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- The younger. Born in Swellendam on 05/10/1844 and died in Cape Town on 27/03/1934. President of the Orange Free State, was the seventh of twelve children of Francis William Reitz and his wife Cornilia Magdalena Deneys.
He spent his youth at Rhenosterfontein, his father's model farm on the banks of the Breede River. Here he played with his Coloured companions, Oukous and Platvaatlie, and full of questions, explored the veld with his brothers and sisters. This, together with abelief in the love of God and of one's neighbour, fundalmental principles of the Reitz household, gave him his unaffectedness and honest sincerity. In many ways he and his father were kindred spirits, especially in their love of the soil, their aptitude for science and their subtle feeling for language.
At the age of nine he went to Dr Drossel's Rouwkoop boarding-school at Rondebosch. He did so well that after three years the Senate of the South African College made him a Queen's Scholar, so providing him with free education. For 6 years he received a varied education which gave him a broad background and in December 1863 the Cape board of examiners gave him a 'second-class certificate in science and literture', the equivalent of a B.A. His mischievousness, high moral standards and qualities of leadership made him popular among his comrades and he developed into a well-balanced young man. He decided to take up law and studied under F.S. Watermeyer, who in 1864, had succeeded J.H.Brand as professor of Law at the South African College. Watermeyer's sudden death in August of the same year affected Reitz to such an extent that he decided to continue his studies at the Inner Temple, London. This wasa difficult decision as he was poor and his father still hoped that he would return to the family farm. But his idealism surmounted all obstacles.
On 11/06/1867 he was called to the Bar and took the oath at Westminster. Already he was intensely interested in politics and watched several famous statesmen, such as Gladstone and Disraeli, in the House of Commons. But it was John Bright who as an orator, was to him an ideal. The wide variety of opinions he heard expressed gave him alife-long aversion to narrow views and actions. he also visited other countries in Europe and returned to South Africa towards the end of 1867, inspired with a desire for progress and development. On 23/01/1868 he was admitted to the Cape Bar and started practising as an advocate in the supreme court. He found it difficult to make a living and, what is more, met with strong competition from capable advocates such as James Buchanan and J.H. de Villiers.
The first important law-suitin which he appeared was Dantu v. Widow Hart's Executors. As a pro deo advocate, he won the case of Daviau v. Daviau and made such an impression through his logical arguments and behaviour that the judge sent a letter of congratulation to his father. In 1873 he was persuaded to represent Beaufort West in the Cape Legislative Assembly. To both father and son 30/05/1873 became a significant date, for immediately after he had taken his seat as an M.l.A., his father announced his retirement as the member for Swellendam. His parliamentary career was brief. In July 1873 President Brand offered to make him president of the newly established Free State court of appeal. But he felt he should refuse he could not satisfy requirements such as that of age. After Adv. Andries Stockenstrom had also refused the post, Pres. Brand persuaded the Volksraad to approve Reitz' appointment, whatever the requirements. His appointment was a major step forward in the struggle for legal reform in the O.F.S., for his rectitude, modesty and great ability meant sound progress from the start.
In a foreign country he not only had to reform the law but adapt himself to the characteristic conservatism of a community almost exclusively Afrikaans-speaking. So completely did he identify himself with his new environment that before long, he born in the Cape Colony, became the national symbol of most of the inhabitants of the O.F.S. On 24/06/1874, before he left forBloemfontein, he married Blanka Thesen(she was born in Stavanger, Norway on 15/10/1854) who with her parents and her brother had arrived in Knysna from Norway on 16/11/69. There were 7 sons and 1 daughter, all of whom, true to the Reitz tradition, were to serve the community.
