THE STUDENTS AND THE THEOLOGICAL COLLEGE AND ITS LITERARY DEPARTMENT 1899— 1919 Prof. Irving Hexham, Vancouver, Canada Gathering of clouds

During the South African w inter of 1899 the members of the Reformed Church Theological School, in the small north-eastern Cape town of Burgersdorp, became aware of “dark clouds” which were gathering on their political horizon. They were an intensely political group with strong republican sym pathies who looked to the northern republics ra th e r than to Cape Town for their inspiration. Yet when hostilities eventually broke out between the British and Boer Governments members of the Reformed Church in B urgers­ dorp seem to have been taken almost completely by surprise.^ At the outbreak of w ar the principal of the School, Jan LionCachet, consulted the only m em ber of the School’s Curators who was in the district and on his advice decided tha t they lacked the autho­ rity e ither to close the school or to allow students to leave. So classes continued as norm ally as possible until November 1899 when a Boer commando from the F ree State occupied the entire area, including the town of Burgersdorp, and closed the School. Most of the students either joined Boer Commandos or re tu rned home but seven rem ained in B urgersdorp with Cachet, to form a Red Cross Ambulance brigade.^

D uring th e South A frican w in ter of 1899 the m em bers of the Reform ed C hurch Theological School, in the sm all north-eastern Cape town of B urgersdorp, becam e aw are of "d ark clouds" which w ere g ath erin g on th e ir political horizon. They w ere an intensely political group w ith strong republican sym pathies who looked to the n o rth ern republics ra th e r than to Cape Town fo r th e ir inspiration. Yet w hen hostilities eventually broke out betw een th e B ritish and Boer G overnm ents m em bers of the R eform ed C hurch in B urgers dorp seem to have been taken alm ost com pletely by surprise.Â t the outbreak of w ar the principal of the School, Jan Lion-Cachet, consulted the only m em ber of the School's C urators who was in th e d istrict and on his advice decided th a t they lacked the autho rity e ith er to close the school o r to allow students to leave. So classes continued as norm ally as possible until Novem ber 1899 w hen a Boer com m ando from the F ree S tate occupied the en tire area, including th e town of B urgersdorp, and closed the School. Most of the students eith er joined Boer Commandos o r re tu rn ed home bu t seven rem ained in B urgersdorp w ith Cachet, to form a Red Cross A m bulance brigade.Ĉ

achet arrested
The B ritish re-occupied the area early in 1900 and in A pril of th a t y e a r C achet was able to reopen the School with the seven stu dents who had rem ained w ith him. S tudent num bers began to rise once m ore u ntil the B ritish m ilitary authorities closed the School in M arch 1901 and arrested C achet on a charge of high treason. This appears to have been connected w ith his association with the Boer com m andos during the occupation of the A lbert District, which included B urgersdorp, and his Red Cross work which was seen as an attem p t to aid the enem y. C achet sp en t six weeks in gaol but was finally released a fte r a tria l in which many leading B ritish residents of the area testified on his behalf. It was said th at although known to be very sym pathetic to the Boer cause, C achet and his stu dents had observed strict n eu trality and rendered valuable assistance to the w ounded of both sides. As a re su lt of this evidence the charges against him w ere dropped and he was free.' The School itself was an all purpose institution w here C achet and two o th er m em bers of staff p repared the students fo r a whole series of exam inations from pre-m atriculation to a post-graduate course in theology. Of the tw enty students enrolled at the school in 1901 only one was doing the post-graduate theology course leading to ordination by th e R eform ed Church. A nother was com pleting the final stages of a B.A. offered by the University of th e Cape of Good Hope, which was an exam ining body only, while two m ore w ere w orking fo r th e interm ediate B.A. Of the rem aining students eight w ere in the m atriculation class and seven in the pre-m atriculation class. And th ree ex-students, who left the school in 1899, w ere fu rth e rin g th e ir studies at the F ree U niversity of A m sterdam .
D uring the w ar th ree students, including C achet's son, w ere killed in action against the B ritish and an o th er eight w ere im prisoned.^ Few records w ere k ept during the period following the occupation by Boer forces and subsequent re-occupation by the British. But, w hen the School's various stu d en t societies" resum ed th e ir activies and began once m ore to keep m inutes of th e ir m eetings a picture em erges of fru stratio n and despair brought on by the defeat of the Boer arm ies and the conquest of the republics." This im pression is also gained from the students m onthly magazine H et Studenteblad when it resum ed publication in M arch 1903.'

