Orange River Colony - Constitutional History

Constitutional History

During the Second Boer War, the British forces entered the territory of the Orange Free State and occupied the capital Bloemfontein on 13 March 1900. Five months later, on 6 October 1900, the British government declared an official annexation of the full territory of the Orange Free State, despite the fact that the British had not yet occupied the full territory of the state, nor defeated the Free State forces.

The Orange Free State government had moved to Kroonstad during the first months of the war and would subsequently convene in the field until the end of the war. From the perspective of the Orange Free State, independence was only lost with the ratification of the Treaty of Vereeniging on 31 May 1902.

Therefore, there existed an ambiguous constitutional situation between 6 October 1900 and 31 May 1902, with two constitutional entities and two governments. On the Boer side, the government was led by state president Martinus Theunis Steyn (1857 – 1916) until 30 May 1902, when he went on sick-leave and was replaced by general Christiaan de Wet as acting state president.

On the British side, Sir Alfred Milner was appointed the first governor of the Orange River Colony on 4 January 1901, with Hamilton John Goold-Adams as lieutenant-governor, in office until 23 June 1902. From 1902 to 1910, the colony was governed by a single governor:

• Alfred Milner, Viscount Milner, in office 21 June 1902 – 1 April 1905;
• William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne, in office 2 April 1905 – 7 June 1907;
• Sir Hamilton John Goold-Adams, in office 7 June 1907 – 31 May 1910