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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..cc97bbb --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #66342 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66342) diff --git a/old/66342-0.txt b/old/66342-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 800de61..0000000 --- a/old/66342-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,9239 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of South Africa; vol I., by Anthony Trollope - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: South Africa; vol I. - -Author: Anthony Trollope - -Release Date: September 19, 2021 [eBook #66342] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -Produced by: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at - http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images - available at The Internet Archive) - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA; VOL I. *** - - - - - SOUTH AFRICA - - VOL. I. - - - - - SOUTH AFRICA. - - BY - ANTHONY TROLLOPE. - - - IN TWO VOLUMES. - VOL. I. - - - _FOURTH EDITION._ - - - LONDON: - CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY. - 1878. - - (_All rights reserved._) - - - - - LONDON: - PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, - CITY ROAD. - - - - - CONTENTS OF VOL. I. - - -SOUTH AFRICA. - -CHAPTER I. PAGE -INTRODUCTION 1 - -CHAPTER II. -EARLY DUTCH HISTORY 10 - -CHAPTER III. -ENGLISH HISTORY 26 - -CHAPTER IV. -POPULATION AND FEDERATION 46 - - -THE CAPE COLONY. - -CHAPTER V. -CAPETOWN; THE CAPITAL 67 - -CHAPTER VI. -THE LEGISLATURE AND EXECUTIVE 85 - -CHAPTER VII. -KNYSNA, GEORGE, AND THE CANGO CAVES 98 - -CHAPTER VIII. -THE PAARL, CERES, AND WORCESTER 121 - -CHAPTER IX. -ROBERTSON, SWELLENDAM, AND SOUTHEY’S PASS 141 - -CHAPTER X. -FORT ELIZABETH AND GRAHAMSTOWN 159 - -CHAPTER XI. -BRITISH KAFRARIA 181 - -CHAPTER XII. -KAFIR SCHOOLS 207 - -CHAPTER XIII. -CONDITION OF THE CAPE COLONY 224 - - -NATAL. - -CHAPTER XIV. -NATAL.--HISTORY OF THE COLONY 241 - -CHAPTER XV. -CONDITION OF THE COLONY.--NO. 1. 263 - -CHAPTER XVI. -CONDITION OF THE COLONY.--NO. 2. 284 - -CHAPTER XVII. -THE ZULUS 306 - -CHAPTER XVIII. -LANGALIBALELE 327 - -CHAPTER XIX. -PIETER MARITZBURG TO NEWCASTLE 339 - -[Illustration: - -SOUTH AFRICA -BY -HENRY HALL, R.E.D. -] - - - - -SOUTH AFRICA. - - - - -CHAPTER I. - -INTRODUCTION. - - -It was in April of last year, 1877, that I first formed a plan of paying -an immediate visit to South Africa. The idea that I would one day do so -had long loomed in the distance before me. Except the South African -group I had seen all our great groups of Colonies,--among which in my -own mind I always include the United States, for to my thinking, our -Colonies are the lands in which our cousins, the descendants of our -forefathers, are living and still speaking our language. I had become -more or less acquainted I may say with all these offshoots from Great -Britain, and had written books about them all,--except South Africa. To -“do” South Africa had for some years past been on my mind, till at last -there was growing on me the consciousness that I was becoming too old -for any more such “doing.” Then, suddenly, the newspapers became full of -the Transvaal Republic. There was a country not indeed belonging to -Great Britain but which once had been almost British, a country, with -which Britain was much too closely concerned to ignore it,--a country, -which had been occupied by British subjects, and established as a -Republic under British authority,--now in danger of being reconquered by -the native tribes which had once peopled it. In this country, for the -existence of which in its then condition we were in a measure -responsible, the white man there would not fight, nor pay taxes, nor -make himself conformable to any of these rules by which property and -life are made secure. Then we were told that English interference and -English interference only could save the country from internecine -quarrels between black men and white men. While this was going on I made -up my mind that now if ever must I visit South Africa. The question of -the Confederation of the States was being mooted at the same time, a -Confederation which was to include not only this Republic which was so -very much out of elbows, but also another quiet little Republic of which -I think that many of us did not know much at home,--but as to which we -had lately heard that it was to receive £90,000 out of the revenue of -the Mother Country, not in compensation for any acknowledged wrong, but -as a general plaster for whatever little scratches the smaller -community, namely the Republic of the Orange Free States, might have -received in its encounters with the greater majesty of the British -Empire. If a tour to South Africa would ever be interesting, it -certainly would be so now. Therefore I made up my mind and began to make -enquiries as to steamers, cost, mode of travelling, and letters of -introduction. It was while I was doing this that the tidings came upon -us like a clap of thunder of the great deed done by Sir Theophilus -Shepstone. The Transvaal had already been annexed! The thing which we -were dreaming of as just possible,--as an awful task which we might -perhaps be forced to undertake in the course of some indefinite number -of months to come, had already been effected. A sturdy Englishman had -walked into the Republic with five and twenty policemen and a Union Jack -and had taken possession of it. “Would the inhabitants of the Republic -like to ask me to take it?” So much enquiry he seems to have made. No; -the people by the voice of their parliament declined even to consider so -monstrous a proposition. “Then I shall take it without being asked,” -said Sir Theophilus. And he took it. - -That was what had just been done in the Transvaal when my idea of going -to South Africa had ripened itself into a resolution. Clearly there was -an additional reason for going. Here had been done a very high-handed -thing as to which it might be the duty of a Briton travelling with a pen -in his hand to make a strong remonstrance. Or again it might be his duty -to pat that sturdy Briton on the back,--with pen and ink,--and hold his -name up to honour as having been sturdy in a righteous cause. If I had -premeditated a journey to South Africa a year or two since, when South -Africa was certainly not very much in men’s mouths, there was much more -to reconcile me to the idea now that Confederation and the Transvaal -were in every man’s mouth. - -But when my enquiries which had at first been general came down to -minute details, when I was warned by one South African friend that the -time I had chosen for my journey was so altogether wrong that I should -be sure to find myself in some improvisioned region between two rivers -of which I should be as unable to repass the one as to pass the other, -and by another that the means of transit through the country were so -rough as to be unfit for any except the very strong,--or very slow; when -I was assured that the time I had allowed myself was insufficient even -to get up to Pretoria and back, I confess that I became alarmed. I shall -never forget the portentous shaking of the head of one young man who -evidently thought that my friends were neglecting me in that I was -allowed to think of such a job of work. Between them all they nearly -scared me. Had I not been ashamed to abandon my plan I think I should -have gone into the city and begged Mr. Donald Currie to absolve me from -responsibility in regard to that comfortable berth which he had promised -to secure for me on board the Caldera. - -I have usually found warnings to be of no avail, and often to be -illfounded. The Bay of Biscay as I have felt it is not much rougher than -other seas. No one ever attempted to gouge me in Kentucky or drew a -revolver on me in California. I have lived in Paris as cheaply as -elsewhere; and have invariably found Jews to be more liberal than other -men. Such has been the case with the South African lions which it was -presumed that I should find in my path. I have never been stopped by a -river and have never been starved; and am now, that the work is done, -heartily glad that I made the attempt. Whether my doing so can be of any -use in giving information to others will be answered by the fate of my -little book which is thus sent upon the waves within twelve months of -the time when I first thought of making the journey; but I am sure that -I have added something worth having to my own stock of knowledge -respecting the Colonies generally. - -As I have written the following chapters I think that I have named the -various works, antecedent to my own, from which I have made quotations -or taken information as to any detail of South African history. I will, -however, acknowledge here what I owe to Messrs. Wilmot and Chase’s -“History of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope,”--to the “Compendium of -South African History and Geography,” by George M. Theal, as to which -the reader may be interested to know that the entire work in two volumes -was printed, and very well printed, by native printers at Lovedale,--to -Mr. John Noble’s work, entitled “South Africa, Past and Present,”--to -Messrs. Silver and Co.’s “Handbook to South Africa,” which of all such -works that have ever come into my hands is the most complete; and to the -reprints of two courses of lectures, one given by Judge Watermeyer on -the Cape Colony, and the other by Judge Cloëte “On the Emigration of the -Dutch Farmers.” I must also name the “Compendium of Kafir Laws and -Customs” collected and published by Col. Maclean, who was at one time -Lieut.-Governor of British Kafraria. Were I to continue the list so as -to include all the works that I have read or consulted I should have to -name almanacks, pamphlets, lectures, letters and blue books to a very -great number indeed. - -I have a great deal of gratitude to own to gentlemen holding official -positions in the different Colonies and districts I have visited, -without whose aid my task would have been hopeless. Chief among these -have been Captain Mills the Colonial Secretary at Capetown, without -whom I cannot presume it possible that the Cape Colony should continue -to exist. There is however happily no reason why for many years to come -it should be driven to the necessity of even contemplating such an -attempt. At Pieter Maritzburg in Natal I found my old friend Napier -Broome, and from him and from the Governor’s staff generally I received -all the assistance that they could give me. At Pretoria Colonel Brooke -and Mr. Osborn, who were ruling the Dutchmen in the absence of Sir -Theophilus Shepstone, were equally kind to me. At Bloemfontein Mr. -Höhne, who is the Government Secretary, was as cordial and communicative -as though the Orange Free States were an English Colony and he an -English Minister. I must also say that Mr. Brand, the President of the -Free States, though he is Dutch to the back bone, and has in his time -had some little tussles with what he has thought to be British -high-handedness,--in every one of which by-the-bye he has succeeded in -achieving something good for his country,--was with me as open and -unreserved as though I had been a Dutch Boer, or he a member of the same -political club with myself in England. But how shall I mention the -full-handed friendship of Major Lanyon, whom I found administering the -entangled affairs of Griqualand West,--by which perhaps hitherto unknown -names my readers will find, if they go on far enough with the task -before them, that the well-known South African Diamond Fields are -signified? When last I had seen him, and it seems but a short time ago, -he was a pretty little boy with a pretty little frock in Belfast. And -there he was among the diamonds carrying on his government in a capital -which certainly is not lovely to look at,--which of itself is perhaps -the most unlovely city that I know,--but which his kindness succeeded in -making agreeable, though not even his kindness could make it other than -hideous. - -These names I mention because of the information which I have received -from their owners. What I owe to the hospitality of the friends I have -made in South Africa is a matter private between me and them. I may -however perhaps acknowledge the great courtesy which I have received -from Sir Bartle Frere and Sir Henry Bulwer, the Governors of the Cape -Colony and Natal. As to the former it was a matter of much regret to me -that I should not have seen him on my return to Capetown after my -travels, when he was still detained at the frontier by the disturbances -with Kreli and the Galekas. It was my misfortune not to become -personally acquainted with Sir Theophilus Shepstone, who unhappily for -me was absent inspecting his new dominion when I was at Pretoria. - -I must express my hearty thanks to Sir Henry Barkly, the late Governor -of the Cape Colony, who had returned home just before I started from -London, and who was kind enough to prepare for me with great minuteness -a sketch of my journey, as, in his opinion, it ought to be made, giving -me not only a list of the places which I should visit but an estimate of -the time which should be allotted to each, so as to turn to the best -advantage the months which I had at my disposal. I have not quite done -all which his energy would have exacted from me. I did not get to the -Gold-fields of the Transvaal or into Basutoland. But I have followed his -guidance throughout, and can certainly testify to the exactness of his -knowledge of the country. - -My readers will find that in speaking of the three races I found in -South Africa, the native tribes namely, the Dutch and the English, I -have attributed by far the greater importance to the former because of -their numbers. But I fear that I have done so in such a way as not to -have conciliated the friends of the aborigines at home, while I shall -certainly have insured the hostility,--or at any rate opposition,--of -the normal white men in the Colonies. The white man in the South African -Colonies feels that the colony ought to be his and kept up for him, -because he, perhaps, with his life in his hand, went forth as a pioneer -to spread the civilization of Europe and to cultivate the wilds of the -world’s surface. If he has not done so himself, his father did it before -him, and he thinks that the gratitude of the Mother Country should -maintain for him the complete ascendency which his superiority to the -black man has given him. I feel confident that he will maintain his own -ascendency, and think that the Mother Country should take care that that -ascendency be not too complete. The colonist will therefore hardly agree -with me. The friend of the aborigines, on the other hand, seems to me to -ignore the fact,--a fact as it presents itself to my eyes,--that the -white man has to be master and the black man servant, and that the best -friendship will be shown to the black man by seeing that the terms on -which the master and servant shall be brought together are just. In the -first place we have to take care that the native shall not be subjected -to slavery on any pretence or in any of its forms; and in doing this we -shall have to own that compulsory labour, the wages for which are to be -settled by the employer without the consent of the employed, is a form -of slavery. After that,--after acknowledging so much, and providing -against any infraction of the great law so laid down,--the more we do to -promote the working of the coloured man, the more successful we are in -bringing him into his harness, the better for himself, and for the -colony at large. A little garden, a wretched hut, and a great many hymns -do not seem to me to bring the man any nearer to civilization. Work -alone will civilize him, and his incentive to work should be, and is, -the desire to procure those good things which he sees to be in the -enjoyment of white men around him. He is quite alive to this desire, and -is led into new habits by good eating, good clothes, even by finery and -luxuries, much quicker than by hymns and gardens supposed to be just -sufficient to maintain an innocent existence. The friend of the -aboriginal would, I fear, fain keep his aboriginal separated from the -white man; whereas I would wish to see their connexion as close as -possible. In this way I fear that I may have fallen between two stools. - -In regard to Kreli and his rebellious Galekas,--in regard also to the -unsettled state of the Zulus and their borders, I have to ask my readers -to remember that my book has been written while these disturbances were -in existence. In respect to them I can not do more than express an -opinion of my own,--more or less crude as it must necessarily be. - - - - -CHAPTER II. - -EARLY DUTCH HISTORY. - - -Our possessions in South Africa, like many of our other Colonial -territories, were taken by us from others who did the first rough work -of discovering and occupying the land. As we got Canada from the French, -Jamaica from the Spaniards, and Ceylon from the Dutch, so did we take -the Cape of Good Hope from the latter people. In Australia and New -Zealand we were the pioneers, and very hard work we found it. So also -was it in Massachusetts and Virginia, which have now, happily, passed -away from us. But in South Africa the Dutch were the first to deal with -the Hottentots and Bushmen; and their task was nearly as hard as that -which fell to the lot of Englishmen when they first landed on the coast -of Australia with a cargo of convicts. - -The Portuguese indeed came before the Dutch, but they only came, and did -not stay. The Cape, as far as we know, was first doubled by Bartholomew -Diaz in 1486. He, and some of the mariners with him, called it the Cape -of Torments, or Capo Tormentoso, from the miseries they endured. The -more comfortable name which it now bears was given to it by King John of -Portugal, as being the new way discovered by his subjects to the -glorious Indies. Diaz, it seems, never in truth saw the Cape but was -carried past it to Algoa Bay where he merely landed on an island and put -up a cross. But he certainly was one of the great naval heroes of the -world and deserves to be ranked with Columbus. Vasco da Gama, another -sailor hero, said to have been of royal Portuguese descent, followed him -in 1497. He landed to the west of the Cape. There the meeting between -Savage and Christian was as it has almost always been. At first there -was love and friendship, a bartering of goods in which the Christian of -course had the advantage, and a general interchange of amenities. Then -arose mistakes, so natural among strangers who could not speak to each -other, suspicion, violence, and very quickly an internecine quarrel in -which the poor Savage was sure to go to the wall. Vasco da Gama did not -stay long at the Cape, but proceeding on went up the East Coast as far -as our second South African colony, which bears the name which he then -gave to it. He called the land Tierra de Natal, because he reached it on -the day of our Lord’s Nativity. The name has stuck to it ever since and -no doubt will now be preserved. From thence Da Gama went on to India, -and we who are interested in the Cape will lose sight of him. But he -also was one of the world’s mighty mariners,--a man born to endure much, -having to deal not only with Savages who mistook him and his purposes, -but with frequent mutinies among his own men,--a hero who had ever to do -his work with his life in his hand, and to undergo hardships of which -our sailors in these happier days know nothing. - -The Portuguese seem to have made no settlement at the Cape intended even -to be permanent; but they did use the place during the sixteenth and -first half of the next century as a port at which they could call for -supplies and assistance on their way out to the East Indies. - -The East had then become the great goal of commerce to others besides -the Portuguese. In 1600 our own East India Company was formed, and in -1602 that of the Dutch. Previous to those dates, in 1591, an English -sailor, Captain Lancaster, visited the Cape, and in 1620 Englishmen -landed and took possession of it in the name of James I. But nothing -came of these visitings and declarations, although an attempt was made -by Great Britain to establish a house of call for her trade out to the -East. For this purpose a small gang of convicts was deposited on Robben -Island, which is just off Capetown, but as a matter of course the -convicts quarrelled with themselves and the Natives, and came to a -speedy end. In 1595 the Dutch came, but did not then remain. It was not -till 1652 that the first Europeans who were destined to be the pioneer -occupants of the new land were put on shore at the Cape of Good Hope, -and thus made the first Dutch settlement. Previous to that the Cape had -in fact been a place of call for vessels of all nations going and coming -to and from the East. But from this date, 1652, it was to be used for -the Dutch exclusively. The Hollanders of that day were stanch -Protestants and sound Christians, but they hardly understood their duty -to their neighbours. They had two ideas in forming their establishment -at the Cape;--firstly that of aiding their own commerce with the East, -and secondly that of debarring the commerce of all other nations from -the aid which they sought for themselves. It is on record that when a -French merchant-vessel was once treated with hospitality by the -authorities at the Cape, the authorities at home brought their colonial -dependents very severely to task for such forgetfulness of their duty. -The Governor at the time was dismissed for not allowing the Frenchman to -“float on his own fins.” It was then decided that water should be given -to Europeans in want of it, but as little other refreshment as possible. - -The home Authority at this time was not the Dutch Government, but the -Council of Seventeen at Amsterdam, who were the Directors of the Dutch -East India Company. For, as with us, the commercial enterprise with the -East was a monopoly given over to a great Company, and this Company for -the furtherance of its own business established a depôt at the Cape of -Good Hope. When therefore we read of the Dutch Governors we are reading -of the servants not of the nation but of a commercial firm. And yet -these Governors, with the aid of their burgher council, had full power -over life and limb. - -Jan van Riebeek was the first Governor, a man who seems to have had a -profound sense of the difficulties and responsibilities of his -melancholy position, and to have done his duty well amidst great -suffering, till at last, after many petitions for his own recall, he was -released. He was there for ten sad years, and seems to have ruled,--no -doubt necessarily,--with a stern hand. The records of the little -community at this time are both touching and amusing, the tragedy being -interspersed with much comedy. In the first year Volunteer Van Vogelaar -was sentenced to receive a hundred blows from the butt of his own musket -for “wishing the purser at the devil for serving out penguins instead of -pork.” Whether the despatch devilwards of the purser or of Van Vogelaar -was most expedited by this occurrence we are not told. Then the -chaplain’s wife had a child, and we learn that all the other married -ladies hurried on to follow so good an example. But the ladies generally -did not escape the malice of evil tongues. Early in the days of the -establishment one Woüters was sentenced to have his tongue bored, to be -banished for three years, and to beg pardon on his bare knees for -speaking ill of the Commander’s wife and of other females. It is added -that he would not have been let off so lightly but that his wife was -just then about to prove herself a good citizen by adding to the -population of the little community. In 1653, the second year of Van -Riebeek’s government, we are told that the lions seemed as though they -were going to take the fort by storm, and that a wolf seized a sheep -within sight of the herds. We afterwards hear that a dreadful -ourang-outang was found, as big as a calf. - -From 1658, when the place was but six years old, there comes a very sad -record indeed. The first cargo of slaves was landed at the Cape from the -Guinea Coast. In this year, out of an entire population of 360, more -than a half were slaves. The total number of these was 187. To control -them and to defend the place there were but 113 European men capable of -bearing arms. This slave element at once became antagonistic to any -system of real colonization, and from that day to this has done more -than any other evil to retard the progress of the people. It was -extinguished, much to the disgust of the old Dutch inhabitants, under -Mr. Buxton’s Emancipation Act in 1834;--but its effects are still felt. - -In 1666 two men were flogged and sentenced to work in irons for three -years for stealing cabbages. Terrible severity seems to have been the -only idea of government. Those who were able to produce more than they -consumed were allowed to sell to no purchaser except the Company. Even -the free men, the so-called burghers, were little better than slaves, -and were bound to perform their military duties with almost more than -Dutch accuracy. Time was kept by the turning of an official hour glass, -for which purpose two soldiers called Rondegangers were kept on duty, -one to relieve the other through the day and night. And everything was -done vigorously by clockwork,--or hour-glass work rather; the Senate -sitting punctually at nine for their executive and political duties. A -soldier, if he was found sleeping at his post, was tied to a triangle -and beaten by relays of flagellators. Everything was done in accordance -with the ideas of a military despotism, in which, however, the -Commander-in-chief was assisted by a Council or Senate. - -And there was need for despotism. Food often ran short, so that penguins -had to be supplied in lieu of pork,--to the infinite disgust we should -imagine of others besides poor Van Vogelaar. It often became a serious -question whether the garrison,--for then it was little more than a -garrison,--would produce food sufficient for their need. But this was -not the only or the worse trouble to which the Governor was subjected. -The new land of which he had taken possession was by no means unoccupied -or unpossessed. There was a race of savages in possession, to whom the -Dutch soon gave the name of Hottentots,[1] and who were friendly enough -as long as they thought that they were getting more than they gave; but, -as has always been the case in the growing relations between Christians -and Savages, the Savages quickly began to understand they were made to -have the worst in every bargain. Soon after the settlement was -established the burghers were forbidden to trade with these people at -all, and then hostilities commenced. The Hottentots found that much, in -the way of land, had been taken from them and that nothing was to be -got. They too, Savages though they were, became logical, and asked -whether they would be allowed to enter Holland and do there as the Dutch -were doing with them. “You come,” they said, “quite into the interior, -selecting our best land, and never asking whether we like it;”--thus -showing that they had made themselves accustomed to the calling of -strangers at their point of land, and that they had not objected to such -mere calling, because something had always been left behind; but that -this going into the interior and taking from them their best land was -quite a different thing. They understood the nature of pasture land -very well, and argued that if the Dutchmen had many cattle there would -be but little grass left for themselves. And so there arose a war. - -The Hottentots themselves have not received, as Savages, a bad -character. They are said to have possessed fidelity, attachment, and -intelligence; to have been generally good to their children; to have -believed in the immortality of the soul, and to have worshipped a god. -The Hottentot possessed property and appreciated its value. He was not -naturally cruel, and was prone rather to submit than to fight. The -Bosjesman, or Bushman, was of a lower order, smaller in stature, more -degraded in appearance, filthier in his habits, occasionally a cannibal -eating his own children when driven by hunger, cruel, and useless. Even -he was something better than the Australian aboriginal, but was very -inferior to his near relative the Hottentot. - -But the Hottentot, with all his virtues, was driven into rebellion. -There was some fighting in which the natives of course were beaten, and -rewards were offered, so much for a live Hottentot, and so much for a -dead one. This went on till, in 1672, it was found expedient to purchase -land from the natives. A contract was made in that year to prevent -future cavilling, as was then alleged, between the Governor and one of -the native princes, by which the district of the Cape of Good Hope was -ceded to the Dutch for a certain nominal price. The deed is signed with -the marks of two Hottentot chiefs and with the names of two Dutchmen. -The purchase was made simply as an easy way out of the difficulty. But -after a very early period--1684--there was no further buying of land. -“There was no longer an affectation of a desire on the part of the Dutch -authorities,” as we are told by Judge Watermeyer, “that native claims to -land should be respected.” The land was then annexed by Europeans as -convenience required. - -In all this the Dutch of those days did very much as the English have -done since. Of all the questions which a conscientious man has ever had -to decide, this is one of the most difficult. The land clearly belongs -to the inhabitants of it,--by as good a title as England belongs to the -English or Holland to the Dutch. But the advantage of spreading -population is so manifest, and the necessity of doing so has so clearly -been indicated to us by nature, that no man, let him be ever so -conscientious, will say that throngs of human beings from the -over-populated civilized countries should refrain from spreading -themselves over unoccupied countries or countries partially occupied by -savage races. Such a doctrine would be monstrous, and could be held only -by a fanatic in morality. And yet there always comes a crisis in which -the stronger, the more civilized, and the Christian race is called upon -to inflict a terrible injustice on the unoffending owner of the land. -Attempts have been made to purchase every acre needed by the new -comers,--very conspicuously in New Zealand. But such attempts never can -do justice to the Savage. The savage man from his nature can understand -nothing of the real value of the article to be sold. The price must be -settled by the purchaser, and he on the other side has no means of -ascertaining who in truth has the right to sell, and cannot know to -whom the purchase money should be paid. But he does know that he must -have the land. He feels that in spreading himself over the earth he is -carrying out God’s purpose, and has no idea of giving way before this -difficulty. He tries to harden his heart against the Savage, and -gradually does so in spite of his own conscience. The man is a nuisance -and must be made to go. Generally he has gone rapidly enough. The -contact with civilization does not suit his nature. We are told that he -takes the white man’s vices and ignores the white man’s virtues. In -truth vices are always more attractive than virtues. To drink is easy -and pleasant. To love your neighbour as yourself is very difficult, and -sometimes unpleasant. So the Savage has taken to drink, and has worn his -very clothes unwholesomely, and has generally perished during the -process of civilization. The North American Indian, the Australian -Aboriginal, the Maori of New Zealand are either going or gone,--and so -in these lands there has come, or is coming, an end of trouble from that -source. - -The Hottentot too of whom we have been speaking is said to be nearly -gone, and, being a yellow man, to have lacked strength to endure -European seductions. But as to the Hottentot and his fate there are -varied opinions. I have been told by some that I have never seen a pure -Hottentot. Using my own eyes and my own idea of what a Hottentot is, I -should have said that the bulk of the population of the Western Province -of the Cape Colony is Hottentot. The truth probably is that they have -become so mingled with other races as to have lost much of their -identity; but that the race has not perished, as have the Indians of -North America and the Maoris. The difficulty as to the Savage has at any -rate not been solved in South Africa as in other countries in which our -Colonies have settled themselves. The Kafir with his numerous varieties -of race is still here, and is by no means inclined to go. And for this -reason South Africa at present differs altogether from the other lands -from which white Colonists have driven the native inhabitants. Of these -races I shall have to speak further as I go on with my task. - -In 1687 and 1689 there arrived at the Cape a body of emigrants whose -presence has no doubt had much effect in creating the race which now -occupies the land, and without whom probably the settlers could not have -made such progress as they did effect. These were Protestant Frenchmen, -who in consequence of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes were in want -of a home in which they could exercise their religion in freedom. These -arrived to the number of about 300, and the names of most of them have -been duly recorded. Very many of the same names are now to be found -through the Colony--to such an extent as to make the stranger ask why -the infant settlement should have been held to be exclusively Dutch. -These Frenchmen, who were placed out round the Cape as agriculturists, -were useful, industrious, religious people. But though they grew and -multiplied they also had their troubles, and hardly enjoyed all the -freedom which they had expected. The Dutch, indeed, appear to have had -no idea of freedom either as to private life, political life, or -religious life. Gradually they succeeded in imposing their own language -upon the new comers. In 1709 the use of French was forbidden in all -public matters, and in 1724 the services of the French Church were for -the last time performed in the French language. Before the end of the -last century the language was gone. Thus the French comers with their -descendants were forced by an iron hand into Dutch moulds, and now -nothing is left to them of their old country but their names. When one -meets a Du Plessis or a De Villiers it is impossible to escape the -memory of the French immigration. - -The last half of the seventeenth and the whole of the eighteenth century -saw the gradual progress of the Dutch depôt,--a colony it could hardly -be called,--going on in the same slow determined way, and always with -the same purpose. It was no colony because those who managed it at home -in Holland, and they who at the Cape served with admirable fidelity -their Dutch masters, never entertained an idea as to the colonization of -the country. A half-way house to India was erected by the Dutch East -India Company for the purpose of commerce, and it was necessary that a -community should be maintained at the Cape for this purpose. The less of -trouble, the less of expense, the less of anything beyond mechanical -service with which the work could be carried on, the better. It was not -for the good of the Dutchmen who were sent out or of the Frenchmen who -joined them, that the Council of 17 at Amsterdam troubled themselves -with the matter; but because by doing so they could assist their own -trade and add to their own gains. Judge Watermeyer in one of three -lectures which he gave on the state of the Colony under the Dutch quotes -the following opinion on colonization from a Dutch Attorney General of -the time. “The object of paramount importance in legislation for -Colonies should be the welfare of the parent State of which the Colony -is but a subordinate part and to which it owes its existence!” I need -hardly point out that the present British theory of colonization is -exactly the reverse of this. Some of those prosperous but by no means -benevolent looking old gentlemen with gold chains, as we see them -painted by Rembrandt and other Dutch Masters, were no doubt the owners -of the Cape and its inhabitants. Slave labour was the readiest labour, -and therefore slave labour was procured. The native races were not to be -oppressed beyond endurance, because they would rise and fight. The -community itself was not to grow rich, because if rich it would no -longer be subservient to its masters. In the midst of all this there -were fine qualities. The Governors were brave, stanch, and faithful. The -people were brave and industrious,--and were not self-indulgent except -with occasional festivities in which drunkenness was permissible. The -wonder is that for so long a time they should have been so submissive, -so serviceable, and yet have had so little of the sweets of life to -enjoy. - -There were some to whom the austerities of Dutch rule proved too hard -for endurance, and these men moved away without permission into further -districts in which they might live a free though hard life. In other -words they “trekked,” as the practice has been called to this day. This -system has been the mode of escape from the thraldom of government which -has been open to all inhabitants of South Africa. Men when they have -been dissatisfied have gone away, always intending to get beyond the arm -of the existing law; but as they have gone, the law has of necessity -followed at their heels. An outlawed crew on the borders of any colony -or settlement must be ruinous to it. And therefore far as white men have -trekked, government has trekked after them, as we shall find when we -come by and bye to speak of Natal, the Orange Free State, and the -Transvaal. - -In 1795 came the English. In that year the French Republican troops had -taken possession of Holland, and the Prince of Orange, after the manner -of dethroned potentates, took refuge in England. He gave an authority, -which was dated from Kew, to the Governor of the Cape to deliver up all -and everything in his hands to the English forces. On the arrival of the -English fleet there was found to be, at the same time, a colonist -rebellion. Certain distant burghers,--for the territory had of course -grown,--refused to obey the officers of the Company or to contribute to -the taxes. In this double emergency the poor Dutch Governor, who does -not seem to have regarded the Prince’s order as an authority, was sorely -puzzled. He fought a little, but only a little, and then the English -were in possession. The castle was given up to General Craig, and in -1797 Lord Macartney came out as the first British Governor. - -Great Britain at this time took possession of the Cape to prevent the -French from doing so. No doubt it was a most desirable possession, as -being a half-way house for us to India as it had been for the Dutch. But -we should not, at any rate then, have touched the place had it not been -that Holland, or rather the Dutch, were manifestly unable to retain it. -We spent a great deal of money at the settlement, built military works, -and maintained a large garrison. But it was but for a short time, and -during that short time our rule over the Dutchmen was uneasy and -unprofitable. Something of rebellion seems to have been going on during -the whole time,--not so much against English authority as against Dutch -law, and this rebellion was complicated by continual quarrels between -the distant Boers, or Dutch farmers, and the Hottentots. It was an -uncomfortable possession, and when at the peace of Amiens in 1802 it was -arranged that the Cape of Good Hope should be restored to Holland, -English Ministers of State did not probably grieve much at the loss. At -this time the population of the Colony is supposed to have been 61,947, -which was divided as follows:-- - - Europeans 21,746. - Slaves 25,754. - Hottentots 14,447. - -But the peace of Amiens was delusive, and there was soon war between -England and France. Then again Great Britain felt the necessity of -taking the Cape, and proceeded to do so on this occasion without any -semblance of Dutch authority. At that time whatever belonged to Holland -was almost certain to fall into the hands of France. In 1805, while the -battle of Austerlitz was making Napoleon a hero on land, and Trafalgar -was proving the heroism of England on the seas, Sir David Baird was sent -with half a dozen regiments to expel, not the Dutch, but the Dutch -Governor and the Dutch soldiers from the Cape. This he did easily, -having encountered some slender resistance; and thus in 1806, on the -19th January, after a century and a half of Dutch rule, the Cape of Good -Hope became a British Colony. - -It should perhaps be stated that on the restoration of the Cape to -Holland the dominion was not given back to the Dutch East India Company, -but was maintained by the Government at the Hague. The immediate -consequence of this was a great improvement in the laws, and a -considerable relaxation of tyranny. Of this we of course had the full -benefit, as we entered in upon our work with the idea of maintaining in -most things the Dutch system. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -ENGLISH HISTORY. - - -I have to say that I feel almost ashamed of the headings given to these -initiatory chapters of my book as I certainly am not qualified to write -a history of South Africa. Nor, were I able to do so, could it be done -in a few pages. And, again, it has already been done and that so -recently that there is not as yet need for further work of the kind. But -it is not possible to make intelligible the present condition of any -land without some reference to its antecedents. And as it is my object -to give my reader an idea of the country as I saw it I am obliged to -tell something of what I myself found it necessary to learn before I -could understand that which I heard and saw. When I left England I had -some notion more or less correct as to Hottentots, Bushmen, Kafirs, and -Zulus. Since that my mind has gradually become permeated with Basutos, -Griquas, Bechuanas, Amapondos, Suazies, Gaikas, Galekas, and various -other native races,--who are supposed to have disturbed our serenity in -South Africa, but whose serenity we must also have disturbed very -much,--till it has become impossible to look at the picture without -realizing something of the identity of those people. I do not expect to -bring any readers to do that. I perhaps have been filling my mind with -the subject for as many months as the ordinary reader will take hours in -turning over these pages. But still I must ask him to go back a little -with me, or, as I go on, I shall find myself writing as though I -presumed that things were known to him, as to which if he have learned -much, it may be unnecessary that he should look at my book at all. - -The English began their work with considerable success. The Dutch laws -were retained, but were executed with mitigated severity; a large -military force was maintained in the Colony, numbering from four to five -thousand men, which of course created a ready market for the produce of -the country; and there was a Governor with almost royal appanages and a -salary of £12,000 a year,--as much probably, when the change in the -value of money is considered, as the Governor-General of India has now. -Men might sell and buy as they pleased, and the intolerable strictness -of Dutch colonial rule was abated. Whatever Dutch patriotism might say, -the English with their money were no doubt very welcome at first, and -especially at or in the neighbourhood of Capetown. We are told that Lord -Caledon, who was the first regular Governor after the return of the -English, was very popular. But troubles soon came, and we at once hear -the dreaded name of Kafir.[2] - -In 1811 the Dutch Boers had stretched themselves as far east as the -country round Graff Reynet,--for which I must refer my reader to the -map. Between the Dutch and the Kafirs a neutral district had been -established in the vain hope of maintaining limits. Over this district -the Kafirs came plundering,--no doubt thinking that they were exercising -themselves in the legitimate and patriotic defence of their own land. -The Dutch inhabitants of course called for Government aid, and such aid -was forthcoming. An officer sent to report on the matter recommended -that all the Kafirs should be expelled from the Colony, and that the -district called the Zuurveld,--a district which by treaty had been left -to the Kafirs,--should be divided among white farmers. “This,” says the -chronicler, “was hardly in accordance with the agreement with Ngquika, -but necessity has no law.” The man whose name has thus been imperfectly -reduced to letters was the Kafir chieftain of that ilk, and is the same -as the word Gaika now used for a tribe of British subjects. Necessity we -all know has no law. But what is necessity? A man must die. A man, -generally, must work or go to the wall. But need a man establish himself -as a farmer on another man’s land? The reader will understand that I do -not deny the necessity;--but that I feel myself to be arrested when I -hear it asserted as sufficient excuse. - -The Dutch never raised a question as to the necessity. The English have -in latter days continually raised the question, but have so acted that -they have been able to argue as sufferers while they have been the -aggressors. On this occasion the necessity was allowed. A force was -sent, and a gallant Dutch magistrate, one Stockenstroom, who trusted -himself among the Kafirs, was, with his followers, murdered by them. -Then came the first Kafir war. We are told that no quarter was given by -the white men, no prisoners taken;--that all were slaughtered, till the -people were driven backwards and eastwards across the Great Fish river. -This, the first Kafir war, took place in 1811. - -The next and quickly succeeding trouble was of another kind. There have -been the two great troubles;--the contests between the white men and the -savages, and then the contests between the settled colonists and those -who have ever been seceding or “trekking” backwards from the -settlements. These latter have been generally, though by no means -exclusively, Dutchmen; and it is of them we speak when we talk of the -South African up-country Boers. These men, among other habits of their -time, had of course been used to slavery;--and though the slavery of the -Colony had never been of its nature cruel, it had of course been open to -cruelty. Laws were made for the protection of slaves, and these laws -were unpalatable to the Boer who wished to live in what he called -freedom,--“to do what he liked with his own,” according to the Duke of -Newcastle,--“to do what he dam pleased,” as the American of the South -used to say. A certain Dutchman named Bezuidenhout refused to obey the -law, and hence there arose a fight between a party of Dutch who swore -that they would die to a man rather than submit, and the armed British -authorities. The originator of the rebellion was shot down. The Dutch -invited the Kafirs to join them; but the Kafir chief declared that as -sparks were flying about, he would like to wait and see which way the -wind blew. But the battle went on, and of course the rebels were beaten. -There then followed an act of justice combined with vengeance. The -leaders were tried and six men were condemned to be hanged. That may -have been right;--but their friends and relatives were condemned to see -them executed. That must have been wrong, and in the result was most -unfortunate. Five of the six were hanged,--while thirty others had to -stand by and see. The place of execution was called Slagter’s Nek, a -name long remembered by the retreating Dutch Boers. But they were -hanged,--not simply once, but twice over. The apparatus, overweighted -with the number, broke down when the poor wretches dropped from the -platform. They were half killed by the ropes, but gradually struggled -back to life. Then there arose prayers that they might now at least be -spared;--and force was attempted, but in vain. The British officer had -to see that they were hanged, and hanged they were a second time, after -the interval of many hours spent in constructing a second gallows. They -were all Dutchmen, and the Dutch implacable Boer has said ever since -that he cannot forget Slagter’s Nek. It was the followers and friends of -these men who trekked away northwards and eastwards till after many a -bloody battle with the natives they at last came to Natal. - -From this time the Colony went on with a repetition of those two -troubles,--war with the Kafirs and disturbances with other native races, -and an ever-increasing disposition on the part of the European Colonists -to go backwards so that they might live after their own fashion and not -be forced to treat either slaves or natives according to humanitarian -laws. While this was going on the customary attempts were made to -civilize and improve both the colonists and the natives. Schools, -libraries, and public gardens were founded, and missionaries settled -themselves among the Kafirs and other coloured people. The public -institutions were not very good, nor were the missionaries very -wise;--but some good was done. The Governors who were sent out were of -course various in calibre. Lord Charles Somerset, who reigned for nearly -twelve consecutive years, is said to have been very arbitrary; but the -Colony prospered in spite of Kafir wars. From time to time further -additions were made to our territories, always of course at the expense -of the native races. In 1819 the Kafirs were driven back behind the -Keiskamma River; where is the region now called British Kafraria,--which -was then allowed to be Kafirs’ land. Since that they have been -compressed behind the Kei River, where lies what is now called Kafraria -Proper. Whether it will continue “proper” to the Kafirs is hardly now -matter of doubt. I may say that a considerable portion of it has been -already annexed. - -In 1820 it was determined to people the districts from which the natives -had last been driven by English emigrants. The fertility of the land and -the salubrity of the climate had been so loudly praised that there was -no difficulty in procuring volunteers for the purpose. The applications -from intending emigrants were numerous, and from these four thousand -were selected, and sent out at the expense of Government to Algoa -Bay;--where is Port Elizabeth, about four hundred miles east of -Capetown. Hence have sprung the inhabitants of the Eastern Province, -which is as English as the Western Province is Dutch. And hence has come -that desire for separation,--for division into an Eastern and a Western -Colony, which for a long time distracted the Colonial Authorities both -at home and abroad. The English there have prospered better than their -old Dutch neighbours,--at any rate as far as commerce is concerned. The -business done in Algoa Bay is of a more lively and prosperous kind than -that transacted at Capetown. Hence have arisen jealousies, and it may -easily be understood that when the question of Colonial Parliaments -arose, the English at Algoa Bay thought it beneath them to be carried -off, for the purpose of making laws, to Capetown. - -It was from the coming of these people that the English language began -to prevail in the Colony. Until 1825 all public business was done in -Dutch. Proceedings in the law courts were carried on in that language -even later than that,--and it was not till 1828 that the despatches of -Government were sent out in English. The language of social and -commercial life can never be altered by edicts, but gradually, from this -time the English began to be found the most convenient. Now it is -general everywhere in the Colony, though of course Dutch is still spoken -by the descendants of the Dutch among themselves: and church services in -the Lutheran churches are performed in Dutch. It will probably take -another century to expel the language. In 1825 the despotism of the -Governors was lessened by the appointment of a Council of seven, which -may be regarded as the first infant step towards Parliamentary -institutions; and in 1828 the old Dutch courts of Landdrosts and -Neemraden were abolished, and resident magistrates and justices were -appointed. - -But in the same year a much greater measure was accomplished. A very -small minority of liberal-minded men in the Colony, headed by Dr. -Philip, the missionary, bestirred themselves on behalf of the -Hottentots, who were in a condition very little superior to that of -absolute slavery. The question was stirred in England, and was taken up -by Mr. Buxton, who gave notice of a motion in the House of Commons on -the subject. But the Secretary of State for the Colonies was beforehand -with Mr. Buxton, and declared in the House that the Government would -grant all that was demanded. The Hottentots were put on precisely the -same footing as the Europeans,--very much to the disgust of the -Colonists in general and of the rulers of the Colony. So much was this -understood at home, and so determined was the Home Government that the -colonial feeling on the matter should not prevail, that a clause was -added to the enactment declaring that it should not be competent for any -future Colonial Government to rescind its provisions. - -To argue as to the wisdom and humanity of such a measure now would be -futile. The question has so far settled itself that no one dreams of -supposing that a man’s social rights should be influenced by colour or -race. But these Dutchmen and Englishmen knew very well that a Hottentot -could not be made to be equal in intelligence or moral sense to a -European, and they should I think be pardoned for the ill will with -which they accepted the change. And this becomes the more clear to us -when we remember that slavery was at the time still an institution of -the country, and that the slaves, who were an imported people from the -Straits and the Guinea Coast, were at any rate equal in intelligence to -the Hottentots. - -Six years afterwards, in 1834, slavery itself was abolished in all lands -subject to the British flag,--and this created even a greater animosity -among the Dutch than the enactments in favour of the Hottentots. Perhaps -no one thing has so strongly tended to alienate the Boer from us as this -measure and the way in which it was carried out. In the first place the -institution of slavery recommended itself entirely to the Dutch mind. -Taking him altogether we shall own that he was not a cruel slave owner; -but he was one to whom slavery of itself was in no way repugnant. That -he as the master should have a command of labour seemed to him to be -only natural. To throw away this command for the sake of putting the -slave into a condition which,--as the Dutchman thought,--would be worse -for the slave himself was to him an absurdity. He regarded the matter as -we regard the doctrine of equality. The very humanitarianism of it was -to him a disgusting pretence. The same feeling exists still. It strikes -one at every corner in the Colony. A ready mode to comfort, wealth, and -general prosperity was, as the Dutchman thinks,--and also some who are -not Dutch,--absolutely thrown away. Then came the question of -compensation. Some of us are old enough to remember the difficulty in -distributing the twenty millions which were voted for the slave owners. -The slaves of the Cape Colony were numbered at 35,745, and were valued -at £3,000,000. The amount of money which was allowed for them was -£1,200,000. But even this was paid in such a manner that much of it fell -into the hands of fraudulent agents before it reached the Boer. There -was delay and the orders for the money were negotiated at a great -discount. The sum expected dwindled down to so paltry a sum that some of -the farmers refused to accept what was due to them. Then there was -further trekking away from a land which in the minds of the emigrants -was so abominably mismanaged. But the slaves fell into the body of the -coloured population without any distinction, and were added of course to -the free labour of the country. The ordinary labourer in all countries -earns so little more than board lodging and clothes for himself and his -children, and it is so indispensable a necessity on the slave owner to -provide board lodgings and clothes for his slaves, that the loss of -slaves, when all owners lose them together, ought not to impoverish any -one. There may be local circumstances, as there were in Jamaica, which -upset the working of this rule. In the Cape Colony there were no such -circumstances; and it seems that those who remained and accepted the law -were not impoverished. There can be no doubt, however, that the -inhabitants of the Colony generally were disgusted. The measure was -brought into effect in 1838, an apprenticeship of four years having been -allowed. - -But we must go back for a moment to the Kafir war of 1835,--the third -Kafir war, for there was a second, of which as being less material I -have spared the reader any special mention. Of all our Kafir wars this -was probably the most bitter. There had been continual contests, in all -of which the Kafirs had undoubtedly thought themselves to be ill used, -but in all of which the evils inflicted upon them had been perpetrated -in punishment and reprisal for thefts of cattle. The Kafir thefts were -in comparison small but were often repeated. Then the Europeans sent out -what were called “Commandos,”--which consisted of an armed levy of -mounted men intent upon seizing cattle by way of restitution. The reader -of the histories of the period is