The Reform Committee was an organisation of prominent

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a Megacity#List of megacities, megacity, and is List of urban areas by p ...

citizens which existed late 1895/early 1896.

History

John Hays Hammond appearing before the Commission on Industrial Relations in 1915

The Transvaal gold rush had brought in a considerable foreign population, chiefly British although there were substantial minorities from other nations, who the

Boer Boers ( ; af, Boere ()) are the descendants of the Dutch-speaking Free Burghers of the eastern Cape frontier in Southern Africa during the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. From 1652 to 1795, the Dutch East India Company controlled this are ...

referred to as ''

Uitlanders Uitlander, Afrikaans for "foreigner" (lit. "outlander"), was a foreign (mainly British) migrant worker during the Witwatersrand Gold Rush in the independent Transvaal Republic following the discovery of gold in 1886. The limited rights granted to ...

'' (foreigners). These immigrants, who were by far the wealthiest part of the community, formed a Reform Committee headed by

Lionel Phillips Sir Lionel Phillips, 1st Baronet (6 August 1855 – 2 July 1936) was a British people, British-born South African financier, Mining Magnate, mining magnate and politician. Early life Phillips was born in London on 6 August 1855 to Phillip Phi ...

, Charles Leonard, Colonel Frank Rhodes (brother of Cecil),

John Hays Hammond John Hays Hammond (March 31, 1855 – June 8, 1936) was an American mining engineer, diplomat, and philanthropist. He amassed a sizable fortune before the age of 40. An early advocate of deep mining, Hammond was given complete charge of Ce ...

, Chief mining engineer from California Victor Clement, and a few others. They demanded a stable constitution, a fair franchise law, an independent judiciary, a better educational system, etc. The Government under President

Paul Kruger Stephanus Johannes Paulus Kruger (; 10 October 1825 – 14 July 1904) was a South African politician. He was one of the dominant political and military figures in 19th-century South Africa, and President of the South African Republic (or ...

made promises but failed to keep them. Some members of the Committee had been instrumental in the preparation for the

Jameson Raid The Jameson Raid (29 December 1895 – 2 January 1896) was a botched raid against the South African Republic (commonly known as the Transvaal) carried out by British colonial administrator Leander Starr Jameson, under the employment of Cecil ...

Leander Starr Jameson Sir Leander Starr Jameson, 1st Baronet, (9 February 1853 – 26 November 1917), was a British colonial politician, who was best known for his involvement in the ill-fated Jameson Raid. Early life and family He was born on 9 February 1853, o ...

had been in charge of

Matabeleland Matabeleland is a region located in southwestern Zimbabwe that is divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo, and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambe ...

when he overstepped his authority and invaded Transvaal with 1 500 troops, greatly exacerbating the many adverse conditions that would lead to both the Second Matabele War and the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the So ...

. Upon Jameson's capture and surrender to the forces of the

South African Republic The South African Republic ( nl, Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek, abbreviated ZAR; af, Suid-Afrikaanse Republiek), also known as the Transvaal Republic, was an independent Boer Republic in Southern Africa which existed from 1852 to 1902, when i ...

(the Transvaal) in December 1895, the Committee took charge of the peace and security of Johannesburg, before conceding control back to the Boer authorities some days later. For conspiring with Jameson, the members of the Reform Committee were charged, confined in deplorable conditions, and finally found guilty of

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

against the Transvaal. Many received severe sentences, including death; however, the majority of the membership escaped with high fines in January 1896. When a second trial of the Reform Committee was called in late April, the leaders were condemned to death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

; however, these punishments were commuted to fines and imprisonment the next day, as a gesture of magnanimity on the part of President

and his government. For the next few weeks, the Reform Committee leaders were jailed in deplorable conditions and some, including Hammond, nearly died. In May it was announced that the Reform Committee leaders would have to spend 15 years in prison, but by mid-June Kruger released Hammond and the final six Reform Committee members still in jail after each paid a $125,000 fine.

Bibliography

* ''The truth about the Jameson raid'', by

(1918) * ''The Autobiography of John Hays Hammond'', volumes 1 and 2, (1935) * Rhoodie, DO - ''Conspirators in Conflict: A Study of the Johannesburg Reform Committee and its Role in the Conspiracy Against the South African Republic'', Tafelberg-Uitgewers (1967)

Reference

{{Political history of South Africa History of South Africa

History

See also

Bibliography

Reference