In June 1877 he accompanied the circuit court to the rural areas for the first time and over more than 10 years gained in this way a profound knowledge of the beliefs and way of life of the people of theO.F.S. He did much to codify and revise the laws and with C.J. Vels and J.G. Fraser as co-editors he was responsible for the first 'Ordonnantie boek van den Oranje Vrijstaat' which appeared in 1877. The annexation of the Transvaal Republic in1877 and the outcome of the First Anglo-Boer War had lead to violent reaction in the O.F.S., and on 07/04/1881 he and C.L.F. Brockenhagen published a constitution for an Afrikaanerbond in the O.F.S. The bond was established on 11 May and laterthat year he became its president. He was strongly criticized for political interferance but the real objection to the Bond was its Afrikaans character and the fear of the English-speaking that it would grow among the Afrikaaners. No criticismcould make him deviate from his course. President Brand did not conceal his dislike for the Bond, indicating his inability to assess the political situation in the O.F.S., whereas Reitz automatically became the political leader of the future because he was in the van of a reawakening national consciousness. Immediately after Brand's sudden death(14/07/1888) he was elected on (18/12/1888) as State President and sworn in on 10/01/1889 at the Tweetoring Church in Bloemfontein. On his birthday in 1887 his first wife died; and on 11/12/1889 he married Cornilia Maria Theresa Mulder(she was born in Delft, Holland on 25/12/1864 and died in Cape Town on 2/01/1935) He was fully aware of the race problem and was the first person who openly formulated and propagated the broad lines of a future Buntu policy.
It was his view that the tribal system and the paramount chieftaincies had to disappear, as they constitute an imperium in imperio of the most perinious kind. Pagan rites and polygamy had to be suppressed through legislation, and the principle that there was no equality between White and Black in South Africa had to be accepted and implemented. Although the untenability of many of his arguments was immediately pointed out to him, there was also admiration for his daring in openly discussing this question. He was as definate about the Indian question. Just after the Volksraad had, on 01/07/1890, passed an act prohibiting Indians from living in the O.F.S. in the future, the British government intervened. After a protracted correspondence he informed the British High Commissioner that the Free State government would not tolerate any further interference. His inexorable stand on the sovereign rights of the republic and its ability to solve its internal problems safeguarded the O.F.S. from continued interference from the British and philanthropic quarters. As an ardent republican he advocated closer co-operation with the Transvaal Republic and found that most of the public shared this view. On 04/03/1889, at Potchefstroom he and President Kruger concluded a defensive alliance as well as agreements relating to railways and trade. In this manner he paved, through his positive policy, the way for the federal union which was to be established between the two repulics three years after his resignation. On 15/01/1889 the Volksraad resolved that a customs union embracing all states and colonies in South Africa should be established and he was entrusted with the task of achieving this diplomatically. After protracted correspondence with Pres. Kruger and the governments of the the Cape Colony and Natal, the Bloemfontein customs conference took place on 20/03/1889. For several reasons Kruger did not attend. A customs agreement was concluded between the Cape Colony and the O.F.S. but Natal refused to join as it did not wish to raise its customs tariffs. The O.F.S. subsequently recieved three-quarters of the customs duties on all goods imported via the Cape Colony. This was a major economic advantage to the O.F.S. and led to expansion and development in virtually every sphere of national life.In the north-eastern districts, however, a great deal of dissatisfaction arose as, owing to Natal's refusal to join. These areas had to pay, on imports from or via Natal, a duty 5% higher than that paid by the rest of the O.F.S. on similiar imports from the Cape Colony. From Harrismith he became the target for attacks, despite his untiring though vain attempts to bring the Transvaal Republic and Natal into the customs union. His part in the development of railways began four years after his arrival in the O.F.S., when he was appointed secretary of the first railways commission, which functioned until 1885.