Resuming student activities after the war amidst defeat
The Society "Corps Veritas V incet" was the first to resum e its activities, in F eb ru ary 1903.» At the first m eeting of the De Vergadering de S tu d en ten der Theologische School (S tudent Society) in M arch 1903 a Biblical talk was given based on Psalm 123 and the Book of Samuel, which encouraged them to look beyond th e ir presen t circum stances to God fo r th e ir salvation. They w ere told th at during "these trying tim es" they m ust learn to defend them selves and fight as Ju d ah fought w ith the w eapon of prayer. The speak er also rem inded them of the sacrifice of th e ir brothers who had died in th e w ar and a suggestion was m ade th a t they consider the erecting of a m onum ent to the w ar dead.'' S tudents attendingi» a m eeting of the School's L iterary Society held on the sam e day w ere also rem inded of th e ir failed companions and given a talk on the exploits of G eneral de W et. This was the beginning of a whole series of talks and poetry readings at the various stu d en t societies dealing w ith B oer heroism and the war. In addition a n um ber of talks w ere given which expounded the significance of various Biblical passages fo r the students. These invariably d ealt with the afflictions which w ere suffered by the C hildren of Israel and m ade strong com parisons betw een Biblical incidents and the history of the A frikaners.
The im pression gained from the reports of the m eetings held during 1903 is th a t the students w ere attem pting to keep up th e ir spirits despite a grow ing feeling of defeat, and the depression which it b ro ught w ith it. They fe lt oppressed and acknowledged th a t the tim es w ere very bad fo r A frikaners. In this situation they looked for In die Skriftig 19 com fort to th e ir religion and found it in an identification of th eir situation w ith th a t described in the Old Testam ent. T heir present circum stances m ight seem bad and they could w onder why God had allowed such evil to befall them bu t they w ere sure th at He would ultim ately vindicate them .

Their interpretation of the afflictions
Nowhere do we find th a t they ever doubted God's ability to deliver them or th a t they had doubts about the validity of th e ir Faith. N either do we get a heartsearching inspired by th e ir afflictions which m ade them w onder if it was possible th a t they had been w rong in th eir actions and th a t God was judging the A frikaner People because of th e ir sins. The use of the Bible in th e ir situation was a selective one which took God's prom ises to Israel and applied them to the A frik an er People w ithout looking at w hat the Bible tau g h t about God's judgem ent upon Israel because of Israel's sin. It was always the B ritish who w ere w rong and who w ere regarded as still being wrong, while th e A frikaner republics w ere always regarded as the innocent victims of naked aggression. The question was never raised w h eth er the republics had sinned and thus brought God's judgem ent upon them o r w hether the B ritish w ere in some way God's agents in A frica." The stu dents felt th a t they could best serve th e ir God and People by w orking hard at th e ir studies to enable them eventually to help lead th e ir People out of bondage.'^ They believed th at A frikaners generally w ere intellectually backw ard and grossly igno ra n t and th at the salvation of th e ir People lay in education." The keen in tere st tak en by Dutch C hristians in the plight of A frikaners was one of th e ir few encouragem ents during the dism al year of 1903. The stu dents fe lt a personal debt tow ards the Dutch when a gift of £833-6-8 was sent to the School to assist them.''*

A movement dictated to Afrikaans against colonialism
The stu dents saw the question of language in a close relationship to education because they believed the English hoped to destroy the language and w ith it, the sense of nationality of the A frikaner People in th e ir schools.'® South A frica was a "poor land" because altough it was rich in beauty and n atu ra l resourches its people did not value th e ir language. To rem edy this situation the students in B urgersdorp w anted Dutch to be tau g h t in S tate schools. But they m ade it clear th a t the "D utch" to which they re ferred was not th e Dutch of the N etherlands b u t South A frican Dutch -A fri kaans. South A frica was not the N etherlands and because of this basic fact it was silly of South A fricans to try to preserve a pure form of Dutch. W hat A frikaners m ust do was to develop th eir own spoken language, which was the language of South A frica.'" F or them , an A frikaner was not anyone born in South Africa, as m any people believed and as th e ir political opponents claimed. An A frik an er was a w hite descendant of the Dutch, F rench and G erm ans who settled the Cape in the seventeenth century. The English could never be regarded as A frikaners because they were "colonials" who looked to England as th e ir tru e hom e." By the end of 1903 the spirits of the students w ere slowly re viving and this was greatly assisted by the success of the conference organised in D ecem ber 1903 by the R eform ed S tudent Corps "V eritas V incet" on C hristian-N ational Education.

