Saul Solomon

Saul Solomon was born on the island of St Helena on 25 May 1817. Although his family were St Helenan, they had close links to Cape Town. Saul spent his first years at a Jewish children's home in England, where he suffered from the malnutrition and rickets that physically affected him for the rest of his life. He then had a rudimentary formal education in South Africa before beginning work as an apprentice in a printing business. He later acquired the business and built it into the largest printing business in the country, founding the Cape Argus newspaper. He was also one of the founders of Old Mutual, today one of the largest insurance firms in South Africa.

As representative for Cape Town, Solomon entered the very first Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope (Cape Parliament) when it opened in 1854. He remained an MP for this constituency until his retirement in 1883.

In 1873 he met Georgiana Margaret Thomson, the inaugural headteacher of a girls' school in Cape Colony, now known as Good Hope Seminary High School. Their views tallied on many matters, not least girls' education: he owned a first edition of Mary Wollstonecraft's polemic A Vindication of the Rights of Woman. Despite his being almost twice her age, they married. The wedding, which took place on 21 March 1874 at his home, was to have had an alteration to the standard Anglican marriage vows: neither wife nor husband wished her to promise to obey him. However, the two clergymen officiating told the couple that this would render the ceremony without authority, so the words were included. One historian describes their marriage as "idyllic". The couple had six children.

He lived at Clarensville House in Sea Point, Cape Town for most of his life. He and Georgiana enjoyed welcoming guests as varied as Cetewayo, King of the Zulus, and the future British Emperors, Princes Edward and George.

In 1881 the eldest daughter drowned – as did the governess who tried to rescue the child. Solomon's health declined and he withdrew from public life, even handing his business over to his nephews. Saul retired from public life, and the family moved to Bedford in England in 1888, where their sons attended Bedford School. He retired from public life completely in 1883 due to poor health and moved to Kilcreggan, Scotland, in 1888. It was here that he died in 1892, of "Chronic tubular nephritis", leaving Georgiana with four children to raise.

Saul Solomon's extended family remained deeply involved in politics and law in southern Africa for many years – though they varied greatly in their political allegiance. In particular, his nephews Sir Richard Solomon and Edward Philip Solomon were very influential at the time of the Boer War and the lead up to the Union of South Africa; their brother William Henry Solomon became the Union's Chief Justice.

Solomon's wife Georgiana survived him by over 40 years, and was an influential suffragette. Of their three children who lived to adulthood, Daisy Solomon was also a suffragette, Hon. Saul Solomon was a high court judge (the Supreme Court of South Africa), and William Ewart Gladstone Solomon was a noted painter who followed his mother into educational leadership as principal of the Bombay School of Art.

Saul Solomon's original election promise had been "to give my decided opposition to all legislation tending to introduce distinctions either of class, colour or creed".

Throughout his political career he strictly adhered to this manifesto – repeatedly turning down both cabinet and ministerial posts so as to be free to vote according to his beliefs.

Although he was from a Jewish background and even funded the establishment of the Cape's first synagogue in 1849, Solomon was openly secular in outlook, declaring himself to be "a liberal in politics and a voluntary in religion". In the first Cape parliament in 1854, he presented his "Voluntary bill" (intended to end government subsidies to churches, and to ensure equal treatment of all beliefs) but it was turned down. He proceeded to put it to parliament every year, only for it to be repeatedly rejected, until it was finally passed under the Molteno government in 1875.

The "Pro Bono Publico" trial (1878–79)

Solomon's editor, Patrick McLoughlin, had supposedly anonymously written several pieces criticising the Sprigg government and the British colonial establishment, the most infamous of which was entitled "Pro Bono Publico" ("For the Public Good"). A series of libel lawsuits were launched by the Sprigg government, ultimately targeting Solomon, whom it tried to link the pamphlets too.

Although it was never proven that McLoughlin even authored the pamphlets in question (and Solomon believed he had not), the trial and related pressures caused McLoughlin to resign (he shot himself a few years later). The Sprigg party failed however, to bring Solomon himself down.

The "Fiat Justitia" trial (1879–80)

The following year, Solomon's enemies had another opportunity. The Argus printed reports of racism and miscarriage of justice regarding the earlier trials for the Koegas murders, which had been sent to it signed "Fiat Justitia" ("May there be justice").

This generated another round of political trials. These attacked Solomon's new editor, Francis Dormer, for libel but again sought ultimately to damage Solomon himself. Once again the editor resigned, and once again Solomon survived, in spite of losing the trial. Crucially, he produced letters from the Koegas trial judge asking him to publish the information, and detailing the brutal violence of the murders and the racism which had prevented justice being done.

"Fiat Justitia" ultimately turned out to have been Mr D.P. Faure, who had served as the Koegas court interpreter. Faure was driven from his official career by the Sprigg government, but Solomon later sought out the unemployed Faure and gave him a token translator job with the Argus.