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THE UNION OF SOUTH AFRICA ACT, 1909
This Act was passed through both Houses of the Imperial Parliament exactly as it was forwarded after the South African Convention was held. It was assented to by King Edward VII. on 20th September 1909; and a Royal Proclamation of the 2nd December 1909 declared the date of the establishment of Union to be the 31st May 1910.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS.
I. PRELIMINARY.
Section.
1. Short title.
2. Definitions.
3. Application of Act to King's successors.
II. THE UNION.
4. Proclamation of Union.
5. Commencement of Act.
6. Incorporation of Colonies into the Union.
7. Application of Colonial Boundaries Act, etc.
III. EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT.
8. Executive power.
9. Governor-General.
10. Salary of Governor-General.
11. Application of Act to Governor-General.
12. Executive Council.
13. Meaning of Governor-General in Council.
14. Appointment of Ministers.
15. Appointment and removal of officers.
16. Transfer of executive powers to Governor-General in Council.
17. Command of naval and military forces.
18. Seat of Government.
IV. PARLIAMENT.
19. Legislative power.
20. Sessions of Parliament.
21. Summoning of first Parliament.
22. Annual session of Parliament.
23. Seat of Legislature
Senate.
24. Original constitution of Senate.
25. Subsequent constitution of Senate.
26. Qualifications of senators.
27. Appointment and tenure of office of President.
28. Deputy President.
29. Resignation of senators.
30. Quorum.
31. Voting in the Senate.
House of Assembly.
32. Constitution of House of Assembly.
33. Original number of members.
34. Increase of number of members.
35. Qualifications of voters.
36. Application of existing qualifications.
37. Elections.
38. Commission for delimitation of electoral divisions.
39. Electoral divisions.
40. Method of dividing provinces into electoral divisions.
41. Alteration of electoral divisions.
42. Powers and duties of commission for delimiting electoral divisions.
43. Date from which alteration of electoral divisions to take effect.
44. Qualifications of members of House of Assembly.
45. Duration.
46. Appointment and tenure of office of Speaker.
47. Deputy Speaker.
48. Resignation of members.
49. Quorum.
50. Voting in House of Assembly.
Both Houses of Parliament.
51. Oath or affirmation of allegiance.
52. Member of either House disqualified for being member of the other
House.
53. Disqualifications for being a member of either House.
54. Vacation of seats.
55. Penalty for sitting or voting when disqualified.
56. Allowances of members.
57. Privileges of Houses of Parliament.
58. Rules of procedure.
Powers of Parliament.
59. Powers of Parliament.
60. Money Bills.
61. Appropriation Bills.
62. Recommendation of money votes.
63. Disagreements between the two Houses.
64. Royal Assent to Bills.
65. Disallowance of Bills.
66. Reservation of Bills.
V. THE PROVINCES.
Administrators.
Section.
68. Appointment and tenure of office of provincial administrators,
69. Salaries of administrators.
Provincial Councils.
70. Constitution of provincial councils.
71. Qualification of provincial councillors.
72. Application of sections 53 to 55 to provincial councillors.
73. Tenure of office by provincial councillors.
74. Sessions of provincial councils.
75. Chairman of provincial councils.
76. Allowances of provincial councillors.
77. Freedom of speech in provincial councils.
Executive Committees,
78. Provincial executive committees.
79. Right of administrator, etc., to take part in proceedings of provincial
council.
80. Powers of provincial executive committees.
81. Transfer of powers to provincial executive committees.
82. Voting in executive committees.
83. Tenure of office by members of executive committees.
84. Power of administrator to act on behalf of Governor-General in Council.
Powers of Provincial Councils.
85. Powers of provincial councils.
86. Effect of provincial ordinances.
87. Recommendations to Parliament.
88. Power to deal with matters proper to be dealt with by private Bill legislation.
89. Constitution of provincial revenue fund.
90. Assent to provincial ordinances.
91. Effect and enrolment of ordinances.
Miscellaneous.
92. Audit of provincial accounts.
93. Continuation of powers of divisional and municipal councils.
94. Seats of Provincial Government.
VI. THE SUPREME COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA.
95. Constitution of Supreme Court.
96. Appellate Division of Supreme Court.
97. Filling of temporary vacancies in Appellate Division.
98. Constitution of provincial and local divisions of Supreme
Court.
99. Continuation in office of existing judges.
100. Appointment and remuneration of judges.
101. Tenure of office by judges.
102. Reduction in number of judges.
103. Appeals to Appellate Division.
104. Existing appeals.
105. Appeals from inferior courts to provincial divisions.
106. Provisions as to appeals to the King in Council.
107. Rules of procedure in Appellate Division.
108. Rules of procedure in provincial and local divisions.
109. Place of sittings of Appellate Division.
110. Quorum for hearing appeals.
111. Jurisdiction of Appellate Division.
112. Execution of processes of provincial divisions.
113. Transfer of suits from one provincial or local division to another.
114. Registrar and officers of Appellate Division.
115. Advocates and attorneys.
116. Pending suits.
VII. FINANCE AND RAILWAYS.
117. Constitution of Consolidated Revenue Fund and Railway and Harbour Fund.
118. Commission of inquiry into financial relations between Union and provinces.
119. Security for existing public debts.
120. Requirements for withdrawal of money from funds.
121. Transfer of colonial property to the Union.
122. Crown lands, etc.
123. Mines and minerals.
124. Assumption by Union of colonial debts.
125. Ports, harbours, and railways.
126. Constitution of Harbour and Railway Board.
127. Administration of railways, ports, and harbours.
128. Establishment of fund for maintaining uniformity of railway rates.
129. Management of railway and harbour balances.
130. Construction of harbour and railway works.
131. Making good of deficiencies in Railway Fund in certain cases.
132. Controller and Auditor-General.
133. Compensation of colonial capitals for diminution of prosperity.
VIII. GENERAL.
134. Method of voting for senators, etc.
135. Continuation of existing colonial laws.
136. Free trade throughout Union.
137. Equality of English and Dutch languages.
138. Naturalisation.
139. Administration of justice.
140. Existing officers.
141. Reorganisation of public departments.
142. Public service commission.
143. Pensions of existing officers.
144. Tenure of office of existing officers.
145. Existing officers not to be dismissed for ignorance of English or Dutch.
146. Compensation to existing officers who are not retained.
147. Administration of native affairs, etc.
148. Devolution on Union of rights and obligations under conventions.
Section. IX. NEW PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES.
149. Alteration of boundaries of provinces.
150. Power to admit into Union territories administered by British South Africa
Company.
151. Power to transfer to Union government of native territories.
X. AMENDMENT OF ACT.
152. Amendment of Act.
SCHEDULE.
AN ACT TO CONSTITUTE THE UNION OF
SOUTH AFRICA.
WHEREAS it is desirable for the welfare and future progress of South
Africa that the several British Colonies therein should be united under
one Government in a legislative union under the Crown of Great Britain
and Ireland:
And whereas it is expedient to make provision for the union of the Colonies
of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal, and the Orange River
Colony on terms and conditions to which they have agreed by resolution
of their respective Parliaments, and to define the executive, legislative,
and judicial powers to be exercised in the government of the Union:
And whereas it is expedient to make provision for the establishment of
provinces with powers of legislation and administration in local matters
and in such other matters as may be specially reserved for provincial
legislation and administration:
And whereas it is expedient to provide for the eventual admission into
the Union or transfer to the Union of such parts of South Africa as are
not originally included therein:
Be it therefore enacted by the King's most Excellent Majesty, by and
with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and
Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of
the same, as follows:
I. PRELIMINARY.
1.
This Act may be cited as the “South Africa Act, 1909.”
2. In this Act, unless it is otherwise expressed or implied, the
words " the
Union " shall be taken to mean the Union of South Africa as constituted
under this Act, and the words " Houses of Parliament," “ House
of Parliament," or " Parliament," shall be taken to
mean the Parliament of the Union.
3. The provisions of this Act referring to the King shall extend to His
Majesty's heirs and successors in the sovereignty of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland.
II. THE UNION.
4. It shall be lawful for the King, with the advice of the Privy Council,
to declare by proclamation that, on and after a day therein appointed,
not being later than one year after the passing of this Act, the Colonies
of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, the Transvaal, and the Orange River
Colony, hereinafter called the Colonies, shall be united in a Legislative
Union under one Government under the name of the Union of South Africa.
On and after the day appointed by such proclamation the Government 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 a governor-general for the Union.
5. The provisions of this Act shall, unless it is otherwise expressed
or implied, take effect on and after the day so appointed.
6. The colonies mentioned in section four shall become original provinces
of the Union under the names of Cape of Good Hope, Natal, Transvaal,
and Orange Free State, as the case may be. The original provinces shall
have the same limits as the respective colonies at the establishment
of the Union.
7. 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
colonies or colonies with responsible government, shall cease to apply
to that colony, but as from the date when this Act takes effect every
such Act of Parliament shall apply to the Union.
III. EXECUTIVE GOVERNMENT.
8. The Executive Government of the Union is vested in the King, and
shall be administered by His Majesty in person or by a governor-general
as His representative.
9. The Governor-General shall be appointed by the King, and shall have
and may exercise in the Union during the King's pleasure, but subject
to this Act, such powers and functions of the King as His Majesty may
be pleased to assign to him.
10. There shall be payable to the King out of the Consolidated Revenue
Fund of the Union for the salary of the Governor-General an annual sum
of ten thousand pounds. The salary of the Governor-General shall not
be altered during his continuance in office.
