DIAMONDS, GOLD. AND BRITISH IMPERIALISM
Milner thus made sure that the treaty included no concessions to Af-
rikaner demands that might undermine his plans. In.response to the de-
mand for cultural autonomy, the treaty stopped short of making Dutch an
officiallanguage in the new colonies, though it stated that Dutch would be
taught in the schools where the parents desired it and would be allowed in
the courts where necessary for the better administration of justice. In re-
sponse to political demands, the treaty set no date for institutional
changes, saying merely that military administration would be succeeded by
civil government "at the earliest possible date" and that "as soon as cir-
cumstances permit, representative institutions, leading up to self-govern-
ment, will be introduced.P?
The Peace of Vereeniging also included one
major concession to Afrikaner and British colonial sentiment: "The ques-
tion of granting the franchise to natives will not be decided until after the
introduction of self-government."51 That was a momentous commitment.
The white inhabitants of the Transvaal and the Orange River Colony were
themselves to decide whether to enfranchise their black fellow subjects. It
was a forgone conclusion that they would exclude the Blacks, since the