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29-622: The South Africa Act 1909 ( 9 Edw. 7 . c. 9) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the Union of South Africa out of the former Cape , Natal , Orange River , and Transvaal colonies. The Act also allowed for potential admission of Rhodesia into the Union, a proposal rejected by Rhodesian colonists in a 1922 referendum . The draft proposal was supported by

58-472: A system of non-racial franchise, whereby qualifications for suffrage were applied equally to all males, regardless of race. During the union negotiations, the last Cape Prime Minister, John X. Merriman , and Sir Walter Stanford , representing the Transkei and other African communities, fought unsuccessfully to have this multi-racial franchise system extended to the rest of South Africa. Their attempt failed in

87-458: Is cited as "39 & 40 Geo. 3 c. 67", meaning the 67th act passed during the session that started in the 39th year of the reign of George III and which finished in the 40th year of that reign. Note that the modern convention is to use Arabic numerals in citations (thus "41 Geo. 3" rather than "41 Geo. III"). Acts of the last session of the Parliament of Great Britain and the first session of

116-599: The Afrikaner population. These political forces resulted in the 1908 National Convention, which met on 12 October 1908 and completed its work on 11 May 1909. This convention settled on the terms and constitution of a governmental, legislative, and economic Union. These proposals were transmitted to the British government, which duly prepared a bill to give effect to these wishes. The bill was passed by Parliament on 20 September 1909 and on 20 September 1909 King Edward VII of

145-656: The Commonwealth , the basic structure of the 1909 Act continued to live on in its replacement, the Republic of South Africa Constitution Act (32 of 1961) . However, the last vestiges of the 1909 Act finally disappeared in 1983 when the apartheid-era government enacted a new constitution, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa Act (110 of 1983) . The structure of the government of the Union of South Africa

174-663: The Province of Canada (split into Ontario and Quebec ) with Nova Scotia and New Brunswick , and the unification of Australia through the Commonwealth of Australia Constitution Act, 1900 . In the aftermath of the Anglo-Boer War (1899–1902), Britain re-annexed the South African Republic and the Orange Free State , two hitherto independent Boer republics. These new territories, renamed

203-475: The list of acts of the Parliament of England and the list of acts of the Parliament of Scotland . For acts passed from 1707 to 1800, see the list of acts of the Parliament of Great Britain . See also the list of acts of the Parliament of Ireland . For acts of the devolved parliaments and assemblies in the United Kingdom, see the list of acts of the Scottish Parliament , the list of acts of

232-556: The official languages of the Republic of South Africa . Dutch was extended to include Afrikaans by the Official Languages of the Union Act, 1925 , and replaced by Afrikaans in the Constitution of 1961 . 9 Edw. 7 Note that the first parliament of the United Kingdom was held in 1801; parliaments between 1707 and 1800 were either parliaments of Great Britain or of Ireland ). For acts passed up until 1707, see

261-400: The upper house . Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise exert significant political influence. In comparison with the upper house, lower houses frequently display certain characteristics (though they vary by jurisdiction). In a parliamentary system , the lower house: In a presidential system ,

290-696: The Australian model (but like the Indian one), no double dissolution election occurred before a joint sitting, further strengthening the position of the House of Assembly and the Prime Minister over the Senate. The Act also established a Supreme Court of South Africa , which served as a unified court system for the Union and consisted of local, provincial, and appellate divisions. The old supreme courts of

319-654: The Executive Council. Legislative power was vested in a Parliament consisting of the Monarch, a Senate , and a House of Assembly . For most of the Union's existence, the South Africa Act provided for each Province to have equal representation in the upper house, the Senate, and Senators were chosen by an electoral college made up of the Province's members in the House of Assembly and the members of

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348-583: The Federation of British colonies, the South Africa Act created a centralized, unitary state . Each of the four provinces became subordinate entities and had far fewer powers than the Canadian provinces or Australian states . As such, the government of South Africa was quite similar—from a constitutional standpoint—to the government of the United Kingdom . The Cape Colony had long adhered to

377-933: The House in any joint sitting. A similar method of resolving disagreements exists in the Australian Parliament and the Indian Parliament , but the Australian Senate and the Rajya Sabha are each half the size of the Australian House of Representatives and the Lok Sabha , respectively, whereas the South African Senate was only one-third the size of the South African House of Assembly. Unlike

406-483: The Northern Ireland Assembly , and the list of acts and measures of Senedd Cymru ; see also the list of acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland . The number shown after each act's title is its chapter number. Acts passed before 1963 are cited using this number, preceded by the year(s) of the reign during which the relevant parliamentary session was held; thus the Union with Ireland Act 1800

