Editing South African Republic (section)

==Constitution and laws==
The constitution of the ZAR was legally interesting for its time. It contained provisions for the division between the political leadership and office bearers in government administration. The legal system consisted of higher and lower courts and had adopted a jury system. Laws were enforced by the [[South African Republic Police]] ({{lang|af|Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek Politie}} or ZARP) which were divided into Mounted Police ({{lang|af|Rijdende Politie}}) and Foot Police.

Also established were municipal government, the [[Witwatersrand]] District Court and the High Court of Transvaal.{{sfn|Eybers|1918|p=515}}

===Demographics===
The State Almanac for 1897 states that the total white population was 245,397; with the total black population being 622,544.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Transvaal and Orange Free State Chamber of Mines |title=The Mining Industry. Evidence and Report of the Industrial Commission of Enquiry |date=1897 |publisher=Times printing and publishing works |location=Johannesburg |pages=574–575 |url=https://archive.org/details/miningindustrye00minegoog/page/n613/mode/2up |access-date=23 March 2021 |ref=Industrial Report}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right"
|+ Statistics of White Population of the
South African Republic
|-
! rowspan="2" | District !! colspan="3" | White 
|-
! Males !! Females !! Total
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Barberton || 3,500 || 2,900 || 6,400
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Bloemhof || 2,000 || 1,600 || 3,600
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Boksburg || 3,200 || 2,100 || 5,300
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Carolina || 2,500 || 1,200 || 3,700
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Ermelo || 2,700 || 1,850 || 4,650
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Heidelberg || 5,770 || 2,050 || 7,820
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Johannesburg (town) || 32,387 || 18,520 || 50,907
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Johannesburg (neighbourhood) || 4,000 || 2,500 || 6,500
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Krugersdorp || 10,600 || 9,950 || 20,450
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Lichtenburg || 3,600 || 3,000 || 6,500
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Lydenburg || 1,600 || 1,250 || 2,750
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Marico || 3,600 || 3,000 || 6,500
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Middelburg || 5,500 || 4,000 || 9,500
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Piet-Retief || 600 || 660 || 1,160
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Potchefstroom || 12,600 || 12,300 || 24,900
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Pretoria || 15,700 || 14,600 || 30,300
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Rustenburg || 5,600 || 5,000 || 10,600
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Standerton || 3,600 || 3,750 || 7,550
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Utrecht || 1,750 || 1,100 || 2,860
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Vrijheid || 2,640 || 2,520 || 5,160
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Wakkerstroom || 6,000 || 6,700 || 11,700
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Waterberg || 2,600 || 2,300 || 4,900
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Wolmaranstad || 1,600 || 1,600 || 3,100
|-
| style="text-align:left;" | Zoutpansberg || 4,500 || 4,200 || 8,700
|-
! style="text-align:left;" | Total !! 137,947 !! 107,450 !! 245,397
|}

===Religion===
Initially, the state and church were not separated in the constitution; citizens of the ZAR had to be members of the [[Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa (NHK)|Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk]], a denomination which had broken from the [[Dutch Reformed Church]]. In 1858, these clauses were altered in the constitution to allow for the {{lang|af|[[Volksraad (South African Republic)|Volksraad]]}} to approve other Dutch Christian churches.{{sfn|Eybers|1918|pp=358–359}} The [[Reformed Churches in South Africa|Dopper Church]] was approved by the {{lang|af|Volksraad}} in 1858, which had the effect of allowing [[Paul Kruger]], a [[Reformed Churches in South Africa|Dopper]] himself, to remain a citizen of the ZAR.