compelled to think that the -unfortunate cattle were always being driven backwards and forwards over -the borders. During the period, however, more than once cattle were -restored by the colonists to the Kafirs which were supposed to have been -taken from them in excess of just demands. In December 1834 this state -of things was brought to a crisis by an attempt which was made by a -party of Europeans to recover some stolen horses. Some cattle were -seized, and others were voluntarily surrendered, but the result was that -in December a large body of Kafirs invaded the European lands, and -massacred the farmers to their hearts’ content. They overran the border -country to the number of ten or twelve thousand, and then returned, -carrying with them an immense booty. It all reads as a story out of -Livy, in which the Volsci will devastate the Roman pastures and then -return with their prey to one of their own cities. The reader is sure -that the Romans are going to get the best of it at last;--but in the -meantime the Roman people are nearly ruined. - -Sir Benjamin D’Urban was then Governor, and he took strong and -ultimately successful steps to punish the Kafirs. I have not space here -to tell how Hintsa, the Kafir chief, was shot down as he was attempting -to escape from the British whom he had undertaken to guide through his -country, or how the Kafirs were at last driven to sue for peace and to -surrender the sovereignty of their country. The war was not only bloody, -but ruinous to thousands. The cattle were of course destroyed, so that -no one was enriched. Ill blood, of which the effects still remain, was -engendered. Three hundred thousand pounds were spent by the British. But -at last the Kafirs were supposed to have been conquered, and Sir -Benjamin D’Urban supposed to be triumphant. - -The triumph, however, to Sir Benjamin D’Urban was not long-lived. At -this time Lord Glenelg was Secretary of State for the Colonies in -England, and Lord Glenelg was a man subject to what I may perhaps not -improperly call the influences of Exeter Hall. When the full report of -the Kafir war reached him a certain party at home had been loud in -expressions of pity and perhaps of admiration for the South African -races. Hottentots and Kafirs had been taken home,--or at any rate a -Hottentot and a Kafir,--and had been much admired. No doubt Lord Glenelg -gave his best attention to the reports sent to him;--no doubt he -consulted those around him;--certainly without doubt he acted in -accordance with his conscience and with a full appreciation of the -greatness of the responsibility resting upon him;--but I think he acted -with very bad judgment. He utterly repudiated what Sir Benjamin D’Urban -had done, and asserted that the Kafirs had had “ample justification” for -the late war. He declared in his despatch that “they had a perfect right -to hazard the experiment of extorting by force that redress which they -could not expect otherwise to obtain,” and he caused to be returned to -the Kafirs the land from which they had been driven,--which land has -since that again become a part of the British Colony. There was a -correspondence in which Sir B. D’Urban supported his own views,--but -this ended in the withdrawal of the Governor in 1838, Lord Glenelg -declaring that he was willing to take upon himself the full -responsibility of what he had done, and of all that might come from it. - -I think I am justified in saying that since that time public opinion has -decided against Lord Glenelg, and has attributed to his mistake the -further Kafir wars of 1846 and 1850. It is often very difficult in the -beginning of such quarrels to say who is in the right, the Savage or the -civilized invader of the country. The Savage does not understand the -laws as to promises, treaties, and mutual compacts which we endeavour to -impose upon him, and we on the other hand are determined to live upon -his land whether our doing so be just or unjust. In such a condition of -things we,--meaning the civilized intruders,--are obliged to defend our -position. We cannot consent to have our throats cut when we have taken -the land, because our title to possession is faulty. If ever a Governor -was bound to interfere for the military defence of his people, Sir -Benjamin D’Urban was so bound. If ever a Savage was taken red-handed in -treachery, Hintsa was so taken, and was so shot down. The full carrying -out of Lord Glenelg’s views would have required us to give back all the -country to the Hottentots, to compensate the Dutch for our interference, -and to go back to Europe. Surely no man was ever so sorely punished for -the adequate performance of a most painful public duty as Sir Benjamin -D’Urban. - -In 1838 slavery was abolished;--and as one of the consequences of that -abolition, the Dutch farmers again receded. Their lands were occupied by -the English and Scotch who followed them, and in the hands of these men -the growth of wool began to prevail. Merino sheep were introduced, and -wool became the most important production of the colony. - -During the whole of this period the practice was continued by the -old-fashioned farmers of receding from their farms in quest of new lands -in which they might live without interference. The Colony in spite of -Kafirs had prospered under English rule, whilst the Dutch farmers had no -doubt enjoyed the progress as well as their English neighbours. Their -condition was infinitely more free than it had ever been under Dutch -rule, and very much more comfortable. But still they were dissatisfied. -British ideas as to Hottentots and Kafirs and British ideas as to -slavery were in their eyes absurd, unmanly and disagreeable. And -therefore they went away across the Orange River; but we shall be able -to deal better with their further journeyings when we come to speak of -the colony of Natal, of the Orange Free State, and of the Transvaal -Republic. - -In 1846 came another Kafir war, called the war of the axe,[3] which -lasted to the end of 1847. This too grew out of a small incident. A -Kafir prisoner was rescued and taken into Kafir land, and the Kafirs -would not give him up when he was demanded by the Authorities. It seems -that whenever any slight act of rebellion on their parts was successful, -the whole tribe and the neighbouring tribes would be so elated as to -think that now had come the time for absolutely subduing the white -strangers. They were at last beaten and starved into submission, but at -a terrible cost; and it seems to have been acknowledged at home that -Lord Glenelg had been wrong. Sir Harry Smith was sent out, and he again -extended the Colony to the Kei River, leaving the district between that -and the Keiskamma as a British home for Kafirs, under the name of -British Kafraria. - -In 1849, when Earl Grey was at the Colonial Office, an attempt was made -to induce the Cape Colony to receive convicts, and a ship laden with -such a freight was sent to Table Bay. But they were never landed. With -an indomitable resolution which had about it much that was heroic the -inhabitants resolved that the convicts should not be allowed to set foot -on the soil of South Africa. The Governor, acting under orders from -home, no doubt was all powerful, and there was a military force at hand -quite sufficient to enforce the Governor’s orders. Nothing could have -prevented the landing of the men had the Governor persevered. But the -inhabitants of the place agreed among themselves that if the convicts -were landed they should not be fed. No stores of any kind were to be -sold to any one concerned should the convicts once be put on shore. The -remedy then seemed to be rebellious and has since been called -ridiculous;--but it was successful, and the convicts were taken away. -For four wretched months the ship with its miserable freight lay in the -bay, but not a man was landed. No such freight had ever been brought to -the Cape before since the coming of a party of criminals from the Dutch -East India possessions, who were sold as slaves,--and no such attempt -has been made since. Those who know anything of the history of our -Australian Colonies are aware that there is nothing to which the British -Colonist has so strong an objection as the presence of a convict from -the mother country. Whatever the mother country may send let it not send -her declared rascaldom. The use of a Colony as a prison is no doubt in -accordance with the Dutch theory that the paramount object of the -outlying settlement is the welfare of the parent state,--but it is not -at all compatible with the existing British idea that the paramount -object is the well-being of the Colonists themselves. It seems hard upon -England that with all her territories she can find no spot of ground for -the reception of her thieves and outcasts,--that she, with all her -population, sending out her honest folks over the whole world, should be -obliged to keep her too numerous rascals at home. But it seems that -where the population is which creates the crime, there the criminals -must remain. The Colonies certainly will not receive them. - -Then came the fifth Kafir war, which of all these wars was the -bloodiest. It began in 1850, and seems to have been instigated by a -Kafir prophet. It would be impossible in a short sketch such as this to -give any individual interest to these struggles of the natives against -their invaders. Through them all we see an attempt, made at any rate by -the British rulers of the land, to bind these people by the joint -strength of treaties and good offices. “If you will only do as we bid -you, you shall be better off than ever you were. We will not hurt you, -and the land will be enough for both of us.” That is what we have said -all along with a clear intention of keeping our word. But it has been -necessary, if we were to live in the land at all, that we should bind -them to keep their word whether they did or did not understand what it -was to which they pledged themselves. Lord Glenelg’s theory required -that the British holders of the land should recognise and respect the -weakness of the Savage without using the strength of his own -civilization. Colonization in such a country on such terms is -impossible. He may have had abstract justice on his side. On that point -I say nothing here. But if so, and if Great Britain is bound to -reconcile her conduct to the rules which such justice requires, then she -must abandon the peculiar task which seems to have been allotted to her, -of peopling the world with a civilized race. In 1850 the fifth Kafir war -arose, and the inhabitants of one advanced military village after -another were murdered. This went on for nearly two years and a half, but -was at last suppressed by dint of hard fighting. It cost Great Britain -upwards of two millions of money, with the lives of about four hundred -fighting men. This was the last of the Kafir wars,--up to that of 1877, -if that is to be called a Kafir war. - -After that, in 1857, occurred what seems to be the most remarkable and -most unintelligible of all the events known to us in Kafir history. At -this time Sir George Grey was Governor of the Colony,--a most remarkable -man, who had been Governor of South Australia and of New Zealand, who -had been once recalled from his office of Governor at the Cape and then -restored, who was sent back to New Zealand as Governor in the hottest of -the Maori warfare, and who now lives in that Colony and is at this -moment,--the beginning of 1878,--singularly enough Prime Minister in the -dependency in which he has twice been the Queen’s vicegerent. Whatever -he may be, or may have been, in New Zealand, he certainly left behind -him at the Cape of Good Hope a very great reputation. There can be no -doubt that of all our South African Governors he was the most -popular,--and probably the most high-handed. In his time there came up a -prophecy among the Kafirs that they were to be restored to all their -pristine glories and possessions not by living aid, but by the dead. -Their old warriors would return to them from the distant world, and they -themselves would all become young, beautiful, and invincible. But great -faith was needed. They would find fat cattle in large caves numerous as -their hearts might desire; and rich fields of flowing corn would spring -up for them as food was required. Only they must kill all their own -cattle, and destroy all their own grain, and must refrain from sowing a -seed. This they did with perfect faith, and all Kafirdom was well nigh -starved to death. The English and Dutch around them did what they could -for their relief;--had indeed done what they could to prevent the -self-immolation; but the more that the white men interfered the more -confirmed were the black men in their faith. It is said that 50,000 of -them perished of hunger. Since that day there has been no considerable -Kafir war, and the spirit of the race has been broken. - -Whence came the prophecy? There is a maxim among lawyers that the -criminal is to be looked for among those who have profited by the crime. -That we the British holders of the South African soil, and we only, were -helped on in our work by this catastrophe is certain. No such -prophecy,--nothing like to it,--ever came up among the Kafirs before. -They have ever been a superstitious people, given to witchcraft and much -afraid of witches. But till this fatal day they were never tempted to -believe that the dead would come back to them, or to look for other food -than what the earth gave them by its natural increase. It is more than -probable that the prophecy ripened in the brain of an imaginative and -strong-minded Anglo-Saxon. This occurred in 1857 when the terrible -exigences of the Indian Mutiny had taken almost every redcoat from the -Cape to the Peninsula. Had the Kafirs tried their old method of warfare -at such a period it might have gone very hard indeed with the Dutch and -English farmers of the Eastern Province. - -During the last twenty years of our government there have been but two -incidents in Colonial life to which I need refer in this summary,--and -both of them will receive their own share of separate attention in the -following chapters. These two are the finding of the Diamond Fields, and -the commencement of responsible government at the Cape Colony. - -In 1867 a diamond was found in the hands of a child at the south side of -the Orange River. Near to this place the Vaal runs into the Orange, and -it is in the angle between the two that the diamonds have been found. -This particular diamond went through various hands and was at last sold -to Sir Philip Wodehouse, the Governor, for £500. As was natural, a -stream of seekers after precious stones soon flowed in upon the country, -some to enrich themselves, and many to become utterly ruined in the -struggle. The most manifest effect on the Colony, as it has always been -in regions in which gold has been found, has been the great increase in -consumption. It is not the diamonds or the gold which enrich the country -in which the workings of Nature have placed her hidden treasures, but -the food which the diggers eat, and the clothes which the diggers wear, -and, I fear, the brandy which the diggers drink. Houses are built; and a -population which flows in for a temporary purpose gradually becomes -permanent. - -In 1872 responsible government was commenced at Capetown with a -Legislative Council and House of Assembly, with full powers of passing -laws and ruling the country by its majorities;--or at any rate with as -full powers as belong to any other Colony. In all Colonies the Secretary -of State at home has a veto; but such as is the nature of the -constitution in Canada or Victoria, such is it now in the Cape Colony. -For twenty years previous to this there had been a Parliament in which -the sucking legislators of the country were learning how to perform -their duties. But during those twenty years the Ministers were -responsible to the Governors. Now they are responsible to Parliament. - - - - -CHAPTER IV. - -POPULATION AND FEDERATION. - - -In a former chapter I endeavoured to give a rough idea of the -geographical districts into which has been divided that portion of South -Africa which Europeans have as yet made their own. I will now attempt to -explain how they are at present ruled and will indulge in some -speculations as to their future condition. - -How the Cape Colony became a Colony I have already described. The Dutch -came and gradually spread themselves, and then the English becoming -owners of the Dutch possessions spread themselves further. With the -natives,--Hottentots as they came to be called,--there was some trouble -but not very much. They were easily subjected,--very easily as compared -with the Kafirs,--and then gradually dispersed. As a race they are no -longer troublesome;--nor are they very profitable to the Cape Colony. -The labour of the Colony is chiefly done by coloured people, but by -people who have mainly been immigrants,--the descendants of those whom -the Dutch brought, and bastard Hottentots as they are called, with a -sprinkling of Kafirs and Fingos who have come from the East in quest of -wages. The Colony is divided into a Western and Eastern Province, and -these remarks refer to the whole of the former and to the western -portion of the latter district. In this large portion of the Colony -there is not now nor has there been for many years anything to be feared -from pugnacious natives. It is in the eastern half of the Eastern -Province that Kafirs have been and still are troublesome. - -The division into Provinces is imaginary rather than real. There are -indeed at this moment twenty-one members of the Legislative Council of -which eleven are supposed to have been sent to Parliament by the Western -District, and ten by the Eastern;--but even this has now been altered, -and the members of the next Council will be elected for separate -districts,--so that no such demarcation will remain. I think that I am -justified in saying that the constitution knows no division. In men’s -minds, however, the division is sharp enough, and the political feeling -thus engendered is very keen. The Eastern Province desires to be -separated and formed into a distinct Colony, as Victoria was separated -from New South Wales, and afterwards Queensland. The reasons for -separation which it puts forward are as follows. Capetown, the capital, -is in a corner and out of the way. Members from the East have to make -long and disagreeable journeys to Parliament, and, when there, are -always in a minority. Capetown and the West with its mongrel population -is perfectly safe, whereas a large portion of the Eastern Province is -always subject to Kafir “scares” and possibly to Kafir wars. And yet the -Ministry in power is, and has been, and must be a Western Ministry, -spending the public money for Western objects and ruling the East -according to its pleasure. It was by arguments such as these that the -British Government was induced to sanction the happy separation of -Queensland from New South Wales. Then why not separate the Eastern from -the Western Province in the Cape Colony? But the western people, as a -matter of course, do not wish to see a diminution of their own -authority. Capetown would lose half its glory and more than half its -importance if it were put simply on a par with Grahamstown, which is the -capital of the East. And the western politicians have their arguments -which have hitherto prevailed. As to the expenditure of public money -they point to the fact that two railway enterprises have been initiated -in the East,--one up the country from Port Elizabeth, and the other from -East London,--whereas there is but the one in the West which starts from -Capetown. Of course it must be understood that in the Colonies railways -are always or very nearly always made by Government money. The western -people also say that the feeling produced by Kafir aggression in the -Eastern Province is still too bitter to admit of calm legislation. The -prosperity of South Africa must depend on the manner in which the Kafir -and cognate races, Fingos and Basutos, Pondos, Zulus and others are -amalgamated and brought together as subjects of the British Crown; and -if every unnecessary scare is to produce a mixture of fear and -oppression then the doing of the work will be much protracted. If the -Eastern Province were left alone to arrange its affairs with the natives -the chances of continual Kafir wars would be very much increased. - -Arguments and feelings such as these have hitherto availed to prevent a -separation of the Provinces; but though a belief in this measure is -still the eastern political creed, action in that direction is no longer -taken. No eastern politician thinks that he will see simple separation -by a division of the Colony into two Colonies. But another action has -taken place in lieu of simple separation which, if successful, would -imply something like separation, and which is called Federation. Here -there has been ample ground for hope because it has been understood that -Federation is popular with the authorities of the Colonial Office at -home. - -It will hardly be necessary for me to explain here what Federation -means. We have various Groups of Colonies and the question has arisen -whether it may not be well that each group should be bound together -under one chief or Federal Government, as the different States of the -American Union are bound. It has been tried, as we all believe -successfully, with British North America. It has been recommended in -regard to the Australian Colonies. It has been attempted, not as yet -successfully, in the West Indies. It has been talked of and become the -cause of very hot feeling in reference to Her Majesty’s possessions in -South Africa. - -I myself have been in favour of such Federation since I have known -anything of our colonial possessions. The one fact that at present the -produce of a Colony, going into an adjacent district as closely -connected with it as Yorkshire is with Lancashire, should be subjected -to Custom duties as though it came from a foreign land, is a strong -reason for such union. And then the mind foresees that there will at -some future time be a great Australia, and probably a great South -Africa, in which a division into different governments will, if -continued, be as would be a Heptarchy restored in England. But it is -this very feeling,--the feeling which experience and foresight produce -among us in England,--which renders the idea of Federation unpalatable -in the Colonies generally. The binding together of a colonial group into -one great whole is regarded as a preparation for separation from the -mother country. It is as though we at home in England were saying to our -children about the world;--“We have paid for your infantine bread and -butter; we have educated you and given you good trades; now you must go -and do for yourselves.” There is perhaps no such feeling in the bosom of -the special Colonial Minister at home who may at this or the other time -be advocating this measure; but there must be an idea that some -preparation for such a possible future event is expedient. We do not -want to see such another colonial crisis as the American war of last -century between ourselves and an English-speaking people. But in the -Colonies there is a sort of loyalty of which we at home know nothing. It -may be exemplified to any man’s mind by thinking of the feeling as to -home which is engendered by absence. The boy or girl who lives always on -the paternal homestead does not care very much for the kitchen with its -dressers, or for the farmyard with its ricks, or the parlour with its -neat array. But let the boy or girl be banished for a year or two and -every little detail becomes matter for a fond regret. Hence I think has -sprung that colonial anger which has been entertained against Ministers -at home who have seemed to prepare the way for final separation from the -mother country. - -Federation, though generally unpopular in the Colonies, has been -welcomed in the Eastern Province of South Africa, because it would be a -means of giving if not entire at any rate partial independence from -Capetown domination. If Federation were once sanctioned and carried out, -the Eastern Province thinks that it would enter the union as a separate -state, and that it would have such dominion as to its own affairs as New -York and Massachusetts have in the United States. - -But there would be various other States in such a Federation besides the -two into which the Cape Colony might be divided, and in order that my -readers may have some idea of what would or might be the component parts -of such a union, I will endeavour to describe the different territories -which would be included, with some regard to their population. - -At present that South African district of which the South African -politician speaks when he discusses the question of South African -Federation, contains by a rough but fairly accurate computation,[4] -2,276,000 souls, of whom 340,000 may be classed as white men and -1,936,000 as coloured men. There is not therefore one white to five -coloured men. And these coloured people are a strong and increasing -people,--by no means prone to die out and cease to be either useless or -useful, as are the Maoris in New Zealand and the Indians in North -America. Such as they are we have got to bring them into order, and to -rule them and teach them to earn their bread,--a duty which has not -fallen upon us in any other Colony. The population above stated may be -divided as follows:-- - - -ESTIMATED POPULATION OF EUROPEAN SOUTH AFRICA. - - +----------------------------+---------+----------+----------+ - | Names of Districts. | White | Coloured | Total. | - | | persons.| persons. | | - +----------------------------+---------+----------+----------| - |Orange Free State | 30,000 | 15,000 | 45,000 | - |Transkeian districts | -- | 501,000 | 501,000 | - |The Cape Colony | 235,000 | 485,000 | 720,000 | - |Native districts belonging }| | | | - | to the Cape Colony }| -- | 335,000 | 335,000 | - |The Diamond Fields | 15,000 | 30,000 | 45,000 | - |Natal | 20,000 | 320,000 | 340,000 | - |Transvaal | 40,000 | 250,000 | 290,000 | - | +---------+----------+----------+ - | Total | 340,000 |1,936,000 |2,276,000 | - +----------------------------+---------+----------+----------+ - -I must first remark in reference to this table that the district named -first,--the one containing by far the smallest number of native -inhabitants, called the Orange Free State--is not a British possession -nor, as far as I am aware, is it subject to British influences. It is a -Dutch Republic, well ruled as regards its white inhabitants, untroubled -by the native question and content with its own position. It is -manifest, however, that it has succeeded in making the natives -understand that they can live better outside its borders, and it has -continued by its practice to banish the black man and to rid itself of -trouble on that score. My reader if he will refer to the map will see -that now, since the annexation of the Transvaal by Great Britain, the -Free State is surrounded by British territory,--for Basuto land, which -lies to the west of the Free State between the Cape Colony and Natal, -is a portion of the Cape Colony. This being so I cannot understand how -the Orange Free State can be comprised in any political Confederation. -The nature of such a Confederation seems to require one Head, one flag, -and one common nationality. I cannot conceive that the Savoyards should -confederate with the Swiss,--let their interests be ever so -identical,--unless Savoy were to become a Swiss Canton. The Dutch -Republic is no doubt free to do as she pleases, which Savoy is not; but -the idea of Confederation presumes that she would give herself up to the -English flag. There may no doubt be a Confederation without the Orange -Free State, and that Confederation might offer advantages so great that -the Dutchmen of the Free State should ultimately feel disposed to give -themselves up to Great Britain; but the question for the present must be -considered as subject to considerable disturbance from the existence of -the Republic. The roads from the Cape Colony to the Transvaal and the -Diamond Fields lie through the Free State, and there would necessarily -arise questions of transit and of Custom duties which would make it -expedient that the districts should be united under one flag; but I can -foresee no pretext for compulsion. - -In the annexation of the Transvaal there was at any rate an assignable -cause,--of which we were not slow to take advantage. In regard to the -Orange Free State nothing of the kind is to be expected. The population -is chiefly Dutch. The political influence is altogether Dutch. A -reference to the above table will show how the Dutchman -succeeds,--whether for good or ill,--in ridding himself of the coloured -man. The Free State is a large district; but it contains altogether only -45,000 inhabitants,--and there are on the soil no more than 15,000 -natives. - -I will next say a word as to the Transkeian districts, which also have -been supposed to be outside the dominion of the British Crown and which -therefore it would seem to be just to exclude were we to effect a -Confederation of our British South African Colonies.[5] But all these -districts would certainly be included in any Confederation, with great -advantage to the British Colonies, and with greater advantages to the -Kafirs themselves who live beyond the Kei. I must again refer my readers -to the map. They will see on the South Eastern Coast of the continent a -district called Kafraria,--as distinct from British Kafraria further -west,--the independence of which is signified by its name. Here they -will find the river Kei, which till lately was supposed to be the -boundary of the British territories,--beyond which the Kafir was -supposed to live according to his own customs, and in undisturbed -possession of independent rule. But this, even before the late Kafir -outbreak, was by no means the case. A good deal of British annexation -goes on in different parts of the world of which but little mention is -made in the British Parliament, and but little notice taken even by the -British press. It will be seen that in this territory there live 501,000 -natives, and it is here, no doubt, that Kafir habits are to be found in -their fullest perfection. The red Kafir is here,--the man who dyes -himself and his blanket and his wives with red clay, who eschews -breeches and Christianity, and meditates on the coming happy day in -which the pestilent interfering European may be driven at length into -the sea. It is here that Kreli till lately reigned the acknowledged king -of Kafirdom as being the chief of the Galekas. Kreli had foughten and -been conquered and been punished by the loss of much of his -territory;--but still was allowed to rule over a curtailed empire. His -population is now not above 66,000. Among even these,--among the Pondos, -who are much more numerous than the Galekas, our influence is maintained -by European magistrates, and the Kafirs, though allowed to do much -according to their pleasures, are not allowed to do everything. The -Pondos number, I believe, as many as 200,000. In the remainder of -Kafraria British rule is nearly as dominant to the east as to the west -of the Kei. Adam Kok’s land,--or no man’s land, as it has been -called,--running up north into Natal, we have already annexed to the -Cape Colony, and no parliamentary critic at home is at all the wiser. -The Fingos hold much of the remainder, and wherever there is a Fingo -there is a British subject. There would now be no difficulty in sweeping -Kafraria into a general South African Confederation. - -I will now deal with those enumerated in the above table who are at -present undoubtedly subjects of Her Majesty, and who are bound to comply -with British laws. The Cape Colony contains nearly three-quarters of a -million of people, and is the only portion of South Africa which has -what may be called a large white population; but that population, -though comparatively large,--something over a quarter of a million,--is -less in number than the inhabitants of the single city of Melbourne. One -colonial town in Australia, and that a town not more than a quarter of a -century old, gives a home to more white people than the whole of the -Cape Colony, which was colonized with white people two hundred years -before Melbourne was founded. And on looking at the white population of -the Cape Colony a further division must be made in order to give the -English reader a true idea of the Colony in reference to England. A -British colony to the British mind is a land away from home to which the -swarming multitudes of Great Britain may go and earn a comfortable -sustenance, denied to them in the land of their birth by the narrowness -of its limits and the greatness of its population, and may do so with -the use of their own language, and in subjection to their own laws. We -have other senses of the word Colony,--for we call military garrisons -Colonies,--such as Malta, and Gibraltar, and Bermuda. But the true -Colony has, I think, above been truly described; and thus the United -States of America have answered to us the purpose of a Colony as well as -though they had remained under British rule. We should, therefore, -endeavour to see how far the Cape Colony has answered the desired -purpose. - -The settlement was Dutch in its origin, and was peopled by -Dutchmen,--with a salutary sprinkling of Protestant French who -assimilated themselves after a time to the Dutch in language and -religion. It is only by their religion that we can now divide the Dutch -and the English; and on enquiry I find that about 150,000 souls belong -to the Dutch Reformed and Lutheran Churches,--leaving 85,000 of English -descent in the Colony. If to these we add the 20,000 white persons -inhabiting Natal, and 15,000 at the Diamond Fields, we shall have the -total English population of South Africa;--for the Europeans of the -Transvaal, as of the Orange Free State, are a Dutch people. There are -therefore about 120,000 persons of British descent in these South -African districts,--the number being little more than that of the people -of the small unobtrusive Colony which we call Tasmania. - -I hope that nobody will suppose from this that I regard a Dutch subject -of the British Crown as being less worthy of regard than an English -subject. My remarks are not intended to point in that direction, but to -show what is the nature of our duties in South Africa. Thus are there -about 220,000[6] persons of Dutch descent, though the emigrants from -Holland to that land during the present century have been but few;--so -few that I have found no trace of any batch of such emigrants; and there -are but 120,000 of English descent although the country has belonged to -England for three-quarters of a century! The enquirer is thus driven to -the conclusion that South Africa has hardly answered the purpose of a -British Colony. - -And I hope that nobody will suppose from this that I regard the coloured -population of Africa as being unworthy of consideration. My remarks, on -the other hand, are made with the object of showing that in dealing with -South Africa the British Parliament and the British Ministers should -think,--not indeed exclusively,--but chiefly of the coloured people. -When we speak of Confederation among these Colonies and districts we -should enquire whether such Confederation will be good for those races -whom at home we lump under the name of Kafirs. As a Colony, in the -proper sense of the word, the Cape Colony has not been successful. -Englishmen have not flocked there in proportion to its area or to its -capabilities for producing the things necessary for life. The working -Englishman,--and it is he who populates the new lands,--prefers a -country in which he shall not have to compete with a black man or a red -man. He learns from some only partially correct source that in one -country the natives will interfere with him and that in another they -will not; and he prefers the country in which their presence will not -annoy him. - -But then neither have Englishmen flocked to India, which of all our -possessions is the most important,--or to Ceylon, which as being called -a Colony and governed from the Colonial Office at home may afford us the -nearest parallel we can find to South Africa. No doubt they are in many -things unlike. No English workman takes his family to Ceylon because the -tropical sun is too hot for a European to work beneath it. South Africa -is often hot, but it is not tropical, and an Englishman can work there. -And again in Ceylon the coloured population have from the first British -occupation of the island been recognised as “the people,”--an -interesting and submissive but still foreign and coloured people, whom -she should not dream of inviting to govern themselves. It is a matter of -course that Ceylon should be governed as a Crown Colony,--with edicts -and laws from Downing Street, administered by the hand of a Governor. A -Cingalee Parliament would be an absurdity in our eyes. But in the Cape -Colony we have, as I shall explain in another chapter, all the -circumstances of parliamentary government. The real Governor is the -Colonial Prime Minister for the time, with just such restraints as -control our Prime Minister at home. Therefore Ceylon and the Cape Colony -are very unlike in their circumstances. - -But the likeness is much more potential than the unlikeness. In each -country there is a vast coloured population subject to British -rule,--and a population which is menaced by no danger of coming -extermination. It must always be remembered that the Kafirs are not as -the Maoris. They are increasing now more quickly than ever because, -under our rule, they do not kill each other off in tribal wars. No doubt -the white men are increasing too,--but very slowly; so that it is -impossible not to accept the fact a few white men have to rule a great -number of coloured men, and that that proportion must remain. - -A coloured subject of the Queen in the Cape Colony has all the -privileges possessed by a white subject,--all the political privileges. -The elective franchise under which the constituencies elect their -members of Parliament is given under a certain low property -qualification. A labourer who for a year shall have earned £25 in wages -and his diet may be registered as a voter, or if a man shall have held -for a year a house, or land, or land and house conjointly, worth £50, he -may be registered. It is certainly the case that even at present a very -large number of Kafirs might be registered. It has already been -threatened in more than one case that a crowd of Kafirs should be taken -to the poll to carry an election in this or that direction. The Kafirs -themselves understand but little about it,--as yet; but they will come -to understand. The franchise is one which easily admits of a simulated -qualification. It depends on the value of land,--and who is to value it? -If one Kafir were now to swear that he paid another Kafir 10s. a week -and fed him; no registrar would perhaps believe the oath. But it will -not be long before such oath might probably be true, or at any rate -impossible of rejection. The Registrar may himself be a Kafir,--as may -also be the member of Parliament. We have only to look at the Southern -States of the American Union to see how quickly the thing may run when -once it shall have begun to move. With two million and a quarter of -coloured people as against 340,000 white, all endowed with equal -political privileges, why should we not have a Kafir Prime Minister at -Capetown, and a Kafir Parliament refusing to pay salary to any but a -Kafir Governor? - -There may be those who think that a Kafir Parliament and a Kafir -Governor would be very good for a Kafir country. I own that I am not one -of them. I look to the civilization of these people, and think that I -see it now being effected by the creation of those wants the desire for -supplying which has since the creation of the world been the one -undeviating path towards material and intellectual progress. I see them -habituating their shoulders to the yoke of daily labour,--as we have all -habituated ours in Europe, and I do not doubt the happiness of the -result. Nor do I care at present to go into the question of a far -distant future. I will not say but that in coming ages a Kafir may make -as good a Prime Minister as Lord Beaconsfield. But he cannot do so -now,--nor in this age,--nor for many ages to come. It will be sufficient -for us if we can make up our minds that at least for the next hundred -years we shall not choose to be ruled by him. But if so, seeing how -greatly preponderating is his number, how are we to deal with him when -he shall have come to understand the meaning of his electoral -privileges, but shall not yet have reached that intellectual equality -with the white man which the more ardent of his friends anticipate for -him? Such are the perils and such the political quagmire among which the -Southern States of the Union are now floundering. In arranging for the -future government of South Africa, whether with, or without, a -Confederation, we should I think be on the alert to guard against -similar perils and a similar quagmire there. - -I have now spoken of the Queen’s subjects in the Cape Colony. Then come -on my list as given above the inhabitants of native districts which are -subject to the Cape Colony, either by conquest or by annexation in -accordance with their own wishes. These are so various and scattered -that I can hardly hope to interest my reader in the tribes individually. -The Basutos are probably the most prominent. They are governed by -British magistrates, pay direct and indirect taxes,--are a quiet orderly -people, not given to fighting since the days of their great King -Moshesh, and are about 127,000 in number. Then there are the Damaras and -Namaquas of the Western coast, people allied to the Hottentots, races of -whom no great notice is taken because their land has not yet been good -enough to tempt colonists. But a small proportion of these people as yet -live within electoral districts and therefore at present they have no -votes for members of Parliament. But were any scheme of Confederation -carried out their position would have to be assimilated to that of the -other natives. - -The Diamond Fields are in a condition very little like that of South -Africa generally. They are now, so to say, in the act of being made a -portion of the Cape Colony, the bill for this purpose having been passed -only during the last Session. They were annexed to the British Dominions -in 1871, and have been governed since that time by a resident -Sub-Governor under the Governor and High Commissioner of the Cape -Colony. The district will now have a certain allotment of members of -Parliament, but it has not any strong bearing on the question we are -considering. The population of the district is of a shifting nature, the -greater portion of even the coloured people having been drawn there by -the wages offered by capitalists in search of diamonds. The English have -got into the way of calling this territory the Diamond Fields, but its -present proper geographical name is Griqualand West. - -We then come to Natal with its little handful of white people,--20,000 -Europeans among 320,000 Kafirs and Zulus. Natal at present is under a -separate Governor of its own and a separate form of government. There is -not a Parliament in our sense of the word, but a Legislative Council. -The Executive Officers are responsible to the Governor and not to the -Council. Natal is therefore a Crown Colony, and is not yet afflicted -with any danger from voting natives. I can understand that it should be -brought into a Confederation with other Colonies or Territories under -the same flag without any alteration in its own Constitution,--but in -doing so it must consent to take a very subordinate part. Where there is -a Parliament, and the clamour and energy and strife of parliamentary -life, there will be the power. If there be a Confederation with a -central Congress,--and I presume that such an arrangement is always -intended when Confederation is mentioned,--Natal would demand the right -to elect members. It would choose its own franchise, and might perhaps -continue to shut out the coloured man; but it would be subjected to and -dominated by the Institutions of the Cape Colony, which, as I have -endeavoured to show, are altogether different from its own. The smaller -States are generally those most unwilling to confederate, fearing that -they will be driven to the wall. The founders of the American -Constitution had to give Rhode Island as many Senators as New York -before she would consent to Federation. - -There remains the Transvaal, which we have just annexed with its 40,000 -Dutchmen and its quarter of a million of native population,--a number -which can only be taken as a rough average and one which will certainly -be greatly exceeded as our borders stretch themselves in their -accustomed fashion. Here again we have for the moment a Crown Colony, -and one which can hardly get itself into working order for Confederation -within the period allowed by the Permissive Bill of last Session. The -other day there was a Dutch Parliament,--or Volksraad,--in which the -Dutchman had protected himself altogether from any voting interference -on the part of the native. Downing Street can make the Transvaal -confederate if she so please, but can hardly do so without causing Dutch -members to be sent up to the general Parliament. Now these Dutchmen do -not talk English, and are supposed to be unwilling to mix with -Englishmen. I fear that many years must pass by before the Transvaal can -become an operative part of an Anglo-South African Confederation. - -I have here simply endeavoured to point at the condition of things as -they may affect the question of Confederation;--not as intending to -express an opinion against Confederation generally. I am in doubt -whether a Confederation of the South African States can be carried in -the manner proposed by the Bill. But I feel sure that if such a measure -be carried the chief object in view should be the amelioration of the -coloured races, and that that object cannot be effected by inviting the -coloured races to come to the polls. Voting under a low suffrage would -be quite as appropriate to the people of the Indian Provinces and of -Ceylon as it is at the present moment to the people of South Africa. The -same evil arose in Jamaica and we know what came from it there. - - - - -THE CAPE COLONY. - - - - -CHAPTER V. - -CAPETOWN; THE CAPITAL. - - -I had always heard that the entrance into Capetown, which is the capital -of the Cape Colony, was one of the most picturesque things to be seen on -the face of the earth. It is a town lying close down on the seashore, -within the circumference of Table Bay so that it has the advantage of an -opposite shore which is always necessary to the beauty of a seashore -town; and it is backed by the Table Mountain with its grand upright -cliffs and the Lion with its head and rump, as a certain hill is called -which runs from the Table Mountain round with a semicircular curve back -towards the sea. The “Lion” certainly put me in mind of Landseer’s -lions, only that Landseer’s lions lie straight. All this has given to -Capetown a character for landscape beauty, which I had been told was to -be seen at its best as you enter the harbour. But as we entered it early -on one Sunday morning neither could the Table Mountain nor the Lion be -seen because of the mist, and the opposite shore, with its hills towards -The Paarl and Stellenbosch, was equally invisible. Seen as I first saw -it Capetown was not an attractive port, and when I found myself standing -at the gate of the dockyard for an hour and a quarter waiting for a -Custom House officer to tell me that my things did not need -examination,--waiting because it was Sunday morning,--I began to think -that it was a very disagreeable place indeed. Twelve days afterwards I -steamed out of the docks on my way eastward on a clear day, and then I -could see what was then to be seen, and I am bound to say that the -amphitheatre behind the place is very grand. But by that time the -hospitality of the citizens had put me in good humour with the city and -had enabled me to forget the iniquity of that sabbatical Custom House -official. - -But Capetown in truth is not of itself a prepossessing town. It is hard -to say what is the combination which gives to some cities their peculiar -attraction, and the absence of which makes others unattractive. Neither -cleanliness, nor fine buildings, nor scenery, nor even a look of -prosperity will effect this,--nor will all of them combined always do -so. Capetown is not specially dirty,--but it is somewhat ragged. The -buildings are not grand, but there is no special deficiency in that -respect. The scenery around is really fine, and the multiplicity of -Banks and of Members of Parliament,--which may be regarded as the two -most important institutions the Colonies produce,--seemed to argue -prosperity. But the town is not pleasing to a stranger. It is as I have -said ragged, the roadways are uneven and the pavements are so little -continuous that the walker by night had better even keep the road. I did -not make special enquiry as to the municipality, but it appeared to me -that the officers of that body were not alert. I saw a market out in the -open street which seemed to be rather amusing than serviceable. To this -criticism I do not doubt but that my friends at the Cape will -object;--but when they do so I would ask whether their own opinion of -their own town is not the same as mine. “It is a beastly place you -know,” one Capetown gentleman said to me. - -“Oh no!” said I in that tone which a guest is obliged to use when the -mistress of a house speaks ill of anything at her own table. “No, no; -not that.” - -But he persisted. “A beastly place,”--he repeated. “But we have plenty -to eat and plenty to drink, and manage to make out life very well. The -girls are as pretty as they are any where else, and as kind;--and the -brandy and water as plentiful.” To the truth of all these praises I bear -my willing testimony,--always setting aside the kindness of the young -ladies of which it becomes no man to boast. - -The same thing may be said of so many colonial towns. There seems to be -a keener relish of life than among our steadier and more fastidious folk -at home, with much less to give the relish. So that one is driven to ask -oneself whether advanced Art, mechanical ingenuity, and luxurious modes -of living do after all add to the happiness of mankind. He who has once -possessed them wants to return to them,--and if unable to do so is in a -far worse position than his neighbours. I am therefore disposed to say -that though Capetown as a city is not lovely, the Capetowners have as -good a time of it as the inhabitants of more beautiful capitals. - -The population is something over 30,000,--which when we remember that -the place is more than two centuries old and that it is the capital of -an enormous country, and the seat of the colonial legislature, is not -great. Melbourne which is just two hundred years younger than Capetown -contains above a quarter of a million of inhabitants. Melbourne was of -course made what it is by gold;--but then so have there been diamonds to -enhance the growth of Capetown. But the truth, I take it, is that a -white working population will not settle itself at any place where it -will have to measure itself against coloured labour. A walk through the -streets of Capetown is sufficient to show the stranger that he has -reached a place not inhabited by white men,--and a very little -conversation will show him further that he is not speaking with an -English-speaking population. The gentry no doubt are white and speak -English. At any rate the members of Parliament do so, and the clergymen, -and the editors--for the most part, and the good-looking young -ladies;--but they are not the population. He will find that everything -about him is done by coloured persons of various races, who among -themselves speak a language which I am told the Dutch in Holland will -hardly condescend to recognise as their own. Perhaps, as regards labour, -the most valuable race is that of the Malays, and these are the -descendants of slaves whom the early Dutch settlers introduced from -Java. The Malays are so-called Mahommidans, and some are to be seen -flaunting about the town in turbans and flowing robes. These, I -understand, are allowed so to dress themselves as a privilege in reward -for some pious work done,--a journey to Mecca probably. Then there is a -Hottentot admixture, a sprinkling of the Guinea-coast negro, and a -small but no doubt increasing Kafir element. But all this is leavened -and brought into some agreement with European modes of action and -thought by the preponderating influence of Dutch blood. So that the -people, though idle, are not apathetic as savages, nor quite so -indifferent as Orientals. But yet there is so much of the savage and so -much of the oriental that the ordinary Englishman does not come out and -work among them. Wages are high and living, though the prices of -provisions are apt to vary, is not costly. Nor is the climate averse to -European labourers, who can generally work without detriment in regions -outside the tropics. But forty years ago slave labour was the labour of -the country, and the stains, the apathy, the unprofitableness of slave -labour still remain. It had a curse about it which fifty years have not -been able to remove. - -The most striking building in Capetown is the Castle, which lies down -close to the sea and which was built by the Dutch,--in mud when they -first landed, and in stone afterwards, though not probably as we see it -now. It is a low edifice, surrounded by a wall and a ditch, and divided -within into two courts in which are kept a small number of British -troops. The barracks are without, at a small distance from the walls. In -architecture it has nothing to be remarked, and as a defence would be -now of no avail whatever. It belongs to the imperial Government, who -thus still keep a foot on the soil as though to show that as long as -British troops are sent to the Cape whether for colonial or imperial -purposes, the place is not to be considered free from imperial -interference. Round the coast at Simon’s Bay, which is at the back or -eastern side of the little promontory which constitutes the Cape of Good -Hope, Great Britain possesses a naval station, and this is another -imperial possession and supposed to need imperial troops for its -defence. And from this possession of a naval station there arises the -fiction that for its need the British troops are retained in South -Africa when they have been withdrawn from all our other self-governing -Colonies. But we have also a station for ships of war at Sydney, and -generally a larger floating force there than at Simon’s Bay. But the -protection of our ships at Sydney has not been made an excuse for having -British troops in New South Wales. I will, however, recur again to this -subject of soldiers in the Colony,--which is one that has to be treated -with great delicacy in the presence of South African Colonists. - -There was lately a question of selling the Castle to the Colony,--the -price named having been, I was told, something over £60,000. If -purchased by the municipality it would I think be pulled down. Thus -would be lost the most conspicuous relic of the Dutch Government;--but -an ugly and almost useless building would be made to give way to better -purposes. - -About thirty years ago Dr. Gray was appointed the first bishop of -Capetown and remained there as bishop till he died,--serving in his -Episcopacy over a quarter of a century. He has been succeeded by Bishop -Jones, who is now Metropolitan of South Africa to the entire -satisfaction of all the members of the Church. Bishop Gray inaugurated -the building of a Cathedral, which is a large and serviceable church, -containing a proper ecclesiastical throne for the Bishop and a stall for -the Dean; but it is not otherwise an imposing building and certainly is -anything but beautiful. That erected for the use of the Roman Catholics -has been built with better taste. Near to the Cathedral,--behind it, and -to be reached by a shady walk which is one of the greatest charms of -Capetown, is the Museum, a handsome building standing on your right as -you go up from the Cathedral. This is under the care of Mr. Trimen who -is well known to the zoologically scientific world as a man specially -competent for such work and whose services and society are in high -esteem at Capetown. But I did not think much of his African wild beasts. -There was a lion and there were two lionesses,--stuffed of course. The -stuffing no doubt was all there; but the hair had disappeared, and with -the hair all that look of martial ardour which makes such animals -agreeable to us. There was, too, a hippopotamus who seemed to be -moulting,--if a hippopotamus can moult,--very sad to look at, and a long -since deceased elephant, with a ricketty giraffe whose neck was sadly -out of joint. I must however do Mr. Trimen the justice to say that when -I remarked that his animals seemed to have needed Macassar oil, he -acknowledged that they were a “poor lot,” and that it was not by their -merits that the Capetown Museum could hope to be remembered. His South -African birds and South African butterflies, with a snake or two here -and there, were his strong points. I am but a bad sightseer in a museum, -being able to detect the deficiencies of a mangy lion, but unable from -want of sight and want of education to recognise the wonders of a -humming bird. But I saw a hideous vulture, and an eagle, and some -buzzards, with a grand albatross or two, all of which were as glossy and -natural as glass eyes and well brushed feathers could make them. A -skeleton of a boa-constrictor with another skeleton of a little animal -just going to be swallowed interested me perhaps more than anything -else. - -Under the same roof with the Museum is the public library which is of -its nature very peculiar and valuable. It would be invidious to say that -there are volumes there so rare that one begrudges them to a distant -Colony which might be served as well by ordinary editions as by scarce -and perhaps unreadable specimens. But such is the feeling which comes up -first in the mind of a lover of books when he takes out and handles some -of the treasures of Sir George Grey’s gift. For it has to be told that a -considerable portion of the Capetown library,--or rather a small -separate library itself numbering about 5,000 volumes,--was given to the -Colony by that eccentric but most popular and munificent Governor. But -why a MS. of Livy, or of Dante, should not be as serviceable at Capetown -as in some gentleman’s country house in England it would be hard to say; -and the Shakespeare folio of 1623 of which the library possesses a -copy,--with a singularly close cut margin,--is no doubt as often looked -at, and as much petted and loved and cherished in the capital of South -Africa, as it is when in the possession of a British Duke. There is also -a wonderful collection in these shelves of the native literature of -Africa and New Zealand. Perhaps libraries of greater value have been -left by individuals to their country or to special institutions, but I -do not remember another instance of a man giving away such a treasure in -his lifetime and leaving it where in all human probability he could -never see it again. - -The remaining, or outer library, contains over thirty thousand volumes, -of which about 5,000 were left by a Mr. Dessin more than a hundred years -ago to the Dutch Reformed Church in Capetown. These seem to have been -buried for many years, and to have been disinterred and brought into use -when the present public library was established in 1818. The public are -admitted free, and ample comforts are supplied for reading,--such as -warmth, seats, tables and a handsome reading-room. A subscription of £1 -per annum enables the subscriber to take a set of books home. This seems -to us to be a munificent arrangement; but it should always be remembered -that at Boston in the United States any inhabitant of the city may take -books home from the public library without any deposit and without -paying anything. Among all the philanthropical marvels of public -libraries that is the most marvellous. I was told that the readers in -Capetown are not very numerous. When I visited the place there were but -two or three. - -A little further up along the same shady avenue, and still on the right -hand side is the entrance to the Botanic Gardens. These, I was told, -were valuable in a scientific point of view, but were, as regards beauty -and arrangement, somewhat deficient, because funds were lacking. There -is a Government grant and there are subscriptions, but the Government -is stingy,--what Good Government ever was not stingy?