A memo addressed to the directors of the Dutch South African Association (NZAV). The NZAV was the result of cooperation between liberals and Anti-Revolutionaries. A national association established on May 12, 1881, the NZAV consolidated several local committees for the Transvaal, which had been established at the time of the outbreak of the First Boer War (1880–1881). Prof. Dr. P. Harting (1812–1885) became the chairman of the NZAV. Kuyper was co-founder of the NZAV and a member of the board.

In this lengthy letter to the board (KA 367), Kuyper objects to the idea of sending H.F. Jonkman (secretary of the NZAV) to South Africa for a year as its official representative. The idea was that Jonkman would gather local information about how the NZAV might foster the interests of the Boers. Kuyper disagreed with the board’s plans. In his view the proposed action went against the statutes of the association. He also found Jonkman lacking both in qualifications for the task and in spiritual sympathy for the Boers. Moreover, Kuyper opposed the decision because it would send Jonkman off without training and would require the expenditure of a substantial percentage of the NZAV’s treasury.

The board nevertheless decided to send Jonkman as its delegate to South Africa. Kuyper resigned his board membership on October 19, 1882. The Rev. F. Lion Cachet (1835–1899) had already resigned from the board and D.P.D. Fabius (1851–1931), professor at the Vrije Universiteit, would soon follow suit.

The memo was also published in De Standaard 11 (1882), no. 3252, October 24, 1882, but the passage about the board’s non-compliance with its statutes was left out. This abbreviated version was subsequently reprinted in the press.