A movement on Christian-National Education
It was argued th a t A frikaners needed to be m ade aw are of the advantages of education because farm ers could no longer afford to divide up th e ir farm s to give each son his own piece of land. T here fore, A frikaners had to learn to com pete w ith o th er classes in society and C hristian schools m ust equip them by placing an em phasis on practical training. The teaching of Latin and G reek m ight be all rig h t fo r w ealthy English children b u t it was of no value to someone who could not afford to continue his studies and so m ust learn a trade. C hristian schools must, therefore, m eet the real needs of the people and not im aginary ones based purely on academ ic criteria. F u rth er, because of the pressures created by m odem society, by cities and industry, it was essential th at A fri kan er children w ere given a thorough grounding in th e religion of th e ir parents. They m ust be truly p rep ared fo r life both phy sically and spiritually and only C hristian-N ational Education could m eet this requirem ent. They m ust heed Van P rin ste re r's slogan, "In isolation is o u r stren g th ", and press fo r th e ir own Christian-N ational school system.
They concluded the conference w ith a declaration th a t the R eform ed C hurch m ust be urged to separate the Theological De p artm e n t from th e L iterary D epartem ent and w ork tow ards esta blishing its own C hristian University. In the N etherlands C hristians had created th e ir own educational system which included a univer sity. W ere C hristians in South A frica to lag behind the N etherlands in this respect? They believed in "fre e " education which m eant education free of G overnm ent interference. Looking at the Dutch and English system s of education the Dutch one seem ed closer to this ideal and the hope was expressed th a t one day South A frica m ight adopt th e Dutch system.^®

