Sir James Molteno (5 January 1865 – 16 September 1936), was an influential

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and parliamentarian of South Africa. Rising to prominence as an unconventional anti-imperialist, he was briefly opposition leader, before becoming parliamentary Speaker. He was the last

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

for the

Parliament of the Cape Colony The Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope functioned as the legislature of the Cape Colony, from its founding in 1853, until the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, when it was dissolved and the Parliament of South Africa was establish ...

, and the first

Speaker of Parliament The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerfo ...

of South Africa.

Early life

The son of Prime Minister Sir John Molteno, James was born on 5 January 1865 at his family's Claremont estate. He matriculated with honours from

Diocesan College The Diocesan College (commonly known as Bishops) is a private, English medium, boarding and day high school for boys situated in the suburb of Rondebosch in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The school was established on ...

and read law at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

, where he was noted not just for his academic diligence but for his unusual strength and physical fitness (An extremely athletic man, he excelled in sports from horseracing and boxing to swimming and shooting). He was elected first president of the Trinity College Debating Society and was active on the committee of the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. Otherwise he divided his time at university between frenzied study, and backpacking around Europe attending drunken parties with fellow students. He also acquired a passion for card-playing that remained with him for the rest of his life. When he graduated with honours he was called to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in London, before returning to Cape Town to become an Advocate of the Supreme Court in 1889.

Political career

James Molteno - Speaker of Parliament - Cape C

Molteno entered the

Cape Parliament The Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope functioned as the legislature of the Cape Colony, from its founding in 1853, until the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, when it was dissolved and the Parliament of South Africa was establis ...

in 1890, at the age of 25, and became

in 1908. He was in fact to be the last speaker before the Cape Parliament dissolved itself on the act of

Early parliamentary career (1890–1899)

He was initially a supporter of Prime Minister

Cecil John Rhodes Cecil John Rhodes (5 July 1853 – 26 March 1902) was a British mining magnate and politician in southern Africa who served as Prime Minister of the Cape Colony from 1890 to 1896. An ardent believer in British imperialism, Rhodes and his Brit ...

, but after the "Logan Scandal" in 1893 revealed the degree of corruption in Rhodes's business dealings, Molteno left his government and immediately joined the opposition. From then on he became increasingly suspicious of Rhodes for what he considered his unscrupulous craving for power. Leander Starr Jameson00

When the

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

took place, Molteno immediately accused Rhodes of engineering it, calling

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, of ...

a "fool". He wrote that the raid was the beginning of the divide between

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

and

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

that would eventually culminate in the Boer War. In 1899, he organised and chaired a commission to draw up a petition to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, from anti-War politicians and intellectuals of Southern Africa, stressing the seriousness of the impending conflict. It included key information that was not disclosed to London by the British High Commissioner in South Africa,

Sir Alfred Milner Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner, (23 March 1854 – 13 May 1925) was a British statesman and colonial administrator who played a role in the formulation of British foreign and domestic policy between the mid-1890s and early 1920s. From D ...

, who was intent on taking the Cape to war. Consequently Milner avoided delivering it. Molteno then used his family connections to take the petition – as well as Milner's private statements on his warlike intentions – to the British press and parliament, causing great embarrassment to Milner and the Colonial establishment in South Africa. Molteno was an exceptionally skilled debater and public speaker. In parliament however, he quickly gained a reputation as a jovial tease, with an uncanny ability to both foment and soothe disagreements in the house – while all the time taking an amused backseat. His friends and colleagues in parliament gave him the nickname "Baby Molteno", as he was the youngest of his extended family to be politically active at the time.

The Boer War and its aftermath (1899–1908)

Green Point - Cape Town - Boer War - Transit Camp

When War broke out, Molteno chaired the anti-war

South Africa Conciliation Committee The South Africa Conciliation Committee was a British anti-war organisation opposed to the Second Boer War. The committee was formed in 1899 in response to the outbreak of the war, for the "dissemination of accurate information", and to seek an e ...

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

. Like his brother (and fellow MP) John Molteno Jr., he was a fierce critic of the malpractices that took place in the Cape under British

martial law Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory. Use Marti ...