11. The provisions of this Act relating to the Governor-General extend
and apply to the Governor-General for the time being or such person as
the King may appoint to administer the government of the Union. The King
may authorise the Governor-General to appoint any person to be his deputy
within the Union during his temporary absence, and in that capacity to
exercise for and on behalf of the Governor-General during such absence
all such powers and authorities vested in the Governor-General as the
Governor-General may assign to him, subject to any limitations expressed
or directions given by the King; but the appointment of such deputy shall
not affect the exercise by the Governor-General himself of any power
or function.
12. There shall be an Executive Council to advise the Governor-General
in the Government of the Union, and the members of the council shall
be chosen and summoned by the Governor-General and sworn as executive
councillors, and shall hold office during his pleasure.
13. The provisions of this Act referring to the Governor-General in Council
shall be construed as referring to the Governor-General acting with the
advice of the Executive Council.
14. The Governor-General may appoint officers not exceeding ten in number
to administer such departments of State of the Union as the Governor-General
in Council may establish; such officers shall hold office during the
pleasure of the Governor-General. They shall be members of the Executive
Council and shall be the King's ministers of State for the Union. After
the first general election of members of the House of Assembly, as hereinafter
provided, no minister shall hold office for a longer period than three
months unless he is or becomes a member of either House of Parliament.
15. The appointment and removal of all officers of the public service
of the Union shall be vested in the Governor-General in Council, unless
the appointment is delegated by the Governor-General in Council or by
this Act or by a law of Parliament to some other authority.
16. All powers, authorities, and functions which at the establishment
of the Union are in any of the Colonies vested in the Governor or in
the Governor in Council, or in any authority of the Colony, shall, as
far as the same continue in existence and are capable of being exercised
after the establishment of the Union, be vested in the Governor-General
or in the Governor-General in Council, or in the authority exercising
similar powers under the Union, as the case may be, except such powers
and functions as are by this Act or may by a law of Parliament be vested
in some other authority.
17. The command in chief of the naval and military forces within the
Union is vested in the King or in the Governor-General as His representative.
18. Save as in section twenty-three excepted, Pretoria shall be the seat
of Government of the Union.
IV. PARLIAMENT.
19. The legislative power of the Union shall be vested in the Parliament
of the Union, herein called Parliament, which shall consist of the King,
a Senate, and a House of Assembly.
20. The Governor-General may appoint such times for holding the sessions
of Parliament as he thinks fit, and may also from time to time, by proclamation
or otherwise, prorogue Parliament, and may in like manner dissolve the
Senate and the House of Assembly simultaneously, or the House of Assembly
alone: provided that the Senate shall not be dissolved within a period
of ten years after the establishment of the Union, and provided further
that the dissolution of the Senate shall not affect any senators nominated
by the Governor-General in Council.
21. Parliament shall be summoned to meet not later than six months after
the establishment of the Union.
22. There shall be a session of Parliament once at least in every year,
so that a period of twelve months shall not intervene between the last
sitting of Parliament in one session and its first sitting in the next
session.
23. Cape Town shall be the seat of the Legislature of the Union.
Senate.
24. For ten years after the establishment of the Union the constitution
of the Senate shall, in respect of the original provinces, be as follows:
(i) Eight senators shall be nominated by the Governor-General in Council,
and for each original province eight senators shall be elected in the
manner hereinafter provided;
(ii) 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 acquaintance, by reason
of their official experience or otherwise, with the reasonable wants
and wishes of the coloured races in South Africa. If the seat of a senator
so nominated shall become vacant, the Governor-General in Council shall
nominate another person to be a senator, who shall hold his seat for
ten years;
(iii) After the passing of this Act, and before the day appointed for
the establishment of the Union, the Governor of each of the Colonies
shall summon a special sitting of both Houses of the Legislature, and
the two Houses 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.
If the seat of a senator so elected shall become vacant, the provincial
council of the province for which such senator has been elected shall
choose a person to hold the seat until the completion of the period for
which the person in whose stead he is elected would have held his seat.
25. Parliament may provide for the manner in which the Senate shall
be constituted after the expiration of ten years, and unless and until
such
provision shall have been made—
(i) the provisions of the last preceding section with regard to nominated
senators shall continue to have effect;
(ii) eight senators for each province shall be elected by the members
of the provincial council of such province together with the members
of the House of Assembly elected for such province. Such senators shall
hold their seats for ten years unless the Senate be sooner dissolved.
If the seat of an elected senator shall become vacant, the members of
the provincial council of the province, together with the members of
the House of Assembly elected for such province, shall choose a person
to hold the seat until the completion of the period for which the person
in whose stead he is elected would have held his seat. The Governor-General
in Council shall make regulations for the joint election of senators
prescribed in this section.
26. The qualifications of a senator shall be as follows:
He must—
(a) be not less than thirty years of age;
(6) be qualified to be registered as a voter for the election of members
of the House of Assembly in one of the provinces;
(c) have resided for five years within the limits of the Union as existing
at the time when he is elected or nominated, as the case may be;
(d) be a British subject of European descent;
(e) in the case of an elected senator, be the registered owner of immovable
property within the Union of the value of not less than five hundred
pounds over and above any special mortgages thereon.
For the purposes of this section, residence in, and property situated
within, a colony before its incorporation in the Union shall be treated
as residence in and property situated within the Union.
27. The Senate shall, before proceeding to the dispatch of any other
business, choose a senator to be the President of the Senate, and as
often as the office of President becomes vacant the Senate shall again
choose a senator to be the President. The President shall cease to hold
office if he ceases to be a senator. He may be removed from office by
a vote of the Senate, or he may resign his office by writing under his
hand addressed to the Governor-General.
28. Prior to or during any absence of the President the Senate may choose
a senator to perform his duties in his absence.
29. A senator may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Governor-General,
resign his seat, which thereupon shall become vacant. The Governor-General
shall as soon as practicable cause steps to be taken to have the vacancy
filled.
30. The presence of at least twelve senators shall be necessary to constitute
a meeting of the Senate for the exercise of its powers.
31. All questions in the Senate shall be determined by a majority of
votes of senators present other than the President or the presiding senator,
who shall, however, have and exercise a casting vote in the case of an
equality of votes.
House of Assembly.
32. The House of Assembly shall be composed of members directly chosen
by the voters of the Union in electoral divisions delimited as hereinafter
provided.
33. The number of members to be elected in the original provinces at
the first election and until the number is altered in accordance with
the provisions of this Act shall be as follows:
Cape of Good Hope . . . . Fifty-one.
Natal . . . . . . . Seventeen.
Transvaal . . . . . . Thirty-six.
Orange Free State . . . . . Seventeen.
These numbers may be increased as provided in the next succeeding section,
but shall not, in the case of any original province, be diminished
until the total number of members of the House of Assembly in respect
of the provinces herein provided for reaches one hundred and fifty,
or until a period of ten years has elapsed after the establishment
of the Union, whichever is the longer period.
34. The number of members to be elected in each province, as provided
in section thirty-three, shall be increased from time to time as may
be necessary in accordance with the following provisions:
(i) The quota of the Union shall be obtained by dividing the total number
of European male adults in the Union, as ascertained at the census of
nineteen hundred and four, by the total number of members of the House
of Assembly as constituted at the establishment of the Union:
(ii) In nineteen hundred and eleven, and every five years thereafter,
a census of the European population of the Union shall be taken for the
purposes of this Act :
(iii) After any such census the number of European male adults in each
province shall be compared with the number of European male adults as
ascertained at the census of nineteen hundred and four, and, in the case
of any province where an increase is shown, as compared with the census
of nineteen hundred and four, equal to the quota of the Union or any
multiple thereof, the number of members allotted to such province in
the last preceding section shall be increased by an additional member
or an additional number of members equal to such multiple, as the case
may be:
(iv) Notwithstanding anything herein contained, no additional member
shall be allotted to any province until the total number of European
male adults in such province exceeds the quota of the Union multiplied
by the number of members allotted to such province for the time being,
and thereupon additional members shall be allotted to such province in
respect only of such excess :
(v) As soon as the number of members of the House of Assembly to be elected
in the original provinces in accordance with the preceding subsections
reaches the total of one hundred and fifty, such total shall not be further
increased unless and until Parliament otherwise provides ; and subject
to the provisions of the last preceding section the distribution of members
among the provinces shall be such that the proportion between the number
of members to be elected at any time in each province and the number
of European male adults in such province, as ascertained at the last
preceding census, shall as far as possible be identical throughout the
Union :
(vi) "Male adults" in this Act shall be taken to mean males
of twenty-one years of age or upwards not being members of His Majesty's
regular forces on full pay:
(vii) For the purposes of this Act the number of European male adults,
as ascertained at the census of nineteen hundred and four, shall be
taken to be—
For the Cape of Good Hope 167,546
For Natal 34,784
For the Transvaal 106,493
For the Orange Free State 41,014 35
35. (1) Parliament may by law prescribe the qualifications which shall
be necessary to entitle persons to vote at the election of members of
the House of Assembly, but no such law shall disqualify any person in
the province of the Cape of Good Hope who, under the laws existing in
the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope at the establishment of the Union,
is or may become capable of being registered as a voter from being so
registered in the province of the Cape of Good Hope by reason of his
race or colour 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. A Bill so passed
at such joint sitting shall be taken to have been duly passed by both
Houses of Parliament.
(2) 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 colour.
36. Subject to the provisions of the last preceding section, the qualifications
of parliamentary voters, as existing in the several Colonies at the establishment
of the Union, shall be the qualifications necessary to entitle persons
in the corresponding provinces to vote for the election of members of
the House of Assembly : Provided that no member of His Majesty's regular
forces on full pay shall be entitled to be registered as a voter.
37. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the laws in force in the
Colonies at the establishment of the Union relating to elections for
the more numerous Houses of Parliament in such Colonies respectively,
the registration of voters, the oaths or declarations to be taken by
voters, returning officers, the powers and duties of such officers, the
proceedings in connection with elections, election expenses, corrupt
and illegal practices, the hearing of election petitions and the proceedings
incident thereto, the vacating of seats of members, and the proceedings
necessary for filling such vacancies, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply
to the elections in the respective provinces of members of the House
of Assembly.
(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any of the said laws
contained, at any general election of members of the House of Assembly,
all polls shall be taken on one and the same day in all the electoral
divisions throughout the Union, such day to be appointed by the Governor-General
in Council.
38. Between the date of the passing of this Act and the date fixed for
the establishment of the Union, the Governor in Council of each of the
Colonies shall nominate a judge of any of the Supreme or High Courts
of the Colonies, and the judges so nominated shall, upon acceptance by
them respectively of such nomination, form a joint commission, without
any further appointment, for the purpose of the first division of the
provinces into electoral divisions. The High Commissioner for South Africa
shall forthwith convene a meeting of such commission at such time and
place in one of the Colonies as he shall fix and determine. At such meeting
the Commissioners shall elect one of their number as chairman of such
commission. They shall thereupon proceed with the discharge of their
duties under this Act, and may appoint persons in any province to assist
them or to act as assessors to the commission or with individual members
thereof for the purpose of inquiring into matters connected with the
duties of the commission. The commission may regulate their own procedure
and may act by a majority of their number. All moneys required for the
payment of the expenses of such commission before the establishment of
the Union in any of the Colonies shall be provided by the Governor in
Council of such Colony. In case of the death, resignation, or other disability
of any of the Commissioners before the establishment of the Union, the
Governor in Council of the Colony in respect of which he was nominated
shall forthwith nominate another judge to fill the vacancy. After the
establishment of the Union the expenses of the commission shall be defrayed
by the Governor-General in Council, and any vacancies shall be filled
by him.
39. The commission shall divide each province into electoral divisions,
each returning one member.
40. (1) For the purpose of such division as is in the last preceding
section mentioned, the quota of each province shall be obtained by dividing
the total number of voters in the province, as ascertained at the last
registration of voters, by the number of members of the House of Assembly
to be elected therein.
(2) Each province shall be divided into electoral divisions in such a
manner that each such division shall, subject to the provisions of subsection
(3) of this section, contain a number of voters, as nearly as may be,
equal to the quota of the province.
(3) The Commissioners shall give due consideration to—
(a) community or diversity of interests ;
(b) means of communication;
(c) physical features ;
(d) existing electoral boundaries ;
(e) sparsity or density of population ;
in such manner that, while taking the quota of voters as the basis of
division, the Commissioners may, whenever they deem it necessary, depart
therefrom, but in no case to any greater extent than fifteen per centum
more or fifteen per centum less than the quota.
41. As soon as may be after every, quinquennial census, the Governor-
General in Council shall appoint a commission consisting of three judges
of the Supreme Court of South Africa to carry out any re-division which
may have become necessary as between the different electoral divisions
in each province, and to provide for the allocation of the number of
members to which such province may have become entitled under the provisions
of this Act. In carrying out such re-division and allocation the commission
shall have the same powers and proceed upon the same principles as are
by this Act in regard to the original division.
42. (1) The joint commission constituted under section thirty-eight,
and any subsequent commission appointed under the provisions of the
last preceding section, shall submit to the Governor-General in Council—
(a) a list of electoral divisions, with the names given to them by the
commission and a description of the boundaries of every such division
:
(b) a map or maps showing the electoral divisions into which the provinces
have been divided :
(c) such further particulars as they consider necessary.
(2) The Governor-General in Council may refer to the commission for its
consideration any matter relating to such list or arising out of the
powers or duties of the commission.
(3) The Governor-General in Council shall proclaim the names and boundaries
of the electoral divisions as finally settled and certified by the commission,
or a majority thereof, and thereafter, until there shall be a re-division,
the electoral divisions as named and defined shall be the electoral divisions
of the Union in the provinces.
(4) If any discrepancy shall arise between the description of the divisions
and the aforesaid map or maps, the description shall prevail.
43. Any alteration in the number of members of the House of Assembly
to be elected in the several provinces, and any re-division of the provinces
into electoral divisions, shall, in respect of the election of members
of the House of Assembly, come into operation at the next general election
held after the completion of the re-division or of any allocation consequent
upon such alteration, and not earlier.
44. The qualifications of a member of the House of Assembly shall be
as follows :
He must—
(a) be qualified to be registered as a voter for the election of members
of the House of Assembly in one of the provinces ;
(b) have resided for five years within the limits of the Union as existing
at the time when he is elected ;
(c) be a British subject of European descent. For the purposes of this
section, residence in a colony before its incorporation in the Union
shall be treated as residence in the Union.
45. Every House of Assembly shall continue for five years from the first
meeting thereof, and no longer, but may be sooner dissolved by the Governor-General.
46. The House of Assembly shall, before proceeding to the despatch of
any other business, choose a member to be the Speaker of the House, and,
as often as the office of Speaker becomes vacant, the House shall again
choose a member to be the Speaker. The Speaker shall cease to hold his
office if he ceases to be a member. He may be removed from office by
a vote of the House, or he may resign his office or his seat by writing
under his hand addressed to the Governor-General.
47. Prior to or during the absence of the Speaker, the House of Assembly
may choose a member to perform his duties in his absence.
48. A member may, by writing under his hand addressed to the Speaker,
or, if there is no Speaker, or if the Speaker is absent from the Union,
to the Governor-General, resign his seat, which shall thereupon become
vacant.
49. The presence of at least thirty members of the House of Assembly
shall be necessary to constitute a meeting of the House for the exercise
of its powers.
50. All questions in the House of Assembly shall be determined by a majority
of votes of members present other than than Speaker and exercise a casting
vote in the case of an equality of votes.
Both Houses of Parliament.
51. Every senator and every member of the House of Assembly shall, before taking his seat, make and subscribe before the Governor-General, or some person authorised by him, an oath or affirmation of allegiance in the following form :
Oath.
I, A. B., do swear that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to
His Majesty [here insert the name of the King or Queen of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for the time being] His [or Her]
heirs and successors according to law. So help me God.
Affirmation.
I, A. B., do solemnly and sincerely affirm and declare that I will be
faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty [here insert the name
of the King or Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
for the time being] His [or Her] heirs and successors according to law.
52. A member of either House of Parliament shall be incapable of being
chosen or of sitting as a member of the other House: Provided that every
minister of State who is a member of either House of Parliament shall
have the right to sit and speak in the Senate and the House of Assembly,
but shall vote only in the House of which he is a member.
53. No person shall be capable of being chosen or of sitting as a senator
or as a member of the House of Assembly who—
(a) has been at anytime convicted of any crime or offence for which he
shall have been sentenced to imprisonment without the option of a fine
for a term of not less than twelve months, unless he shall have received
a grant of amnesty or a free pardon, or unless such imprisonment shall
have expired at least five years before the date of his election; or
(b) is an unrehabilitated insolvent; or
(c) is of unsound mind, and has been so declared by a competent court;
or
(d) holds any office of profit under the Crown within the Union: Provided
that the following persons shall not be deemed to hold an office of profit
under the Crown for the purposes of this sub-section:
(1) a minister of State for the Union;
(2) a person in receipt of a pension from the Crown;
(3) an officer or member of His Majesty's naval or military forces on
retired or half pay, or an officer or member of the naval or military
forces of the Union whose services are not wholly employed by the Union.
54. If a senator or member of the House of Assembly—
(a) becomes subject to any of the disabilities mentioned in the last
preceding section; or
(b) ceases to be qualified as required by law; or
(c) fails for a whole ordinary session to attend without the special
leave of the Senate or the House of Assembly, as the case may be;
his seat shall thereupon become vacant.
55. If any person who is by law incapable of sitting as a senator or
member of the House of Assembly shall, while so disqualified and knowing
or having reasonable grounds for knowing that he is so disqualified,
sit or vote as a member of the Senate or the House of Assembly, he shall
be liable to a penalty of one hundred pounds for each day on which he
shall so sit or vote, to be recovered on behalf of the Treasury of the
Union by action in any Superior Court of the Union.
56. Each senator and each member of the House of Assembly shall, under
such rules as shall be framed by Parliament, receive an allowance of
four hundred pounds a year, to be reckoned from the date on which he
takes his seat: Provided that for every day of the session on which he
is absent there shall be deducted from such allowance the sum of three
pounds: Provided further that no such allowance shall be paid to a Minister
receiving a salary under the Crown or to the President of the Senate
or the Speaker of the House of Assembly. A day of the session shall mean
in respect of a member any day during a session on which the House of
which he is a member or any committee of which he is a member meets.
57. The powers, privileges, and immunities of the Senate and of the House
of Assembly and of the members and committees of each House shall, subject
to the provisions of this Act, be such as are declared by Parliament,
and until declared shall be those of the House of Assembly of the Cape
of Good Hope and of its members and committees at the establishment of
the Union.
58. Each House of Parliament may make rules and orders with respect to
the order and conduct of its business and proceedings. Until such rules
and orders shall have been made the rules and orders of the Legislative
Council and House of Assembly of the Cape of Good Hope at the establishment
of the Union shall mutatis mutandis apply to the Senate and House of
Assembly respectively. If a joint sitting of both Houses of Parliament
is required under the provisions of this Act, it shall be convened by
the Governor-General by message to both Houses. At any such joint sitting
the Speaker of the House of Assembly shall preside and the rules of the
House of Assembly shall, as far as practicable, apply.