435-400: The Parliament of the United Kingdom are both cited as "41 Geo. 3". Acts passed from 1963 onwards are simply cited by calendar year and chapter number. The fourth session of the 28th Parliament of the United Kingdom , which met from 16 February 1909 until 3 December 1909. Lower house A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature , where the other chamber is

464-539: The Senate, much like the relationship between the House of Commons and House of Lords . In the case of a disagreement between the Senate and House of Assembly, the Governor-General could convene a joint sitting of the two houses to review the legislation, make amendments, and vote on the bill. Because the House of Assembly was much larger than the Senate, the system was designed to protect the stronger position of

493-617: The Transvaal Colony and the Orange River Colony respectively, were added to Britain's existing South African territories, the Cape Colony and Colony of Natal. It was British government policy to encourage these four colonies to come together in closer union; after the grant of responsible government to the Transvaal Colony and Orange River Colony in 1907, this aspiration was one that was also increasingly held by

522-533: The United Kingdom proclaimed that the Union of South Africa would be established on 31 May 1910. This Act, which essentially brought into being the South African state as it is known today, served as the South African constitution for over fifty years, during which time the Statute of Westminster greatly increased South Africa's sovereignty from Britain. Although South Africa became a republic in 1961 and left

551-573: The age limit of 21, were removed for white voters, but kept in place for Black and " Coloured " voters (including the demand that voters be male). In 1956, the Apartheid government removed all remaining suffrage rights for "non-whites" in what became known as the Coloured vote constitutional crisis . Overall the Act did little to protect black Africans during the time period in which the South Africa Act

580-532: The entrenched clauses of the South Africa Act of 1909. Each province was governed by an Administrator, appointed by the central government, and had a legislature in the form of a unicameral Provincial Council ; four members of the Council joined with the Administrator to form a five-member executive committee that acted as the Province's Cabinet. Unlike Canada and Australia, which became dominions through

609-571: The face of opposition from the white governments of the other constituent states, which were determined to entrench white rule. The South Africa Act permitted the Cape Province to keep a restricted version of its traditional franchise, whereby qualifications limited the suffrage of all citizens according to education and wealth. This meant that the Cape, and to a far lesser degree Natal , having coloureds (mixed-race people) and Black Africans in

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638-551: The four colonial parliaments, but was opposed by Cape Colony premier W. P. Schreiner , who raised concerns that it would strip rights from non-white South Africans. The Act was the third major piece of legislation passed by the British Parliament to the unite various British colonies and provide some degree of autonomy. This had been done through the British North America Act, 1867 , which united

667-669: The lower house: The lower house: Members of the lower house: The government of the day is usually required to present its budget to the lower house, which must approve the budget. It is a widespread practice for revenue (appropriation) bills to originate in the lower house. A notable exception to this is the West Virginia House of Delegates in the United States, which allows revenue bills to originate from either house. Many lower houses are named in manners such as follows: This government -related article

696-639: The provinces became the provincial divisions of the new Supreme Court of South Africa. The appellate division, which was the highest court in the land, was seated at Bloemfontein . There was a further appeal to the Privy Council, particularly in Admiralty cases. The power judicial review of Parliamentary legislation and administrative acts was the same as in the United Kingdom. In addition, the Supreme Court could review Parliamentary amendments of

725-447: The provincial legislature. The composition and election of the Senate would later be modified as part of the move towards apartheid and the establishment of the Republic of South Africa . In the lower house of Parliament, the House of Assembly, each Province was represented proportionally according to their respective populations and members were elected from individual districts within a Province. The House of Assembly had more power than

754-418: The voting rolls. The act also permitted the Parliament of South Africa to prescribe all other voting qualifications. However, according to the Act, Parliament was given the power to change the Cape's voting requirements by a two-thirds vote. Over the following years, legislation was passed by Parliament to slowly erode this colour-blind voters roll. In 1931, the remaining franchise qualifications, except for

783-420: Was quickly established as the head of government and, like other government ministers, the Prime Minister was required to be a Member of either House of Parliament. As in other British Dominions, the Governor-General appointed the leader of the largest political party in the lower house of Parliament as Prime Minister. Prime Ministers were also sworn in as Executive Councilors if they were not already members of

812-608: Was similar to the government of other British Dominions . A Governor-General of South Africa was appointed to represent the British Monarch , who was also the Monarch of South Africa . Executive power was vested in the Monarch/Governor-General and was exercised on the advice of the Executive Council. Though not explicitly provided for by the South Africa Act, the office of Prime Minister of South Africa

841-399: Was the constitution of South Africa, and ultimately enabled the establishing of fifty years of apartheid and racial discrimination . The Act established English and Dutch as the official languages of South Africa, with equal status under the law, and required all government documents and Parliamentary proceedings to be published in both languages. In modern times, English remains one of

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