Growing committment
As 1904 progressed th e tone struck by the Corps "V eritas V incet" conference rem ained and the com m ittm ent of the students to C hristian-N ational E ducation grew. They agreed th a t each stu d en t would contribute an eight of his m onthly incom e to fu rth e rin g Christian-N ational Education. P arents m ust be m ade to realise th at the ch a rac te r of th e ir children was being form ed in the school and that: "W hoever controls the school controls the fu tu re ".
To b rin g hom e this tru th to p aren ts who still rem ained "in d ark n ess" and did not recognise the im portance of C hristian-Na tional Education th e students decided to publish a sm all booklet.^» If only A frik aner children could be educated in a truly "Christian-N ational sp irit" then th e ir troubles would be over and they could face the fu tu re w ith confidence.^T h e e x a m p le of P a u l K ru g e r The d eath of P resid en t K ruger natu rally excited the students a tte n tion and they decided to erect a m onum ent to his m e m o r y .^^ S tudenteblad w rote of him; "a g re at statesm an and g reat believer, o u r fath er, has died". The article w ent on to describe the way in which K ru g er was th e ir "fa th e r" in both political and spiritual m at ters as a tru e lead er of the A frikaner People. A fter giving a long account of his life the article urged the students to take courage from his exam ple and to hold fast to K ruger's conviction that: "how ever things m ay ap p ear God nev er abandons His P eople" .
He knew th a t God was sovereign and th a t He rules and uni verse. The Bible was his only guide in daily life and he applied its principles, like a tru e Christian, to m atters of State as well. He was one of th e founders of th e ir C hurch and m em bers of the Reform ed Com munity w ere his strongest, m ost reliable, supporters. Because of this they could be re fe rre d to as the "Ironsides" of the Transvaal.^L ike K ruger, the students distrusted the English. They saw the association of South A frica w ith B ritain is a thoroughly bad thing fo r th e p resen t and a potentially harm ful policy fo r the fu tu re. W hat would happen, they w anted to know, if B ritain becam e involved in a E uropean w ar? P erhaps they would even be faced w ith the prospect of an invasion by some enem y pow er sim ply because they w ere an ally of B ritain. To them it was clear th a t w hatever hap pened South A frica would be the loser. Therefore, they urged A frikaners to renounce all ties w ith England. The w arning they wished to proclaim was sim ply and they sum m ed it up in the fol lowing phrase: "A frikaner, be yourself and rem ain an A frik an er".^' T ra n s fe r to P o tc h e fstro o m 1905 Even before the Second Anglo-Boer W ar th ere had been a move to tra n s fe r th e R eform ed C hurch Theological School from Burgersdorp to a m ore suitable centre of population..^® The issue was raised again at th e m eeting of the G eneral Synod of the R eform ed C hurch in 1904. A fter careful consideration th e Synod decided th a t th e School would move to the T ransvaal town of Potchefstroom early in 1905." The C urators w ere thereu p o n instructed to carry out the move as quickly as possible.^® The students w ere delighted by this prospect and greeted the news w ith g re a t enthusiasm.^® The C urators received various gifts from d ifferen t congrega tions and a g ra n t of £3 000 from th e T ransvaal Provincial Synod to help w ith th e move. Ex-president K ruger sent £750 from the N etherlands. They estim ated th a t th e move would cost £5 000 which they hoped to raise w ithout difficulty. They visited Potchef stroom and w ere welcomed by th e Town Council which offered them land suitable for th e ir purpose.This offer was attacked in the local English language new spaper, the P otchefstroom Herald, claim ing th at the land in question had been designated for "English se ttle rs".^^ Despite this objection the preparations fo r the move see to have gone very smoothly.
The Theological School of the R eform ed C hurch and its L iterary D epartm ent opened in Potchefstroom on F ebruary 13th 1905.=*2 Its head was P rofessor Jan Lion-Cachet who was called the R ector and who was responsible fo r teaching theology throughout the School. Cachet was assisted in th e L iterary D epartm ent by two o ther full tim e professors, F erd inand Postm a, recently re tu rn e d from the F ree U niversity of A m sterdam , and A. P. C. Duvenage. Postm a concentrated on arts subjects while Duvenage was given the task of teaching m aths and the sciences. They w ere assisted in this task by several part-tim e tutors, including Ja n Kamp who was given a full-tim e post in 1907.^® It is difficult to know how m any students w ere in the School when it moved to Potchefstroom in 1905. T heir num bers are not indicated in th e M inutes of the C urators m eetings and do not seem to ap p ear elsew here. The situation is also com plicated by the fact th a t th ere w ere at least fo u r grades of students recognised by the School. Post-graduate students engaged in the study of theology in p rep aratio n fo r the m inistry of the R eform ed C hurch w ere the m ost senior students. They w ere engaged on a four y ear course and may have been divided into two groups: interm ediate and final course students. Below these w ere the m em bers of the L iterary D epartm ent who w ere prep arin g fo r the B.A. exam inations of the U niversity of th e Cape of Goop Hope. These w ere divided into final and in term ediate students and into "stu d en ts" and "ju n io rs". In addition th ere appears to have still been a num ber of m atricu lation candidates despite a ruling of the C urators against this practice in 1904.
The available evidence indicates th a t w hen the School moved to Potchefstroom in 1905 it had about tw enty students. In 1907 th ere seem to have th irty fo u r students, six of whom w ere stu dying post-graduate theology. The num bers fluctuated slightly over the years b u t gradually increased so th a t by 1918 the School had a total of th irty six students, two of whom w ere w orking fo r M.A.s.^Â