, and regularly smuggled evidence of them out of the country via his family connections, to sympathetic MPs in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

. In fact, on many occasions he recklessly flouted martial law, seemingly without fear of repercussions, possibly because of the influence of these same connections. He even went so far as to act as the legal counsel for the so-called "Cape rebels", successfully defending them from the charge 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 ...

in a series of high-profile

military tribunal Military justice (also military law) is the legal system (bodies of law and procedure) that governs the conduct of the active-duty personnel of the armed forces of a country. In some nation-states, civil law and military law are distinct bodie ...

s set up across the country, over a period of 2 years. He then joined several other powerful politicians in successfully fighting the attempt to suspend the Cape's constitution, managing once again to bypass martial law and travel to the Imperial Conference in London to do so. When democratic government finally resumed in 1902 and Molteno cheerfully re-entered parliament, his arrival provoked a storm of controversy. Some parliamentarians hailed him as a hero; others saw him as a type of terrorist. After his first move of supporting an inquiry into the excesses of military rule, he went on to chair a number of committees and was at the centre of the work to re-establish parliamentary governance. As a leader of the opposition, his outspoken criticism and sharp repartee was a constant thorn in the side of the Jameson government. At this time, as the next election (1907/8) was approaching, Molteno was exceptionally active and led nationwide campaigns for the election of his old friend and liberal ally

John X. Merriman John Xavier Merriman (15 March 1841 – 1 August 1926) was the last prime minister of the Cape Colony before the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. Early life He was born in Street, Somerset, England. His parents were Nathaniel Jame ...

, making hundreds of speeches across the country. The effort paid off and the election was a resounding victory for Merriman and Molteno's "South African Party". Molteno was a strong proponent of women's suffrage and, on 4 July 1907, together with fellow MPs J.W. Sauer and Dr

Antonie Viljoen Sir Antonie Gysbert Viljoen (21 August 1858 – 26 October 1918) was an influential liberal Afrikaner politician and progressive farmer of the Cape Colony, South Africa. Early life and career Born on August 21, 1858, Viljoen was raised at Mid ...

, made the first parliamentary attempt to give women (of all races) the right to vote, in the last session before the new government. In the long and bitter parliamentary debate that ensued, which Molteno later described as the most painful of his career, Merriman himself joined the parliamentary majority in opposing women's suffrage and the motion was eventually defeated.

Speaker of the Cape Colony Parliament (1908–1910)

After the elections of 1908, when the Merriman government came to power, Molteno was the unanimous choice as Speaker. As Speaker of Parliament, Molteno abandoned his jovially anarchic style of politics, and became solemn and decisive. With the political storms of the

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 Sou ...

and the upcoming

, controlling Parliamentary procedure was a challenge. The Cape House had also more than doubled in size since its creation and was considerably more politically diverse. It was therefore essential to wield a firm and detached authority over sessions that were often very raucous. However, remaining aloof and serious seemed to have sometimes been a challenge for Molteno. Parliamentary writer Ralph Kilpin found the contradictory Speaker rather amusing, and described in his book, ''The Old Cape House'', how Molteno once firmly silenced disruptive parliamentarians who were roaring with laughter in the backbenches, only to whisper audibly to the culprit as he passed the Speaker's seat later: "You can tell me the joke afterwards" In 1909, at the Prime Minister's request, he joined the South African delegation as legal adviser, and submitted the draft

South Africa Act The South Africa Act 1909 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created the Union of South Africa from the British Cape Colony, Colony of Natal, Orange River Colony, and Transvaal Colony. The Act also made provisions for pote ...

at the National Convention in London. This was in spite of his voicing considerable problems with many of its provisions, particularly those pertaining to franchise. Houses of Parliament (Cape Town)

First Speaker of the South African Parliament (1910–1915)

Nevertheless, when the new Union House of Assembly was created, Molteno, now representing the constituency of

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

, was asked to take up his office again, having defeated the Transvaal's candidate for Speaker, General C.F. Beyers. He thus became the first Speaker of the South African Parliament. In the ensuing year, he was responsible for compiling the initial rules of procedure for Parliament, as well as the constitution of the Empire Parliamentary Association, of which he was president. In 1911, he led the South African Parliamentary Delegation to London for the coronation of

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

.
He was knighted in the same year.

High Commissioner for South Africa and later life

He resigned from Parliament in 1915, after 25 years, and served briefly as the High Commissioner for the Union of South Africa, in London.P. Lewsen: ''Selections from the Correspondence of John X. Merriman, Vol II: 1890–1898''. Cape Town:Van Riebeek Society. 1963. p.267. Upon his final retirement, he moved to Elgin, outside Cape Town, where much of his extended family lived. Here he settled down to write two racy volumes on the political life of the Cape, a collection of rather random trivia and recollections, and a protracted denouncement of Rhodes, Milner and other imperial figures which he claimed was a warning to South Africa of its future direction. He was also marginally involved in the highly successful

syndicate A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French language, Frenc ...

that his family ran on South Africa's agricultural exports, dominated at the time by his oldest brother

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

. Known as an eccentric (never seen without his umbrella), he spent his last years on his farm and died on 16 September 1936 while on a visit to Europe. He was survived by his wife, Clare (Clarissa Celia Holland-Pryor), and his four children.