--and the -subscriptions are slender. I walked round the garden and can imagine -that if I were an inhabitant of Capetown and if, as would probably be -the case, I made frequent use of that avenue, I might prolong my -exercise by a little turn round the garden. But this could only be three -times a week unless my means enabled me to subscribe, for on three days -the place is shut against the world at large. As a public pleasure -ground the Capetown gardens are not remarkable. As I walked up and down -this somewhat dreary length I thought of the glory and the beauty and -the perfect grace of the gardens at Sydney. - -Opposite to the Museum and the Gardens is the Government House in which -Sir Bartle Frere with his family had lately come to reside. In many -Colonies, nay in most that I have visited, I have heard complaints that -Government Houses have been too small. Seeing such hospitality as I have -seen in them I could have fancied that Governors, unless with long -private purses, must have found them too large. They are always full. At -Melbourne, in Victoria, an evil-natured Government has lately built an -enormous palace which must ruin any Governor who uses the rooms placed -at his disposal. When I was there the pleasant house at Tourac sufficed, -and Lord Canterbury, who has now gone from us, was the most genial of -hosts and the most sage of potentates. At Capetown the house was larger -than Tourac, and yet not palatial. It seemed to me to be all that such a -house should be;--but I heard regrets that there were not more rooms. I -know no office in which it can be less possible for a man to make money -than in administering the government of a constitutional Colony. In a -Colony that has no constitution of its own,--in which the Governor -really governs,--the thing is very different. In the one there is the -salary and the house, and that is all. In a Crown Colony there is no -House of Commons to interfere when this and the other little addition is -made. We all know what coals and candles mean at home. The -constitutional Governor has no coals and candles. - -Wherever I go I visit the post-office, feeling certain that I may be -able to give a little good advice. Having looked after post-offices for -thirty years at home I fancy that I could do very good service among the -Colonies if I could have arbitrary power given to me to make what -changes I pleased. My advice is always received with attention and -respect, and I have generally been able to flatter myself that I have -convinced my auditors. But I never knew an instance yet in which any -improvement recommended by me was carried out. I have come back a year -or two after my first visit and have seen that the things have been just -as they were before. I did not therefore say much at Capetown;--but I -thought it would have been well if they had not driven the public to buy -stamps at a store opposite, seeing that as the Colony pays salaries the -persons taking the salaries ought to do the work;--and that it would be -well also if they could bring themselves to cease to look at the public -as enemies from whom it is necessary that the officials inside should be -protected by fortifications in the shape of barred windows and closed -walls. Bankers do their work over open counters, knowing that no one -would deal with them were they to shut their desks up behind barricades. - -But I am bound to say that my letters were sent after me with that -despatch and regularity which are the two first and greatest of -post-official virtues. And the services in the Colony generally are very -well performed, and performed well under great difficulties. The roads -are bad, and the distances long, and the transit is necessarily rough. I -was taken out to see such a cart as I should have to travel on for many -a weary day before I had accomplished my task in South Africa. My spirit -groaned within me as I saw it,--and for many a long and weary hour it -has since expanded itself with external groanings though not quite on -such a cart as I saw then. But the task has been done, and I can speak -of the South African cart with gratitude. It is very rough,--very rough -indeed for old bones. But it is sure. - -I should weary my reader were I to tell him of all the civilized -institutions,--one by one,--which are in daily use in Capetown. There is -a Custom House, and a Sailors’ Home, and there are hospitals, and an -observatory,--very notable I believe as being well placed in reference -to the Southern hemisphere,--and a Government Herbarium and a lunatic -asylum at Robben Island. Of Mr. Stone, the Astronomer Royal and lord of -the Observatory, I must say one word in special praise. “Do you care for -the stars?” he asked me. In truth I do not care for the stars. I care, I -think, only for men and women, and so I told him. “Then,” said he, “I -won’t bother you to come to the Observatory. But if you wish to see -stars I will show them to you.” I took him at his word and did not then -go to the Observatory. This I had said with some fear and trembling as I -remembered well the disgust which Agazziz once expressed when I asked -permission not to be shown his museum at Cambridge, Massachusetts. But -Mr. Stone seemed to understand my deficiency, and if he pitied me he -abstained from expressing his pity. Afterwards I did make a special -visit to the Observatory,--which is maintained by the imperial -Government and not by the Colony,--and was shown all the wonders of the -Southern Heavens. They were very beautiful, but I did not understand -much about them. - -There is a comfortable and hospitable club at Capetown, to which, as at -all colonial clubs, admission is given to strangers presumed to be of -the same social standing as the members. The hour of lunch seems to be -the hour of the day at which these institutions are most in request. -This is provided in the form of a table d’hôte, as is also a dinner -later on in the day. This is less numerously attended, but men of heroic -mould are thus enabled to dine twice daily. - -Capetown would be no city without a railway. The Colony at present has -three starting-points for railways from the coast, one of which runs out -of Capetown, with a branch to Wynberg which is hardly more than a suburb -and is but eight miles distant, and a second branch to Worcester which -is intended to be carried up the country to the distant town of Graaf -Reynet and so on through the world of Africa. The line to Wynberg is of -infinite importance to the city as giving to the inhabitants easy means -of access to a charming locality. Capetown itself is not a lovely spot -on which to reside, but the district at the back of the Table Mountain -where are Mowbray, Rondebusch, Wynberg and Constantia,--which district -is reached by the railway,--supplies beautiful sites for houses and -gardens. There are bits of scenery which it would be hard to beat either -in form or colour, so grand are the outlines of the mountain, and so -rich and bountiful the verdure of the shrubs and timbers. It would be -difficult to find a site for a house more charming than that occupied by -the bishop, which is only six miles from town and hardly more than a -mile distant from a railway station. Beyond Wynberg lies the grape -district of Constantia so well known in England by the name of its -wine;--better known, I think, forty years ago than it is now. - -All these places, Rondebusch, Wynberg, Constantia and the rest lie on -that promontory which when we look at the map we regard as the Cape of -Good Hope. The Dutch had once an idea of piercing a canal across the -isthmus from sea to sea, from Table Bay to False Bay,--in which lies -Simon’s Bay where is our naval station,--and maintaining only the island -so formed for its own purposes, leaving the rest of South Africa to its -savagery. And, since the time of the Dutch, it has been suggested that -if England were thus to cut off the Table Mountain with its adjacent -land, England would have all of South Africa that it wants. The idea is -altogether antagonistic to the British notion of colonization, which -looks to a happy home for colonists or the protection natives, rather -than the benefit or glory of the Mother Country. But were such a cutting -off to be effected, the morsel of land so severed would be very -charming, and would demand I think a prettier town than Capetown. - -Beyond and around Wynberg there is a little world of lovely scenery. -Simonstown is about twelve miles from Wynberg, the road passing by the -now growing bathing-place of Kalk bay. It is to Kalk bay that the ladies -of Capetown go with their children when in summer they are in search of -fresh air, and sea breezes, and generally improved sanitary -arrangements. A most delightful spot it would be if only there were -sufficient accommodation. The accommodation of course will come as years -roll on. Beyond Kalk bay are Simonstown and Simon’s Bay, where lives the -British Commodore who has the command of these waters. The road, the -whole way down, lies between the mountain and the sea. Beyond Simonstown -I rode out for six or seven miles with the Commodore along the side of -the hill and through the rocks till we could see the lighthouse at the -extremity of the Cape. It is impossible to imagine finer sea scenery or -a bolder coast than is here to be seen. There is not a yard of it that -would not be the delight of tourists if it were in some accessible part -of Europe,--not a quarter of a mile that would not have its marine villa -if it were in England. - -Before I returned home I stayed for a week or two at an Inn, a mile or -two beyond Wynberg, called Rathfelders. I suppose some original Dutchman -of that name once kept the house. It is of itself an excellent place of -resort, cool in summer, being on the cool side of the Table Mountains -and well kept;--a comfortable refuge to sojourners who do not object to -take their meals at a public table; but peculiarly pleasant as being in -the midst of mountain scenery. From here there is a ride through the -mountains to Hout’s Bay,--a little inlet on the other side of the Cape -promontory,--which cannot be beaten for beauty of the kind. The distance -to be ridden may be about ten miles each way, and good riding horses are -kept at Rathfelders. But I did not find that very many had crossed the -pass. I should say that in the neighbourhood of Wynberg there are -various hotels and boarding houses so that accommodation may always be -had. The best known of these is Cogill’s Hotel close to the Wynberg -Railway Station. I did not stay there myself, but I heard it well spoken -of. - -Altogether the scenery of the Promontory on which the Dutch landed, the -southern point of which is the Cape of Good Hope, and on which stands -Capetown, is hardly to be beaten for picturesque beauty by any landskip -charms elsewhere within the same area. - -I was taken down to Constantia where I visited one of the few grape -growers among whom the vineyards of this district are divided. I found -him with his family living in a fine old Dutch residence,--which had -been built I was told by one of the old Dutch Governors when a Governor -at the Cape was a very aristocratic personage. Here he keeps a few -ostriches, makes a great deal of wine, and has around him as lovely -scenery as the eye of man can desire. But he complained bitterly as to -the regulations,--or want of regulations,--prevailing in regard to -labour. “If an idle people could only be made to work for reasonable -wages the place would become a very Paradise!” This is the opinion as to -labour which is left behind in all lands in which slavery has prevailed. -The man of means, who has capital either in soil or money, does not -actually wish for a return to slavery. The feelings which abolished -slavery have probably reached his bosom also. But he regrets the control -over his fellow creatures which slavery formerly gave him, and he does -not see that whether a man be good or bad, idle by nature and habits or -industrious, the only compulsion to work should come from hunger and -necessity,--and the desire of those good things which industry and -industry alone will provide. - -On the other side of Capetown,--the other side from the direction -towards Wynberg,--there is another and the only other road out of -Capetown which leads down to Sea Point, where there is a second pleasant -suburb and a second clustering together of villa residences. Here the -inhabitants look direct on to Table Bay and have the surges of the -Atlantic close to their front doors. The houses at Sea Point are very -nice, but they have nothing of the Elysian scenery of Wynberg. -Continuing the road from Sea Point the equestrian, or energetic walker, -may return by the Kloof,--anglice Cleft,--which brings him back to town -by a very picturesque route between the Lion and Table Mountains. This -is almost too steep for wheels, or it would claim to be called a third -road out of the town. - -I was taken to see two schools, the high school at Rondebusch, and a -school in the town for coloured lads. At the high school the boys were -away for their holidays and therefore I could see nothing but the -outside material. I do not doubt but that lads are educated there quite -as well as at similar institutions in England. It is under the guidance -of a clergyman of the Church of England, and is thoroughly English in -all its habits. I found a perfect menagery of interesting animals -attached to it, which is an advantage which English schools seldom -possess. The animals, which, though wild by nature, were at this place -remarkably tame, had, fortunately for me, not gone home for their -holidays,--so that, wanting the boys, I could amuse myself with them. I -will not speak here of the coloured school, as I must, as I progress, -devote a short chapter to the question of Kafir education. - -In speaking of the Capital of the Colony I need only further remark that -it possesses a completed and adequate dock for the reception of large -ships, and a breakwater for the protection of the harbour. The traffic -from England to the Cape of Good Hope is now mainly conducted by two -Steam Ship Companies, the Union and Donald Currie & Co., which carry the -mails with passengers and cargo each way weekly. Many of these vessels -are of nearly 3,000 tons burden, some even of more, and at Capetown they -are brought into the dock so that passengers walk in and out from the -quay without the disagreeable aid of boats. The same comfort has not as -yet been afforded at any other port along the coast. - - - - -CHAPTER VI. - -THE LEGISLATURE AND EXECUTIVE. - - -It has come to be understood that the appropriate mode of governing a -Colony is to have a King, Lords and Commons as we do at home. And if a -Colony be a Colony in the fashion described by me when endeavouring to -define the nature of a Colony proper, there cannot be a doubt that this -is the best mode. Where Englishmen,--or white men whether they be of -English or other descent,--have gone to labour and have thus raised a -community in a distant land under the British flag, the old -constitutional mode of arranging things seems always to act well, though -it may sometimes be rough at first, and sometimes at starting may be -subject to difficulties. It has been set on foot by us, or by our -Colonists, with a population perhaps not sufficient to give two members -to an English borough,--and has then started with a full-fledged -appanage of Governor, aide-de-camps, private secretaries, Legislative -Council, Legislative Assembly, Prime Minister and Cabinet,--with a -surrounding which one would have thought must have swamped so small a -boat;--but the boat has become almost at once a ship and has ridden -safely upon the waves. The little State has borrowed money like a proud -Empire and has at once had its stocks quoted in the share lists. There -have been causes for doubt, but I do not remember an instance of -failure. This has been so universally the result that the British -Government at home have become averse to Crown Colonies, and has of late -invited her children to go out alone into the world, to enjoy their own -earnings, and pay their own bills, and do as may seem good to them each -in his own sight. I find that there are many in the Cape Colony who say -that she undertook to govern herself in the proper parliamentary way not -because she especially desired the independence to be thus obtained, but -because the Colonial Office at home was anxious on the subject and put -pressure on the Colony. - -At any rate in 1872 the Cape began to rule itself. The process of ruling -themselves rarely begins with Colonies all at once. The acme of -independence is reached when a Colony levies and spends its own taxes -and when the country is ruled by Ministers who are appointed because -they have a parliamentary majority at their back and who go out of -office when they are no longer so supported. There are various -preliminary steps before this state of perfection be reached and in no -Colony, I think, have these various steps been more elaborated than at -the Cape. In 1825 the Governor ruled almost as a despot. He was of -course subject to the Secretary of State at home,--by whom he might be -dismissed or, if competent, would be promoted; but he was expected to be -autocratic and imperious. I may say that he rarely fell short of the -expectation. Lord Charles Somerset, who was the last of those Governors -at the Cape, did and said things which are charming in the simplicity of -their tyranny. In 1825 an Executive Council was appointed. These were, -of course, nominees of the Government; but they divided the -responsibility with the Governor, and were a check upon the exercise of -his individual powers. The next step, in 1834, was to a Legislative -Council. These were to be the lawmakers, but all of them were elected by -the Governor. Six of the Council were the Governor’s executive -ministers, and the other six,--for the Council consisted of -twelve,--were unofficial nominees. - -But the existence of such a Council--a little Parliament elected by the -Crown--created a desire for a popular Parliament and the people of the -Colony petitioned for a representative House of Assembly. Then there was -much hesitation, one Secretary of State after another and one Governor -after another, struggling to produce a measure which should be both -popular and satisfactory. For the element of colour,--the question as to -white men and black men, which has been inoperative in Canada, in the -Australias, and even in New Zealand,--was as early as in those days felt -to create a peculiar difficulty in South Africa. But at length the -question was decided in favour of the black man and a low franchise. Sir -Harry Smith the then Governor expressed an opinion that “by showing to -all classes that no man’s station was in this free country,”--meaning -South Africa,--“determined by the accident of his colour, all ranks of -men might be stimulated to improve and maintain their relative -position.” The principle enunciated is broad and seems, at the first -hearing of it, to be excellent; but it would appear on examination to be -almost as correct to declare to candidates for the household cavalry -that the accident of height should have nothing to do with their -chances. It may be open to argument whether the Queen would not be as -well defended by men five feet high as by those who are six,--but the -six-feet men are wanted. There may be those who think that a Kafir -Parliament would be a blessing;--but the white men in the Colony are -determined not to be ruled by black men.[7] It was intended, no doubt, -simply to admit a few superior Kafirs to the franchise,--a select body -whose appearance at the hustings would do good to the philanthropic -heart; but it has led to the question whether there may not be more -Kafirs than European voters. When it leads to the question whether there -shall be Kafir members of Parliament, then there will be a revolution in -the Colony. One or two the House might stand, as the House in New -Zealand endures four or five Maoris who sit there to comfort the -philanthropic heart; but should the number increase materially then -there would be revolution in the Cape Colony. In New Zealand the number -is prescribed and, as the Maoris are coming to an end, will never be -increased. In the Cape Colony every electoral district might return a -Kafir; but I think those who know the Colony will agree with me when I -say that the European would not consent to be so represented. - -After much discussion, both at the Cape and in England, two Houses of -Parliament both elective were established and met together for the first -time in July 1854. The franchise was then established on the basis which -still prevails. To vote either for a member of the Legislative Council, -or of the House of Assembly, a man must occupy land or a building -alleged to be worth £25; or he must earn £50 per annum; or he must earn -£25 per annum,--about 10s. a week,--and his diet. The English reader -must understand that wages are very much higher in the Colony than in -England, and that the labouring Kafir who works for wages frequently -earns as much as the required sum. And the pastoral Kafir who pays rent -for his land, does very often occupy a tract worth more than £25. There -are already districts in which the Kafirs who might be registered as -voters exceed in number the European voters. And the number of such -Kafirs is increasing from day to day. - -But even yet parliamentary government had not been attained in the Cape. -Under the Constitution, as established in 1854, the power of voting -supplies had been given, but the manner in which the supplies should be -used was still within the Governor’s bosom. His ministers were selected -by him as he pleased, and could not be turned out by any parliamentary -vote. That is the system which is now in existence in the United -States,--where the President may maintain his ministers in opposition to -the united will of the nation. At the Cape, after 1854, the Governor’s -ministers could sit and speak either in one House or in the other,--but -were not members of Parliament and could not vote. Nor, which was more -important, could they be turned out! - -The next and last step was not taken till 1872, and was perhaps somewhat -pressed on the Colony by the Home Government, who wished to assimilate -the form of parliamentary constitution in all the Colonies which were -capable of enjoying it. The measure however was carried at the Cape by -majorities in both Houses,--by a majority of 34 to 27 votes in the House -of Assembly,--which on such a subject was a slender majority as showing -the wish of the Colony, and by 11 votes against 10 in the Legislative -Council. I think I am right in saying that two out of these eleven were -given by gentlemen who thought it right to support the Government though -in opposition to their own opinions. There were many who considered that -in such a condition of things the measure should have been referred back -to the people by a general dissolution. But so did not think the late -Governor, Sir Henry Barkly, or the Secretary of State at home. The -question was settled in favour of our old well-beloved form of -constitutional government; and the Cape Colony became like to the -Canadas and the Australias. The Governor has really little or nothing to -say to the actual government of the country,--as the Sovereign has not -with us. The Ministers are responsible, and must be placed in power or -turned out of power as majorities may direct. And the majorities will of -course be created by the will of the people, or, as it would be more -fair to say, by the will of the voters. - -But there are two points in which, with all these Colonies, the -resemblance to England ceases. I have said that there were in the Cape -Colony, Kings, Lords and Commons. With us, at home, the Lords are -hereditary. An hereditary Upper House in a Colony would be impossible, -and if possible would be absurd. There are two modes of selecting such a -body,--one that of election by the people as is the case in Victoria, -and the other that of nomination by the Crown, as is the practice in New -South Wales. At the Cape the more democratic method has been adopted. It -may be a question whether in regard to the special population of the -Country, the other plan would not have been preferable. The second -difference is common to all our Colonies, and has reference to the power -which is always named first and which, for simplicity, I have described -as the King. With us the Crown has a veto on all parliamentary -enactments, but is never called upon to exercise it. The Crown with us -acts by its Ministers who either throw out a measure they disapprove by -the use of the majority at their back, or go out themselves. But in the -Colonies the veto of the third party to legislation is not unfrequently -exercised by the Secretary of State at home, and here there is a -safeguard against intemperate legislation. - -Such is the form of government at the Cape of Good Hope. Of all forms -known to us it is perhaps the most liberal, as the franchise is low -enough to enable the ordinary labourer to vote for members of both -Houses. For in truth every working man in the Colony may without -difficulty earn 10s. a week and his diet; and no small holder of land -will occupy a plot worth less than £25. Had the matter in question been -the best form for the maintenance of liberty and assurance of liberty -among white people, I, at least, should have nothing to say against it; -but, seeing that the real people of the country is and will remain a -coloured population, I cannot but think that there is room for doubt. I -will not,--as I said before, venture to enquire into the far distant -future of the black races of South Africa. There are many who think that -the black man should not only be free but should be, and by his nature -is, the equal of the white man. As I am glad to see all political -inequalities gradually lessened among men of European descent, so should -I be glad to think that the same process should take place among all -men. But not only has not that time come yet, but I cannot think that it -has so nearly come as to justify us in legislating upon the supposition -that it is approaching. I find that the very men who are the friends of -the negro hold the theory but never entertain the practice of equality -with the negro. The stanchest disciple of Wilberforce and Buxton does -not take the negro into partnership, or even make him a private -secretary. The conviction that the white man must remain in the -ascendant is as clear in his mind as in that of his opponent; and though -he will give the black man a vote in hope of this happy future, he is -aware that when black men find their way into any Parliament or Congress -that Parliament or Congress is to a degree injured in public estimation. -A power of voting in the hands of negroes has brought the time-honoured -constitution of Jamaica to an end. The same power in the Southern States -of the American Union is creating a political confusion of which none -of us can foretell the end, but as to which we are all convinced that in -one way or another a minority of white men will get the better of a -majority of coloured men. In British South Africa the majority of -coloured men is so great that the country has to be compared to India or -Ceylon rather than to the Southern American States. When once the Kafir -shall have learned what voting means there will be no withstanding him, -should the system of voting which now prevails in the Cape Colony be -extended over a South African Confederation. The Kafir is not a bad -fellow. Of the black African races the South Eastern people whom we call -Kafirs and Zulus are probably the best. They are not constitutionally -cruel, they learn to work readily, and they save property. But they are -as yet altogether deficient in that intelligence which is needed for the -recognition of any political good. There can be no doubt that the -condition of the race has been infinitely improved by the coming of the -white man; but, were it to be put to the vote to-morrow among the Kafirs -whether the white man should be driven into the sea, or retained in the -country, the entire race would certainly vote for the white man’s -extermination. This may be natural; but it is not a decision which the -white man desires or by which he intends to abide. - -I will quote here a few words from an official but printed report, sent -by Mr. Bowker, the late Commandant of the Frontier Mounted Police, to -the Chairman of the Frontier Defence Committee in 1876, merely adding, -that perhaps no one in the Cape Colony better understands the feeling -between the Kafirs and their white neighbours than the gentleman whose -words I use. “It must not be forgotten that while collectively the -Border farmers look upon the natives as their bitterest foes, -individually they have greater confidence in their Kafir servants than -in any European immigrant whose services can be obtained in the Colony. -It is much the same with the native servants. As a nation they hate the -white man, and look forward to the day when he will be expelled the -country; while individually they are as much or more attached to their -masters than would be the case with European servants.” This represents -exactly the condition of feeling in South Africa:--and, if so, it -certainly is not to such feeling that we can safely entrust an equality -of franchise with ourselves, seeing that they outnumber us almost by -five to one. It is said that they cannot combine. If they could the -question would be settled against us,--without any voting. But nothing -will teach men to combine so readily as a privilege of voting. The -franchise is intended to teach men to combine for a certain object, and -when freely given has always succeeded in its intention. - -As far as it has yet gone Parliamentary Government has worked well in -the Cape Colony. There had been so long a period of training that a -sufficient number of gentlemen were able to undertake the matter at -once. I attended one hot debate and heard the leaders of the Opposition -attack the Prime Minister and his colleague in the proper parliamentary -manner. The question was one of defence against the border Kafirs;--and -the Premier who had brought in a measure which the Opposition, as it -appeared, was desirous of slaughtering peacemeal, was suspected of an -intention to let the measure drop. And yet he was asking for an -increased vote for defence, which,--so said the opposition,--ought not -to be granted till he had declared his entire purpose in that respect. -The object of the opposition of course was to say all the severe words -which parliamentary manners allowed, and it succeeded as well as do our -practised swordsmen at home. It was made to appear that the Prime -Minister was a very wicked man indeed, whose only object it was to rob -the Colony of its money. Of Mr. Paterson, who was the keenest of the -swordsmen, I must say that he was very eloquent. Of Mr. Southey and Mr. -Sprigg that they were very efficacious. It was of course the object of -the Ministers to get the vote passed with as little trouble as possible, -knowing that they had a majority at their back. Mr. Molteno the Premier -declared that he really did not know what gentlemen on the other side -wanted. If they could throw out the vote let them do it,--but what was -the use of their reiterating words if they had no such power. That -seemed to be the gist of the Premier’s arguments,--and it is the natural -argument for a Prime Minister who has never yet been turned out. Of -course he got his vote,--as to which I presume that no one had the least -doubt. - -Mr. Molteno, who has been in parliamentary life for many years, having -held a seat since the creation of the first House of Assembly in 1854, -has been a very useful public servant and thoroughly understands the -nature of the work required of him; but I fancy that in a parliamentary -constitutional government things cannot go quite straight till there -has been at least one change,--till a Minister has been made to feel -that any deviation from responsibility may bring upon him at a moment’s -notice a hostile majority. We at home talk about a strong Government; -but a very strong Government is likely to be a fainéant Government, and -is rarely a faithful Government. A Minister should have before him a -lively dread. Mr. Molteno seemed to be too confident,--and to be almost -fretful because gentlemen made him sit there in the House when he would -have preferred being in his office or at home. I am far from saying that -the Cape can have a better Minister;--but if he could go out for a short -while and then come back it would probably be for his comfort. - -I cannot finish these remarks without saying that the most sensible -speech I heard in the House was from Mr. Saul Solomon. Mr. Solomon has -never been in the Government and rarely in opposition, but he has been -perhaps of as much use to the Colony as any living man. He is one who -certainly should be mentioned as a very remarkable personage, having -risen to high honours in an occupation perhaps of all the most esteemed -among men, but for which he must have seemed by nature to be peculiarly -ill adapted. He is a man of very small stature,--so small that on first -seeing him the stranger is certainly impressed with the idea that no man -so small has ever been seen by him before. His forehead however is fine, -and his face full of intelligence. With all this against him Mr. Solomon -has gone into public life, and as a member of Parliament in the Cape -Colony has gained a respect above that of Ministers in office. It is -not too much to say that he is regarded on both sides as a safe -adviser; and I believe that it would be hardly possible to pass any -measure of importance through the Cape Legislature to which he offered a -strenuous opposition. He reminded me of two other men whom it has been -my privilege to know and who have been determined to seize and wear -parliamentary honours in the teeth of misfortunes which would have -closed at any rate that profession against men endowed with less than -Herculean determination. I mean Mr. Fawcett who in our own House at home -has completely vanquished the terrible misfortune of blindness, and my -old friend John Robertson of Sydney,--Sir John I believe he is now,--who -for many years presided over the Ministry in New South Wales, leading -the debates in a parliamentary chamber, without a palate to his mouth. I -regard these three men as great examples of what may be done by -perseverance to overcome the evils which nature or misfortune have -afflicted. - -The people of Capetown think of the two chambers in which the two Houses -sit with something of shame, declaring that they are not at all what -they ought to be,--that they are used as makeshifts, and that there has -never yet been time, or perhaps money at hand, for constructing proper -Houses of Parliament. Had I not heard this I should have thought that -each of them was sufficiently commodious and useful, if not quite -sufficiently handsome or magnificent. - - - - -CHAPTER VII. - -WESTERN PROVINCE.--KNYSNA, GEORGE, AND THE CANGO CAVES. - - -When I had spent a few weeks in Capetown and the immediate neighbourhood -I went into the Eastern Province of the Cape Colony, and thence on to -Natal, the Transvaal, the Diamond Fields, and the Orange Free State -Republic,--as I hope to tell my readers in this and the next volume; but -as I afterwards came back to the Western Province,--of which I had as -yet seen but little,--and used what remainder of time was at my command -in visiting what was easiest reached, I will now go forwards so as to -complete my narrative as to the West before I speak of the East. In this -way my story may be more intelligible than if I were to follow strictly -the course of my own journeyings. I have already alluded to the -political division of the Cape Colony, and to the great desire which has -pervaded the men of the East to separate themselves from the men of the -West;--and when, a few chapters further on, I shall have brought myself -eastwards I shall have to refer to it again. This desire is so strong -that it compels a writer to deal separately with the two Provinces, and -to divide them almost as completely as though they had been separated. -South Africa is made up of different parts. And as there are the four -divisions which I have named above, so are there the two Provinces of -the Cape Colony, which are joined under the same Parliament and the same -Governor but which can hardly be said to have identical interests. The -West no doubt is contented with the union, having the supremacy; but the -East has been always clamorous for Separation. - -After a very long coach journey from Bloemfontein down to Fort -Elizabeth, of which I shall have to say a few words further on, I went -by steamer to Mossel Bay on my way back to Capetown. Mossel Bay is the -easternmost harbour in the Western Province, collecting a Custom Revenue -of £20,000. It is fourth in importance of the ports of the Colony, those -ranking higher being Capetown itself, Fort Elizabeth, and East -London,--the two latter belonging to the Eastern Province. It contains -about 1,400 inhabitants, and has three hotels, a bank, a Custom House, -and a Resident Magistrate. I doubt, however, whether all these -attractions would have taken me to Mossel Bay had I not been told of the -scenery of the Outeniqua mountains and of the Knysna river. It had been -averred to me that I should do injustice to South Africa generally if I -did not visit the prettiest scenery known in South Africa. Having done -so I feel that I should have done injustice at any rate to myself if I -had not taken the advice given me. - -Of all the beneficent Institutions of Mossel Bay which I have named I -became personally acquainted with but one,--the Resident Magistrate, who -was so beneficent that at a moment’s notice he offered to make the trip -to the Knysna with me. By this I gained a guide, philosopher, and -friend,--and a very pleasant companion for my excursion. In such -tourings solitude will often rob them of all delight, and ignorance of -all instruction. It is impossible to see the things immediately under -the eye, unless there be some one to tell you where to look for them. A -lone wanderer may get up statistics, and will find persons to discuss -politics with him in hotel parlours and on the seats of public -conveyances. He may hear, too, the names of mountains and of rivers. But -of the inner nooks of social life or of green hills he will know nothing -unless he can fall into some intimacy, even though it be short-lived, -with the people among whom he is moving. - -We had to be in a hurry because a Cape Colony Resident Magistrate cannot -be absent long from his seat of justice. If he be not on the spot there -is no one to whom misfortune can appeal or whom iniquity need dread. In -an English town a Mayor has his aldermen, and the Chairman of the Bench -his brother magistrates;--but at Mossel Bay the Resident is as necessary -at ten o’clock on a Monday morning as is the Speaker to the House of -Commons at four o’clock in the afternoon. So we started at once with a -light cart and a pair of horses,--which was intended to take us as far -as George, a distance of 30 miles. - -We went through a country teeming with ostriches. Ostrich-farming on a -great scale I will describe further on. Here the work was carried on in -a smaller way, but, as I was told, with great success. The expenses were -small, and the profits very great,--unless there should come -misfortunes, as when a valuable bird will break his leg and so destroy -himself, or when a hen supposed to be worth £50 or £60 won’t lay an egg. -I think that in ostrich-farming, as in all commercial pursuits, the many -little men who lose a little money,--perhaps their little all,--and then -go quietly to the wall, attract less attention than the prosperous few. -I am bound however to say that in this district I saw many ostriches and -heard of much success. - -As evening was coming on, when we had got half way to George, we found -that our horses were knocked up. We stopped therefore at a woolwashing -establishment, and sent round the country to beg for others. Here there -was also a large shop, and a temperance hotel, and an ostrich farm, all -kept by the same person or by his son. Word came to us that all the -horses in the place had done, each of them, an extra hard day’s work -that day; but, so great a thing is it to be a Resident Magistrate, that -in spite of this difficulty two horses were promised us! But they had to -be caught. So we walked up to see the woolwashers finish their day’s -work, the sun having already set. - -Their mode of woolwashing was quite new to me. The wool, which seemed to -have been shorn in a very rough manner,--cut off in locks after a -fashion which would have broken the heart of an Australian Squatter, -wool chopped as you would chop a salad,--was first put into a square -caldron of boiling, or nearly boiling water. Then it was drawn out in -buckets, and brought to troughs made in a running stream, in which the -dirt was trodden out of it by coloured men. These were Hottentots, and -Negroes,--the children of the old slaves,--and one or two Kafirs from -the East. The wool is then squeezed and laid out on drying grounds to -dry. The most interesting part of the affair was the fact that these -coloured men were earning 4s. 6d. a day wages each. Some distance -further on the next day we came on two white men,--navvies,--who were -making a dam and were earning only 1s. 7d. a day, and their diet. That -might together be worth 2s. 6d. They explained to us that they had found -it very hard to get any job, and had taken this almost in despair. But -they wouldn’t have trod the wool along with the black men, even for 4s. -6d. - -Just as the night was set in we started at a gallop with our tired -horses. I know so well the way in which a poor weary brute may be -spirited up for five minutes; not, alas, without the lash. A spur to a -tired horse is like brandy to a worn-out man. It will add no strength, -but it will enable the sufferer to collect together and to use quickly -what little remains. We had fifteen miles to do, and wearily, with sad -efforts, we did twelve of them. Then we reached a little town, Blanco, -and were alive with hopes of a relay. But everybody in Blanco was in -bed, and there was nothing for us but to walk, the driver promising that -if we would allow the poor animals twenty minutes to look about them, -they would be able to crawl on with the cart and our portmanteaus. And -so we walked on to George, and found our dinner of mutton chops ready -for us at eleven o’clock. A telegram had been sent on so that a vehicle -might be prepared for us before daybreak on the morrow. - -As I entered George,--the geographers I believe call the place -Georgetown, but the familiar name is George,--by star light, just able -to discern the tops of the mountains above it, I felt that it was a -pretty place. On the following morning, as I walked up and down its -so-called principal street, waiting between 5 and 6, for the wicked -mules which were an hour late, I swore that it was the prettiest village -on the face of the earth,--the prettiest village at any rate that I had -ever seen. Since that I have moderated my enthusiasm so far that I will -admit some half dozen others to the same rank. George will probably -resent the description, caring more for its importance than its -prettiness. George considers itself to be a town. It is exactly what in -England we would describe to be a well-to-do village. Its so-called -street consists of a well made broad road, with a green sward treble the -width of the road on each side. And here there are rows of oak -trees,--real English oak trees, planted by some most beneficent because -patient inhabitant of the earlier days. A man who will plant a poplar, a -willow, or even a blue-gum in a treeless country,--how good is he! But -the man who will plant an oak will surely feel the greenness of its -foliage and the pleasantness of its shade when he is lying down, down -beneath the sod! - -In an English village there are gentlemen’s houses, and cottages, and -shops. Shops are generally ugly, particularly shops in a row, and the -prettiness of a village will depend mostly on the number of what may be -called gentlemen’s houses, and on the grouping of them. Cottages may be -lovely to look at;--sometimes are; but it is not often. 15_s._ a week -and roses form a combination which I have seen, but of which I have -read in poetry much more than I have seen. Perhaps the ugliest -collection of ruined huts I ever visited was “Sweet Auburn, loveliest -village of the plain.” But the pretty English villages will have a -parson, a doctor, an officer’s widow, a retired linen-draper, and -perhaps the Dowager Squiress, living in houses of different patterns, -each standing in its own garden, but not so far from the road as to -stand in its own ground. And there will be an inn, and the church of -course, and probably a large brick house inhabited by some testy old -gentleman who has heaps of money and never speaks to any body. There -will be one shop, or at the most two, the buying and selling of the -place being done in the market-town two miles off. In George the houses -are all of this description. No two are alike. They are all away from -the road. They have trees around them. And they are quaint in their -designs, many of them having been built by Dutch proprietors and after -Dutch patterns. And they have an air of old fashioned middle class -comfort,--as though the inhabitants all ate hot roast mutton at one -o’clock as a rule of their lives. As far as I could learn they all did. - -There are two churches,--a big one for the Dutch, and a little one for -the English. Taking the village and the country round, the Dutch are no -doubt in a great majority; but in George itself I heard nothing but -English spoken. Late on a Sunday evening, when I had returned from the -Knysna, I stood under an oak tree close to the corner of the English -church and listened to a hymn by star light. The air was so soft and -balmy that it was a pleasure to stand and breathe it. It was the -longest hymn I ever heard; but I thought it was very sweet; and as it -was all that I heard that Sunday of sacred service, I did not begrudge -its length. But the South Africans of both colours are a tuneful people -in their worship. - -The comfort of the houses, and the beauty of the trees, and the numbers -of the gardens, and the plentiful bounty of the green swards have done -much for George;--but its real glory is in the magnificent grouping of -the Outiniqua mountains under which it is clustered. These are -altogether unlike the generality of South African hills, which are -mostly flat-topped, and do not therefore seem to spring miscellaneously -one from another,--but stand out separately and distinctly, each with -its own flat top. The Outiniquas form a long line, running parallel with -the coast from which they are distant perhaps 20 miles, and so group -themselves,--as mountains should do,--that it is impossible to say where -one ends and another begins. They more resemble some of the lower -Pyrenees than any other range that I know, and are dark green in colour, -as are the Pyrenees. - -The Knysna, as the village and little port at the mouth of the Knysna -river are called, is nearly 60 miles from George. The rocks at the -entrance from the sea are about that distance, the village being four or -five miles higher up. We started with four mules at 6.30,--but for the -natural wickedness of the animals it would have been at 5.30,--and went -up and down ravines and through long valleys for 50 miles to a place -called Belvidere on the near side of the Knysna river. It would be hard -to find 50 miles of more continuously picturesque scenery, for we were -ever crossing dark black streams running down through the close ravines -from the sides of the Outiniqua mountains. And here the ravines are very -thickly wooded, in which respect they differ much from South African -hill sides generally. But neither would it be easy to find 50 miles more -difficult to travel. As we got nearer to the Knysna and further up from -the little streams we had crossed, the ground became sandy,--till at -last for a few miles it was impossible to do more than walk. But the -mules, which had been very wicked in the morning, now put forth their -virtues, and showed how superior they could be under stress of work to -their nobler half-brother the horse. - -At Belvidere we found an Inn and a ferry, and put them both to their -appropriate use, drinking at the one and crossing the other. Here we -left our mules and proceeded on foot each with his own bag and baggage. -On the further side there was to be a walk of three miles, and it was -very hot, and we had already trudged through some weary miles of sand. -And though we had compelled the ferryman to carry our bags, we were -laden with our great coats. But, lo, Providence sent the mounted -post-boy along our path, when the resource of giving him the great coats -to carry, and taking his pony for my own use was too evident to require -a moment’s thought. He saw it in the same light and descended as though -it were a matter of course. And so I rode into the village, with the -post boy and the post boy’s dog, the ferryman and the Resident -Magistrate following at my heels. - -Here was another English village, but quite of a different class;--and -yet picturesque beyond expression. “The” Knysna as the place is called -is a large straggling collection of houses which would never be called -other than a village in England, but would strike an investigating -visitor as a village rising townwards. It is, in a very moderate way, a -seaport, and possesses two inns. The post boy with unflinching -impartiality refused to say which was the better, and we went to the -wrong one,--that which mariners frequented. But such is South African -honesty that the landlord at once put us right. He could put us up no -doubt;--but Mr. Morgan at the other house could do it better. To Mr. -Morgan, therefore, we went, and were told at once that we could have a -leg of mutton, potatoes, and cabbages for dinner. “And very glad you -ought to be to get them,” said Mrs. Morgan. We assented of course, and -every thing was pleasant. - -In fifteen minutes we were intimate with everybody in the place, -including the magistrate, the parson, and the schoolmaster; and in half -an hour we were on horse back,--the schoolmaster accompanying us on the -parson’s nag,--in order that we might rush out to the Heads before dark. -Away we scampered, galloping through salt water plashes, because the sun -was already disappearing. We had just time to do it,--to gallop through -the salt water and up the hills and round to the headland, so that we -might look down into the lovely bright green tide which was rushing in -from the Indian ocean immediately beneath our feet. From where I stood I -could have dropped a penny into the sea without touching a rock. - -The spot is one of extreme beauty. The sea passes in and out between two -rocks 160 yards apart, and is so deep that even at low tide there are 18 -feet of water. Where we stood the rocks were precipitous, but on the -other side it was so far broken that we were told that bucks when -pressed by hounds would descend it, so as to take the water at its foot. -This would have seemed to be impossible were it not that stags will -learn to do marvellous things in the way of jumping. On our right hand, -between us and the shore of the outer Ocean, there was a sloping narrow -green sward, hardly broader than a ravine, but still with a sward at its -foot, running down to the very marge of the high tide, seeming to touch -the water as we looked at it. And beyond, further on the left, there -were bright green shrubs the roots of which the sea seemed to wash. A -little further out was the inevitable “bar,”--injurious to commerce -though adding to the beauty of the spot, for it was marked to us only by -the breakers which foamed across it. - -The schoolmaster told us much of the eligibility of the harbour. Two men -of war,--not probably first-class ironclads, modest little gun boats -probably,--had been within the water of the Knysna. And there were -always 18 feet of water on the bar because of the great scour occasioned -by the narrow outlet, whereas other bars are at certain times left -almost waterless. A great trade was done,--in exporting wood. But in -truth the entrance to the Knysna is perhaps more picturesque and -beautiful than commercially useful. For the former quality I can -certainly speak; and as I stood there balancing between the charms of -the spot and the coming darkness, aggravated by thoughts which would -fly off to the much needed leg of mutton, I felt it to be almost hard -that my friend the magistrate should have punctilious scruples as to his -duties on Monday morning. - -The description given to me as to trade at the Knysna was not altogether -encouraging. The people were accustomed to cut wood and send it away to -Capetown or Fort Elizabeth, and would do nothing else. And they are a -class of Dutch labourers, these hewers of wood, who live a foul unholy -life, very little if at all above the Hottentots in civilization. The -ravines between the spurs of the mountains which run down to the sea are -full of thick timber, and thus has grown up this peculiarity of industry -by which the people of the Knysna support themselves. But wood is -sometimes a drug,--as I was assured it was at the time of my visit,--and -then the people are very badly off indeed. They will do nothing else. -The land around will produce anything if some little care be taken as to -irrigation. Any amount of vegetables might be grown and sent by boat to -Capetown or Algoa Bay. But no! The people have learned to cut wood, and -have learned nothing else. And consequently the Knysna is a poor -place,--becoming poorer day by day. Such was the description given to -us; but to the outward eye everybody seemed to be very happy,--and if -the cabbage had been a little more boiled everything would have been -perfect. The rough unwashed Dutch woodcutters were no doubt away in -their own wretched homes among the spurs of the mountains. We, at any -rate, did not see them. - -Cutting timber is a good wholesome employment; and if the market be bad -to-day it will probably be good to-morrow. And even Dutch woodcutters -will become civilized when the schoolmaster gradually makes his way -among them. But I did express myself as disappointed