Johannesburg Reform Committee

The Reform Committee was an organisation of prominent Johannesburg citizens which existed late 1895/early 1896. The Transvaal gold rush had brought in a considerable foreign population, chiefly British although there were substantial minorities from other nations, who the Boer referred to as Uitlanders (foreigners). These immigrants, who were by far the wealthiest part of the community, formed a Reform Committee headed by Lionel Phillips, Charles... more

The Reform Committee was an organisation of prominent Johannesburg citizens which existed late 1895/early 1896. The Transvaal gold rush had brought in a considerable foreign population, chiefly British although there were substantial minorities from other nations, who the Boer referred to as Uitlanders (foreigners). These immigrants, who were by far the wealthiest part of the community, formed a Reform Committee headed by Lionel Phillips, Charles Leonard, Colonel Frank Rhodes (brother of Cecil), John Hays Hammond, and a few others. They demanded a stable constitution, a fair franchise law, an independent judiciary, a better educational system, etc. The Government under President Paul Kruger made promises but failed to keep them. Some members of the Committee had been instrumental in the preparation for the Jameson Raid. Leander Starr Jameson had been in charge of Matabeleland when he overstepped his authority and invaded Transvaal with 1 500 troops, greatly exacerbating the many... less