by  his  contemporaries  that  Sir  Chnstoffel 
was  not  a  polished  orator,  and  that  he  was  at  all  times 


no  MR.   SPEAKER  BRAND. 

placed  at  a  disadvantage  when  he  spoke  in  English, 
but  on  this  occasion  he  totally  eclipsed  the  speakers 
who  had  arrayed  themselves  against  him.  He  handled 
the  case  as  only  a  lawyer  could,  deprecated  the  un- 
mannerly tone  of  the  attacks  made  against  him,  and 
concluded  by  declaring  that  if  the  House  adopted 
the  resolution  he  would  resign  on  the  following  morning. 
I  thank  the  Committee,"  he  said,  "  for  allowing 
me  to  say  this  much  in  vindication  of  my  character — 
a  character  which,  whatever  may  be  the  result  of 
this  discussion,  I  have  maintained  unblemished  during 
the  ten  years  that  I  have  faithfully,  honestly  and 
fearlessly  served  the  House."  The  result  was  that  the 
motion  before  the  House  was  negatived  and  a  vote 
of  confidence,  proposed  by  Mr.  Solomon,  was  carried. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  by  the  efforts  of  a 
few  members,  aided  by  the  Editor  of  the  Qreal  pastern 
(R.  W.  Murray),  a  mountain  had  been  made  out  of 
a  molehill,  and  when  his  first  wife  died  suddenly  four 
years  later  the  House  showed  both  respect  and  sympathy 
by  adjourning  for  two  days  directly  it  received  the 
sad  intelligence. 

And  there  was  no  doubt  as  to  his  fourth,  and, 
alas,  his  last  election  to  the  Chair  in  1874.  Mr.  Fair- 
bridge,  who  had  seconded  his  election  twenty  years 
before,  referred  in  glowing  terms  to  the  services  he 
had  rendered  the  House,  and  Mr.  P.  J.  A.  Watermeyer, 
who  had  been  in  the  House  for  sixteen  years,  bore 


FAILING   HEALTH.  in 

testimony  to  the  regard  in  which  they  always  held  that 
"  much  respected  gentleman." 

But  Sir  ChristofTel  was  not  long  to  preside  over  their 
deliberations.  He  looked  well  enough  when  Parliament 
met,  but  his  hearing  had  lately  been  growing  bad, 
and  now,  nearly  seventy-eight  years  old,  his  health 
failed  him.  On  the  15th  of  June  of  the  same  year  he 
wrote  that  he  was  prevented  by  illness  from  attending 
the  House,  and  two  days  later  he  wrote  from  Madeira 
House  resigning  his  office.  A  vote  of  thanks  for  his 
great  services  was  almost  immediately  proposed  and 
passed  amidst  mingled  feelings  of  pride  in  the  Speaker, 
that  had  so  long  upheld  the  reputation  of  the  House, 
and  regret  at  the  loss  sustained. 

Parliament  also  marked  its  sense  of  appreciation 
of  his  valued  services  by  passing  an  Act  bestow- 
ing on  him  a  pension  of  £1,000  a  year,  which 
was  equal  to  the  salary  he  had  been  drawing. 
Well  wrapped  up  he  was  able  before  the  close  of  the 
session  to  attend  in  his  place  as  a  member  and  express 
his  grateful  acknowledgments,  but  he  enjoyed  the 
pension  for  less  than  a  year. 

He  grew  weaker  every  day,  and  while  the  House 
was  sitting  on  the  19th  of  May,  1875,  news  was  received 
that  he  had  "  departed  this  life  at  a  quarter  past 
four  '  that  afternoon  in  his  rooms  at  Madeira  House. 
Both  Houses  of  Parliament  adjourned  for  the  day  of 
the  funeral,  when  his  remains,  followed  by  a  procession 


ii2  MR.   SPEAKER  BRAND. 


over  a  mile  long,  were  conveyed  to  the  underground 
family  vault  (since  plundered  by  godless  thieves) 
in  the  Dutch  Reformed  burial  grounds  in  Somerset 
Road. 

Sir  Christoffel  Brand  was  the  highest  Mason  in 
South  Africa,  and  it  is  reported  that  he  held  this  position 
in  greater  pride  than  any  other  he  had  occupied,  but 
there  are  many  who  will  remember  him  not  for  this 
position  or  because  he  was  a  great  lawyer,  or  because 
of  his  many  covert  acts  of  kindness,  or  even  because 
he  was  the  first  Speaker  of  the  Cape  House,  but  because, 
as  Speaker,  he  laid  the  foundation  of  the  great  repu- 
tation for  orderliness  and  decorum  which  the  House 
always  maintained. 


II. 

The 

Honourable 

Sir  David 

Tennant, 

K.C.M.G. 

1874-1896. 


HON.   SIR   DAVID   TENNANT.   K.C.M.G. 

Speaker   of   the  House  of   Assembly,  1874  -1896. 

IV.iwn    from    pWciKiaphs. 


II. 

The  Honourable  Sir  David  Tennant, 

K.C.M.G. 
1874-1896. 

IN  the  Hofmeyr  collection  there  is  a  curious  old  draw- 
ing, entitled  "  De  Kaapstad  of  Tafel  Valey."  It 
shows  the  upper  part  of  Cape  Town  as  it  was  a 
hundred  years  ago  :  a  handful  of  whitewashed  houses, 
sheltered  by  clusters  of  foliage.  Under  the  houses  are 
the  names  of  the  owners — many  of  them  well-known 
Cape  families,  such  as  Brand,  Hofmeyr,  de  Kock, 
Brink,  Dempers,  Smuts,  and  van  Breda — and  on  the 
extreme  left  of  the  picture,  under  the  homestead  known 
as  "  Zonnebloem,"  the  name  'Tennant'  is  easily 
discernible. 

It  was  here,  on  the  slopes  of  the  Devil's  Peak, 
overlooking  the  little  town  and  the  broad  sweep  of 
Table  Bay,  with  its  tall  East  Indiamen,  that  Alexander 
Tennant,  the  "  Singing  Sannock  "  of  Burns'  "  Epistle 
to  James  Tait  of  Glenconnor,""  settled  down  at  the 
close  of  the  eighteenth  century.  Generous  and  warm- 
hearted, with  left  eyebrow  slightly  raised,  he  was  a 

"  And,    Lord,    remember  Singing   Sannock. 
Wi'   hale   breeks.    saxprnce    and    a   bannock. " 


n6  ME.    SPEAKER   TENNANT. 

Tennant  all  over — one  of  those  Tennants  of  Glenconnor 
among  whose  descendants  are  numbered  the  late  Sir 
Charles  Tennant  and  his  daughter  Mrs.  Asquith. 

Alexander  Tennant  was  on  his  way  to  India,  but, 
like  a  wise  man,  altered  his  plans.  He  remained  at  the 
Cape,  married,  and  had  eight  children.  His  second 
son,  Hercules,  sometime  Civil  Commissioner  and 
Resident  Magistrate  at  Uitenhage,  married  Sir 
Chnstoffel  Brand's  sister,  and  it  was  their  son  David 
who  eventually  became  Speaker. 

Although  there  was  some  talk  of  his  entering  the 
Church,  David  Tennant  was  one  of  the  four  out  of 
five  Cape  Speakers  who  adopted  law  as  a  profession. 
He  was  born  in  Cape  Town  on  the  10th  of  January, 
1829,  and,  having  been  articled  to  Mr.  John  Reid 
("Honest  Johnny"),  was  at  the  age  of  twenty  admitted 
to  practise  as  an  attorney  of  the  Supreme  Court. 

As  a  boy  he  had  been  industrious  ;  as  a  man  he 
now  showed  himself  to  be  indefatigable.  'Deus  dabit 
vela  (God  will  fill  the  sails)  was  the  family  motto, 
and  by  dint  of  sheer  industry  David  Tennant  made  his 
own  sails  and  then  trimmed  them  to  catch  the  breeze. 
Combining  office  and  residence  under  one  roof  in 
Grave  Street,  he  literally  lived  with  his  work,  while 
in  addition  to  his  profession  he  was,  among  other 
things,  confidential  and  legal  adviser  to  the  Bishop 
of  Cape  Town,  Registrar  of  the  Diocese  as  well  as 
Registrar  of  the  Province  of  South  Africa,  a  member 


Q  UALIF1CA  TIONfi.  1 1 7 


of  the  University  Council,  and  chairman  of  the  South 
African  College  Council.  He  carefully  edited  the 
valuable  "  Notary's  Manual,"  compiled  by  his  father, 
and  in  1866  was  elected  a  member  of  the  House  of 
Assembly  for  the  electoral  division  of  Piquetberg,  a 
constituency  which  he  continued  to  represent  until  his 
retirement  from  Parliament  thirty  years  later. 

Before  1875  a  Chairman  of  Committees  was 
appointed  each  time  the  House  went  into  Committee, 
but  in  the  eight  years  during  which  Mr.  Tennant  sat 
in  the  House  under  the  Speakership  of  his  uncle,  Sir 
Chnstoflel  Brand,  he  came  to  be  appointed  to  that 
position  far  oftener  than  any  other  member  ;  moreover, 
when  on  a  holiday  in  Europe  in  1872,  he  had  been  able 
to  study  the  manners  and  customs  of  several  European 
Parliaments.  Consequently,  when  Sir  Chnstoffel  wrote 
in  1874  to  say  that  he  was  prevented  by  illness  from 
attending  the  House,  Mr.  Tennant  was  appointed 
Acting  Speaker  without  opposition,  and  when  a  few 
days  later  Sir  Chnstoffel  resigned,  David  Tennant 
was  unanimously  elected  to  fill  his  place. 

The  sails  he  had  so  carefully  trimmed  were  now 
well  filled,  but  still  he  allowed  himself  no  rest. 
Immediately  severing  his  connection  with  his  old  work, 
he  devoted  the  whole  of  his  time  to  the  work  of  the 
House,  even  going  so  far  as  to  keep,  in  his  own  neat 
hand,  records  that  might  easily  have  been  delegated 
to  others,  and  soon  became,  as  Mr.  Porter  had  said 


n8  MR.    SPEAKER   TENNANT. 


of  his  predecessor,  "  as  familiar  with  May  and  Gushing 
as  with  van  der  Linden  and  Voet." 

Sir  ChristoffeFs  long  term  of  office  had  covered 
only  two  years  of  responsible  government,  and  the 
practice  of  the  House  had  still  to  be  adapted  to  the 
new  conditions,  while  the  growth  of  business  further 
demanded  modifications  and  additions  to  the  rules. 
With  great  zeal  Mr.  Tennant  set  about  revising  the 
existing  rules,  and  at  the  beginning  of  the  next  year 
(1875)  was  able  to  lay  the  result  of  his  labours  on  the 
Table.  In  1881  he  drew  up  rules  for  the  guidance  of 
Select  Committees.  In  1883  he  filled  a  long  felt  want 
by  framing  rules  for  the  Committee  of  Ways  and 
Means  as  well  as  suggesting  further  additions  to  the 
Standing  Rules  and  Orders.  In  1885,  when  the  office 
of  the  Parliamentary  Draftsman  was  transferred  from 
the  department  of  the  Attorney-General,  he  drafted 
rules  to  be  observed  by  that  officer,  and  three  years 
later  laid  down  others  for  the  guidance  of  the  Sergeant- 
at-Arms. 

So  careful  was  the  House  not  to  make  any  rash 
innovation,  however,  that  eight  years  elapsed  before 
the  revised  rules  he  had  laid  on  the  Table  were 
adopted.  One  of  these  rules  dealing  with  the  presenta- 
tion of  petitions  cut  a  great  slice  out  of  the  daily 
routine  of  the  House.  Until  that  year  every  petition 
was  read  at  length,  and  that  much  time  was  wasted 
before  it  finally  reached  a  resting  place  on  the  Table 


PETITIONS.  119 

is  well  shown  by  the  following  extract  from  some  lines 
published  in  the  Poet's  Corner  of  the  ^rgus  in  1857  : 

The  question  was  put,  "  Are  there  any  petitions?  " 

(They  come  down  by  post  from  the  country  divisions) 

"  Mr.  Speaker,"  says  someone,  "  I've  one  to  present, 

From  such  a  division  to  me  it  was  sent  ; 

'Tis  icspectfully  worded  and  signed,  and  the  prayer 

For  relief  of  some  sort,  that  the  House  will  take  care 

Of  him  and  his  interests  and  that  he  alway, 

As  a  matter  of  course,  will  continually  pray  "  ; 

I  move  it  be  read  '       '  Who  seconds  the  motion  ?  " 
Half  a  dozen  here  rise  without  any  notion 
Of  what  it's  about  ;    however,  'tis  reckoned 
As  good  as  a  speech  to  get  up  and  second  ; 
So  like  Jacks  out  of  boxes  they  jump  up  m  rows, 
But  for  why  or  for  wherefore  there's  none  of  them  knows  : 
'  Those  who  are  in  favour  of  petition  say  aye  ? 
Those  who  are  against  it  please  to  say  nay  V 
The  House  gives   its  gracious  consent  and   permission, 
"  Ayes  "  have  it."    The  member  brings  up  the  petition. 

[Here  the  Clerk  reads  the  petition  at  length.] 

The  member  then  rises  and  moves  that  it  be 
Received  ;   then   to  second  again   two  or  three 
Rise  up  while  the  member  sits  down. 

After  the  adoption  of  the  revised  rules  only  the  most 
important  petitions  were  read,  while  by  a  further 
addition  in  1896  petitions  that  were  out  of  order  were 


120  ME.   SPEAKER   TENNANT. 

rejected  by  the  Speaker  without  ever  having  an  oppor- 
tunity of  disturbing  the  calm  deliberations  of  the  House. 

At  the  time  of  his  election  the  House  still  held  its 
meetings  in  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge,  but  steps  had 
been  taken  to  provide  more  suitable  accommodation 
and  one  glorious  day  in  May  of  the  following  year 
Mr.  Speaker,  resplendent  in  state  gown  and  full- 
bottomed  wig,  surmounted  by  his  three-cornered  black 
hat,  preceded  by  the  Sergeant-at-Arms,  bearing  the 
mace  of  his  office  and  followed  by  members,  proceeded 
down  Government  Avenue  to  witness  Sir  Henry 
Barkly  laying  the  foundation-stone  of  the  much  needed 
buildings  that  all  hoped  soon  to  occupy.  But  for  reasons 
already  given  (see  pp.  55-5^)  several  years  were  to  elapse 
and  many  things  of  importance  were  to  happen  before 
the  House  could  take  up  its  new  quarters.  Two  events 
were  of  peculiar  interest  to  the  Speaker. 

One  was  the  knighthood  with  which  his  labours 
were  rewarded.  The  honour  had  been  conferred  during 
the  recess,  and  when  the  House  met  in  1878  some 
particularly  gratifying  remarks  were  made  by  the 
Premier  and  the  leader  of  the  Opposition,  who  with 
the  Speaker  were  cheered  not  loudly,  it  is  said,  but 
with  that  peculiar  sound  that  indicates  the  satisfaction 
of  the  House.*  The  other  event  which  took  place 
a  little  later  in  the  same  session  was  not  so  pleasant. 

*  On  the  Queen's  birthday,  1892,  Sir  David  and  Mr.  Abbot,  the  Canadian 
Premier,  were  created  Knights  Commanders  of  the  Most  Distinguished  Order  of 
St.  Michael  and  St.  George. 


A    BELATED  RULING.  121 

The  Molteno  ministry  had  been  dismissed  by  Sir 
Bartle  Frere,  and  Mr.  Mernman,  in  a  house  so  crowded 
that  members  of  the  Legislative  Council  found  their 
allotted  seats  confiscated  by  the  gentler  sex,  moved  a 
motion,  the  second  and  third  paragraphs  of  which 
conveyed  a  direct  censure  on  the  Governor.  Mr. 
Speaker  permitted  the  debate  to  continue  for  several 
days  and  then  ruled  that  as  Ministers  under  a  system 
of  responsible  government  were  responsible  for  the 
action  of  a  Governor,  the  paragraphs  in  question  were 
out  of  order  and  should  be  discharged.  The  ruling 
came  like  a  bolt  from  the  blue  and  several  prominent 
members  declared  they  felt  staggered.  One  expressed 
pardonable  surprise  that  the  discussion  had  been 
allowed  to  continue  for  so  long,  and  another  thought 
he  had  a  precedent  that  would  put  the  Speaker  in  a 
quandary.  But  Sir  David,  who  remained  calm  through- 
out the  storm,  pointed  out  that  there  was  no  analogy 
between  the  case  quoted  and  the  question  before  them, 
and  reminded  the  House  that  a  ruling  from  the  Chair 
admitted  of  no  argument.  If  a  member  disagreed  with 
it  he  could  put  a  notice  on  the  paper  to  bring  the 
decision  under  review.  The  adjournment  of  the  House 
was  moved,  and  criticisms  came  without  intermission 
until  Mr.  Solomon  poured  oil  on  the  troubled  waters. 

Mr.  Solomon  was  so  diminutive  that  he  had  to 
stand  on  a  stool  in  order  that  his  head  might  be  above 
the  level  of  his  desk,  but  his  magnificent  brain  made 


122  .1/7?.    SPEAKER   TENNANT. 

up  for  his  physical  shortcomings.  He  now  suggested 
that  the  motion  should  be  amended  and  considered  in 
another  form  at  a  later  date.  One  member  had  given 
notice,  at  the  Speaker's  own  instance,  that  the  ruling 
should  be  considered  by  the  House,  but  after  Mr. 
Solomon's  intervention  the  whole  discussion  fizzled  out 
and  with  a  sigh  of  relief  the  Clerk  read  the  next  order. 
Sir  David  naturally  took  a  great  interest  in  the 
building  of  the  new  Houses  of  Parliament,  and  it  was 
with  intense  satisfaction  that  in  December,  1884,  he 
was  able,  with  his  staff,  to  move  into  the  red-brick 
structure  that  has  since  become  the  home  of  the  Union 
Parliament.  While  the  new  buildings  were  being  con- 
structed. Sir  David  had  been  appointed  one  of  a 
committee  to  keep  an  eye  on  their  progress,  and  when 
the  buildings  were  finished  he  continued  to  study  the 
requirements  of  the  House.  A  "  Suggestion  Book  " 
was  kept  for  members  with  grievances,  and  Sir  David, 
as  Chairman  of  the  Internal  Arrangements  Committee, 
did  all  he  could  for  their  comfort.  Matters  ranging 
from  the  steward's  pantry-window  and  the  supply  of 
nail-brushes  to  the  erection  of  an  imposing  Press  gallery 
behind  the  Speaker's  Chair  received  equal  attention, 
and  in  1889  he  was  able  to  announce  that  the  acoustic 
properties  of  the  House  would  be  improved  by  the 
addition  of  a  flat  ceiling  suspended  some  ten  feet  below 
the  original  domed  roof.* 

*    The   Debating    Chamber    is    now    used    as    a    Dining    Ror>m    by    the    Union 
Parliament,    but    the    improvised   ceiling   still    remains. 


ADMONITION.  123 

Sir  David,  indeed,  by  his  thoughtfulness  for  others, 
came  to  be  regarded  with  much  of  the  feeling  a  schoolboy 
is  supposed  to  have  for  his  headmaster,  and  it  must  have 
given  him  as  much  pain  as  it  did  Mr.  Wolf  when  he 
had  to  admonish  that  member  for  publishing  in  a 
newspaper  a  manuscript  return  laid  on  the  Table  of  the 
House.  Shortly  after  the  offence  had  been  committed, 
Mr.  Wolf  absented  himself  on  urgent  private  affairs  ; 
but  the  culprit  was  not  forgotten.  On  his  return  Mr. 
Speaker  bade  him  stand  up  and  explain  himself.  Mr. 
Wolf  said  he  really  had  not  meant  to  do  anything  wrong, 
that  he  was  an  ignoramus  and  knew  nought  of  the 
rules,  so  he  was  requested  to  withdraw,  and  Mr. 
Upington  suggested  that  an  admonition  might  meet  the 
case.  The  duty,  of  course,  was  the  Speaker's,  and 
Mr.  Wolf  being  recalled,  Sir  David  donned  his  three- 
cornered  hat  and  warned  the  member  by  name  that  he 
was  skating  on  very  thin  ice.  A  few  years  later  he  had 
occasion  to  call  the  attention  of  the  House  to  a  sirmlar 
disregard  of  its  rules,  but  this  time  he  spared  the 
rod. 