when I was told -that nothing was ever done to restore the forests as the hill-sides are -laid bare by the axe. There will be an end to the wood even on the spurs -of the Outiniqua range, if no care be taken to assist the reproduction -of nature. The Government of the Cape Colony should look to this, as do -the Swiss Cantons and the German Duchies. - -The Knysna is singularly English, being, as it is, a component part of a -Dutch community, and supported by Dutch labour. I did not hear a Dutch -word spoken while I was there,--though our landlady told us that her -children played in Dutch or in English, as the case might be. Our -schoolmaster was English, and the parson, and the magistrate, and the -innkeeper, and the tradesmen of the place who called in during the -evening to see the strangers and to talk with the magistrate from -distant parts about Kreli and the Kafirs who were then supposed to be -nearly subdued. It is a singularly picturesque place, and I left it on -the following morning at 5 A.M. with a regret that I should never see -the Knysna again. - -There was to have been a cart to take us; but the horse had not chosen -to be caught, and we walked to the ferry. Then, at the other side, at -Belvidere, the wicked eggs would not get themselves boiled for an hour, -though breakfast at an appointed time, 6 A.M., had been solemnly -promised to us. Everything about the George and the Knysna gratified me -much. But here, as elsewhere in South Africa, punctuality is not among -the virtues of the people. Six o’clock means seven, or perhaps twenty -minutes after seven. If a man promises to be with you at nine, he thinks -that he has done pretty well if he comes between ten and eleven. I have -frequently been told that a public conveyance would start at four in the -morning,--or at five, as it might be,--and then have had to walk about -for half an hour before a horse has made its appearance. And it is -impossible for a stranger to discount this irregularity, so as to take -advantage of it. It requires the experience of a life to ascertain what -five o’clock will mean in one place, and what in another. When the -traveller is assured that he certainly will be left behind if he be not -up an hour before dawn, he will get up, though he knows that it will be -in vain. The long minutes that I have passed, during my late travels, -out in the grey dawn, regretting the bed from which I have been -uselessly torn, have been generally devoted to loud inward assertions -that South Africa can never do any good in the world till she learns to -be more punctual. But we got our breakfast at Belvidere at last, and -returned triumphantly with our four mules to George. - -In the neighbourhood of George there is a mission station called -Pacaltsdorp, for Hottentots, than which I can imagine nothing to be less -efficient for any useful purpose. About 500 of these people live in a -village,--or straggling community,--in which they have huts and about an -acre of land for each family. There is a church attached to the place -with a Minister, but when I visited the place there was no school. The -stipend of the minister is paid by some missionary society at home, and -it would seem that it is supported chiefly because for many years past -it has been supported. - -The question has frequently been raised whether the Hottentots are or -are not extinct as a people. Before the question can be answered some -one must decide what is a Hottentot. There is a race easily recognized -throughout South Africa,--found in the greatest numbers in the Western -Province of the Cape Colony,--who are at once known by their colour and -physiognomy, and whom the new-comer will soon learn to call Hottentots -whether they be so or not. They are of a dusty dusky hue, very unlike -the shining black of the Kafir or Zulu, and as unlike the well shaded -black and white of the so-called “Cape Boy” who has the mixed blood of -Portuguese and Negroes in his veins. This man is lantern-jawed, -sad-visaged, and mild-eyed,--quite as unlike a Kafir as he is to a -European. There can be no doubt but that he is not extinct. But he is -probably a bastard Hottentot,--a name which has become common as applied -to his race,--and comes of a mingled race half Dutch and half South -African. - -These people generally perform the work of menial servants. They are -also farm labourers,--and sometimes farmers in a small way. They are not -industrious; but are not more lazy than men of such a race may be -expected to be. They are not stupid, nor, as I think, habitually -dishonest. Their morals in other respects do not rank high. Such as they -are they should be encouraged in all ways to work for hire. Nothing can -be so antagonistic to working as such a collection of them as that at -Pacaltsdorp, where each has land assigned to him just sufficient to -enable him to live,--with the assistance of a little stealing. As for -church services there are quite enough for their wants in the -neighbourhood, of various denominations. The only excuse for such an -establishment would be the existence of a good school. But here there -was none. Pacaltsdorp is I believe more than half a century old. When it -was commenced the people probably had no civilizing influences round -them. Now the Institution hardly seems to be needed. - -From George I went over the Montague Pass to Oudtshoorn. My travels -hitherto had chiefly been made with the view of seeing people and -studying the state of the country,--and at this time, as I have -explained above, my task was nearly completed. But now I was in search -of the picturesque. It is not probable that many tourists will go from -England to South Africa simply in quest of scenery. The country is not -generally attractive, and the distances are too long. But to those who -are there, either living in the Colony, or having been carried thither -in search of health or money, the district of which I am now speaking -offers allurements which will well repay the trouble of the journey. I -am bound however to say that the beauties of this region cannot be seen -at a cheap rate. Travelling in South Africa is costly. The week which I -spent in the neighbourhood of George cost me £30, and would have cost me -much more had I been alone. And yet I was not overcharged. The -travellers in South Africa are few in number, and it is much travelling -which makes cheap travelling. - -Montague Pass is a road through the Outiniqua mountains,--which was made -by Mr. White and called by the name of Mr. Montague who was the Colonial -Secretary when the line was opened. It is very fine, quite equal to some -of the mountain roads through the Pyrenees. There are spots on which the -traveller will quite forget South African ugliness and dream that he is -looking at some favoured European landskip. Throughout the whole of -those mountains the scenery must be very grand, as they group themselves -with fantastic intermingling peaks, and are green to the top. The ascent -from the side nearest to George, which the tourist will probably walk, -is about four miles, and the views are varied at almost every step,--as -is the case in all really fine mountain scenery. - -From the foot of the hill on the side away from George the road to -Oudtshoorn passes for about thirty miles through the Karoo. The Karoo is -a great Institution in the Cape Colony and consists of enormous tracts -of land which are generally devoted to the pasture of sheep. The karoo -properly is a kind of shrub which sheep will eat, such as is the salt -bush in Australia. Various diminutive shrubs are called “karoo,” of -which most are aromatic with a rich flavour as of some herb, whereas -others are salt. But the word has come to signify a vast flowery plain, -which in seasons of drought is terribly arid, over which the weary -traveller has often to be dragged day after day without seeing a tree, -or a green blade of grass; but which in spring becomes covered with -wild flowers. A large portion of the Western Province is called Karoo, -and is very tedious to all but sheep. That over which I passed now was -“Karoo” only in its produce, being closely surrounded by mountains. The -sheep, however, had in most places given way to ostriches,--feathers at -present ruling higher in the world than wool. I could not but hope as I -saw the huge birds stalking about with pompous air,--which as you -approached them they would now and again change for a flirting gait, -looking back over their shoulders as they skipped along with ruffled -tails;--I have seen a woman do very much the same;--that they might soon -be made to give place again to the modest sheep. - -Oudtshoorn,--a place with a most uncomfortably Dutch name,--is an -uninteresting village about two miles long; which would, at least, be -uninteresting were it not blessed with a superlatively good hotel kept -by one Mr. Holloway. Mr. Holloway redeems Oudtshoorn, which would -otherwise have little to say for its own peculiar self. But it is the -centre of a rich farming district, and the land in the valleys around it -is very fertile. It must be remembered that fertility in South Africa -does not imply a broad area of cultivated land, or even a capacity for -it. Agriculture is everywhere an affair of patches, and frequently -depends altogether on irrigation. Near Oudtshoorn I saw very fine -crops,--and others which were equally poor,--the difference having been -caused altogether by the quantity of water used. The productiveness of -South Africa is governed by the amount of skill and capital which is -applied to the saving of rain when rain does fall, and to the -application of it to the land when no rain is falling. How far the -water sent by God may, with the assistance of science, be made -sufficient for the cultivation of the broad plains, I, at least, am -unable to say. They who can measure the rainfalls, and the nature of the -slopes by which the storms and showers may be led to their appointed -places, will after a while tell us this. But it is patent to all that -extensive cultivation in South Africa must depend on irrigation. - -I had come to Oudtshoorn chiefly to see the Cango Caves. I wish some of -my readers would write the name of the village in order that they may -learn the amount of irritation which may be produced by an unfortunately -awkward combination of letters. The Cango Caves are 24 miles distant -from the place, and are so called after the old name of the district. -Here too they make brandy from grapes,--called euphoniously “Old Cango.” -The vituperative have christened the beverage Cape Smoke. “Now I’ll give -you a glass of real fine Old Cango,” has been said to me more than once. -I would strongly advise weak-headed Europeans, not to the manner born, -to abstain from the liquor under whatever name it may make its -appearance. But the caves may be seen without meddling with the native -brandy. We brought ours with us, and at any rate believed that it had -come from France. - -The road from the village to the caves is the worst, I think, over which -wheels were ever asked to pass. A gentleman in Oudtshoorn kindly offered -to take us. No keeper of post horses would let animals or a carriage for -so destructive a journey. At every terrific jolt and at every struggle -over the rocks my heart bled for our friend’s property,--of which he -was justly proud. He abstained even from a look of dismay as we came -smashing down from stone to stone. Every now and then we heard that a -bolt had given way, but were assured in the same breath that there were -enough to hold us together. We were held together; but the carriage I -fear never can be used again. The horses perhaps with time may get over -their ill usage. We were always going into a river or going out of it, -and the river had succeeded in carrying away all the road that had ever -been made. Unless the engineers go seriously to work I shall be the last -stranger that will ever visit the Cango Caves in a carriage. - -I have made my way into various underground halls, the mansions of bats -and stalactites. Those near Deloraine in Tasmania are by far the most -spacious in ascertained length that I have seen. Those at Wonderfontein -in the Transvaal, of which I will speak in the next volume, may be, and -probably are, larger still, but they have never been explored. In both -of these the stalactites are much poorer in form than in the caves of -the Cheddar cliffs,--which however are comparatively small. The Mammoth -Caves in Kentucky I have not visited; but I do not understand that the -subterranean formations are peculiarly grand. In the Cango Grottoes the -chambers are very much bigger than in the Tasmanian Caves. They also -have not been fully explored. But the wonderful forms and vagaries of -the stalactites are infinitely finer than anything I have seen -elsewhere. We brought with us many blue lights,--a sort of luminary -which spreads a powerful glare to a considerable distance for three or -four minutes,--without which it would be impossible to see the shapes -around. The candles which we carried with us for our own guidance had -little or no effect. - -In some places the droppings had assumed the shape of falling curtains. -Across the whole side of a hall, perhaps sixty feet long, these would -hang in regular pendent drapery, fold upon fold, seeming to be as equal -and regular as might be the heavy folds protecting some inner sacred -chapel. And in the middle of the folds there would be the entrance, -through which priests and choristers and people might walk as soon as -the machinery had been put to work and the curtain had been withdrawn. -In other places there would hang from the roof the collected gathered -pleats, all regular, as though the machinery had been at work. Here -there was a huge organ with its pipes, and some grotesque figure at the -top of it as though the constructor of all these things had feared no -raillery. In other places there were harps against the walls, from -which, as the blue lights burned, one expected to hear sounds of perhaps -not celestial minstrelsy. And pillars were erected up to the -ceiling,--not a low grovelling ceiling against which the timid visitor -might fear to strike his head, but a noble roof, perfected, groined, -high up, as should be that of a noble hall. That the columns had in fact -come drop by drop from the rock above us did not alter their appearance. -There was one very thick, of various shapes, grotesque and daring, -looking as though the base were some wondrous animal of hideous form -that had been made to bear the superstructure from age to age. Then as -the eye would struggle to examine it upwards, and to divide the details -each from the others, the blue light would go out and the mystery would -remain. Another blue light would be made to burn; but bats would come -flitting through, disturbing all investigation;--and the mystery would -still remain. - -There were various of these halls or chambers, all opening one to -another by passages here and there, so that the visitor who is never -compelled to travel far, might suppose them all to be parts of one huge -dark mansion underground. But in each hall there were receding closets, -guarded by jutting walls of stalactite breast high, round which however -on closer search, a way would be found,--as though these might be the -private rooms in which the ghouls would hide themselves when thus -disturbed by footsteps and voices, by candles and blue lights from -above. I was always thinking that I should come upon a ghoul; but there -were inner chambers still into which they crept, and whither I could not -follow them. - -Careful walking is necessary, as the ground is uneven; and there are -places in which the ghouls keep their supply of water,--stone troughs -wonderfully and beautifully made. But except in one place there is no -real difficulty in moving about, when once the visitor to the Caves has -descended into them. At this place the ascent is perplexing, because the -ground is both steep and slippery. I can imagine that a lady or an old -man might find it difficult to be dragged up. Such lady or old man -should either remain below or allow his companions to drag him up. There -is very little stooping necessary anywhere. But it has to be borne in -mind that after entering the mouth of the cave and reaching the first -chamber, the realms I have described have to be reached by an iron -ladder which holds 38 steps. To get on to this ladder requires some -little care and perhaps a dash of courage. The precautions taken, -however, suffice, and I think I may say that there is no real danger. - -We called at a Dutch Boer’s house about a mile from the Caves, and were -accompanied by three members of the Boer’s family. This is usual, and, I -believe, absolutely necessary. I paid one of the men a sovereign for his -trouble,--which sum he named as his regular price for the assistance -provided. He found the candles, but some of our party took the blue -lights with them. Nothing could have been seen without them. - -From Oudtshoorn I travelled back through the Outiniqua mountains by -Robinson’s pass to Mossel Bay, and thence returned by steamer to -Capetown. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII. - -WESTERN PROVINCE, THE PAARL, CERES, AND WORCESTER. - - -My last little subsidiary tours in South Africa were made from Capetown -to the country immediately across the Hottentot mountains after my -return from Oudtshoorn and the Cango Caves. It had then become nearly -midsummer and I made up my mind that it would be very hot. I prepared -myself to keep watch and ward against musquitoes and comforted myself by -thinking how cool it would be on my return journey, in the Bay of Biscay -for instance on the first of January. I had heard, or perhaps had -fancied, that the South African musquito would be very venomous and also -ubiquitous. I may as well say here as elsewhere that I found him to be -but a poor creature as compared with other musquitoes,--the musquito of -the United States for instance. The South African December, which had -now come, tallies with June on the other side of the line;--and in June -the musquito of Washington is as a roaring lion. - -On this expedition I stopped first at The Paarl, which is not across the -Hottentot mountains but in the district south of the mountains to which -the Dutch were at first inclined to confine themselves when they -regarded the apparently impervious hills at their back as the natural -and sufficient barrier of their South African dominions. - -There is now a railway out of Capetown which winds its way through these -mountains, or rather circumvents them by a devious course. It branches -from the Wynberg line a mile or two out of Capetown, and then pursues -its way towards the interior of Africa with one or two assistant -branches on the southern side of the hills. The Wynberg line is -altogether suburban and pleasant. The first assistant branch goes to -Malmesbury and is agricultural. Malmesbury is a corn producing country -in the flats north of Capetown, and will, I hope, before long justify -the railway which has been made. At present I am told that the branch -hardly pays for the fuel it consumes. It no doubt will justify the -railway as wheat can be grown in the district without irrigation, and it -will therefore become peopled with prosperous farmers. Then there is a -loop line to Stellenbosch, an old and thriving little Dutch town which I -did not visit. It is very old, having been founded in 1684. In 1685 the -French Refugees came of whom a large proportion were settled at -Stellenbosch. The main line which is intended to cross the entire Colony -then makes its way on to The Paarl and Wellington,--from whence it takes -its passage among the mountains. This is of course in the Western -Province,--which I must persist in so designating though I know I shall -encounter the wrath of many South African friends of the West. In the -Eastern Province there are two lines which have been commenced from the -coast with the same mission of making their way up into the whole -continent of Africa, one of them starting from Port Elizabeth, intending -to go on by Cradock, with a branch already nearly finished to -Grahamstown, and the other from East London travelling north by King -Williamstown and Queenstown. The rivalry between the three is great. It -is so great even between the two latter as to have much impaired the -homogeneity of the Eastern Province. At present the chief object of them -all is to secure the trade to Kimberley and the Diamond Fields. That by -which I was now travelling is already open to Worcester, across the -mountain, for all traffic, and for goods traffic forty miles beyond -Worcester, up the valley of the Hex River. - -I stopped at The Paarl to see the vineyards and orange groves, and also -the ostriches. These are the industries of The Paarl, which is in its -way a remarkable and certainly a very interesting place. It was only -during the last month of my sojourn in South Africa that I came to see -how very much lovely scenery there is within reach of the residents of -Capetown. As in all countries of large area, such as South Africa, the -United States, the interior of Australia, and Russia generally,--of -which I speak only from hearsay,--the great body of the landskip is -uninteresting. The Transvaal, the Orange Free State, Griqua Land West, -and the Karoos of the Cape Colony are not beautiful. This the traveller -hears, and gradually sees for himself. But if he will take the trouble -he may also see for himself spots that are as entrancing as any among -the more compressed charms of European scenery. The prettinesses of The -Paarl, however, come from the works of man almost as much as from those -of Nature. - -It is a very long town,--if town it is to be called,--the main street -running a length of eight miles. Through all this distance one spot is -hardly more central than another,--though there is a market-place which -the people of The Paarl probably regard as the heart of the town. It is -nowhere contiguous, the houses standing, almost all, separately. It is -under the paarl, or pearl rock,[8]--which strangers are invited to -ascend, but are warned at the same time that the ascent in summer may be -very hot. I thanked my friend for the caution and did not ascend the -mountain. I was of course told that without ascending I could not see -The Paarl aright. I did not therefore see it aright, and satisfy my -conscience by instructing others how they may do so. The town from one -end to the other is full of oak trees, planted as I was told by the -Dutch. They did not look to be over seventy years of age, but I was -assured that the growth though certain had been slow. It is perhaps the -enormous number of oak trees at The Paarl which more than anything else -makes the place so graceful. But many of the houses too are graceful, -being roomy old Dutch buildings of the better class, built with gables -here and there, with stables and outhouses around them, and with many -oaks at every corner, all in full foliage at the time of my visit. At -The Paarl there are no bad houses. The coloured people who pick the -grapes and tread the wine vats and hoe the vines live in pretty -cottages up the hill side. There is nothing squalid or even untidy at -The Paarl. For eight miles you are driven through a boskey broad -well-shaded street with houses on each side at easy intervals, at every -one of which you are tempted to think that you would like to live. - -What do the people do? That is of course the first question. It was -evident from the great number of places of worship that they all went to -church very often;--and from the number of schools that they were highly -educated. Taking the population generally, they are all Dutch, and are -mostly farmers. But their farming is very unlike our farming,--and still -more unlike that of the Dutch Boers up the country,--the main work of -each individual farmer being confined to a very small space, though the -tract of adjacent land belonging to him may extend to one or two or -three thousand acres. The land on which they really live and whereby -they make their money is used chiefly for the growth of grapes,--and -after that for oranges and ostriches. The district is essentially wine -making,--though at the time of my visit the low price of wine had forced -men to look to other productions to supplement their vines. - -I was taken to the house of one gentleman,--a Dutchman of course,--whose -homestead in the middle of the town was bosomed amidst oaks. His -vineyard was a miracle of neatness, and covered perhaps a dozen -acres;--but his ostriches were his pride. Wine was then no more than £3 -the “ligger,”--the ligger, or leaguer, being a pipe containing 126 -gallons. This certainly is very cheap for wine,--so cheap that I was -driven to think that if I lived at The Paarl I would prefer ostriches. -It seemed to be thought, however, that a better time would come, and -that the old price of £5 or £6 the ligger might again be reached. I am -afraid there is some idea that this may be done by the maternal -affection of the Mother Country,--which is to be shewn in a reduction of -the duties, so that Cape wine may be consumed more freely in England. I -endeavoured to explain that England cannot take wine from the Colonies -at a lower rate of duty than from foreign countries. I did not say -anything as to the existing prejudice against South African sherries. I -was taken into this gentleman’s house and had fruit and wine of his own -producing. The courtesy and picturesque old-fashioned neatness of it all -was very pleasing. He himself was a quiet well-mannered man, shewing no -excitement about anything, till it was suggested to him that a mode of -incubating ostriches’ eggs different to his own might be preferable. -Then he shewed us that on a subject which he had studied he could have a -strong opinion of his own. This was in the town. The owner, no doubt, -had a considerable tract of land lying far back from the street; but all -his operations seemed to be carried on within a quarter of a mile of his -house. - -I was afterwards driven out to two country farms, but at both of them -the same thing prevailed. Here there were large vineyards, and oranges -in lieu of ostriches. At one beautiful spot, just under the mountains, -there was a grove of 500 orange trees from which, the proprietor told -me, he had during the last year made a net profit of £200 after paying -all expenses. £200 will go a long way towards the expenditure of a -Dutch farmer’s house. Of course there was no rent to be paid as the -whole place belonged to him,--and had probably belonged to his ancestors -for many generations. He was lord also of a large vineyard which he told -me had cost a great deal of labour to bring to its present perfection of -cleanliness and fertility. - -Here too we were taken into the house and had wine given to us,--wine -that was some years old. It certainly was very good, resembling a fine -port that was just beginning to feel its age in the diminution of its -body. We enquired whether wine such as that was for sale, but were told -that no such wine was to be bought from any grower of grapes. The -farmers would keep a little for their own use, and that they would never -sell. Neither do the merchants keep it,--not finding it worth their -while to be long out of their money,--nor the consumers, there being no -commodity of cellarage in the usual houses of the Colony. It has not -been the practice to keep wine,--and consequently the drinker seldom has -given to him the power of judging whether the Cape wines may or may not -become good. At dinner tables at the Cape hosts will apologise for -putting on their tables the wines of the Colony, telling their guests -that that other bottle contains real sherry or the like. I am inclined -to think that the Cape wines have hardly yet had a fair chance, and have -been partly led to this opinion by the excellence of that which I drank -at Great Draghenstern,--which was the name either of the farm or of the -district in question. - -As we had wandered through the grove we saw oranges still hanging on the -trees, high up out of reach. The season was over but still there were a -few. It is a point of honour to keep them as long as possible,--so that -towards December they become valuable treasures. I had one given to me -when we started, as being the oldest of the party. It was scrupulously -divided, and enjoyed no doubt very much more than had we been sent away -with our cart full. - -Here too the house was exceedingly picturesque, being surrounded by oak -trees. There was no entrance hall, such as has been common with us for -many years; but the rooms were lofty, spacious, and well built, and the -neighbouring wilderness of a garden was wonderfully sweet with flowers. -The owner was among the vines when we arrived, and as he walked up to us -in the broad place in front of his house, he informed us that he was -“jolly old ---- ----” This he said in Dutch. His only word of English was -spoken as we parted. “Good bye, old gentleman,” he holloaed out to me as -I shook hands with him. Here as elsewhere there was no breadth of -cultivation. The farm was large, but away from the house, and on it -there were only a few cattle. There can be no cultivation without -irrigation, and no extended irrigation without much labour. Like other -farmers in South Africa jolly old ---- ---- complained that his industry -was sadly crippled by want of labour. Nevertheless jolly old ---- ---- -seemed to me to be as well off as a man need be in this world. Perhaps -it was that I envied him his oaks, and his mountains, and his old -wine,--and the remaining oranges. - -We visited also a wool-washing establishment which had just been set up -with new fashioned machinery, and then we had seen all that The Paarl -had to shew us in the way of its productions. I should perhaps say that -I visited the stores of a great wine company, at which, in spite of the -low price of the article in which they deal, good dividends are being -paid. At the wine stores I was chiefly interested in learning that a -coloured cooper whom I saw at work on a cask,--a black man,--was earning -£300 a year. I enquired whether he was putting by a fortune and was told -that he and his family lived from hand to mouth and that he frequently -overdrew his wages. “But what does he do with the money?” I asked. -“Hires a carriage on Sundays or holy days and drives his wife about,” -was the reply. The statement was made as though it were a sad thing that -a coloured man should drive his wife about in a carriage while labour -was so scarce and dear, but I was inclined to think that the cooper was -doing well with his money. At any rate it pleased me to learn that a -black man should like to drive his wife about;--and that he should have -the means. - -I was very much gratified with The Paarl, thinking it well for a Colony -to have a town and a district so pretty and so prosperous. The -population of the district is about 16,000, and of the town about 8000. -It is, however, much more like a large village than a small town,--the -feeling being produced by the fact that the houses all have gardens -attached to them and are built each after its own fashion and not in -rows. - -From this place I and the friend who was travelling with me went on by -cart to Ceres. It would have been practicable to go by railway at any -rate to the Ceres Road Station, but we were anxious to travel over two -of the finest mountain roads in South Africa, Bain’s Kloof, and -Mitchell’s Pass, both of which lay on the road from The Paarl to Ceres. -To do so we passed through Wellington and Wagon-maker’s valley, which -lay immediately under the Hottentot mountains. I have described grapes -and oranges as being the great agricultural industries of The Paarl -district;--but I must not leave the locality without recording the fact -that the making of Cape carts and wagons is a specialty of The Paarl and -of the adjacent country. It is no more possible to ignore the fact in -passing through its streets than it is to ignore the building of -carriages in Long Acre. The country up above The Paarl has been called -Wagon-maker’s valley very far back among the Dutch of the Cape, and the -trade remains through the whole district. And at Wellington there is I -believe the largest orange grove in the country. Time did not allow me -to see it, but I could look down upon it from some of the turns in the -wonderful road by which Mr. Bain made his way through the mountains. - -Rising up from Wellington is the Bain’s Kloof road which traverses the -first instalment of the barrier mountains. It is the peculiarity of -these hills that they seem to lie in three folds,--so that when you make -your way over the first you descend into the valley of the Breede -River,--and from thence ascend again on high, to come down into the -valley of Ceres, with the third and last range of the Hottentots still -before you. Bain’s Kloof contains some very grand scenery, especially -quite at the top;--but is not equal either to Montague Pass,--or to -Mitchell’s Pass which we were just about to visit. Descending from this -we crossed at the fords two branches of the Breede River,--at one of -which the bridge was impassable, there never having been a bridge at the -other,--and immediately ascended Mitchell’s Pass. The whole of the -country north and east of Capetown as far as the mountains extend is -made remarkable by these passes which have been carried through the -hills with great engineering skill and at an enormous cost to the -Colony. It has chiefly been done by convict labour,--the labour of its -own convicts--for the Colony, as my reader will I hope remember, has -never received a convict from the Mother Country. But convict labour is -probably dearer than any other. The men certainly are better fed than -they would be if they were free. Houses have to be built for them which -are afterwards deserted. And when the man has been housed and fed he -will not work as a freeman must do if he means to keep his place. But -the roads have been made, and Mitchell’s Pass into the valley of Ceres -is a triumph of engineering skill. - -To see it aright the visitor should travel by it from Ceres towards the -Railway. We passed it in both directions and I was never more struck by -the different aspect which the same scenery may bear if your face be -turned one way or the other. The beauty here consists of the colour of -the rocks rather than of the shape of the hills. There is a world of -grey stone around you as you ascend from the valley which becomes almost -awful as you look at it high above your head and then low beneath your -feet. As you begin the ascent from Ceres, near the road but just out of -sight of it, there is a small cataract where the Breede runs deep -through a narrow channel,--so narrow that a girl can jump from rock to -rock. Some years since a girl was about to jump it when her lover, -giving her a hand to help her, pulled her in. She never lived to become -his bride but was drowned there in the deep black waters of the narrow -Breede. - -Ceres is one of those village-towns by which this part of the Colony is -populated, and lies in a Rasselas happy valley,--a basin so surrounded -by hills as to shew no easy way out. The real Rasselas valley, however, -was, we suppose, very narrow, whereas this valley is ten miles long by -six broad, and has a mail cart road running through it. It lies on the -direct route from Capetown to Fraserburg, and thence, if you choose to -go that way, to the Diamond Fields and the Orange Free State. -Nevertheless the place looks as though it were, or at least should be, -delightfully excluded from all the world beyond. Here again the houses -stand separate among trees, and the river flowing through it makes -everything green. I was told that Ceres had been lately smitten with too -great a love of speculation, had traded beyond her means, and lost much -of her capital. It was probably the reaction from this condition of -things which produced the peculiarly sleepy appearance which I observed -around me. A billiard room had been lately built which seemed just then -to monopolize the energy of the place. The hotel was clean and -pleasant,--and would have been perfect but for a crowd of joyous -travellers who were going down to see somebody married two or three -hundred miles off. On our arrival we were somewhat angry with the very -civil and considerate landlady who refused to give us all the -accommodation we wanted because she expected twelve other travellers. I -did not believe in the twelve travellers, and muttered something as to -trying the other house even though she devoted to the use of me and my -friend a bedroom which she declared was as a rule kept for ladies. We of -course demanded two rooms,--but as to that she was stern. When a party -of eleven did in truth come I not only forgave her, but felt remorse at -having occupied the best chamber. She was a delightful old lady, a -German, troubled much in her mind at the time by the fact that a -countryman of hers had come to her house with six or seven dozen -canaries and had set up a shop for them in her front sitting room. She -did not know how to get rid of them; and, as all the canaries sang -continuously the whole day through, their presence did impair the -comfort of the establishment. Nevertheless I can safely recommend the -hotel at Ceres as the canaries will no doubt have been all sold before -any reader can act on this recommendation. - -The name of Ceres has been given to the valley in a spirit of prophecy -which has yet to be fulfilled. The soil no doubt is fertile, but the -cereal produce is not as yet large. Here, as in so large a proportion of -South Africa, irrigation is needed before wheat can be sown with any -certainty of repaying the sower. But the valley is a smiling spot, green -and sweet among the mountains, and gives assurance by its aspect of -future success and comfort. It has a reputation for salubrity, and -should be visited by those who wish to see the pleasant places of the -Cape Colony. - -From Ceres we went back over Mitchell’s Pass to the railway, and so to -Worcester. Worcester is a town containing 4,000 inhabitants, and is the -capital of a “Division.” The whole Colony is portioned out into -Divisions, in each of which there is located a Resident Magistrate or -Commissioner, who lives at the chief town. The Division and the Capital -have, I believe always, the same name. Worcester is conspicuous among -other things for its huge Drotsdy, or Chief Magistrate’s mansion. In the -old Dutch days the Drotsdy was inhabited by the Landroost, whose place -is now filled by the English Commissioner. I grieve to say that with the -spirit of economy which pervades self-governing Colonies in these modern -days, the spacious Drotsdy houses have usually been sold, and the -Commissioners have been made to find houses for themselves,--just as a -police magistrate does in London. When I was at George I could not but -pity the Commissioner who was forced day after day to look at the -beautiful Drotsdy house, embowered by oak trees, which had been -purchased by some rich Dutch farmer. But at Worcester the Drotsdy, which -was certainly larger than any other Drotsdy and apparently more modern, -was still left as a residence for the Commissioner. When I asked the -reason I was told that no one would buy it. - -It is an enormous mansion, with an enormous garden. And it is approached -in front through a portico of most pretentious and unbecoming columns. -Nothing could be imagined less like Dutch grandeur or Dutch comfort. The -house, which might almost contain a regiment, certainly contained a -mystery which warranted enquiry. Then I was told the story. One of the -former great Governors, Lord Charles Somerset,--the greatest Governor -the Colony ever had as far as a bold idea of autocratic authority can -make a Governor great,--had wanted a shooting lodge under the mountains, -and had consequently caused the Drotsdy house at Worcester to be -built,--of course at the expense of the Crown. I can never reflect that -such glorious days have gone for ever without a soft regret. There was -something magnificent in those old, brave, unhidden official peculations -by the side of which the strict and straight-laced honesty of our -present Governors looks ugly and almost mean. - -Worcester is a broad town with well arranged streets, not fully filled -up but still clean,--without that look of unkempt inchoation which is so -customary in Australian towns and in many of the young municipalities of -the United States. The churches among its buildings are -conspicuous,--those attracting the most notice being the Dutch Reformed -Church, that of the Church of England,--and a church for the use of the -natives in which the services are also in accordance with the Dutch -Reformed religion. The latter is by far the most remarkable, and belongs -to an Institution which, beyond even the large Drotsdy house, makes -Worcester peculiarly worth visiting. - -Of the Institution the Revd. Mr. Esselin is the Head, but was not the -founder. There were I think two gentlemen in charge of a native mission -before he came to Worcester;--but the church and schools have obtained -their great success under his care. He is a German clergyman who came -to the place in 1848, and has had charge of the Institution since that -date. That he has done more than any one else as a teacher and preacher -among the coloured races, at any rate in the Western Province, I think -will hardly be denied. But for Lovedale in the East of which I shall -speak further on, I should have claimed this pre-eminence for him as to -all South Africa. This I believe is owing to the fact that under his -guidance the coloured people have been treated as might any poor -community in England or elsewhere in Europe which required instruction -either secular or religious. There has been a distinct absence of the -general missionary idea that coloured people want special protection, -that they should be kept separate, and that they should have provided -for them locations,--with houses and grounds. The ordinary missionary -treatment has I think tended to create a severance between the natives -and the white people who are certainly destined to be their masters and -employers,--at any rate for many years to come; whereas M. Esselin has -from the first striven to send them out into the world to earn their -bread, giving them such education as they have been able to receive up -to the age of fifteen. Beyond that they have not, except on rare -occasions, been kept in his schools. - -The material part of the Institution consists of a church, and four -large school-rooms, and of the pastor’s residence. There are also other -school-rooms attached of older date. The church has been built -altogether by contributions from the coloured attendants, and is a -spacious handsome building capable of containing 900 persons. M. Esselin -told me that his ordinary congregation amounted to 500. I went to the -morning service on Sunday, and found the building apparently full. I -think there was no white person there besides the clergyman, my -companion, and myself. As the service was performed in Dutch I did not -stay long, contenting myself with the commencing hymn--which was well -sung, and very long, more Africano. I had at this time been in various -Kafir places of worship and had become used to the Kafir physiognomies. -I had also learned to know the faces of the Hottentots, of old Cape -negroes, of the coloured people from St. Helena, and of the Malays. The -latter are not often Christians; but the races have become so mixed that -there is no rule which can be accepted in that respect. Here there were -no Kafirs, the Kafirs not having as yet made their way in quest of wages -as far west as Worcester.[9] The people were generally Hottentot, half -negro,--with a considerable dash of white blood through them. But in the -church I could see no Europeans. It is a coloured congregation, and -supported altogether by contributions from the coloured people. - -The school interested me, however, more than the church. I do not know -that I ever saw school-rooms better built, better kept, or more cleanly. -As I looked at them one after another I remembered what had been the big -room at Harrow in my time, and the single school-room which I had known -at Winchester,--for there was only one; and the school-room, which I had -visited at Eton and Westminster; and I was obliged to own that the -coloured children of Worcester are very much better housed now during -their lessons than were the aristocracy of England forty or fifty years -ago. There has been an improvement since, but still something might be -learned by a visit to Worcester. At Worcester the students pay a penny a -week. At the other schools I have named the charges are something -higher. - -There are 500 children at these schools among whom I saw perhaps half a -dozen of white blood. M. Esselin said that he took any who came who -would comply with the general rules of the school. The education of -coloured children is, however, the intention of the place. In addition -to the pence, which do not amount to £100 a year, the Government -grant,--given to this school, as to any other single school kept in -accordance with Government requirements,--amounts to £70 per annum. The -remaining cost, which must be very heavy, is made up out of the funds -raised by the congregation of the church. Under M. Esselin there is but -one European master. The other teachers are all females and all -coloured. There were I think seven of them. The children, as I have said -before, are kept only till they are fifteen and are then sent out to the -work of the world without any pretence of classical scholarship or -ecstatic Christianity. - -Having heard of a marvellous hot spring or Geyser in the neighbourhood -of Worcester I had myself driven out to visit it. It is about 8 miles -from the town at, or rather beyond, a marshy little lake called Brand -Vley, the name of which the hot spring bears. It is adjacent to a Dutch -farmhouse to which it belongs, and is to some small extent used for -sanitary purposes. If, as I was told, the waters are peculiarly -serviceable to rheumatic affections, it is a pity that such sanitary -purposes should not be extended, and be made more acceptable to the -rheumatic world at large. - -There is but one spring of boiling water. In New Zealand they are very -numerous, bubbling up frequently in close proximity to each other, -sometimes so small and unpronounced as to make it dangerous to walk -among them lest the walker’s feet should penetrate through the grass -into the boiling water. Here the one fountain is very like to some of -the larger New Zealand springs. The water as it wells up is much hotter -than boiling, and fills a round pool which may perhaps have a -circumference of thirty feet. It is of a perfectly bright green colour, -except where the growth of a foul-looking weed defaces the surface. From -this well the still boiling water makes its way under ground, a distance -of a few yards into a much larger pool where it still boils and bubbles, -and still maintains that bright green colour which seems to be the -property of water which springs hot from the bowels of the earth. - -At a little distance a house has been built intended to contain baths, -and conduits have been made to bring a portion of the water under cover -for the accommodation of bathers,--while a portion is carried off for -irrigation. We made our way into the house where we found a large Dutch -party, whether of visitors or residents at the house we did not know; -and one of them, a pretty Dutch girl prettily dressed, who could speak -English was kind enough to show us the place. We accompanied her, -though the stench was so foul that it was almost impossible to remain -beneath the roof.[10] It was difficult to conceive how these people -could endure it and live. The girl opened the bath rooms, in which the -so-called baths, constructed on the floor, were dilapidated and ruined. -“They are all just now near broke to pieces,” she said. I asked her what -the patients paid. “Just sixpence a day,” she replied, “because one -cannot in these hard days charge the people too much.” I presume that -the patients were expected to bring their diet with them,--and probably -their beds. - -And yet an invaluable establishment might be built at this spot, and be -built in the midst of most alluring scenery! The whole district of which -I am now speaking is among the mountains, and the Worcester railway -station is not more than eight or ten miles distant. The Auckland -Geysers in New Zealand cannot be reached except by long journeys on -horseback, and accommodation for invalids could be procured only at -great cost. But here an establishment of hot baths might be made very -easily. It seemed at any rate to be a pity that such a provision of hot -water should be wasted,--especially if it contain medicinal properties -of value. We were forced to return to Worcester without trying it, as -there were not means of bathing at our command. No possible medicinal -properties would have atoned for the horrors of undressing within that -building. - - - - -CHAPTER IX. - -ROBERTSON, SWELLENDAM, AND SOUTHEY’S PASS. - - -From Worcester we went on to a little town called Robertson, which is -also the capital of an electoral division. The country here is -altogether a country of mountains, varying from three to seven thousand -feet high. The valleys between them are broad, so as to give ample space -for agriculture,--if only agriculture can be made to pay. Having heard -much of the continual plains of South Africa I had imagined that every -thing beyond the hills immediately surrounding Capetown would be flat; -but in lieu of that I found myself travelling through a country in which -one series of mountains succeeds another for hundreds of miles. The Cape -Colony is very large,--especially the Western Province, which extends -almost from the 28th to much below the 34th degree of latitude S., and -from the 17th to the 23rd of longitude E. Of this immense area I was -able to see comparatively only a small part;--but in what I did see I -was never out of the neighbourhood of mountains. The highest mountain in -South Africa is Cathkin Peak, in Natal, and that is over 10,000 feet. In -the districts belonging to the Cape Colony the highest is in Basuto, and -is the Mont aux Sources. The highest in the Western Province is called -The Seven Weeks Poort, which is in the neighbourhood of Swellendam and -belongs to the district of which I am now speaking. It is 7,600 feet -high. As the first and most important consequence of this the making of -roads within a couple of hundred miles of Capetown has been a matter of -great difficulty. In every direction passes through the mountains have -had to be found, which when found have required great skill and a very -heavy expenditure before they could be used for roads. But a second -consequence has been that a large extent of magnificent scenery has been -thrown open, which, as the different parts of the world are made nearer -to each other by new discoveries and advancing science, will become a -delight and a playground to travellers,--as are the Alps and the -Pyrenees and the Apennines in Europe. At present I think that but few -people in England are aware that among the mountains of the Cape Colony -there is scenery as grand as in Switzerland or the south-west of France. -And the fact that such scenery is close to them attracts the notice of -but a small portion of the inhabitants of the Colony itself. The Dutch I -fancy regarded the mountains simply as barriers or disagreeable -obstacles, and the English community which has come since has hardly as -yet achieved idleness sufficient for the true enjoyment of tourist -travelling. - -Robertson itself is not an interesting town, though it lies close under -the mountains. Why it should have missed the beauty of The Paarl, of -Ceres, and of Swellendam which we were about to visit, I can hardly say. -Probably its youth is against it. It has none of the quaintness of -Dutch architecture; and the oaks,--for it has oaks,--are not yet large -enough to be thoroughly delightful. We found, however, in its -neighbourhood a modern little wood large enough to enable us to lose -ourselves, and were gratified by the excitement. - -I have said that in these districts, mountainous as they are, the -valleys are broad enough for agriculture, if only agriculture can be -made to pay. The fertility of the soil is apparent everywhere. Robertson -itself is devoted to the making of brandy, and its vineyards are -flourishing. Patches of corn were to be seen and trees had grown -luxuriantly here and there. It seemed that almost anything would grow. -But little or nothing useful will grow without the aid of other water -than that bestowed in the regular course of nature. “I plant as many -trees,” said the magistrate of the district, speaking to me of the -streets of the town, “as I can get convicts to water.” “Wheat;--oh yes, -I can grow any amount of wheat,” a farmer said to me in another place, -“where I can lead water.” In Messrs. Silver and Co.’s Guide book, page -99, I find the following passage in reference to the Cape Colony. “The -whole question of the storing of water by means of scientifically -constructed dams is one that cannot be too strongly urged on the Cape -Government.” Of the truth of this there can be no doubt, nor is the -district one in which the fall of rain is deficient, if the rain could -be utilized. It amounts to something over 24 inches annually, which -would suffice for all the purposes required if the supply given could be -made to flow upon the lands. But it falls in sudden storms, is attracted -by the mountains, and then runs off into the rivers and down to the sea -without effecting those beneficent objects which I think we may say it -was intended to produce. The consequence is that agriculture is -everywhere patchy, and that the patches are generally small. The farmer -according to his means or according to his energy will subject 10, 20, -30, or 40 acres to artificial irrigation. When he does so he can produce -anything. When he does not do so he can produce nothing.