love of Afrikaans
The stu dents b ro ught w ith them from B urgersdorp a love of A frikaans and a strong desire to propagate it. They w ere encouraged in this by R eform ed leaders like Cachet, F. Postm a and J. D. du Toit as well as by the C urators of the Theological School who decided to allow them to subm it w ritten w ork in A frikaans if th eir tu to rs agreed.=" At stu d en t m eetings throughout 1905 and in sub sequent years poems w ere read in A frikaans, talks given on the language and discussions held on its history and rules fo r spelling w ere proposed. A rticles on these them es w ere also published by the stu dents in th e ir m agazine Fac e t Spera.^" In die Skrijlig 23 W hen Gustav P re lle r took the initiative in publicly proclaim ing the value of A frikaans and urging A frikaners to create th eir own literatu re, th e students enthusiastically greeted his call and w rote to him expressing th e ir delight at his stand.They criticised A fri k aners like Jan H ofm eyer who hoped to popularise Dutch and attacked the students in Stellenbosch fo r supporting Dutch.=« They agreed th a t Dutch had a value in South A frica bu t only as a basis for the creation of an A frikaans literature.^® A fter this enthusiasm fo r A frikaans it comes as quite a surprise to find th a t at a m eeting of the S tudent Society in October 1907 the issue of keeping the m inutes in A frikaans was laised and the secretary of th e society said th a t if he could not continue to keep them in Dutch then he would risign. A vote was taken and it was decided th a t the m inutes could be kept in Dutch. In fact, however, from th en on A frikaans was increasingly used.^"

Influence of Dutch thinking towards a "Christian Science"
At a stu d en t m eeting in July 1906 Jan Lion Cachet told the students about his early education in the hom e of the Dutch poet Da Costa.^' This, to g eth er w ith m any o th er references to the activities of Dutch Calvinists, underlines the influence of Dutch thinking upon th e students.^Â t a m ore theoretical level D utch ideas of "C hristian E ducation" w ere expounded in an article about a new book by P rofessor W olter of th e F ree U niversity of A m sterdam . In this article th e Anti-Revolutionary, K uyperian, approach is ably expounded in reply to the question of a hypothetical critic who asks "W hat's so special about C hristian E ducation?" The article said th a t W olter had d em onstrated the answ er by showing th a t even in the apparently "n e u tra l" realm of n atu ra l science th ere was a distinct C hristian approach. Teachers as well as m inisters of the W ord had to p rep are m en fo r life in the world and to equip them w ith a C hristian outlook which would enable them to overcom e the problem s they would en counter in th e ir daily activities. The laws of nature, it was argued did not rem ain the sam e fo r the C hristian and the non-Christian because absolute objectivity is impossible. T herefore m en are unable to approach any subject w ithout th e ir basic con victions colouring th e ir perception of it. Even the study of n atu re m ust involve one's basic principles. C hristians accepted th at in the beginning God had created the heavens and the earth. F or this reason they had a su p ern atu ral perspective which coloured th eir science th a t was rejected by th e ir non-C hristian colleagues. This perspective m eant th at a "C hristian science" was not only possible b u t essential if C hristians w ere to study s c i e n c e . ^T hese sam e argum ents w ere applied to the field of history. In South A frican State schools history was tau g h t from a B ritish perspective which underm ined the role of A frikaners and th reaten ed to destroy the sense of national identity of A frikaner children. In the L iterary D epartm ent of the R eform ed C hurch national history was tau g h t alongside Biblical history. In this way th e students came to realise th a t th ere was a C hristian perspective on history and began to see God's Providence in the creation of the A frikaner People.^P

artners in revival of Afrikanerdom on its history
As p a rt of the post w^ar nationalist revival of A frikanerdom g reat in tere st was shown in "national days", m onum ents, and traditional A frik an er culture. The social significance of these was rarely a subject fo r reflection in the enthusiasm of A frikaners to retain th eir heritage. A nu m ber of articles in Fac e t Spera, during 1907, are, however, exceptions to this lack of reflectiveness and set out very clearly why the leaders of the R eform ed Com munity thought it was im p o rtan t to preserve national days and m onum ents.
In Ju ly 1907 Fac et Spera published an instructive and im portant article on "The Erection of M onum ents". The au th o r said that, although m ost people knew a m onum ent was few realised its tru e significance.
W hen God lead the C hildren of Israel out of th e ir captivity in E gypt He com m anded them to rem em ber w hat He had done for them.^° They w ere to teach th e ir children and th e ir children's children the m ighty acts of God. This was essential fo r the form a tion of th e N ation of Israel and rem ained vital to the creation of any Nation.
This was w here m onum ents becam e im p o rtan t because they rem inded a People of th e ir N ational history. H ere also was the justification fo r C hristian-N ational Education because a m onum ent alone m eant very little to the observer. The person who saw a m onum ent m ust u nd erstand the significance of the events to which it bore witness. This m eant th at he m ust know the history of his People and if this was to happen he m ust have been educated in a C hristian-N ational School, w here he would have been taught to listen to w hat the m onum ent had to say to him about his People. Some people had argued th at instead of erecting m onum ents A frikaners could use the money they collected to com m em orate th eir past, and the w ar dead, by building useful buildings or sportgrounds. B ut useful rnem orial becam e a useful object and people would soon forget of w hat it was supposed to rem ind them."»*

