ABSTRACT
The 1929 general elections were scheduled for June. As the first term of the Pact government drew to a close in the first half of 1929, the ‘black peril’ was high on the political agenda. The previous years had seen several attempts to curtail African political rights. In July 1926 Prime Minister Hertzog had tabled several bills aiming to reinforce African segregation and curtail their franchise rights. One, the Native Land Act Amendment Bill, aimed to decrease the amount of reserved land available to Africans as stipulated in the 1913 Land Act; another, the Representation of Natives in Parliament Bill, aimed to remove Africans in the Cape Province from the common voting roll. The bills were not passed, but they were a harbinger of things to come, and the ensuing debates provided the backdrop for the 1929 election. 1
