Page:The Green Bag (1889–1914), Volume 24.pdf/325

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The Green Bag Whereupon, her joyous suitor, though his voice was slightly hoarse, Did his very best to suit her with this last romantic verse: "Oh, my bubbling joy and pride I Cannot suitably portray! Since you are to be my bride I Now in triumph go away, And this farewell strain or two from My melodious guitar Is a musical adieu from Your fond member of the bar." Clyde, O.

The South African Court System BY MARION JOHN ATWOOD BY the Act of Union of 1909 a unitary form of government was established in South Africa and there with a rather unusual court system among English colonies. It is one in which the local or provincial govern ments play little or no real part and the Union government takes all precedence. It is, however, in entire harmony with the character of the existing government. The entire court system is known as the Supreme Court of South Africa and is made up of three divisions, — appellate, provincial, and local. The appellate divisions is in reality a supreme court of appeal for the four colonies of the Union. The provincial courts, four in number, are the former supreme courts of Natal, Transvaal, Orange Free State, and Cape Colony, while the local courts comprise the former inferior courts of the provinces. The appellate court sits in Bloemfontein, but accomplishes the rather unusual feat, for a supreme court of appeal, of changing its place of sitting to accommodate suitors if it so wills. This is to be explained on the ground that it was held out as a means of getting Orange Free State to enter the

Union. Thus likewise Pretoria is the seat of Government and Cape Town is the seat of the Union legislature. This division has no original jurisdiction and hears merely the appeals from the pro vincial courts, which heretofore would have gone directly to the King in Coun cil. However, appeals cannot of their own right come directly from the pro vincial courts to the appellate divisions. The upper court must grant permission to the appellant to bring his case in the superior court, but no appeal is to be refused on the ground of the limited amount involved. The provincial courts are located at the seats of provincial government, Cape Town, Pietermaritzburg, Pretoria, and Bloemfontein. They have been given all of the original jurisdiction exercised by the former supreme courts of the provinces and in addition in all matters "in which the Government of the Union or a person suing or being sued on behalf of such a government is a party," and "in which the validity of any provincial ordinance shall come into question." They also, apparently, have jurisdiction over questions of election to the lower house of the Union legis