[11] - -There are the mountains and the rains fall upon them, running off -uselessly to the ocean with their purpose unaccomplished. When we want -to store the rain water from our roof for domestic uses we construct -pipes and tanks and keep the blessing by us so as to have it when we -want it. The side of a mountain is much like the roof of a house,--only -larger. And the pipes are for the most part made to our hand by nature -in the shape of gullies, kloofs, and rivulets. It is but the tanks that -we want, and some adjustment as to the right of using them. This, if -ever done, must be done by the appliance of science, and I of all men am -the last to suggest how such appliance should be made. But that it is -practicable appears to be probable, and that if done it would greatly -increase the produce of the lands affected and the general well being of -the Colony no one can doubt. But the work is I fear beyond the compass -of private enterprise in a small community, and seems to be one which -requires the fostering hand of Government. If a Governor of the Cape -Colony,--or a Prime Minister,--could stop the waters as they rush down -from the mountains and spread them over the fields before they reach the -sea he would do more for the Colony than has been effected by any -conqueror of Kafirs. - -From Robertson we went a little off our road to Montague for the sake of -seeing Cogman’s Pass. That also is interesting though not as fine as -some others. Whence it has taken its name I could not discover. It was -suggested to me that it was so called because of its lizards;--and the -lizards certainly were there in great numbers. I could not find that -Cogman meant lizard either in Hottentot language or in Dutch. Nor did it -appear that any man of note of the name of Cogman had connected himself -with the road. But there is the Pass with its ugly name leading -gallantly and cleverly through the rocks into the little town of -Montague. - -Montague like Oudtshoorn and Robertson makes brandy, the Montague brandy -being, I was assured, equal to the Cango brandy which comes from -Oodtshoorn, and much superior to that made at Robertson. I tasted them -all round and declare them to be equally villainous. I was assured that -it was an acquired taste. I hope that I may not be called on to go -through the practice necessary for acquiring it. I shall perhaps be told -that I formed my judgment on the new spirit, and that the brandy ought -to be kept before it is used. I tried it new and old. The new spirit is -certainly the more venomous, but they are equally nasty. It is generally -called Cape Smoke. Let me warn my readers against Cape Smoke should they -ever visit South Africa. - -At Montague, as we were waiting outside the inn for our cart, two sturdy -English beggars made their appearance before us, demanding charity. They -could get no work to do,--so they said,--in this accursed land, and -wanted money to buy bread. No work to do! And yet every farmer, every -merchant, every politician I had met and spoke with since I had put my -foot on South African soil, had sworn to me that the country was a -wretched country simply because labour could not be had! The two men had -Cape Smoke plainly developed in every feature of their repulsive faces. -As we were seated and could not rid ourselves of our countrymen without -running away, we entered into conversation with them. Not get work! It -was certainly false! They were on their way, they said, from the Eastern -Province. Had they tried the railway? We knew that at the present moment -labour was peculiarly wanted on the railway because of the disturbance -created by Kreli and his Galekas. For the disturbance of which I shall -speak in one of the concluding chapters of my work was then on hand. -“Yes,” said the spokesman who, as on all such occasions, was by far the -more disreputable of the two. “They had tried the railway, and had been -offered 2s. 6d. a day. They were not going to work along side of niggers -for 2s. 6d., which would only supply them with grub! Did we want real -Englishmen to do that?” We told them that certainly we did want real -Englishmen to earn their grub honestly and not to beg it; and then, -having endeavoured to shame them by calling them mean fellows, we were -of course obliged to give them money. - -Such rascals might turn up anywhere,--in any town in England much more -probably than in South Africa. But their condition as we saw them, and -the excuse which they made for their condition, were typical of the -state of labour in South Africa generally. The men, if worth anything, -could earn more than 2s. 6d. a day,--as no doubt those other men could -have done of whom I spoke some chapters back;--but an Englishman in -South Africa will not work along side of a coloured man on equal terms -with the coloured man. The English labourer who comes to South Africa -either rises to more than the labouring condition, or sinks to something -below it. And he will not be content simply to supply his daily wants. -He at once becomes filled with the idea that as a Colonist he should -make his fortune. If he be a good man,--industrious, able to abstain -from drink and with something above ordinary intelligence,--he does make -some fortune, more or less adequate. At any rate he rises in the world. -But if he have not those gifts,--then he falls, as had done those two -ugly reprobates. - -On our way from Montague to Swellendam, where was to be our next short -sojourn, our Cape cart broke down. The axle gave way, and we were left -upon the road;--or should have been left, some fifteen miles from -Montague in one direction and the same distance from Swellendam in the -other, had not the accident happened within sight of a farm house. As -farm houses occur about once in every six or seven miles, this was a -blessing; and was felt so very strongly when a young Dutch farmer came -at once to our rescue with another cart. “I might as well take it,” he -said with a smile when we offered him half a sovereign, “but you’d have -had the cart all the same without it.” This was certainly true as we -were already taking our seats when the money was produced. I am bound to -say that I was never refused anything which I asked of a Dutchman in -South Africa. I must remark also that often as I broke down on my -travels,--and I did break down very often and sometimes in circumstances -that were by no means promising,--there always came a Deus ex machina -for my immediate relief. A generous Dutchman would lend me a horse or a -cart;--or a needy Englishman would appear with an animal to sell when -the getting of a horse under any circumstances had begun to appear -impossible. On one occasion a jibbing brute fell as he was endeavouring -to kick everything to pieces, and nearly cut his leg in two;--but a -kindhearted colonist appeared immediately on the scene, with a very -pretty girl in his cart, and took me on to my destination. And yet one -often travels hour after hour, throughout the whole day, without meeting -a fellow traveller. - -Swellendam is such another village as The Paarl, equally enticing, -equally full of oaks, though not equally long. From end to end it is but -three miles, while The Paarl measures eight. But the mountains at -Swellendam are finer than the mountains at The Paarl, and with the -exception of those immediately over George, are the loveliest which I -saw in the Colony. Swellendam is close under the Langeberg range,--so -near that the kloofs or wild ravines in the mountains can be reached by -an easy walk. They are very wild and picturesque, being thickly wooded, -but so deep that from a little distance the wood can hardly be seen. -Here at the foot of the hills were exquisite sites for country -houses,--to be built, perhaps, by the future coloured millionaires of -South Africa,--with grand opportunities for semi-tropical gardens, if -only the water from the mountains could be used. Oranges, grapes, and -bananas grow with the greatest profusion wherever water has been “led -on.” And yet it seems that the district is the very country for oaks. I -had found more oaks during this last little tour through a portion of -the Western Province of the Cape Colony than I have ever seen during the -same time in England. - -My kind host at Swellendam told me that it was imperative to go to the -Tradouw,--or Southey’s Pass through the mountains. The Tradouw is the -old Dutch name for the ravine which was used for a pass before the -present road was made. An energetic traveller will do as he is bid, -especially when he is in the hands of an energetic host. The traveller -wishes to see whatever is to be seen but has to be told what he should -see. To such commands I have generally been obedient. He is too often -told also what he should believe. Against this I have always -rebelled;--mutely if possible, but sometimes, under coercion, with -outspoken vehemence. “If it be true,” I have had to say, “that I mean to -write a book, I shall write my book and not yours.” But as to the seeing -of sights absolute obedience is the best. Therefore I allowed my host to -take me to the Tradouw, though my bones were all bruised and nearly -dislocated with Cape cart travelling and the sweet idea of a day of rest -under the Swellendam oaks had taken strong hold of my imagination. I was -amply repaid for my compliance. - -On our way to the Tradouw we passed through a long straggling village -inhabited exclusively by coloured people, and called the Caledon -Missionary Institution. It had also some native name which I heard but -failed to note. It was under the charge of a Dutch pastor upon whom we -called and from whom I learned something of the present condition of the -location. I will say, however, before I describe the Institution, that -it is already doomed and its days numbered. That this should be its fate -was not at all marvellous to me. That it should have been allowed to -live so long was more surprising. - -The place is inhabited by and belongs to persons of colour to whom it -was originally granted as a “location” in which they might live. The -idea of course has been that as the Colonists made the lands of the -Colony their own, driving back the Hottentots without scruple, -exercising the masterdom of white men for the spoliation of the natives, -something should be secured to the inferior race, the giving of which -might be a balm to the conscience of the invader and at the same time -the means of introducing Christianity among the invaded, Nothing can be -better than the idea,--which has been that on which the South African -missionaries have always worked. Nor will I in this place assail the -wisdom of the undertaking at the time at which it was set on foot. -Whether anything better could then have been done may, perhaps, be -doubted. I venture only to express an opinion that in the present -condition of our South African Colonies all such Institutions are a -mistake. As the Caledon Institution is about to be brought to an end, I -may say this with the less chance of giving offence. - -The last census taken of the population of the village gave its numbers -as 3,000. I was told that at present there might be perhaps 2,000 -coloured persons living there. I should have thought that to be a very -exaggerated number, judging from the size of the place and the number of -ruined and deserted huts, were it not that the statement was made to me -in a tone of depreciation rather than of boasting. “They call it three -thousand,” said the pastor, “but there are not more than two.” Looking -at the people as I passed through the village I should be inclined to -describe them as Hottentots, were it not for the common assertion that -the Hottentot race is extinct in these parts. The Institution was -originally intended for Hottentots, and the descendants of Hottentots -are now its most numerous inhabitants. That other blood has been mixed -with the Hottentot blood,--that of the negroes who were brought to the -Cape as slaves and of the white men who were the owners of the -slaves,--is true here as elsewhere. There is a church for the use of -these people,--and a school. Without these a missionary institution -would be altogether vain;--though, as I have stated some pages back, the -school belonging to the Institution at Pacaltsdorp had gone into -abeyance when I visited that place. Here the school was still -maintained; but I learned that the maximum number of pupils never -exceeded a hundred. Considering the amount of the population and the -fact that the children are not often required to be absent on the score -of work, I think I am justified in saying that the school is a failure. -M. Esselin in his schools at Worcester, which is a town of 4,000 -inhabitants of whom a large proportion are white, has an average -attendance of 500 coloured children. The attendance at the missionary -church is no better, the number of customary worshippers being the same -as that of the scholars,--namely a hundred. With these people there is -nothing to compel them to send their children to school, and nothing but -the eloquence of the pastor to induce them to go to church. The same may -be said as to all other churches and all other congregations. But we are -able to judge of the utility of a church by the force of example which -it creates. Among these people the very fashion of going to church is -dying out. - -But I was more intent, perhaps, on the daily employment than the -spiritual condition of these people, and asked whether it sent out girls -as maid-servants to the country around. The pastor assured me that he -was often unable to get a girl to assist his wife in the care of their -own children. The young women from the Missionary Institution do not -care for going into service. - -“But how do they live?” Then it was explained to me that each resident -in the Institution had a plot of ground of his own, and that he lived on -its produce, as far as it went, like any other estated gentleman. Then -the men would go out for a little sheep-shearing, or the picking of -Buchus in the Buchu season. The Buchu is a medicinal leaf which is -gathered in these parts and sent to Europe. Such an arrangement cannot -be for the welfare either of the Colony or of the people concerned. -Nothing but work will bring them into such communion with civilization -as to enable them to approach the condition of the white man. The -arcadian idea of a coloured man with his wife and piccaninnies living -happily under the shade of his own fig tree and picking his own grapes -and oranges is very pretty in a book, and may be made interesting in a -sermon. But it is ugly enough in that reality in which the fig tree is -represented by a ruined mud-hut and the grapes and oranges by stolen -mutton. The sole effect of the missionary’s work has too often been that -of saving the Native from working for the white man. It was well that he -should be saved from slavery;--but to save him from other work is simply -to perpetuate his inferiority. - -The land at the Caledon Institution is the property of the resident -Natives. Each landowner can at present sell his plot with the sanction -of the Governor. In ten years’ time he will be enabled to sell it -without such sanction. The sooner he sells it and becomes a simple -labourer the better for all parties. I was told that the Governor’s -sanction is rarely if ever now refused. - -Then we went on to the Tradouw, and just at the entrance of the ravine -we came upon a party of coloured labourers, with a white man over them, -making bricks in the close vicinity of an extensive building. A party of -convicts was about to come to the spot for the purpose of mending the -road, and the bricks were being made so that a kitchen might be built -for the cooking of their food. The big building, I was told, had been -erected for the use of the convicts who a few years since had made the -road. But it had fallen out of repair, and the new kitchen was -considered necessary, though the number of men needed for the repair -would not be very large, and they would be wanted only for a few months. -I naturally asked what would become of the kitchen afterwards,--which -seemed to be a spacious building containing a second apartment, to be -used probably as a scullery. The kitchen would again be deserted and -would become the property of the owner of the land. I afterwards heard -by chance of a contract for supplying mutton to the convicts at 6½d. -a pound,--a pound a day for each man;--and I also heard that convict -labour was supposed to be costly. The convicts are chiefly coloured -people. With such usage as they receive the supply, I should imagine, -would be ample. The ordinary Hottentot with his daily pound of mutton, -properly cooked in a first-class kitchen and nothing but convict labour -to do, would probably find himself very comfortable. - -Southey’s Pass,--so called from Mr. Southey who was Colonial Secretary -before the days of parliamentary government, and is now one of the -stoutest leaders of the opposition against the Ministers of the day,--is -seven miles from end to end and is very beautiful throughout. But it is -the mile at the end,--furthest from Swellendam,--in which it beats in -sublimity all the other South African passes which I saw, including even -the Montague Pass which crosses the Outiniqua mountains near George. -South Africa is so far off that I cannot hope to be able to excite -English readers to visit the Cape Colony for the sake of the -scenery,--though for those whose doctors prescribe a change of air and -habits and the temporary use of a southern climate I cannot imagine that -any trip should be more pleasant and serviceable;--but I do think that -the inhabitants of Capetown and the neighbourhood should know more than -they do of the beauties of their own country. I have never seen rocks of -a finer colour or twisted about into grander forms than those which make -the walls of that part of Southey’s Pass which is furthest from -Swellendam. - -When we were in the ravine two small bucks called -Klip-springers,--springers that is among the stones,--were disturbed by -us and passing down from the road among the rocks, made their way to the -bottom of the ravine. Two dogs had followed the Hottentot who was -driving us, a terrier and a large mongrel hound, and at once got upon -the scent of the bucks. I shall never forget the energy of the Hottentot -as he rushed down from the road to a huge prominent rock which stood -over the gorge, so as to see the hunt as near as possible, or my own -excitement as I followed him somewhat more slowly. The ravine was so -narrow that the clamour of the two dogs sounded like the music of a pack -of hounds. The Hottentot as he leant forward over his perch was almost -beside himself with anxiety. Immediately beneath us, perhaps twenty feet -down, were two jutting stones separated from each other by about the -same distance, between which was a wall of rock with a slant almost -perpendicular and perfectly smooth, so that there could be no support to -the foot of any animal. Up to the first of these stones one of the -Klip-springers was hunted with the big hound close at his heels. From it -the easiest escape was by a leap to the other rock which the buck made -without a moment’s hesitation. But the dog could not follow. He knew the -distance to be too great for his spring, and stood on his rock gazing -at his prey. Nor could the buck go further. The stone it occupied just -beneath ourselves was altogether isolated, and it stood there looking up -at us with its soft imploring eyes, while the Hottentot in his -excitement cheered on the dog to make the leap which the poor hound knew -to be too much for him. I cannot say which interested me most, the man -beside me, the little buck just below my feet, or the anxious eager -palpitating hound with his short sharp barks. There was no gun with us, -but the Hottentot got fragments of stone to throw at the quarry. Then -the buck knew that he must shift his ground if he meant to save himself, -and, marking his moment, he jumped back at the dog, and was then up -among the almost perpendicular rocks over our heads before the brute -could seize it. I have always been anxious for a kill when hunting, but -I was thoroughly rejoiced when that animal saved himself. The Hottentot -who was fond of venison did not at all share my feelings. - -This occurred about 22 miles from Swellendam, and delayed us a little. -My host, who had accompanied me, had asked a house full of friends to -dine with him at seven, and it was five when the buck escaped. South -African travelling is generally slow; but under the pressure of the -dinner party our horses were made to do the distance in an hour and -fifty minutes. - -From Swellendam we went on to Caledon another exquisitely clean little -Dutch town. The distance from Swellendam to Caledon is nearly eighty -miles, through the whole of which the road runs under the Zondereinde -mountains through a picturesque country which produces some of the best -wool of the Colony. Caledon is another village of oak trees and pleasant -detached Dutch-looking houses, each standing in its own garden and never -mounting to a story above the ground. In winter no doubt the feeling -inspired by these village-towns would be different; but when they are -seen as I saw them, with the full foliage and the acorns on the oaks, -and the little gardens over-filled with their luxuriance of flowers, -with the streets as clean and shaded as the pet road through a -gentleman’s park, the visitor is tempted to repine because Fate did not -make him a wine-growing, orange-planting, ostrich-feeding Dutch farmer. -From Caledon we returned through East Somerset, a smaller village and -less attractive but still of the same nature, to Capetown, getting on to -the railway about twenty miles from the town at the Eerste River -Station. In making this last journey we had gone through or over two -other Passes, called How Hoek and Sir Lowry’s Pass. They are, both of -them, interesting enough for a visit from Capetown, but not sufficiently -so to be spoken of at much length after the other roads through the -mountains which I had seen. The route down from Sir Lowry’s Pass leads -to the coast of False Bay,--of which Simon’s Bay is an inlet. Between -False Bay to the South and Table Bay to the North is the flat isthmus -which forms the peninsula, on which stands Capetown and the Table -Mountains, the Southern point of which is the Cape of Good Hope. - -In this journey among the Dutch towns which lie around the capital I -missed Stellenbosch, which is, I am told, the most Dutch of them all. -As good Americans when dead go to Paris, so do good Dutchmen while still -alive go to Stellenbosch,--and more especially good Dutchwomen, for it -is a place much affected by widows. The whole of this country is so -completely Dutch that an Englishman finds himself to be altogether a -foreigner. The coloured people of all shades talk Dutch as their native -language. It is hard at first to get over the feeling that a man or -woman must be very ignorant who in an English Colony cannot speak -English, but the truth is that many of the people are much less ignorant -than they are at home with us, as they speak in some fashion both -English and Dutch. In the Eastern Province of the Colony, as in the -other Colonies and divisions of South Africa, the native speaks some -native language,--the Kafir, Zulu, or Bechuana language as the case may -be; but in the part of the Western Province of which I am -speaking,--that part which the Dutch have long inhabited,--there is no -native language left among the coloured people. Dutch has become their -language. The South African language from the mouths of Kafirs and Zulus -does not strike a stranger as being odd;--but Dutch volubility from -Hottentot lips does do so. - -I must not finish this short record of my journeys in the Western -Province of the Cape Colony without repeating the expression of my -opinion as to the beauty of the scenery and the special charms of the -small towns which I had visited. - - - - -CHAPTER X. - -PORT ELIZABETH AND GRAHAMSTOWN. - - -From Capetown I went on by sea to Port Elizabeth or Algoa Bay, thus -travelling from the Western to the Eastern Province,--leaving the former -when I had as yet seen but little of its resources because it was -needful that I should make my tour through Natal and the Transvaal -before the rainy season had commenced.[12] The run is one which -generally occupies from thirty to forty hours, and was effected by us -under the excellent auspices of Captain Travers in something but little -in excess of the shorter period. It rained during the whole of our -little journey, so that one could not get out upon the deck without a -ducking;--which was chiefly remarkable in that on shore every one was -complaining of drought and that for many weeks after my first arrival in -South Africa this useless rain at sea was the only rain that I saw. -Persons well instructed in their geography will know that Algoa Bay and -Port Elizabeth signify the same seaport,--as one might say that a ship -hailed from the Clyde or from Glasgow. The Union Steam Ship Company -sends a first-class steamer once a month from Southampton to Algoa Bay, -without touching at Capetown. - -Port Elizabeth, as I walked away from the quay up to the club where I -took up my residence, seemed to be as clean, as straight, and as regular -as a first class American little town in the State of Maine. All the -world was out on a holyday. It was the birthday of the Duke of -Edinburgh, and the Port-Elizabethians observed it with a loyalty of -which we know nothing in England. Flags were flying about the ships in -the harbour and every shop was closed in the town. I went up all alone -with my baggage to the club, and felt very desolate. But everybody I met -was civil, and I found a bedroom ready for me such as would be an -Elysium, in vain to be sought for in a first class London hotel. My -comfort, I own, was a little impaired by knowing that I had turned a -hospitable South African out of his own tenement. On that first day I -was very solitary, as all the world was away doing honour somewhere to -the Duke of Edinburgh. - -In the evening I went out, still alone, for a walk and, without a guide, -found my way to the public park and the public gardens. I cannot say -that they are perfect in horticultural beauty and in surroundings, but -they are spacious, with ample room for improvement, well arranged as far -as they are arranged, and with a promise of being very superior to -anything of the kind at Capetown. The air was as sweet, I think, as any -that I ever breathed. Through them I went on, leaving the town between -me and the sea, on to a grassy illimitable heath on which, I told -myself, that with perseverance I might walk on till I came to Grand -Cairo. I had my stick in my hand and was prepared for any lion that I -might meet. But on this occasion I met no lion. After a while I found -myself descending into a valley,--a pretty little green valley -altogether out of sight of the town, and which as I was wending along -seemed at first to be an interruption in my way to the centre of the -continent. But as I approached the verge from which I could look down -into its bosom, I heard the sound of voices, and when I had reached a -rock which hung over it, I saw beneath me a ring, as it might be of -fairy folk, in full glee,--of folk, fairy or human, running hither and -thither with extreme merriment and joy. After standing awhile and gazing -I perceived that the young people of Port Elizabeth were playing -kiss-in-the-ring. Oh,--how long ago it was since I played -kiss-in-the-ring, and how nice I used to think it! It was many many -years since I had even seen the game. And these young people played it -with an energy and an ecstasy which I had never seen equalled. I walked -down, almost amongst them, but no one noticed me. I felt among them like -Rip Van Winkle. I was as a ghost, for they seemed not even to see me. -How the girls ran, and could always have escaped from the lads had they -listed, but always were caught round some corner out of the circle! And -how awkward the lads were in kissing, and how clever the girls in taking -care that it should always come off at last, without undue violence! But -it seemed to me that had I been a lad I should have felt that when all -the girls had been once kissed, or say twice,--and when every girl had -been kissed twice round by every lad, the thing would have become tame, -and the lips unhallowed. But this was merely the cynicism of an old man, -and no such feeling interrupted the sport. There I left them when the -sun was setting, still hard at work, and returned sadly to my dinner at -the club. - -The land round the town, though well arranged for such purpose as that -just described, is not otherwise of a valuable nature. There seems to be -an unlimited commonage of grass, but of so poor and sour a kind that it -will not fatten and will hardly feed cattle. For sheep it is of no use -whatever. This surrounds the town, and when the weather is cool and the -air sweet, as it was when I visited the place, even the land round Port -Elizabeth is not without its charms. But I can understand that it would -be very hot in summer and that then the unshaded expanse would not be -attractive. There is not a tree to be seen. - -The town is built on a steep hill rising up from the sea, and is very -neat. The town hall is a large handsome building, putting its rival and -elder sister Capetown quite to shame. I was taken over a huge store in -which, it seemed to me, that every thing known and wanted in the world -was sold, from American agricultural implements down to Aberdeen red -herrings. The library and reading room, and public ball room or concert -hall, were perfect. The place contains only 15,000 inhabitants, but has -every thing needed for instruction, civilization and the general -improvement of the human race. It is built on the lines of one of those -marvellous American little towns in which philanthropy and humanity -seem to have worked together to prevent any rational want. - -Ostrich feathers and wool are the staples of the place. I witnessed a -sale of feathers and was lost in wonder at the ingenuity of the -auctioneer and of the purchasers. They seemed to understand each other -as the different lots were sold, with an average of 30 seconds allowed -to each lot. To me it was simply marvellous, but I gathered that the -feathers were sold at prices varying from £5 to £25 a pound. They are -sold by the pound, but in lots which may weigh perhaps not more than a -few ounces each. I need only say further of Port Elizabeth that there -are churches, banks, and institutions fit for a town of ten times its -size,--and that its club is a pattern club, for all Colonial towns. - -Twenty miles north west of Port Elizabeth is the pleasant little town of -Uitenhage,--which was one of the spots peopled by the English emigrants -who came into the Eastern Province in 1820. It had previously been -settled and inhabited by Dutch inhabitants in 1804, but seems to have -owed its success to the coming of the English,--and is now part of an -English, as distinct from a Dutch Colony. It is joined to Port Elizabeth -by a railway which is being carried on to the more important town of -Graff Reynet. It is impossible to imagine a more smiling little town -than Uitenhage, or one in which the real comforts of life are more -accessible. There is an ample supply of water. The streets are well laid -out, and the houses well built. And it is surrounded by a group of -mountains, at thirty miles distance, varying from 3,000 to 6,000 feet in -height, which give a charm to the scenery around. It has not within -itself much appearance of business, but everything and everybody seems -to be comfortable. I was told that it is much affected by well-to-do -widows who go thither to spend the evenings of their lives and enjoy -that pleasant tea-and-toast society which is dear to the widowed heart. -Timber is generally scarce in South Africa;--but through the streets of -Uitenhage there are lovely trees, which were green and flowering when I -was there in the month of August, warning me that the spring and then -the heats of summer were coming on me all too soon. - -During the last few years a special industry has developed itself at -Uitenhage,--that of washing wool by machinery. As this is all carried -on, not in stores or manufactories within the place, but at suburban -mills placed along the banks of the river Swartzcop outside the town, -they do not affect the semi-rural and widow-befitting aspect of the -place. I remarked to the gentleman who was kindly driving me about the -place that the people I saw around me seemed to be for the most part -coloured. This he good-humouredly resented, begging that I would not go -away and declare that Uitenhage was not inhabited by a white population. -I have no doubt that my friend has a large circle of white friends, and -that Uitenhage has a pure-blooded aristocracy. Were I to return there, -as I half promised, for the sake of meeting the charming ladies whom he -graciously undertook to have gathered together for my gratification, I -am sure that I should have found this to be the case. But still I -maintain that the people are a coloured people. I saw no white man who -looked as though he earned his bread simply with his hands. I was driven -through a street of pleasant cottages, and in asking who lived in the -best looking of the lot I was told that he was an old Hottentot. The men -working at the washing machines were all Kafirs,--earning on an average -3s. 6d. a day. It is from such evidence as this that we have to form an -opinion whether the so called savage races of South Africa may or may -not ultimately be brought into habits of civilization. After visiting -one of the washing mills and being driven about the town we returned to -Port Elizabeth to dine. - -Starting from Port Elizabeth I had to commence the perils of South -African travel. These I was well aware would not come from lions, -buffaloes, or hippopotamuses,--nor even, to such a traveller as myself, -from Kafirs or Zulus,--but simply from the length, the roughness and the -dustiness of roads. I had been told before I left England that a man of -my age ought not to make the attempt because the roads were so long, so -rough,--and so dusty. In travelling round the coast there is nothing to -be dreaded. The discomforts are simply of a marine nature, and may -easily be borne by an old traveller. The terrible question of luggage -does not disturb his mind. He may carry what he pleases and revel in -clean shirts. But when he leaves the sea in South Africa every ounce has -to be calculated. When I was told at Capetown that on going up from -Natal to the Transvaal I should be charged 4s. extra for every pound I -carried above fifteen I at once made up my mind to leave my bullock -trunk at Government House. At Port Elizabeth a gentleman was very kind -in planning my journey for me thence up to Grahamstown, King -Williamstown &c.,--but, on coming into my bed room, he strongly -recommended me to leave my portmanteau and dispatch box behind me, to be -taken on, somewhither, by water, and to trust myself to two bags. So I -tied on addresses to the tabooed receptacles of my remaining comforts, -and started on my way with a very limited supply of wearing apparel. In -the selection which one is driven to make with an agonized mind,--when -the bag has been stamped full to repletion with shirts, boots, and the -blue books which are sure to be accumulated for the sake of statistics, -the first thing to be rejected is one’s dress suit. A man can live -without a black coat, waistcoat, and trousers. But so great is colonial -hospitality wherever the traveller goes, and so similar are colonial -habits to those at home, that there will always come a time,--there will -come many times,--in which the traveller will feel that he has left -behind him the very articles which he most needed, and that the blue -books should have been made to give way to decent raiment. These are -difficulties which at periods become almost heartbreaking. Nevertheless -I made the decision and rejected the dress suit. And I trusted myself to -two pair of boots. And I allowed my treasures to be taken from me, with -a hope that I might see them again some day in the further Colony of -Natal. - -From Port Elizabeth there is a railway open on the road to Grahamstown -as far as a wretched place called Sand Flat. From thence we started in a -mail cart,--or Cobb’s omnibus as it is called. The whole distance to -Grahamstown is about 70 miles, and the journey was accomplished in -eleven hours. The country through which we passed is not favourable for -agriculture or even for pasture. Much of it was covered with bush, and -on that which is open the grass is too sour for sheep. It is indeed -called the Zuurveld, or sour-field country. But as we approached -Grahamstown it improved, and farming operations with farm steads,--at -long distances apart,--came in view. For some miles round Port Elizabeth -there is nothing but sour grass and bush and the traveller inspecting -the country is disposed to ask where is the fertility and where the -rural charms which produced the great effort at emigration in 1820, when -5,000 persons were sent out from England into this district. The Kafirs -had driven out the early Dutch settlers, and the British troops had -driven out the Kafirs. But the country remained vacant, and £50,000 was -voted by Parliament to send out what was then a Colony in itself, that -the land might be occupied. But it is necessary to travel forty or fifty -miles from Port Elizabeth, or Algoa Bay, before the fertility is -discovered. - -Grahamstown when it is reached is a smiling little town lying in a -gentle valley on an elevated plateau 1,700 feet above the sea. It -contains between eight and nine thousand inhabitants of whom a third are -coloured. The two-thirds are almost exclusively British, the Dutch -element having had little or no holding in this small thriving capital -of the Eastern Province. For Grahamstown is the capital of the East, and -there are many there who think that it should become a Capital of a -Colony, whether by separation of the East from the West, or by a general -federation of South African States--in which case the town would, they -think, be more eligible than any other for all the general honours of -government and legislation. I do not know but that on the whole I am -inclined to agree with them. I think that if there were an united South -Africa, and that a site for a capital had to be chosen afresh, as it was -chosen in Canada, Grahamstown would receive from an outside commission -appointed to report on the matter, more votes than any other town. But I -am far from thinking that Grahamstown will become the capital of a South -African Confederation. - -The people of Grahamstown are very full of their own excellencies. No -man there would call his town a “beastly place.” The stranger on the -other hand is invited freely to admire its delights, the charm of its -position up above the heat and the musquitoes, the excellence of its -water supply, the multiplicity of its gardens, the breadth and -prettiness of its streets, its salubrity,--for he is almost assured that -people at Grahamstown never die,--and the perfection of its -Institutions. And the clock tower appended to the cathedral! The clock -tower which is the work of the energetic Dean was when I was there,--not -finished indeed for there was the spire to come,--but still so far -erected as to be a conspicuous and handsome object to all the country -round. The clock tower was exercising the minds of men very much, and -through a clever manœuvre,--originating I hope with the Dean,--is -supposed to be a town-clock tower and not an appanage of the cathedral. -In this way all denominations have been got to subscribe, and yet, if -you were not told to the contrary, you would think that the tower -belongs to the cathedral as surely as its dome belongs to St. Paul’s. - -In truth Grahamstown is a very pretty town, and seen, as it is on all -sides, from a gentle eminence, smiles kindly on those who enter it. The -British troops who guarded the frontier from our Kafir enemies were -formerly stationed here. As the Kafirs have been driven back eastwards, -so have the troops been moved in the same direction and they are now -kept at King Williamstown about 50 miles to the North East of -Grahamstown, and nearer to the Kei river which is the present boundary -of the Colony;--or was till the breaking out of the Kafir disturbance in -1877. The barracks at Grahamstown still belong to the Imperial -Government, as does the castle at Capetown, and are let out for various -purposes. Opening from the barrack grounds are the public gardens which -are pretty and well kept. Grahamstown altogether gives the traveller an -idea of a healthy, well-conditioned prosperous little town, in which it -would be no misfortune to be called upon to live. And yet I was told -that I saw it under unfavourable circumstances, as there had been a -drought for some weeks, and the grasses were not green. - -I was taken from Grahamstown to see an ostrich farm about fifteen miles -distant. The establishment belongs to Mr. Douglas, who is I believe -among the ostrich farmers of the Colony about the most successful and -who was if not the first, the first who did the work on a large scale. -He is, moreover, the patentee for an egg-hatching machine, or incubator, -which is now in use among many of the feather-growers of the district. -Mr. Douglas occupies about 1,200 acres of rough ground, formerly devoted -to sheep-farming. The country around was all used not long since as -sheep walks, but seems to have so much deteriorated by changes in the -grasses as to be no longer profitable for that purpose. But it will feed -ostriches. - -At this establishment I found about 300 of those birds, which, taking -them all round, young and old, were worth about £30 a piece. Each bird -fit for plucking gives two crops of feathers a year, and produces, on an -average, feathers to the value of £15 per annum. The creatures feed -themselves unless when sick or young, and live upon the various bushes -and grasses of the land. The farm is divided out into paddocks, and, -with those which are breeding, one cock with two hens occupies each -paddock. The young birds,--for they do not breed till they are three -years old,--or those which are not paired, run in flocks of thirty or -forty each. They are subject to diseases which of course require -attention, and are apt to damage themselves, sometimes breaking their -own bones, and getting themselves caught in the wire fences. Otherwise -they are hardy brutes, who can stand much heat and cold, can do for long -periods without water, who require no delicate feeding, and give at -existing prices ample returns for the care bestowed upon them. - -But, nevertheless, ostrich farming is a precarious venture. The birds -are of such value, a full grown bird in perfect health being worth as -much as £75, that there are of course risks of great loss. And I doubt -whether the industry has, as yet, existed long enough for those who -employ it to know all its conditions. The two great things to do are to -hatch the eggs, and then to pluck or cut the feathers, sort them, and -send them to the market. I think I may say that ostrich farming without -the use of an incubator can never produce great results. The birds -injure their feathers by sitting and at every hatching lose two months. -There is, too, great uncertainty as to the number of young birds which -will be produced, and much danger as to the fate of the young bird when -hatched. An incubator seems to be a necessity for ostrich farming. -Surely no less appropriate word was ever introduced into the language, -for it is a machine expressly invented to render unnecessary the process -of incubation. The farmer who devotes himself to artificial hatching -provides himself with an assortment of dummy eggs,--consisting of -eggshells blown and filled with sand,--and with these successfully -allures the hens to lay. The animals are so large and the ground is so -open that there is but little difficulty in watching them and in -obtaining the eggs. As each egg is worth nearly £5 I should think that -they would be open to much theft when the operation becomes more -general, but as yet there has not come up a market for the receipt of -stolen goods. When found they are brought to the head quarters and kept -till the vacancy occurs for them in the machine. - -The incubator is a low ugly piece of deal furniture standing on four -legs, perhaps eight or nine feet long. At each end there are two -drawers in which the eggs are laid with a certain apparatus of flannel, -and these drawers by means of screws beneath them are raised or lowered -to the extent of two or three inches. The drawer is lowered when it is -pulled out, and is capable of receiving a fixed number of eggs. I saw, I -think, fifteen in one. Over the drawers and along the top of the whole -machine there is a tank filled with hot water, and the drawer when -closed is screwed up so as to bring the side of the egg in contact with -the bottom of the tank. Hence comes the necessary warmth. Below the -machine and in the centre of it a lamp, or lamps, are placed which -maintain the heat that is required. The eggs lie in the drawer for six -weeks, and then the bird is brought out. - -All this is simple enough, and yet the work of hatching is most -complicated and requires not only care but a capability of tracing -results which is not given to all men. The ostrich turns her egg -frequently, so that each side of it may receive due attention. The -ostrich farmer must therefore turn his eggs. This he does about three -times a day. A certain amount of moisture is required, as in nature -moisture exudes from the sitting bird. The heat must be moderated -according to circumstances or the yolk becomes glue and the young bird -is choked. Nature has to be followed most minutely, and must be observed -and understood before it can be followed. And when the time for birth -comes on the ostrich farmer must turn midwife and delicately assist the -young one to open its shell, having certain instruments for the purpose. -And when he has performed his obstetrical operations he must become a -nursing mother to the young progeny who can by no means walk about and -get his living in his earliest days. The little chickens in our farm -yards seem to take the world very easily; but they have their mother’s -wings, and we as yet hardly know all the assistance which is thus given -to them. But the ostrich farmer must know enough to keep his young ones -alive, or he will soon be ruined,--for each bird when hatched is -supposed to be worth £10. The ostrich farmer must take upon himself all -the functions of the ostrich mother, and must know all that instinct has -taught her, or he will hardly be successful. - -The birds are plucked before they are a year old, and I think that no -one as yet knows the limit of age to which they will live and be -plucked. I saw birds which had been plucked for sixteen years and were -still in high feather. When the plucking time has come the necessary -number of birds are enticed by a liberal display of mealies,--as maize -or Indian corn is called in South Africa,--into a pen one side of which -is moveable. The birds will go willingly after mealies, and will run -about their paddocks after any one they see, in the expectation of these -delicacies. When the pen is full the moveable side is run in, so that -the birds are compressed together beyond the power of violent -struggling. They cannot spread their wings or make the dart forward -which is customary to them when about to kick. Then men go in among -them, and taking up their wings pluck or cut their feathers. Both -processes are common but the former I think is most so, as being the -more profitable. There is a heavier weight to sell when the feather is -plucked; and the quil begins to grow again at once, whereas the process -is delayed when nature is called upon to eject the stump. I did not see -the thing done, but I was assured that the little notice taken by the -animal of the operation may be accepted as proof that the pain, if any, -is slight. I leave this question to the decision of naturalists and -anti-vivisectors. - -The feathers are then sorted into various lots, the white primary -outside rim from under the bird’s wing being by far the most -valuable,--being sold, as I have said before, at a price as high as £25 -a pound. The sorting does not seem to be a difficult operation and is -done by coloured men. The produce is then packed in boxes and sent down -to be sold at Port Elizabeth by auction. - -As far as I saw all labour about the place was done by black men except -that which fell to the lot of the owner and two or three young men who -lived with him and were learning the work under his care. These black -men were Kafirs, Fingos, or Hottentots--so called, who lived each in his -own hut with his wife and family. They received 26s. a month and their -diet,--which consisted of two pound of meat and two pound of mealies a -day each. The man himself could not eat this amount of food, but would -no doubt find it little enough with his wife and children. With this he -has permission to build his hut about the place, and to burn his -master’s fuel. He buys coffee if he wants it from his master’s store, -and in his present condition generally does want it. When in his hut he -rolls himself in his blanket, but when he comes out to his work attires -himself in some more or less European apparel according to regulation. -He is a good humoured fellow, whether by nature a hostile Kafir, or a -submissive Fingo, or friendly Basuto, and seems to have a pleasure in -being enquired into and examined as to his Kafir habits. But, if -occasion should arise, he would probably be a rebel. On this very spot -where I was talking to him, the master of the farm had felt himself -compelled during the last year,--1876--to add a couple of towers to his -house so that in the event of an attack he might be able to withdraw his -family from the reach of shot, and have a guarded platform from whence -to fire at his enemies. Whether or not the danger was near as he thought -it last year I am unable to say; but there was the fact that he had -found it necessary so to protect himself only a few months since within -twenty miles of Grahamstown! Such absence of the feeling of security -must of course be injurious if not destructive to all industrial -operations. - -I may add with regard to ostrich farming that I have heard that 50 per -cent. per annum on the capital invested has been not uncommonly made. -But I have heard also that all the capital invested has not been -unfrequently lost. It must be regarded as a precarious business and one -which requires special adaptation in the person who conducts it. And to -this must be added the fact that it depends entirely on a freak of -fashion. Wheat and wool, cotton and coffee, leather and planks men will -certainly continue to want, and of these things the value will -undoubtedly be maintained by competition for their possession. But -ostrich feathers may become a drug. When the nurse-maid affects them the -Duchess will cease to do so. - -Grahamstown is served by two ports. There is the port of Port Elizabeth -in Algoa Bay which I have already described as a thriving town and one -from which a railway is being made across the country, with a branch to -Grahamstown. All the mail steamers from England to Capetown come on to -Algoa Bay, and there is also a direct steamer from Plymouth once a -month. The bulk of the commerce for the whole adjacent district comes no -doubt to Port Elizabeth. But the people of Grahamstown affect Port -Alfred, which is at the mouth of the Kowie river and only 35 miles -distant from the Eastern Capital. I was therefore taken down to see Port -Alfred. - -I went down on one side of the river by a four-horsed cart as far as the -confluence of the Mansfield, and thence was shewn the beauties of the -Kowie river by boat. Our party dined and slept at Port Alfred, and on -the following day we came back to Grahamstown by cart on the other side -of the river. I was perhaps more taken with the country which I saw than -with the harbour, and was no longer at a loss to know where was the land -on which the English settlers of 1820 were intended to locate -themselves. We passed through a ruined village called Bathurst,--a -village ruined while it was yet young, than which nothing can be more -painful to behold. Houses had been built again, but almost every house -had at one time,--that is in the Kafir war of 1850,--been either burnt -or left to desolation. And yet nothing can be more attractive than the -land about Bathurst, either in regard to picturesque situation or -fertility. The same may be said of the other bank of this river. It is -impossible to imagine a fairer district to a farmer’s eye. It will grow -wheat, but it will also grow on the slopes of the hills, cotton and -coffee. It is all possessed, and generally all cultivated;--but it can -hardly be said to be inhabited by white men, so few are they and so -far-between. A very large proportion of the land is let out to Kafirs -who pay a certain sum for certain rights and privileges. He is to build -his hut and have enough land to cultivate for his own purposes, and -grass enough for his cattle;--and for these he contracts to pay perhaps -£10 per annum, or more, or less, according to circumstances. I was -assured that the rent is punctually paid. But this mode of disposing of -the land, excellent for all purposes as it is, has not arisen of choice -but of necessity. The white farmer knows that as yet he can have no -security if he himself farms on a large scale. Next year there may be -another scare, and then a general attack from the Kafirs; or the very -scare if there be no attack, frightens away his profits;--or, as has -happened before, the attack may come without the scare. The country is a -European country,--belongs that is to white men,--but it is full of -Kafirs;--and then, but a hundred miles away to the East, is Kafraria -Proper where the British law does not rule even yet. - -No one wants to banish the Kafirs. Situated as the country is and will -be, it cannot exist without Kafirs, because the Kafirs are the only -possible labourers. To utilize the Kafir and not to expel him must be -the object of the white man. Speaking broadly it may be said of the -Colony, or at any rate of the Eastern district, that it has no white -labourers for agricultural purposes. The Kafir is as necessary to the -Grahamstown farmer as is his brother negro to the Jamaica sugar grower. -But, for the sake both of the Kafir and of the white man, some further -assurance of security is needed. I am inclined to think that more evil -is done both to one and the other by ill defined fear than by actual -danger. - -Along the coast of the Colony there are various sea ports, none of which -are very excellent as to their natural advantages, but each of which -seems to have a claim to consider itself the best. There is Capetown of -course with its completed docks, and Simon’s Bay on the other side of -the Cape promontory which is kept exclusively for our men of war. Then -the first port, eastwards, at which the steamers call is Mossel Bay. -These are the chief harbours of the Western Province. On the coast of -the Eastern Province there are three ports between which a considerable -jealousy is maintained, Port Elizabeth, Port Alfred, and East London. -And as there is rivalry between the West and East Provinces, so is there -between these three harbours. Port Elizabeth I had seen before I came up -to Grahamstown. From Grahamstown I travelled to Port Alfred, taken -thither by two patriotic hospitable and well-instructed gentlemen who -thoroughly believed that the commerce of the world was to flow into -Grahamstown via Port Alfred, and that the overflowing produce of South -Africa will, at some not far distant happy time, be dispensed to the -various nations from the same favoured harbour. “Statio bene fida -carinis,” was what I heard all the way down,--or rather promises of -coming security and marine fruitfulness which are to be results of the -works now going on. It was all explained to me,--how ships which now -could not get over the bar would ride up the quiet little river in -perfect safety, and take in and discharge their cargoes on comfortable -wharves at a very minimum of expense. And then, when this should have -been completed, the railway from the Kowie’s mouth up to Grahamstown -would be a certainty, even though existing governments had been so -shortsighted as to make a railway from Port Elizabeth to -Grahamstown--carrying goods and passengers ever so far out of their -proper course. - -It is a matter on which I am altogether unable to speak with any -confidence. Neither at Port Elizabeth, or at the mouth of the Kowie -where stands Port Alfred, or further eastwards at East London of which I -must speak in a coming chapter, has Nature done much for mariners, and -the energy shown to overcome obstacles at all these places has certainly -been very great. The devotion of individuals to their own districts and -to the chances of prosperity not for themselves so much as for their -neighbours, is almost sad though it is both patriotic and generous. The -rivalry between places which should act together as one whole is -distressing;--but the industry of which I speak will surely have the -results which industry always obtains. I decline to prophesy whether -there will be within the next dozen years a railway from Port Alfred to -Grahamstown,--or whether the goods to be consumed at the Diamond Fields -and in the Orange Free State will ever find their way to their -destinations by the mouth of the Kowie;--but I think I can foresee that -the enterprise of the people concerned will lead to success. - - - - -CHAPTER XI. - -BRITISH KAFRARIA. - - -It is not improbable that many Englishmen who have not been altogether -inattentive to the course of public affairs as affecting Great Britain -may be unaware that we once possessed in South Africa a separate colony -called British Kafraria, with a governor of its own, and a form of -government altogether distinct from that of its big brother the Cape -Colony. Such however is the fact, though the territory did not, perhaps, -attract much notice at the time of its annexation. Some years after the -last Kafir war which may have the year 1850 given to it as its date, and -after that wonderful Kafir famine which took place in 1857,--the famine -which the natives created for themselves by destroying their own cattle -and their own food,--British Kafraria was made a separate colony and was -placed under the rule of Colonel Maclean. The sanction from England for -the arrangement had been long given, but it was not carried out till -1860. It was not intended that the country should be taken away from the -Kafirs;--but only the rule over the country, and the privilege of living -in accordance with their own customs. Nor was this privilege abrogated -all at once, or abruptly. Gradually and piecemeal they were to be -introduced to what we call civilization. Gradually and piecemeal the -work is still going on,--and so progressing that there can hardly be a -doubt that as far as their material condition is concerned we have done -well with the Kafirs. The Kafir Chiefs may feel,--certainly do -feel,--that they have been aggrieved. They have been as it were knocked -about, deprived of their power, humiliated and degraded, and, as far as -British Kafraria is concerned, made almost ridiculous in the eyes of -their own people. But the people themselves have been relieved from the -force of a grinding tyranny. They increase and multiply because they are -no longer driven to fight and be slaughtered in the wars which the -Chiefs were continually waging for supremacy among each other. What -property they acquire they can hold without fear of losing it by -arbitrary force. They are no longer subject to the terrible -superstitions which their Chiefs have used for keeping them in -subjection. Their huts are better, and their food more constantly -sufficient. Many of them work for wages. They are partially -clothed,--sometimes with such grotesque partiality as quite to justify -the comical stories which we have heard at home as to Kafir full dress. -But the habit of wearing clothes is increasing among them. In the towns -they are about as well clad as the ordinary Irish beggar,--and as the -traveller recedes from the towns he perceives that this raiment -gradually gives way to blankets and red clay. But to have got so far as -the Irish beggar condition in twenty years is very much, and the custom -is certainly spreading itself. The Kafir who has assiduously worn -breeches for a year does feel, not a moral but a social shame, at going -without them. As I have no doubt whatever that the condition of these -people has been improved by our coming, and that British rule has been -on the whole beneficent to them, I cannot but approve of the annexation -of British Kafraria. But I doubt whether when it was done the -justification was as complete as in those former days, twenty years -before, when Lord Glenelg reprimanded Sir Benjamin D’Urban for the -extension he made in the same territory, and drew back the borders of -British sovereignty, and restored their lands and their prestige and -their customs to the natives, and declared