Celebration of national days
A sim ilar article in th e October issue of Fac et Spera tackled the question of national days. N ational days brought joy into people's norm ally som bre lives and created a national consciousness by building up bonds am ong neighbours. A frikaners lacked such days and ought to in stitu te them fo r the benefit of th e ir national life. They needed occasions w hen they could celebrate th e ir joy in th e ir traditions and heritage.
Should some people object th a t this suggestion was opposed to religious principles the au th o r of the article, who may have been Cachet, replied th a t an exam ination of the Bible would show th at national days w ere B iblical." Israel had g reat and joyful national days. David held one at Mount H ebron and Soloman arran g ed a g reat celebration to m ark the opening of the Tem ple. In addition the Jew s had m any annual feasts. They celebrated the Passover and m any o th er days, as did the people of New T estam ent times.
F u rth er, th e R eform ers knew the im portance of festivals and Calvin had said th a t a person should never w ithdraw from national festivities. In addition he had encouraged the th e a tre in Geneva and the custom of eating com m unal m eals. It was good for people to m eet com m unally over a m eal before taking im portant decisions which would affect the en tire com m unity. This in fact was w hat had happened at the Synod of Dort. T herefore A frikaners had m any exam ples before them of godly m en who celebrated national days and o th er festivals.
The T ransvaal R epublic had also celebrated national days. C elebrations w ere held on the anniversaries of M ajuba, Paardenkraal, Dingaans Day, and on the P resid en t's birthday. In th e ir own tim e these celebrations had fallen into disuse. Some people would object th a t th e old national days had been m isused. The w riter agreed th a t this had been so bu t said th a t they should be celebrated like a Sunday in the fu tu re. P eople's lives would be im poverished if they w ere allowed to disappear, and, fa r worse, the bonds which bound th e nation to g eth er would be w eakened and the N ation's ability to survive lessened.'*®

Afrikaner identity against mixing of white races
These articles stressing the national identity of A frikaners w ere accom panied by various pieces dealing w ith contem porary politics. The m ost im p o rtant of these was an article which appeared in the July 1907 edition of Fac e t Spera, u n d e r the title "W hat M ust W e Do?" The them e of this was th a t tru e A frikaners m ust be vigilant against th e tren d tow ards a m ixing of th e w hite races in South Africa.

A loss of enthusiasm
A fter two quiet years of 1908 and 1909 th ere followed the hectic events of 1910-1915. The rem aining years u n til 1919 w ere then ones of anticlimax.'*® The L iterary Society held its last recorded m eeting in F eb ru ary 1916 and two m onths la te r th e S tudent Society also ceased to function.®» From then on Korps Veritas V incet re m ained th e sole surviving stu d en t society to record its m eetings. Its m eetings in th e following years covered a wide range of subjects, theological,®' literary,'* educational,®* political,®* and cultural." B ut som ething of th e old enthusiasm was m issing and although there was a strong in tere st in Calvinism and th e application of Calvinist principles to all areas of life, th e im pression gained is th a t the stu dents w ere not as active in prom oting these principles as they had been." The explanation fo r m uch of this inactivity possibly lies in the fact th a t the College was en terin g a transitional phase and until th e ir fu tu re was m ore certain the conditions w ere no t such as to encourage wild enthusiasm fo r C hristian-Nationalism . T here is also some evidence th a t while delicate negotiations w ere being conducted w ith the representatives of the Governm ent, the C urators and staff of the College discouraged the students from taking any action which m ight prejudice the chances of a satisfactory settlem ent w ith th e a u th o rities." At th e very end of 1919, however, things w ere beginning to change once m ore and at the last m eeting of Korps Veritas Vincet the stu dents w ere urged to renew th e ir dedication to the ideals of C hristian philosophy and science.^»

