BEGINSELS, KONSTITUTIE EN STATUTEN VAN DE NATIONALE PARTIJ IN ZUID AFRIKA - WITH ANNOTATIONS & WITH DENEYS REITZ LETTER

Exceedingly scarce 36 page pamphlet in Dutch, comprising three sections: 1. Toelichtingen Op 'T Programma van de Beginselen van de Nationale Partij - concerning the meeting held from the 7th. - 9th. January 1914 in Bloemfontein by a break away group of the South African Party led by JBM Hertzog, who was having major policy disagreements with the Prime Minister Louis Botha and with Jan Smuts. The main aim of this meeting was to direct the people’s ambitions and beliefs along Christian lines towards an independent South Africa. Political freedom from Britain was essential to the National Party, but the party was prepared to maintain the current relationship with the Empire. They also insisted on equality of the two official languages, English and Dutch. Since Hertzog’s policies were orientated towards Afrikaner nationalism, most of his supporters were Afrikaans speaking. Following this meeting, the National Party of the Free State was born on the 1st. July 1914, followed shortly by the Transvaal and the following year by the Cape. 2. CONSTITUTIE Der Nationale Partij. 3. STATUTEN regelende de benoeming van Kandidaten voor de Volksraad. 

This copy was given to his sister Bess, by Deneys Reitz and has been inscribed thus in a later hand (a family descendant who inherited it): "From Deneys to Bess". There are extensive marginal critical comments (in ink) in Dutch by a member of the Reitz family (thought to be F.W. Reitz - ex President of the OFS) on the first eight pages of the document and a few, in another hand (probably Deneys Reitz)  in English. Accompanying the pamphlet is a one page letter, apparently from Deneys, sending Bess the pamphlet "hiermede officiele pamflet van de zoogenoemde Nationale Partij" and requesting her opinion of it. On the verso of the letter is an addendum requesting Bess to have his gun ( a Lee-Metford Carbine?) collected for him from the Grand Hotel. Deneys Reitz, the son of Free Sate President F.W. Reitz, was a politician, soldier and author. He fought in the Boer War and the First World War. He remained in the South African Party after formation of the National Party, and was a minister in the coalition government after 1933, when the SAP and NP joined forces. He subsequently became Deputy Prime Minister. He is probably best remembered today for his two chronicles of the Boer War and First World War, Commando and Trekking On. 

A remarkable association copy of this highly important item which documents a notable landmark in Twentieth Century South African history. It is extremely scarce and the South African Bibliography locates only 2 copies - one in the South African Library in Cape Town one in the Van Schaik Library at UNISA.  

The pamphlet is stapled and is missing the outer printed wrapper. It has some short tears of the front page adjacent to the staples. The front edge of the rear page is a little frayed. Still in decent condition for this fragile item.