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South African Historical Journal Volume 8, 1976 - Issue 1
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Original Articles

The Canadian analogy in South African Union, 1870–1910

GED MARTIN Australian National University,
Pages 40-59 | Published online: 14 Jan 2009

  • Thompson , L. M. 1960 . The unification of South Africa 1902–1910 Oxford Canadian examples are frequently cited in
  • Careless , J. M. S. 1964 . The union of the Canadas: the growth of Canadian institutions 1841–1857 For Canada, see (Toronto 1967) and W. L. Morton, The critical years: the union of British North America 1857–1873 (Toronto
  • Goodfellow , C. F. 1966 . Great Britain and South African confederation 1870–1881 21 – 48 . Cape Town (pp., esp. pp. 39, 42, 47
  • Ibid., pp. 53, 216, 56, 87–8, 63–5, 78
  • Ibid., p. 118;Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, ccxxxiii, 23 April 1877, cols. 1654–9 (Carnarvon);ccxxxv, 9 July 1877, cols. 974–80, 24 July 1877, cols. 1743–51 (Lowther), 1773–84 (Cowen), 1786–90, 980–7 (Courtney), 1784–6 (Dilke). Holloway's pills were promoted by a mass advertising campaign
  • Goodfellow . Great Britain and South African confederation 6
  • Walker , E. A. Lord de Villiers and his times: South Africa 1842–1914 (London 1925), pp. 133, 61–2, 55;W. P. Morrell, British colonial policy in the mid-Victorian age (Oxford 1969), pp. 133–9
  • French Canadians in Quebec province can be compared to the Dutch in the Western Cape-a relatively long-established community with relatively moderate leaders. In 1885 however the French and English communities were deeply split following the execution of Louis Riel, who had led two revolts among French speaking Métis (of mixed Indian and French descent) on the prairies. Unlike the Transvaal Boers however, the Métis did not control the economic development of the interior nor were vast mineral resources discovered. Thus Riel never became Canada's Kruger
  • Wallace , E. 1957 . Goldwin Smith: Victorian Liberal 247 Toronto
  • Lewsen , Phyllis , ed. 3 November 1878 . Selections from the Correspondence of J. X. Merriman, 1870–1890 3 November , 49 – 52 . Cape Town Merriman to Smith, in, ed., (1960, pp. Lewsen's four volumes (the others covering 1890–1898, 1898–1905, 1905–1924, published by the Van Riebeeck Society 1963–1969) are cited below as Merriman Correspondence.
  • April 1877 . April , Fortnightly Review, pp. 431–59;Hansard's Parliamentary Debates, 3rd series, ccxxxiii, cols. 1657–8
  • Merriman Correspondence, i, pp. 49–52;iv, pp. 91–3
  • 17 December 1878 . 17 December , Smith to Merriman, Merriman to Smith, 7 October 1879, ibid., i, pp. 52–5, 75–6, and cf. iv, p. 15
  • Ibid., i, p. 53;Smith to Merriman, 26 April 1879, i, pp. 73–4. Letellier de St. Just, appointed lieutenant-governor of Quebec by a Liberal government at Ottawa, successfully ousted a provincial Conservative government from office, and was in turn dismissed by an incoming federal Conservative government. Goldwin Smith at first regarded Letellier as a Liberal partisan, then as an houonrable and victimised man. P. B. Waite, Canada 1874–1896: arduous destiny (Toronto 1971), pp. 97–9, and cf. G. Smith, Canada and the Canadian question (Toronto, 1971, ed. C. Berger), p. 120
  • Merriman Correspondence, i, pp. 54, 68;ii, 235–7
  • Merriman to M. T. Steyn, 17 August 1907, ibid., iv, pp. 46–8
  • Ibid., i, pp. 68, 53–4, 55, 72–3;Merriman to Steyn, 22 September 1907, iv, pp. 49–51. New Zealand's provincial system had been abolished in 1876. K. Sinclair, A history of New Zealand (Harmondsworth 1959), pp. 151–3
  • 15 July 1879 . 15 July , Merriman to Smith, Merriman Correspondence, i, pp. 74–5
  • 9 July 1880 . 9 July , Merriman to Smith, ibid., i, pp. 82–3
  • Hancock , W. K. 3 October 1907 . Selections from the Smuts Papers 3 October , Merriman to Smuts, private, and J. van der Poel, (3 vols., Cambridge 1966), ii, pp. 357–8 (cited below as Smuts Correspondence)