The  consideration  he  afforded  members  was  always 
apparent.  When,  for  instance,  Mr.  le  Roex  in  1891  was 
the  subject  of  a  motion  based  on  an  ungrounded 
suspicion,  Mr.  Speaker  asked  him  beforehand  not  to 
reply  to  the  charge,  and  on  the  following  day,  the 
mover  having  expressed  his  regret  that  anything  in  the 
motion  submitted  by  him  and  adopted  by  the  House 


124  MR.   SPEAKER   TEN N ANT. 


conveyed  an  imputation  injurious  to  the  character  of  the 
gentleman  concerned,  Mr.  Speaker  said  that  he  thought 
a  member  displayed  a  proper  Christian  spirit  when, 
feeling  he  had  wronged  a  fellow-member,  he  imme- 
diately retracted  the  statement  and  asked  that  his 
retraction  should  appear  in  the  Journals  of  the  House. 
Beyond  that,  he  added,  the  House  could  scarcely  go, 
but  he  suggested  that  the  offensive  words  be  expunged 
from  the  Journals.  Mr.  Rhodes  was  quick  to  carry  the 
suggestion  into  effect,  and  when  others  rose  to  speak 
Sir  David  tactfully  remarked  that  further  discussion 
was  unnecessary  ;  the  matter  would  drop,  and  he  hoped 
that  the  good  feeling  which  had  hitherto  characterised 
the  conduct  of  business  would  be  maintained. 

That  his  conduct  in  the  Chair  was  fully  appreciated 
is  one  of  those  happy  exceptions  to  the  world's  usual 
ingratitude.  He  was  elected  Speaker  five  times,  in 
1874,  1879,  1884,  1889  and  1894,  and  each  time  had 
praises  showered  upon  him  by  the  statesmen  of  the 
day  in  an  abundance  that  would  have  turned  the  head 
of  a  man  less  experienced  in  the  affairs  of  the  world. 
Sprigg,  Merriman,  Sauer,  Solomon,  Scanlen,  Hofmeyr, 
Rhodes  and  Fuller — names  to  conjure  with — added 
their  meed  of  praise,  and  in  1893,  when  Sir  David  had 
occupied  the  Chair  for  twenty  years,  tributes  were  paid 
that  gave  him  more  pleasure  than  had  anything  before. 
Mr.  Rhodes,  who  rose  amid  cheers  to  move  a  vote  of 
thanks  to  the  Speaker,  praised  Sir  David's  tact, 


A    VOTE   OF   THANKS.  125 


discretion  and  courtesy  :  Mr.  Sauer  extolled  his  talents, 
and  Mr.  Hofmeyr  lauded  his  impartiality. 

Sir  David  modestly  disclaimed  the  merits  attributed 
to  him.  They  had  overlooked  his  many  failings,  he 
said,  and  had  spoken  only  of  that  which  they  believed 
to  be  of  the  best.  "  But,"  he  added,  "  I  have  sought 
to  keep  aloof  from  political  parties.  I  have  tried  ever 
to  keep  the  balance  steady,  and,  though  mixing  freely 
with  parties  on  both  sides,  never  to  commit  myself  to 
either  (cheers).  If  an  honour  is  to  be  conferred  upon 
the  Speaker,  there  can  be  none  greater  than  that  which 
has  just  been  conferred  upon  me."  And  in  conclusion 
he  was  able  to  say  that  it  had  never  been  necessary  for 
him  to  speak  a  harsh  word  to  a  single  member — a 
record  which  spoke  well  not  only  for  the  orderliness  of 
the  House,  as  a  contemporary  remarked,  but  for  the 
Speaker's  urbanity.  His  reply  was  recorded  in  the 
Journals,  but  his  rich  voice,  which  penetrated  every 
nook  and  cranny  of  the  House,  could  only  be  appreciated 
by  those  who  were  fortunate  enough  to  be  present. 

Sir  David  was  an  intrepid  guardian  of  those  privileges 
of  the  House  which  he  himself  had  been  instrumental 
in  placing  on  the  Statute  Book  in  1883.  Sometimes, 
it  is  true,  he  was  inclined  to  be  a  trifle  pedagogic  in 
drawing  members'  attention  to  the  rules,  but  he  also 
had  the  rare  gift  of  being  witty  without  detracting  from 
the  respect  due  to  his  high  office.  The  story  has  often 
been  told  of  how  he  corrected  the  member  who,  on 


126  MR.    SPEAKER   TENNAST. 


the  motion  that  the  House  do  now  resolve  itself  into 
Committee  and  that  Mr.  Speaker  leave  the  Chair,  moved 
an  amendment  that  Mr.  Speaker  leave  the  Chair  this 
day  six  months.  '  I  trust  that  the  honourable  member 
will  not  insist  upon  moving  his  amendment  in  the  form 
proposed,"  said  Mr.  Speaker  gravely,  "  for  if  it  were 
agreed  to  the  consequences  to  the  Speaker  might  be 
extremely  inconvenient  ! 

His  uncle,  Sir  Christoffel  Brand,  had  also  a  sense  of 
humour,  although  his  grim  features  rarely  betrayed  his 
amusement.  When  Mr.  Painter,  in  a  discussion  on  the 
Frontier  question,  complained  that  the  state  of  insecurity 
on  the  frontier  was  such  that  "  he  and  other  settlers 
had  often  gone  to  their  daily  vocations  ...  to  return 
in  the  evening  to  find  their  houses  burnt  over  their 
heads,  their  wives  widows  and  their  children  fatherless," 
— Sir  Christoffel  looked  almost  bored.  Sir  David's 
features  were  more  flexible  and  he  was  once  caught  off 
his  guard  by  a  horrible  pun  concocted  by  Mr.  Maasdorp. 
A  very  earnest  member  had  times  out  of  number  referred 
to  the  wicked  acts  of  a  notorious  Kafir  chief  named 
Oba.  It  was  Oba  this  and  Oba  that  until  members 
were  nearly  frantic,  and  one  day,  when  the  sins  of  Oba 
had  been  expatiated  on  with  unusual  vehemence,  Mr. 
Maasdorp  jumped  up.  '  Mr.  Speaker,"  he  expostulated 
with  dramatic  gravity  and  then  after  a  pause  for  effect, 
'  Mr.  Speakah,  is  this  operah  obah  ?  "  The  House 
shouted  with  laughter.  "  Order,  order,"  said  the 


ARCHAIC   PRECEDENTS.  127 

Speaker,  but  it  was  with  obvious  difficulty  that  he  checked 
a  smile  that  threatened  to  become  a  broad  grin. 

In  establishing  new  precedents  for  the  guidance  of 
the  House  sound  knowledge  of  procedure  in  other 
colonies  was  as  indispensable  as  a  thorough  acquaintance 
with  the  practice,  both  ancient  and  modern,  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  and  some  of  the  archaic  precedents  Sir 
David  applied  were  peculiarly  apt.  When,  for  instance, 
in  1877  and  again  in  1894  he  was  disturbed  by  the  un- 
seemly rush  for  the  door  which  took  place  at  6  p.m.  and 
1 1  p.m.,  the  usual  hours  of  adjournment,  he  told  the 
House  that  its  behaviour  was  not  what  it  should  be,  and 
quoted  for  their  benefit  the  rule  of  Parliament,  adopted 
some  four  hundred  years  before,  that  "  The  House  do 
alway  at  its  rising  depart  and  come  forth  in  comely  and 
civil  sort  for  the  reverence  of  the  House,  in  turning  about 
with  a  low  courtesie  as  they  make  at  their  coming  into 
the  House  and  not  unseemly  to  thrust  and  throng 
out." 

On  the  26th  of  February,  1896,  on  Mr.  Rhodes' 
suggestion,  Sir  David  assumed  the  position  of  Agent- 
General  in  London,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  next 
session,  on  the  30th  of  April,  1896,  the  Clerk  read  to 
the  House  a  touching  letter,  in  which  the  Speaker 
resigned  his  office.  '  In  bidding  farewell,"  ran  one 
paragraph,  "  I  desire  to  express  to  members  my  firm 
and  unalterable  attachment  to  the  system  of  Constitu- 
tional and  Parliamentary  Government  ;  and  bee  to 


128  MR.   SPEAKER   TENNANT. 


assure  them  that  I  shall  always  take  a  deep  and  fervent 
interest  in  all  that  concerns  the  proceedings  of  Parlia- 
ment .  .  .  To  yourselves  and  the  officers  of  the 
House  I  tender  the  best  thanks  for  the  faithful  discharge 
of  the  duties  you  have  so  zealously  rendered  the  House." 

The  next  day  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg,  in  a  voice  that 
was  husky  from  the  effects  of  the  misty  day — or  was  it 
from  emotion  ? — moved  a  motion  which  placed  on 
record  the  thanks  of  the  House  for  the  skilful  manner 
in  which  Sir  David  had  invariably  applied  his  compre- 
hensive knowledge  to  the  solution  of  difficult  questions. 

Sir  David  had  been  Speaker  for  nearly  twenty-two 
years,  a  period  that,  with  the  exception  of  Sir  Arthur 
Onslow's  remarkable  term  of  thirty-three  years,  was 
unsurpassed  by  any  Speaker  in  the  British  Empire, 
and  on  his  resignation  an  Act  was  passed  settling  on 
him  a  pension  of  £1,200  when  his  term  of  office  as 
Agent-General  should  expire.  Sir  David,  who  was 
a  Speaker  born,  was  not  so  successful  in  his  new 
capacity,  but  on  his  retirement  in  1901,  when  at  last 
he  furled  his  weather-beaten  sails,  he  was  presented 
with  an  appreciative  address  by  his  staff,  and  when  he 
died  in  London  on  the  29th  of  March,  1905,  at  39, 
Hyde  Park  Gardens,  the  House  once  more  placed  on 
record  its  sense  of  his  long  and  faithful  services  by 
immediately  adjourning  and  passing  on  the  following 
day  a  resolution  of  sympathy  with  the  deceased  Speaker's 
family. 


III. 

The 

Honourable 
Sir  Henry 
Juta,  Kt., 

K.C.,  B.A., 

LL.B., 

1896-1898 


HON.   SIR   HENRY   JLTA.    Kt.,    K.C.,  B.A  ,  LL.H. 

Speaker  of   the   House   of  Assembly,    1896    1898. 

From  full-length  portrait    l,v  P    Tennyson-Cole,  in    the    Union  Hnusc^ 


III. 

The  Honourable  Sir  Henry  Juta, 

Kt.    K.C.,  B.A.    LL.B. 
1896—1898. 

GREY  hairs  are  generally  recognised  as  a  necessary 
qualification  for  the  Speakership.  Sir  Chnstof- 
fel  Brand  was  fifty-eight  and  Sir  David  Ten- 
nant  was  forty-six  when  elected,  while  Sir  John  Tiptoft, 
who  was  Speaker  in  the  English  House  of  Commons 
so  far  back  as  1406,  protested  that  he  was  altogether 
too  young  for  the  position,  and,  being  only  about  thirty- 
one,  lacked  sense. 

Sir  Henry  was  only  thirty-eight  when  elected, 
but  he  lacked  neither  the  sense  nor  the  caution 
associated  with  riper  years. 

He  was  born  on  the  12th  of  August,  1857.  and 
was  the  son  of  Jan  Carel  Juta,  who  came  from  Holland. 
At  the  South  African  College,  where  he  was  educated, 
he  did  well,  passing,  at  the  age  of  seventeen,  eighth 
on  the  list  in  the  matriculation  in  the  same  year  as 
his  predecessor,  Sir  David  Tennant,  was  elected 
Speaker.  Two  years  later  he  took  his  degree  and  then 
proceeded  to  London,  where  he  took  his  LL.B.  After 
being  admitted  as  a  barrister  to  the  Inner  Temple 


132  MR.    SPEAKER   JUT  A. 


and  called  to  the  Bar,  he  returned  to  Cape  Town  in 
1880  and  was  admitted  as  an  advocate  of  the  Supreme 
Court.  He  soon  built  up  a  big  practice,  and  in  1893, 
standing  for  Parliament,  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Assembly  for  Oudtshoorn.  In  the  same 
year  he  took  silk  and  was  appointed  Attorney-General 
in  the  second  Rhodes  Ministry. 

He  had  thus  had  only  three  years'  Parliamentary 
experience  when  the  resignation  of  Sir  David  Tennant 
was  read  to  the  House  on  its  meeting  in  1896.  He 
had,  however,  acted  as  Judge  of  the  High  Court  of 
Griqualand  West,  and  Sir  Gordon  Spngg,  who  was 
then  Prime  Minister,  had  no  hesitation  in  proposing 
that  he  should  become  Speaker  in  Sir  David's  place. 
Sir  Gordon  had  delved  deep  into  Parliamentary  prece- 
dents and  told  the  House  that  both  those  renowned 
Speakers,  Onslow  and  Manners  Sutton,  were  even 
younger  than  the  present  candidate  for  the  Chair 
when  they  had  been  elected.  There  was,  moreover, 
this  advantage,  that  if  a  young  man  was  put  in  the 
Chair  he  would  be  able  to  occupy  the  position 
for  many  years  and  would  thus  gam  the  experience 
it  was  so  great  an  advantage  to  possess.  His  nominee 
had  a  perfect  knowledge  of  the  two  languages,  and 
it  was  to  be  hoped  that  he  would  have  as  long 
a  tenure  of  the  Chair  as  had  young  Speaker  Onslow. 
W.  P.  Schreiner  and  Juta  had  been  at  school  together, 
and  it  was  with  great  pleasure  that  the  former  was 


THE   FIRST   RULING.  133 


able  to  tell  the  House  of  his  schoolfellow's  merits. 
He,  too,  however,  felt  that,  coming  after  Sir  David 
(who  was  sixty-eight  when  he  resigned),  to  be  only 
thirty-eight  was  to  be  a  trifle  young,  but  that,  he 
assured  the  House,  was  a  defect  which  Time  would 
cure. 

Mr.  Juta  thanked  his  proposer  and  seconder  in 
a  few  well-balanced  sentences,  and  on  being  conducted 
to  the  Chair,  addressed  the  House  once  more  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  time-honoured  custom.  In  the 
drawing-room  of  Government  House  His  Excellency 
the  Governor,  Sir  Hercules  Robinson,  confirmed  the 
election,  and  Mr.  Speaker  Juta,  debonair  and  alert, 
returned  to  the  House  to  receive  its  benediction  at 
the  hands  of  Mr.  Merriman  and  Mr.  Theron. 

That  was  on  Thursday,  the  30th  of  April,  1896, 
and  on  the  following  day,  before  the  Speaker  had  had 
time  to  get  accustomed  to  his  wig  or  his  conspicuous 
position,  he  was  called  upon  to  give  a  ruling  !  The 
House  had  attended  the  opening  ceremony  in  the 
Legislative  Council,  and,  having  returned,  was  dis- 
posing of  some  preliminary  work  when  up  sprang 
two  front-bench  members  of  the  Opposition  and  wanted 
to  know  what  on  earth  the  House  was  doing  :  Mr. 
Speaker  was  permitting  matters  to  be  dealt  with  before 
the  Governor's  Speech  had  been  communicated  to 
the  House.  From  that  moment  the  Speaker's  wig 
seemed  to  fit,  and  the  Chair  assumed  the  right  pro- 


134  MR.    SPEAKER  JUTA. 

portions.  '  It  is  in  entire  accordance  with  precedent, 
remarked  the  newly-elected  Speaker  in  almost  a  kindly 
voice,  "  it  is  in  entire  accordance  with  precedent 
for  business  of  an  informal  nature  to  be  disposed  of 
before  Mr.  Speaker  communicates  His  Excellency's 
speech,"  and  once  more  the  machinery  of  the  House 
was  set  in  motion. 

As  Speaker  he  had  a  "  short  life,  but  a  gay  one." 
Political  feeling  ran  high,  and  questions  of  the  day 
were  often  discussed  with  the  greatest  acrimony  ; 
so,  although  he  was  not  frequently  called  upon  to 
decide  really  knotty  points,  he  had  always  to  exercise 
the  greatest  tact  and  vigilance.  '  That  is  a  deliberate 
falsehood,"  or  "  That  is  a  he  "  was  often  substituted 
by  members  in  the  heat  of  the  moment  for  the  Par- 
liamentary expression  '  That  is  not  true,"  and  the 
Speaker  had  to  explain  the  difference  as  delicately 
as  he  could.  It  is  remarkable  that  in  times  such  as 
these  the  Speaker's  ruling  was  never  questioned, 
but  when  a  daring  member  did  occasionally  indulge 
in  a  passage  at  arms  with  the  Chair  it  was  invariably 
the  Speaker  that  pinked  his  man. 

Add  to  these  circumstances  the  fact  that  there 
was,  in  some  quarters,  a  certain  amount  of  feeling 
against  his  election  and  it  will  be  seen  that  it  required 
more  than  the  ordinary  qualifications  to  give  satisfaction. 
The  unwritten  rule  that  any  member  about  to  raise 
a  question^  for  Mr.  Speaker's  decision  should  give 


FORESIGHT.  135 

the  Chair  due  notice  was  often  disregarded  and  points 
were  sprung  upon  the  new  occupant  without  warning. 
But  here  again  lunge  was  met  by  parry  and  counter 
lunge.  To  guard  himself  against  being  unprepared 
he  would  carefully  go  through  the  Order  Paper  for 
the  day  and  try  to  anticipate  any  points  that  might 
be  raised.  These  would  be  looked  up  and  rulings 
written  with  surprising  success  ;  surprising  to  his 
antagonists,  for,  with  the  quick  eye  of  the  duellist, 
he  frequently  foresaw  their  methods  of  attack  and 
on  one  day  alone  was  able  to  make  use  of  three  out 
of  four  rulings  he  had  prepared.  And  so,  ever  watchful, 
ever  alert  and  at  all  times  courteous,  he,  by  degrees, 
won  over  his  adversaries  and  came  to  be  duly  notified 
of  any  points  to  be  raised. 

He  was  indifferent  as  to  the  person  against  whom 
his  decisions  were  directed,  and  in  his  first  year  greatly 
delighted  the  Opposition  by  ruling  that  a  notice  of 
motion  placed  at  the  head  of  the  Order  Paper  by  the 
Prime  Minister  on  a  Government  "  Order  Day  ' 
was  out  of  its  place,  and  could  not  be  taken  until  the 
Orders  of  the  Day  had  been  disposed  of.  Both  on 
this  occasion  and  in  1898,  when  Sir  Gordon  tried  to 
turn  the  tables  on  Mr.  Schremer  on  a  somewhat  similar 
matter,  the  Speaker  considerably  enlightened  the 
House  as  to  its  procedure.  Members  had  often  entered 
the  Debating  Chamber  primed  to  the  hilt  with  knowledge 
gleaned  from  the  latest  edition  of  '  May,"  only  to 


136  MR.    SPEAKER  JUT  A. 


find  that  they  were  wrong  after  all.  This  the  Speaker 
explained  was  due  to  the  fact  that  the  rule  providing 
that  resort  should  be  had  to  the  usage  and  practice  of 
the  Imperial  Parliament  was  last  adopted  in  1883,  and 
that  changes  made  in  the  Imperial  Parliament  after 
that  date  did  not  affect  the  Cape  House.  The  statement 
may  make  dull  reading  now,  as  the  Union  rules  accept 
a  later  edition  of  "  May  "  (the  eleventh)  as  the  standard 
of  reference,  but  to  those  who  were  interested  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  House  at  that  time  it  was  a  matter 
of  the  first  importance. 

