ving worked several years on a farm, asked for
his salary as agreed in cattle and a pass. The farmer refused him the
cattle, and wanted to force him, his wives, and children, to continue
working for him. The Kaffir appealed to the field cornet Prinsloo, who
treated him as an unruly slave. The Court condemned Prinsloo for abuse
of power. Some days later the President announced that he had reimbursed
Prinsloo his expenses and damages, remarking: "Notwithstanding the
judgment of the Court, we consider Prinsloo to have been in the right."

[Footnote 9: _Le Siecle_ 29th March, 1900.]

2.--_Confusion of Powers._

The Volksraad confuses legislative and judicial functions. Should a
judgment displease it, it arrogates to itself the right to annul it. Nor
is there any more respect shown by the Volksraad for contracts, and, on
one occasion, it solemnly accorded to the Government the right to annul
clauses which had ceased to be satisfactory. It is unnecessary to add
that the principle of the non-retrospectiveness of laws is altogether
unknown to it.

In the Dom case the Volksraad passed a resolution disabling the
aggrieved individual from taking action against the Government.

Early in the year 1897, the Government appointed for a given day, the
allocation of the Witfontein farm in "claims" (mine concessions of 150
by 400 feet). At the last moment it was announced that the claims would
be decided by lottery; several persons having made known that they
intended to sue the Government for their claims already pegged out, a
measure was passed by the Volksraad declaring all such actions null and
void.

A Mr. Brown, an American, took proceedings. The President of the High
Court, Mr. Kotze, pronounced that this law was unconstitutional, and
gave judgment in favor of Brown, but left the amount of damages to be
determined later after hearing further evidence.

Upon this, Mr. Krueger introduced a law known as Law I. of 1897, which
empowered him to exact assurances from the judges that they would
respect all resolutions of the Volksraad, without testing whether they
were in accord or contradiction with the Constitution; and in the event
of the President not being satisfied with the replies of the judges, it
further empowered him to dismiss them summarily. The judges protested in
a body that they would not submit to such treatment. The High Court was
suspended and all legal business adjourned.

Sir Henry de Villiers, Chief Justice