One was read from the Apies River and Standerton, praying that the children of Uitlanders born here should not be granted the franchise.

Memorials from other places, with 523 signatures, prayed that the existing Franchise Law should be strictly enforced.

Several petitions against the prohibition of the Election Committee were read.

A further memorial from the Rand was read, containing 5,152 signatures, pointing out that they objected to the memorial issued by the National Union, and they wanted the system of one-man-one-vote and the ballot system adopted before they asked for the franchise.

THE COMMITTEE’S RECOMMENDATIONS.

The Memorial Committee recommended that the law remain unaltered, because the memorials signed by full burghers requested no extension to take place.

Mr. LUCAS MEYER, who was chairman of the Memorial Commission, submitted a report, stating that he was in the minority and differed from his fellow-committeemen.  There was not a single member of the Raad who would use his powers more towards maintaining the independence of the country than himself, but he was fully convinced that the Raad had as bounden duty to propose an alteration to last year’s law.  Proposals to do so had to emanate from the Raad.  A large majority of memorialists who prayed for the extension were not burghers, but even those burghers who petitioned the Raad against the extension asked the Raad not to do so at present.  That showed that they were convinced that sooner or later the extension would have to take place—­cautiously perhaps, but the extension would come.  Even the committee, the majority of whom were against him, recognised this.  He repeated that it was his opinion that the time would come.  Let the Raad then submit the proposal to the country, and if the majority of the burghers were against it, the Raad would have to stand or fall with the burghers; but at any rate they would be acting according to the will of the country, and could not be blamed for possible consequences.  Recently the President said something had to be done to admit a portion of the people who were behind the dam, before the stream became so strong that the walls would be washed away and the country immersed in water.  He hoped the Raad would favourably consider his proposal.

Mr. TOSEN said that when the proposals came to extend the franchise, such proposals had to come from old burghers, and so far the old burghers had not signified their willingness that this should be done.  On the contrary, a large number of them were against it.  They did not wish to exclude the new-comers for all eternity, but just now they should make no concession.  It stood to reason that the new-comers could not have so much interest in the country as the old inhabitants.  He cautioned the Raad against accepting the recommendations of Mr. Meyer. It would be contrary to Republican principles.  Yes, he repeated it would be contrary