His  first  year  of  office  was  largely  bound  up  with 
the  Parliamentary  enquiry  into  the  Jameson  Raid. 
He  was  not  only  entrusted  with  the  nomination  of 
the  members  of  that  historical  Select  Committee,  but 
was  called  upon  to  give  two  important  rulings,  affecting 
the  privilege  of  the  House,  which  arose  out  of  the 
Committee's  investigations. 

The  personnel  of  the  Committee  gave  the  greatest 
satisfaction.  It  included  several  distinguished  lawyers, 
yet  when  only  three  meetings  had  been  held  they 
found  themselves  in  difficulties  upon  doubts  being 
raised  as  to  whether  the  head  of  the  Telegraph  De- 
partment could  be  called  upon  to  produce  telegrams 
which  had  passed  between  Rhodes  and  others.  The 
Powers  and  Privileges  of  Parliament  Act  provided 
generally  that  the  House  could  order  the  production 
of  any  documents,  but  the  Telegraph  Act  stated  specifi- 


THE  POWER   OF   PARLIAMENT.      137 

cally  that  the  contents  of  a  telegram  could  be  divulged 
only  before  a  Court  of  Justice.  The  sacred  rights 
of  Parliament  were  at  stake.  What  was  to  be  done  ? 
The  Speaker  was  asked  to  decide  the  point,  and  on 
the  4th  of  June,  1896,  he  appeared  personally  before 
the  Select  Committee.  After  exhaustively  treating 
the  whole  question  of  the  production  of  papers  before 
a  colonial  legislature  he  ruled  that  in  view  of  the  specific 
provision  of  the  Telegraph  Act  it  was  not  competent 
for  the  Select  Committee  to  demand  the  coveted 
telegrams,  and  the  end  of  the  matter  was  that  Parliament 
had  to  show  its  supreme  authority  by  passing  a  special 
Act  to  invest  the  Select  Committee  with  the  requisite 
power. 

But  before  long  there  arose  another  question.  Sir 
David  Tennant  in  1883  had  drawn  the  attention  of 
the  House  to  the  fact  that  it  could  not  deal  with  matters 
in  which  members  themselves  were  not  the  culprits, 
and  at  his  instance  Parliament  had  passed  the  Powers 
and  Privileges  Act  to  invest  itself  with  the  desired 
authority  over  those  who  were  not  members.  Hence, 
when  on  the  24th  of  June,  1896,  a  Cape  Town  newspaper 
printed  a  paragraph  in  reference  to  the  proceedings 
of  the  Select  Committee  on  the  Jameson  Raid,  Sir 
Henry  did  not  let  the  offence  pass  unnoticed,  but  pointed 
out  that  this  was  a  breach  of  privilege  now  punishable 
with  fine  or  imprisonment,  and  hinted  darkly  at  what 
the  House  would  do  if  it  happened  again. 


138  MR.   SPEAKER  JUT  A. 

In  those  good  days  the  House  sat  for  only  three 
months  in  the  year.  A  recess,  however,  has  never  been 
the  holiday  it  is  popularly  supposed  to  be.  Questions 
that  have  arisen  as  well  as  questions  that  may  arise 
have  to  be  dealt  with,  and  in  order  that  he  might  not 
be  hampered  by  decisions  that  had  been  given  in  the 
past,  Mr.  Speaker  Juta  improved  the  shining  hour 
by  looking  up,  analysing  and  annotating  all  the  rulings 
given  by  Brand  and  Tennant,  and  by  the  time  he  had 
completed  his  self-appointed  task,  members  were  once 
more  streaming  into  the  building,  and  his  second  year 
had  begun. 

The  Opposition  had  become  more  powerful,  and 
on  the  30th  of  April,  1897,  tried  a  fall  with  Sprigg's 
third  Ministry.  The  motion  over  which  members 
came  to  grips  was  simply  "  that  the  Government  does 
not  -possess  the  confidence  of  the  House."  All  that 
day  and  well  into  the  night  the  House  swayed  back- 
wards and  forwards  in  fierce  encounter,  and  at  twenty 
minutes  to  eleven,  when  the  question  had  been  put 
and  a  division  had  taken  place,  Mr.  Speaker  informed 
the  House  that  the  tussle  had  ended  in  a  tie — thirty- 
six  were  for  the  motion  and  thirty-six  against,  so,  in 
order  to  keep  the  question  open,  he  gave  his  casting 
vote  against  the  motion  in  accordance  with  the  usual 
practice.  The  House  then  adjourned,  and  the  Speaker, 
who  had  kept  one  eye  on  the  clock  for  some  time, 
hurried  off  to  catch  his  train.  To  him  the  casting  vote 


CONGRATULATIONS.  139 

had  been  a  detail,  but  to  Sir  Gordon  it  meant  a  new 
lease  of  life,  and  often  afterwards  his  Government 
was  twitted  with  being  the  "  Speaker's  Ministry." 

In  the  small  list  of  Diamond  Jubilee  honours  that 
year  the  Speaker's  name  figured  as  one  upon  whom 
Her  Majesty  had  been  pleased  to  confer  a  knighthood, 
and  the  House  immediately  took  the  opportunity  of 
congratulating  Sir  Henry.  The  agreeable  duty  fell  to 
Sir  James  Sivewnght,  the  acting  Prime  Minister,  and 
Mr.  Merriman,  in  a  speech  punctuated  with  cheers, 
expressed  the  hearty  concurrence  of  those  who  sat  on 
his  side  of  the  House.  The  speeches  were  short  and  to 
the  point,  but  had  in  them  that  spontaneity  which 
clearly  indicated  how  genuine  the  feeling  was.  That 
Sir  Henry  was  much  impressed  with  the  confidence 
and  goodwill  he  had  won  in  so  short  a  time  was  manifest 
from  his  reply,  which  left  members  under  the  impression 
that  after  all  their  congratulations  were  perhaps  the 
greater  honour  of  the  two. 

In  comparison  with  his  predecessors,  Sir  Henry 
did  not  give  many  rulings— he  was  not  long  enough  in 
office — but  all  of  them  had  that  unmistakable  ring  of 
simplicity  which  is  the  sign  of  clear  judgment,  and 
there  were  several  to  which  reference  has  frequently 
been  made  by  his  successors.  Particular  attention  was 
paid  to  the  principle  that  the  House  should  not  in  any 
way  be  deprived  of  its  power  over  the  purse.  When, 
for  example,  a  customs  convention  with  a  tariff  annexed 


140  ME.   SPEAKER  JUT  A. 


was  sought  to  be  approved  without  due  opportunity 
being  given  to  members  to  reduce  or  expunge  items 
in  the  tariff,  Sir  Henry  refused  to  allow  the  rights  of  the 
House  to  be  so  curtailed.  It  had,  moreover,  been  a 
growing  practice  of  the  Government  to  present 
Estimates  of  Expenditure  containing  an  item  of,  say, 
£10,000,  less  £9,999  receipts,  leaving  only  £1  to  be 
voted  by  the  House,  and  Speaker  Juta,  holding  that 
this  was  unconstitutional  as  it  deprived  the  House  of 
its  power  of  reducing  the  £10,000  in  any  way  it  pleased, 
gave  notice  to  the  Premier  and  the  leader  of  the 
Opposition  that  he  could  not  allow  the  Estimates  to 
be  presented  in  that  form.  He  ceased  to  be  Speaker 
before  he  could  give  practical  effect  to  his  views,  but 
the  means  which  he  intended  to  adopt  are  given  in  his 
evidence  before  the  Select  Committee  on  Public 
Accounts  in  August,  1906,  and  a  ruling  based  on  his 
evidence  was  delivered  in  the  House  in  1907. 

These  were  legacies  for  which  private  members  were 
duly  grateful,  but  their  wives  and  the  wives  of  members 
to-day  also  owe  a  great  deal  to  his  protection.  In  Sir 
David  Tennant's  time  a  Government  House  party  had 
occupied  nearly  all  the  principal  seats  at  the  spectacular, 
if  not  highly  exciting,  opening  ceremonies,  but  Sir 
Henry  held  that  the  wives  of  men  who  were  administering 
and  legislating  for  the  country  were  just  as  much 
entitled  to  recognition.  After  Sir  Henry  Juta  had 
decided  upon  the  course  to  adopt,  Lord  de  Villiers, 


A    GOVERNMENT  DEFEAT.  141 

then  President  of  the  Legislative  Council,  was  struck 
with  the  idea  and  arranged  for  an  interview  with  the 
Speaker  and  the  Clerk  of  the  House.  That  there  should 
be  a  change  in  the  plan  hitherto  adopted  was  soon 
agreed  to.  Permanent  arrangements  were  made  for  future 
ceremonies  and  the  wives  of  members  and  prominent 
officials  lived  happily  ever  after. 

His  third  session,  which  terminated  abruptly  after  a 
few  weeks,  was  his  last.  The  Opposition  again 
challenged  the  Government  by  once  more  moving  in 
those  simple  but  potent  words  :  "  That  the  Government 
does  not  possess  the  confidence  of  the  House."  This 
time  the  Speaker's  casting  vote  was  not  required.  The 
motion  was  carried  by  forty-one  votes  to  thirty-six, 
and  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg  announced  that,  after  he  had 
been  granted  enough  money  to  carry  on  with,  the 
Governor  would  dissolve  the  House. 

But  Sir  Gordon  did  not  forget  the  services  of  the 
Speaker,  and  before  the  dissolution  he  rose  to  record 
in  eulogistic  terms  how  deeply  sensible  the  House  was  of 
the  "  able,  fearless  and  impartial  "  manner  in  which 
Sir  Henry  had  performed  his  duties.  Mr.  Mernman, 
Mr.  Schremer,  and  Mr.  Theron,  following  Sir  Gordon, 
showed  how  united  the  feeling  was,  and  Sir  Henry 
"  suitably  replied."  '  I  know,"  he  said,  "  that  during 
the  last  few  years  feeling  has  run  very  high,  and  1 
think  there  can  be  no  greater  honour  which  I  can  send 
down  to  my  posterity  than  that  in  spite  of  all  the  high 


142  MR.    SPEAKER  JUT  A. 


feeling  I  still  retain  your  confidence  and  esteem." 
He  went  on  to  remind  the  House  that  at  the  general 
elections  about  to  take  place  he  would  have  to  fight 
for  his  seat  like  the  rest  of  them  and  might  make  remarks 
that  ought  not  to  be  made.  Should  this  happen  he 
asked  the  House  "  to  bear  with  him  and  regard  it  with 
all  softness,  remembering  the  difficulties  of  the  position, 
and  not  in  any  way  set  down  aught  in  malice  but  some- 
thing extenuate,  believing  that  as  far  as  he  could  he  would 
always  do  the  impartial  duty  of  the  Speaker." 

Sir  Henry,  however,  was  not  re-elected,  and  when 
Parliament  reassembled  on  the  7th  of  October,  1898, 
a  new  Speaker  had  to  be  chosen.  How  Sir  Henry  once 
more  built  up  his  extensive  practice  at  the  Bar  ;  how  he 
once  more  entered  Parliament;  and  how,  in  1914,  he 
was  appointed  Judge-President  of  the  Cape  Provincial 
Division  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  South  Africa  and 
Additional  Judge  of  Appeal  in  the  Appellate  Division, 
are  matters  which  fall  outside  the  scope  of  this  sketch. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  he  has  never  lost  the  popularity 
he  won  and  held  as  the  third  Speaker  of  a  critical 
House. 


IV. 

The 

Honourable 
Sir  Wm. 
Bisset  Berry, 
Kt.,  M.A., 
M.D.,  LL.D., 
1898-1908. 


HON.   SIR   WM.   BISSET   BERRY,  Kt.,  MA 

Speaker    of    the    House    of    Assembly.    1898-1908. 
i-'rom    a   photograph   by    Duffus,   Cape  Town 


M.D.    LL.D. 


IV. 
The  Hon.  Sir  Wm.  Bisset  Berry, 

Kt.,  M.A.,  M.D.,  LL.D. 
1898-1908. 

SIR  BISSET  BERRY  looked  and  acted  the  part 
of  Speaker  to  perfection.  No  one  could  have 
appeared  more  at  ease  in  that  imposing  little 
procession  which  daily  wound  its  way  from  the  Speaker's 
Chambers,  through  lobby  and  corridor,  to  the  Speaker's 
Chair  in  the  House  of  Assembly.  First  came  the 
Sergeant~at-Arms  in  court  dress,  bearing  the  glittering 
mace  which  had  known  every  procession  and  state 
ceremony  since  the  days  when  Brand  was  Speaker  in 
the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge.  Then  came  the  Speaker 
himself  in  grey  wig  and  sombre  gown,  inclining  his  head 
in  stately  fashion  to  members  and  officials  on  this  side 
and  that.  Bringing  up  the  rear  of  the  procession,  also 
bewigged  and  begowned,  were  the  Clerk  and  Clerk- 
Assistant,  although  the  Clerk  and  the  Speaker  were 
often  to  be  seen  walking  side  by  side,  earnestly  discussing 
some  point  of  procedure.  On  one  person  at  least  who 
witnessed  this  scene  every  day  during  the  session  an 
impression  has  been  made  that  time  will  not  efface. 
Even  the  smile  that  accompanied  the  Speaker's  bow 


146  MR.    SPEAKER   BERRY. 


seemed  to  have  about  it  just  that  old-world  dignity 
which  distinguishes  his  high  office  from  the  common- 
place. 

Sir  Bisset  had  not  the  advantage  of  being  a  lawyer, 
but  he  had  the  highly  trained  mind  of  the  scientist 
perfected  by  lifelong  study  of  men  and  books.  So  far 
as  books  went  every  branch  of  literature  was  his  special 
delight,  and  his  early  proclivities  had  soon  shown  that 
science  was  his  forte.  He  was  born  in  Aberdeen  on 
the  26th  of  July,  1839,  and  after  attending  the  Grammar 
School  in  that  city  proceeded  to  the  Marischal  College. 
Having  won  several  bursaries  open  to  the  sons  of  the 
Guildry  of  the  city  he  entered  the  Aberdeen  University, 
and  graduated  M.A.  at  the  age  of  twenty  and  M.D. 
two  years  later. 

At  about  this  time  the  Mail  Company  decided  to 
carry  surgeons  on  their  liners,  and  Dr.  Berry  was  among 
the  first  to  be  taken.  His  appointment  was  on  the 
Athens,  which  now  lies  a  wreck  on  the  Green  Point 
rocks,  a  victim  of  the  great  gale  of  'sixty-five.  A 
year  before  the  disaster,  however,  he  decided  to  settle 
in  South  Africa,  married  and  obtaining  an  appointment 
as  District  Surgeon  in  Queenstown,  practised  in  that 
neighbourhood  with  increasing  success. 

There  being  no  railway  to  Queenstown  in  those 
days,  there  were  no  visiting  theatre  companies,  and  the 
inhabitants  made  up  for  the  lack  of  amusement  by 
holding  what  they  called  public  meetings.  A  hand-bell 


A    PUBLIC   MEETING.  14; 

was  loudly  rung  and  almost  the  whole  town  would 
attend  what  usually  turned  out  to  be  a  very  rowdy 
entertainment.  Shortly  after  his  arrival  Dr.  Berry 
was  asked  to  take  the  chair  at  one  of  these  meetings 
and  the  result  probably  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with  his 
subsequent  career.  He  had  been  president  of  his 
college  debating  society,  and,  thanks  to  his  past 
experience,  succeeded  in  turning  what  threatened  to 
be  an  unusually  uproarious  evening  into  one  of  com- 
parative tranquillity.  The  new  comer,  who,  in  one 
evening,  had  been  able  to  raise  the  level  of  a  form  of 
recreation  which  had  existed  for  years,  was  regarded 
with  a  curiosity  that  soon  developed  into  appreciation 
when  it  was  found  how  great  an  interest  he  took  in  the 
local  government  of  the  town. 

By  familiarising  himself  with  South  African  problems 
he  came  to  be  a  recognised  authority  on  education  and 
native  affairs,  but  it  was  only  after  he  had  been  in  the 
Colony  for  thirty  years,  and  had  been  elected  Mayor 
of  Queenstown,  that  he  entered  Parliamentary  life  by 
being  elected  a  member  for  the  Queenstown  constituency 
in  the  general  election  of  1894. 

Being  elected  Speaker  in  1898  he  had  only  four 
years'  experience  as  a  private  member,  but,  notwith- 
standing an  innate  aversion  to  publicity,  he  had  in  less 
than  that  time  made  his  mark  in  the  House.  His  services 
were  first  sought  on  the  subjects  he  had  specialised  in, 
and  afterwards  in  an  ever  widening  circle.  His  speeches 


148  MR.   SPEAKER  BERRY. 

were  eloquent,  able  and  learned,  and,  having  an  incisive 
delivery,  he  was  always  listened  to  with  the  greatest 
attention.  In  the  committee  rooms,  too,  he  had  gained 
distinction  as  Chairman  of  the  Select  Committees  on 
the  Glen  Grey  Allotments,  the  Cape  Town  Municipal 
Amendment  Bill,  and  Agricultural  Schools ;  but  four 
years  is  after  all  a  short  time  in  which  to  acquaint 
oneself  thoroughly  with  the  intricacies  of  Parliamentary 
procedure,  and  until  less  than  twenty-four  hours  of 
his  election  he  had  no  notion  that  he  would  be  called 
upon  to  adjudicate  from  the  Chair  upon  questions 
concerning  the  law  and  usage  of  a  legislative  assembly. 

After  the  general  election  of  1898  it  was  arranged 
between  the  Prime  Minister  (Sir  Gordon  Sprigg)  and 
the  Opposition  that  the  Government,  which  had  been 
returned  in  almost  the  same  strength  as  the  Opposition, 
should  nominate  a  member  for  the  Speakership  from 
its  own  ranks.  A  caucus  of  the  party  was  held  the  day 
before  the  House  met,  and  it  is  now  an  open  secret  that 
when  the  Speakership  was  discussed  only  two  names 
were  put  forward.  Dr.  Berry  arrived  late,  and  learnt 
with  surprise  that  the  choice  lay  between  himself  and 
Mr.  Hockly.  It  was  left  to  the  Cabinet  to  decide  between 
the  two,  and  the  same  afternoon  Dr.  Berry  was  sent 
for  by  the  Prime  Minister  and  asked  whether  he  would 
accept  nomination  on  the  morrow.  By  those  who  knew 
the  lucrative  practice  he  had  established  on  the  eastern 
frontier,  it  was  realised  that  acceptance  would  mean 


A    DISABLING  SPEECH.  149 


a  considerable  financial  sacrifice,  but  he  yielded  to 
persuasion  and  decided  to  withdraw  from  practice  if 
elected. 

And  so  when  the  House  met  on  the  following  day 
(7th  of  October,  1898),  and  members  rushed  to  secure 
seats  for  the  session,  Dr.  Berry  was  not  among  their 
number.  Silent  and  expectant  he  sat  the  solitary  occupant 
of  the  Government  cross-benches,  until  his  proposer, 
Sir  Gordon  Sprigg,  and  his  seconder,  Mr.  Rose  Innes, 
conducted  him  to  the  Chair.  Having  made  up  his 
mind  he  did  not  resist  with  physical  force,  as  had  been 
the  habit  of  bygone  Speakers-elect  in  the  English  House 
of  Commons,  but  his  reply  was  remarkably  like  the 
"  disabling  speeches  "  which  used  to  be  the  fashion  in 
those  days.  He  lamented  his  short  Parliamentary 
experience,  and  deplored  the  fact  that,  being  unaware 
of  what  the  future  had  in  store  for  him,  he  had  never 
consciously  endeavoured  to  acquire  the  gifts  and  graces 
considered  to  be  indispensable  to  a  Speaker.  It  is 
impossible  to  reproduce  his  eloquent  periods  here. 
It  is  enough  to  say  that,  like  the  Speakers  of  yore,  by 
endeavouring  to  "  deject  and  abase  himself  and  his 
deserts  he  had  discovered  and  made  known  his  worthiness 
and  sufficiency  to  discharge  the  place  he  was  called  to." 

