Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-22
SOUTH AFRICAN
CONSOLIDATION
BILL PUBLISHED
TERMS FOR BIG FEDERATION
AGREED ON
TWO CAPITALS AND TWO OFF,
ClAL LANGUAGES USED
Legislature Will Convene in Cape
Town, but Executive Department
of Government Will Be in
Pretoria
TWO CAPITALS AND TWO Off.
ClAL LANGUAGES USED

LONDON, Aug. 21.-The text of the
South African constitution bill is pub
lished 1t is a bill of 152 clauses, with
a schedule. Part 2 of the bill deals
with the union. The following is a
summary of it's clauses:
1t shall be lawful for the king, with
the advice of the privy council, to de-
clare by proclamation that on and after
day therein appointed, not being later
than one year after the passage of this
act, the colonies of the Cape of Good
Hope, Natal, the TransvaRl and the
Orange River Colony shall be united in
legislative union under one govern
ment. under the name of the Union of
South Africa. After that date the gov
ernment and parliament of the union
shall have full power and authority
within the limits of the colonies, but
the king may, at any time after the
proclamation, appoint governor gen
eral for the union.
The colonies, which will retain their
present limits, shall become original
! provinces of the union under the names
| of Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Trans
vaal and Orange Free State.
Upon any colony entering the union,
! the colonial boundaries act, 1895, and
| every other act applying to any of the
colonies as being self-governing colo
MES or colonies with responsible gov
| ernment shall cease to apply to that
colony; but from the date when this
act takes effect every such act of par
liamento shall apply to the union.
King Is Chief Executive
Part 3 of the bill deals with the ex-
! ecutive government. This is to be
vested in the king and administered by
! his majesty in person or by governor
general appointed by the king as his
/ representative. The salary to be paidd
| to the governor general is $4,000 a
wear. The governor general may APP
| point a deputy during temporary alb
! senCe.
| An executive council shall be formed,
! the members of which shall be chosen
and summoned by the governor gem
eral.
The governor general is empowered
to appoint the kings ministers of state.
/ After the first general election of mem
/ bers of the house of assembly no min
| lister shall hold office for a longer peri
cd than three months unless he is or
| becomes a member of either house of
parliament.
! Part A, which deals with the parlia-
ment. provides that the legislative
| power of the union shall be vested IN
! the parliament of the union, which
| shall consist of the king, a senate and
| a house of assembly. The governor
| general has power to appoint times for
| the holding of the sessions of parlia-
ment, to prorogue and to dissolve the
| houses of parliament simultaneously,
or the house of assembly alone; the
| senate, however, cannot be dissolved
until ten years after the establishment
! of the union. Parliament shall be sum-
moned to meet not later than six
months after the establishment of the
union.
Two Capitals Named
Cane Town shall be the seat of the
legislature Of the union, but Pretoria
shall be the seat of government of the
union.
For the first ten years after the es-
! tablishment of the union the constitu-
ton of the senate is to be as follows:
Eight senators shall be nominated by
! the governor general in council, and
| for each original province eight sena-
! tors shall be elected.
The senators to be nominated by the
governor general in council shall hold
| their seats for ten years. One-half of
| their number shall be selected on the
| ground mainly of their thorough ac-
/ 0uaintance with the wants and wishes
| of the colored races. If the seat Of a
senator becomes vacant the governor
| general in council shall nominate an
! other person to be a senator, who shall
| hold his seat for ten years.
Before the establishment of the
union the two houses of each of the
! colonies, sitting together as one body
and presided over by the speaker of
the legislative assembly, shall elect
| eight persons TO be senators for the
province. Such senators shall hold
| their seats for ten years, and if seat
become vacant the provincial council
of the province shall choose a success
sor, who will hold the seat until the
] Loft Of q npTinn
! predecessor would have held it.
Representation Provided For
The house of assembly shall be COM
posed of members directly chosen by
| the voters of the union in electoral di-
visions
The number of members to be elected
in the original provinces at the first
election shall be as follows Cape OF
Good Hope. 81 Natal 17a TransvaaL
SO: Orange Free State H.
These members shall not i'm case OF
any original province, be diminished
until the total number of members OF
1.-THE house of assembly reaches $50, or
until a period of ten years has elapsed
after the establishment of the union.
whichever is the longer period.
Parliament may by law prescribe the
qualifications of voters, but no such
law shall disqualify any person in the
. province OF the cape OF GOOQ nope
who. under the laws existing in the
colony of the Cape of Good Hope at
the esta ablishment of the union, is or
may become qualified to vote by rea-
son of his race or color only, unless
the bill be passed by both houses Of
parliament sitting together and at the
third reading be agreed to by not less
than two-thirds of the total number OF
members of both houses. No person
who at the passing Of any such law is
registered as a voter in any province
shall be removed from the register by
reason only of any disqualification
based on race or color.
General provisions include a clause
providing that there shall be free trade
throughout the union, but until par
lament otherwise provides the duties
of custom and of excise leViable under
the laws existing in any of the colonies
at the establishment of the union shall
remain in force,
Both the English and Dutch Ian
! guages shall be official languages OF
! the union, and shall be treated on a
footing of equality and possess and
enjoy equal freedom, rights and priv
/ ileges.
Provision is made for the admission
of the British South Africa company 5
| territory and of new provinces and ter
ritories into the union.
!
Classified
"The Hon Thomas Rott believes every man
has hts price"