The Bible itself was also often used to interpret the intention of legal documents. The Bible was also used to interpret a prisoner exchange agreement, reached in terms of the [[Sand River Convention]], between a commando of the ZAR, led by Kruger, and a Commando of the Orange Free State. President [[Jacobus Nicolaas Boshoff]] had issued a death sentence over two ZAR citizens, for treason. Kruger argued with President Boshoff that the Bible said punishment does not mean a death sentence and at the prisoner exchange, it was agreed that the accused would be punished if found guilty. After consulting Commandant Kruger's Bible, Boshoff commuted the men's sentences to lashes with a [[sjambok]].<ref name=krugerp>{{cite book|last = Kruger|first = P.|date = 1902|title = Memoirs of Paul Kruger|url = https://archive.org/details/memoirsofpaulkru00kruguoft|location = Toronto|publisher = Morang and Co.|page = [https://archive.org/details/memoirsofpaulkru00kruguoft/page/59 59]| isbn=9780804610773 }}</ref>

===Citizenship===
[[File:Kruger Coat of arms of Transvaal.jpg|thumb|upright=.8|Coat of arms of the South African Republic displayed on Kruger's wagon]]

Citizenship of the ZAR was legislated by the constitution as well as Law No 7 of 1882, as amended on 23 June 1890.{{sfn|Eybers|1918|p=495}} Citizenship was gained by being born in the republic or by naturalisation. The voting age was 16 years. Persons not born in the republic could become citizens by taking the prescribed oath and procuring the letters of naturalisation. The oath involved abandoning, discarding and renouncing all allegiance and subjugation towards foreign sovereignties and in particular their previous citizenship. Under a law of 1855, only white people were permitted to be citizens of the ZAR and to own land.{{sfn|Yap|Leong Man|1996|p=76}} The constitution of the ZAR stated: "The ''volk'' (people) are not prepared to allow any equality of the non-white with the white inhabitants, either in the church or the state".{{sfn|Yap|Leong Man|1996|p=72}}

The Witwatersrand gold rush led to an influx of Indians and Chinese into the new city of [[Johannesburg]] that was emerging on the ''veld'', which led the ''volksraad'' to pass Law Number 3, which was aimed at stopping Asian immigration into the Transvaal.{{sfn|Yap|Leong Man|1996|p=76}} Under Law Number 3, all Asians which were defined as "Coolies, Chinese etc, Arabs, Malays, and Mohammedan subjects of the Turkish dominion" were forbidden from owning fixed property, had to register with the local magistrate within 8 days of arriving, were restricted to living in certain neighborhoods and had to pay an entry fee of £25.{{sfn|Yap|Leong Man|1996|p=76}} The Indian merchants, who were classified as "Arabs", objected to this law and appealed to the British government to protect their rights as British subjects.{{sfn|Yap|Leong Man|1996|p=76}} Following British diplomatic pressure, Law Number 3 was amended by the ''volksraad'' in 1887 to allow the "Asiatics" the right to own fixed property, though not land, and the entry fee was lowered to £3.{{sfn|Yap|Leong Man|1996|p=76}} Because the Indians in the ZAR had the British government to protect them, the anti-Asian laws in the ZAR tended to single out the Chinese, though the Hong Kong Chinese were like the Indians able to claim as British subjects certain exemptions from the anti-Chinese laws.{{sfn|Yap|Leong Man|1996|pp=79–80}}

To be eligible for citizenship, white foreigners had to have been residing in the Republic for a period of two years, be of good character and have been accepted as member of the Dutch Reformed or Reformed Church. On 20 September 1893 the ZAR Constitution was amended so that two-thirds of the [[Volksraad of the South African Republic|Volksraad]] would have to agree to changes to the citizenship law. This proclamation, No 224, also changed Law No 7 with regard to voting.{{sfn|Eybers|1918|p=501}}

All citizens who were born in the ZAR or had obtained their franchise prior to 23 June 1890 would have the right to vote for both the first and second {{lang|af|Volksraad}} and in all other elections. Citizens who obtained their franchise through naturalization after 23 June 1890 would be able to vote in all elections, except those for the first {{lang|af|Volksraad}}. The total population of the republic in 1890 was an estimated 120,000 people.<ref name="Mackay1870">{{cite book|last = Mackay|first = A.|date = 1870|title = Manual of Modern Geography|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=HHEDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA484|volume = 2|location = Edinburgh|publisher = William Blackwood and Sons|page = 484|oclc = 913570496}}</ref>