r becoming naturalized. People who were
naturalized were more or less worthy, and if they separated
themselves from the others who would not get naturalized, and
petitioned the Raad themselves, the Raad would give ear to their
petition. He strongly disapproved of the Raad being deceived in the
manner it had been by the forged signatures.

Mr. R.K. LOVEDAY, in the course of an address dealing exhaustively
with the subject, said: The President uses the argument that they
should naturalize, 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 resolution of the
First Raad? Law 4 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 naturalized 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-naturalized 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
that 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 wi