The Queen's Speech proroguing Parliament was of un- usual length.
The passage dealing with South Africa announces that the Orange Free State has been annexed to the Empire, and states that the continued political independence of the two Republics would be a constant danger to the peace of South Africa. People have been wondering why only the Orange Free State has been annexed. The reason, however. is quite obvious. The Transvaal cannot be annexed because it is already, and has been since 1877, part of the British Empire. After the Boer War the Act of Annexation was never rescinded, and the Boers were by the two Conventions merely granted certain very large rights of self-govern- ment within territories forming part of the Empire. Speaking with a strict regard to law, as one must in a Queen's Speech, we could no more annex the Trans- vaal than we could annex Mysore,—an almost exact parallel. The passage referring to China is not of import- ance, except that it dwells with special emphasis on the need for "worthy punishment for the authors of this unexampled crime." The Speech has in some quarters been regarded as an electioneering document, but we cannot, we confess, see any proof of that in its wording. It is fuller and more weighty than usual because public events during the past Session have been of unusual gravity.
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