A  few  days  after  his  election  a  motion  of  "  no 
confidence  "  in  the  Government  was  passed  by  a  narrow 
majority,  and  supporters  of  the  defeated  party  grew 
bitter  in  their  anxiety  to  have  Dr.  Berry  back  among 


MR.    SPEAKER   BEERY. 


their  ranks  to  strengthen  their  vote,  but,  whatever  his 
personal  inclination  may  have  been,  it  was  quite  clear 
that  it  was  as  impossible  for  immortals  to  return  to 
live  with  mortals — as  one  of  the  newspapers  put  it — as 
it  was  undesirable  for  a  Speaker  to  play  battledore  and 
shuttlecock  with  his  exalted  office. 

In  the  Chair  Dr.  Berry  showed  the  same  character- 
istics as  he  had  in  private  life.  In  private  he  never 
monopolised  the  conversation,  and  would  only  expound 
when  asked  to  do  so.  Although  able  to  split  hairs  with 
any  schoolman,  he  would  always  lend  an  attentive  ear 
to  the  other  view  and  keep  an  open  mind  until  the  last. 
And  so  in  the  Chair,  while  still  new  to  the  position,  he 
would  listen  closely  to  arguments  on  points  of  order, 
taking  all  in  good  part,  and  just  when  his  would-be 
coaches  were  beginning  to  think  they  had  got  it  all 
their  own  way,  with  an  upward  movement  of  his  head 
he  would  often  deliver  a  ruling  quite  independent  of 
anything  that  had  been  advanced. 

From  the  day  of  his  election  Mr.  Speaker  Berry 
lived  the  life  of  an  official  recluse.  In  his  Chambers 
from  an  early  hour  in  the  morning  he  was  ready  at  any 
moment  to  place  his  services  at  the  disposal  of  members 
who  found  themselves  in  difficulties.  Here,  too,  before 
the  House  met,  he  would,  like  his  predecessor,  consider 
questions  which  were  likely  to  arise  in  the  course  of  the 
afternoon's  proceedings,  conferring  with  the  Clerk  on 
intricate  points  and  sending  for  Ministers  when 


151 


necessary.  Only  once  a  year  he  would  mix  with  members 
on  their  own  level,  and  that  was  when  he  entertained 
them  at  the  customary  Speaker's  dinner  in  the  vestibule, 
afterwards  known  as  the  Queen's  Hall,  where,  soothed 
by  carefully  selected  music,  they  forgot  the  forum  and 
pledged  their  political  foes. 

At  the  close  of  the  first  year  of  his  Speakership  Dr. 
Berry  was  called  upon  to  perform  a  duty  which  is  worth 
recording,  if  only  because  it  was  connected  with  the 
divinity  that  doth  hedge — a  Parliament  :  the  powers  and 
privileges  of  the  highest  court. 

It  had  come  to  the  notice  of  the  House  that  certain 
wine  merchants  in  Cape  Town  had  attempted  to  bribe 
a  member.  The  case  was  fully  established  by  a  Select 
Committee,  and  on  being  once  more  brought  before 
the  House  it  was  resolved  that  the  Speaker  should 
reprimand  the  delinquents  at  the  bar.  Sir  David 
Tennant  had  once  admonished  a  member,  and  so,  less 
formally,  had  Sir  Chnstoffel  Brand,  but  this  was  the 
first  time  that  the  House  had  occasion  to  enforce  its 
authority  outside  its  own  walls. 

Denison  clearly  distinguished  a  reprimand  from  an 
admonition  In  his  Diary  he  wrote  that  "  in  order  to  be 
reprimanded  a  person  at  the  bar  must  be  in  custody 
of  the  Serjeant-at-Arms.  When  not  in  custody  he 
can  only  be  admonished.  When  a  person  is  at  the  bar, 
and  the  Serjeant  by  his  side  with  the  mace,  then  no 
member  may  speak,  only  the  Speaker." 


152  MR.   SPEAKER  BERRY. 


This  being  a  reprimand  the  Sergeant  announced 
when  prayers  had  been  read  that  the  culprits  were 
present.  A  summons  had  been  served  on  them  and  they 
now  waited  without.  "  Let  them  be  admitted,"  said  the 
Speaker,  and  the  Sergeant,  shouldering  the  mace,  stalked 
out.  All  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  bar.  The  consuls,  who 
had  mustered  in  full  force,  nearly  tumbled  out  of  the 
gallery  in  their  anxiety  to  see  everything,  and  even 
the  Archbishop,  who  was  wedged  in  among  the 
private  secretaries,  showed  unmistakable  signs  of 
curiosity. 

It  is  remarkable  what  an  unnerving  effect  the  bar  of 
the  House  has.  Even  the  sturdy  Samuel  Pepys  tells 
us  in  his  diary  that  he  had  to  fortify  himself  with  a 
half-pint  of  mulled  sack  and  a  dram  of  brandy  before 
he  could  face  the  ordeal,  and  the  prisoners  now  at  the 
bar  showed  no  sign  of  their  previous  hght-heartedness. 
They — there  were  two  of  them — appeared  alongside  the 
Sergeant  with  bowed  heads.  A  member  attempted  to 
speak,  but  was  promptly  suppressed.  Then  Mr.  Speaker, 
donning  his  low-crowned  beaver  hat,  delivered  a  lecture 
in  well-chosen  words  on  the  enormity  of  their  offence, 
charitably  assuming,  however,  that  "  neither  did  with 
forethought  and  deliberation  enter  upon  any  device 
corruptly  to  influence  a  member  in  his  Parliamentary 
duties."  An  attempt  by  the  culprits  to  get  in  the  last 
word  was  instantly  checked,  and  the  incident  was  closed 
by  Mr.  Speaker  calling  for  petitions. 


AN  ALL-NIGHT  SITTING.  153 

Sir  Bisset's  term  of  office  was  crowded  with  dramatic 
incidents.  He  had  to  hold  the  balance  between  parties 
narrowly  divided  in  numerical  strength,  to  restrain 
impetuosity,  and  at  all  times  to  preserve  the  dignity  of 
the  House  under  trying  circumstances  ;  but  from  a 
Speaker's  point  of  view  his  intervention  in  the  Additional 
Representation  debate  of  1904  was  by  far  the  most 
important. 

One  memorable  day  towards  the  end  of  March, 
1904,  Dr.  Jameson,  the  Prime  Minister  at  that  time, 
hinted  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  Government  to 
pass  the  second  reading  of  the  Additional  Representation 
Bill  before  the  House  rose,  and  it  was  soon  plain  that 
there  was  going  to  be  trouble.  One  member  of  the 
Opposition  frankly  declared  that  if  the  Government 
insisted  on  carrying  the  Bill  by  "  a  kind  of  martial  law  " 
they  on  the  other  side  would  have  to  see  what  they 
could  make  of  the  rules  to  hold  up  the  House,  while, 
later  in  the  evening,  pointing  a  warning  finger  to  the 
windows  facing  the  east,  he  foretold  that  honourable 
members  would  still  be  sitting  when  the  sunlight 
streamed  through.  And  so  it  happened,  although  many 
members  were  not  there  to  see  it.  Huddled  together  in 
rooms  adjoining  the  Debating  Chamber,  in  the  Library, 
its  galleries,  and  on  every  couch  which  offered  rest, 
they  lay  in  uneasy  slumber.  Twice  they  leapt  to  their 
feet  at  the  harsh  sound  of  the  division  bells,  only  to 
find  that  the  divisions  were  on  motions  for  the  adjourn- 


154  ME.    SPEAKER   BERRY. 


ment,  and,  muttering  strange  things,  crept  glumly  back 
to  their  uninviting  beds. 

When  at  last  the  rays  of  dawn  did  steal  through 
the  windows,  mingling  oddly  with  the  yellow  glare  of 
the  electric  light,  the  House  presented  a  weird  spectacle. 
Unshaven  and  unkempt  Ministerialists  who  were  not 
snoring  glared  sullenly  at  the  unrelenting  features  of 
members  opposite,  and  when  the  prophet  of  the  previous 
evening  once  more  pointed  to  the  windows  and  foretold 
that  the  House  would  yet  see  the  moon  rise,  their 
despondency  sank  to  the  lowest  depths.  Meanwhile, 
the  Speaker,  who  had  given  some  score  of  rulings  on 
minor  points  of  order,  had  determined  to  take  a  step 
unprecedented  in  the  Cape  Colony.  Speaker  Brand, 
in  the  English  House  of  Commons  in  1881,  had  closured 
a  debate  under  much  the  same  circumstances,  and 
Sir  Bisset  at  2.30  p.m.,  after  the  House  had  sat  con- 
tinuously for  over  twenty-four  hours,  "  on  his  own 
responsibility  and  to  save  the  House  from  itself," 
decided  to  follow  his  example. 

It  is  said  that  when  Mr.  Speaker  Brand  read  his 
decision  to  the  House  he  trembled  violently,  and  that  his 
hand  shook  to  such  an  extent  that  he  could  hardly  read 
the  ruling  he  had  prepared.  Sir  Bisset,  on  the  contrary, 
remained  calm  and  self-possessed.  In  his  usual  clear 
voice  he  intimated  that  he  clearly  saw  the  duty  that 
lay  before  him.  It  was  a  duty,  he  said,  that  he  owed 
to  Parliaments.  '  I  can  only  hope  that  the  House  will 


CLOSURE.  155 

absolve  me  from  any  endeavour  to  curtail  its  privileges 
or  to  do  anything  that  is  not  demanded  of  me.  1 
proceed  to  put  the  question  that  this  Bill  be  now  read  a 
second  time."  The  scene  that  followed  can  be  better 
imagined  than  described  if  one  takes  into  account  the 
overwrought  nerves  of  members,  who  had  spoken  for 
hours  on  end.  But  the  Speaker  was  adamant.  The 
Bill  was  read  a  second  time  and  the  House  adjourned. 
Some  day  more  will  be  known  about  this  affair,  but  for 
the  present  one  can  only  ask  what  would  have  happened 
if  the  Speaker  had  not  intervened  ?  Goodness  only 
knows.  Had  it  not  been  that  members  were  elected 
for  only  five  years  perhaps  the  House  would  still  be 
sitting  ! 

In  contrast  to  this  unpleasant  situation  there  were 
several  agreeable  occasions  when  the  House  paused  in 
its  struggles  to  show  its  appreciation  of  the  man  who 
saw  there  was  fair  play.  In  1900,  for  instance,  it  took 
great  pleasure  in  congratulating  Sir  Bisset  on  his 
knighthood,  and  in  1904,  on  his  re-election  to  the  Chair, 
Dr.  Jameson  and  Mr.  Theron  unreservedly  praised 
his  actions  in  the  past  and  the  trouble  he  had  taken  to 
acquaint  himself  more  thoroughly  with  the  taal  ;  while 
at  the  end  of  the  last  session  he  presided  over  the  House, 
in  1907,  the  leaders  of  both  parties  united  in  expressing 
their  thanks  for  the  services  he  had  rendered  Parliament. 
Sir  Bisset's  replies,  as  might  be  expected,  were  extra- 
ordinarily neat.  Indeed,  it  seems  impossible  that  they 


156  MR.    SPEAKER   BERRY. 


could  have  been  anything  else,  for  he  possessed  in  a 
high  degree  the  qualifications  which  make  the  Speaker 
"  the  first  commoner  in  the  land." 

Harry  Graham,  in  an  interesting  book,  ^he  Mother 
of  'Parliaments,  urges  that  an  ideal  Speaker  should 
combine  intellectual  ability  with  those  qualities  of 
character  which  are  the  mark  of  what  is  called  a 
"  gentleman."  If  anyone  had  these  characteristics 
Sir  Bisset  had.  But  he  had  others  besides.  He  had  a 
habit  of  thought  which  never  accepted  half  solutions 
and  a  power  of  generalising  that  was  more  than  serviceable 
in  interpreting  the  rules.  Precedents  that  seemed  to 
conflict  were  analysed,  combined  and  harmonised  with 
scientific  precision  and  presented  to  the  House  in 
language  that  revealed  the  mind  of  the  litterateur. 

His  library  in  Queenstown  being  one  of  the  finest 
private  collections  of  books  in  South  Africa,  his  mind 
was  kept  bright  with  reading,  and  his  tastes  being 
catholic  he  was  never  liable  to  become  one  sided  in  his 
views. 

He  sought  re-election  in  1908,  but  to  the  disappoint- 
ment of  his  followers  was  not  returned.  At  the  1910 
and  1915  elections,  however,  he  was  more  successful, 
and  was  elected  a  member  of  the  Union  House  of 
Assembly  by  his  old  constituency. 


V. 

The 

Honourable 
Sir  James 
Molteno,  Kt, 
K.C.,  B.A., 
LL.B., 
1908-1910. 


HON.  SIR   JAMES   MOLTENO,   Kt.,  K.C.,  B.A.,  LL.B 

Speaker  of   the   House   of  Assembly,    1908-1910 
From  a  photograph  by  E.  Peters  ("  Hood's  Studio"),  Cape  Town. 


V. 
The  Honourable  Sir  James  Molteno, 

Kt,   K.C.,   B.A.,   LL.B. 
1908-1910. 

DESTINY  could  hardly  have  arranged  a  more 
fitting  tableau  than  that  on  which  the  curtain 
was  rung  up  during  the  last  days  of  the  Old 
Cape  House.  When  responsible  government  was  granted 
in  1872,  Sir  John  Molteno,  who  had  played  a  leading 
part  in  the  struggle  for  that  form  of  government,  was 
appointed  first  Prime  Minister,  while  his  great  friend, 
Sir  ChristofTel  Brand,  the  first  Speaker,  still  occupied 
the  Chair.  In  the  closing  scene,  some  four  decades 
later,  Mr.  Merriman,  who  had  held  office  under  Sir 
John  Molteno,  figured  as  Prime  Minister,  while  in  the 
Chair,  holding  the  pulse  of  the  expiring  House,  sat 
Sir  John's  fourth  son. 

The  Molteno  family  is  almost  as  old  as  the  Italian 
hills  it  came  from.  An  ancient  chronicler,  quoted  in 
T?he  Life  and  ^imes  of  Sir  John  Charles  Molteno. 
thus  explains  the  origin  of  the  name  :  '  The  noble 


160  MR.    SPEAKER   MOLTENO. 


signers,  after  the  destruction  of  Milan  by  Uraja,  who 
had  retired  among  the  surrounding  villas,  seeing  the 
danger  of  their  situation,  turned  to  Milan,  and,  that  they 
might  be  distinguished  family  from  family,  preserved, 
every  one  of  them,  as  a  distinctive  name,  the  name  of  the 
district  or  villa  from  whence  they  came.  And  in  this 
manner  many  of  the  Milanese  families  had  their  origin 
from  the  Brianza  :  such  names  are  the  Pirovano,  the 
Brevio,  the  Osnago  .  .  .  the  Molteno  ...  all  noble 
families  whose  names  occur  in  our  most  ancient  charters 
and  historical  documents,  and  all  now  extant." 

James  Tennant  Molteno  was  born  at  Claremont, 
in  the  Cape  Peninsula,  on  the  5th  of  January,  1865.  He 
was  educated  at  the  Diocesan  College,  Rondebosch, 
and  after  graduating  with  "  honours  "  in  literature  and 
philosophy,  he  proceeded  to  Trinity  College,  Cambridge, 
where  he  again  graduated.  After  going  through  his 
legal  course,  he  was  called  to  the  Bar,  and  shortly 
afterwards,  at  the  age  of  twenty-six,  took  his  seat  in  the 
House  as  member  for  Namaqualand.  Sir  David  Tennant 
was  Speaker,  and  under  his  tutorage  the  young  member 
learnt  much  that  was  to  help  him  in  later  years,  but, 
being  returned  to  Parliament  without  a  break  until  he 
himself  was  elected  Speaker  on  the  22nd  of  April, 
1908,  he  also  owed  a  great  deal  to  his  more  immediate 
predecessors  in  the  Chair. 

The  actual  "  Chair,"  by  the  way,  to  which  Sir 
James  was  conducted  on  his  election  as  Speaker  was  by 


1854-  -1867 


1868-  1884 


1885"- 1910 


THE   SPEAKERS'   CHAIRS,    1854  1910 


THE   SPEAKERS'    CHAIRS.  161 


no  means  the  same  as  that  occupied  by  Sir  Christoffel 
Brand.  The  well-padded  Chair  in  which  Sir  James 
reclined  (and  in  which  he  afterwards  sat  for  five  years 
as  the  first  Speaker  of  the  Union  House  of  Assembly) 
did  not  exist  in  those  days.  There  were  altogether 
three  Chairs  occupied  by  the  Cape  Speakers.  The  first- 
unpretentious  but  not  uncomfortable — was  one  of  those 
old  Dutch  armchairs  that  curio-hunters  nowadays  seek 
so  eagerly.  In  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge  it  was  raised 
on  a  small  platform  with  a  screen  behind  it  of  a  green 
watered  silk  surmounted  by  Her  Majesty  s  coat  of  arms, 
and  a  small  desk  in  front  of  it  covered  with  green  baize. 
It  had  a  cane  seat,  provided  with  a  horse-hair  cushion, 
and  at  present,  with  one  leg  rather  rickety,  but  otherwise 
sound,  leads  a  life  of  seclusion  in  Mr.  Speaker's  Library. 
The  next  was  installed  in  the  Goede  Hoop  Lodge  in 
1868.  This  was  much  more  elaborate  ;  but  when  the 
House  moved  into  the  new  buildings  in  1885  it  was 
discarded  for  the  one  now  in  the  LInion  House,  and 
after  years  of  idleness  was  placed  in  the  Conference 
Room  upstairs. 

But  to  return  to  the  occupant.  On  being  withdrawn 
from  the  political  fray,  Sir  James,  himself  a  skilled 
debater  with  a  ready  wit,  must  have  found  some 
difficulty  at  first  in  repressing  the  quips  and  sallies  with 
which  he  had  for  so  long  amused  the  House,  but  in  his 
new  role  one  could  hardly  perceive  the  same  person, 
so  completely  did  he  sink  his  former  self.  As  a  young 


162  MR.    SPEAKER   MOLTESO. 


member  he  had  been  an  adept  at  starting  hares,  while 
in  "drawing  members" — a  game  he  began  a  year 
after  he  had  been  returned  to  Parliament — he  had  few 
equals.  A  favourite  ruse  of  his  had  been  to  intervene 
in  a  heated  discussion  and,  with  a  great  show  of  serious 
concern  for  the  personal  honour  of  the  combatants,  to 
make  things  livelier  than  ever  by  setting  one  member 
against  the  other  on  a  new  issue. 

On  his  election  to  the  Chair,  all  this  ringcraft  was 
abandoned,  or  at  all  events  used  only  to  detect  the 
devices  of  others.  In  the  Chair  he  was  as  solemn  as 
the  proverbial  judge.  "  Order,  order,"  he  once 
exclaimed  when  in  the  course  of  a  debate  a  member 
burst  out  laughing  at  a  joke  whispered  to  him  by  his 
next-door  neighbour,  "  the  honourable  member  must 
endeavour  to  restrain  himself."  He  could  not  and 
would  not  countenance  undue  levity,  yet  rumour  has  it 
that  when  the  member  he  had  rebuked  passed  the  Chair 
on  his  way  out  of  the  House  the  Speaker  leant  over  and 
remarked,  solto  coce,  '  You  might  tell  me  the  joke 
afterwards  !  "  But  rumour  is  a  lying  jade. 