Powers of Parliament.
59. Parliament shall have full power to make laws for the peace, order,
and good government of the Union.
60. (1) Bills appropriating revenue or moneys or imposing taxation shall
originate only in the House of Assembly. But a Bill shall not be taken
to appropriate revenue or moneys or to impose taxation by reason only
of its containing provisions for the imposition or appropriation of fines
or other pecuniary penalties.
(2) The Senate may not amend any Bills so far as they impose taxation
or appropriate revenue or moneys for the services of the Government.
(3) The Senate may not amend any Bill so as to increase any proposed
charges or burden on the people.
61. Any Bill which appropriates revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual
services of the Government shall deal only with such appropriation.
62. The House of Assembly shall not originate or pass any vote, resolution,
address, or Bill for the appropriation of any part of the public revenue
or of any tax or impost to any purpose unless such appropriation has
been recommended by message from the Governor-General during the Session
in which such vote, resolution, address, or Bill is proposed.
63. If the House of Assembly passes any Bill and the Senate rejects or
fails to pass it or passes it with amendments to which the House of Assembly
will not agree, and if the House of Assembly in the next session again
passes the Bill with or without any amendments which have been made or
agreed to by the Senate and the Senate rejects or fails to pass it or
passes it with amendments to which the House of Assembly will not agree,
the Governor-General may during that session convene a joint sitting
of the members of the Senate and House of Assembly. The members present
at any such joint sitting may deliberate and shall vote together upon
the Bill as last proposed by the House of Assembly and upon amendments,
if any, which have been made therein by one House of Parliament and not
agreed to by the other; and any such amendments which are affirmed by
a majority of the total number of members of the Senate and House of
Assembly present at such sitting shall be taken to have been carried,
and if the Bill with the amendments, if any, is affirmed by a majority
of the members of the Senate and House of Assembly present at such sitting,
it shall be taken to have been duly passed by both Houses of Parliament:
Provided that, if the Senate shall reject or fail to pass any Bill dealing
with the appropriation of revenue or moneys for the public service, such
joint sitting may be convened during the same session in which the Senate
so rejects or fails to pass such Bill.
64. When a Bill is presented to the Governor-General for the King's
Assent, he shall declare according to his discretion, but subject to
the provisions
of this Act, and to such instructions as may from time to time be given
in that behalf by the King, that he assents in the King's name, or
that he withholds assent, or that he reserves the Bill for the signification
of the King’s pleasure. All Bills repealing or amending this section
or any of the provisions of Chapter IV. under the heading “House
of Assembly” and all Bills abolishing provincial councils or
abridging the powers conferred on provincial councils under section
eighty-five,
otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of that section, shall
be so reserved. The Governor-General may return to the House in which
it originated any Bill so presented to him, and may transmit therewith
any amendments which he may recommend, and the House may deal with
the recommendation.
65. The King may disallow any law within one year after it has been assented
to by the Governor-General, and such disallowance, on being made known
by the Governor-General by speech or message to each of the Houses of
Parliament or by proclamation, shall annul the law from the day when
the disallowance is so made known.
66. A Bill reserved for the King's pleasure shall not have any force
unless and until, within one year from the day on which it was presented
to the Governor-General for the King's Assent, the Governor-General makes
known by speech or message to each of the Houses of Parliament or by
proclamation that it has received the King's Assent.
67. As soon as may be after any law shall have been assented to in the
King's name by the Governor-General, or having been reserved for the
King's pleasure shall have received his assent, the Clerk of the House
of Assembly shall cause two fair copies of such law, one being in the
English and the other in the Dutch language (one of which copies shall
be signed by the Governor-General), to be enrolled of record in the office
of the Registrar of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South
Africa; and such copies shall be conclusive evidence as to the provisions
of every such law, and in case of conflict between the two copies thus
deposited that signed by the Governor-General shall prevail.
V. THE PROVINCES.
Administrators.
68. (l) In each province there shall be a chief executive officer appointed
by the Governor-General in Council, who shall be styled the administrator
of the province, and in whose name all executive acts relating to provincial
affairs therein shall be done.
(2) In the appointment of the administrator of any province, the Governor-General
in Council shall, as far as practicable, give preference to persons resident
in such province.
(3) Such administrator shall hold office for a term of five years and
shall not be removed before the expiration thereof except by the Governor-General
in Council for cause assigned, which shall be communicated by message
to both Houses of Parliament within one week after the removal, if Parliament
be then sitting, or, if Parliament be not sitting, then within one week
after the commencement of the next ensuing session.
(4) The Governor-General in Council may from time to time appoint a deputy
administrator to execute the office and functions of the administrator
during his absence, illness, or other inability.
69. The salaries of the administrators shall be fixed and provided by
Parliament, and shall not be reduced during their respective terms of
office.
Provincial Councils,
70. (1) There shall be a provincial council in each province consisting
of the same number of members as are elected in the province for the
House of Assembly: Provided that, in any province whose representatives
in the House of Assembly shall be less than twenty-five in number, the
provincial council shall consist of twenty-five members.
(2) Any person qualified to vote for the election of members of the provincial
council shall be qualified to be a member of such council.
71. (1) The members of the provincial council shall be elected by the
persons qualified to vote for the election of members of the House of
Assembly in the province voting in the same electoral divisions as are
delimited for the election of members of the House of Assembly: provided
that, in any province in which less than twenty-five are elected to the
House of Assembly, the delimitation of the electoral divisions, and any
necessary re-allocation of members or adjustment of electoral divisions,
shall be effected by the same commission and on the same principles as
are prescribed in regard to the electoral divisions for the House of
Assembly.
(2) Any alteration in the number of members of the provincial council,
and any re-division of the province into electoral divisions, shall come
into operation at the next general election for such council held after
the completion of such re-division, or of any allocation consequent upon
such alteration, and not earlier.
(3) The election shall take place at such times as the administrator
shall by proclamation direct, and the provisions of section thirty-seven
applicable to the election of members of the House of Assembly shall
mutatis mutandis apply to such elections.
72. The provisions of sections fifty-three, fifty-four, and fifty-five,
relative to members of the House of Assembly, shall mutatis mutandis
apply to members of the provincial councils: Provided that any member
of a provincial council who shall become a member of either House of
Parliament shall thereupon cease to be a member of such provincial council.
73. Each provincial council shall continue for three years from the date
of its first meeting, and shall not be subject to dissolution save by
effluxion of time.
74. The administrator of each province shall by proclamation fix such
times for holding the sessions of the provincial council as he may think
fit, and may from time to time prorogue such council : Provided that
there shall be a session of every provincial council once at least in
every year, so that a period of twelve months shall not intervene between
the last sitting of the council in one session and its first sitting
in the next session.
75. The provincial council shall elect from among its members a chairman,
and may make rules for the conduct of its proceedings. Such rules shall
be transmitted by the administrator to the Governor-General, and shall
have full force and effect unless and until the Governor-General in council
shall express his disapproval thereof in writing addressed to the administrator.
76. The members of the provincial council shall receive such allowances
as shall be determined by the Governor-General in Council.
77. There shall be freedom of speech in the provincial council, and no
member shall be liable to any action or proceeding in court by reason
of his speech or vote in such council.
Executive Committees.
78. (1) Each provincial council shall at its first meeting after any
general election elect from among its members, or otherwise, four persons
to form with the administrator, who shall be chairman, an executive
committee for the province. The members of the executive committee
other than the administrator shall hold office until the election of
their successors in the same manner.
(2) Such members shall receive such remuneration as the provincial council,
with the approval of the Governor-General in Council, shall determine.
(3) A member of provincial council shall not be disqualified from sitting
as a member by reason of his having been elected as a member of the executive
committee.
(4) Any casual vacancy arising in the executive committee shall be filled
by election by the provincial council if then in session or, if the council
is not in session, by a person appointed by the executive committee to
hold office temporarily pending an election by the council.
79. The administrator and any other member of the executive committee
of a province, not being a member of the provincial council, shall have
the right to take part in the proceedings of the council, but shall not
have the right to vote.
80. The executive committee shall on behalf of the provincial council
carry on the administration of provincial affairs. Until the first election
of members to serve on the executive committee, such administration shall
be carried on by the administrator. Whenever there are not sufficient
members of the executive committee to form a quorum according to the
rules of the committee, the administrator shall, as soon as practicable,
convene a meeting of the provincial council for the purpose of electing
members to fill the vacancies, and until such election the administrator
shall carry on the administration of provincial affairs.
81. Subject to the provisions of this Act, all powers, authorities, and
functions which at the establishment of the Union are in any of the Colonies
vested in or exercised by the Governor or the Governor in Council, or
any minister of the Colony, shall after such establishment be vested
in the executive committee of the province so far as such powers, authorities,
and functions relate to matters in respect of which the provincial council
is competent to make ordinances.
82. Questions arising in the executive committee shall be determined
by a majority of votes of the members present, and in case of an equality
of votes, the administrator shall have also a casting vote. Subject to
the approval of the Governor-General in Council, the executive committee
may make rules for the conduct of its proceedings.
83. Subject to the provisions of any law passed by Parliament regulating
the conditions of appointment, tenure of office, retirement and superannuation
of public officers, the executive committee shall have power to appoint
such officers as may be necessary, in addition to officers assigned to
the province by the Governor-General in Council under the provisions
of this Act, to carry out the services entrusted to them and to make
and enforce regulations for the organisation and discipline of such officers.
84. In regard to all matters in respect of which no powers are reserved
or delegated to the provincial council, the administrator shall act on
behalf of the Governor-General in Council when required to do so, and
in such matters the administrator may act without reference to the other
members of the executive committee.
