William Philip Schreiner
Encyclopedia
William Philip Schreiner (30 August 1857 – 28 June 1919) was a barrister
, politician
, statesman
and Prime Minister
of the Cape Colony
during the Second Boer War
.
near Herschel, Schreiner was the tenth child of missionaries Gottlob Schreiner and Rebecca Lyndall, and the younger brother of Olive Schreiner
. Schreiner was educated at Bedford
, the South African College
in Cape Town
, the University of the Cape of Good Hope
, the University of London
, and Downing College, Cambridge
where he took a First in the London LL.B. examination and was senior jurist in the Cambridge Law Tripos
.
He was admitted to the English bar in 1882, returned to Cape Town as an advocate of the Cape Supreme Court and established a thriving law practice.
He became a parliamentary draughtsman in 1885 and acted as legal adviser to the Governor and High Commissioner in 1887. His proximity to parliamentarians gave him an entrée to South African political life, expanding his interest in political affairs.
He entered politics in 1893 as the Member of Parliament for Kimberley
and became Attorney-General in the Rhodes
cabinet of 1893 - a cabinet supported by Jan Hendrik "Onze Jan" Hofmeyr and the Afrikaner Bond
until the Jameson Raid
when Rhodes' imperial ambitions became clear, causing the resignation of Schreiner and the rest of the ministry in January 1896. He was elected member for Malmesbury in 1898 and later that year became Prime Minister in a cabinet that included John X. Merriman
and Jacobus Wilhelmus Sauer.
As Prime Minister he favoured negotiation rather than hostilities, to the chagrin of Governor and High Commissioner Alfred Milner, who was actively fomenting war. His stance led to his forced resignation from the premiership and parliament in June 1900. He failed to win a seat in the 1904 election, but returned in 1908 as the Member for Queenstown, a radically changed politician. He now adopted a liberal Bantu policy which had started in 1899 with a visit to the Transkei and the African leader Tengo Jabavu
. Schreiner's philosophy advocated integration and equal rights for all civilised men. His dedication to this ideal was proved by his resignation from the National Convention in order to represent Dinuzulu
, due to stand trial before a special court set up by the Government of Natal, for his alleged treasonable participation in the rebellion of 1906.
Schreiner felt that the Union Government and parliament would not uphold the liberal Cape Bantu policy. He went to England to oppose the passage of the South Africa Act through the British Parliament. With the forming of Union, he became one of the first senators nominated to look after Black interests.
He was on holiday in England at the outbreak of World War I
and was requested by Gen. Botha
to fill the post of High Commissioner for South Africa in London. He died in office on 28 June 1919, the day the Treaty of Versailles
was signed. Schreiner was that rare thing in politics - incorruptible with unblemished integrity and a loyalty to country that rose above personal ambition.
He was married in 1884 to Frances Hester Reitz, a sister of President F. W. Reitz
. They had two sons and two daughters.
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
, politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
and Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of the Cape Colony
Cape Colony
The Cape Colony, part of modern South Africa, was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1652, with the founding of Cape Town. It was subsequently occupied by the British in 1795 when the Netherlands were occupied by revolutionary France, so that the French revolutionaries could not take...
during the Second Boer War
Second Boer War
The Second Boer War was fought from 11 October 1899 until 31 May 1902 between the British Empire and the Afrikaans-speaking Dutch settlers of two independent Boer republics, the South African Republic and the Orange Free State...
.
Career
Schreiner was born at Wittebergen Mission Station in the Eastern CapeEastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
near Herschel, Schreiner was the tenth child of missionaries Gottlob Schreiner and Rebecca Lyndall, and the younger brother of Olive Schreiner
Olive Schreiner
Olive Schreiner was a South African author, anti-war campaigner and intellectual. She is best remembered today for her novel The Story of an African Farm which has been highly acclaimed ever since its first publication in 1883 for the bold manner in which it dealt with some of the burning issues...
. Schreiner was educated at Bedford
Bedford, Eastern Cape
Bedford is a town in the centre of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It was established in the mid-19th century when Sir Andries Stockenstroom sold portions of land from his farm Maastroom to raise funds for the restoration of his library, which had been burnt by British soldiers...
, the South African College
South African College
The South African College was an educational institution in Cape Town, South Africa, which developed into the University of Cape Town and the South African College Schools .-History:...
in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
, the University of the Cape of Good Hope
University of the Cape of Good Hope
The University of the Cape of Good Hope, renamed the University of South Africa in 1916, was created by Act 16 of 1873 of the Cape of Good Hope Parliament. Modelled on the University of London, it offered examinations but not tuition, and had the power to confer degrees upon successful examination...
