The South-African crisis - pagina 46

42

THE SOUTH-AFRICAN

CRISIS.

40,000 British subjects living in France. Mr. Chamhimself in his despatch of Feb. 4tii 1896

berlain

declared: ^'Since the Convention of 188 4

Her Majesty's Government recognises the South African Republic as a free and independent Government as regards all its internal affairs, not touched by the Convention" i). But the Convention of Londan, by Article 14, only claimed

for

persons of other nationalities,

of residence; 2"^ right to

l«t

i-jg^t

own

property; 3id right to trade; and ith the right not to be subjected to special imposts. Consequently, according to Mr. Chamberlain's

own

words,

every intervention for securing political

rights for the Uitlanders

was

interdicted.

I

am

well

aware that in order to get over this difficulty Mr. Chamberlain propped himself up with a declaration made by President Kruger during the negotiations at Langs Nek in 1881, that "no difference would be made between Boers and Englishmen". But what was the import of that declaration? It is impossible to exactly detine

it. And moreover as such a declaration was not inserted either in the preliminaries or in the

Treaty itself has it acquired the force of law ? How could a declaration by Mr. Kruger bind the Volksraad

which as the supreme power approved only the of the Convention ?

articles

Further how can a verbal declaration made during the discussion over the preliminaries of the Convention of 1881 be regarded as binding after the Convention itself was abolished and replaced by that of 1884? ')

Green-Book, p. 14.

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