Powers of Provincial Councils.
85. Subject to the provisions of this Act and the assent of the Governor-General
in Council as hereinafter provided, the provincial council may make ordinances
in relation to matters coming within the following classes of subjects
(that is to say):
(i) Direct taxation within the province in order to raise a revenue for
provincial purposes:
(ii) The borrowing of money on the sole credit of the province with the
consent of the Governor-General in Council and in accordance with regulations
to be framed by Parliament:
(iii) Education, other than higher education, for a period of five years
and thereafter until Parliament otherwise provides:
(iv) Agriculture to the extent and subject to the conditions to be defined
by Parliament:
(v) The establishment, maintenance, and management of hospitals and charitable
institutions:
(vi) Municipal institutions, divisional councils, and other local institutions
of a similar nature :
(vii) Local works and undertakings within the province, other than railways
and harbours and other than such works as extend beyond the borders of
the province, and subject to the power of Parliament to declare any work
a national work and to provide for its construction by arrangement with
the provincial council or otherwise:
(vii) Roads, outspans, ponts, and bridges connecting two provinces:
(ix) Markets and pounds:
(x) Fish and game preservation:
(xi) The imposition of punishment by fine, penalty, or imprisonment for
enforcing any law or any ordinance of the province made in relation to
any matter coming within any of the classes of subjects enumerated in
this section:
(xii) Generally all matters which, in the opinion of the Governor-General
in Council, are of a merely local or private nature in the province:
(xiii) All other subjects in respect of which Parliament shall by any
law delegate the power of making ordinances to the provincial council.
86. Any ordinance made by a provincial council shall have effect in and
for the province as long and as far only as it is not repugnant to any
Act of Parliament.
87 A provincial council may recommend to Parliament the passing of any
law relating to any matter in respect of which such council is not competent
to make ordinances.
88. In regard to any matter which requires to be dealt with by means
of a private Act of Parliament, the provincial council of the province
to which the matter relates may, subject to such procedure as shall be
laid down by Parliament, take evidence by means of a Select Committee
or otherwise for and against the passing of such law, and, upon receipt
of a report from such council, together with the evidence upon which
it is founded, Parliament may pass such Act without further evidence
being taken in support thereof.
89. A provincial revenue fund shall be formed in every province, into
which shall be paid all revenues raised by or accruing to the provincial
council and all moneys paid over by the Governor-General in Council to
the provincial council. Such fund shall be appropriated by the provincial
council by ordinance for the purposes of the provincial administration
generally, or, in the case of moneys paid over by the Governor-General
in Council for particular purposes, then for such purposes, but no such
ordinance shall be passed by the provincial council unless the administrator
shall have first recommended to the council to make provision for the
specific service for which the appropriation is to be made. No money
shall be issued from the provincial revenue fund except in accordance
with such appropriation and under warrant signed by the administrator:
Provided that, until the expiration of one month after the first meeting
of the provincial council, the administrator may expend such moneys as
may be necessary for the services of the province.
90. When a proposed ordinance has been passed by a provincial council
it shall be presented by the administrator to the Governor-General in
Council for his assent. The Governor-General in Council shall declare
within one month from the presentation to him of the proposed ordinance
that he assents thereto, or that he withholds assent, or that he reserves
the proposed ordinance for further consideration. A proposed ordinance
so reserved shall not have any force unless and until, within one year
from the day on which it was presented to the Governor-General in Council,
he makes known by proclamation that it has received his assent.
91. An ordinance assented to by the Governor-General in Council and promulgated
by the administrator shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, have
the force of law within the province. The administrator shall cause two
fair copies of every such ordinance, one being in the English and the
other in the Dutch language (one of which copies shall be signed by the
Governor-General), to be enrolled of record in the office of the Registrar
of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South Africa; and such
copies shall be conclusive evidence as to the provisions of such ordinance,
and, in case of conflict between the two copies thus deposited, that
signed by the Governor-General shall prevail.
Miscellaneous.
92. (1) In each province there shall be an auditor of accounts to be
appointed by the Governor-General in Council.
(2) No such auditor shall be removed from office except by the Governor-General
in Council for cause assigned, which shall be communicated by message
to both Houses of Parliament within one week after the removal, if Parliament
be then sitting, and, if Parliament be not sitting, then within one week
after the commencement of the next ensuing session.
(3) Each such auditor shall receive out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund
such salary as the Governor-General in Council, with the approval of
Parliament, shall determine.
(4) Each such auditor shall examine and audit the accounts of the province
to which he is assigned subject to such regulations and orders as may
be framed by the Governor-General in Council and approved by Parliament,
and no warrant signed by the administrator authorising the issuing of
money shall have effect unless countersigned by such auditor.
93. Notwithstanding anything in this Act contained, all powers, authorities,
and functions lawfully exercised at the establishment of the Union by
divisional or municipal councils, or any other duly constituted local
authority, shall be and remain in force until varied or withdrawn by
Parliament or by a provincial council having power in that behalf.
94. The seats of provincial government shall be :
For the Cape of Good Hope Cape Town.
For Natal Pietermaritzburg.
For the Transvaal Pretoria.
For the Orange Free State Bloemfontein.
VI. THE SUPREME COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA.
95. There shall be a Supreme Court of South Africa consisting of a Chief
Justice of South Africa, the ordinary judges of appeal, and the other
judges of the several divisions of the Supreme Court of South Africa
in the provinces.
96. There shall be an Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of South
Africa, consisting of the Chief Justice of South Africa, two ordinary
judges of appeal, and two additional judges of appeal. Such additional
judges of appeal shall be assigned by the Governor-General in Council
to the Appellate Division from any of the provincial or local divisions
of the Supreme Court of South Africa, but shall continue to perform their
duties as judges of their respective divisions when their attendance
is not required in the Appellate Division.
97. The Governor-General in Council may, during the absence illness,
or other incapacity of the Chief Justice of South Africa, or of any ordinary
or additional judge of appeal, appoint any other judge of the Supreme
Court of South Africa to act temporarily as such chief justice, ordinary
judge of appeal, or additional judge of appeal, as the case may be.
98. (1) The several supreme courts of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal, and
the Transvaal, and the High Court of the Orange River Colony shall, on
the establishment of the Union, become provincial divisions of the Supreme
Court of South Africa within their respective provinces, and shall each
be presided over by a judge-president.
(2) The court of the eastern districts of the Cape of Good Hope, the
High Court of Griqualand, the High Court of Witwatersrand, and the several
circuit courts, shall become local divisions of the Supreme Court of
South Africa within the respective areas of their jurisdiction as existing
at the establishment of the Union.
(3) The said provincial and local divisions, referred to in this Act
as superior courts, shall, in addition to any original jurisdiction exercised
by the corresponding courts of the Colonies at the establishment of the
Union, have jurisdiction in all matters :
(a) in which the Government of the Union or a person suing or being sued
on behalf of such Government is a party :
(b) in which the validity of any provincial ordinance
shall come into question.
(4) Unless and until Parliament shall otherwise provide, the said superior
courts shall, mutatis mutandis, have the same jurisdiction in matters
affecting the validity of elections of members of the House of Assembly
and provincial councils as the corresponding courts of the Colonies have
at the establishment of the Union in regard to parliamentary elections
in such Colonies respectively.
99. All judges of the supreme courts of the Colonies, including the High
Court of the Orange River Colony, holding office at the establishment
of the Union shall on such establishment become judges of the Supreme
Court of South Africa, assigned to the divisions of the Supreme Court
in the respective provinces, and shall retain all such rights in regard
to salaries and pensions as they may possess at the establishment of
the Union. The Chief Justices of the Colonies holding office at the establishment
of the Union shall on such establishment become the Judges-President
of the divisions of the Supreme Court in the respective provinces, but
shall so long as they hold that office retain the title of Chief Justice
of their respective provinces.
100. The Chief Justice of South Africa, the ordinary judges of appeal,
and all other judges of the Supreme Court of South Africa to be appointed
after the establishment of the Union shall be appointed by the Governor-General
in Council, and shall receive such remuneration as Parliament shall prescribe,
and their remuneration shall not be diminished during their continuance
in office.
101. The Chief Justice of South Africa and other judges of the Supreme
Court of South Africa shall not be removed from office except by the
Governor-General in Council on an address from both Houses of Parliament
in the same session praying for such removal on the ground of misbehaviour
or incapacity.
102. Upon any vacancy occurring in any division of the Supreme Court
of South Africa, other than the Appellate Division, the Governor-General
in Council may, in case he shall consider that the number of judges of
such court may with advantage to the public interest be reduced, postpone
filling the vacancy until Parliament shall have determined whether such
reduction shall take place.
103. In every civil case in which, according to the law in force at the
establishment of the Union, an appeal might have been made to the Supreme
Court of any of the Colonies from a Superior Court in any of the Colonies,
or from the High Court of Southern Rhodesia, the appeal shall be made
only to the Appellate Division, except in cases of orders or judgments
given by a single judge, upon applications by way of motion or petition
or on summons for provisional sentence or judgments as to costs only,
which by law are left to the discretion of the court. The appeal from
any such orders or judgments, as well as any appeal in criminal cases
from any such Superior Court, or the special reference by any such court
of any point of law in a criminal case, shall be made to the provincial
division corresponding to the court which before the establishment of
the Union would have had jurisdiction in the matter. There shall be no
further appeal against any judgment given on appeal by such provincial
division except to the Appellate Division, and then only if the Appellate
Division shall have given special leave to appeal.