He made an important contribution by obtaining accurate returns of the imports and exports of the republic and making valuable recommendations in this connection Both verbally and in writing he advocated a direct railway link with the Transvaal and, in may 1889, the Volksraad approved the concession he had granted the Cape Colony for the construction of the Colesberg-Bloemfontein line, which was festively opened on 19/12/1890. When in 1891, there was talk of extending the railway to the Vaal River and certain Volksraad members supported, in the interests of the grain- farmers, a detour via Senekal, he declared that, in the national interest, he would have conscientious objections to the implementation of such a resolution. An imminent crisis was averted when, at his insistence, a direct route was agreed on by a majority of 3 votes. On 07/05/1892 the line reached Viljoensdrif and 15th September the first train from Cape Town steamed into Johannesburg. In July 1892, after negotiations and a railway agreement with Natal, a line from Ladysmith to Harrismith was opened to traffic but his negotiations with the Governor of Natal about the linking of this line with the Cape main line proved fruitless. In dealing with railways, which was so important to the future of the whole of South Africa, he showed greater vision than did other statesmen of his day. He wanted particularly to use railway links to end disunity and distrust prevailing amongst the various South African territories. He succeeded only partially, but his honesty and sincerity brought him great prestige as a statesman both within and beyond the borders of the O.F.S. He was highly talented and inspired his country culturally. When he arrived in the O.F.S., cultural activities were largely unorganised and the need for positive direction had not yet been fully realized. As far back as 1870 he had started experiamenting with 'Kaapsch-Hollandsch' by writing his poem 'Klaas Gezwint en zijn paert' an adaption of Robert Burn's 'Tam O'Shanter's Ride', which appeared in Het Volksblad (19/07/1870). In his poem he made one of the first contributions to a language which, during his lifetime, was to develop into the literary language of the republic and an Anglicized Cape Colony. His other early Afrikaans poem, 'Die steweltjies van Sannie' humorous and full of popular wisdom, also appeared in Het Volksblad (29/11/1873) The reaction to his defence in the O.F.S. made him realize that it would not be an easy task to persuade the doubters to support Afrikaans. He was openly censured for not devoting his energies to a better cause. But the success of the Afrikanerbond and the outcome of the First Anglo-Boer War were to draw Afrikaners together and to teach them the need for solidarity. The hold English had begun to have on influential circles, on schools, home-life, the press and even the public administration was clearly recognised and viewed with concern. In the struggle revolving round English, Dutch, and Afrikaans, he was a realist, wellaware that for the first time the supporters of Afrikaans had to co-operate to prevent Dutch being ousted by English. In 1882 this concerted action led to the adoption and safeguarding the position of Dutch. After his election as President heconsidered it his duty to uphold the language of the constitution. On more than one occasion this brought him into conflict with men such as J.G. Fraser, who strongly supported English. The appeals of Reitz and his supporters resulted in theadoption of Orinance No.2 of 1891, whereby the legitimate use of Dutch in schools was ensured.
From 1876 he was a member of Grey College board of trustees and from 1881 to the end of 1888 he was the chairman. It was he that was responsible for the transfer of the college to the state and for many developments and improvements. After his election as President he did everything in his power to afford the rising generation the same educational facilities as those enjoyed by the children in neighbouring states. In this he undertook an enormous task for the census of 1890 showed that more than 23000 Whites could neither read nor write. But with the improvements in state finance it was possible for him to persuade the Volksraad to grant increased fincial aid to education, with the result that, by the end of his regime, it was 3 times that granted in 1889. He was also an advocate of an efficacious system of education in the rural areas. He became President for thesecond time on 22/11/1893. In June 1894 he left Bloemfontein with his sons Hjalmar and Deneys, to join his wife and children in Europe. On his arrival in Plymouth he was interviewed by a large number of journalists and stated plainly that hewanted to see the republican principle upheld in South Africa and that he considered that British interferance was unnecessary. He and his family then travelled through Europe, where he was received by various heads of state and political leaders. When the family returned to Bloemfontein on 03/10/1894, he was warmly thanked for what he had achieved for the O.F.S. abroad. Shortly afterwards he suffered an attack of jaundice which had an adverse affect on an overtaxed body and caused insomnia. On the recommendation of his doctors he returned to Europe in March 1895, this time for 6 months. His condition gradually improved and early in September he was able to resume his official duties. But on 16 November it was evident that there was no hope of complete recovery, he resigned and asked the Volksraad to nominate his successor. On 11 December the Volksraad regretfully accepted his resignation and granted him an annual pension. His work in the O.F.S. spanned virtually every sphere, while it was his ideal that the O.F.S. should become a worthy nation.