himself willing to be -responsible for all results that might follow,--results which at last -cost so much British blood and so much British money! - -The difficult question meets one at every corner in South Africa. What -is the duty of the white man in reference to the original inhabitant? -The Kafir Chief will say that it is the white man’s duty to stay away -and not to touch what does not belong to him. The Dutch Colonist will -say that it is the white man’s duty to make the best he can of the good -things God has provided for his use,--and that as the Kafir in his -natural state is a bad thing he should either be got rid of, or made a -slave. In either assertion there is an intelligible purpose capable of a -logical argument. But the Briton has to go between the two, wavering -much between the extremes of philanthropy and expansive energy. He knows -that he has to get possession of the land and use it, and is determined -that he will do so;--but he knows also that it is wrong to take what -does not belong to him and wrong also to treat another human being with -harshness. And therefore with one hand he waves his humanitarian -principles over Exeter Hall while with the other he annexes Province -after Province. As I am myself a Briton I am not a fair critic of the -proceeding;--but it does seem to me that he is upon the whole -beneficent, though occasionally very unjust. - -After the wars, when this Kafraria had become British, a body of German -emigrants were induced to come here who have thriven wonderfully upon -the land,--as Germans generally do. The German colonist is a humble hard -working parsimonious man, who is content as long as he can eat and drink -in security and put by a modicum of money. He cares but little for the -form of government to which he is subjected, but is very anxious as to a -market for his produce. He is unwilling to pay any wages, but is always -ready to work himself and to make his children work. He lives at first -in some small hovel which he constructs for himself, and will content -himself with maize instead of meat till he has put by money enough for -the building of a neat cottage. And so he progresses till he becomes -known in the neighbourhood as a man who has money at the bank. Nothing -probably has done more to make Kafraria prosperous than this emigration -of Germans. - -But British Kafraria did not exist long as a separate possession of the -Crown, having been annexed to the Cape Colony in 1864. From that time it -has formed part of the Eastern Province. It has three thriving English -towns, King-Williamstown, the capital, East London the port, and -Queenstown, further up the country than King-Williamstown;--towns which -are peculiarly English though the country around is either cultivated by -German farmers or held by Kafir tenants. The district is still called -British Kafraria. I myself have some very dim remembrance of British -Kafraria as a Colony, but like other places in the British empire it has -been absorbed by degrees without much notice at home. - -Starting from Grahamstown on a hired Cape cart I entered British -Kafraria somewhere between that town and Fort Beaufort. A “Cape cart” is -essentially a South African vehicle, and is admirably adapted for the -somewhat rough roads of the country. Its great merit is that it travels -on only two wheels;--but then so does our English gig. But the English -gig carries only two passengers while the Cape cart has room for -four,--or even six. The Irish car no doubt has both these -merits,--carries four and runs on two wheels; but the wheels are -necessarily so low that they are ill adapted for passing serious -obstructions. And the Cape cart can be used with two horses, or four as -the need may be. A one-horse vehicle is a thing hardly spoken of in -South Africa, and would meet with more scorn than it does even in the -States. But the chief peculiarity of the Cape cart is the yoke of the -horses, which is somewhat similar in its nature to that of the curricle -which used to be very dangerous and very fashionable in the days of -George IV. With us a pair of horses is now always connected with four -wheels, and with the idea of security which four wheels give. Though the -horse may tumble down the vehicle stands. It was not so with the -curricle. When a horse fell, he would generally bring down his comrade -horse with him, and then the vehicle would go,--to the almost certain -destruction of the pole and the imminent danger of the passengers. But -with the Cape cart the bar, instead of passing over the horse’s -back--the bar on which the vehicle must rest when for a moment it loses -its balance on the two wheels with a propulsion forwards--passes under -the horses’ necks, with straps appended to the collars. I have never -seen a horse fall with one of them;--but I can understand that when such -an accident happens the falling horse should not bring the other animal -down with him. The advantage of having two high wheels,--and only -two,--need not be explained to any traveller. - -On the way to Fort Beaufort I passed by Fort Brown,--a desolate barrack -which was heretofore employed for the protection of the frontier when -Grahamstown was the frontier city. I arrived there by a fine pass, -excellently well engineered, through the mountains, called the Queen’s -Road,--very picturesque from the shape of the hills, though desolate -from the absence of trees. But at Fort Brown the beauty was gone and -nothing but the desolation remained. The Fort stands just off the road, -on a plain, and would hold perhaps 40 or 50 men. I walked up to it and -found one lonely woman who told me that she was the wife of a policeman -stationed at some distant place. It had become the fate of her life to -live here in solitude, and a more lonely creature I never saw. She was -clean and pleasant and talked well;--but she declared that unless she -was soon liberated from Fort Brown she must go mad. She was eloquent in -favour of hard work, declaring that there was nothing else which could -give a real charm to life;--but perhaps she had been roused to that -feeling by knowing that there was not a job to be done upon the earth to -which in her present circumstances she could turn her hand. Optat arare -caballus. She told me of a son who was employed in one of the distant -provinces, and bade me find him if I could and tell him of his mother. -“Tell him to think of me here all alone,” she said. I tried to execute -my commission but failed to find the man. - -I had intended sleeping at Fort Beaufort and on going from thence up the -Catsberg Mountain. But I was prevented by the coming of a gentleman, a -Wesleyan minister, who was very anxious that I should see the Kafir -school at Healdtown over which he presided. From first to last through -my tour I was subject to the privileges and inconveniences of being -known as a man who was going to write a book. I never said as much to -any one in South Africa,--or even admitted it when interrogated. I could -not deny that I possibly might do so, but I always protested that my -examiner had no right to assume the fact. All this, however, was quite -vain as coming from one who had written so much about other Colonies, -and was known to be so inveterate a scribbler as myself. Then the -argument, though never expressed in plain words, would take, in -suggested ideas, the following form. “Here you are in South Africa, and -you are going to write about us. If so I,--or we, or my or our -Institution, have an absolute claim to a certain portion of your -attention. You have no right to pass our town by, and then to talk of -the next town merely because such an arrangement will suit your -individual comfort!” Then I would allege the shortness of my time. “Time -indeed! Then take more time. Here am I,--or here are we, doing our very -best; and we don’t intend to be passed by because you don’t allow -yourself enough of time for your work.” When all this was said on behalf -of some very big store, or perhaps in favour of a pretty view, or--as -has been the case,--in pride at the possession of a little cabbage -garden, I have been apt to wax wroth and to swear that I was my own -master;--but a Kafir missionary school, to which some earnest Christian -man, with probably an earnest Christian wife, devotes a life in the hope -of making fresh water flow through the dry wilderness, has claims, -however painful they may be at the moment. This gentleman had come into -Fort Beaufort on purpose to catch me. And as he was very eloquent, and -as I did feel a certain duty, I allowed myself to be led away by him. I -fear that I went ungraciously, and I know that I went unwillingly. It -was just four o’clock and, having had no luncheon, I wanted my dinner. I -had already established myself in a very neat little sitting-room in the -Inn, and had taken off my boots. I was tired and dusty, and was about to -wash myself. I had been on the road all day, and the bedroom offered to -me looked sweet and clean;--and there was a pretty young lady at the Inn -who had given me a cup of tea to support me till dinner should be ready. -I was anxious also about the Catsberg Mountain, which under the -minister’s guidance I should lose, at any rate for the present. I spoke -to the minister of my dinner;--but he assured me that an hour would take -me out to his place at Healdtown. He clearly thought,--and clearly -said,--that it was my duty to go, and I acceded. He promised to convey -me to the establishment in an hour,--but it was two hours and a half -before we were there. He allured me by speaking of the beauty of the -road,--but it was pitch dark all the way. It was eight o’clock before my -wants were supplied, and by that time I hated Kafir children thoroughly. - -Of Healdtown and Lovedale,--a much larger Kafir school,--I will speak in -the next chapter, which shall be exclusively educational. Near to -Lovedale is the little town of Alice in which I stayed two days with the -hospitable doctor. He took me out for a day’s hunting as it is called, -which in that benighted country means shooting. I must own here to have -made a little blunder. When I was asked some days previously whether I -would like to have a day’s hunting got up for me in the neighbourhood of -Alice, I answered with alacrity in the affirmative. Hunting, which is -the easiest of all sports, has ever been an allurement to me. To hunt, -as we hunt at home, it is only necessary that a man should stick on to -the back of a horse,--or, failing that, that he should fall off. When -hunting was offered to me I thought that I could at any rate go out and -see. But on my arrival at Alice I found that hunting meant--shooting, an -exercise of skill in which I had never even tried to prevail. “I haven’t -fired off a gun,” I said, “for forty years.” But I had agreed to go out -hunting, and word had passed about the country, and a hundred naked -Kafirs were to be congregated to drive the game. I tried hard to escape. -“Might I not be allowed to go and see the naked Kafirs, without a -gun,--especially as it was so probable that I might shoot one of them if -I were armed?” But this would not do. I was told that the Kafirs would -despise me. So I took the gun and carried it ever so many miles, on -horseback, to my very great annoyance. - -At a certain spot on a hill side,--where the hill downwards was covered -with bush and shrubs, we met the naked Kafirs. There were a hundred of -them, I was told, more or less, and they were as naked as my heart could -desire,--but each carrying some fragment of a blanket wound round on his -arm, and many of them were decorated with bracelets and earrings. There -were some preliminary ceremonies, such as the lying down of a young -Kafir and the pretence of all the men around him,--and of all the dogs, -of which there was a large muster,--that the prostrate figure was a dead -buck over whom it was necessary to lick their lips and shake their -weapons;--and after this the Kafirs went down into the bush. Then I was -led away by my white friend, carrying my gun and leading my horse, and -after a while was told that the very spot had been found. If I would -remain there with my gun cocked and ready, a buck would surely come by -almost at once so that I might shoot him. I did as I was bid, and sat -alert for thirty minutes holding my gun as though something to be shot -would surely come every second. But nothing came and I gradually went to -sleep. - -Then of a sudden I heard the Kafirs approaching. They had beaten the -woods for a mile along the valley; and then a gun was fired and then -another, and gradually my white friends reappeared among the Kafirs. One -had shot a bird, and another a hare; and the most triumphant of the -number had slaughtered a very fat monkey of a peculiarly blue colour -about his hinder quarters. This was the great battue of the day. There -were two or three other resting places at which I was instructed to -stand and wait; and then we would be separated again, and again after a -while would come the noise of the Kafirs. But no one shot anything -further, and during the whole day nothing appeared before my eyes at -which I was even able to aim my gun. But the native Kafirs with their -red paint and their blankets wound round their arms, passing here and -there through the bush and beating for game, were real enough and very -interesting. I was told that to them it was a day of absolute delight, -and that they were quite satisfied with having been allowed to be there. - -I have spoken before of the Kafir scare of 1876 during which it was -certainly the general opinion at Grahamstown that there was about to be -a general rising among the natives, and that it would behove all -Europeans in the Eastern Province to look well to their wives and -children and homesteads. I have described the manner in which my friend -at the ostrich farm fortified his place with turrets, and I had heard of -some settlers further east who had left their homes in the conviction -that they were no longer safe. Gentlemen at Grahamstown had assured me -that the danger had been as though men were going about a powder -magazine with lighted candles. Here, where was our hunting party, we -were in the centre of the Kafirs. A farmer who was with us owned the -land down to the Chumie river which was at our feet, and on the other -side there was a wide district which had been left by Government to the -Kafirs when we annexed the land,--a district in which the Kafirs live -after their old fashion. This man had his wife and children within a -mile or two of hordes of untamed savages. When I asked him about the -scare of last year, he laughed at it. Some among his neighbours had -fled;--and had sold their cattle for what they would fetch. But he, when -he saw that Kafirs were buying the cattle thus sold, was very sure that -they would not buy that which they could take without price if war -should come. But the Kafirs around him, he said, had no idea of war; -and, when they heard of all that the Europeans were doing, they had -thought that some attack was to be made on them.[13] The Kafirs as a -body no doubt hate their invaders; but they would be well content to be -allowed to hold what they still possess without further struggles with -the white man, if they were sure of being undisturbed in their holdings. -But they will be disturbed. Gradually, for this and the other reason, -from causes which the white man of the day will be sure to be able to -justify at any rate to himself, more and more will be annexed, till -there will not be a hill side which the Kafir can call his own -dominion. As a tenant he will be admitted, and as a farmer, if he will -farm the land, he will be welcomed. But the Kafir hill sides with the -Kafir Kraals,--or homesteads,--and the Kafir flocks will all gradually -be annexed and made subject to British taxation. - -From Alice I went on to King Williamstown,--at first through a cold but -grandly mountainous country, but coming, when half way, to a spot -smiling with agriculture, called Debe Nek, where too there were forest -trees and green slopes. At Debe Nek I met a young farmer who was full of -the hardships to which he was subjected by the unjust courses taken by -the Government. I could not understand his grievance, but he seemed to -me to have a very pleasant spot of ground on which to sow his seed and -reap his corn. His mother kept an hotel, and was racy with a fine Irish -brogue which many years in the Colony had failed in the least to -tarnish. She had come from Armagh and was delighted to talk of the -beauty and bounty and great glory of the old primate, Beresford. She -sighed for her native land and shook her head incredulously when I -reminded her of the insufficiency of potatoes for the needs of man or -woman. I never met an Irishman out of his own country, who, from some -perversity of memory, did not think that he had always been accustomed -to eat meat three times a day, and wear broad cloth when he was at home. - -King Williamstown was the capital of British Kafraria, and is now the -seat of a British Regiment. I am afraid that at this moment it is the -Head Quarters of much more than one. This perhaps will be the best -place in which to say a few words on the question of keeping British -troops in the Cape Colony. It is held to be good colonial doctrine that -a Colony which governs itself, which levies and uses its own taxes, and -which does in pretty nearly all things as seems good to itself in its -own sight, should pay its own bills;--and among other bills any bill -that may be necessary for its own defence. Australia has no British -soldiers,--not an English redcoat; nor has Canada, though Canada be for -so many miles flanked by a country desirous of annexing it. My readers -will remember too that even while the Maoris were still in arms the last -regiment was withdrawn from New Zealand,--so greatly to the disgust of -New Zealand politicians that the New Zealand Minister of the day flew -out almost in mutiny against our Secretary of State at the time. But the -principle was maintained, and the measure was carried, and the last -regiment was withdrawn. But at that time ministerial responsibility and -parliamentary government had not as yet been established in the Cape -Colony, and there were excuses for British soldiers at the Cape which no -longer existed in New Zealand. - -Now parliamentary government and ministerial responsibility are as -strong at Capetown as at Wellington, but the British troops still remain -in the Cape Colony. There will be, I think, when this book is published -more than three regiments in the Colony or employed in its defence. The -parliamentary system began only in 1872, and it may be alleged that the -withdrawal of troops should be gradual. It may be alleged also that the -present moment is peculiar, and that the troops are all this time -specially needed. It should, however, be remembered that when the troops -were finally withdrawn from New Zealand, disturbance among the Maoris -was still rampant there. I suppose there can hardly be a doubt that it -is a subject on which a so called Conservative Secretary of State may -differ slightly from a so called Liberal Minister. Had Lord Kimberley -remained in office there might possibly be fewer soldiers in the Cape -Colony. But the principle remains, and has I think so established itself -that probably no Colonial Secretary of whatever party would now deny its -intrinsic justice. - -Then comes the question whether the Cape Colony should be made an -exception, and if so why. I am inclined to think that no visitor -travelling in the country with his eyes open, and with capacity for -seeing the things around him, would venture to say that the soldiers -should be withdrawn now, at this time. Looking back at the nature of the -Kafir wars, looking round at the state of the Kafir people, knowing as -he would know that they are armed not only with assegais but with guns, -and remembering the possibilities of Kafir warfare, he would hesitate to -leave a quarter of a million of white people to defend themselves -against a million and a half of warlike hostile Natives. The very -withdrawal of the troops might itself too probably cause a prolonged -cessation of that peace to which the Kafir Chiefs have till lately felt -themselves constrained by the presence of the red coats, and for the -speedy re-establishment of which the continued presence of the red coats -is thought to be necessary. The capable and clearsighted stranger of -whom I am speaking would probably decline to take such responsibility -upon himself, even though he were as strong in the theory of colonial -self-defence as was Lord Granville when he took the soldiers away from -New Zealand. - -But it does not follow that on that account he should think that the -Cape Colony should be an exception to a rule which as to other Colonies -has been found to be sound. It may be wise to keep the soldiers in the -Colony, but have been unwise to saddle the Colony with full -parliamentary institutions before it was able to bear their weight. “If -the soldiers be necessary, then the place was not ripe for parliamentary -institutions.” That may be a very possible opinion as to the affairs of -South Africa generally. - -I am again driven to assert the difference between South Africa, and -Canada, or Australia, or New Zealand. South Africa is a land peopled -with coloured inhabitants. Those other places are lands peopled with -white men. I will not again vex my reader with numbers,--not now at -least. He will perhaps remember the numbers, and bethink himself of what -has to be done before all those negroes can be assimilated and digested -and made into efficient parliamentary voters, who shall have -civilization, and the good of their country, and “God save the Queen” -generally, at their hearts’ core. A mistake has perhaps been made;--but -I do not think that because of that mistake the troops should be -withdrawn from the Colony. - -I cannot, however, understand why they should be kept at Capetown, to -the safety of which they are no more necessary than they would be to -that of Sydney or Melbourne. It is alleged that they can be moved more -easily from Capetown, than they might be from any inland depot. But we -know that if wanted at all they will be wanted on the frontier,--say -within 50 miles of the Kei river which is the present boundary of the -Colony. If the Kafirs east of the Kei can be kept quiet, there will be -no rising of those to the west of the river. It was the knowledge that -there were troops at King Williamstown, not that there were troops at -Capetown, which operated so long on the minds of Kreli and other -Transkeian Kafirs. And now that disturbance has come all the troops are -sent to the frontier. If this be so, it would seem that British Kafraria -is the place in which they should be located. But Capetown has been Head -Quarters since the Colony was a Colony, and Head Quarters are never -moved very easily. It is right that I should add that the Colony pays -£10,000 a year to the mother country in aid of the cost of the troops. I -need hardly say that that sum does not go far towards covering the total -expense of two or more regiments on foreign service. - -Another difficulty is apt to arise,--which I fear will now be found to -be a difficulty in South Africa. If imperial troops be used in a Colony -which enjoys parliamentary government, who is to be responsible for -their employment? The Parliamentary Minister will expect that they shall -be used as he may direct;--but so will not the authorities at home! In -this way there can hardly fail to be difference of opinion between the -Governor of the Colony and his responsible advisers. - -King Williamstown is a thoroughly commercial little city with a -pleasant club, with a railway to East London, and with smiling German -cultivation all around it. But it has no trees. There is indeed a public -garden in which the military band plays with great éclat, and in which -horses can be ridden, and carriages with ladies be driven about,--so as -to look almost like Hyde Park in June. I stayed three or four days at -the place and was made very comfortable; but what struck me most was the -excellence of the Kafir servant who waited upon me. A gentleman had -kindly let me have the use of his house, and with his house the services -of this treasure. The man was so gentle, so punctual, and so mindful of -all things that I could not but think what an acquisition he would be to -any fretful old gentleman in London. - -When I was at King Williamstown I was invited to hold a conference with -two or three Kafir Chiefs, especially with Sandilli, whose son I had -seen at school, and who was the heir to Gaika, one of the great kings of -the Kafirs, being the son of Gaika’s “great wife,” and brother to Makomo -the Kafir who in the last war had done more than Kafir had ever done -before to break the British power in South Africa. It was Makomo who had -been Sir Harry Smith’s too powerful enemy,--and Sandilli, who is still -living in the neighbourhood of King Williamstown, was Makomo’s younger -but more royal brother. I expressed, of course, great satisfaction at -the promised interview, but was warned that Sandilli might not -improbably be too drunk to come. - -On the morning appointed about twenty Kafirs came to me, clustering -round the door of the house in which I was lodging,--but they declined -to enter. I therefore held my levee out in the street. Sandilli was not -there. The reason for his absence remained undivulged, but I was told -that he had sent a troop of cousins in his place. The spokesman on the -occasion was a chief named Siwani, who wore an old black coat, a flannel -shirt, a pair of tweed trousers and a billycock hat,--comfortably and -warmly dressed,--with a watch-key of ordinary appearance ingeniously -inserted into his ear as an ornament. An interpreter was provided; and, -out in the street, I carried on my colloquy with the dusky princes. Not -one of them spoke but Siwani, and he expressed utter dissatisfaction -with everything around him. The Kafirs, he said, would be much better -off if the English would go away and leave them to their own customs. As -for himself, though he had sent a great many of his clansmen to work on -the railway,--where they got as he admitted good wages,--he had never -himself received the allowance per head promised him. “Why not appeal to -the magistrate?” I asked. He had done so frequently, he said, but the -Magistrate always put him off, and then, personally, he was treated with -very insufficient respect. This complaint was repeated again and again. -I, of course, insisted on the comforts which the Europeans had brought -to the Kafirs,--trousers for instance,--and I remarked that all the -royal princes around me were excellently well clad. The raiment was no -doubt of the Irish beggar kind but still admitted of being described as -excellent when compared in the mind with red clay and a blanket. -“Yes,--by compulsion,” he said. “We were told that we must come in and -see you, and therefore we put on our trousers. Very uncomfortable they -are, and we wish that you and the trousers and the magistrates, but -above all the prisons, would go--away out of the country together.” He -was very angry about the prisons, alleging that if the Kafirs did wrong -the Kafir Chiefs would know how to punish them. None of his own children -had ever gone to school,--nor did he approve of schools. In fact he was -an unmitigated old savage, on whom my words of wisdom had no effect -whatever, and who seemed to enjoy the opportunity of unburdening his -resentment before a British traveller. It is probable that some one had -given him to understand that I might possibly write a book when I -returned home. - -When, after some half hour of conversation, he declared that he did not -want to answer any more questions, I was not sorry to shake hands with -the prominent half dozen, so as to bring the meeting to a close. But -suddenly there came a grin across Siwani’s face,--the first look of good -humour which I had seen,--and the interpreter informed me that the Chief -wanted a little tobacco. I went back into my friend’s house and emptied -his tobacco pot, but this, though accepted, did not seem to give -satisfaction. I whispered to the interpreter a question, and on being -told that Siwani would not be too proud to buy his own tobacco, I gave -the old beggar half a crown. Then he blessed me, as an Irish beggar -might have done, grinned again and went off with his followers. The -Kafir boy or girl at school and the Kafir man at work are pleasing -objects; but the old Kafir chief in quest of tobacco,--or brandy,--is -not delightful. - -King Williamstown is the head quarters of the Cape mounted frontier -police, of which Mr. Bowker, whose opinion respecting Kafirdom I have -already quoted, was at the period of my visit the Commandant. This is a -force, consisting now of about 1,200 men, maintained by the Colony -itself for its own defence, and was no doubt established by the Colony -with a view of putting its own foot forward in its own behalf and doing -something towards the achievement of that colonial independence of which -I have spoken. It has probably been thought that the frontier police -might at last stand in lieu of British soldiers. The effort has been -well made, and the service is of great use. The brunt of the fighting in -the late disturbance has been borne by the mounted police. The men are -stationed about the country in small parties,--never I think more than -thirty or forty together, and often in smaller numbers. They are very -much more efficacious than soldiers, as every man is mounted,--and the -men themselves come from a much higher class than that from which our -soldiers are enlisted. But the troop is expensive, each private costing -on an average about 7s. a day. The men are paid 5s. 6d. a day as soon as -they are mounted,--out of which they have to buy and keep their horses -and furnish everything for themselves. “When they join the force their -horses and equipments are supplied to them, but the price is stopped out -of their pay. They are recruited generally, though by no means -universally, in England, under the care of an emigration agent who is -maintained at home. I came out myself with six or seven of them,--three -of whom I knew to be sons of gentlemen, and all of whom may have been -so. So terrible is the struggle at home to find employment for young men -that the idea of £100 a year at once has charms, even though the -receiver of it will have to keep not only himself, but a horse also, out -of the money. But the prospect, if fairly seen, is not alluring. The -young men when in the Colony are policemen and nothing more than -policemen. Many of them after a short compulsory service find a better -employment elsewhere, and their places are filled up by new comers. - -From King Williamstown I went to East London by railway and there waited -till the ship came which was to take me on to Natal. East London is -another of those ports which stubborn Nature seems to have made unfit -for shipping, but which energy and enterprise are determined to convert -to good purposes. As Grahamstown believes in Port Alfred, so does King -Williamstown believe in East London, feeling sure that the day will come -when no other harbour along the coast will venture to name itself in -comparison with her. And East London has as firm a belief in herself, -with a trustworthy reliance on a future day when the commerce of nations -will ride in safety within her at present ill-omened bar. I had heard -much of East London and had been warned that I might find it impossible -to get on board the steamer even when she was lying in the roads. At -Port Elizabeth it had been suggested to me that I might very probably -have to come back there because no boat at East London would venture to -take me out. The same thing was repeated to me along my route, and even -at King Williamstown. But not the less on that account, when I found -myself in British Kafraria of which East London is the port, was I -assured of all that East London would hereafter perform. No doubt there -was a perilous bar. The existence of the bar was freely admitted. No -doubt the sweep of the sea in upon the mouth of the Buffalo river was of -such a nature as to make all intercourse between ships and the shore -both difficult and disagreeable. No doubt the coast was so subject to -shipwreck as to have caused the insurance on ships to East London to be -abnormally high. All these evils were acknowledged, but all these evils -would assuredly be conquered by energy, skill, and money. It was thus -that East London was spoken of by the friends who took me there in order -that I might see the works which were being carried on with the view of -overcoming Nature. - -At the present moment East London is certainly a bad spot for shipping. -A vessel had broken from her anchor just before my arrival and was lying -on the shore a helpless wreck. There were the fragments to be seen of -other wrecks; and I heard of many which had made the place noted within -the last year or two. Such was the character of the place. I was told by -more than one voice that vessels were sent there on purpose to be -wrecked. Stories which I heard made me believe in Mr. Plimsoll more than -I had ever believed before. “She was intended to come on shore,” was -said by all voices that day in East London as to the vessel that was -still lying among the breakers, while men were at work upon her to get -out the cargo. “They know that ships will drag their anchor here; so, -when they want to get rid of an old tub, they send her to East London.” -It was a terrible tale to hear, and especially so from men who -themselves believe in the place with all the implicit confidence of -expended capital. On the second day after my arrival the vessel that was -to carry me on to Natal steamed into the roads. It had been a lovely -morning and was yet early,--about eleven o’clock. I hurried down with a -couple of friends to the man in authority who decides whether -communication shall or shall not be had between the shore and the ship, -and he, cocking a telescope to his eye, declared that even though the -Governor wanted to go on board he would not let a boat stir that day. In -my ill-humour I asked him why he would be more willing to risk the -Governor’s life than that of any less precious individual. I own I -thought he was a tyrant,--and perhaps a Sabbatarian, as it was on a -Sunday. But in half an hour the wind had justified him, even to my -uneducated intelligence. During the whole of that day there was no -intercourse possible between the ships and the shore. A boat from a -French vessel tried it, and three men out of four were drowned! Early on -the following day I was put on board the steamer in a life-boat. Again -it was a lovely morning,--and the wind had altogether fallen,--but the -boat shipped so much water that our luggage was wet through. - -But it is yet on the cards that the East Londoners may prevail. Under -the auspices of Sir John Coode a breakwater is being constructed with -the purpose of protecting the river’s mouth from the prevailing winds, -and the river is being banked and altered so that the increased force of -the water through a narrowed channel may scour away the sand. If these -two things can be done then ships will enter the Buffalo river and ride -there in delicious ease, and the fortune of the place will be made. I -went to see the works and was surprised to find operations of such -magnitude going on at a place which apparently was so insignificant. A -breakwater was being constructed out from the shore,--not an isolated -sea wall as is the breakwater at Plymouth and at Port Elizabeth,--but a -pier projecting itself in a curve from one of the points of the river’s -mouth so as to cover the other when completed. On this £120,000 had -already been spent, and a further sum of £80,000 is to be spent. It is -to be hoped that it will be well expended,--for which the name of Sir -John Coode is a strong guarantee. - -At present East London is not a nice place. It is without a pavement,--I -may almost say without a street, dotted about over the right river bank -here and there, dirty to look at and dishevelled, putting one in mind of -the American Eden as painted by Charles Dickens,--only that his Eden was -a river Eden while this is a marine Paradise. But all that no doubt will -be mended when the breakwater has been completed. I have already spoken -of the rivalry between South African ports, as between Port Alfred and -Port Elizabeth, and between South African towns, as between Capetown and -Grahamstown. The feeling is carried everywhere, throughout everything. -Opposite to the town of East London, on the left side of the Buffalo -river, and connected with it by ferries, is the township of Panmure. -The terminus of the railway is at Panmure and not at East London. And at -Panmure there has gathered itself together an unpromising assemblage of -stores and houses which declares of itself that it means to snuff East -London altogether out. East London and Panmure together are strong -against all the coast of South Africa to the right and left; but between -the two places themselves there is as keen a rivalry as between any two -towns on the continent. At East London I was assured that Panmure was -merely “upstart;”--but a Panmurite had his revenge by whispering to me -that East London was a nest of musquitoes. As to the musquitoes I can -speak from personal experience. - -And yet I ought to say a good word of East London for I was there but -three days and was invited to three picnics. I went to two of them, and -enjoyed myself thoroughly, seeing some beautiful scenery up the river, -and some charming spots along the coast. I was, however, very glad to -get on board the steamer, having always had before my eyes the terrible -prospect of a return journey to Port Elizabeth before I could embark for -Natal. - - - - -CHAPTER XII. - -KAFIR SCHOOLS. - - -The question of Kafir education is perhaps the most important that has -to be solved in South Africa,--and certainly it is the one as to which -there exists the most violent difference of opinion among those who have -lived in South Africa. A traveller in the land by associating -exclusively with one set of persons would be taught to think that here -was to be found a certain and quick panacea for all the ills and dangers -to which the country is subjected. Here lies the way by which within an -age or two the population of the country may be made to drop its -savagery and Kafirdom and blanket loving vagabondism and become a people -as fit to say their prayers and vote for members of parliament as at any -rate the ordinary English Christian constituent. “Let the Kafir be -caught young and subjected to religious education, and he will soon -become so good a man and so docile a citizen that it will be almost a -matter of regret that more of us were not born Kafirs.” That is the view -of the question which prevails with those who have devoted themselves to -Kafir education,--and of them it must be acknowledged that their efforts -are continuous and energetic. I found it impossible not to be moved to -enthusiasm by what I saw at Kafir schools. - -Another traveller falling into another and a different set will be told -by his South African associates that the Kafir is a very good fellow, -and may be a very good servant, till he has been taught to sing psalms -and to take pride in his rapidly acquired book learning;--but that then -he becomes sly, a liar and a thief, whom it is impossible to trust and -dangerous to have about the place. “He is a Kafir still,” a gentleman -said to me, “but a Kafir with the addition of European cunning without a -touch of European conscience.” As far as I could observe, the merchants -and shopkeepers who employ Kafirs about their stores, and persons who -have Kafirs about their houses, do eschew the school Kafir. The -individual Kafir when taken young and raw out of his blanket, put into -breeches and subjected to the general dominion of a white master, is -wonderfully honest, and, as far as he can speak at all, he speaks the -truth. There can I think be no question about his virtues. You may leave -your money about with perfect safety, though he knows well what money -will do for him; you may leave food,--and even drink in his way and they -will be safe. “Is there any housebreaking or shoplifting?” I asked a -tradesman in King Williamstown. He declared that there was nothing of -the kind known,--unless it might be occasionally in reference to a horse -and saddle. A Kafir would sometimes be unable to resist the temptation -of riding back into Kafirdom, the happy possessor of a steed. But let a -lad have passed three or four years at a Kafir school, and then he -would have become a being very much altered for the worse and not at all -fit to be trusted among loose property. The saints in Kafirland will say -that I have heard all this exclusively among the sinners. If so I can -only say that the men of business are all sinners. - -For myself I found it very hard to form an opinion between the two, I do -believe most firmly in education. I should cease to believe in any thing -if I did not believe that education if continued will at least civilize. -I can conceive no way of ultimately overcoming and dispelling what I -must call the savagery of the Kafirs, but by education. And when I see -the smiling, oily, good humoured, docile, naturally intelligent but -still wholly uneducated black man trying to make himself useful and -agreeable to his white employers, I still recognise the Savage. With all -his good humour and spasmodic efforts at industry he is no better than a -Savage. And the white man in many cases does not want him to be better. -He is no more anxious that his Kafir should reason than he is that his -horse should talk. It requires an effort of genuine philanthropy even to -desire that those beneath us should become more nearly equal to us. The -man who makes his money by employing Kafir labour is apt to regard the -commercial rather than the philanthropic side of the question. I refuse -therefore to adopt his view of the matter. A certain instinct of -independence, which in the eyes of the employer of labour always takes -the form of rebellion, is one of the first and finest effects of -education. The Kafir who can argue a question of wages with his master -has already become an objectionable animal. - -But again the education of the educated Kafir is very apt to “fall off.” -So much I have not only heard asserted generally by those who are -antikafir-educational in their sympathies, but admitted also by many of -those who have been themselves long exercised in Kafir education. And, -in regard to religious teaching, we all know that the singing of psalms -is easier than the keeping of the ten commandments. When we find much -psalm-singing and at the same time a very conspicuous breach of what has -to us been a very sacred commandment, we are apt to regard the -delinquent as a hypocrite. And the Kafir at school no doubt learns -something of that doctrine,--which in his savage state was wholly -unknown to him, but with which the white man is generally more or less -conversant,--that speech has been given to men to enable them to conceal -their thoughts. In learning to talk most of us learn to lie before we -learn to speak the truth. While dropping something of his ignorance the -Savage drops something also of his simplicity. I can understand -therefore why the employer of labour should prefer the unsophisticated -Kafir, and am by no means sure that if I were looking out for black -labour in order that I might make money out of it I should not eschew -the Kafir from the schools. - -The difficulty arises probably from our impatience. Nothing will satisfy -us unless we find a bath in which we may at once wash the blackamoor -white, or a mill and oven in which a Kafir may be ground and baked -instantly into a Christian. That much should be lost,--should “fall off” -as they say,--of the education imparted to them is natural. Among those -of ourselves who have spent, perhaps, nine or ten years of our lives -over Latin and Greek how much is lost! Perhaps I might say how little is -kept! But something remains to us,--and something to them. There is need -of very much patience. Those who expect that a Kafir boy, because he has -been at school, should come forth the same as a white lad, all whose -training since, and from long previous to his birth, has been a European -training, will of course be disappointed. But we may, I think, be sure -that no Kafir pupil can remain for years or even for months among -European lessons and European habits, without carrying away with him to -his own people, when he goes, something of a civilizing influence. - -My friend the Wesleyan Minister, who by his eloquence prevailed over me -at Fort Beaufort in spite of my weariness and hunger, took me to -Healdtown, the Institution over which he himself presides. I had already -seen Kafir children and Kafir lads under tuition at Capetown. I had -visited Miss Arthur’s orphanage and school, where I had found a most -interesting and cosmopolitan collection of all races, and had been taken -by the Bishop of Capetown to the Church of England Kafir school at -Zonnebloom, and had there been satisfied of the great capability which -the young Kafir has for learning his lessons. I had been assured that up -to a certain point and a certain age the Kafir quite holds his own with -the European. At Zonnebloom a master carpenter was one of the -instructors of the place, and, as I thought, by no means the least -useful. The Kafir lad may perhaps forget the names of the “five great -English poets with their dates and kings,” by recapitulating which he -has gained a prize at Lovedale,--or may be unable some years after he -has left the school to give an “Outline of Thomson’s Seasons,” but when -he has once learned how to make a table stand square upon four legs he -has gained a power of helping his brother Kafirs which will never -altogether desert him. - -At Healdtown I found something less than 50 resident Kafir boys and -young men, six of whom were in training as students for the Wesleyan -Ministry. Thirteen Kafir girls were being trained as teachers, and two -hundred day scholars attended from the native huts in the -neighbourhood,--one of whom took her place on the school benches with -her own little baby on her back. She did not seem to be in the least -inconvenienced by the appendage. I was not lucky in my hours at -Healdtown as I arrived late in the evening, and the tuition did not -begin till half-past nine in the morning, at which time I was obliged to -leave the place. But I had three opportunities of hearing the whole -Kafir establishment sing their hymns. The singing of hymns is a -thoroughly Kafir accomplishment and the Kafir words are soft and -melodious. Hymns are very good, and the singing of hymns, if it be well -done, is gratifying. But I remember feeling in the West Indies that they -who devoted their lives to the instruction of the young negroes thought -too much of this pleasant and easy religious exercise, and were hardly -enough alive to the expediency of connecting conduct with religion. The -black singers of Healdtown were, I was assured, a very moral and -orderly set of people; and if so the hymns will not do them any harm. - -For the erudition of such of my readers as have not hitherto made -themselves acquainted with the religious literature of Kafirland I here -give the words of a hymn which I think to be peculiarly mellifluous in -its sounds. I will not annex a translation, as I cannot myself venture -upon versifying it, and a prose version would sound bald and almost -irreverent. I will merely say that it is in praise of the Redeemer, -which name is signified by the oft-repeated word Umkululi. - - -ICULO 38. - -_Elamashumi matatu anesibozo._ - - Ungu-Tixo Umkululi, - Wenza into zonke; - Ungu-Tixo Umkululi, - Ungopezu konke. - - Waba ngumntu Umkululi, - Ngezizono zetu; - Waba ngumntu Umkululi, - Wafa ngenxa yetu. - - Unosizi Umkululi - Ngabasetyaleni; - Unosizi Umkululi - Ngabasekufeni. - - Unxamile Umkululi - Ukusiguqula; - Unxamile Umkululi - Ukusikulula. - - Unamandla Umkululi - Ukusisindisa; - Unamandla Umkululi - Ukusonwabisa. - - Unotando Umkululi, - Unofefe kuti; - Unotando Umkululi, - Masimfune futi. - -If the lover of sweet sounds will read the lines aloud, merely adding a -half pronounced U at the beginning of those words which are commenced -with an otherwise unpronounceable ng, so as to make a semi-elided -syllable, I think he will understand the nature of the sweetness of -sound which Kafirs produce in their singing. When he finds that nearly -all the lines and more than half the words begin with the same letter he -will of course be aware that their singing is monotonous. - -I was glad to find that the Kafir-scholars at Healdtown among them paid -£200 per annum towards the expense of the Institution. The Government -grants £700, and the other moiety of the total cost--which amounts to -£1,800,--is defrayed by the Wesleyan missionary establishment at home. -As the Kafir contribution is altogether voluntary, such payment shews an -anxiety on the part of the parents that their children should be -educated. As far as I remember nothing was done at Healdtown to teach -the children any trade. It is altogether a Wesleyan missionary -establishment, combining a general school in which religious education -is perhaps kept uppermost, with a training college for native teachers -and ministers. I cannot doubt but that its effect is salutary. It has -been built on a sweet healthy spot up among the hills, and nothing is -more certain than the sincerity and true philanthropy of those who are -engaged upon its work. - -My friend who had carried me off from Fort Beaufort kept his word like a -true man the next morning, in allowing me to start at the time named, -and himself drove me over a high mountain to Lovedale. How we ever got -up and down those hill sides with a pair of horses and a vehicle, I -cannot even yet imagine;--but it was done. There was a way round, but -the minister seemed to think that a straight line to any place or any -object must be the best way, and over the mountain we went. Some other -Wesleyan minister before his days, he said, had done it constantly and -had never thought anything about it. The horses did go up and did go -down; which was only additional evidence to me that things of this kind -are done in the Colonies which would not be attempted in England. - -On my going down the hill towards Lovedale, when we had got well out of -the Healdtown district, an argument arose between me and my companion as -to the general effect of education on Kafir life. He was of opinion that -the Kafirs in that locality were really educated, whereas I was quite -willing to elicit from him the sparks of his enthusiasm by suggesting -that all their learning faded is soon as they left school. “Drive up to -that hut,” I said, picking out the best looking in the village, “and let -us see whether there be pens, ink and paper in it.” It was hardly a fair -test, because such accommodation would not be found in the cottage of -many educated Englishmen. But again, on the other side, in my desire to -be fair I had selected something better than a normal hut. We got out of -our vehicle, undid the latch of the door,--which was something half way -between a Christian doorway and the ordinary low hole through which the -ordinary Kafir creeps in and out,--and found the habitation without its -owners. But an old woman in the kraal had seen us, and had hurried -across to exercise hospitality on behalf of her absent neighbours. Our -desire was explained to her and she at once found pens and ink. With the -pens and ink there was probably paper, on which she was unable to lay -her hand. I took up, however, an old ragged quarto edition of St. Paul’s -epistles,--with very long notes. The test as far as it was carried -certainly supported my friend’s view. - -Lovedale is a place which has had and is having very great success. It -has been established under Presbyterian auspices but is in truth -altogether undenominational in the tuition which it gives. I do not say -that religion is neglected, but religious teaching does not strike the -visitors as the one great object of the Institution. The schools are -conducted very much like English schools,--with this exception, that no -classes are held after the one o’clock dinner. The Kafir mind has by -that time received as much as it can digest. There are various masters -for the different classes, some classical, some mathematical, and some -devoted to English literature. When I was there there were eight -teachers, independent of Mr. Buchanan who was the acting Head or -President of the whole Institution. Dr. Stewart, who is the permanent -Head, was absent in central Africa. At Lovedale, both with the boys and -girls black and white are mixed when in school without any respect of -colour. At one o’clock I dined in hall with the establishment, and then -the coloured boys sat below the Europeans. This is justified on the plea -that the Europeans pay more than the Kafirs and are entitled to a more -generous fare,--which is true. The European boys would not come were -they called upon to eat the coarser food which suffices for the Kafirs. -But in truth neither would the Europeans frequent the schools if they -were required to eat at the same table with the natives. That feeling as -to eating and drinking is the same in British Kafraria as it was with -Shylock in Venice. The European domestic servant will always refuse to -eat with the Kafir servant. Sitting at the high table,--that is the -table with the bigger of the European boys, I had a very good dinner. - -At Lovedale there are altogether nearly 400 scholars, of whom about 70 -are European. Of this number about 300 live on the premises and are what -we call boarders. The others are European day scholars from the adjacent -town of Alice who have gradually joined the establishment because the -education is much better than anything else that can be had in the -neighbourhood. There are among the boarders thirty European boys. The -European girls were all day scholars from the neighbourhood. The -coloured boarders pay £6 per annum, for which everything is supplied to -them in the way of food and education. The lads are expected to supply -themselves with mattresses, pillows, sheets, and towels. I was taken -through the dormitories, and the beds are neat enough with their rug -coverings. I did not like to search further by displacing them. The -white boarders pay £40 per annum. The Kafir day scholars pay but 30s., -and the European day scholars 60s. per annum. In this way £2,650 is -collected. Added to this is an allowance of £2,000 per annum from the -Government. These two sources comprise the certain income of the school, -but the Institution owns and farms a large tract of land. It has 3,000 -acres, of which 400 are cultivated, and the remainder stocked with -sheep. Lovedale at present owns a flock numbering 2,000. The native lads -are called upon to work two hours each afternoon. They cut dams and make -roads, and take care of the garden. Added to the school are workshops in -which young Kafirs are apprenticed. The carpenters’ department is by far -the most popular, and certainly the most useful. Here they make much of -the furniture used upon the place, and repair the breakages. The -waggon makers come next to the carpenters in number; and then, -at a long interval, the blacksmiths. Two other trades are also -represented,--printing namely, and bookbinding. There were in all 27 -carpenters with four furniture makers, 16 waggon makers, 8 blacksmiths, -5 printers, and 2 book-binders;--all of whom seemed to be making -efficient way in their trades. - -This direction of practical work seems to be the best which such an -Institution can take. I asked what became of these apprentices and was -told that many among them established themselves in their own country as -master tradesmen in a small way, and could make a good living among -their Kafir neighbours. But I was told also that they could not often -find employment in the workshops of the country unless the employers -used nothing but Kafir labour. The white man will not work along with -the Kafir on equal terms. When he is placed with Kafirs he expects to be -“boss,” or master, and gradually learns to think that it is his duty to -look on and superintend, while it is the Kafir’s duty to work under his -dictation. The white bricklayer may continue to lay his bricks while -they are carried for him by a black hodsman, but he will not lay a brick -at one end of the wall while a Kafir is laying an equal brick at the -other. - -But in this matter of trades the skill when once acquired will of course -make itself available to the general comfort and improvement of the -Kafir world around. I was at first inclined to doubt the wisdom of the -printing and bookbinding, as being premature; but the numbers engaged in -these exceptional trades are not greater perhaps than Lovedale itself -can use. I do not imagine that a Kafir printing press will for many -years be set up by Kafir capital and conducted by Kafir enterprise. It -will come probably, but the Kafir tables and chairs and the Kafir -waggons should come first. At present there is a “Lovedale News,” -published about twice a month. “It is issued,” says the Lovedale printed -Report, “for circulation at Lovedale and chiefly about Lovedale matters. -The design of this publication was to create a taste for reading among -the native pupils.” It has been carried on through twelve numbers, says -the report, “with a fair prospect of success and rather more than a fair -share of difficulties.” The difficulties I can well imagine, which -generally amount to this in the establishment of a