Institutional change
In 1911 a period of institutional change began fo r the College when a chair of pedagogy was established in the L iterary D epartm ent in 1911 and M arthinus Postm a, the son of Dirk Postm a, the founder of the R eform ed Church, installed as the professor. Jan Kamp was prom oted from lectu rer to P rofessor of Dutch and A frikaans language and lite ra tu re and J. D. du Toit was given the chair of theology upon the re tire m en t of P rofessor Cachet. Du Toit also took over C achet's position as R ector and head of both the L iterary D epartm ent and Theological School.'® In 1913 th e C urators resolved to separate com pletely the Lite ra ry D epartm ent and Theological School, b u t the decision was not pu t into effect im m ediately. They also decided to seek a State subsidy fo r the L iterary D epartm ent, and to begin to w ork "in the direction of a university" .® » L ater in the y ea r Dr S. 0 . Los (from th e N etherlands, Ed.) was appointed as the second professor of theology in the Theological School and given some lecturing responsibilities in th e L iterary D epartm ent in connection w ith the teaching of philosophy The C urators w rote to the Senate of the F ree U niversity of A m sterdam in 1914 to ask them to exem pt Potchefstroom students from th e first p a rt of the F ree U niversity's doctoral program m e by recognising th e courses offered in the L iterary Departm ent."^ Mem bers of the L iterary D epartm ent staff also appeared before a Com mission appointed by the Union G overnm ent to enquire into uni versity education. The Commission com m ented on its high academic standards."® As a resu lt of the re p o rt presented by this commission th ree Acts of P arliam ent w ere passed in 1916 which com pletely reorganised university education in South A frica. Two of these Acts gran ted university ch arters to two of the independent colleges which had previously p rep ared students fo r the exam inations of th e University of the Cape of Good Hope and thus created the universities of Stel lenbosch and Cape Town. The th ird Act replaced the U niversity of the Cape of Good Hope by the new U niversity of South A frica based in P reto ria. Six o th er colleges which had p rep ared students for the degrees offered by the University of the Cape of Good Hope w ere incorporated into th e U niversity of South Africa. B u t the statu s of the R eform ed C hurch College in Potchefstroom rem ained in doubt.

Conscience clause and birth of a Calvinist University
The years following 1916 w ere ones of g re at uncertainty fo r the R3form ed College in Potchefstroom . The L iterary D epartm ent needed a G overnm ent subsidy and official recognition to survive as a credible institution of higher education. However, m em bers of the R eform ed C hurch w anted to preserve th e C hristian ch aracter of th eir College and believed it necessary th a t the academ ic staff should consist only of Calvinists in sym pathy w ith the religious basis of the College. In setting up the U niversity of South Africa th e G overnm ent had explicitly rejected the im position of religious tests by any bodies associated w ith the University. This m eant th at unlike o th er colleges which had p rep ared candidates fo r th e degrees of th e University of the Cape of Good Hope, the College in Pot chefstroom could not autom atically be incorporated into the Uni versity of South Africa."® Negotiations continued betw een leaders of the R eform ed Com m unity, the U niversity of South A frica and the M inister of Education. But it was found im possible to reach agreem ent on the Reform ed C om m unity's term s. T herefore, a fte r careful consideration by the G eneral Synod in 1920 the R eform ed C hurch reluctantly accepted the rem oval of religious tests."" In anticipation of a negotiated solution to th e problem and with the help of funds from the N etherlands, the L iterary D epart m ent had been reorganised and expanded in A pril 1919 in accordance w ith decisions taken by the G eneral Synod of the Reform ed C hurch in 1918. This reorganisation finally sep arated the L iterary D epart m ent from its p aren t body the R eform ed Theological School, and a new lib eral arts type college Potchefstroom U niversity College was created.®T hus fifty years a fte r the founding of the R eform ed Theological School in B urgersdorp, and sixty years a fte r the form ation of the R eform ed C hurch itself, the R eform ed com m unity took an im portant step in th e establishm ent of an independent C alvinist U niversity in South Africa. It was not, however, u n til 1950 th a t the dream of the founders of the College was fulfilled and P arliam ent granted a c h a rte r to create Potchefstroom U niversity fo r C hristian H igher E ducation as an independent institution with its own religious te st fo r m em bers of its staff.®»