As head of state he was not without shortcomings; at times his actions were tactless and not always thoroughly weighed, and had to admit that sometimes his decisions were rash and wrong. But above all he distinguished himself as a legal reformer and a bold and uncompromising advocate of Afrikaans interests. Convinced of the soundness of his political principles, he defied all opposition and followed a progressive republican policy. He remained essentially a democrat and the welfare of his people was the touchstone of his idealism. He tackled the major South African problems with the same idealism and was indefatigable in his attempts at securing closer co-operation among the South African territories. After his resignation he again went to Europe in June 1896, and his health improved to such an extent that he returned to the Cape after 5 months. In July 1897 he settled in Pretoria, where he started practising as an advocate and with his mature experiance and wide knowledge stood him in good stead. The struggle between the Transvaal legislature and the Judiciary which led to the dismissal of the Chief Justice, J.G. Kotze, resulted in Reitz being sworn in as a Transvaal judge on 28/02/1898. After the departure of Dr W.J. Leyds as foreign envoy in Europe he was elected Staatsekretaries in June 1898, after Abraham Fischer had refused the post.
His task as Transvaal Staatsekretaris was prodigious; after Kruger he was the most important member of the Executive and, as the most senior public servant, he had to ensure the implementation of all acts and resolutions, subit all important correspondence to the head of state, and be familiar with the reports of various commissions; as an intermediary he coordinated the activities of heads of department, the Executive and the First and Second Volksraads; he had constantly to be conversant with foreign policy of the Transvaal Republic. Gradually he built up an efficient department; he appointed an archivist for his department in 1899, and demanded that all correspondence addressed to the Transvaal government should be in Dutch. But he found the time to keep in touch with younger people through popular lectures delivered to English, Afrikaans, Jewish and Christian societies. After his appointment it was predicted in certain circles that he would be completely subservient to Kruger, but it was soon evident that he had the will to do what his conscience dictated. Occasionally sharp clashes took place between him and Kruger, but it was his inexorable resistance to anyirregularity, he refused to give way and on at least 2 occasions Kruger had to accept his recommendations. At first British statesmen spoke highly of his courteousness, but he was criticized as soon as it became clear that he, too, put the independence of the Transvaal Republic before anything else, and he became the object of their acrimony. Sometimes he acted thoughtlessly and, for instance, wrongly claimed soveign status for the republic, a blunder which was exploited by the British and which a cautious Leyds in Europe also considered a grave error. With Kruger and the young Attorney-General, J.C. Smuts, he came to the conclusion that the Transvaal Republic had to react aggressively to British pressure. But theultimatum was presented to Britain on 09/10/1899. There is no doubt that he (with the assistance of Smuts) was primarily responsible for the idea of an ultimatum. With the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Boer War on 11/10/1899 and the conscription of many public servants, his task during the first months of war became infinately more difficult. On the approach of the British forces he had to leave Pretoria with Kruger on 29/05/1900.