newspaper,--that the -ambitious attempt so often costs more than it produces. Mr. Theal is one -of the masters of Lovedale, and his History of South Africa was here -printed;--but not perhaps with so good a pecuniary result as if it had -been printed elsewhere. I was told by the European foreman in the -printing establishment that the Kafirs learned the art of composition -very readily, but that they could not be got to pull off the sheets -fairly and straightly. As to the bookbinding, I am in possession of one -specimen which is fair enough. The work is in two volumes and it was -given to me at Capetown;--but unfortunately the two volumes are of -different colours. - -In the younger classes among the scholars the Kafirs were very -efficient. None of them, I think, had reached the dignity of Greek or -Natural Philosophy, but some few had ascended to algebra and geometry. -When I asked what became of all this in after life there was a doubt. -Even at Lovedale it was acknowledged that after a time it “fell -off,”--or in other words that much that was taught was afterwards lost. -Out in the world, as I have said before, among the Europeans who regard -the Kafir simply as a Savage to whom pigeon-English has to be talked, it -is asserted broadly that all this education leads to no good -results,--that the Kafir who has sung hymns and learned to do sums is a -savage to whose natural and native savagery additional iniquities have -been added by the ingenuity of the white philanthropist. To this opinion -I will not accede. That such a place as Lovedale should do evil rather -than good is to my thinking impossible. - -To see a lot of Kafir lads and lasses at school is of course more -interesting than to inspect a seminary of white pupils. It is something -as though one should visit a lion tamer with a group of young lions -around him. The Kafir has been regarded at home as a bitter and almost -terrible enemy who, since we first became acquainted with him in South -Africa, has worked us infinite woe. I remember when a Kafir was regarded -as a dusky demon and there was a doubt whether he could ever be got -under and made subject to British rule;--whether in fact he would not in -the long run be too much for the Britons. The Kafir warrior with his -assegai and his red clay, and his courageous hatred, was a terrible -fellow to see. And he is still much more of a Savage than the ordinary -negro to whom we have become accustomed in other parts of the world. It -was very interesting to see him with a slate and pencil, wearing his -coarse clothing with a jaunty happy air, and doing a sum in subtraction. -I do not know whether an appearance of good humour and self-satisfaction -combined does not strike the European more than any other Kafir -characteristic. He never seems to assert that he is as good as a white -man,--as the usual negro will do whenever the opportunity is given to -him,--but that though he be inferior there is no reason why he should -not be as jolly as circumstances will admit. The Kafir girl is the same -when seen in the schools. Her aspect no doubt will be much altered for -the worse when she follows the steps of her Kafir husband as his wife -and slave. But at Lovedale she is comparatively smart, and gay-looking. -Many of these pupils while still at school reach the age at which young -people fall in love with each other. I was told that the young men and -young women were kept strictly apart; but nevertheless, marriages -between them on their leaving school are not uncommon,--nor unpopular -with the authorities. It is probable that a young man who has been some -years at Lovedale will treat his wife with something of Christian -forbearance. - -I find from the printed report of the seminary that the four following -young ladies got the prizes in 1877 at Lovedale for the different -virtues appended to their names. I insert the short list here not only -that due honour may be given to the ladies themselves, but also that my -readers may see something of Kafir female nomenclature. - - - GIRLS. - - GENERAL PRIZES. - - _Bible._ _Good Conduct._ - Victoria Kwankwa. Ntame Magazi. - - _Tidiness in Dress._ _For best kept room._ - Ntombenthle Njikelana. Sarah Ann Bobi. - - - - -Sarah Ann Bobi. - -Miss Kwankwa and Miss Bobi had I suppose Christian names given to them -early in life. The other two are in possession of thoroughly Kafir -appellations,--especially the young lady who has excelled in tidiness, -and who no doubt will have become a bride before these lines are read in -England. - -I was taken out from King Williamstown to Peeltown to see another -educational Kafir establishment. At Peeltown the Rev. Mr. Birt presides -over a large Kafir congregation, and has an excellent church capable of -holding 500, which has been built almost exclusively by Kafir -contributions. The boys’ school was empty, but I was taken to see the -girls who lived together under the charge of an English lady. I wished -that I might have been introduced to the presence of the girls at once, -so as to find how they occupied themselves when not in school. But this -was not to be. I was kept waiting for a few moments, and then was -ushered into a room where I found about twenty of them sitting in a row -hemming linen. They were silent, well behaved and very demure while I -saw them,--and then before I left they sang a hymn. - -If I had an Institution of my own to exhibit I feel sure that I should -want to put my best foot forward,--and the best foot among Kafir female -pupils is perhaps the singing of hymns and the hemming of linen. - - - - -CHAPTER III. - -CONDITION OF THE CAPE COLONY. - - -Later on in my journey, when I was returning to Capetown, I came back -through some of the towns I have mentioned in the last chapter or two, -and also through other places belonging to the Western Province. On that -occasion I took my place by coach from Bloemfontein, the capital of the -little Orange Free State or Republic to Port Elizabeth,--or to the -railway station between Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth,--and in this way -passed through the Stormberg and Catberg mountains. Any traveller -visiting South Africa with an eye to scenery should see these passes. -For the mere sake of scenery no traveller does as yet visit South -Africa, and therefore but little is thought about it. I was, however, -specially cautioned by all who gave me advice on the subject, not to -omit the Catberg in my journey. I may add also that this route from the -Diamond Fields to Capetown is by far the easiest, and for those -travelling by public conveyances is the only one that is certain as to -time and not so wearisome as to cause excruciating torment. When -travelling with a friend in our own conveyance I had enjoyed our -independence,--especially our breakfasts in the veld; but I had become -weary of sick and dying horses, and of surrounding myself with horse -provender. I was therefore glad to be able to throw all the -responsibility of the road on to the shoulders of the proprietor of the -coach, especially when I found that I was not to be called on to travel -by night. A mail cart runs through from the Diamond Fields to Capetown, -three times a week;--but it goes day and night and has no provision for -meals. The journey so made is frightful, and is fit only for a very -young man who is altogether regardless of his life. There is also a -decent waggon;--but it runs only occasionally. Families, to whom time is -not a great object, make the journey with ox-waggons, travelling perhaps -24 miles a day, sleeping in their waggons and carrying with them all -that they want. Ladies who have tried it have told me that they did not -look back upon the time so spent as the happiest moments of their -existence. The coach was tiresome enough, taking seven days from the -Diamond Fields to Port Elizabeth. Between Bloemfontein and Grahamstown, -a trip of five days, it travels about fourteen hours a day. But at night -there was always ten hours for supper and rest, and the accommodation on -the whole was good. The beds were clean and the people along the road -always civil. I was greatly taken with one little dinner which was given -to us in the middle of the day at a small pretty Inn under the Catberg -Mountain. The landlord, an old man, was peculiarly courteous, opening -our soda water for us and handing us the brandy bottle with a grace that -was all his own. Then he joined us on the coach and travelled along the -road with us, and it turned out that he had been a member of the old -Capetown Parliament, and had been very hot in debate in the time of the -Kafir wars. He became equally hot in debate now, declaring to us that -everything was going to the dogs because the Kafirs were not made to -work. I liked his politics less than his leg of mutton,--which had been -excellent. The drive through the Stormberg is very fine;--but the -mountains are without timber or water. It is the bleak wildness of the -place which gives it its sublimity. Between the Stormberg and the -Catberg lies Queenstown,--a picturesque little town with two or three -hotels. The one at which the coach stopped was very good. It was a -marvel to me that the Inns should be so good, as the traffic is small. -We sat down to a table d’hôte dinner, at which the host with all his -family joined us, that would have done credit to a first class Swiss -hotel. I don’t know that a Swiss hotel could produce such a turkey. When -the landlord told his youngest child, who had modestly asked for boiled -beef, that she might have turkey in spite of the number at table, I -don’t know whether I admired most, the kind father, the abstemious -daughter, or the capacious turkey. - -I think that South Africa generally is prouder of the road over the -Catberg than of any other detail among its grand scenery. I had been -told so often that whatever I did I must go over the Catberg! I did go -over the Catberg, walking up the bleak side from the North, and -travelling down in the coach, or Cape cart which we had got there, among -the wooded ravines to the South. It certainly is very fine,--but not -nearly so grand in my opinion as Montague Pass or Southey’s Pass in the -Western Province. From the foot of the Catberg we ran into Fort -Beaufort, to which town I carried my reader in a previous chapter. It -was over this road that I had poured into my ears the political harangue -of that late member of the Legislature. He belonged to a school of -politicians which is common in South Africa, but which became very -distasteful to me. The professors of it are to be found chiefly in the -Eastern Province of the Cape Colony, in which I was then travelling, -though the West is by no means without them. Their grand doctrine is -that the Kafirs should be “ruled with a rod of iron.” That phrase of the -rod of iron had become odious to me before I left the country. -“Thieves!” such a professor will say. “They are all thieves. Their only -idea is to steal cattle.” Such an one never can be made to understand -that as we who are not Savages have taken the land, it is hardly -unnatural that men who are Savages should think themselves entitled to -help themselves to the cattle we have put on the land we have taken from -them. The stealing of cattle must of course be stopped, and there are -laws for the purpose; but this appealing to a “rod of iron” because men -do just that which is to be expected from men so placed was always -received by me as an ebullition of impotent and useless anger. A farmer -who has cattle in a Kafir country, on land which has perhaps cost him -10s. or 5s., or perhaps nothing, an acre for the freehold of it, can -hardly expect the same security which a tenant enjoys in England, who -pays probably 20s. an acre for the mere use of his land. - -As I have now finished the account of my travels in the two Provinces -and am about to go on to Natal, I will say a few words first as to the -produce of the Cape Colony. - -In the Cape Colony, as in Australia, wool has been for many years the -staple of the country;--and, as in Australia the importance or seeming -importance of the staple produce has been cast into the shade by the -great wealth of the gold which has been found there, so in South Africa -has the same been done by the finding of diamonds. Up to the present -time, however, the diamond district has not in truth belonged to the -Cape Colony. Soon after these pages will have been printed it will -probably be annexed. But the actual political possession of the land in -which the diamonds or gold have been found has had little to do with the -wealth which has flowed into the different Colonies from the finding of -the treasures. That in each case has come from the greatly increased -consumption created by the finders. Men finding gold and diamonds eat -and drink a great deal. The persons who sell such articles are -enriched,--and the articles are subject to taxation, and so a public -revenue is raised. It is hence that the wealth comes rather than from -the gold and diamonds themselves. Had it been possible that the -possession of the land round the Kimberley mines should have been left -in the hands of the native tribes, there would have been but little -difference in the money result. The flour, the meat, the brandy, and the -imported coats and boots would still have been carried up to Kimberley -from the Cape Colony. - -But of the Colony itself wool has been the staple,--and among its -produce the next most interesting are its wheat, its vines, and its -ostriches. In regard to wool I find that the number of wooled sheep in -the Cape Colony has considerably increased during the last ten years. I -say wooled sheep, because there is a kind of sheep in the Colony, native -to the land, which bear no wool and are known by their fat tails and lob -ears. As they produce only mutton I take no reckoning of them here. In -1875 there were 9,986,240 wooled sheep in the Colony producing -28,316,181 pounds of wool, whereas in 1865 there were only 8,370,179 -sheep giving 18,905,936 pounds of wool. This increase in ten years would -seem to imply a fair progress,--especially as it applies not only to the -number of sheep in the Colony, but also to the amount of wool given by -each sheep; but I regret to say that during the latter part of that -period of ten years there has been a very manifest falling off. I cannot -give the figures as to the Cape Colony itself, as I have done with the -numbers for 1865 and 1875;--but from the ports of the Cape Colony there -were exported-- - - In 1871, 46,279,639 pounds of wool, value £2,191,233 - In 1872, 48,822,562 ” ” £3,275,150 - In 1873, 40,393,746 ” ” £2,710,481 - In 1874, 42,620,481 ” ” £2,948,571 - In 1875, 40,339,674 ” ” £2,855,899 - In 1876, 34,861,339 ” ” £2,278,942 - -These figures not only fail to shew that ratio of increase without which -a colonial trade cannot be said to be in a healthy condition; but they -exhibit also a very great decrease,--the falling off in the value of -wool from 1872 to 1876 being no less than £1,048,208, or nearly a third -of the whole. They whom I have asked as to the reason of this, have -generally said that it is due to the very remunerative nature of the -trade in ostrich feathers, and have intimated that farmers have gone out -of wool in order that they might go into feathers. To find how far this -may be a valid excuse we must enquire what has been the result of -ostrich farming during the period. What was the export of ostrich -feathers for each of the ten executive years, I have no means of saying. -In 1865 there were but 80 tame ostriches kept by farmers in the Colony, -though no doubt a large amount of feathers from wild ostriches was -exported. In 1875, 21,751 ostriches were kept, and the total value of -feathers exported was £306,867, the whole amount coming from ostriches -thus being less by £700,000 than the falling off in the wool. Had the -Colony been really progressing, a new trade might well have been -developed to the amount above stated without any falling off in the -staple produce of the country. The most interesting circumstance in -reference to the wool and sheep of the country is the fact that the -Kafirs own 1,109,346 sheep, and that they produced in 1875 2,249,000 -pounds of wool. - -It is certainly the case that the wools of the Cape Colony are very -inferior to those of Australia. I find from the Prices Current as -published by a large woolbroker in London for the year 1877, that the -average prices through the year realized by what is called medium washed -wool were for Australian wools,--taking all the Australian Colonies -together,--something over 1s. 6d. a pound, whereas the average price for -the same class of wool from the Cape Colony was only something over 1s. -1d. a pound. There has been a difference of quite 5d. a pound; or about -40 per cent. in favour of the Australian article. “There is no doubt,” -says my friend who furnished me with this information, “that valuable -and useful as are Cape wools they are altogether distanced by the fine -Australian. Breeding has to do with this. So has climate and country.” -For what is called Superior washed wool, the Victorian prices are fully -a shilling a pound higher than those obtained by the growers of the -Cape, the average prices for the best of the class being 2s. 6d. for -Victorian, and 1s. 6d. a pound for Cape Colony wool. - -Perhaps the fairest standard by which to test the prosperity of a new -country is its capability of producing corn,--especially wheat. It is by -its richness in this respect that the United States have risen so high -in the world. Australia has not prospered so quickly, and will never -probably prosper so greatly, because on a large portion of her soil -wheat has not been grown profitably. The first great question is whether -a young country can feed herself with bread. The Cape Colony has -obtained a great reputation for its wheat, and does I believe produce -flour which is not to be beaten anywhere on the earth. But she is not -able to feed herself. In 1875, she imported wheat and flour to the -value, including the duty charged on it, of £126,654. In reaching this -amount I have deducted £2,800 the value of a small amount which was -exported. This is more than 10s. per annum for each white inhabitant of -the country, the total white population being 236,783. The deficiency is -not very large; but in a Colony the climate of which is in so many -respects adapted to wheat there should be no deficiency. The truth is -that it is altogether a question of artificial irrigation. If the waters -from the mountains can be stored and utilized, the Cape will run over -with wheat. - -I find that in the whole Colony there were in 1875 about 80,000,000 -acres of land in private hands;--that being the amount of land which has -been partly or wholly alienated by Government. I give the number of -acres in approximate figures because in the official return it is stated -in morgen. The morgen is a Dutch measure of land and comprises a very -little more, but still little more than two acres. Out of this large -area only 550,000 acres or less than 1-14th are cultivated. It is -interesting to know that more than a quarter of this, or 150,000 acres -are in the hands of the native races and are cultivated by -them;--cultivated by them as owners and not as servants. In 1875 there -were 28,416 ploughs in the Cape Colony and of these 9,179, nearly a -third, belonged to the Kafirs or Hottentots. - -In 1855 there were 55,300,025 vines in the Colony, and in 1875 this -number had increased to 69,910,215. The increase in the production of -wine was about in the same proportion. The increase in the distilling of -brandy was more than proportionate. The wine had risen from 3,237,428 -gallons to 4,485,665, and the brandy from 430,955 to 1,067,832 gallons. -I was surprised to find how very small was the exportation of brandy, -the total amount sent away, and noted by the Custom House as exported -being 2,910 gallons. No doubt a comparatively large quantity is sent to -the other districts of South Africa by inland carriage, so that the -Custom House knows nothing about it. But the bulk of this enormous -increase in brandy has been consumed in the Colony, and must therefore -have had its evil as well as its good results. Of the brandy exported by -sea by far the greatest part is consumed in South Africa, the Portuguese -at Delagoa Bay taking nearly half. Great Britain, a country which is -fond of brandy, imports only 695 gallons from her own brandy-making -Colony. As the Cape brandy is undoubtedly made from grapes, and as the -preference for grape-made brandy is equally certain, the fact I fear -tells badly for the Cape manufacture. It cannot be but that they might -make their brandy better. Of wine made in the Colony 60,973 gallons were -exported in 1875, or less than 1-7th of the amount produced. This is a -very poor result, seeing that the Cape Colony is particularly productive -in grapes and seems to indicate that the makers of wine have as yet been -hardly more successful in their manufacture, than the makers of brandy. -Much no doubt is due to the fact that the merchants have not as yet -found it worth their while to store their wines for any lengthened -period. - -At the time of my visit ostrich feathers were the popular produce of the -Colony. Farmers seemed to be tired of sheep,--tired at least of the -constant care which sheep require, to be diffident of wheat, and -down-hearted as to the present prices of wine. It seemed to me that in -regard to all these articles there was room for increased energy. As to -irrigation, which every one in the Colony feels to be essential to -agricultural success in the greater part not only of the Colony but of -South Africa generally, the first steps must I think be taken by the -governments of the different districts. - -The total population of the Colony is 720,984. Of these less than a -third, 209,136, are represented as living on agriculture which in such a -Colony should support more than half the people. The numbers given -include of course men women and children. Of this latter number, less -than a third again, or 60,458, are represented as being of white -blood,--or Dutch and English combined. I believe about two-thirds of -these to be Dutch,--though as to that I can only give an opinion. From -this it would result that the residue, perhaps about 20,000 who are of -English descent, consists of the farmers themselves and their families. -Taking four to a family, this would give only 5,000 English occupiers of -land. There is evidently no place for an English agricultural labourer -in a Colony which shows such a result after seventy years of English -occupation. And indeed there is much other evidence proving the same -fact. Let the traveller go where he will he will see no English-born -agricultural labourer in receipt of wages. The work, if not done by the -farmer or his family, is with but few exceptions done by native hands. -Should an Englishman be seen here or there in such a position he will be -one who has fallen abnormally in the scale, and will, as an exception, -only prove the rule. If a man have a little money to commence as a -farmer he may thrive in the Cape Colony,--providing that he can -accommodate himself to the peculiarities of the climate. As a navvy he -may earn good wages on the railways, or as a miner at the copper mines. -But, intending to be an agricultural labourer, he should not emigrate -to South Africa. In South Africa the Natives are the labourers and they -will remain so, both because they can live cheaper than the white man, -and because the white man will not work along side of them on equal -terms. Though an Englishman on leaving his own country might assure -himself that he had no objection to such society, he would find that the -ways of the Colony would be too strong for him. In Australia, in Canada, -in New Zealand, or the United States, he may earn wages as an -agriculturist;--but he will not do so in South Africa with content and -happiness to himself. The paucity of the English population which has -settled here since we owned the country is in itself sufficient proof of -the truth of my assertion. - -It is stated in the Blue Book of the Colony for 1876,--which no doubt -may be trusted implicitly,--that the average daily hire for an -agricultural labourer in the Colony is 3s. for a white man, and 2s. for -a coloured man, with diet besides. But I observe also that in some of -the best corn-districts,--especially in Malmsbury,--no entry is made as -to the wages of European agricultural labourers. Where such wages are -paid, it will be found that they are paid to Dutchmen. There are no -doubt instances of this sufficient in most districts to afford an -average. A single instance would do so. - -Taking the whole of the Colony I find that the wages of carpenters, -masons, tailors, shoemakers and smiths average 9s. a day for white men -and 6s. for coloured men. This is for town and country throughout. In -some places wages as high as 15s. a day has been paid for white -workmen, and as high as 8s.--9s.--and even 10s. for coloured. The -European artizan is no doubt at present more efficient than the native, -and when working with the native, works as his superintendent or Boss. -For tradesmen such as these,--men who know their trades and can eschew -drink,--there is a fair opening in South Africa, as there is in almost -all the British Colonies. - -The price of living for a working man is, as well as I can make a -calculation on the subject, nearly the same as in England, but with a -slight turn in favour of the Colony on account of the lower price of -meat. Meat is about 6d. a pound; bacon 1s. 5d. Bread is 4d. a pound; tea -3s. 10d., coffee 1s. 4d. Butter, fresh 1s. 10d.; salt 1s. 6d. Ordinary -wine per gallon,--than which a workman can drink no more wholesome -liquor,--is 6s. In the parts of the Colony adjacent to Capetown it may -be bought for 2s. and 3s. a gallon. The colonial beer is 5s. a gallon. -Whether it be good or bad I omitted to enable myself to form an opinion. -Clothing, which is imported from England, is I think cheaper than in -England. This I have found to be the case in the larger Colonies -generally, and I must leave those who are learned in the ways of -Commerce to account for the phenomenon. I will give the list, as I found -it in the Blue Book of the Cape Colony, for labourers’ clothing. Shirts -30s. 5d. per dozen. Shoes 10s. per pair. Jackets 15s. each. Waistcoats -7s. each. Trowsers 11s. 6d. per pair. Hats 5s. 6d. each. In these -articles so much depends on quality that it is hard to make a -comparison. In South Africa I was forced to buy two hats, and I got -them very much cheaper than my London hatmaker would have sold me the -same articles. House-rent, taking the Colony through, is a little dearer -than in England. Domestic service is dearer;--but the class of whom I am -speaking would probably not be affected by this. The rate of wages for -house servants as given in the Blue Book is as follows:-- - - Male domestic servants--European--£2 10s. a month, with board and lodging. - ” ” Coloured--£1 8s. ” ” - Female ” European--£1 7s. ” ” - ” ” Coloured--16s. ” ” - -I profess the greatest possible respect for the Cape Colony Blue Book -and for its compilers. I feel when trusting to it that I am standing -upon a rock against which waves of statistical criticism may dash -themselves in vain. Such at least is my faith as to 968 out of the 969 -folio pages which the last published volume contains. But I would put it -to the compilers of that valuable volume, I would put it to my -particular friend Captain Mills himself, whether they, whether he, can -get a European man-servant for £30 a year, or a European damsel for £16 -4s.! Double the money would not do it. Let them, let him, look at the -book;--Section v. page 3;--and have the little error corrected, lest -English families should rush out to the Cape Colony thinking that they -would be nicely waited upon by white fingers at these easy but fabulous -rates. The truth is that European domestic servants can hardly be had -for any money. - - - - -NATAL. - - - - -CHAPTER XIV. - -NATAL.--HISTORY OF THE COLONY. - - -The little Colony of Natal has a special history of its own quite -distinct from that of the Cape Colony which cannot be said to be its -parent. In Australia, Queensland and Victoria were, in compliance with -their own demands, separated from New South Wales. In South Africa the -Transvaal Republic,--now again under British rule,--and the Orange Free -State were sent into the world to shift for themselves by the Mother -Country. In these cases there is something akin to the not unnatural -severance of the adult son from the home and the hands of his father. -But Natal did not spring into existence after this fashion and has owed -nothing to the fostering care of the Cape Colony. I will quote here the -commencing words of a pamphlet on the political condition of Natal -published in 1869, because they convey incidentally a true statement of -the causes which led to its colonization. “The motives which induced the -Imperial Government to claim Natal from the Dutch African emigrants were -not merely philanthropic. The Dutch in their occupation of the country -had been involved in serious struggles with the Zulus. The apprehension -that these struggles might be renewed and that the wave of disturbance -might be carried towards the Eastern frontier of the Cape influenced to -some extent the resolution to colonize Natal. But whatever may have been -the prudential considerations that entered into their counsels, the -Government were deeply impressed with the wish to protect the Natives -and to raise them in the scale of humanity.”[14] From this the reader -will learn that the British took up the country from the Dutch who had -on occupying it been involved in difficulties with the Natives, and that -the English had stepped in to give a government to the country, partly -in defence of the Dutch against the Natives,--but partly also, and -chiefly in defence of the Natives against the Dutch. This was, in truth, -the case. The difficulties which the Dutch wanderers had encountered -were awful, tragic, heartrending. They had almost been annihilated. -Dingaan, the then chief of the Zulus, had resolved to annihilate them, -and had gone nearer to success than the Indians of Mexico or Peru had -ever done with Cortez or Pizarro. But they had stood their ground,--and -were not inclined to be gentle in their dealings with the Zulus,--as the -congregation of tribes was called with which they had come in contact. - -Natal received its name four centuries ago. In 1497 it was visited,--or -at any rate seen,--by Vasco da Gama on Christmas day and was then called -Terra Natalis from that cause. It is now called Na-tal, with the -emphasis sharp on the last syllable. I remember when we simply -translated the Latin word into plain English and called the place Port -Natal in the ordinary way,--as may be remembered by the following stanza -from Tom Hood’s “Miss Kelmansegg”:-- - - Into this world we come like ships, - Launched from the docks and stocks and slips, - For future fair or fatal. - And one little craft is cast away - On its very first trip to Babbicombe Bay, - While another rides safe at Port Natal. - -After that no more was known of the coast for more than a hundred and -fifty years. In the latter part of the eighteenth century the Dutch seem -to have had a settlement there,--not the Dutch coming overland as they -did afterwards, but the Dutch trading along the coast. It did not, -however, come to much, and we hear no more of the country till -1823,--only fifty-five years ago,--when an English officer of the name -of Farewell, with a few of his countrymen, settled himself on the land -where the town of D’Urban now stands. At that time King Chaka of the -Zulus, of whom I shall speak in a following chapter, had well-nigh -exterminated the natives of the coast, so that there was no one to -oppose Mr. Farewell and his companions. There they remained, with more -or less of trouble from Chaka’s successor and from invading Zulus, till -1835, when the British of the Cape Colony took so much notice of the -place as to call the settlement Durban, after Sir Benjamin D’Urban, its -then Governor. - -Then began the real history of Natal which like so many other parts of -South Africa,--like the greater part of that South Africa which we now -govern,--was first occupied by Dutchmen trekking away from the to them -odious rule of British Governors, British officers, British laws,--and -what seemed to them to be mawkish British philanthropy. The time is so -recent that I myself have been able to hear the story told by the lips -of those who were themselves among the number of indignant -emigrants,--of those who had barely escaped when their brethren and -friends had been killed around them by the natives. “Why did you leave -your old home?” I asked one old Dutch farmer whom I found still in -Natal. With the urbanity which seemed always to characterize the Dutch -he would say nothing to me derogatory to the English. “He says that -there was not land enough for their wants,” explained the gentleman who -was acting as interpreter between us. But it meant the same thing. The -English were pressing on the heels of the Dutchmen. - -The whole theory of life was different between the two people and -remains so to the present day. The Englishman likes to have a neighbour -near him; the Dutchman cannot bear to see the smoke of another man’s -chimney from his own front door. The Englishman would fain grow wheat; -the Dutchman is fond of flocks and herds. The Englishman is of his -nature democratic;--the Dutchman is patriarchal. The Englishman loves to -have his finger in every pie around him. The Dutchman wishes to have his -own family, his own lands, above all his own servants and dependants, -altogether within his own grasp, and cares for little beyond that. -There had come various laws in the Cape Colony altogether antagonistic -to the feelings of the Dutch farmer, and at last in 1834, came the -emancipation act which was to set free all the slaves in 1838. Although -the Dutch had first explored Natal before that act came into -operation,--it had perhaps more to do with the final exodus of the -future Natalians than any other cause. The Dutchman of South Africa -could not endure the interference with his old domestic habits which -English laws were threatening and creating. - -In 1834 the first Dutch party made their way from Uitenhage in the -Eastern Province of the Cape Colony, by land, across the South Eastern -corner of South Africa over the Drakenberg mountains to the Natal coast. -Here they fraternised with the few English they found there, examined -the country and seemed to have made themselves merry,--till news reached -them of the Kafir wars then raging. They gallantly hurried back to their -friends, postponing their idea of permanent emigration till this new -trouble should be over. It was probably the feeling induced by Lord -Glenelg’s wonderful despatch of Dec. 1835,--in which he declared that -the English and Dutch had been all wrong and the Kafirs all right in the -late wars,--which at last produced the exodus. There were personal -grievances to boot, all of which sprang from impatience of the Dutch to -the English law; and towards the end of 1836 two hundred Dutchmen -started under Hendrik Potgieter. A more numerous party followed under -Gerrit Maritz. They crossed the Orange river, to which the Cape Colony -was then extended, and still travelling on, making their waggons their -homes as they went, they came to the Vaal, leaving a portion of their -numbers behind them in what is now the Orange Free State. We have no -written account of the mode of life of these people as they trekked on, -but we can conceive it. No Dutchman in South Africa is ever without a -waggon big enough to make a home for his family and to carry many of his -goods, or without a span or team of oxen numerous enough to drag it. -They took their flocks and horses with them, remaining here and there as -water and grass would suit them. And here and there they would sow their -seeds and wait for a crop, and then if the crop was good and the water -pleasant, and if the Natives had either not quarrelled with them or had -been subdued, they would stay for another season till the waggon would -at last give place to a house, and then, as others came after them, they -would move on again, jealous of neighbourhood even among their own -people. So they went northwards till they crossed the Vaal river and -came into hostile contact with the fierce tribes of the Matabeles which -then occupied the Transvaal. - -What took place then belongs rather to the history of the Transvaal than -to that of Natal; but the Dutch pioneers who had gone thus far were -forced back over the Vaal; and though they succeeded in recovering by -renewed raids many of the oxen and waggons of which they had been -deprived by a great Chief of the Matabele tribe named Mazulekatze, they -acknowledged that they must carry their present fortunes elsewhere, and -they remembered the pleasant valleys which some of them had seen a few -years earlier on the Natal coast. With great difficulty they found a -track pervious to wheels through the Drakenbergs, and made their way -down to the coast. There had been disagreements among the Dutch -themselves after their return back over the Vaal river, and they did not -all go forth into Natal. Pieter Retief, who had now joined them from the -old Colony and who had had his own reasons for quarrelling with the -British authorities in the Cape, was chosen the Chief of those who made -their way eastwards into Natal, and he also, on reaching the coast, -fraternised with the English there who at that time acknowledged no -obedience to the British Government at Capetown. It seems that Retief -and the few English at Durban had some idea of a joint Republic;--but -the Dutchman took the lead and finding that the natives were apparently -amenable, he entertained the idea of obtaining a cession of the land -from Dingaan, who had murdered and succeeded his brother Chaka as King -of the Zulus. - -Dingaan made his terms, which Retief executed. A quantity of cattle -which another tribe had taken was to be returned to Dingaan. The cattle -were obtained and given up to the Zulu Chief. In the meantime Dutchman -after Dutchman swarmed into the new country with their waggons and herds -through the passes which had been found. We are told that by the end of -1837 a thousand waggons had made their way into this district now called -Natal and had occupied the northern portion of it. Probably not a single -waggon was owned by an Englishman,--though Natal is now specially an -English and not a Dutch Colony. There was hardly a Native to be seen, -the country having been desolated by the King of the Zulus. It was the -very place for the Dutch,--fertile, without interference, and with space -for every one. - -Early in 1838 Retief with a party of picked men started for the head -quarters of Dingaan, the Zulu King, with the recovered cattle which he -was to give up as the price of the wide lands assigned to him. Then -there was a festival and rejoicings among the Zulus in which the -Dutchmen joined. A deed of cession was signed, of which Dingaan, the -King, understood probably but little. But he did understand that these -were white men coming to take away his land and at the moment in which -the ceremonies were being completed,--he contrived to murder them all. -That was the end of Pieter Retief, whose name in conjunction with that -of his friend and colleague Gerrit Maritz still lives in the singular -appellation found for the capital of Natal,--Pieter Maritzburg. - -Then Dingaan, with a spirit which I cannot reprobate as I find it -reprobated by other writers, determined to sally forth and drive the -Dutch out of the land. It seems to me of all things the most natural for -a king of Natives to do,--unless the contemplation of such a feat were -beyond his intelligence or its attempt beyond his courage. It may be -acknowledged that it is the business of us Europeans first to subjugate -and then to civilize the savage races--but that the Savage shall object -to be subjugated is surely natural. To abuse a Savage for being -treacherous and cruel is to abuse him for being a Savage, which is -irrational. Dingaan failed neither in intelligence or courage, and went -forth to annihilate the Dutch in those northern portions of the present -Colony which are now called Klip-River and Weenen. The latter word is -Dutch for wailing and arose from the sufferings which Dingaan then -inflicted. He first came across a party of women and children at the -Blue Krans river,--in the district now called Weenen,--and killed them -all. Various separated parties were destroyed in the same way, till at -last an entrenchment of waggons was formed,--a “laager” as it is called -in Dutch,--and from thence a battle was fought as from a besieged city -against the besiegers. The old man who told me that he had trekked -because land in the Colony was insufficient had been one of the -besieged, and his old wife, who sat by and added a word now and then to -the tale, had been inside the laager with him and had held her baby with -one hand while she supplied ammunition to her husband with the other. It -was thus that the Dutch always defended themselves, linking their huge -waggons together into a circle within which were collected their wives -and children, while their cattle were brought into a circle on the -outside. It must be remembered that they, few in number, were armed with -rifles while the Savages around were attacking them with their pointed -spears which they call assegais. - -By far the greater number of Dutch who had thus made their way over into -Natal were killed,--but a remnant remained sufficient to establish -itself. In these contests the white man always comes off as conqueror at -last. Dingaan, however, carried on the battle for a long time, and -though driven out of Natal was never thoroughly worsted on his own Zulu -territory. Both Dutch and English attacked him in his own stronghold, -but of those who went over the Buffalo or Tugela river in Dingaan’s time -with hostile intentions but few lived to return and tell the tale. There -was one raid across the river in which it is said that 3,000 Zulus were -killed, and that Dingaan was obliged to burn his head kraal or capital, -and fly; but even in this last of their attacks on Zulu land the Dutch -were at first nearly destroyed. - -At last these battles with Dingaan were brought to an end by a quarrel -which the emigrants fostered between Dingaan and his brother Panda,--who -was also his heir. I should hardly interest my readers if I were to go -into the details of this family feud. It seems however that in spite of -the excessive superstitious reverence felt by these Savages for their -acknowledged Chief, they were unable to endure the prolonged cruelties -of their tyrant. Panda himself was not a warrior, having been kept by -Dingaan in the back-ground in order that he might not become the leader -of an insurrection against him; but he was put forward as the new king; -and the new king’s party having allied themselves with the Europeans, -Dingaan was driven into banishment and seems to have been murdered by -those among whom he fell. That was the end of Dingaan and has really -been the end, up to this time, of all fighting between the Zulus and the -white occupiers of Natal. From the death of Dingaan the ascendancy of -the white man seems to have been acknowledged in the districts south -and west of the Tugela and Buffalo rivers. - -The next phase in the history of Natal is that which has reference to -the quarrels between the Dutch and the English. There is I think no -doubt that during the first occupation of the land by the Dutch the -English Government refused to have anything to do with the territory. It -was then the same as it has been since when we gave up first the -Transvaal, and afterwards the Orange Free State, or “Sovereignty” as it -used to be called. A people foreign to us in habits and language, which -had become subject to us, would not endure our rule,--would go further -and still further away when our rule followed them. It was manifest that -we could not stop them without the grossest tyranny;--but were we bound -to go after them and take care of them? The question has been answered -in the negative even when it has been asked as to wandering Englishmen -who have settled themselves on strange shores,--but though answered in -the negative it has always turned out that when the Englishmen have -reached a number too great to be ignored the establishment of a new -Colony has been inevitable. Was it necessary that Downing Street should -run after the Dutch? Downing Street declared that she would do nothing -of the kind. Lord Glenelg had disclaimed “any intention on the part of -Her Majesty’s Government to assert any authority over any part of this -territory.” But Downing Street was impotent to resist. The Queen’s -subjects had settled themselves in a new country, and after some -shilly-shallying on the part of the Cape authorities, after the coming -and going of a small body of troops, these subjects declared their -intention of establishing themselves as a Republic--and begged Her -Majesty to acknowledge their independent existence. This was in January -1841, when Sir George Napier was Governor. In the meantime the Dutch had -had further contests with remaining natives,--contests in which they had -been the tyrants and in which they shewed a strong intention of driving -the black tribes altogether away from any lands which they might want -themselves. This, and probably a conviction that there were not -sufficient elements of rule among the Dutch farmers to form a -government,--a conviction for which the doings of the young Volksraad of -Natalia gave ample reason,--at last caused our Colonial Office to decide -that Natal was still British territory. Sir George Napier on 2nd Dec. -1841 issued a proclamation stating, “That whereas the Council of -emigrant farmers now residing at Port Natal and the territory adjacent -thereto had informed His Excellency that they had ceased to be British -subjects,” &c. &c.; the whole proclamation is not necessary here;--“his -Excellency announced his intention of resuming military occupation of -Port Natal by sending thither without delay a detachment of Her -Majesty’s forces.” And so the war was declared.[15] - -The war at first went very much in favour of the Dutch. A small -detachment of British troops,--about 300 men,--was marched overland to -Durban, and two little vessels of war were sent round with provisions -and ammunition. The proceedings of this force were so unfortunate that -a part of it was taken and marched up to prison at Pieter Maritzburg and -the remainder besieged in its own camp where it was nearly starved to -death. The story of the whole affair is made romantic by the remarkable -ride made by one Mr. King, during six days and nights, along the coast -and through the Kafir country, into the Cape Colony, bearing the sad -news and demanding assistance. As Great Britain had now begun the -campaign, Great Britain was of course obliged to end it successfully. A -larger force with better appurtenances was sent, and on 5th July, 1842, -a deed of submission was signed on behalf of the Dutch owning the -sovereignty of Queen Victoria. That is the date on which in fact Natal -did first become a British possession. But a contest was still carried -on for more that a twelvemonth longer through which the Dutch farmers -strove to regain their independence, and it was not till the 8th of -August, 1843, that the twenty-four members of the still existing -Volksraad declared Her Majesty’s Government to be supreme in Port Natal. - -But the Dutchmen could hardly even yet be said to be beaten. They -certainly were not contented to remain as British subjects. Very many of -them passed again back over the Drakenberg mountains determined to free -themselves from the British yoke, and located themselves in the -districts either to the North or South of the Vaal river,--although they -did so far away from the ocean which is the only highway for bringing to -them stores from other countries, and although they were leaving good -low-lying fertile lands for a high arid veld the most of which was only -fit for pastoral purposes. But they would there be, if not free from -British rule,--for the Republics were not yet established,--far at any -rate from British interference. If any people ever fought and bled for a -land, they had fought and bled for Natal. But when they found they could -not do what they liked with it, they “trekked” back and left it. And yet -this people have shewn themselves to be generally ill-adapted for self -government,--as I shall endeavour to shew when I come to speak of the -Transvaal Republic,--and altogether in want of some external force to -manage for them their public affairs. Nothing perhaps is harder than to -set a new Government successfully afloat, and the Dutch certainly have -shewn no aptitude for the task either in Natal or in the Transvaal. - -It is not to be supposed that all the Dutch went, or that they went all -at once. In some parts of the Colony they are still to be found -prospering on their lands,--and some of the old names remain. But the -country strikes the stranger as being peculiarly English, in opposition -to much of the Cape Colony which is peculiarly Dutch. In one district of -Natal I came across a congregation of Germans, with a German minister -and a German church service, and German farmers around, an emigration -from Hanover having been made to the spot. But I heard of no exclusively -Dutch district. The traveller feels certain that he will not require the -Dutch language as he moves about, and he recognises the Dutchman as a -foreigner in the land when he encounters him. In the Transvaal, in the -Orange Free State, and in many parts of the Western districts of the -Cape Colony,--even in Capetown itself,--he feels himself to be among a -Dutch people. He knows as a fact that the Dutch in South Africa are more -numerous than the English. But in Natal he is on English soil, among -English people,--with no more savour of Holland than he has in London -when he chances to meet a Dutchman there. And yet over the whole South -African continent there is no portion of the land for which the Dutchman -has fought and bled and dared and suffered as he has done for Natal. As -one reads the story one is tempted to wish that he had been allowed to -found his Natalia, down by the sea shore, in pleasant lands, where he -would not have been severed by distance and difficulties of carriage -from the comforts of life,--from timber for instance with which to floor -his rooms, and wood to burn his bricks, and iron with which to make his -ploughs. - -But the Dutch who went did not go at once, nor did the English who came -come at once. It is impossible not to confess that what with the Home -Government in Downing Street and what with the Governors who succeeded -each other at the Cape there was shilly-shallying as to adopting the new -Colony. The province was taken up in the manner described in 1843, but -no Governor was appointed till 1845. Major Smith, who as Captain Smith -had suffered so much with his little army, was the military commander -during the interval, and the Dutch Volksraad continued to sit. Questions -as to the tenure of land naturally occupied the minds of all who -remained. If a Boer chose to stay would he or would he not be allowed to -occupy permanently the farm, probably of 6,000 acres which he had -assumed to himself? And then, during this time, the tribes who had fled -in fear of the Dutch or who had been scattered by the Zulu King, flocked -in vast hordes into the country when they had been taught to feel that -they would be safe under British protection. It is said that in 1843 -there were not above 3,000 natives in all Natal, but that within three -or four years 80,000 had crowded in. Now the numbers amount to 320,000. -Of course they spread themselves over the lands which the Dutch had -called their own, and the Dutch were unable to stop them. In December -1845 Mr. West was appointed the first Governor of Natal, and attempts -were made to arrange matters between the remaining Boers and the Zulus. -A commission was appointed to settle claims, but it could do but -little,--or nothing. Native locations were arranged;--that is large -tracts of land were given over to the Natives. But this to the Boers was -poison. To them the Natives were as wild beasts,--and wild beasts whom -they with their blood and energy had succeeded in expelling. Now the -wild beasts were to be brought back under the auspices of the British -Government! - -In 1847 Andrias Pretorius was the dominant leader of the Natal Boers and -he went on a pilgrimage to Sir Henry Pottinger who was then Governor in -the Cape Colony. Sir Henry Pottinger would not see him,--required him to -put down what he had to say in writing, which is perhaps the most -heartbreaking thing which any official man can do to an applicant. What -if our Cabinet Ministers were to desire deputations to put down their -complaints in writing? Pretorius, who afterwards became a great rebel -against British authority and the first President of the Transvaal -Republic, returned furious to Pieter Maritzburg,--having however first -put down “what he had to say” in very strong writing. Sir Henry was then -leaving the Colony and answered by referring the matter to his -successor. Pretorius flew to the public press and endeavoured to -instigate his fellow subjects to mutiny by the indignant vehemence of -his language. When the news of his failure with Sir Henry Pottinger -reached the Boers in Natal, they determined upon a further wholesale and -new expatriation. They would all “trek” and they did trek, on this -occasion into the district between the Orange and the Vaal,--where we -shall have to follow them in speaking of the origin of the two Dutch -Republics. In this way Natal was nearly cleared of Dutchmen in the year -1848. - -It all happened so short a time ago that many of the actors in those -early days of Natal are still alive, and some of my readers will -probably remember dimly something of the incidents as they passed;--how -Sir Harry Smith, who succeeded Sir Henry Pottinger as Governor of the -Cape, became a South African hero, and somewhat tarnished his heroism by -the absurdity of his words. The story of Retief hardly became known to -us in England with all its tragic horrors, but I myself can well -remember how unwilling we were to have Natal, and how at last it was -borne in upon us that Natal had to be taken up by us,--perhaps as a -fourth rate Colony, with many regrets, much as the Fiji islands have -been taken up since. The Transvaal, inferior as it is in advantages and -good gifts, has just now been accepted with very much greater favour. -The salary awarded to a Governor may perhaps best attest the importance -of a new Colony. The Transvaal has begun with £3,000 a year. A poor -£2,500 is even still considered sufficient for the much older Colony of -Natal. - -Since 1848 Natal has had its history, but not one that has peculiarly -endeared it to the Mother Country. In 1849 a body of English emigrants -went out there who have certainly been successful as farmers, and who -came chiefly I think from the County of York. I do not know that there -has since that been any one peculiar influx of English, though of course -from time to time Englishmen have settled there,--some as farmers, more -probably as traders, small or large. In 1850 Mr. Pine succeeded Mr. West -as second Governor,--a gentleman who has again been Governor of the same -Colony as Sir Benjamin Pine, and who has had to encounter,--somewhat -unfairly, as I think,--the opprobrium incident to the irrational -sympathy of a certain class at home in the little understood matter of -Langalibalele. Langalibalele has, however, been so interesting a South -African personage that I must dedicate a separate chapter to his -history. In 1853 Dr. Colenso was appointed Bishop of Natal, and by the -peculiarity of his religious opinions has given more notoriety to the -Colony,--has caused the Colony to be more talked about,--than any of its -Governors or even than any of its romantic incidents. Into religious -opinion I certainly shall not stray in these pages. In my days I have -written something about clergymen but never a word about religion. No -doubt shall be thrown by me either upon the miracles or upon Colenso. -But when he expressed his unusual opinions he became a noted man, and -Natal was heard of for the first time by many people. He came to England -in those days, and I remember being asked to dinner by a gushing friend. -“We have secured Colenso,” said my gushing friend, as though she was -asking me to meet a royal duke or a Japanese ambassador. But I had never -met the Bishop till I arrived in his own see, where it was allowed me to -come in contact with that clear intellect, the gift of which has always -been allowed to him. He is still Bishop of Natal, and will probably -remain so till he dies. He is not the man to abandon any position of -which he is proud. But there is another bishop--of Maritzburg--whose -tenets are perhaps more in accord with those generally held by the -Church of England. The confusion has no doubt been unfortunate,--and is -still unfortunate, as has been almost everything connected with Natal. -And yet it is a smiling pretty land, blessed with numerous advantages; -and if it were my fate to live in South Africa I should certainly choose -Natal for my residence. Fair Natal, but unfortunate Natal! Its worldly -affairs have hitherto not gone smoothly. - -In 1856 the Colony, which had hitherto been but a sub-Colony under the -Cape was made independent, and a Legislative Council was appointed, at -first of twelve elected and of four official members;--but this has -since been altered. From that day to this there seems to have always -been alive in Natal questions of altering the constitution, with a -desire on the part of many of the English to draw nearer to, if not to -adopt a system of government by parliamentary majorities,--and with a -feeling on the part of a few that a further departure and a wider -severance from such form of government would be expedient. - -In 1873 came the Langalibalele affair to which I will only refer here -for the purpose of saying that it led to the sending out of Sir Garnet -Wolseley as a temporary governor or political head mediciner to set -things right which were supposed at home to be wrong. There can be no -doubt that the coming of a picked man, as was Sir Garnet, had the effect -of subordinating the will of the people of the Colony to the judgment of -the Colonial Office at home. Such effects will always be caused by such -selections. A Cabinet Minister will persuade with words which from an -Under Secretary would be inoperative. A known man will be successful -with arguments which would be received with no respect from the mouth of -one unknown. Sir Garnet Wolseley enjoyed an African reputation and was -recognised as a great man when he landed in South Africa. The effect of -his greatness was seen in his ability to induce the Legislative Council -to add eight nominated members to their own House and thus to clip their -own wings. Before his coming there were 15 elected members, and 5 -official members--who were the Governor’s Council and who received a -salary. Now there are 13 nominated members, of whom eight are chosen by -the Governor but who receive no salaries. The consequence is that the -Government can command a majority in almost all cases, and that Natal is -therefore, in truth, a Crown Colony. I know that the word will be -received with scorn and denial in Natal. A Legislative Council with a -majority of freely elected members will claim that it has the dominant -power and that it can do as it pleases. But in truth a Chamber so -constituted as is that now at Natal has but little power of persistent -operation. - -It was stated in the House of Commons, in the debate on the South -African Permissive Bill in the summer of 1877, that Natal contained a -population of 17,000 white and 280,000 Natives. I am assured that the -former number is somewhat understated, and I have spoken therefore of -20,000 white people. The Natives are certainly much more numerous than -was supposed. I have taken them as 320,000; but judging from the hut tax -I think they must be at least 10,000 more. Many probably evade the hut -tax and some live without huts. Let us take the numbers as 20,000 and -320,000. With such a population can it be well to draw even near to a -system of government by parliamentary majorities? We cannot exclude the -black voter by his colour. To do so would be to institute a class -legislation which would be opposed to all our feelings. Nor can any one -say who is black or who white. But we all know how impossible it is that -any number of whites, however small, should be ruled by any number of -blacks, however great. In dealing with such a population we are bound to -think of Ceylon or British Guiana, or of India,--and not of Canada, -Australia, or New Zealand. At present the franchise in Natal is only -given to such Natives as have lived for seven years in conformity with -European laws and customs,--having exempted themselves in that time -from native law,--and who shall have obtained from the Governor of the -Colony permission to vote on these grounds. At present the Native is in -this way altogether excluded. But the embargo is of its nature too -arbitrary;--and, nevertheless, would not be strong enough for safety -were there adventurous white politicians in the Colony striving to -acquire a parliamentary majority and parliamentary power by bringing the -Zulus to the poll. - -I think that the nature of the population of South Africa, and the -difficulties which must in coming years arise from that population, were -hardly sufficiently considered when government by parliamentary -majorities was forced upon the Cape Colony and carried through its -Legislative Houses by narrow majorities. That action has, I fear, -rendered the Cape unfit to confederate with the other Provinces; and -especially unfit to confederate with Natal, where the circumstances of -the population demand direct government from the Crown. I trust that the -experiment of parliamentary government may not be tried in Natal, where -the circumstances of the population are very much more against it than -they were in the Cape Colony. - - - - -CHAPTER XV. - -CONDITION OF THE COLONY.