The relations between Sir Alfred Milner and W.P. Schreiner's Ministry, 1898-1900
This thesis compasses a period in South African history to which a considerable amount of attention has been devoted in recent years. Nevertheless it seemed worthwhile making a more detailed study of the activities of the Cape government. Originally I intended limiting this study to an examination of the relations between Milner and Schreiner, but found it necessary to extend the subject to include Milner's relations with the ministry as a whole, as well as Schreiner's relations with Hofmeyr. Schreiner rarely expressed his private opinion on matters of importance, so that it is difficult to disentangle his views from those of the rest of the ministry. the frankest insight into the personal relations of the individual members of the ministry comes from J.H. Herriman's correspondence, while J.H. Hofmeyr's papers throw much light on the relations of the Cape government with the two republics before the war, and make it clear that Hofmeyr was virtually an ex officio member of the ministry. It has not been easy to find a term to describe this group of people. Only two members of the ministry were members of the Bond, while the term "South African Party”, although used both by Schreiner and Merriman on occasion to describe the Bond and its followers in parliament was not sufficiently well established or clearly defined to warrant its use. Although inadequate I have, therefore, referred to them as the Schreiner ministry, with the reservation that Hofmeyr played an important part in their deliberations.
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