The seat of government was moved successively to Machadodorp, Waterval- Onder, Nelspruit and Hectorspruit. There Kruger crossed the Portuguese border and finally went to Europe to plead the cause of the Boers. As temporary head of the Transvaal government in the field, S.W. Burger was appointed acting president, with an Executive consisting of Reitz as Staatsekretaris, Comdt.-Gen. Louis Botha, Gen. Lucas Meyer, and J.C. Krogh. On the instructions of Botha and with a guard of 20 men, the government always had to be on the move in the Highveld until the end of the war, so as not to fall into the hands of the enemy, and before long was known as the 'flight commando'. Up to March 1902 the 'kapkar-regering' moved 62 times in all, and it was during these long months of flight and deprivation that his courage, faith and cheerfulness were a source of inspiration to all those round him, and he wrote his war poems. Widely read, they even appeared in Europe, where friends of the Boers distributed them onpostcards. 'Die mieliepit' and 'De Lady Roberts' poked fun at the enemy. to inspire his burgers he mocked Lord Roberts and the British, but when women and children died in the concentration camps, he became embittered and biting in his poems.In April and May 1902 he was present during the peace negotiations at Klerksdorp, in Pretotia and at Vereeniging and signed the treaty of Vereeniging on 31/05/1902 in Pretoria. But he stated dramatically beforehand that he was signing as amember of the Transvaal government and not as F.W. Reitz. He found it impossible to live in the Transvaal any longer and on 04/07/1902 he left South Africa as an excile and joined his wife and younger children, who had already left for theNetherlands in May 1900. To ease his financial difficulties he and his wife went to the U.S.A. in Sept 1902 to lecture on the war that had just ended. But the public enthusiasm for the cause of the Boers soon flagged and financially, thelectures were a failure. But through the loyal support of his wife and effictive treatment from Professor Rosenstein, of Leyden, he gradually regained his health. In these difficult times he was given moral and financial support, especially byDr W.J. Leyds, Dr H.P.N. Muller and the Nederlandsch Zuid-Afrikaansche Vereeniging (N.Z.A.V.) At the instance of Botha and Smuts he returned to South Africa in 1907 and settled in Sea Point, Cape Town. In 1910 he became the first president of the Senate of the Union of South Africa. Once again he experienced a period of remorse as a result of events after 1912: the omission of Gen. J.B.M. Hertzog from the Botha cabinet, the Witwatersrand strikes of 1913-14 and the tragic events of the Rebellion, 1914-15. In the Senate he openly admitted that he was a republican and always remain one. Owing to his outspoken views, which were diametrically opposed to the policy of the Smuts government, he was not reelected president of the Senate in 1920. But he remained a senator until 1929 and to the end of his life he was treated with the highest regard and affection by the public. Eventually he withdrew from public life and settled at Gordon's Bay. later his daughter Dr Bessie Reitz, looked after him at his house Botuin, near Leeuwenhof, Tamboers Kloof. To the end he occupied himself with writing and translation. On 27/03/1934 he took ill while he was translating a psalm and died within a few hours. 3 days later the state funeral began at the Groote Kerk; he was buried in the Woltemade Cemetary, Maitland. His long and fruitful life was a colourful one in that he played an active part in many of the important events of the South African history of his time. His career was varied and his influence was wide because of the important contributions he made in judical, political, and cultural spheres in the Cape Colony, the Orange Free State and the Transvaal. He was a steadfast man withstrong convictions, and never abandoned his views because of either praise or centure. He retained his natural simplicity in the highest posts and was always accessible, open-hearted, generous and sympathetic towards his fellow-men. His name lives on in the O.F.S.: the town Reitz was named after him in 1889 while the town Cornelia was named after his second wife in 1894. In December 1923 an honorary doctorate of Laws was conferred on him by the University of Stellenbosch. A ship, the President Reitz(7176 tons) was named after him but was wrecked near Port Elizabeth in 1947. His literary work is considerable in scope. He made a significant and early contribution to the recognition of Afrikaans as a language.
Dictionary of South African Biography Vol II
du Plooy.paf: Hy het sy opvoeding in die kosskool van dr Drossel te Rondebosch en aan die Suid-Afrikaanse K ollege geniet. Op negentienjarige oudendom het hy na Londen gegaan om in die regte te studee r en in 1868 het hy as advokaat na sy vaderland teruggekeer. Nadat hy in in Kaapstad, Bloemfo ntein en toe weer in Kaapsatd gepraktiseer het, het president Brand hom aangestel as voorsitt er van die hof van appel en later hoofregter. Sy liefde en belangstelling vir die Afrikaans e taal en geskiedenis is oral bekend. Daar word beweer dat hy die "Oom Jan" is wat so baie ge wilde gediggies skryf. As voorstander van Afrikaans het hy reeds bittere aanvalle op die taa l op waardige wyse bestry. Hy het die geskiedenisboek van Theal in Hollands vertaal. Die keu se vir nuwe president van die Vrystaat het gele tussen hom, hoofregter F W Reitz, en ds Van d er Lingen, en eersgenoemde is met 'n meerderheid van 3573 stemme verkies. Op 10 Januarie 188 9 is hy beëdig in Bloemfontein. Op 10 Januarie 1894 is hy herkies as president.
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