Owing  to  the  rapid  march  of  events  towards 
unification,  the  storms  the  House  had  recently  passed 
through  had  abated,  but  it  must  not  be  supposed 
that  the  last  occupant  of  the  Chair  during  his 
somewhat  brief  tenure  had  merely  to  supervise  a  daily 
routine. 

Many    of    the    trials    and    tribulations    which    make 


A    8CEXE.  KM 

the  life  of  a  Speaker  anything  but  an  easy  one  were 
still  present,  and  in  comparing  the  difficulties  that  beset 
the  path  of  the  Cape  Speakers  it  should  not  be  forgotten 
that  the  House  at  this  time  consisted  of  a  hundred  and 
seven  members,  while  when  Sir  ChristofTel  Brand  was 
elected  there  were  only  forty-six.  This  number  had 
been  increased  to  sixty-six  when  Sir  David  Tennant 
was  elected,  to  seventy-nine  when  Sir  Henry  Juta  was 
elected,  and  to  ninety  when  Sir  Bisset  Berry  was 
elected  ;  so  that  the  last  Speaker  had  more  than  twice 
as  many  members  to  control  as  the  first — a  factor 
that  naturally  added  to  the  responsibilities  of  the 
Chair. 

Moreover,  the  calm  that  followed  the  storms  of 
the  previous  Parliaments  was  more  or  less  superficial. 
The  House,  to  change  the  metaphor,  was  carrying  on 
its  work  on  the  crust  of  a  volcano.  Ominous  rumblings 
were  sometimes  heard,  and  in  1909,  Sir  James'  second 
year,  there  was  an  eruption  which  rivalled  the  scene 
that  took  place  on  the  Additional  Representation 
Bill 

The  circumstances,  in  fact,  were  almost  identical. 
A  debate  on  the  Light  Wine  Licences  Bill  had  con- 
tinued for  some  days,  and  was  likely  to  continue  in- 
definitely, so  for  the  first  and  only  time  in  the  annals 
of  the  Cape  Parliament  Mr.  Speaker  decided  to  apply 
the  closure  rule  the  House  of  Commons  had  adopted  in 
1882.  Apparently  none  of  the  members  were  aware 


164  MR.    SPEAKER   MOLTENO. 

that  such  a  rule  existed.  It  was  read  and  applied  at 
ten  o'clock  in  the  evening  of  the  15th  of  November, 
1909,  and  for  fully  five  minutes  thereafter  the  House 
was  a  pandemonium.  Loud  cries  of  "  Order,  order  !  " 
from  the  Government  supporters  were  drowned  in 
fierce  cheers  and  counter-cheers.  The  front  bench 
of  the  Opposition  were  on  their  feet  in  a  twinkling, 
but  could  at  first  find  no  words  to  express  their  feelings. 
When  at  last  the  leader  of  the  Opposition  obtained 
Mr.  Speaker's  permission  to  ask  whether  there  was 
"  any  remedy,"  Mr.  Speaker  must  have  felt  inclined 
to  rule,  as  Mr.  Lowther  once  did,  "  that  the  honour- 
able member  must  not  look  at  Mr.  Speaker  like  that." 
But,  having  never  been  addicted  to  half  measures, 
his  answer  was  much  more  direct.  '  It  is  a  very  simple 
matter,"  he  replied,  "  you  have  no  remedy ;  the 
Speaker  is  the  ultimate  judge  of  this  rule.  I  now  put 
the  question  that  the  Speaker  leave  the  Chair."  The 
"  Ayes  "  had  it,  and  the  Speaker  vanished  through  the 
swing  door  behind  the  dais. 

This  was  the  last  ordinary  session  of  the  Cape 
House,  and  at  its  close  the  Prime  Minister,  seconded 
by  the  leader  of  the  Opposition,  moved  a  vote  of  thanks, 
which  included  the  hope  that  it  would  not  be  the  last 
time  the  Speaker  would  preside  over  the  deliberations 
of  Parliament  in  South  Africa. 

Parliament  was  summoned  to  meet  once  more  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1910,  but  its  business  was  as  formal 


_      THK   END   Oh'   THK   rROCKMIOX.     165 

as  it  was  pleasant.  It  had  met  to  repeal  the  Civil 
Servants  Retrenchment  Act,  and  after  sitting  for  only 
an  hour  and  a  quarter — a  record  session — it  adjourned 
never  to  meet  again. 

With  Sir  James  ended  the  procession  of  Cape 
Speakers.  Could  the  veil  of  time  be  drawn  aside,  and 
the  years  which  separated  their  terms  of  office  fade 
away  as  in  a  magic  crystal,  what  an  arresting  procession 
it  would  be  !  Sir  Christoffel  Brand,  small  only  so  far 
as  inches  count,  with  hands  clasped  behind  his  back, 
would  pass  before  us  with  short,  firm  step  ;  Sir  David 
Tennant,  bland  and  imperturbable,  would  follow  with 
unaffected  dignity  ;  Sir  Henry  Juta,  with  head  thrown 
well  back,  would  seem  to  be  welcoming  a  challenge 
on  a  point  of  order  ;  while  Sir  Bisset  Berry,  like  some 
scholar  of  the  Renaissance,  would  half  turn  his  shoulders 
to  incline  his  head  in  courtly  recognition,  and  Sir  James 
Molteno,  seeing  before  him  the  august  men  whose  repu- 
tation he  was  upholding,  would  appear  bolder  and 
more  self-reliant  than  ever. 

A  small  procession,  it  is  true,  but  one  which,  by 
its  very  smallness,  was  a  credit  to  the  House  which, 
during  its  fifty-six  years  of  existence,  ever  took  the 
Mother  of  Parliaments  for  its  guide.  For  at  Westminster 
no  principle  in  late  years  has  been  more  strictly 
observed  than  the  continuity  of  Speakership  :  the 
re-election  in  a  new  Parliament  of  the  last  occupant 
of  the  Chair.  Sir  Christoffel  Brand  and  Sir  David 


i66 


MR.    til'EAKER    MOLTENO. 


Tennant  resigned  after  long  service.  Sir  Henry  Juta 
and  Sir  Bisset  Berry  were,  unfortunately,  absent  when 
the  roll  of  newly  elected  members  was  read  by  the 
Clerk,  and  Sir  James  Molteno  ceased  to  hold  office 
when  the  Union  Constitution  came  into  force  on  the 
31st  of  May,  1910. 


Annexures. 


ANNEXURE  A. 


EXECUTIVE   COUNCILLORS  WITH   SEATS    IN    PARLIA 
MENT  DURING  PERIOD  OF  REPRESENTATIVE 
GOVERNMENT,   1854-187?. 

Under  §  79  of  the  Constitution  Ordinance,  1852,  (he  undermentioned  officers 
weie  entitled  to  sit  and  to  speak  in  bo'h  Houses  of  Parliament.  They  had  no 
votes  and  were  debarred  hy  §§  33  and  47  from  being  elected  members  of  either 
House. 

Office  and   Name.  From  I  n  Cause  of  Chanrr. 


COLONIAL  SECRETARIES  : 

SirRawsonW.Rawson,  9  May,  1854     21  July.    1864      Promoted      Governor     of 

K.C.M.G.,  C.B.  Bahamas. 

Sir    Richard    Southey,  22  July,    1864      30  Nov.,  1872      Retired  on  introduction  of 

K.C.M.G.  Responsible  Government. 

ATTORNEYS-GENERAI  : 

W.  Porter,  CMC.  16  Sept.,  1839      17  Mar.,  1866      Retired  at  age  of  sixty  on 

full   pension. 
W.  D.  Griffith  ..       18  Mar.,  1866      30  Nov. .1872      Retired  on  introduction  of 

Responsible  Government. 

TREASURERS  : 

H.  Rivers          ..           ..  21  June,   1842  6  Dec.,  1861  Died. 

Sir  Richard  Southey,  6  Dec.,   1861  21Ji.lv,    1864  Promoted  Colonial    Secre- 

K.C.M.G.  tarv. 

J.  C  Davidson             .  .  28  Nov  ,  1864  30  Nov.,  1872  Retired  OP  introduction  of 

Responsible  ( jovernment. 
AUDITORS  : 

W.Hope        ..         ..  1  Sept. ,1849  3  Oct. ,1858  D.e<l 

E.  M.  G'le       ..  ..        19  Apr. ,1859       19  July,     1875*     Retired  at  ace  of  <,xt\  -four 

*  After  the  passing  of  the  "  Responsible  Government  Act,  1872,  the  Auditor  had 
no  seat  in  Pailiament  and  was  not  eligible  for  election  as  a  member  of  either  House  of 
Parliament. 


I  hO 


ANNEXURE   B. 


MINISTRIES  DURING  PERIOD  OF  RESPONSIBLE 
GOVERNMENT,    1872-1910. 

Under  §  3  of  Act  No  1  of  1872  ("Responsible  Government  "  Act)  Ministers 
were  made  eligible  for  election  as  members  of  either  House  of  Parliament.  If  not  so 
elected  they  could  not,  under  §  5,  sit  or  speak  in  either  House.  If  elected  they 
had  the  right,  under  §  4,  to  sit  and  speak  in  both  Houses  but  could  vote  only  in 
the  House  of  which  they  were  members. 


I.  MOLTENO  MINISTRY. 
(1  DEC..  1872-5  FFB.,  1878.) 


Office. 


Name. 


Premier  and  Colonial  Secretary  '*J.  C.  Molteno    .  . 
Treasurer  of  the  Colony        .  .     tH.  White 

f';*J.  H.  deVilliers 
Attorneys-General      .  .  ;*S.  Jacobs 

'  !*A.  Stockenstrom 

Commissioners      of      Crown  \   *C.  Aberc.  Smith 
Lands  and  Public  Works      /  ,*J.  X.  Merriman 
Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  . .    *C.  Brownlee 


Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  change. 


During  recess. 

Dismissed  by  Governor  owing  to  policy  pur- 
sued in  regard  to  use  of  Imperial  troops  and 
control  of  Colonial  forces. 

No  appeal  to  country. 


II.  SPRIGG  MINISTRY  (FIRST.) 

(6  Frn..  1878—8  MAY,  1881  ) 


Name.  Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  changf 


Premier  and  Colonial  Secretary 
Treasurers  of  the  Colonv 


Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands 

and  Pubhc  Works. 
Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  .  . 
Minister  without  portfolio 


*J.  Gordon  Sprigg  During  session. 

+J.  Miller            ..  Native  administration  including  disarmament 

*H.  W.  Pearson  of    Basutos.       Attorney-General    disagreed 

*Thos.  Upington  with  native  policy  and  left  ministry  with  bare 

*!   W   Leonard  maionty.    Spngg,  unable  to  meet  demands 

*J.  Lain<;              ..  lor    Kimberley    Railway,    would    not    face 
proposed    motion     of     no     confidence     l>v 

*\X  .  Avliff            .  .  Scanlen  and   resigned. 

+  j.  Miller             .  .  No  appeal  to  country. 


Member  of  the  House  ol 
Member  of  the  Legislati 


Assembly. 
e  Council. 


CAPI-]    MINISTRIES.  171 

III.  SCANLEN  MINISTRY. 
(9  MAY,  1881  —  12  MAY.  1884) 

Office.  Name.  Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  change. 

Premier  and  Attorney-General  *+T.  C.  Scanlen .  .  During    session    following    general    election. 

\  *J.  C.  Molteno  ..  Ostensibly  on  account  of  defeat  by  thirty-seven 

Colonial  Secretaries  . .  /  *T.  C.  Scanlen  votes  on  motion  for  repeal  of  proclamation 

\  tC.  W.  Hutton  .  .  on  phylloxera  but  defeat  was  inevitable  on 

Treasurers  of  the  Colony  I  *C.  J.  Rhodes  .  .  pending  motion  by  Scanlen  which  proposed 

...  r          I  \   *  F.  C.  Scanlen   ..  to  cede  portions  of  Transkeian  Territories 

Attorneys-*-jeneral      ..  ,   *i   w   i  i  i          •  i  r 

i     J.  w.  Leonard  ..          to  Imperial  Uovernment. 

Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands  *J.  X.  Mernman         No  appeal  to  country. 

and  Public  Works. 

Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  .  .  *J   W.  Saner 

Minister  without  portfolio     ..  *  |.  H.  Hofmcvr 

IV.   L'PINGTON   MINISTRY. 
(13  MAY.  1884-2-4  Nov.,  1886.) 

Office.  Name.  Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  change. 


Premier  and  Attorney-General  *Thos.  Upington  During  recess. 

„  .      .  .  c             .                       \  *[.  AylifT              ..  Sprigs,  the  Treasurer,  took  Lpingtons  place 
/  *).Tudhope        ..  as' Premier  and  Upington  became  Attorney- 
Treasurer  of  the  Colony        ..  *J.  Gordon  Sprigg  General  only.  On  being  formally  questioned 
Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands  *F  Schermbrucker  Sprigg  declined  to  give  reasons  for  chan«e. 

and  Public  Works.  but  Upington  afterwards  stated  that  i! 

Secretary  for  Native  AfTnirs  ..  *J.  A.  de  Wet      ..  made  on  account  of  his  ill-health. 

i  No  appeal  to  -.-rvintry. 

V.  SPRIGG  MINISTRY  (SECONDS 
(25  Nov..  1886—16  Jn.Y.  1890.) 


Office.  Name.  Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  ; 


.  ope        .. 

Colonial  Secretaries          ..      /   *H.  \V.  Pearson  pounds  for  railway  construction 

Attorney-General        ..  .  .  *Thos.     I'pinsrton        No  appeal   to  countr\  . 

Commissioner  of  Crown  Lands    §P  .  Schermbrucker 

and  Public  Works. 
Secretary  for  Native  Affivrs  .  .     *J.  A.  de  Wet 


172 


ANNEXUEE   B. 


VI.  RHODES  MINISTRY  (FIRST) 
.    (17  JULY,  1890-3  MAY,  1893.) 


Office. 


Na 


Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  change. 


Premier  .  .          .  .          .  .     *Cecil  J.  Rhodes 

Colonial  Secretary     . .          . .    *J.  W.  Sauer 

Treasurer  of  the  Colony        . .    *J  X.  Mernman 
Attorney-General        .  .          .  .     *J.  Rose  Innes    . 

Commissioners  of  Crown  \  *Cecil  J.  Rhodes 
.  Lands  and  Public  Works  '  '*J.  Sivewright  . 
Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  . .  *P.  H.  Faure 


During  recess. 

Change  of  ministers  owing  to  cabinet  dis- 
agreement on  granting  of  Railway  refresh- 
ment contract  to  J.  D.  Logan. 

No  appeal  to  country. 


VII.  RHODES  MINISTRY  (SECONDl 
(4  MAY,  1893—12  JAN.,  1896.) 


Office. 


Na 


Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  change. 


During  recess. 

Jameson    Raid.       Rhodes    resigned,    and    his 


Premier  *Cccil  J.  Rhodes 

Colonial  Secretan      .  .          . .    *P.  H.  Faure 

Treasurer         . .          .  .          .  .    *J.  Gordon  Sprigg         Treasurer,  Sprigg,  formed  a  ministry. 

i  *W.  P.  Schreiner        No  appeal  to  country 
Attorneys-General      .  .  *H.  H.  Juta 

'  *W.  P.  Schreiner 

Commissioner  cl  Public  \(  orks  *J.  Laing 
Secretary  for  Native  Affairs  *J.  Frost 
Secretary  for  Agriculture  .  .  *J.  Frost 


VIII.  SPRIGG  MINISTRY  (THIRD). 
(13  JAN.,  1896—13  OCT  ,  18%.) 


Office. 

Premier  and  Treasurer 
Colonial  Secretaries    .  . 


Attorneys-General 


Name.  ,  Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  change. 


/  *T   W.  Smartt 

\  *T.  Upington 

'  tT.  L.  Graham 

Commissioner  of  Public  Works  *J.  Sivewright 

Secretary  for  Agriculture  *P.  H.  Faure 


J.  Gordon  Spngg  j   During  session  following   genera!   election 
T.  Te  Water     .  .      Motion  of  no  confidence  by  Schreiner  carried 

by  forty-one  vctes  to  thirty-six. 
No  appeal  to  country,  but  in  previous  session 

Sprigg  had  been  defeated  on  a  motion  ot 

no-confidence    and    had    then    appealed    to 

country. 


*  Member  of  the  House  of  Assembly. 
t  Member  of  the  Legislative  Council. 


CAPE    MINISTRIES. 


173 


Offic 


IX.  SCHREINER  MINISTRY. 

(14  OCT.,  I89R-17  JI-NF.  1900.} 


Nam 


Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  change. 


Premier  and  Colonial  Secrdar\    *W.  P.  Schreiner  During  recess. 

Treasurer         .  .          . .          .  .    *J.  X.  Mernman  Cabinet    disagreement    on    compensation    (or 

Attorney-General        .  .          .  .     *R.  Solomon       .  .  \var  losses  and  punishment  of  those  engaeed 

Commissioner  of  Public  Work*  *J.  W.  Sauer       .  .  in  rebellion. 

Secretary  for  Agriculture       .  .     tA.  .1.  Herholdt  .  .  No  appeal  to  country. 
Minister  without  portfolio     .  .    *T.  Te  Water 

X.  SPRIGG  MINISTRY  (FOURTH). 
(18  JUNE.  1900-21  FFB  .  1904.) 


Office 


Na 


Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  change. 


Premier  and  I  reasurer 
Colonial  Secretaries  .  . 
Attorneys-General 

Commissioners      of      PuHic 
Works 

Secretaries  for  Agriculture 
Minister  without  portfolio 


*J.  Gordon  Sprigg  During   recess   following   general   election. 

:tT.  L.  Graham  .  .  Defeat   by   ten   votes   on    motion   by   Burton 

*A.  Douglass       .  .  for     revision     of     martial     law     sentence*. 

*P.  H.  Taure       .  .  (By    not    supporting    movement    for    sns- 

*J.  Rose  Innes    .  .  pension      of      constitution      Spnge       had 

*T.  L.  Graham  .  .  previously      been      left     in     minority    and 

*T.  W.  Smartt    ..  had    to    rely    alternately    on     Bond      an  1 

*A.  Douglass  Progressive  support.) 

*P.  H.  Faure       .  .  Appeal  to  country  (without  obtaining  supplies) 

*.'.  Frost               . .  i       a  few  days  before  expiration  of  House  of 

*J.  Frost               .  .  j       Assembly  by  effluxion  of  time. 


Office. 


XI.  JAMESON  MINISTRY. 
(22  FEB.,  1904-2  FEB..  190*.) 


Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  chan?t 


Premier  .  .          .  .          .  .     *L.  S.  Jameson  .  . 

r  i      •  i  c        .     •  (    *C.  P.  Crewe 

Lolomal  oecretane?  *n   i ,    ,- 

'     P.  H.  f-aure 

Treasurer          .  .          .  .          .  .     *F.  H.  Walton    .  . 

Attorney-Genera!        .  .          .  .    *\  ictor  Sampson 

Commissioner  of  Public  \\  or's's    *T.  \V  .  Smartt    .. 

f      A     •     ,,  »   *A.  I.  Fuller       .. 

secretaries  tor  Agriculture        l    *p    p   /-> 

...  .  •  ,  ,,.       >  *L  L.  Michcil  '. 

.Ministers  without  portfolio       (    f  .     ,    ,r  ,j  f 


During  recess  following  general  election. 
Deadlock    in    Legislative    Council    in    Coi 

mittee  of  Supply  on  Fstimates. 
Appral   to  countrv 


Member  of   t!-c    House  of  AsseinbK 
Member  ol   the  Legislative  Council. 


ANNEXURE   B. 


XII    MERRIMAN  MINISTRY. 

(3  FFB.,  1908-30  MAY,  !9IO.) 

Office.  Name  Circumstances  and  proximate  cause  of  chanse. 


Premier  and  Treasurer          .  .  *J.  X.  Mernman 

Colonial  Secretary      .  .          .  .  *N.  F.  de  Waal  .  .       During  recess. 