104. In every case, civil or criminal, in which at the establishment
of the Union an appeal might have been made from the Supreme Court of
any of the Colonies or from the High Court of the Orange River Colony
to the King in Council, the appeal shall be made only to the Appellate.
Division: Provided that the right of appeal in any civil suit shall not
be limited by reason only of the value of the matter in dispute or the
amount claimed or awarded in such suit.
105. In every case, civil or criminal, in which at the establishment
of the Union an appeal might have been made from a court of resident
magistrate or other inferior court to a superior court in any of the
Colonies, the appeal shall be made to the corresponding division of the
Supreme Court of South Africa ; but there shall be no further appeal
against any judgment given on appeal by such division except to the Appellate
Division, and then only if the Appellate Division shall have given special
leave to appeal.
106. There shall be no appeal from the Supreme Court of South Africa
or from any division thereof to the King in Council, but nothing herein
contained shall be construed to impair any right which the King in
Council may be pleased to exercise to grant special leave to appeal
from the
Appellate Division to the King in Council. Parliament may make laws
limiting the matters in respect of which such special leave may be
asked, but
Bills containing any such limitation shall be reserved by the Governor-General
for the significance of His Majesty's pleasure: Provided that nothing
in this section shall affect anv right of appeal to His Majesty in
Council from Court under or in virtue of the Colonial Courts of Admiralty
Act,
1890. (53 & 54 Vict. c. 27.)
107. The Chief Justice of South Africa and the ordinary judges of appeal
may, subject to the approval of the Governor-General in Council, make
rules for the conduct of the proceedings of the Appellate Division and
prescribing the time and manner of making appeals thereto. Until such
rules shall have been promulgated, the rules in force in the Supreme
Court of the Cape of Good Hope at the establishment of the Union shall
mutatis mutandis apply.
108. The chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court of South
Africa may, subject to the approval of the Governor-General in Council,
frame rules for the conduct of the proceedings of the several provincial
and local divisions. Until such rules shall have been promulgated, the
rules in force at the establishment of the Union in the respective courts
which become divisions of the Supreme Court of South Africa shall continue
to apply therein.
109. The Appellate Division shall sit in Bloemfontein, but may from time
to time for the convenience of suitors hold its sittings at other places
within the Union.
110. On the hearing of appeals from a court consisting of two or more
judges, five judges of the Appellate Division shall form a quorum, but,
on the hearing of appeals from a single judge, three judges of the Appellate
Division shall form a quorum. No judge shall take part in the hearing
of any appeal against the judgment given in a case heard before him.
111. The process of the Appellate Division shall run throughout the Union,
and all its judgments or orders shall have full force and effect in every
province, and shall be executed in like manner as if they were original
judgments or orders of the provincial division of the Supreme Court of
South Africa in such province.
112. The registrar of every provincial division of the Supreme Court
of South Africa, if thereto requested by any party in whose favour any
judgment or order has been given or made by any other division, shall,
upon the deposit with him of an authenticated copy of such judgment or
order and on proof that the same remains unsatisfied, issue a writ or
other process for the execution of such judgment or order, and thereupon
such writ or other process shall be executed in like manner as if it
had been originally issued from the division of which he is registrar.
113. Any provincial or local division of the Supreme Court of South Africa
to which it may be made to appear that any civil suit pending therein
may be more conveniently or fitly heard or determined in another division
may order the same to be removed to such other division, and thereupon
such last-mentioned division may proceed with such suit in like manner
as if it had been originally commenced therein.
114. The Governor-General in Council may appoint a registrar of the Appellate
Division and such other officers thereof as shall be required for the
proper dispatch of the business thereof.
115. (1) The laws regulating the admission of advocates and attorneys
to practise before any superior court of any of the Colonies shall mutatis
mutandis apply to the admission of advocates and attorneys to practise
in the corresponding division of the Supreme Court of South Africa.
(2) All advocates and attorneys entitled at the establishment of the
Union to practise in any superior court of any of the Colonies shall
be entitled to practise as such in the corresponding division of the
Supreme Court of South Africa.
(3) All advocates and attorneys entitled to practise before any provincial
division of the Supreme Court of South Africa shall be entitled to practise
before the Appellate Division.
116. All suits, civil or criminal, pending in any superior court of any
of the Colonies at the establishment of the Union shall stand removed
to the corresponding division of the Supreme Court of South Africa, which
shall have jurisdiction to hear and determine the same, and all judgments
and orders of any superior court of any of the Colonies given or made
before the establishment of the Union shall have the same force and effect
as if they had been given or made by the corresponding division of the
Supreme Court of South Africa. All appeals to the King in Council which
shall be pending at the establishment of the Union shall be proceeded
with as if this Act had not been passed.
VII. FINANCE AND RAILWAYS.
117. All revenues, from whatever source arising, over which the several
Colonies have at the establishment of the Union power of appropriation,
shall vest in the Governor-General in Council. There shall be formed
a Railway and Harbour Fund, into which shall be paid all revenues raised
or received by the Governor-General in Council from the administration
of the railways, ports, and harbours, and such fund shall be appropriated
by Parliament to the purposes of the railways, ports, and harbours in
the manner prescribed by this Act. There shall also be formed a Consolidated
Revenue Fund, into which shall be paid all other revenues raised or received
by the Governor-General in Council, and such fund shall be appropriated
by Parliament for the purposes of the Union in the manner prescribed
by this Act, and subject to the charges imposed thereby.
118. The Governor-General in Council shall, as soon as may be after the
establishment of the Union, appoint a commission, consisting of one representative
from each province, and presided over by an officer from the Imperial
Service, to institute an inquiry into the financial relations which should
exist between the Union and the provinces. Pending the completion of
that inquiry and until Parliament otherwise provides, there shall be
paid annually out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund to the administrator
of each province:
(a) an amount equal to the sum provided in the estimates for education,
other than higher education, in respect of the financial year, 1908-9,
as voted by the Legislature of the corresponding colony during the year
nineteen hundred and eight ;
(b) such further sums as the Governor-General in Council may consider
necessary for the due performance of the services and duties assigned
to the provinces respectively.
Until such inquiry shall be completed and Parliament shall have made
other provision, the executive committees in the several provinces shall
annually submit estimates of their expenditure for the approval of the
Governor-General in Council, and no expenditure shall be incurred by
any executive committee which is not provided for in such approved estimates.
119. The annual interest of the public debts of the Colonies and any
sinking funds constituted by law at the establishment of the Union shall
form a first charge on the Consolidated Revenue Fund.
120. No money shall be withdrawn from the Consolidated Revenue Fund or
the Railway and Harbour Fund except under appropriation made by law.
But, until the expiration of two months after the first meeting of Parliament,
the Governor-General in Council may draw therefrom and expend such 'moneys
as may be necessary for the public service, and for railway and harbour
administration respectively.
121. All stocks, cash, bankers' balances, and securities for money belonging
to each of the Colonies at the establishment of the Union shall be the
property of the Union: Provided that the balances of any funds raised
at the establishment of the Union by law for any special purposes in
any of the Colonies shall be deemed to have been appropriated by Parliament
for the special purposes for which they have been provided.
122. Crown lands, public works, and all property throughout the Union,
movable, or immovable, and all rights of whatever description belonging
to the several Colonies at the establishment of the Union, shall vest
in the Governor-General in Council subject to any debt or liability specifically
charged thereon.
123. All rights in and to mines and minerals, and all rights in connection
with the searching for, working for, or disposing of, minerals or precious
stones, which at the establishment of the Union are vested in the Government
of any of the Colonies, shall on such establishment vest in the Governor-General
in Council.
124. The Union shall assume all debts and liabilities of the Colonies
existing at its establishment, subject, notwithstanding any other provision
contained in this Act, to the conditions imposed by any law under which
such debts or liabilities were raised or incurred, and without prejudice
to any rights of security or priority in respect of the payment of principal,
interest, sinking fund, and other charges conferred on the creditors
of any of the Colonies, and may, subject to such conditions and rights,
convert, renew, or consolidate such debts.
125. All ports, harbours, and railways belonging to the several Colonies
at the establishment of the Union shall from the date thereof vest in
the Governor-General in Council. No railway for the conveyance of public
traffic, and no port, harbour, or similar work, shall be constructed
without the sanction of Parliament.
126. Subject to the authority of the Governor-General in Council, the
control and management of the railways, ports, and harbours of the Union
shall be exercised through a board consisting of not more than three
commissioners, who shall be appointed by the Governor-General in Council,
and a minister of State, who shall be chairman. Each commissioner shall
hold office for a period of five years, but may be reappointed. He shall
not be removed before the expiration of his period of appointment, except
by the Governor-General in Council for cause assigned, which shall be
communicated by message to both Houses of Parliament within one week
after the removal, if Parliament be then sitting, or, if Parliament be
not sitting, then within one week after the commencement of the next
ensuing session. The salaries of the commissioners shall be fixed by
Parliament and shall not be reduced during their respective terms of
office.
127. The railways, ports, and harbours of the Union shall be administered
on business principles, due regard being had to agricultural and industrial
development within the Union and promotion, by means of cheap transport,
of the settlement of an agricultural and industrial population in the
inland portions of all provinces of the Union. So far as may be, the
total earnings shall be not more than are sufficient to meet the necessary
outlays for working, maintenance, betterment, depreciation, and the payment
of interest due on capital not being capital contributed out of railway
or harbour revenue, and not including any sums payable out of the Consolidated
Revenue Fund in accordance with the provisions of sections one hundred
and thirty and one hundred and thirty-one. The amount of interest due
on such capital invested shall be paid over from the Railway and Harbour
Fund into the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The Governor-General in Council
shall give effect to the provisions of this section as soon as and at
such time as the necessary administrative and financial arrangements
can be made. but in any case shall give full effect to them before the
expiration of four years from the establishment of the Union. During
such period, if the revenues accruing to the Consolidated Revenue Fund
are insufficient to provide for the general service or the Union, and
if the earnings accruing to the Railway and Harbour Fund are in excess
of the outlays specified herein, Parliament may by law appropriate such
excess or any part thereof towards the general expenditure of the Union,
and all sums so appropriated shall be paid over to the Consolidated Revenue
Fund.
128. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the last preceding section,
the Board may establish a fund out of railway and harbour revenue to
be used for maintaining, as far as may be, uniformity of rates notwithstanding
fluctuations in traffic.
129. All balances standing to the credit of any fund established in any
of the Colonies for railway or harbour purposes at the establishment
of the Union shall be under the sole control and management of the Board,
and shall be deemed to have been appropriated by Parliament for the respective
purposes for which they have been provided.
130. Every proposal for the construction of any port or harbour works
or of any line of railway, before being submitted to Parliament, shall
be considered by the Board, which shall report thereon, and shall advise
whether the proposed works or line of railway should or should not be
constructed. If any such works or line shall be constructed contrary
to the advice of the Board, and if the Board is of opinion that the revenue
derived from the operation of such works or line will be insufficient
to meet the costs of working and maintenance, and of interest on the
capital invested therein, it shall frame an estimate of the annual loss
which, in its opinion, will result from such operation. Such estimate
shall be examined by the Controller and Auditor-General, and when approved
by him the amount thereof shall be paid over annually from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund to the Railway and Harbour Fund; Provided that, if in any
year the actual loss incurred, as calculated by the Board and certified
by the Controller and Auditor-General, is less than the estimate framed
by the Board, the amount paid over in respect of that year shall be reduced
accordingly so as not to exceed the actual loss incurred. In calculating
the loss arising from the operation of any such work or line, the Board
shall have regard to the value of any contributions of traffic to other
parts of the system which may be due to the operation of such work or
line.
131. If the Board shall be required by the Governor-General in Council
or under any Act of Parliament or resolution of both Houses of Parliament
to provide any services or facilities either gratuitously or at a rate
of charge which is insufficient to meet the costs involved in the provision
of such services or facilities, the Board shall at the end of each financial
year present to Parliament an account approved by the Controller and
Auditor-General, showing, as nearly as can be ascertained, the amount
of the loss incurred by reason of the provision of such services and
facilities, and such amount shall be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue
Fund to the Railway and Harbour Fund.
132. The Governor-General in Council shall appoint a Controller and Auditor-General
who shall hold office during good behaviour: provided that he shall be
removed by the Governor-General in Council on an address praying for
such removal presented to the Governor-General by both Houses of Parliament
: provided further that when Parliament is not in session the Governor-General
in Council may suspend such officer on the ground of incompetence or
misbehaviour ; and, when and so often as such suspension shall take place,
a full statement of the circumstances shall be laid before both Houses
of Parliament within fourteen days after the commencement of its next
session; and, if an address shall at any time during the session of Parliament
be presented to the Governor-General by both Houses praying for the restoration
to office of such officer, he shall be restored accordingly ; and if
no such address be presented the Governor-General shall confirm such
suspension and shall declare the office of Controller and Auditor-General
to be, and it shall thereupon become, vacant. Until Parliament shall
otherwise provide, the Controller and Auditor-General shall exercise
such powers and functions and undertake such duties as may be assigned
to him by the Governor-General in Council by regulations framed in that
behalf.
133. In order to compensate Pietermaritzburg and Bloemfontein for any
loss sustained by them in the form of diminution of prosperity or decreased
rateable value by reason of their ceasing to be the seats of government
of their respective colonies, there shall be paid from the Consolidated
Revenue Fund for a period not exceeding twenty-five years to the municipal
councils of such towns a grant of two per centum per annum on their municipal
debts, as existing on the thirty-first day of January nineteen hundred
and nine, and as ascertained by the Controller and Auditor-General. The
Commission appointed under section one hundred and eighteen shall, after
due inquiry, report to the Governor-General in Council what compensation
should be paid to the municipal councils of Cape Town and Pretoria for
the losses, if any, similarly sustained by them. Such compensation shall
be paid out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund for a period not exceeding
twenty-five years, and shall not exceed one per centum per annum on the
respective mmmp^} debts of swh towns as existing on the thirty-first
January nineteen hundred and nine, and as ascertained by the Controller
and Auditor-General. For the purposes of this section Cape Town shall
be deemed to include the municipalities of Cape Town, Green Point, and
Sea Point, Woodstock, Mowbray, and Rondebosch, Claremont, and Wynberg,
and any grant made to Cape Town shall be payable to the councils of such
municipalities in proportion to their respective debts. One half of any
such grants shall be applied to the redemption of the municipal debts
of such towns respectively. At any time after the tenth annual grant
has been paid to any of such towns the Governor-General in Council, with
the approval of Parliament, may after due inquiry withdraw or reduce
the grant to such town.
VIII. GENERAL.
134. The election of senators and of members of executive committees
of the provincial councils as provided in this Act shall, whenever such
election is contested, be according to the principle of proportional
representation, each voter having one transferable vote. The Governor-General
in Council, or, in the case of the first election of the Senate, the
Governor in Council of each of the Colonies, shall frame regulations
prescribing the method of voting and of transferring and counting votes
and the duties of returning officers in connection therewith, and such
regulations or any amendments thereof after being duly promulgated shall
have full force and effect unless and until Parliament shall otherwise
provide.
135. Subject to the provisions of this Act, all laws in force in the
several Colonies at the establishment of the Union shall continue in
force in the respective provinces until repealed or amended by Parliament,
or by the provincial councils in matters in respect of which the power
to make ordinances is reserved or delegated to them. All legal commissions
in the several Colonies at the establishment of the Union shall continue
as if the Union had not been established.
136. There shall be free trade throughout the Union, but until Parliament
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.
137. Both the English and Dutch languages shall be official languages
of the Union, and shall be treated on a footing of equality, and possess
and enjoy equal freedom, rights, and privileges; all records, journals,
and proceedings of Parliament shall be kept in both languages, and all
Bills, Acts, and notices of general public importance or interest issued
by the Government of the Union shall be in both languages.
138. All persons who have been naturalised in any of the Colonies shall
be deemed to be naturalised throughout the Union.
139. The administration of justice throughout the Union shall be under
the control of a minister of State, in whom shall be vested all powers,
authorities, and functions which shall at the establishment of the Union
be vested in the Attorneys-General of the Colonies, save and except all
powers, authorities, and functions relating to the prosecution of crimes
and offences, which shall in each province be vested in an officer to
be appointed by the Governor-General in Council, and styled the Attorney-General
of the province, who shall also discharge such other duties as may be
assigned to him by the Governor-General in Council: Provided that in
the province of the Cape of Good Hope the Solicitor-General for the Eastern
Districts and the Crown Prosecutor for Griqualand West shall respectively
continue to exercise the powers and duties by law vested in them at the
time of the establishment of the Union.
140. Subject to the provisions of the next succeeding section, all officers
of the public service of the Colonies shall at the establishment of the
Union become officers of the Union.
141. (1) As soon as possible after the establishment of the Union, the
Governor-General in Council shall appoint a public service commission
to make recommendations for such reorganisation and readjustment of the
departments of the public service as may be necessary. The commission
shall also make recommendations in regard to the assignment of officers
to the several provinces.
(2) The Governor-General in Council may after such commission has reported
assign from time to time to each province such officers as may be necessary
for the proper discharge of the services reserved or delegated to it,
and such officers on being so assigned shall become officers of the province.
Pending the assignment of such officers, the Governor-General in Council
may place at the disposal of the provinces the services of such officers
of the Union as may be necessary.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any service or
department under the control of the Railway and Harbour Board, or to
any person holding office under the Board.
142. After the establishment of the Union the Governor-General in Council
shall appoint a permanent public service commission with such powers
and duties relating to the appointment, discipline, retirement, and superannuation
of public officers as Parliament shall determine.
143. Any officer of the public service of any of the Colonies at the
establishment of the Union who is not retained in the service of the
Union or assigned to that of a province shall be entitled to receive
such pension, gratuity, or other compensation as he would have received
in like circumstances if the Union had not been established.
144. Any officer of the public service of any of the Colonies at the
establishment of the Union who is retained in the service of the Union
or assigned to that of a province shall retain all his existing and accruing
rights, and shall be entitled to retire from the service at the time
at which he would have been entitled by law to retire, and on the pension
or retiring allowance to which he would have been entitled by law in
like circumstances if the Union had not been established.
145. The services of officers in the public service of any of the Colonies
at the establishment of the Union shall not be dispensed with by reason
of their want of knowledge of either the English or Dutch language.
146. Any permanent officer of the Legislature of any of the Colonies
who is not retained in the service of the Union, or assigned to that
of any province, and for whom no provision shall have been mode by such
Legislature, shall be entitled to such pension, gratuity, or compensation
as Parliament may determine.
147. The control and administration of native affairs and of matters
specially or differentially affecting Asiatics throughout the Union shall
vest in the Governor-General in Council, who shall exercise all special
powers in regard to native administration hitherto vested in the Governors
of the Colonies or exercised by them as supreme chiefs, and any lands
vested in the Governor or Governor and Executive Council of any colony
for the purpose of reserves for native locations shall vest in the Governor-General
in Council, who shall exercise all special powers in relation to such
reserves as may hitherto have been exerciseable by any such Governor
or Governor and Executive Council, and no lands set aside for the occupation
of natives which cannot at the establishment of the Union be alienated
except bv an Art of the Colonial Legislature shall be alienated or in
any way diverted from the purposes for which they are set apart except
under the authority of an Act of Parliament.