, the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
, and Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College, Cambridge
Downing College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1800 and currently has around 650 students.- History :...
where he took a First in the London LL.B. examination and was senior jurist in the Cambridge Law Tripos
Tripos
The University of Cambridge, England, divides the different kinds of honours bachelor's degree by Tripos , plural Triposes. The word has an obscure etymology, but may be traced to the three-legged stool candidates once used to sit on when taking oral examinations...
.
He was admitted to the English bar in 1882, returned to Cape Town as an advocate of the Cape Supreme Court and established a thriving law practice.
He became a parliamentary draughtsman in 1885 and acted as legal adviser to the Governor and High Commissioner in 1887. His proximity to parliamentarians gave him an entrée to South African political life, expanding his interest in political affairs.
He entered politics in 1893 as the Member of Parliament for Kimberley
Kimberley, Northern Cape
Kimberley is a city in South Africa, and the capital of the Northern Cape. It is located near the confluence of the Vaal and Orange Rivers. The town has considerable historical significance due its diamond mining past and siege during the Second Boer War...
and became Attorney-General in the Rhodes
Rhodes
Rhodes is an island in Greece, located in the eastern Aegean Sea. It is the largest of the Dodecanese islands in terms of both land area and population, with a population of 117,007, and also the island group's historical capital. Administratively the island forms a separate municipality within...
cabinet of 1893 - a cabinet supported by Jan Hendrik "Onze Jan" Hofmeyr and the Afrikaner Bond
Afrikaner Bond
The Afrikaner Bond was a political party in the Cape Colony. It was formed by the union in 1881 of the Genootskap vir Regte Afrikaners of Rev S.J...
until the Jameson Raid
Jameson Raid
The Jameson Raid was a botched raid on Paul Kruger's Transvaal Republic carried out by a British colonial statesman Leander Starr Jameson and his Rhodesian and Bechuanaland policemen over the New Year weekend of 1895–96...
when Rhodes' imperial ambitions became clear, causing the resignation of Schreiner and the rest of the ministry in January 1896. He was elected member for Malmesbury in 1898 and later that year became Prime Minister in a cabinet that included John X. Merriman
John X. Merriman
John Xavier Merriman was the last prime minister of the Cape Colony before the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910.-Early life:...
and Jacobus Wilhelmus Sauer.
As Prime Minister he favoured negotiation rather than hostilities, to the chagrin of Governor and High Commissioner Alfred Milner, who was actively fomenting war. His stance led to his forced resignation from the premiership and parliament in June 1900. He failed to win a seat in the 1904 election, but returned in 1908 as the Member for Queenstown, a radically changed politician. He now adopted a liberal Bantu policy which had started in 1899 with a visit to the Transkei and the African leader Tengo Jabavu
Tengo Jabavu
Tengo Jabavu can refer to:*John Tengo Jabavu , Bantu newspaper editor*Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu, Bantu political activist and author...
. Schreiner's philosophy advocated integration and equal rights for all civilised men. His dedication to this ideal was proved by his resignation from the National Convention in order to represent Dinuzulu
Dinuzulu
Dinuzulu kaCetshwayo was the king of the Zulu nation from 20 May 1884 until his death in 1913.He succeeded his father Cetshwayo, who was the last king of the Zulus to be officially recognized as such by the British...
, due to stand trial before a special court set up by the Government of Natal, for his alleged treasonable participation in the rebellion of 1906.
Schreiner felt that the Union Government and parliament would not uphold the liberal Cape Bantu policy. He went to England to oppose the passage of the South Africa Act through the British Parliament. With the forming of Union, he became one of the first senators nominated to look after Black interests.
He was on holiday in England at the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and was requested by Gen. Botha
Louis Botha
Louis Botha was an Afrikaner and first Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa—the forerunner of the modern South African state...
to fill the post of High Commissioner for South Africa in London. He died in office on 28 June 1919, the day the Treaty of Versailles
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June 1919, exactly five years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. The other Central Powers on the German side of...
was signed. Schreiner was that rare thing in politics - incorruptible with unblemished integrity and a loyalty to country that rose above personal ambition.
He was married in 1884 to Frances Hester Reitz, a sister of President F. W. Reitz
Francis William Reitz
Francis William Reitz, Jr. was a South African lawyer, politician, statesman, publicist and poet, member of parliament of the Cape Colony, Chief Justice and fifth State President of the Orange Free State, State Secretary of the South African Republic at the time of the Second Boer War, and the...
. They had two sons and two daughters.
External links
- The papers of WP Schreiner held by the University of Cape TownUniversity of Cape TownThe University of Cape Town is a public research university located in Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. UCT was founded in 1829 as the South African College, and is the oldest university in South Africa and the second oldest extant university in Africa.-History:The roots of...
Libraries.