Debates of the First Session of the First Parliament of the [Union] House of Assembly. 1910-1911

This is a good copy of the historic first volume of debates of the Union House of Assembly (31 October 1910 to 25 April 1911) - xi pp + columns 1-2944 + an unpaginated index of about 100 pp.

At the front is a list of the Ministers in the Cabinet - which then had only 9-11 Members handling 14 Portfolios - including Generals Botha and Smuts, F S Malan, N J de Wet and J A C Graaff, all names still remembered, as well as Speaker Molteno. Next the members and their constuencies. Then the ceremonials for the first 21 columns, including the opening of Parliament by the Duke of Connaught and speeches in praise of King Edward VII, who had just died, making it impossible for his successor, George V, to have attended the opening, which he had wished to do. And then the first motion, which was the Dutch Reformed Church Bill. And so on, for some 1600 pp.

The volume is in English only, with asterisks indicating speeches translated from Dutch.

The green cloth-boards, gilt lettered to the spine, are rubbed at three of the corners and three other places at the front of the lower board. The spine-ends are chipped and the spine is detached from the lower board along the whole of its length. The binding is cracked at the front, but the hinges are undamaged. The plain endpapers are unmarked and undiscoloured. There is an owner signature and place in ink on p iii but no other marks on the text pages, which remain bright white.