  • Merriman , John . April 1887 . April , ‘The closer union of the empire’, Nineteenth Century, pp. 507–16, esp. p. 508
  • Merriman to Smuts, private, 5 April 1907, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 335–8;Merriman to Steyn, June 1907, Merriman Correspondence, iv, p. 43
  • Merriman Correspondence, ii, pp. 69–70;iii, pp. 24–6;iv, pp. 20–1;Merriman to Smuts, 7 July 1907, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 347–9
  • Merriman to J. G. Fraser, personal, 25 Februar y1887, Merriman Correspondence, i, pp. 244–6. Merriman's emphasis here was perhaps aimed at his correspondent
  • 1 March 1901 . 1 March , Merriman to Mrs. J. Merriman,;Merriman and J. W. Sauer to Chamberlain, 27 February 1901;draft federation proposals, 9 January 1901;Hofmeyr to Merriman, 27 January 1901, ibid., iii, pp. 269, 266, 253–5. Merriman's scheme echoed the Boer proposals of 1881. Cf. Goodfellow, p. 199
  • 28 April 1900 . 28 April , Merriman to W. P. Schreiner, 19 April 1900, and amnesty minute,;Merriman to Mrs. J. Merriman, 30 April 1900;Merriman to Goldwin Smith, 24 March 1901;Merriman to Smuts, confidential, 3 June 1903;Merriman Corres pondence, iii, pp. 191–4, 198–200, 281–2;Smuts Correspondence, ii. pp. 97–100. Merriman read the Durham Report and the despatches of Lord Glenelg (Colonial Secretary 1835–39) in April 1900, and T. A. Walrond, Letters and Journals of James, 8th Earl of Elgin (1872) in April 1902. In addition he advised Smuts to read H. E. Egerton, Short History of British colonial policy (1897), Earl Grey, The colonial policy of Lord John Russell's administration (1853), J. Bryce, Studies in history and jurisprudence (1901) and H. Jenkyns, British rule and jurisdiction beyond the seas (1902). In 1907 Steyn asked Merriman what he should read on federation. It is a measure of Merriman's stature that although he had no university education, the two able lawyers accepted his authority. Merriman Correspondence, iii, pp. 195–6, 198, 325;Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 99–100;Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 48–9
  • 22 June 1902 . 22 June , Merriman to John Morley,;Merriman to Smith, 12 July 1900;Merriman to L. Courtney, 17 October 1901, Merriman Correspondence, iii, pp. 346–7, 223–5, 310–20, esp. p. 312
  • Merriman Correspondence, ii, pp. 225–6, 312;Merriman to Smuts, private, 27 May 1915, Smuts Correspondence, iii, pp. 286–7
  • Siegfried , A. 1966 . The race question in Canada Toronto (ed.), esp. part i;Merriman to Smuts, 7 July 1907, private, 3 October 1907, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 349–9, 357–8
  • Hobson , J. A. 1906 . Canada Today London (Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 303–7;Merriman to Steyn, 9 February 1906;Steyn to Merriman, 25 Feb. 1907;Merriman to Steyn, 3 March 1907, Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 15, 34–5
  • Smuts to Graham, 2 August 1902;Smuts to Merriman, 23 December 1906, 31 August 1905;Merriman to Smuts, confidential, 3 June 1903, 4 June 1904;Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 24–6, 309–11, 197–8, 97–100, 171–3
  • 25 February 1907 . 25 February , Steyn to Merriman, Merriman Correspondence, iv, p. 34;Steyn to Merriman, 27 December 1907, quoted by L. M. Thompson, Unification of South Africa, pp. 77–8. For Laurier's speech, see The Times (London), 28 September, 11 October 1907, and G. P. Glazebrook, History of Canadian external relations (2 vols., Toronto 1966 ed.), i, p. 144
  • G. Barton to Smith, quoted in E. Wallace, Goldwin Smith, p. 250;A. Deakin to Hopkins, A. Brady, Democracy in the Dominions (Toronto 1947), p. 142. Cf. J. A. La Nauze, Making of the Australian Constitution (Melbourne 1972), pp. 14, 27
  • 30 January 1907 . 30 January , Steyn to Merriman, Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 30–1
  • Merriman to Morley, 14 June 1902;Merriman to Steyn, 17 August 1907, 22 September 1907: Merriman to Mills, 18 October 1892;Merriman to Smuts, private, 3 October 1907, ibid., iii, pp. 339–45;iv, pp. 46–8, 49–51;ii, pp. 110–11;Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 357–8