Attorney-General        ..          ..  *H.  Burton          ..      The    31st    May,    1910,   was    fixed    by    Royal 

Commissioner  of  Public  Works  *J.  W.  Sauer       ..  proclamation  as  date  of  Union. 

Secretary  for  Agriculture       . .  *F.  S.  Malan 

....  ff  ,.        ('  fD.P.deV.Graaff 

Ministers  without  portfolio      f  *TJ   i     ^ 


*  Member  ot  the  House  of  Assembly. 

*  Member  of  the  Legislative  Council 


ANNEXURE  C. 


MEMBERS'    LENGTH    OF    SERVICE. 

During  the  56  years' existence  of  the  Cape  House  of  Assembly  (1854- 1910) 
there  were  altogether  560  members.  Their  average  service  in  the  House  was  srven 
years.  The  following  members  sat  for  more  than  20  years  : 


Yeirs 

First 

1  ,ast     : 

Constituencies 

in 

Session. 

Session. 

Hou-  t 

i 

Merriman.Rt.  Hon.  J.  X. 

1869 

'910 

Aliual  North,  Work-house,     .. 

42*  i 

Namaqualand,  \  ictoria  \\  (    ! 

Sauer,  Hon.  J.  \V. 

1874 

1910 

Aliwal   North,  (Jcorer 

36 

Sprigg.  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  J.C.. 

1869 

1910 

East   London     .  . 

36 

Frost,  Hon.  Sir  J. 

1874 

1907 

Queenstown 

34* 

Proctor,  J.  j  

1857 

1888 

Paarl       

32* 

Tennant,  Hon.  Sir  D.    .. 

1866 

1895 

Piquetbere        . 

30* 

Molteno,  Hon.  Sir  J    C. 

1854 

1883 

Beaufort  West  &  Victoria  \VcM 

29 

Solomon,  S. 

1854 

1883 

Cape  1  own 

29 

Manuel,  C    J. 

1859 

1888 

Cape  Division  .  . 

29 

Brabant,  Sir  E.  Y. 

1873 

1907 

East   London     .  . 

28 

Hockly,  W.  H  

1869 

1903 

Somerset  East  &  f'ort  Beaufort 

27 

Lamp,  Hon.  J.  .  . 

1874 

1903 

Fort  Beaufort   .  . 

27 

Marais,   IS. 

1874 

1900 

Paarl       ..          ..          .. 

27* 

Warren,  'Col.  W.  J.     . 

1884 

1910 

Kmc  William  s  1  own 

26 

Scanlen,  Hon.  Sir  T.  C. 

1870 

1895 

Cradock 

26* 

Theron,  T.  P.  .  . 

1884 

1908 

Richmond 

25* 

Keyter,  B.   1.     . 

1866 

1892 

Oudtshoorn       .  . 

24 

Ayliff,  Hon.'  W. 

1864 

1888 

f'ort  Beaufort   .  . 

23 

Louw,  M.  J  

1859 

1886 

Cape  Town  iv  Cape  Disti'K  t     .. 

23 

Pearson,  Hon.  H.  W.  . 

1870 

1898 

Port   Elizabeth 

23 

Brand,  Hon.  Sir  C.J.    .. 

1854 

1875 

Stellenbosch 

77* 

Fuller,  Sir  T.  E  .  ' 

1879 

1900 

Cape    Town 

•>->* 

Barn,  T.  D  

1869 

1890 

Riversdale 

77* 

Du  Plessis,  A.  S. 

1889 

1910 

Albert     .  . 

•>-)* 

V'intcent,   L.  A. 

1874 

1894 

Gcoree  .  . 

Y\* 

Rhodes,  Rt  Hon.  C.J. 

1881 

1900 

Barkly  West      .  . 

21* 

De  Wet,  Hon.  J.  A.    .. 

1869 

1889 

Somerset   East  .  . 

2!* 

Joubert,  J. 

1880 

1900 

Albert     .. 

21* 

*  Unbroken  service. 

A  Fifty  years,  including  service  m  Union  House  up  to  1918. 

*  The  year   1901,  in  which  there  was  no  session,   has  not   been  (leJuct-  ! 


ANNEXURE  D.* 


ADDITIONAL   REPRESENTATION  ACTS. 

In  1910  the  House  of  Assembly  consisted  of  107  members.  The  following 
table  shows  the  increase  of  members  since  the  establishment  of  Parliament,  giving 
the  .^ct,  the  name  of  the  electoral  division,  and  the  number  of  members  added: — 


Constitution  Ordinance 
Act  3  of  1865— 

Aliwal  Noilh      .  . 

Namaqualand 

Oudtshoorn 

Piquetberg 

Queenstown        .  . 

Richmond 

Riversdale 

Victoria  Wtst     .  . 

King  Williams  to-.Mi 

East  London 
Act  7  of  1872— 

Wodehousp 
Vt  39  of   1877- 

Kimberley 

Bark'.v      ". . 
Act  13  otl  882— 

Knnberley 

An  30  of  1887— 

Tembuland 
Gnqualand  lias! 
Ac;  41  of  1895- 
Yryhurt:  . . 
Mafeking 

'»ct  19  of  1898— 

Cathcart 
Humansdorp       .  . 


Carried  forwarc 


79 


Brought  forward 
Act  19  of  1898    (continued.} 

Middelbur? 

Prieska 

Simo-.stown 

Jansenville 

Woodstock 

Wynberg 

Cape  Town 

George 

Griqualand  East 

Tembuland 

Worcester 

Por*  Elizabeth    .  . 
Act  5  of  1904— 

East  London 

George    .  , 

Kingwilliamstown          .  . 

Pa  rl 

Oudishoorn 

Port  EH/aberh    . 

Oueenstown 

Uitenhage 

Woodstock 

Wynberg 

Cape  Town 


Tola 


79 


The  actual  number  was  forty-six,  but  tins  inc'uded  two  members  for  the  Cape 
Division.  By  the  ooeiation  of  Att  19  ot  1898  this  electoral  division  erased  to  exist, 
rnc  member  !>?mg  allotted  to  Wynberg  and  the  other  to  Woodstock. 


*  Reprinted   from  the  "  Cape  Civil   Service   List. 


ANNEXURE  E .* 

ACTS 

EXTENDING,   AMENDING  OR  DEFINING 
THE  CONSTITUTION  ORDINANCE.    !852. 

Freedom  of  Speech  and  Debate  Act   .  .          ...       .  .    No.     I  of  1854. 

To  secure  freedom  of  speech  and  debates  or  proceedings 
in  Parliament,  and  to  «ive  summary  protection  to  persons 
employed  in  th?  publication  of  Parliamentary  paper0 . 

Registration  of  Voters  Act          N->.  1 6  of  1856. 

To  amend  the  law  relative  to  the  registration  ot  voters  and 
to  the  taking  of  polls 

Corrupt  Practices  Prevention  Act          ..          ..          ..    N-J.  21  of  1859. 

To  prevent  bribery,  treaunp,  and  undue  influence  at  rie-'tions 
of  members  of  Parliament. 

British  Kaffrana   Incorporation  and  Parliamentary 

Representation  Amendment  Act        .  .  .  .    N;>.     3  of  1865 

To  make  provision  for  the  incorporation  of  British  KafTrana 
with  the  Colony  of  the  Cape  of  Good  I~sope  in  two  electoral 
divisions,  [King  William's  Town  and  Eist  London],  each 
of  which  divisions  is  to  be  ent'tleo  to  send  two  n, embers 
to  the  House  of  Assembly  and  foi  the  purposes  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  Legislative  Council  to  be  comprised  in 
the  Eastern  Districts  ;  also  to  establish  the  following 
electoral  divisions,  each  to  return  two  members  to  the 
House  of  Assemblv,  viz.,  Aliwal  North.  Namaqualand, 
Oudtshoorn,  Piquetbersr,  Qucenstown,  Richmond,  Rivers- 
dale  and  Victoria  Wft. 

Constitution  Ordinance  Amendment  Act   [Responsible 

Government]      .  .          .  .          ....  .  .          .  .    No.     1  of  1872 

To  establish  the  offices  ct  Con-.tnissicner  of  Crown  Lands 
ind  Public  Works  and  of  Secretary  for  N.itue  .Affairs  ;  to 
render  all  Ministers  eligible  for  election  as  members  ol 
Parliament,  and  to  fix  their  salaries. 

^odehouse  Representation  Act.  .          .  .          .  .          .  .    No.    7  of  1 

To  constitute  the  fiscal  division  H  Wodehouse  an  electoral 
division  entitled  to  elect  two  members  of  t':e  House  t_f 
Aisemblv. 


Reorinted  from  the  ''  Cape  Civil  Service  List. 


AXXEXURE    E. 


Election  Law  Amendment  Act  No.  14  of  1874. 

To  amend  the  law  relating  to  the  registration  and  qualification 
of  voters,  and  to  the  election  of  members  of  Parliament. 

Constitution  Ordinance  Amendment  Act  ..  ..  No.  18  of  1874. 
To  repeal  Act  No  6  of  1859,  and  to  amend  the  Constitution 
Ordinance  and  Act  No.  3  of  1865  by  dividing  the  Colony 
into  seven  electoral  provinces  for  the  election  of  members 
of  the  Legislative  Council,  each  province  to  return  three 
members  ;  to  render  vacant  the  seat  of  any  members  of 
Parliament  accepting  offices  of  profit  under  Government, 
except  the  office  of  a  Minister  of  the  Crown,  or  becoming 
insolvent,  and  to  make  provision  for  vacancies  occurring  in 
the  interval  between  a  general  election  and  the  then  next 
meeting  of  Parliament. 

Griqualand  West  Annexation  Act         No.  39  of  1877. 

To  make  provision  for  the  annexation  to  the  Colony  of 
the  province  of  Griqualand  West,  returning  one  member 
to  the  Legislative  Council  ;  and  for  the  purposes  of  repre- 
sentation in  the  House  of  Assembly  to  be  divided  into  two 
electoral  divisions  [Kimberley  and  Barkly],  each  division 
returning  two  member". 

Payment  of  Members'  Expenses  Act    ..          ..          ..    No.    6  of  1879. 

To  increase  the  number  of  days  for  which  members  are 
entitled  to  an  allowance,  under  Section  ninety  of  the  Con- 
stitution Ordinance,  Irom  fifty  to  ninety. 

Ministers'  Salaries  Act No.  32  of  1879. 

To  increase  the  salaries  payable  to  the  five  Ministers  of  the 
Crown  to  £1,500  per  annum  each,  and  an  additional  sum  of 
£250  per  annum  to  the  Prime  Minister.  [By  Act  No.  2  of 
1886  the  salary  of  the  Attorney-General  was  reduced  to 
£1 ,000  p.a.,  and  the  salaries  of  the  other  Ministers  to  £1 ,200  ; 
this  continued  in  force  from  the  1st  July,  1886,  to  the  30th 
June,  1887,  when  it  w-s  repeale  1  by  Act  No  28  01  1887.] 

Constitution  Ordinance  Amendment  Act       .  .          .  .      No.     !  of  1882. 
To  authorise  the  use  of  the  Dutch  language  in  debates  and 
discussions  in  Parliament. 

Kimherley   Increased  Representation  Act         .  .          .  .    No.  13  of  1882. 
To  amend  Act  No.  39,  1877,  by  increasing  the  members  for 
th"  electoral  dnision  of  Kimberley  from  two  to  four. 

President  of  Council  Allowance  Act     .  .          .  .          .  .    No.  36  of  1882. 

To  remove  doubts  as  to  the  legality  of  the  payment  of  an 
annual  allowance  to  the  Chief  Justice  as  President  of  the 
Legislative  Council. 

Telegraphic  Messages  Act  (§3)  No.  41  of  1882. 

To  authorise  a  member  of  Parliament  to  transmit  hi? 
resignation  by  telegraph. 

Interpretation  Act  No.    5  of  1883. 

To  interpret  and  shorten  the  language  of  Acts  of  Parhamen' 


ACTK  AMEXDIXd  ( '()\ST/Tl'T/O\ . 


Parliamentary  Election  Act  ..    No.    9  of  1883. 

To  amend  the  la»vs  relating  to  election  petitions  and  to  the 
prevention  of  corrupt  practices  at  Parliamentary  elections. 

Powers  and  Privileges  of  Parliament  Act      ..          ..      No.  1 3  of  1883. 
To  define  and  declare  the  powers  and  privileges  of  Parliament 
and   to  amend   the   Audit   Act   of    1875   by   substituting  a 
Speaker's  audit  of  tl.e  House  of  Assembly  accounts. 

Public  Bodies'  Private  Bill  Act.  .  .  .    No.  35  of  1885. 

To  authorise  certain  public  bodies  to  introduce,  prom<>le,  or 
oppose  certain  private  bills,  and  to  legalise  expenses  so 
incurred. 

Parliamentary  Costs  Taxation  Act         ..          ..          ..    No.    6  of  IR87. 

To  provide  for  tin-  taxation  of  Cost  of  Private  Bill?  in  Parlia- 
ment. 

Parliamentary  Voters'  Registration  Act  ..    No.  1 4  of  1887. 

To  make  better  provision  for  the  registration  ol  persons  en- 
titled to  the  electoral  franchise  under  the  Constitution 
Ordinance. 

Transkeian  Territories  Representation  Act  ..    No.  30  ol  1887. 

To  create  and  define  the  electoral  divisions  of  I  embuland 
and  Gnqualand  East,  each  to  return  one  member  to  the 
House  of  Assembly  ;  also  to  include  the  1  ranskeian  Terri- 
tories, for  representation  in  the  Legislative  Counc:!,  in 
the  Eastern  Electoral  Province. 

Native  Registered  Voters  Relief  Act     ..  ..    No.  39  of  1887. 

To  exempt  native  registered  voters  from  the  operation  of 
certain  disqualifying  Acts  of  Parliament. 

Members  of  Parliament  Allowance  Act  .  .    No.  1 6  of  1888 

To  amend  the  !a\v  in  regard  to  the   ["ravelling  and  Personal 

Expenses  of  Members. 
Audit  Act  Amendment  Act  (§§12  and  15)        .  .          .  .    No.   32  of  1888 

To    place    audit    of    joint    Parliamentary    Expenses    under 

Section    16  of  Act    13  of    1883  ;     also   to  authorise   i^ue  of 

money  on  Speaker's  requisi'mns 
Oaths  and  Declarations  Act  (§§4  and  5)        ..          ..    No.  18  of  1891. 

To  amend   the   Oath   of   Allegiance    required    to   be    taken 

under  the  61st  Section  o!  the  Constitution  Ordinance. 

Franchise  and  Ballot  Act  ..    No.    9  of  1892. 

To  amend  the  Law  \sith  regard  to  the  Qualifica'ion  of  \  otcr? 
for  Members  of  Parliament,  and  to  make  pro\ision  for 
taking  Vr>tes  by  Ballot  M  Parliamentary.  l"le<Jinns 

Minister  of  Agriculture  Act        ..    ^  No.  14  of 

To  create  the  office  of  a  Minister  of  Agriculture,  to  abolish 
the  office  of  Secretary  tor  Naliv.-  Atbirs.  air!  to  jrnend  the 
designation  of  and  provide  for  the  assignment  »{  duties 
to  certain  Ministerial  officers. 


i8o  ANNEXURE  E. 


Cumulative  Vote  Abolition  Act  (Cape  Town)  ..   No.  16  of  1893. 

To  abolish  the  cumulative  vote  at  House  of  Assembly 
elections,  Cape  Town. 

Glen  Gray  Act      .  .  No.  25  of  1894. 

Part  III.     To  revise  voters  lists. 

British  Bechuanaland  Annexation  Act  ..          ..    No.  41  of  1895. 

To  annex  the  territory,  and  to  provide  for  one  member  of 
the  Legislative  Council,  and  three  members  of  the  House 
of  Assembly,  viz.  :  Vryburg  2,  Mafeking  1. 

Legislative  Council  Dissolution  Act      ..          ..          ..   No.    9  of  1897. 

To  empower  the  Governor  to  dissolve  the  existing  Legisla- 
tive Council,  without  dissolving  the  House  cf  Assembly, 
after  the  31st  December,  1897. 

Parliamentary  Representation  Act          .  .          .  .          .  .    No.  19  of  1898. 

To  add  sixteen  members  to  the  House  of  Assembly. 

Registration  of  Pailiamentary  Voters  Amendment  Act    No.  48  of  1899. 
To  amend   the   law   relating  to  the   registration  oi    Parlia- 
mentarv  Voters. 

Illegal  Practices  Prevention  Act  No.  26  of  1902. 

To  amend  the  Corrupt  Practices  at  Elections  Prevention 
Act,  1859,"  and  the  Parliamentary  Elections  Act,  1885. 

Additional  Parliamentary  Representation  Act.  .          .  .    No.    5  of  1904. 
To   add    three    members    to    tlie    Legislative   Council,   and 
twelve  to  the  House  of  Assembly. 

Private  Bill  Documents  Deposit  Act No.    3  of  190^ 

To  provide  for  Depositories  for  Private  Bill  Documents 
required  to  be  deposited  in  accordance  with  the  Standing 
Rules  and  Orders  of  either  House  of  Parliament. 


ANNEXURE  F. 


DURATION   OF-'   SESSIONS. 

1  he  following  table  indicates  the  duration  of  sessions  of  Parliament  and 
the  number  of  days  on  which  the  House  of  Assembly  and  legislative  Council 
sat  in  each  session  : — 

| 

Duration  Number  of  Sittings.  Duration  Number o»  Sitting. 

Year.     ]  ol  Session  Ycnr.        •>(  Session  - 

in(la>s-  Assomhlv.    Guincil.i  '"  (!iivs'  ..Wm!>K  .    G.ir-r.l. 


1854 

89 

64 

46 

i883 

<>4 

64 

36 

1855 

85 

55 

56 

1884 

H5 

54 

29 

1856 

84 

57 

56 

IH85 

92 

64 

36 

1857 

84 

59 

57 

1886 

79 

51 

32 

1858 

88 

62 

44 

1887 

72 

49 

27 

1859 

115 

78 

59 

1888 

89 

63 

36 

I860 

82 

57 

44 

1888* 

3 

7 

7 

1861 

1  1  1 

74 

65 

1889 

H6 

59 

31 

1862 

106 

65 

44 

1890 

84 

56 

28 

1863 

104 

59 

45 

1891 

85 

61 

37 

1864 

9! 

64 

53 

1892 

88 

61 

38 

1865 

167 

91 

80 

1893 

86 

61 

3^ 

1866 

129 

82 

70 

1894 

94 

69 

45 

1867 

126 

71 

56 

1895 

94 

64 

43 

1868 

!06 

'  62 

51 

1896 

92 

62 

40 

1869 

118 

76 

49 

1897 

85 

54 

38 

1870 

!02 

73 

43 

1898 

39 

25 

17 

1871 

107 

64 

33 

1898 

78 

53 

V~, 

1872 

105 

69 

44 

1899 

91 

64 

5f> 

1873 

64 

'43 

31 

1900 

SS 

61 

31 

1874 

66 

46 

29 

l°02 

87 

61 

37 

1875 

78 

50 

35 

1903 

W 

hi 

30 

1875* 

17 

12 

8 

1904 

•S6 

55 

*i 

1876 

55 

35 

23 

1905 

89 

59 

•cw. 

