Editing Paul Kruger (section)

===Pretoria Convention===

Kruger presented the treaty to the volksraad on the triumvirate's behalf at Heidelberg on 15 April 1881. "With a feeling of gratitude to the God of our fathers", he said, "who has been near us in battle and danger, it is to me an unspeakable privilege to lay before you the treaty&nbsp;... I consider it my duty plainly to declare before you and the whole world, that our respect for Her Majesty the {{sic|Queen of England}}, for the government of Her Majesty, and for the English Nation, has never been greater than at this time, when we are enabled to show you a proof of England's noble and magnanimous love for right and justice."{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|p = 119}} This statement was to be ignored by many writers,{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|p = 119}} but Manfred Nathan, one of Kruger's biographers, stresses it as one of his "most notable utterances".{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|p = 119}} Kruger reaffirmed his faith in the royal commission of Wood, [[Hercules Robinson, 1st Baron Rosmead|Sir Hercules Robinson]] and the Cape's Chief Justice [[John de Villiers, 1st Baron de Villiers|Sir Henry de Villiers]], who convened for the first time in Natal on 30 April, Brand with them as an adviser. The commissioners held numerous sessions in Pretoria over the following months with little input from Kruger, who was bedridden with [[pneumonia]].{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|pp = 119–122}}

Kruger was largely happy with the terms under which the republic would regain its sovereignty, but two points offended him. The first of these was that the British would recognise them as the "Transvaal Republic" and not the South African Republic; the second was that it was still not clear to him what British "suzerainty" was. The commission, in which De Villiers emerged as the dominant figure, defined it primarily as British purview over the Transvaal's external affairs. The final [[Pretoria Convention]] was signed on 3 August 1881 by Joubert, Pretorius and the members of the royal commission. Kruger was absent due to his illness, but he did attend the official retrocession five days later in Church Square. Kruger felt well enough to give only a short speech, after which Pretorius addressed the crowd and the ''vierkleur'' was raised.{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|pp = 122–123}}
[[File:Krugerhaus 12.30. Pretoria-20.JPG|alt=A Dutch colonial-style house with the flag of the South African Republic flying outside.|thumb|[[Kruger House, Pretoria|Kruger House]], the family home in [[Pretoria]] ''(2010 photograph)'']]
By now aged nearly 56, Kruger resolved that he could no longer travel constantly between Boekenhoutfontein and the capital, and in August 1881 he and Gezina moved to Church Street, Pretoria, from where he could easily walk to the government offices on Church Square. Also around this time he shaved off his moustache and most of his facial hair, leaving the [[chinstrap beard]] he kept thereafter. His and Gezina's permanent home on Church Street, what is now called [[Kruger House, Pretoria|Kruger House]], would be completed in 1884.{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|pp = 124–125}}

A direct consequence of the end of British rule was an economic slump; the Transvaal government almost immediately found itself again on the verge of bankruptcy.{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|pp = 127–128}} The triumvirate spent two months discussing the terms of the Pretoria Convention with the new volksraad—approve it or go back to Laing's Nek, said Kruger{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|pp = 127–128}}—before it was finally ratified on 25 October 1881. During this time Kruger introduced tax reforms, announced the triumvirate's decision to grant industrial [[monopoly|monopolies]] to raise money and appointed the Reverend [[Stephanus Jacobus du Toit|S&nbsp;J du Toit]] to be Superintendent of Education.{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|pp = 127–128}} To counteract the influx of uitlanders, the residency qualification to vote was raised from a year to five years.{{sfn|Meredith|2007|p = 294}} In July 1882 the volksraad decided to elect a new president the following year; Joubert and Kruger emerged as candidates. Kruger campaigned on the idea of an administration in which "God's Word would be my rule of conduct"—as premier he would prioritise agriculture, industry and education, revive Burgers's Delagoa Bay railway scheme, introduce an immigration policy that would "prevent the Boer nationality from being stifled", and pursue a cordial stance towards Britain and "obedient native races in their appointed districts".{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|pp = 130–131}} He [[1883 Transvaal presidential election|defeated]] Joubert by 3,431 votes to 1,171,{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|pp = 130–131}} and was inaugurated as president on 9 May 1883.{{sfn|Meintjes|1974|p = 134}}