148. (1) All rights and obligations under any conventions or agreements
which are binding on any of the Colonies shall devolve upon the Union
at its establishment.
(2) The provisions of the railway agreement between the Governments of
the Transvaal, the Cape of Good Hope and Natal, dated the second of February,
nineteen hundred and nine, shall, as far as practicable, be given effect
to by the Government of the Union.
IX. NEW PROVINCES AND TERRITORIES.
149. Parliament may alter the boundaries of any province, divide a province
into two or more provinces, or form a new province out of provinces within
the Union, on the petition of the provincial council of every province
whose boundaries are affected thereby.
150. The King, with the advice of the Privy Council, may on addresses
from the Houses of Parliament of the Union admit into the Union the territories
administered by the British South Africa Company on such terms and conditions
as to representation and otherwise in each case as are expressed in the
addresses and approved by the King, and the provisions of any Order in
Council in that behalf shall have effect as if they had been enacted
by the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
151. The King, with the advice of the Privy Council, may, on addresses
from the Houses of Parliament of the Union, transfer to the Union the
government of any territories, other than the territories administered
by the British South Africa Company, belonging to or under the protection
of His Majesty, and inhabited wholly or in part by natives, and upon
such transfer the Governor-General in Council may undertake the government
of such territory upon the terms and conditions embodied in the Schedule
to this Act.
X. AMENDMENT OF ACT.
152. Parliament may by law repeal or alter any of the provisions of this
Act: Provided that no provision thereof, for the operation of which a
definite period of time is prescribed, shall during such period be repealed
or altered: And provided further that no repeal or alteration of the
provisions contained in this section, or in sections thirty-three and
thirty-four (until the number of members of the House of Assembly has
reached the limit therein prescribed, or until a period of ten years
has elapsed after the establishment of the Union, whichever is the longer
period), or in sections thirty-five and one hundred and thirty-seven,
shall be valid unless the Bill embodying such repeal or alteration shall
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. A Bill so passed at such joint sitting shall
be taken to have been duly passed by both Houses of Parliament.
SCHEDULE.
1. After the transfer of the government of any territory belonging to
or under the protection of His Majesty, the Governor-General in Council
shall be the legislative authority, and may by proclamation make laws
for the peace, order, and good government of such territory: Provided
that all such laws shall be laid before both Houses of Parliament within
seven days after the issue of the proclamation or, if Parliament be not
then sitting, within seven days after the beginning of the next session,
and shall be effectual unless and until both Houses of Parliament shall
by resolutions passed in the same session request the Governor-General
in Council to repeal the same, in which case they shall be repealed by
proclamation.
2. The Prime Minister shall be charged with the administration of any
territory thus transferred, and he shall be advised m the general conduct
of such administration by a commission consisting of not fewer than three
members with a secretary, to be appointed by the Governor-General in
Council, who shall take the instructions of the Prime Minister in conducting
all correspondence to the territories; and shall also under the like
control have custody of all official papers relating to the territories.
3. The members of the commission shall be appointed by the Governor-General
in Council, and shall be entitled to hold office for a period of ten
years but such period may be extended to successive further terms of
five years. They shall each be entitled to a fixed annual salary, which
shall not be reduced during the continuance of their terms of office,
and they shall not be removed from office except upon addresses from
both Houses of Parliament passed in the same session praying for such
removal. They shall not be qualified to become or to be members of either
House of Parliament. One of the members of the commission shall be appointed
by the Governor General in Council as vice-chairman thereof. In case
of the absence illness or other incapacity of any member of the commission,
the Governor-General in Council may appoint some other fit and proper
person to act during such absence, illness, or other incapacity.
4. It shall be the duty of the members of the commission to advise the
Prime Minister upon all matters relating to the general conduct of the
administration of, or the legislation for, the said territories. The
Prime Minister, or another minister of State nominated by the Prime Minister
to be his deputy for a fixed period, or, failing such nomination, the
vice-chairman shall preside at all meetings of the commission, and in
case of an equality of votes shall have a casting vote. Two members of
the commission shall form a quorum. In case the commission shall consist
of four or more members, three of them shall form a quorum.
5. Any member of the commission who dissents from the decision of a majority
shall be entitled to have the reasons for his dissent recorded in the
minutes of the commission.
6. The members of the commission shall have access to all official papers
concerning the territories, and they may deliberate on any matter relating
thereto and tender their advice thereon to the Prime Minister.
7. Before coming to a decision on any matter relating either to the administration,
other than routine, of the territories or to legislation therefor, the
Prime Minister shall cause the papers relating to such matter to be deposited
with the secretary to the commission, and shall convene a meeting of
the commission for the purpose of obtaining its opinion on such matter.
8. Where it appears to the Prime Minister that the despatch of any communication
or the making of any order is urgently required, the communication may
be sent or order made, although it has not been submitted to a meeting
of the commission or deposited for the perusal of the members thereof.
In any such case the Prime Minister shall record the reasons for sending
the communication or making the order and give notice thereof to every
member.
9. If the Prime Minister does not accept a recommendation of the commission
or proposes to take some action contrary to their advice, he shall state
his views to the commission, who shall be at liberty to place on record
the reasons in support of their recommendation or advice. This record
shall be laid by the Prime Minister before the Governor-General in Council,
whose decision in the matter shall be final.
10. When the recommendations of the commission have not been accepted
by the Governor-General in Council, or action not in accordance with
their advice has been taken by the Governor-General in Council, the Prime
Minister, if thereto requested by the commission, shall lay the record
of their dissent from the decision or action taken and of the reasons
therefor before both Houses of Parliament, unless in any case the Governor-General
in Council shall transmit to the commission a minute recording his opinion
that the publication of such record and reasons would be gravely detrimental
to the public interest.
11. The Governor-General in Council shall appoint a resident commissioner
for each territory, who shall, in addition to such other duties as shall
be imposed on him, prepare the annual estimates of revenue and expenditure
for such territory, and forward the same to the secretary to the commission
for the consideration of the commission and of the Prime Minister. A
proclamation shall be issued by the Governor-General in Council, giving
to the provisions for revenue and expenditure made in the estimates as
finally approved by the Governor-General in Council the force of law.
12. There shall be paid into the Treasury of the Union all duties of
customs levied on dutiable articles imported into and consumed in the
territories, and there shall be paid out of the Treasury annually towards
the cost of administration of each territory a sum in respect of such
duties which shall bear to the total customs revenue of the Union in
respect of each financial year the same proportion as the average amount
of the customs revenue of such territory for the three completed financial
years last preceding the taking effect of this Act bore to the average
amount of the whole customs revenue for all the Colonies and territories
included in the Union received during the same period.
13. If the revenue of any territory for any financial year shall be insufficient
to meet the expenditure thereof, any amount required to make good the
deficiency may, with the approval of the Governor-General in Council,
and on such terms and conditions and in such manner as with the like
approval may be directed or prescribed, be advanced from the funds of
any other territory. In default of any such arrangement, the amount required
to make good any such deficiency shall be advanced by the Government
of the Union. In case there shall be a surplus for any territory, such
surplus shall in the first instance be devoted to the repayment of any
sums previously advanced by any other territory or by the Union Government
to make good any deficiency in the revenue of such territory.
14. It shall not be lawful to alienate any land in Basutoland or any
land forming part of the native reserves in tlie Bcchuanaland protectorate
and Swaziland from the native tribes inhabiting those territories.
15. The sale of intoxicating liquor to natives shall be prohibited in
the territories, and no provision giving facilities for introducing,
obtaining, or possessing such liquor in any part of the territories less
stringent than those existing at the time of transfer shall be allowed.
16. The custom, where it exists, of holding pitsos or other recognised
forms of native assembly shall be maintained in the territories.
17. No differential duties or imposts on the produce of the territories
shall be levied. The laws of the Union relating to customs and excise
shall be made to apply to the territories.
18. There shall be free intercourse for the inhabitants of the territories
with the rest of South Africa subject to the laws, including the pass
laws, of the Union.
19. Subject to the provisions of this Schedule, all revenues derived
from any territory shall be expended for and on behalf of such territory:
Provided that the Governor-General in Council may make special provision
for the appropriation of a portion of such revenue as a contribution
towards the cost of defence and other services performed by the Union
for the benefit of the whole of South Africa, so, however, that that
contribution shall not bear a higher proportion to the total cost of
such services than that which the amount payable under paragraph 12 of
this Schedule from the Treasury of the Union towards the cost of the
administration of the territory bears to the total customs revenue of
the Union on the average of the three years immediately preceding the
year for which the contribution is made.
20. The King may disallow any law made by the Governor-General in Council
by proclamation for any territory within one year from the date of the
proclamation, and such disallowance on being made known by the Governor-General
by proclamation shall annul the law from the day when the disallowance
is so made known.
21. The members of the commission shall be entitled to such pensions
or superannuation allowances as the Governor-General in Council shall
by proclamation provide, and the salaries and pensions of such members
and all other expenses of the commission shall be borne by the territories
in the proportion of their respective revenues.
22. The rights as existing at the date of transfer of officers of the
public service employed in any territory shall remain in force.
23. Where any appeal may by law be made to the King in Council from any
court of the territories, such appeal shall, subject to the provisions
of this Act, be made to the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court of
South Africa.
24. The Commission shall prepare an annual report on the territories,
which shall, when approved by the Governor-General in Council, be laid
before both Houses of Parliament.
25. All bills to amend or alter the provisions of this Schedule shall
be reserved for the signification of His Majesty's pleasure.