1877 

76 

54 

32 

'  906 

,S9 

62 

K 

1878 

85 

58 

42 

|%>7 

91 

58 

40 

1879 

84 

63 

38 

I<W 

(» 

4 

1880 

85 

50 

2~i 

;  rJ(\s 

85 

57 

41) 

1881 

95 

59 

30 

1909 

!9 

13 

7 

1882 

107 

71 

45 

1  Q09 

'86 

5i> 

55 

1883* 

20 

i  i 

^ 

1910' 

1 

MEMBERS'    ALLOWANCES.— (1)    1854:     Constitution    Ordinance,     Section    90 

Members:    If  residence.-  hey.'mi  ten  miles  (rum    pu,Cf    of    siltinst.    ill    i,-r   .very    .lay    ,,;  • 
honu-   tor    pri  ioil    not    <-xci-i-<l.;:i;    t,lty   ci.i\«:    plus    ::  iM-.ii:i      ;-!!.. w.nice   u!    Is.    per   m.l. 
Member:    No   renrineiation.      (2)   1879:    Act   6—  :.'o'.int:       \f.i-mix-is     p  nJ    for    n.n- 
,.f    fifty    da-.s    as    above.      i  oc.il     McmLei*:    V,    i- mun,     it...n.       (3)   1888  :  Act    16- 
Men-.bers:    if  rcsiuc-no-  b<'V..iK:  !:ft,vp.  nv.!t  >  ti.-ni  ,,  a,  ,•  o:      !n.;*.  £1     los.    f..r.-v-r. 
from   home   lor  period    not    i-xcoed.r.g  i-.ni-t'.    ,:.iys.    plus   t    ivi-nmtf  rxpcns.-s.      I .' c. 
!{  residence  within  fifteen  miles   of   place    uf    «ittinH.   i  !     '        f,-    each    ,l.-.y   .-.f   actual    a 


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2 


INDEX. 


(NOTE  :  Particulars   are  arranged  in  chronological  order  as   far   as  practicable. 

Acoustic   properties   of   debating  chamber,   63,    122. 
Additional     Representation     B;lls  :      1865,     obstruction.     41  ;       1898, 
deadlock,  88  ;    1904,  closure  applied,  153-155.     (See  also  Annexurc 

D.) 

Adjournment  of  House  :  By  Speaker  Brand  owing  to  disorder,  103 
note  ;  for  Government  House  ball,  46  ;  on  death  of  Lady  Brand, 
110;  on  death  of  Sir  David  Tennant,  128;  and  of  both  Houses 
on  death  of  Sir  Christoffel  Brand,  111;  rush  for  doors  at  usual 
hours  of  adjournment,  127. 

Admonition   and   reprimand.    Difference   between,    151. 

Admonitions  of  members,    102,    123. 

Anti-convict  association  a  factor  in  the  struggle  for  representative 
government,  9. 

Arderne,   R.   H.,   Member  of  first   House,   28. 

Arms  of  Cape  Colony,  55  and  note. 

Aspeling,  D.  J.,  Bet  with  Mr.  Chabaud,   107. 

Barkly,   Sir  Henry,   Governor,   lays   foundation   stone  of   new   Houses 

of  Parliament,  55,   120. 
Bar  of  the  House  :    Dr.  Tancred  committed  to  custody  of  Sergeant- 

at-Arms,  35  ;    Dr.  Tancred's  apology,   103  ;    Counsel  m  opposition 

to  private  bills,  65  ;    merchant  reprimanded  for  attempted  bribery, 

152;     unnerving  effect  of,    152. 

Barry,  J.,   moves  that  Mr.   Fairbairn   be  elected  Speaker,   99. 
"  Beck  Election  Act,"  85. 
Berry,    Hon.    Sir    Wm.    Bisset,     Speaker    (1898-1908):     School     and 

University  career,    146;    settles   in  Queenstown,    146;    interest   in 

native  affairs  and  education,   147  ;  elected  member  of  House,   147  ; 

diction,  66,  147;    ruling  on  enquiry  into  conduct  of  members,  74  ; 

Chairman  of  Select  Committees,  148;    elected  Speaker,  148-149; 

casting  vote,  89;   character  and  appearance,  145,  150,  165;    dinners, 

151  ;    admonishes  merchant  for  attempting  to  bribe  member,    151. 

152;      applies    closure,     153-155;      knighthood,     155;     re-elected 

Speaker,    155;    vote  of  thanks,    155;    defeated  at  general  election 

156;     elected    member   of    Union    House,    156. 


i88  INDEX. 

Bills,  Proposal  to  revive  after  prorogation,  81  ;  introduction  by  private 
members,  85  ;  passed  without  blanks  filled  up,  86. 

Elaine,  H,  Member  of  Legislative  Council,   1854,  29. 

Bond,  Afrikander,  67,  74. 

Bowker,  T.  H.,  Long  speech  by,  67. 

Brand,  C.,  Speaker  Brand's  grandfather,  "  Resident  "  at  Simonstown,  97. 

Brand,  C.  J.,  Speaker  Brand's  son,  First  Clerk-Assistant,  27. 

Brand,  H.  B.  W.  (Viscount  Hampden),  Speaker  of  House  of  Com- 
mons, 154. 

Brand,  Hon.  Sir  Christoffel,  Speaker  of  Cape  House  (1854-74)  :  Birth 
and  early  career,  98  ;  connection  with  Press,  98  ;  appointed  member 
of  Legislative  Council,  and  resigns,  10,  99;  elected  member  of 
House,  99,  and  Speaker,  1 00  ;  continues  to  practice  as  barrister, 
101  ;  throws  bill  on  floor,  31  ;  resumes  Chair  and  admonishes 
member,  102;  adjourns  House  owing  to  disorder,  103  note; 
knighthood,  105  ;  casting  votes,  106,  109  ;  notice  served  on  as  to 
validity  of  Grahamstown  proceedings,  40  ;  Chabaud's  resignation, 
107;  defends  conduct,  109;  last  election,  110;  votes  of  thanks, 
100,  103,  111  ;  appearance,  100,  126,  165;  resignation,  1 1 1  ;  Free 
Masonry,  112;  death,  1 1 1  ;  influence,  43,  112. 

Brand,  J.  H.,  Speaker  Brand's  father,  98. 

Brand,  Sir  John,  Speaker  Brand's  son,   member  of  first  House,  29  ; 

votes   for   dissolution    of    Parliament,    106;     President   of   Orange 

Free   State,   29. 

Bribery  and  corruption,  74,    151. 
British   KafTraria  Annexation   Bill,   40-42. 
Buchanan,   William  and  James,   reporters,   27. 
Bull  and  Son,   Messrs.,   contractors  for  "  new  "   buildings,   49. 

Call  of  House,  80. 

Casting  Votes  of  Speaker  Brand  on  motion  for  dissolution  of  Parlia- 
ment, 106,  and  on  resignation  of  Mr.  Chabaud,  109;  of  Speaker 
Juta  on  motion  of  no  confidence  in  Government,  138;  oi  Speaker 
Berry  on  conference  between  government  and  opposition,  89. 

Censure,  Vote  of,  on  Speaker  Brand,  defeated,  110;  on  Governor 
before  responsible  government,  41  ;  on  Governor,  disallowed, 
after  responsible  government,  121. 

Chabaud,   G.   L.,   Resignation  of,    107-1 10. 


INDEX.  189 

Chairman   of  Committees,   Permanent,   45,    117. 

Clerks  at  the  Table  :    First  appointments.  27  ;    wigs,  62,  82 

Closure  applied  by  Speaker  Berry,  154,  and  by  Speaker  Molteno,  163. 

"  Commercial  Advertiser  "  publishes  debates  of  Legislative  Council 
in  1834,  7;  and  of  House  of  Assembly  in  1854,  27. 

Commercial  Exchange,  Meeting  of  citizens  in,  6  ;  proposed  appro- 
priation for  Houses  of  Parliament,  56. 

Committee  of  Selection,  Proposal  for,   negatived,  81. 

Committee  of  Whole  House  :  Speaker  Brand  resumes  Chair  owing 
to  disorder,  102,  and  speaks  in  Committee  in  defence  of  his  conduct, 
109;  permanent  Chairman  appointed,  45,  117. 

Condolence,  Motion  of,  on  death  of  Sir  Thomas  Upington,  70  ;  and  on 
death  of  Speaker  Tennant,  128. 

Conference  between  Legislative  Council  and  House  of  Assembly,  30, 
and  between  Government  and  Opposition,  88-89. 

Confidence,  Vote  of,  in  Speaker  Brand,   1 10. 

Confidence,  Vote  of  Want  of,  m  Government  :  Before  Responsible 
Government,  19;  Speaker's  casting  vote,  138;  against  third 
Sprigg  Ministry,  141,  87,  149. 

Constitution  :  HISTORY  OF  ORDINANCE  :  Agitation  for  representative 
government,  4  ;  Earl  Grey's  acquiescence,  7  ;  Porter's  draft  des- 
patched to  England,  9  ;  Letters  patent  issued  by  Queen  in  Council 
laying  down  main  principles,  9  ;  considered  by  Legislative  Council 
and,  after  resignation  of  "  popular  members,  by  commission 
consisting  of  remainder  of  Council,  10,  11  ;  despatched  to  England 
a  second  time,  11;  "  Sixteen  articles  "  drafted  and  conveyed  to 
England  by  Fairbairn  and  Stockenstrom,  11,  13;  draft  constitu- 
tion returned  to  Cape  in  more  complete  form,  15  ;  despatched  to 
England  for  third  and  last  time,  15  ;  returned  to  Cape  in  "  Lady 
Jocelyn,"  16;  PROVISIONS  OF  ORDINANCE:  As  to  number  of 
members  of  Parliament,  17  :  officers  of  Government  before  respon- 
sible government,  19,  169;  money  bills,  30;  seat  of  Parliament, 
37;  summoning  of  Parliament,  39;  resignation  of  members,  108; 
term  of  membership,  182.  (For  amendments  to  Constitution 
Ordinance  see  Annexures  D  and  E.) 

Constitutions,  Colonial,  Alteration  of,  3,    14. 

Contracts    between    members   and    Government,    75. 

Convicts,  Agitation  against  landing  of,  9. 

Cook.  Captain,    Friendship   with  Speaker  Brand's   grandfather,   $ 


KJO  INDEX.        

Council  of  Advice  (1825-1834)  :  Constituted,  4  ;  meets  in  old  Colonial 
Office,  5  ;  secret  proceedings,  5  ;  superseded  by  Legislative  and 
Executive  Councils,  4. 

Councils,  Legislative.     See  "  Legislative  Councils." 

Counsel  at  tnr  of  House,  65. 

Counts-out,  41. 

Customs  Tariff  open  to  amendment  by  House,   140. 

Darling,  Lt. -Governor,   opens  first  Parliament,    18. 

Debates,  Publication  of,  5  and  note,  6,  7. 

De  Villiers,  Lord,  Member  of  House  in  1872,  43  ;  President  of  Legis- 
lative Council,  140. 

De  Waal,  D.  C.,  recommends  conference  between  Government  and 
opposition,  88. 

De  Waal,  Sir  Frederic,  when  Secretary  of  Bond,  opposes  conference 
between  Government  and  opposition,  88. 

De  Wet,  J.,  Member  of  Legislative  Council,   1854,  29. 

"  Disabling  Speeches,"    149. 

Disagreements  between  two  Houses  of  Parliament,  29-31. 

Disorder  :  When  in  Committee  of  Whole  House,  Speaker  resumes 
Chair,  102  ;  and  when  in  House,  Speaker  suspends  sitting,  103  note. 

Dissolution  of  Parliament,  Motion  for,  106  ;  (for  dates  and  reasons 
for,  see  Annexure  G.) 

Dress,  72. 

Duelling  and  challenges  to  fight,  36,  76,  77. 

D'Urban,  Sir  Benjamin,  arrival  in  Cape  Town,  and  establishment  of 
Legislative  and  Executive  Councils,  3,  4. 

Dutch  language  allowed  in  debates,  46. 

East  versus  West,  Provincial  question  of,  105  ;    attempt  to  abolish    45. 

Ebden,  J.  B.,  Member  of  Legislative  Council,  1854,  29. 

Election   petitions,   46. 

Electric  light,   Failure  of,  73. 

Eloquence,   66. 

Elsygne,  Clerk  of  the  House  of  Commons,  82. 

Executive  Council  constituted,  4. 

Executive   Councillors,    1854-1872.     See  Annexure  A. 


INDEX.  191 

Expenditure :  Disagreement  with  Legislative  Council,  30 ;  amend- 
ments to  inter-colonial  customs  tariff  allowed,  140  ;  "  £1  vote 
system  "  in  Estimates  condemned,  140. 

Fairbairn,  John  :  Secretary  of  Anti-convict  Association,  9  ;  appointed 
member  of  Legislative  Council,  1850,  10;  resigns,  II  ;  character 
and  work,  1 1  ;  deputed  to  convey  "  Sixteen  Articles  "  to  England, 
1 1  ;  activity  in  England,  14  ;  return  to  Cape,  15  ;  leader  of  Press, 
98  ;  member  of  first  House,  28  ;  candidate  for  Chair,  99  ;  attacked 
by  "  Monitor,"  28  ;  helps  to  draft  Standing  Rules,  35;  moves  vote 
of  thanks  to  Speaker,  100,  103. 

Fairbndge,  C.  A.  :  Member  of  first  House,  28  ;  seconds  motion  for 
election  of  Sir  Christoffel  Brand  as  Speaker,  99  ;  helps  to  draft 
Standing  Rules,  35  ;  seconds  motion,  last  election  of  Speaker  Brand, 
110. 

Freeman,  Charles,  awarded  first  prize  for  design  for  new  Houses  of 
Parliament,  54  ;  appointed  resident  architect,  56  ;  dismissed,  56  ; 
subsequent  success,  58. 

Frere,  Sir  Bartle,  Dismissal  of  Molteno  Ministry,  47  121  ;  vote  of 
censure  on,  disallowed,  121. 

Frivolous  motions  :    By  Dr.  Tancred,  not  seconded,  37  ;    discounten- 
anced,  45  ; 
Fuller,  Sir  Thomas,   diction,  66. 

Godlonton,  R.,  appointed  member  of  Legislative  Council  in  1850, 
10,  and  elected  in  1854,  29. 

Goede  Hoop  Lodge:  Occupation  by  House  of  Assembly,  19,  99; 
appearance,  25,  26  ;  alterations,  44,  63  ;  vacated,  49,  1 22  ;  garden 
used  as  lobby,  62  ;  division  lobbies,  63  ;  destroyed  by  fire,  49  ; 
rebuilt,  49. 

Government   defeats  :     Scanlen    Ministry,    1884,    on   "  bug   question, 
90;     Sprigg's    Second    Ministry,    1890,    on    railway    scheme,     87: 
Sprigg's  Third  Ministry,  1898,  on  votes  of  no  confidence,  87,  14!  ; 
averted   by   Speaker's   casting   vote,    138,    and    by    conference,    (• 
(See  also  Annexure   B.) 

Government   House,    Opening   Ceremonies    held    in,    from    1854   until 

1884,  18,  62. 

Government  responsibility,    19,  44,  86-90,    121. 

Government,  Votes  of  Want  of  Confidence  in.     See      Confidence 


192  INDEX. 

Governor  :  Early  authority  of,  4  ;  messages  from,  27,  1 04  ;  practice 
of  sending  messengers  abandoned,  46  ;  returns  bills  with  amend- 
ments, 86;  confirmation  of  Speaker's  election,  133;  signature  of, 
40;  dismisses  Molteno  Ministry,  47,  121  ;  votes  of  censure  on, 
41,  121. 

Governor's  Opening  Speech  :  When  communicated  to  House,  134  ; 
address  in  reply  to,  discontinued,  46. 

Grahamstown,  Meeting  of  Parliament  in,  3S\  107  ;  validity  of  proceed- 
ings questioned,  40. 

Greaves,  H.  S.,  architect  of  new  Houses  of  Parliament  57  ;  attempts 
to  remedy  defects  in  building,  63. 

Grey,  Earl,  accedes  to  demand  for  representative  government,  7  ; 
epigram  on  delay  in  granting  constitution,  16  note. 

Hatsell,  Clerk  of  House  of  Commons,  on  "  Call  of  House,"  80. 

Hockly,  W.  H.,  suggested  for  Speakership,  14S. 

Hofmeyr,  Hon.  J.  H..  introduces  bill  to. allow  use  of  Dutch  language 
in  debates,  46  ;  influence,  67. 

Hope,   Hon.  W.,  Auditor-General,   seat  in  House,  28. 

Houses  of  Parliament,  new  buildings  :  Need  for,  53  ;  sites  and  build- 
ings proposed,  53,  54  ;  Freeman's  design  accepted,  54  ;  foundation 
stone  laid,  55,  120;  building  discontinued,  56;  new  buildings 
commenced,  57;  completed,  57;  entered,  61,  122;  division 
lobbies,  63. 

Innes,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  James  Rose,  on  lawyers  in  Parliament,  65;  success 
as  counsel  at  bar  of  House,  65  ;  provokes  laughter,  73  ;  "  Innes 
Liquor  Act,"  85  ;  seconds  motion  for  election  of  Sir  Bisset  Berry 
as  Speaker,  149;  member  of  conference  between  Government 
and  opposition,  89. 

Intemperance,  33. 

Invitations,  72. 

Jagger,  J.  W.,  Public  bills  introduced  by,  85. 

Jameson,   Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Leander  Starr.  Bart. :    Select  Committee  on 

Raid,   136;    silent  during  whole  of    1900  session,  68  ;    congratulates 

Speaker  Berry  on  knighthood,    155. 
Jesters,     69. 
Journals,   Offensive  words  expunged  from,   74,    124. 


INDEX.  103 

Juta,  Hon.  Sir  Henry,  Speaker  (1896-'98):  College  career,  131  ;  elected 
member  of  House,  132;  "Juta  Irrigation  Act,"  85;  appointed 
Attorney-General,  132;  elected  Speaker,  132;  preparation  of 
rulings,  135  ;  rules  Prime  Minister  out  of  order,  135  ;  ruling  on 
production  of  papers,  137,  and  on  disclosure  of  Select  Committee 
proceedings,  137  ;  casting  vote  on  motion  of  no  confidence  in 
Government,  138;  knighthood,  139;  insists  on  control  by  mem- 
bers of  expenditure,  139;  seating  of  members'  wives  at  opening 
ceremonies,  140;  vote  of  thanks,  141  ;  appearance,  133,  165; 
defeat  at  general  election  and  subsequent  career,  142. 

Kaffrarian  Annexation  Bill,   Discussion  on,  40-42. 

Kelly,  Sir  Fitzroy,  Spencer  Walpole  and  J.  R.  Kenyon,  legal  opinion 

on  alteration  of  colonial  constitutions,    14. 
Kenyon,  J.  R.    See  "  Kelly.' 

'  Lady  Jocelyn,"  S.S.,  conveys  Cape  constitution  in   1853,   16. 

Laughter,   73. 

Lawyers  in  Parliament,  64. 

Legislation,   Hasty,  85-86. 

Legislative  Council  (1834-'53)  supersedes  Council  of  Advice,  4  ;    sat 
in  old  Supreme  Court  Buildings,  6,    17;    doors  opened  to  public. 
7  ;  admitted  a  failure,  9  ;  appointment  and  resignation  of  "  popular 
members,    10,    11  ;    legal  opinion  on  proposal  to  reduce  quorum. 
14;    last  meeting  and  expiration,  17. 

Legislative  Council  (1854-1910)  constituted,  17;  sat  in  old  Supreme 
Court  Buildings  until  1884,  18,  29;  disagreements  with  House  of 
Assembly,  29-31  ;  messages,  30,  31  ;  Select  Committee  on  Parlia- 
mentary Buildings,  53. 

Le  Sueur,  H.  J.  P.,   First  Clerk  of  the  House,  27. 

Library  Buildings,  Public,  proposed  appropriation  of,  for  Houses 
of  Parliament,  53. 

"  Limner."     See  "  Murray,  R.  W." 

Longmore,  Major  G.,  First  Sergcant-at-Arms,  27  ;  gives  evideno 
before  Select  Committee  of  Legislative  Council,  53. 

Maasdorp's  pun.   126. 
Mace,  History  of,  38  note. 

Manners-Sutton,    Charles    (Viscount    Canterbury),    Speaker   ot    1 
of  Commons,  132. 


i94  INDEX. 

