*
15841.
No. 36A.*
(SOUTH AFRICA.)
SIB,
LAW OFFICERS TO COLONIAL OFFICE.
Royal Courts of Justice,
May 17, 1900. WE were honoured with your commands signified in Mr. H. Bertram Cox's letter of Telegrams, the 12th instant, stating that he was directed by you to request our consideration of 5th May, certain questions relating to the annexation of the Orange Free State, which it was the 1900: intention of Her Majesty's Government to proclaim at an early date.
5th May, 1900:
That Mr. Cox was to transmit to us copies of recent telegrams which had passed 7th May, between the Colonial Office and the High Commissioner for South Africa, from which it 1900; would be seen that Lord Roberts desired that the announcement should be made as soon as Kroonstadt had been occupied by Her Majesty's forces, and that, as that was expected to 10th May, take place in a few days, the matter was somewhat urgent.
8th May,
1900;
1900.
(i.) Such legislation might be effected by Order of Her Majesty's Council; (iii) The inhabitants of the Orange Free State would become British subjects; (iv.) Her Majesty had power by Letters Patent to establish a Governor and to. empower such Governor to enact laws and to appoint judicial and other officers.
That the questions which we were requested to consider fell into two classes :- class (A) relating to the manner in which the annexation should be effected; and tary Paper class (B) the form of Constitution which should be established in the annexed 1877.
(C. 1776), territories.
That it was presumed that upon the formal annexation of the Orange Free State, cellor's inasmuch as that country would have been acquired by conquest :-
(i.) The Laws of the Orange Free State would remain in force unless and until 1881:f altered by legislation;
Parliamen-
Lord Chan-
Reports, 6th May,
18th July, 1881.‡ Law Officers' Reports,§ 12th May,
PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
།་། ། ་། ་། །། C.O. 885
لسلفانيا
3rd July,
30th Sept 1897;
That with respect to class (A) Mr. Cox was to transmit to us a copy of the 1877; correspondence presented to Parliament in 1877 (C. 1776), from which it would be seen 25th Sept. that the annexation of the Transvaal in April of that year was effected (after the grant of 1877: a commission under the Royal Sign Manual and Signet to Sir Theophilus Stepstone to 1894; enquire into disturbances which had taken place in that country, and, in certain events, 3rd July, to proclaim that that country should be annexed to, and form part of, Her Majesty's 1894 Dominions) by a Proclamation of Sir Theophilus Stepstone, based on the authority of that commission, formally declaring the territory, known as the South African Republic, 5th Feb., to be British territory. That it was, of course, possible to issue such a commission to 1900. Lord Roberts in this country and to convey to him by telegraph the announcement that Draft he was empowered thereby to issue a Proclamation of annexation, the terms of which Commis- could be at the same time signified to him.
That, on the other hand, it might be preferable to formally annex the Orange Free Lord State by Proclamation, Letters Patent, or Order in Council issued in this country, and to Roberts to direct Lord Roberts to notify publicly the terms of such annexation in the Orange Free annex State, and that one of the questions to which our attention was directed was which of the Free State.
Orange above courses was to be preferred from a legal point of view.
sion em- powering
Draft
nexation,
That Mr. Cox was to transmit to us the drafts of a commission empowering Order in Lord Roberts to annex the Orange Free State, and of an Order in Council which, should Council we think it desirable, could be converted into a Proclamation or into Letters Patent, for an-
providing should that form of procedure seem to us preferable.
That Mr. Cox was also to transmit to us the draft of a Proclamation to be issued in Draft the Orange Free State simultaneously with the Proclamation or announcement of Proclama- annexation, in order to notify to the inhabitants that the protection of Her Majesty Draft
tion. would be extended to such as peaceably returned to their homes and refrained from acts Letters of violence or hostility.
Patent.
That Mr. Cox was further, with regard to the questions under class (B) above Draft referred to, to transmit to us drafts of :-
(a.) Letters Patent establishing the form of Government which it was proposed set up temporarily in the annexed territory.
The correspondence will be found printed in African No. 606.
No. 251A in Vol. III.
‡ No. 262A in Vol. III.
Nos. 135 and 151 in Vol. III., Nos. 66, 67, and 156 in Vol. V., and No. 19 in this Volume. 6163-25-6/1000 Wt 824 Das 5
Instruc- tions.
to Draft
Commis- sion to Governor.
15 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC-
COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO
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