Page:The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi, vol. 1.djvu/238

 PRETORIA, April 16, 1895 TO

HIS HONOUR, SIR JACOBUS DE WET, K.C.M.G.,

HER MAJESTY’S AGENT, PRETORIA

THE MEMORIAL OF TAYOB KHAN AND ABDOOL GANI OF PRETORIA AND HAJEE HABIB HAJEE DADA OF JOHANNESBURG WHO ACT AS A COMMITTEE ON BEHALF OF THE BRITISH INDIAN MERCHANTS IN THIS REPUBLIC

We respectfully request Your Honour to place yourself in communication with His Excellency the High Commissioner, in order to ascertain whether Her Majesty's Government will be satisfied with the Award given by the Arbitrator in the recent arbitration held at Bloemfontein in the Orange Free State, between Her Majesty's Government and the Government of the South African Republic, on the Indian question. As Your Honour is aware, the Arbitrator has decided that Law 3 of 1885, as amended by Volksraad's besluit of 1886, must be enforced by this Government, and that in the event of any dispute or difference as to the interpretation of that law, the High Court of this Republic must decide such difference.

In one of the Green books, No. 21894, pages 31 and 35, put in at the above-mentioned arbitration by the Government of this Republic, statements are made to the effect that His Honour the Chief Justice, in giving judgment in a certain application before the High Court by Ismael Suliman and Co., held that no difference could be made between places where business is carried on and where Indians reside. In view of these facts, we respectfully submit, without in any way impugning the High Court, that it would be a foregone conclusion, if the statements referred to above as to the judgment of the Chief Justice be correct, that the judgment of the Court in any case submitted to it under the above quoted law would be against the Indian subjects of Her Majesty in this Republic. As, therefore, the Arbitrator did not decide the question submitted to him in terms of the Deed of Submission, but practically left it to the decision of the High Court of this Republic, we would respectfully submit that the Arbitrator did not decide the question in terms of the reference to him. We, therefore, respectfully request Your Honour to communicate with her Majesty's Government and ascertain whether they will be satisfied with the above Award and acquiesce therein.

TAYOB HAJEE KHAN MOHAMED

ABDOOL GANI

HAJEE HABIB HAJEE DADA

Colonial Office Records No. 417, Vol. 148


 * 2This was enclosed with Despatch No. 204 of April 29, 1895 from the High Commissioner to the South African Republic to the Principal secretary of State for the Colonies.


 * 3Partner and manager of the firm of Mahomed Cassim Camroodeen in Johannesburg


 * 4 A Transvaal law; this applied to “the so-called Coolies, Arab, Malay and Mahommedan subjecs of the Turkish Empire”. It rendered them incapable of obtaining extended citizenship rights and of owning fixed property in the Republic.


 * An exception was later made in the case of the “Coolies” who could, as sanctioned by Volksraad resolution of January 1887, own fixed property in specified streets, wards and Locations on grounds of sanitation. A further Volksraad resolution, in 1893, laid down that all Asiatics should be enforced to live and trade in the Locations. Trade could be carried on by registration and payment of a fee of £3. The law was considered to be in contravention of the London Convention.


 * 5Sometimes abbreviated to Raad, South African (Dutch) word for National Legislative Assembly in the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.


 * 6{{Note|