n 1895 a monster petition was got up by the National
Union, an organisation formed for the purpose of righting the wrongs
of the Uitlanders. During the great Franchise debate in August 1895,
Mr. R. K. Loveday, one of the Loyalists in the war, in the course of
an address dealing with the subject, expressed himself very
definitely and concisely, and in a manner which could not be
refuted. He said--

"The President uses the argument that they should naturalise, and
thus give evidence of their desire to become citizens. I have used
the same argument, but what becomes of such arguments when met with
the objections that the law requires such persons to undergo a
probationary period extending from fourteen to twenty-four years
before they are admitted to full rights of citizenship, and even
after one has undergone that probationary period he can only be
admitted to full rights by the resolution of the First Raad? Law IV.
of 1890, being the Act of the two Volksraads, lays down clearly and
distinctly that those who have been eligible for ten years for the
Second Raad can be admitted to full citizenship. So that, in any
case, the naturalised citizen cannot obtain full rights until he
reaches the age of forty years, he not being eligible for the
Second Raad until he is thirty years. The child born of
non-naturalised parents must therefore wait until he is forty years
of age, although at the age of sixteen he may be called upon to do
military service, and may fall in the defence of the land of his
birth. When such arguments are hurled at me by our own flesh and
blood--our kinsmen from all parts of South Africa--I must confess I
am not surprised that these persons indignantly refuse to accept
citizenship upon such unreasonable terms. The element I have just
referred to--namely, the Africander element--is very considerable,
and numbers thousands, hundreds of whom, at the time this country
was struggling for its independence, accorded it moral and financial
support, and yet these very persons are subjected to a term of
probation extending from fourteen to twenty-four years. It is
useless for me to ask you whether such a policy is just and
reasonable or Republican, for there can be but one answer, and that
is 'No!' Is there one man in this Raad who would accept the
Franchise on the same terms? Let me impress upon you the grave
nature of this question, and the absolute necessity of going to the
burghers without a moment's delay and co