  • Speech to Transvaal Legislative Council, April 1909;memorandum on union, August 1908, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 551–62, 488–95
  • Merriman to Smuts, 4 June 1904;Merriman to Smuts, confidential, 24 February 1908;Smuts to Merriman, 8 January 1908, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 171–3, 413, 373–4. In his draft constitution of August 1908, Smuts drew mainly on the wording of the Australian constitution for definition of legislative powers, and to a much lesser extent on the British North America Act for provincial powers. Ibid., ii, pp. 457–88
  • Egerton , H. E. and Grant , W. L. , eds. 1907 . Canadian constitutional development London (Merriman Correspondence iv, p. 61;speech of 22 June 1908, Cape Parliament, Thompson, op. cit., p. 104. But Steyn did not see the book until August 1908, Smuts Correspondence, ii, p. 451. Goldwin Smith had mentioned to Merriman in 1878 the original Canadian preference for union. Merriman Correspondence, i, p
  • Oliver , F. S. 1906 . Alexander Hamilton: an essay on American union London (Merriman to Smuts, private, 23 November 1907;Merriman to Bryce, 6 October 1908;Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 359–60;Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 91–3
  • Grant , Egerton and , ed. Speech to Transvaal Legislative Council, 3 April 1909, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 551–62, and cf. p. 555 with, ed., Canadian constitutional development, pp. 362–3
  • Walker . Lord de Villers and his times 15 – 16 . 30, 67, 217–21, 225–9, 263–4, 71. Cf. his statement in 1897: ‘at certain critical times I have been approached by politicians of different shades of opinion asking me to place myself at the head of a moderate party with a view to the peaceful union of the different Colonies and States of South Africa’. Ibid., pp. 300–1
  • De Villiers to Merriman, 9 April 1908, ibid., p. 431
  • 14 July 1907 . 14 July , The Time: (London), 11
  • Walker . 432, 434–5, 246–7, 146. De Villiers knew of the entrenchment of Quebec's representation;Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 497–501
  • The Times 27 July 1907
  • Thompson . 107;Merriman to Steyn, 27 September 1908, Merriman Correspondence, iv, p. 90
  • Quotations from De Villiers's draft letter to Smuts, dated 3 September 1908, Walker, pp. 439–42. The final letter dated 5 September 1908, varied slightly, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 497–501
  • Steyn to Merriman, 6 April 1909, Merriman to Smuts, confidential, 19 July 1908;Merriman to Smith, 26 October 1907;Solomon to Smuts, private, 17 July 1908;memorandum by Smuts, August 1908;Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 122–3;Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 446–8;Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 52–4;Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 444–6, 491
  • Bryce , J. 1901 . Studies in history and jurisprudence (2 vols., Oxford, i, p. 423;R. M. Dawson, Government of Canada (Toronto, 1949 ed.), pp. 376–9
  • Smuts to Merriman, confidential, March 1908, 30 May 1904;Merriman to Bryce, 6 October 1908, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 415–17, 169–71;Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 91–3
  • Merriman to Smith, 26 October 1907;Merriman to Smuts, private and confidential, 28 July 1907;Merriman to Phillips, December 1907;Merriman to Steyn, 27 September 1908, Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 52–4;Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 353–4;Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 57, 91 and cf. 43–4
  • 3 April 1909 . 3 April , Speech to Transvaal Legislative Council,;Merriman to P. Molteno, 31 January 1910, Smuts Correspondence, ii, pp. 551–62;Merriman Correspondence, iv, pp. 164–5

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