May,  Sir  Erskine,  corresponds  with  Sir  Christoffel  Brand,  101  ; 
"  Parliamentary  Practice,"  136. 

Meintjes,  J.  J.,  Member  of  first  House,  28 ;  moves  that  Sir 
Christoffel  Brand  be  elected  Speaker,  99. 

Merriman,  Rt.  Hon.  J.  X.,  preserves  unwritten  laws  of  Parliament, 
43  ;  oratory,  66  ;  moves  vote  of  censure  on  Governor,  121;  moves 
that  words  be  taken  down,  78,  79  ;  congratulates  Sir  Henry  Juta 
on  election  as  Speaker,  133,  on  knighthood,  139,  and  on  his  ser- 
vices to  Parliament,  141  ;  tribute  to  Sir  Thomas  Upington,  70; 
Prime  Minister  at  date  of  Union,  90,  159;  moves  vote  of  thanks 
to  Speaker  Molteno,  164;  valedictory  speech,  91. 

Meeting  of  Parliament  before  proper  time,  39. 

Membership,  Term  of,    182. 

Members,  Number  of,  17,  26,  43,  163.     (See  also  Annexures  C  and  D.) 

Members,  Payment  of,  84.     (See  also  Annexure  F.) 

Messages  to  and  from  Legislative  Council,  30,  31  ;  from  Governor, 
27,  104,  46. 

Ministerial  responsibility,    19,  44.  86-90,    121. 

Ministers  not  necessarily  members,  86  ;  right  to  sit  and  speak  in  both 
Houses,  170. 

Ministries  under  Responsible  Government.     See  Annexure  B. 

Molteno,  Hon.  Sir  James,  Speaker  (1908-1910):  Ancestors,  159-160; 
school  and  university  career,  160  ;  elected  member  of  House,  160  ; 
elected  Speaker,  160;  deportment  in  the  Chair,  162;  increased 
responsibilities,  163;  applies  closure;  163;  vote  of  thanks,  164; 
appearance,  165  :  expiry  of  office  on  date  of  Union,  166. 

Molteno,  Hon.  Sir  John,  Speaker  Molteno's  father  :  Member  of  first 
House,  28  ;  persuades  Mr.  Chabaud  to  withdraw  resignation,  108  ; 
advocates  responsible  government,  20  ;  appointed  first  Prime 
Minister,  20,  47,  159  ;  ministry  dismissed,  47.  121  ;  seconds  vote  of 
thanks  to  Gen.  Thesiger  and  Commodore  Sullivan,  47. 

Money  bills,  Disagreement  between  two  Houses  of  Parliament.  29-31. 
Monitor  "  reports  debates,  28  ;  attacks  on  Fairbairn,  28. 

Montagu,  Hon.  J.,  Secretary  to  Government,  10,  15. 

Murray,  R.  W.  (Sen.):  "Limner,"  reporter  in  1854,  27;  bias,  28; 
attacks  on  Speaker  Brand,  110. 

Naming  a  member,  81,    123. 

Newcastle,  Duke  of,  Despatch  transmitting  Constitution  Ordinance,  16 


INDEX.  n;5 

Night  sitting,    \53. 

"  No  confidence  "  motions.     See  "  Confidence." 

Oba,  Kaffir  Chief,   126. 

Obstruction,  41,  69,  102,  153,  163. 

Onslow,   Arthur,   Speaker  of   House  of   Commons,    128,    132. 

Opening  ceremonies:  At  Government  House  in  1854,  18;  at  Gra- 
hamstown  in  1864,  39  ;  in  new  buildings,  1885,  61  ;  by  judges  and 
general  during  absence  of  Governor,  62  ;  seating  arraneements,  140. 

Oratory,  66. 

Order  List  :  Planning  of,  85  ;  notices  of  motions  on  Government 
order  day,  135. 

Painter,  R    J.,  moves  vote  of  censure  on  Speaker  Brand,  109  ;    speech 

on  frontier  question,   126. 
Papers,  Publication  by  newspaper  of  MSS.  returns,   123;    production 

of,   before  a  colonial  legislature,    136. 
Parliamentary  Allowances,  84.     See  also  Annexure  F 
Parliamentary  Draftsman,    1  18. 

Parliaments  and  sessions,  Duration  of.     See  Annexure  G. 
Pension  for  Speaker  Brand,   111,  and  for  Speaker  Tennant,   128. 
Petitions,   Presentation   of,    118,    119. 
Pilkington,   Captain   George,    First   Colonial  Engineer  :     Plans  for  new 

Houses  of  Parliament,  54. 
Population   in    1834,   7;     in    1854,   29. 
Porter,  Hon.  W.  :   Character,  8  ;   drafts  constitution,  9,  and  Responsible 

Government  Bill,  43  ;    seat  in  House,  28  ;    helps  to  draft  Standing 

Rules,  35  ;    Vote  of  thanks.  42  ;    hands  on  old  traditions  of  House. 

43  ;    declines  to  form  ministry,  47  ;    oratory,  66  ;    on  stability  of 

procedure,  81. 
Powers  and  Privileges  of  Parliament  Act  :    Recommended  by  Sir  David 

Tennant,    125,    137;     passed   in    1883,    46,    137;     pro\ision    as     to 

challenges   to   fight,    77. 
Prayers,  26  note. 
Press  gains  admittance  to  Legislative  Council   in    1834,   7;    attack 

Speaker,    110,  and  on  Select  Committee.   74;    breach  of   rule 

journalist,   82;     publication   of   MSS.   return:;,    123.   and 

Committee   proceedings,    137. 


iq6  INDEX. 

Press  Gallery  :  In  Goede  Hoop  Lodge,  27,  44  ;  in  "  new  "  buildings, 
83,  122. 

Private  Bills,  Counsel  at  bar  in  opposition  to,  65. 

Privilege,  Breaches  of:  Publication  of  manuscript  returns,  123;  dis- 
closure of  proceedings  of  select  committee,  137;  bribery,  151  ; 
reflection  by  newspaper  on  integrity  of  Select  Committee,  74. 

Prorogation  ceremonies  discontinued,  46. 

Purity  of  Proceedings,   74,    123-124,    151. 

Quorum  of  House,  41,  and  of  Council,   10,   11,   14. 

Rawson,  Hon.  Sir  R.  W.,  Colonial  Secretary  :  Seat  in  House,  28  ; 
official  dress  worn  in  House,  72. 

Rawson,  Rear-Admiral  Sir  Harry,  Vote  of  thanks  to,  72. 

Recess,    138. 

Reform  Bill  of   1870,  20. 

Reitz,  F.  W.,  appointed  member  of  Legislative  Council,  1850,  10; 
resigns,  11  ;  member  of  Legislative  Council,  1854,  29. 

Reporters.     See  "  Press  "  and  "  Press  Gallery." 

Reprimand  and  admonition,   F^ifference  between,    151. 

Reprimand  for  bribery,   151. 

Resignation  of  G.  L.  Chabaud,    107-110. 

Resolution  rescinded,   106. 

Responsible  Government,  Introduction  of,  19,  20,  43,  44,  47,  86,  103 
note,  104;  effect  on  length  of  sessions,  84.  (For  ministries  under 
Responsible  Government  see  Annexure  B.) 

Rhodes,  Rt.  Hon.  C.  J.  :  Speeches,  67  ;  moves  that  offensive  words 
be  expunged  from  journals,  1 24  ;  dress,  72  ;  succeeds  Spngg  as 
Prime  Minister  in  1890,  87  ;  suggests  conference  between  Govern- 
ment and  opposition,  88,  and  is  member  of  conference,  89  ;  moves 
vote  of  thanks  to  Speaker  Tennant,  124. 

Richardson,  Thomas,  Speaker  of  House  of  Commons,  practises  as 
barrister,  101. 

Rivers,  Hen.  H.,  Treasurer-General,    15,  28. 

Robinson,  Sir  Hercules  (Lord  Rosmead),  opens  Parliament  in  new 
buildings,  61 . 

Rothman,  J.  N.,  leave  to  enter  House  with  umbrella,  76. 

Rutherford.    H.   E.,    member  of  Legislative  Council,    1854,   29. 


INDEX.  197 

Sampson,  Hon.  V.,  moves  that  words  be  taken  down,  79. 

Sauer,  Hon.  J.  W.,  faculty  for  criticism,  66  ;  praises  senile  speech 
by  Sir  Gordon  Sprigg,  71  ;  claims  right  to  name  member,  81  ; 
brushes  off  Clerk's  wig,  82  ;  member  of  conference  between  Gov- 
ernment and  opposition,  89. 

Scanlen,  C.,  seconds  vote  of  censure  on  Speaker  Brand,    109. 

Scanlen,  Sir  T.  C.,  preserves  unwritten  laws  of  Parliament,  43  ;  Ministry 
defeated  on  "  bug  "  question,  90. 

Schermbrucker,  Hon.  Col.  F.,  character,  69  ;  injures  his  hand,  76  ; 
improper  expression,  79  ;  death,  69. 

Schremer,  Rt.  Hon.  W.  P.,  seconds  motion  for  election  of  Sir  Henry 
Juta  as  Speaker,  132;  Prime  Minister  on  defeat  of  Third  Sprigg 
Ministry,  87  ;  moves  resolution  of  condolence  on  death  of  Upington, 
70  ;  agrees  to  conference  with  opposition,  89. 

Secret   Sessions,   5. 

Select  Committee  on  Chabaud's  resignation,  108;  on  Jameson  Raid, 
136;  on  Afrikander  Bond,  74. 

Select  Committees:  Rules  for  guidance  of,  118;  production  of  tele- 
grams before,  137;  publication  of  proceedings,  137;  integrity 
questioned,  74. 

Separation  of  Eastern  and  Western  Provinces,  7,  37,  39,  45,  67. 

Sergeant-at-Arms  :  Removes  member  from  House,  103  ;  takes  mem- 
bers in  custody,  34;  gives  evidence  before  Council  Select  Com- 
mittee, 53  ;  formerly  cleared  gallery  when  House  divided,  63  ; 
introduces  messengers  from  Governor,  27,  104;  attends  Counsel 
at  bar,  65,  and  persons  to  be  reprimanded,  151,  152;  rules  drafted 
for  guidance,  1 18. 

Session  lasting  five  and  a  half  months,  84  ;  lasting  only  an  hour  and  a 
quarter,  165.  (For  length  of  sessions,  see  Annexures  F.  and  (.j.) 

Sessions,  Secret,  5. 

Shaw  College,  Grahamstown,  Opening  of  Parliament  in,  39;  Proro- 
gation ceremony,  40. 

Simonstown,  Members  of  Parliament  attend  entertainments  at. 

Sivewright,  Hon.  Sir  James,  congratulates  Speaker  Juta  on  knui 
139;     improper  expression,    7 

"  Sixteen  Articles  "  drafted  and  conveyed  to  England, 

Smartt,   Hon.  Sir  Thomas,   fluency,  66. 


ig8  INDEX. 

Smith,  Sir  Harry,  admits  Legislative  Council  (1834-'53)  to  be  a  failure, 
9  ;  consults  Attorney-General  as  to  form  of  proposed  constitution, 
8  ;  asks  divisional  road  and  municipal  boards  to  elect  members 
for  Legislative  Council,  10. 

Solomon,  Saul,  member  of  first  House,  29  ;    opposes  Reform  Bill,  20  ; 

motion  of  censure  on  Governor,  41  ;    hands  on  old  traditions  of 

House,  43  ;    declines  to  form  ministry,  47  ;    logic,  66  ;    supports 

the  Speaker,  109,  121  ;   appearance,  121. 

Solomon,  Sir  Richard,   Attorney-General  when   not  a  member,  86. 
Somerset,  Lord  Charles,  Council  appointed  to  advise  and  assist,  4. 
Southey,  Hon.  Sir  Richard,  declines  to  form  Ministry,  47. 
Speakers'  Chairs,  27,  44,  63,  161  ;    dinners,  151  ;    hat,  120,  123,  152; 

procession,   145  ;    qualifications,   156. 
Speakership,    Continuity    of,    165. 
Speaker's   Ministry,"    139. 

Speaker's  rulings  :  Prepared  in  advance,  1 35  ;  analysed  and  anno- 
tated, 138  ;  questioned  by  House,  121,  134  ;  on  vote  of  censure  on 
Governor,  121  ;  on  time  for  communicating  Governor's  speech, 
134;  on  Order  List,  135;  on  production  of  telegrams,  137;  on 
publication  of  proceedings  of  Select  Committee,  137;  on  control 
of  expenditure,  139-140;  on  right  of  House  to  inquire  into  mem- 
bers' conduct,  74. 

Speeches,  length,  etc.,  67. 

Spirit  of  the  House,  70. 

Sprigg,  Rt.  Hon.  Sir  Gordon,  preserves  unwritten  laws  of  Parliament, 
43  ;  rhetoric,  66  ;  forgets  parliamentary  practice,  81  ;  forms  his 
first  ministry,  47  ;  moves  vote  of  thanks  to  Gen.  Thesiger  and 
Commodore  Sullivan,  47  ;  second  ministry  defeated,  87  ;  moves 
vote  of  thanks  to  Speaker  Tennant,  128  ;  moves  that  Sir  Henry  Juta 
be  elected  Speaker,  132  ;  third  ministry  saved  by  casting  vote,  138, 
but  afterwards  defeated,  141  ;  moves  vote  of  thanks  to  Speaker 
Juta,  141  ;  moves  that  Sir  Bisset  Berry  be  elected  Speaker,  149; 
third  ministry  again  defeated,  87,  149  ;  attempts  to  speak  on  death 
of  Sir  Thomas  Upmgton,  70  ;  as  leader  of  opposition  is  member  of 
conference  between  Government  and  opposition,  89;  death,  71. 

Standing  Rules  and  Orders  :  Drafting  of  oiiginal  rules,  35  ;  subse- 
quent editions,  80  note;  revised  by  Speaker  Tennant,  45,  118; 
aim  of,  76;  interpretation  of,  156;  stability,  80,  81,  118;  as  to 
words  of  heat,  77-79  ;  call  of  House,  80. 


INDEX. 


100 


Sticks  and  umbrellas   not  allowed   in   House,   76. 
Stockenstrom,  A.,  Attorney-General,  when  not  a  member,  86. 
Stockenstrom,   Sir  Andnes,    Bart.,   appointed    member   of   Legislative 

Council,    1850,    10;     resigns,    11;     deputed    to    convey    "Sixteen 

Articles  "  to  England,  1  1  ;   activity  in  England,  14  ;    return  to  Cap-, 

15  ;    member  of   Legislative  Council,    1854,  29. 
Strangers  :    Exclusion  of,  5  and  note,  82-84  ;    at  one  time  precluded 

from  witnessing  divisions,  63. 
Sullivan,   Commodore,   Vote  of  thanks   to,   48. 
Supreme  Court  Buildings  (Old),   meeting  of  Legislative  Councils   in, 

6,    17,  29;    proposed  use  for  House  of  Assembly,  25. 

Tamplin,   Ma)or,   speaks  on  death  of   Upington,   71. 

Tancred,  Dr.,  member  of  first  House,  28  ;  committed  to  custody  of 
Sergeant-at-Arms,  34 ;  challenges  member  to  fight,  36  ;  moves 
frivolous  amendment,  37  ;  admonished  by  Speaker,  102  ;  death,  69. 

Telegrams,   production   of,    before   Select   Committee,    137. 

Tennant,  Alexander  ("  Singing  Sannock  "),  Speaker  Tennant's  grand- 
father, settles  in  Cape  Town,  115. 

Tennant,  Hercules,  Speaker  Tennant's  father,  compiler  of  '-  Notary's 
Manual,"  117. 

Tennant,  Hon.  Sir  David,  Speaker  (1874-96):  Parentage  and  youth, 
115-116;  elected  member  of  House,  117;  preserves  unwritten 
laws  of  Parliament,  43;  Chairman  of  Committees,  117,  and 
Speaker,  117;  drafts  standing  rules  and  orders,  45,  118;  conveys 
vote  of  thanks  to  Gen.  Thesiger  and  Commodore  Sullivan,  48  ; 
honours,  120  and  note  ;  connection  with  building  of  new  houses 
of  Parliament,  120,  122;  a  belated  ruling,  121  ;  admonishes  member, 
123;  protects  member,  123;  recommends  act  to  define  powers 
and  privileges  of  Parliament,  125,  137;  attacked  by  newspaper 
82;  deprecates  hasty  legislation,  86;  sense  of  humour,  125; 
decorum,  127;  resignation,  127;  appointed  Agent-General,  127  : 
appearance,  126,  165;  votes  of  thanks,  124,  128;  death.  12J- 

Te  Water,  Hon.  Dr.  T.,  member  of  conference  between  government 
and  opposition,  89. 

Thanks,  Votes  of  :    To  Wm.  Porter,  42  :    to  Gen.    Fhesiger  and  (  om- 
modore   Sullivan,   48  ;     to   Rear-Admiral    Sir   Harry   Rawson. 
to  Speaker  Brand,   100,   103,   111  ;    to  Speaker  Tennant, 
to  Speaker  Juta    141  ;    to  Speaker  Berry,   155;    to  Speaker  > 
164. 


200 INDEX. 

Theron,  T.  P.  (President  of  Bond  and  Chairman  of  Committees)  : 
Congratulates  Sir  Henry  Juta  on  election  as  Speaker,  133,  and 
on  his  services,  141  ;  opposes  conference  between  government 
and  opposition,  88  ;  congratulates  Speaker  Berry  on  knighthood,  155. 

Thesiger,  General,  Vote  of  thanks  to,  48. 

Tiptoft,  Sir  John,  Speaker  of  House  of  Commons,  in  1406,  131. 

Tucker,  Mr.  Scott,  Civil  Engineer,  plans  for  new  Houses  of  Parlia- 
ment discarded,  54. 

Umbrellas  and  sticks  not  allowed  in  House,  76. 
Upmgton,  Hon.  Sir  Thomas  :   Oratory,  66  ;   leave  to  enter  House  with 
stick,  76  ;    moves  that  words  be  taken  down,  79  ;    death,  70. 

Walpole,  Spencer,  Legal  opinion  on  alteration  of  Colonial  constitutions, 
14. 

Walter,  W.,   First  permanent  Chairman  of  Committees,  45. 

Watermeyer,  E.  B.,  LL.D.,  Member  of  first  House.  28  ;  helps  to  frame 
rules,  35. 

Watermeyer,  P.  J.  A.,  seconds  motion,  last  election  of  Speaker  Brand,  1 10. 

Walton,  Hon.  Sir  Edgar,  on  courtesy  of  House,  75. 

Ways  and  Means,  Committee  of,  Rules  for  guidance  of,  1 18. 

Wigs,  first  worn  by  Clerks  at  Table,  62  ;  Clerk's  wig  brushed  off  by 
"Mr.  Sauer,  82. 

Wodehouse,  Sir  Philip,  Governor,  reactionary  attempts  to  amend 
constitution,  19,  20  ;  summons  Parliament  to  meet  in  Grahams- 
town,  39  ;  vote  of  censure  on,  41. 

Wolf,  G.  G.,  admonished  by  Speaker,  123. 

Wood    G.,  member  of  Legislative  Council,  1854,  29. 

Words  of  heat,  78,  79,  80,  134. 

Work  of  the  House,  84. 

Wylde,  Hon.  Sir  John,  Chief  Justice,  swears  in  Governor,  1834,  3  ; 
President  of  Legislative  Council,  1854,  29. 

Ziervogel,  J.  F.,  member  of  first  House,  28;   helps  to  frame  rules,  35  ; 

opposes  Reform  Bill,  20  ;   challenged  to  fight  by  Dr.  Tancred,  36  ; 

hands  on  traditions  of  House,  43. 

Zonnebloem,    Residence    of    Speaker   Tennant's    grandfather,    115. 
"  Zuid  Afrikaan  "  newspaper,  Connection  of  Speaker  Brand  with,  98. 


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