Orange Free State

The advent of a Liberal administration under Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman in Great Britain in Dec. 1905 completely altered the political situation in the late Boer States. The previ ous (Conservative) Government had in March 1905 made public a form of representative government, intended to lead up to self government for the Transvaal, and had intimated that a similar constitution would be subsequently conferred on the Orange Colony. The Campbell-Bannerman administration decided to do without this intermediary step in both colonies. It was not, how ever, until July I, 1907, that the letters-patent conferring self government on the colony were promulgated, the election for the legislative assembly taking place in November following. They resulted in the return of 29 members of the Oranjie Unie, five Constitutionalists and four Independents. The Constitutionalists won four of the five seats allotted to Bloemfontein, Sir John Fraser being among those returned. A ministry, which included Generals J. B. M. Hertzog and Christian de Wet, was formed by Abraham Fischer, one of the leading members of the old volksraad. Steyn's ill-health prevented his taking office, but he wielded almost as much power as when he had been president of the country.

Union of South Africa.

The responsible government entered upon its task in favourable conditions. The seven years of Crown colony administration had achieved remarkable results. Mate rially the country had been restored to a sound state with every prospect of a prosperous future, and steady progress was made under responsible government, but political developments were rapid, and less than three years after Fischer took office the Orange River Colony, as such, had ceased to exist.

The colony took part in May 1908 in an inter-State conference which determined to renew the existing customs convention and to make no alteration in railway rates. These decisions were the result of an agreement to bring before the parliaments of the vari ous colonies a resolution advocating the closer union of the South African States and the appointment of delegates to a national con vention to frame a draft constitution. In this convention Steyn took a leading and conciliatory part, and subsequently the Orange River Colony legislature agreed to the terms drawn up by the con vention for the unification of the four self-governing colonies. Under the imperial act by which unification was established (May 31, 1910) the colony entered the Union under the style of the Orange Free State Province. (For the union movement

see SOUTH AFRICA, UNION OF.) Fischer and Hertzog became mem bers of the first Union ministry, while Dr. A. E. W. Ramsbottom, formerly colonial treasurer, became the first administrator of the Free State as a province of the Union.

Education Controversy.

During the period in which the province had been a self-governing colony much bitterness had been caused by the educational policy pursued by Hertzog, who was attorney-general and minister of education. From the date of the passing of an education act in the middle of 1908 until the absorption of the colony into the Union, Hertzog so administered its provisions regarding the media of instruction as to compel every European child to receive instruction in every subject, partly in the medium of Dutch. This policy of compulsory bi lingualism was persisted in despite the vehement protests of the English-speaking community, and of the desire of many Dutch burghers that the medium of instruction for their children should be English. Failing to obtain redress, the English-speaking sec tion of the community proceeded to open separate schools. It was not until 1912 that through the intervention of the Union parlia ment the dispute was settled by the provision that in the lower standards the medium of instruction should be the "home lan guage" of the pupil. As to the Boer section, the teal, renamed Afrikaans, was by ordinance passed in 1920 recognized as a me dium of instruction instead of Netherlands Dutch; the Free State Province being the first to adopt officially South African Dutch.

The province followed Hertzog when he parted from Botha on the racial issue and it became the stronghold of the Dutch Na tionalists. With the exception of one of the Bloemfontein divi sions they had a majority in every parliamentary constituency in the province. Up to his death in 1916 Steyn's influence with the Dutch section of the people continued powerful. In the crisis caused by the World War Steyn, supported by Hertzog, opposed operations against the Germans in South-West Africa. There fol lowed the rebellion of de Wet, who drew his chief strength from the Free State. On Steyn's death Hertzog became the undisputed leader of the Dutch Nationalists and after the general election of 1924 he was chosen as prime minister of the Union. In internal affairs the province has been governed on progressive lines. Its interests remain predominantly agricultural.