--NO. 1. - - -I reached Durban, the only seaport in the Colony of Natal, about the end -of August,--that is, at the beginning of spring in that part of the -world. It was just too warm to walk about pleasantly in the middle of -the day and cool enough at night for a blanket. Durban has a reputation -for heat, and I had heard so much of musquitoes on the coast that I -feared them even at this time of the year. I did kill one in my bedroom -at the club, but no more came to me. In winter, or at the season at -which I visited the place, Durban is a pleasant town, clean, attractive -and with beautiful scenery near it;--but about midsummer, and indeed for -the three months of December, January and February, it can be very hot, -and, to the ordinary Englishman, unaccustomed to the tropics, very -unpleasant on that account. - -I was taken over the bar on entering the harbour very graciously in the -mail tug which as a rule passengers are not allowed to enter, and was -safely landed at the quay about two miles from the town. I mention my -safety as a peculiar incident because the bar at Durban has a very bad -character indeed. South African harbours are not good and among those -which are bad Durban is one of the worst. They are crossed by shifting -bars of sand which prevent the entrance of vessels. At a public dinner -in the Colony I heard The Bar given as a toast. The Attorney General -arose to return thanks, but another gentleman was on his legs in a -moment protesting against drinking the health of the one great obstacle -to commercial and social success by which the Colony was oppressed. The -Attorney General was a popular man, and the lawyers were popular; but in -a moment they were obliterated by the general indignation of the guests -at the evil done to their beautiful land by this ill-natured freak of -Nature. A vast sum of money has been spent at Durban in making a -breakwater, all of which has,--so say the people of Durban and -Maritzburg,--been thrown away. Now Sir John Coode has been out to visit -the bar, and all the Colony was waiting for his report when I was there. -Sir John is the great emendator of South African harbours,--full trust -being put in his capability to stop the encroachments of sand, and to -scour away such deposits when in spite of his precautions they have -asserted themselves. At the period of my visit nothing was being done, -but Natal was waiting, graciously if not patiently, for Sir John’s -report. Very much depends on it. Up in the very interior of Africa, in -the Orange Free State and at the Diamond Fields it is constantly -asserted that goods can only be had through the Cape Colony because of -the bar across the mouth of the river at Durban;--and in the Transvaal -the bar is given as one of the chief reasons for making a railway down -to Delagoa Bay instead of connecting the now two British Colonies -together. I heard constantly that so many, or such a number of vessels, -were lying out in the roads and that goods could not be landed because -of the bar! The legal profession is peculiarly well represented in the -Colony; but I am inclined to agree with the gentleman who thought that -“The Bar” in Natal was the bar across the mouth of the river. - -I was carried over it in safety and was driven up to the club. There is -a railway from the port to the town, but its hours of running did not -exactly suit the mails, to which I was permitted to attach myself. This -railway is the beginning of a system which will soon be extended to -Pieter Maritzburg, the capital, which is already opened some few miles -northward into the sugar district, and which is being made along the -coast through the sugar growing country of Victoria to its chief town, -Verulam. There is extant an ambitious scheme for carrying on the line -from Pieter Maritzburg to Ladismith, a town on the direct route to the -Transvaal, and from thence across the mountains to Harrismith in the -Orange Free State, with an extension from Ladismith to the coal district -of Newcastle in the extreme north of the Colony. But the money for these -larger purposes has not yet been raised, and I may perhaps be justified -in saying that I doubt their speedy accomplishment. The lines to the -capital and to Verulam will no doubt be open in a year or two. I should -perhaps explain that Ladismith and Harrismith are peculiar names given -to towns in honour of Sir Harry Smith, who was at one time a popular -Governor in the Cape Colony. There is a project also for extending the -Verulam line to the extreme northern boundary of the Colony so as to -serve the whole sugar producing district. This probably will be effected -at no very distant time as sugar will become the staple produce of the -coast, if not of the entire Colony. There is a belt of land lying -between the hills and the sea which is peculiarly fertile and admirably -adapted for the growth of sugar, on which very large sums of money have -been already expended. It is often sad to look back upon the beginnings -of commercial enterprises which ultimately lead to the fortunes not -perhaps of individuals but of countries. Along this rich strip of -coast-land large sums of money have been wasted, no doubt to the ruin of -persons of whom, as they are ruined, the world will hear nothing. But -their enterprise has led to the success of others of whom the world will -hear. Coffee was grown here, and capital was expended on growing it upon -a large scale. But Natal as a coffee-growing country has failed. As far -as I could learn the seasons have not been sufficiently sure and settled -for the growth of coffee. And now, already, in the new Colony, on which -white men had hardly trodden half a century ago, there are wastes of -deserted coffee bushes,--as there came to be in Jamaica after the -emancipation of the slaves,--telling piteous tales of lost money and of -broken hopes. The idea of growing coffee in Natal seems now to be almost -abandoned. - -But new ground is being devoted to the sugar cane every day, and new -machinery is being continually brought into the Colony. The cultivation -was first introduced into Natal by Mr. Morewood in 1849, and has -progressed since with various vicissitudes. The sugar has progressed; -but, as is the nature of such enterprises, the vicissitudes have been -the lot of the sugar growers. There has been much success, and there has -also been much failure. Men have gone beyond their capital, and the -banks with their high rates of interest have too often swallowed up the -profits. But the result to the Colony has been success. The plantations -are there, increasing every day, and are occupied if not by owners then -by managers. Labourers are employed, and public Revenue is raised. A -commerce with life in it has been established so that no one travelling -through the sugar districts can doubt but that money is being made, into -whatever pocket the money may go. - -Various accounts of the produce were given to me. I was assured -by one or two sugar growers that four ton to the acre was not -uncommon,--whereas I knew by old experience in other sugar countries -that four ton to the acre per annum would be a very heavy crop indeed. -But sugar, unlike almost all other produce, can not be measured by the -year’s work. The canes are not cut yearly, at a special period, as wheat -is reaped or apples are picked. The first crop in Natal is generally the -growth of nearly or perhaps quite two years, and the second crop, being -the crop from the first ratoons, is the produce of 15 months. The -average yield per annum is, I believe, about 1½ tons per acre of -canes,--which is still high. - -It used to be the practice for a grower of canes to have as a matter of -course a plant for making sugar,--and probably rum. It seemed to be the -necessity of the business of cane-growing that the planter should also -be a manufacturer,--as though a grower of hemp was bound to make ropes -or a grower of wheat to make bread. Thus it came to pass that it -required a man with considerable capital to grow canes, and the small -farmer was shut out from the occupation. In Cuba and Demerara and -Barbados the cane grower is, I think, still almost always a -manufacturer. In Queensland I found farmers growing canes which they -sold to manufacturers who made the sugar. This plan is now being largely -adopted in Natal and central mills are being established by companies -who can of course command better machinery than individuals with small -capitals. But even in this arrangement there is much difficulty,--the -mill owners finding it sometimes impossible to get cane as they want it, -and the cane growers being equally hard set to obtain the miller’s -services just as their canes are fit for crushing. It becomes necessary -that special agreements shall be made beforehand as to periods and -quantities, which special agreements it is not always easy to keep. The -payment for the service done is generally made in kind, the miller -retaining a portion of the sugar produced, half or two thirds, as he or -the grower may have performed the very onerous work of carrying the -canes from the ground to the mill. The latter operation is another great -difficulty in the way of central mills. When the sugar grower had his -own machinery in the centre of his own cane fields he was able to take -care that a minimum amount of carriage should be required;--but with -large central manufactories the growing cane is necessarily thrown back -to a distance from the mill and a heavy cost for carriage is added. The -amount of cane to make a ton of sugar is so bulky that a distance is -easily reached beyond which the plants cannot be carried without a cost -which would make any profit impossible. - -In spite of all these difficulties,--and they are very great,--the -stranger cannot pass through the sugar districts of Natal without -becoming conscious of Colonial success. I have heard it argued that -sugar was doing no good to Natal because the profits reached England in -the shape of dividends on bank shares which were owned and spent in the -mother country. I can never admit the correctness of this argument, for -it is based on the assumption that in large commercial enterprises the -gain, or loss, realized by the capitalist is the one chief point of -interest;--that if he makes money all is well, and that if he loses it -all is ill. It may be so to him. But the real effect of his operations -is to be found in the wages and salaries he pays and the amount of -expenditure which his works occasion. I have heard of a firm which -carried on a large business without any thought of profit, merely for -political purposes. The motive I think was bad;--but not the less -beneficial to the population was the money spent in wages. Even though -all the profits from sugar grown in Natal were spent in England,--which -is by no means the case,--the English shareholders cannot get at their -dividends without paying workmen of all classes to earn them,--from the -black man who hoes the canes up to the Superintendent who rides about on -his horse and acts the part of master. - -There is a side to the sugar question in Natal which to me is less -satisfactory than the arrangements made in regard to Capital. As I have -repeated, and I fear shall repeat too often,--there are 320,000 Natives -in Natal; Kafirs and Zulus, strong men as one would wish to see; and yet -the work of the estates is done by Coolies from India. I ought not to -have been astonished by this for I had known twenty years ago that sugar -was grown or at any rate manufactured by Coolie labour in Demerara and -Trinidad, and had then been surprised at the apathy of the people of -Jamaica in that they had not introduced Coolies into that island. There -were stalwart negroes without stint in these sugar colonies,--who had -been themselves slaves, or were the children of slaves; but these -negroes would only work so fitfully that the planters had been forced to -introduce regular labour from a distance. The same thing, and nothing -more, had taken place in Natal. But yet I was astonished. It seemed to -be so sad that with all their idle strength standing close by, requiring -labour for its own salvation,--with so large a population which labour -only can civilize, we who have taken upon ourselves to be their masters -should send all the way to India for men to do that which it ought to be -their privilege to perform. But so it is. There are now over 10,000 -Coolies domiciled in Natal, all of whom have been brought there with the -primary object of making sugar. - -The Coolies are brought into the Colony by the Government under an -enactment of the Legislature. They agree to serve for a period of 10 -years, after which they are, if they please, taken back. The total cost -to the Government is in excess of £20 per man. Among the items of -expenditure in 1875 £20,000 was voted for the immigration of Coolies, -of which a portion was reimbursed during that year, and further portions -from year to year. The Coolie on his arrival is allotted to a -planter,--or to any other fitting applicant,--and the employer for 5 -years pays £4 per annum to the Government for the man’s services. He -also pays the man 12s. a month, and clothes him. He feeds the Coolie -also, at an additional average cost of 12s. a month, and with some other -small expenses for medical attendance and lodging pays about £20 per -annum for the man’s services. As I shall state more at length in the -next volume, there are twelve thousand Kafirs at the Diamond Fields -earning 10s. a week and their diet;--and as I have already stated there -are in British Kafraria many Kafirs earning very much higher wages than -that! But in Natal a Zulu, who generally in respect to strength and -intelligence is superior to the ordinary Kafir, is found not to be worth -£20 a year. - -The Coolie after his five years of compulsory service may seek a master -where he pleases,--or may live without a master if he has the means. His -term of enforced apprenticeship is over and he is supposed to have -earned back on behalf of the Colony the money which the Colony spent on -bringing him thither. Of course he is worth increased wages, having -learned his business, and if he pleases to remain at the work he makes -his own bargain. Not unfrequently he sets up for himself as a small -farmer or market-gardener, and will pay as much as 30s. an acre rent for -land on which he will live comfortably. I passed through a village of -Coolies where the men had their wives and children and were living each -under his own fig tree. Not unfrequently they hire Kafirs to do for them -the heavy work, assuming quite as much mastery over the Kafir as the -white man does. Many of them will go into service,--and are greatly -prized as domestic servants. They are indeed a most popular portion of -the community, and much respected,--whereas the white man does I fear in -his heart generally despise and dislike the Native. - -I have said that the ordinary Kafir is found by the sugar grower not to -be worth £20 a year. The sugar grower will put the matter in a different -way and will declare that the Kafir will not work for £20 a year,--will -not work as a man should work for any consideration that can be offered -to him. I have no doubt that sugar can for the present be best made by -Coolie labour,--and that of course is all in all with the manufacturer -of sugar. It cannot be otherwise. But it is impossible not to see that -under it all there is an aversion to the Kafir,--or Zulu as I had -perhaps better call him now,--because he cannot be controlled, because -his labour cannot be made compulsory. The Zulu is not an idle man,--not -so idle I think as were the negroes in the West Indies who after the -emancipation were able to squat on the deserted grounds and live on -yams. But he loves to be independent. I heard of one man who on being -offered work at certain wages, answered the European by offering him -work at higher wages. This he would do,--if the story be true,--with -perfect good humour and a thorough appreciation of the joke. But the -European in Natal, and, indeed, the European throughout South Africa, -cannot rid himself of the feeling that the man having thews and sinews, -and being a Savage in want of training, should be made to work,--say -nine hours a day for six days a week,--should be made to do as much as a -poor Englishman who can barely feed himself and his wife and children. -But the Zulu is a gentleman and will only work as it suits him. - -This angers the European. The Coolie has been brought into the land -under a contract and must work. The Coolie is himself conscious of this -and does not strive to rebel. He is as closely bound as is the English -labourer himself who would have to encounter at once all the awful -horrors of the Board of Guardians, if it were to enter into his poor -head to say that he intended to be idle for a week. The Zulu has his hut -and his stack of Kafir corn, and can kill an animal out in the veld, and -does not care a straw for any Board of Guardians. He is under no -contract by which he can be brought before a magistrate. Therefore the -sugar planter hates him and loves the Coolie. - -I was once interrogating a young and intelligent superintendent of -machinery in the Colony as to the labour he employed and asked him at -last whether he had any Kafirs about the place. He almost flew at me in -his wrath,--not against me but against the Kafirs. He would not, he -said, admit one under the same roof with him. All work was impossible if -a Kafir were allowed even to come near it. They were in his opinion a -set of human wretches whom it was a clear mistake to have upon the -earth. His work was all done by Coolies, and if he could not get Coolies -the work would not be worth doing at all by him. His was not a sugar -mill, but he was in the sugar country, and he was simply expressing -unguardedly,--with too little reserve,--the feelings of those around -him. - -I have no doubt that before long the Zulus will make sugar, and will -make it on terms cheaper to the Colony at large than those paid for the -Coolies. But the Indian Coolie has been for a long time in the world’s -workshop, whereas the Zulu has been introduced to it only quite of late. - -The drive from the railway station at Umgeni, about four miles from -Durban, through the sugar district to Verulam is very pretty. Some of -the rapid pitches into little valleys, and steep rapid rises put me in -mind of Devonshire. And, as in Devonshire, the hills fall here and there -in a small chaos of broken twisted ridges which is to me always -agreeable and picturesque. After a few turns the traveller, ignorant of -the locality, hardly knows which way he is going, and when he is shewn -some object which he is to approach cannot tell how he will get there. -And then the growth of the sugar cane is always in some degree green, -even in the driest weather. I had hardly seen anything that was not -brown in the Cape Colony, so long and severe had been the drought. In -Natal there was still no rain, but there was a green growth around which -was grateful to the eyes. Altogether I was much pleased with what I saw -of the sugar district of Natal, although I should have been better -satisfied could I have seen Natives at work instead of imported Coolies. - -Immediately west of the town as you make the first ascent up from the -sea level towards the interior there is the hill called the Berea on -and about which the more wealthy inhabitants of Durban have built their -villas. Some few of them are certainly among the best houses in South -Africa, and command views down upon the town and sea which would be very -precious to many an opulent suburb in England. Durban is proud of its -Berea and the visitor is taken to see it as the first among the sights -of the place. And as he goes he is called upon to notice the road on -which he is riding. It is no doubt a very good road,--as good as an -ordinary road leading out of an ordinary town in England, and therefore -does not at first attract the attention of the ordinary English -traveller. But roads in young countries are a difficulty and sometimes a -subject of soreness;--and the roads close to the towns and even in the -towns are often so imperfect that it is felt to be almost rude to allude -to them specially. In a new town very much has to be done before the -roads can be macadamized. I was driven along one road into Durban in -company with the Mayor which was certainly not all that a road ought to -be. But this road which we were on now was, when I came to observe it, a -very good road indeed. “And so it ought,” said my companion. “It cost -the Colony----,” I forget what he said it cost. £30,000, I think, for -three or four miles. There had been some blundering, probably some -peculation, and thus the money of the young community had been -squandered. Then, at the other side of Durban, £100,000 had been thrown -into the sea in a vain attempt to keep out the sand. These are the -heartrending struggles which new countries have to make. It is not only -that they must spend their hard-earned money, but that they are so -often compelled to throw it away because in their infancy they have not -as yet learned how to spend it profitably. - -Natal has had many hardships to endure and Durban perhaps more than its -share. But there it is now, a prosperous and pleasant seaport town with -a beautiful country round it and thriving merchants in its streets. It -has a park in the middle of it,--not very well kept. I may suggest that -it was not improved in general appearance when I saw it by having a -couple of old horses tethered on its bare grass. Perhaps the grass is -not bare now and perhaps the horses have been taken away. The -combination when I was there suggested poverty on the part of the -municipality and starvation on the part of the horses. There is also a -botanical garden a little way up the hill very rich in plants but not -altogether well kept. The wonder is how so much is done in these places, -rather than why so little;--that efforts so great should be made by -young and therefore poor municipalities to do something for the -recreation and for the relief of the inhabitants! I think that there is -not a town in South Africa,--so to be called,--which has not its -hospital and its public garden. The struggles for these institutions -have to come from men who are making a dash for fortune, generally under -hard circumstances in which every energy is required; and the money has -to be collected from pockets which at first are never very full. But a -colonial town is ashamed of itself if it has not its garden, its -hospital, its public library, and its two or three churches, even in its -early days. - -I can say nothing of the hotels at Durban because I was allowed to live -at the club,--which is so peculiarly a colonial institution. Somebody -puts your name down beforehand and then you drive up to the door and ask -for your bedroom. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided at stated -hours. At Durban two lunches were provided in separate rooms, a hot -lunch and a cold lunch,--an arrangement which I did not see elsewhere. I -imagine that the hot lunch is intended as a dinner to those who like to -dine early. But, if I am not mistaken, I have seen the same faces coming -out of the hot lunch and going in to the hot dinner. I should imagine -that these clubs cannot be regarded with much favour by the Innkeepers -as they take away a large proportion of the male travellers. - -The population of Durban is a little in excess of that of the capital of -the Colony, the one town running the other very close. They each have -something above 4,000 white inhabitants, and something above half that -number of coloured people. In regard to the latter there must I think be -much uncertainty as they fluctuate greatly and live, many of them, -nobody quite knows where. They are in fact beyond the power of accurate -counting, and can only be computed. In Durban, as in Pieter Maritzburg, -every thing is done by the Zulus,--or by other coloured people;--and -when anything has to be done there is always a Zulu boy to do it. -Nothing of manual work seems ever to be done by an European. The -stranger would thus be led to believe that the coloured population is -greater than the white. But Durban is a sea port town requiring many -clerks and having no manufactures. Clerks are generally white, as are -also the attendants in the shops. It is not till the traveller gets -further up the country that he finds a Hottentot selling him a -pockethandkerchief. I am bound to say that on leaving Durban I felt that -I had visited a place at which the settlers had done the very utmost for -themselves and had fought bravely and successfully with the difficulties -which always beset new comers into strange lands. I wish the town and -the sugar growers of its neighbourhood every success,--merely suggesting -to them that in a few years’ time a Zulu may become quite as handy at -making sugar as a Coolie. - -Pieter Maritzburg is about 55 miles from Durban, and there are two -public conveyances running daily. The mail cart starts in the morning, -and what is called a Cobb’s coach follows at noon. I chose the latter as -it travels somewhat faster than the other and reaches its destination in -time for dinner. The troubles of the long road before me,--from Durban -through Natal and the Transvaal to Pretoria, the Diamond Fields, -Bloemfontein--the capital of the Orange Free State,--and thence back -through the Cape Colony to Capetown were already beginning to lie heavy -on my mind. But I had no cause for immediate action at Durban. Whatever -I might do, whatever resolution I might finally take, must be done and -taken at Pieter Maritzburg. I could therefore make this little journey -without doubt, though my mind misgave me as to the other wanderings -before me. - -I found the Cobb’s coach,--which however was not a Cobb’s coach at -all,--to be a very well horsed and well arranged Institution. We -travelled when we were going at about ten miles an hour and were very -well driven indeed by one of those coloured half-bred Cape boys, as they -are called, whose parents came into the Cape Colony from St. Helena. -Almost all the driving of coaches and mail carts of South Africa has -fallen into their hands, and very good coachmen they are. I sometimes -flatter myself that I know something about the driving of ill-sorted -teams, having had much to do for many years with the transmission of -mails at home, and I do not know that I ever saw a more skilful man with -awkward horses than was this Cape driver. As well as I could learn he -was called Apollo. I hope that if he has a son he will not neglect to -instruct him in his father’s art as did the other charioteer of that -name. At home, in the old coaching days, we entertained a most -exaggerated idea of the skill of the red-faced, heavy, old fashioned -jarveys who used to succeed in hammering their horses along a road as -smooth as a bowling green, and who would generally be altogether at -their wits’ end if there came any sudden lack of those appurtenances to -which they were accustomed. It was not till I had visited the United -States, and Australia, and now South Africa that I saw what really might -be done in the way of driving four, six, or even eight horses. The -animals confided to Apollo’s care were generally good; but, as is always -the case in such establishments, one or two of them were new to the -work,--and one or two were old stagers who had a will of their own. And -the road was by no means a bowling-green all the way. I was much taken -with the manner in which Apollo got the better of four jibbing brutes, -who, taking the evil fashion one from another, refused for twenty -minutes to make any progress with the vehicle to which they had just -been harnessed. He suddenly twisted them round and they started full -gallop as though they were going back to Durban. The animals knew that -they were wanted to go the other way and were willing to do anything in -opposition to the supposed will of their master. They were flying to -Durban. But when he had got them warm to the harness he succeeded in -turning them on the veld, keeping them still at a gallop, till they had -passed the stage at which they had been harnessed to the coach. - -As much of the driving in such a country has to be done with the brake -as with the reins and whip, and this man, while his hands and arms were -hard at work, had to manage the brake with his feet. Our old English -coachman could not have moved himself quick enough for the making of -such exertions. And Apollo sat with a passenger on each side, terribly -cramped for room. He was hemmed in with mail bags. My luggage so -obliterated the foot-board that he had to sit with one leg cocked up in -the air and the other loose upon the brake. Every now and again new -indignities were heaped upon him in the shape of parcels and coats which -he stuffed under him as best he could. And yet he managed to keep the -mastery of his reins and whip. It was very hot and he drank lemonade all -the way. What English coachman of the old days could have rivalled him -there? At the end of the journey he asked for nothing, but took the -half-crown offered to him with easy nonchalance. He was certainly much -more like a gentleman than the old English coachman,--whose greedy eye -who does not remember that can remember at all those old days? - -We were apparently quite full but heard at starting that there was still -a place vacant which had been booked by a gentleman who was to get up -along the road. The back carriage, which was of the waggonette fashion, -uncovered, with seats at each side, seemed to be so full that the -gentleman would find a difficulty in placing himself, but as I was on -the box the idea did not disconcert me. At last, about half way, at one -of the stages, the gentleman appeared. There was a lady inside with her -husband, with five or six others, who at once began to squeeze -themselves. But when the gentleman came it was not a gentleman only, but -a gentleman with the biggest fish in his arms that I ever saw, short of -a Dolphin. I was told afterwards that it weighed 45 pounds. The fish was -luggage, he said, and must be carried. He had booked his place. That we -knew to be true. When asked he declared he had booked a place for the -fish also. That we believed to be untrue. He came round to the front and -essayed to put it on the foot-board. When I assured him that any such -attempt must be vain and that the fish would be at once extruded if -placed there, he threatened to pull me off the box. He was very angry, -and frantic in his efforts. The fish, he said, was worth £5, and must go -to Maritzburg that day. Here Apollo shewed, I think, a little -inferiority to an English coachman. The English coachman would have -grown very red in the face, would have cursed horribly, and would have -persistently refused all contact with the fish. Apollo jumped on his -box, seized the reins, flogged the horses, and endeavoured to run away -both from the fish and the gentleman. - -But the man, with more than colonial alacrity, and with a courage worthy -of a better cause, made a successful rush, and catching the back of the -vehicle with one hand got on to the step behind, while he held on to the -fish with his other hand and his teeth. There were many exclamations -from the folks behind. The savour of the fish was unpleasant in their -nostrils. It must have been very unpleasant as it reached us -uncomfortably up on the box. Gradually the man got in,--and the fish -followed him! Labor omnia vincit improbus. By his pertinacity the -company seemed to become reconciled to the abomination. On looking round -when we were yet many miles from Pieter Maritzburg I saw the gentleman -sitting with his feet dangling back over the end of the car; his -neighbour and vis-a-vis, who at first had been very loud against the -fish, was sitting in the same wretched position; while the fish itself -was placed upright in the place of honour against the door, where the -legs of the two passengers ought to have been. Before we reached our -journey’s end I respected the gentleman with the fish,--who nevertheless -had perpetrated a great injustice; but I thought very little of the -good-natured man who had allowed the fish to occupy the space intended -for a part of his own body. I never afterwards learned what became of -the fish. If all Maritzburg was called together to eat it I was not -asked to join the party. - -I must not complete my record of the journey without saying that we -dined at Pinetown, half way, and that I never saw a better coach dinner -put upon a table. - -The scenery throughout from Durban to Pieter Maritzburg is interesting -and in some places is very beautiful. The road passes over the ridge of -hills which guards the interior from the sea, and in many places from -its altitude allows the traveller to look down on the tops of smaller -hills grouped fantastically below, lying as though they had been -crumbled down from a giant’s hand. And every now and then are seen those -flat-topped mountains,--such as is the Table mountain over -Capetown,--which form so remarkable a feature in South African scenery, -and occur so often as to indicate some peculiar cause for their -formation. - -Altogether what with the scenery, the dinner, Apollo, and the fish, the -journey was very interesting. - - - - -CHAPTER XVI. - -CONDITION OF THE COLONY.--NO. 2. - - -On arriving at Pieter Maritzburg I put up for a day or two at the Royal -Hotel which I found to be comfortable enough. I had been told that the -Club was a good club but that it had not accommodation for sleeping. I -arrived late on Saturday evening, and on the Sunday morning I went, of -course, to hear Bishop Colonso preach. Whatever might be the Bishop’s -doctrine, so much at any rate was due to his fame. The most innocent and -the most trusting young believer in every letter of the Old Testament -would have heard nothing on that occasion to disturb a cherished -conviction or to shock a devotional feeling. The church itself was all -that a church ought to be, pretty, sufficiently large and comfortable. -It was, perhaps, not crowded, but was by no means deserted. I had -expected that either nobody would have been there, or else that it would -have been filled to inconvenience,--because of the Bishop’s alleged -heresies. A stranger who had never heard of Bishop Colenso would have -imagined that he had entered a simple church in which the service was -pleasantly performed,--all completed including the sermon within an hour -and a half,--and would have had his special attention only called to the -two facts that one of the clergymen wore lawn sleeves, and that the -other was so singularly like Charles Dickens as to make him expect to -hear the tones of that wonderful voice whenever a verse of the Bible was -commenced. - -Pieter Maritzburg is a town covering a large area of ground but is -nevertheless sufficiently built up and perfected to prevent that look of -scattered failure which is so common to colonial embryo cities. I do not -know that it contains anything that can be called a handsome -building;--but the edifices whether public or private are neat, -appropriate, and sufficient. The town is surrounded by hills, and is -therefore, necessarily, pretty. The roadways of the street are good, and -the shops have a look of established business. The first idea of Pieter -Maritzburg on the mind of a visitor is that of success, and this idea -remains with him to the last. It contains only a little more than 4,000 -white inhabitants, whereas it would seem from the appearance of the -place, and the breadth and length of the streets, and the size of the -shops, and the number of churches of different denominations, to require -more than double that number of persons to inhabit it. Observation in -the streets, however, will show that the deficiency is made up by -natives, who in fact do all the manual and domestic work of the place. -Their number is given as 2,500; but I am disposed to think that a very -large number come in from the country for their daily occupations in the -town. The Zulu adherents to Pieter Maritzburg are so remarkable that I -must speak separately of them in a separate chapter. The white man in -the capital as in Durban is not the working man, but the master, or -boss, who looks after the working man. - -I liked Pieter Maritzburg very much,--perhaps the best of all South -African towns. But whenever I would express such an opinion to a Pieter -Maritzburger he would never quite agree with me. It is difficult to get -a Colonist to assent to any opinion as to his own Colony. If you find -fault, he is injured and almost insulted. The traveller soon learns that -he had better abstain from all spoken criticism, even when that often -repeated, that dreadful question is put to him,--which I was called upon -to answer sometimes four or five times a day,--“Well, Mr. Trollope, what -do you think of----,”--let us say for the moment, “South Africa?” But -even praise is not accepted without contradiction, and the peculiar -hardships of a Colonist’s life are insisted upon almost with indignation -when colonial blessings are spoken of with admiration. The Government at -home is doing everything that is cruel, and the Government in the Colony -is doing everything that is foolish. With whatever interest the -gentleman himself is concerned, that peculiar interest is peculiarly -ill-managed by the existing powers. But for some fatuous maddening law -he himself could make his own fortune and almost that of the Colony. In -Pieter Maritzburg everybody seemed to me very comfortable, but everybody -was ill-used. There was no labour,--though the streets were full of -Zulus, who would do anything for a shilling and half anything for -sixpence. There was no emigration from England provided for by the -country. There were not half soldiers enough in Natal,--though Natal -has luckily had no real use for soldiers since the Dutch went away. But -perhaps the most popular source of complaint was that everything was so -dear that nobody could afford to live. Nevertheless I did not hear that -any great number of the inhabitants of the town were encumbered by debt, -and everybody seemed to live comfortably enough. - -“You must begin,” said one lady to me, “by computing that £400 a year in -England means £200 a year here.” To this I demurred before the -lady,--with very little effect, as of course she had the better of me in -the argument. But I demur again here, with better chance of success, as -I have not the lady by to contradict me. - -The point is one on which it is very difficult to come to a direct and -positive conclusion. The lady began by appealing to wages, rent, the -price of tea and all such articles as must be imported, the price of -clothes, the material of which must at least be imported, the price of -butter and vegetables, the price of schooling, of medical assistance and -of law, which must be regulated in accordance with the price of the -articles which the schoolmaster, doctors, and lawyers consume,--and the -price of washing. In all such arguments the price of washing is brought -forward as a matter in which the Colonist suffers great hardships. It -must be acknowledged that the washing is dear,--and bad, atrociously -bad;--so bad that the coming home of one’s linen is a season for tears -and wailing. Bread and meat she gave up to me. Bread might be about the -same as in Europe, and meat no doubt in Pieter Maritzburg was to be had -at about half the London prices. She defied me to name another article -of consumption which was not cheaper at home than in the Colony. - -I did not care to go through the list with her, though I think that a -London butler costs more than a Zulu boy. I found the matter of wages -paid to native servants to be so inexplicable as to defy my enquiries. A -boy,--that is a Zulu man--would run almost anywhere for a shilling with -a portmanteau on his head. I often heard of 7s. a month as the amount of -wages paid by a farmer,--with a diet exclusively of mealies or of Kafir -corn. And yet housekeepers have told me that they paid £5 and £6 a month -wages for a man, and that they considered his diet to cost them 15s. a -week. In the heat of argument exceptional circumstances are often taken -to prove general statements. You will be assured that the Swiss are the -tallest people in Europe because a Swiss has been found seven feet high. -A man will teach himself to think that he pays a shilling each for the -apples he eats, because he once gave a shilling for an apple in Covent -Garden. The abnormally dear Zulu servants of whom I have heard have been -I think like the giant Swiss and the shilling apple. Taking it all round -I feel sure that Zulu service in Natal is very much cheaper than English -service in England,--that it does not cost the half. I have no doubt -that it is less regular,--but then it is more good humoured, and what it -lacks in comfort is made up in freedom. - -But I would not compare items with my friend; nor do I think that any -true result can be reached by such comparison. Comfort in living depends -not so much on the amount of good things which a man can afford to -consume, but on the amount of good things which those with whom he -lives will think that he ought to consume. It may be true,--nay, it -certainly is true,--that for every square foot of house room which a -householder enjoys he pays more in Pieter Maritzburg than a householder -of the same rank and standing pays in London for the same space. But a -professional man, a lawyer let us say, can afford to live, without being -supposed to derogate from his position, in a much smaller house in Natal -than he can in England. It may cost sixpence to wash a shirt in Natal, -and only threepence in England; but if an Englishman be required by the -exacting fastidiousness of his neighbours to put on a clean white shirt -every day, whereas the Natalian can wear a flannel shirt for three days -running, it will be found, I think, that the Natalian will wash his -shirts a penny a day cheaper than the Englishman. A man with a family, -living on £400 a year, cannot entertain his friends very often either in -London or in Pieter Maritzburg;--but, of the two, hospitality is more -within the reach of the latter because the Colonist who dines out -expects much less than the Englishman. We clothe ourselves in broadcloth -instead of fustian because we are afraid of our neighbours, but the -obligation on us is imperative. In a country where it is less so, money -spent in clothing will of course go further. I do not hesitate to say -that a gentleman living with a wife and children on any income -between £400 and £1,000 would feel less of the inconveniences of -poverty in Natal than in England. That he would experience many -drawbacks,--especially in regard to the education of his children,--is -incidental to all colonial life. - -I find the following given in a list of prices prevailing at Pieter -Maritzburg in March 1876, and I quote from it as I have seen no list so -general of later date. Meat 6d. per pound. Wheat 13s. per cwt. Turkeys -from 8s. upwards. Fowls 2s. 4d. each. Ham Is. 1d. per lb. Bacon 8d. -Butter, fresh, 1s. 2d. to 1s. 6d. This is an article which often becomes -very much dearer, and is always too bad to be eaten. Coals £3 6s. 8d. -per ton. Good coal could not be bought for this; but coal is never used -in houses. Little fuel is needed except for cooking, and for that wood -is used--quoted at 1s. 4d. per cwt. Potatoes 4s. to 6s. per cwt. Onions -16s. per cwt. A horse can be kept at livery at 17s. 6d. a week. The same -clothes would be dearer in Pieter Maritzburg than in London, but the -same clothes are not worn. I pay £2 2s. for a pair of trowsers in -London. Before I left South Africa I found myself wearing garments that -a liberal tradesman in the Orange Free State, six hundred miles away -from the sea, had sold me for 16s.--although they had been brought ready -made all the way from England. This purchase had not taken place when I -was discussing the matter with the lady, or perhaps I might have been -able to convince her. I bought a hat at the Diamond Fields cheaper than -my friend Scott would sell it me at the corner of Bond Street. - -While in Pieter Maritzburg a public dinner was given to which I had the -honour of receiving an invitation. After dinner, as is usual on such -occasions, a great many speeches were made,--which differed very much -from such speeches as are usually spoken at public dinners in England, -by being all worth hearing. I do not know that I ever heard so many -good speeches made before on a so-called festive occasion. I think I may -say that at home the two or three hours after the health of Her Majesty -has been drunk are generally two or three hours of misery,--sometimes -intensified to such a degree as to induce the unfortunate one to fly for -support to the wine which is set before him. I have sometimes fancied -that this has come, not so much from the inability of the speakers to -make good speeches,--because as a rule able men are called upon on such -occasions,--as from a feeling of shame on the part of the orators. They -do not like to seem to wish to shine on an occasion so trivial. The “Nil -admirari” school of sentiment prevails. To be in earnest about anything, -except on a very rare occasion, would almost be to be ridiculous. -Consequently man after man gets up and in a voice almost inaudible -mumbles out a set of platitudes, which simply has the effect of -preventing conversation. Here, at Pieter Maritzburg, I will not say that -every speaker spoke his best. I do not know to what pitch of excellence -they might have risen. But they spoke so that it was a pleasure to hear -them. The health of the Chief Justice was given, and it is a pity that -every word which he used in describing the manner in which he had -endeavoured to do his duty to the public and the bar, and the pleasure -which had pervaded his life because the public had been law-abiding, and -the bar amenable, should not have been repeated in print. Judges at home -have not so much to say about their offices. There was a tradesman -called to his legs with reference to the commerce of Natal who poured -forth such a flood of words about the trade of the Colony as to make me -feel that he ought not to be a tradesman at all. Probably, however, he -has made his fortune, which he might not have done had he become a -member of Parliament. It was here that the gentleman protested against -drinking the health of The Bar at Durban, to the infinite delight of his -hearers. Napier Broome, who was known to many of us in London, is now -Colonial Secretary at Natal. I don’t remember that he ever startled us -by his eloquence at home; but on this occasion he made a speech which if -made after a London public dinner would be a great relief. Everybody had -something to say, and nobody was ashamed to say it. - -I found 1,200 British soldiers in Pieter Maritzburg, for the due -ordering of whom there was assembled there the rather large number of -eight or nine Field Officers. But in Natal military matters have had a -stir given to them by the necessity of marching troops up to -Pretoria,--at a terrible cost, and now an additional stir by Zulu -ambition. An Englishman in these parts, when he remembers the almost -insuperable difficulty of getting a sufficient number of men in England -to act as soldiers, when he tells himself what these soldiers cost by -the time they reach their distant billets, and reminds himself that they -are supported by taxes levied on a people who, man for man, are very -much poorer than the Colonists themselves, that they are maintained in -great part out of the beer and tobacco of rural labourers who cannot -earn near as much as many a Kafir,--the Englishman as he thinks of all -this is apt to question the propriety of their being there. He will say -to himself that at any rate the Colony should pay for them. A part of -the cost is paid for by the Colony, but only a small part. In 1876 -£4,596 9s. 11d. was so expended, and in 1877 £2,318 2s. 7d. - -Other countries, Spain most notoriously and Holland also, have held the -idea that they should use their Colonies as a source of direct wealth to -themselves,--that a portion of the Colonists’ earnings, or findings, -should periodically be sent home to enrich the mother country. England -has disavowed that idea and has thought that the Colonies should be for -the Colonists. She has been contented with the advantage to her own -trade which might come from the creating of new markets for her goods, -and from the increase which accrued to her honour from the spreading of -her language, her laws and her customs about the world. Up to a certain -point she has had to manage the Colonies herself as a mother manages her -child; and while this was going on she had imposed on her the necessary -task of spending Colonial funds, and might spend them on soldiers or -what not as seemed best to her. But when the Colonies have declared -themselves able to manage themselves and have demanded the privilege of -spending their own moneys, then she has withdrawn her soldiers. It has -seemed monstrous to her to have to send those luxuries,--which of all -luxuries are in England the most difficult to be had,--to Colonies which -assume to be able to take care of themselves with their own funds. But -the act of withdrawing them has been very unpopular. New South Wales has -not yet quite forgiven it, nor Tasmania. For a time there was a question -whether it might not drive New Zealand into rebellion. But the soldiers -have been withdrawn,--from all parliamentary Colonies, I think, except -the Cape. Natal is not a parliamentary Colony in the proper sense, and -cannot therefore in this matter be put on quite the same footing as the -Cape Colony. But she spends her own revenues and according to the theory -which prevails on the subject, she should provide for her own defence. - -Australia wants no soldiers, nor does New Zealand in spite of the -unsubdued Maoris who are still resident within her borders. They fear no -evil from aboriginal races against which their own strength will not -suffice for them. At the Cape and in Natal it is very different. It has -to be acknowledged, at any rate as to Natal, that an armed European -force in addition to any that the Colony can supply for itself, has to -be maintained for its protection against the black races. But who should -pay the bill? I will not say that assuredly the Colony should do so,--or -else not have the soldiers. What is absolutely necessary in the way of -soldiers must be supplied, whoever pays for them. England will not let -her Colonies be overcome by enemies, black or white, even though she -herself must pay the bill. But it seems to me that a Colony should -either pay its bill or else be ruled from home. I cannot admit that a -Colony is in a position to levy, collect, and spend its own taxes, till -it is in a position to pay for whatever it wants with those taxes. Were -there many Colonies situated as are those of South Africa it would be -impossible for England to continue to send her soldiers for their -protection. In the mean time it is right to say that the Colony keeps a -colonial force of 150 mounted police who are stationed at three -different places in the Colony,--the Capital, Eastcourt, and Greyton. -In these places there are barracks and stables, and the force as far as -it goes is very serviceable. - -The Colony is governed by a Lieutenant-Governor,--who however is not in -truth Lieutenant to any one but simply bears that sobriquet, and an -Executive Council consisting I think of an uncertain number. There is a -Colonial Secretary, a Secretary for Native Affairs, a Treasurer, and an -Attorney-General. The Commandant of the Forces is I think also called to -the Council, and the Superintendent of Public Works. The Governor is -impowered also to invite two members of the Legislative Council. They -meet as often as is found necessary and in fact govern the Colony. Laws -are of course passed by the Legislative Council of twenty-eight members, -of which, as I have stated before, fifteen are elected and thirteen -nominated. New laws are I think always initiated by the Government, and -the action of the Council, if hostile to the Government, is confined to -repudiating propositions made by the Government. But the essential -difference between such a government as that of Natal, and parliamentary -government such as prevails in Canada, the Australias, New Zealand and -in the Cape Colony, consists in this--that the Prime Minister in these -self-governing Colonies is the responsible head of affairs and goes in -and out in accordance with a parliamentary majority, as do our Ministers -at home; whereas in Natal the Ministers remain in,--or go out if they do -go out,--at the dictation of the Crown. Though the fifteen elective -members in Natal were to remain hostile to the Government on every point -year after year, there would be no constitutional necessity to change a -single Minister of the Colony. The Crown,--or Governor,--would still -govern in accordance with its or his prevailing ideas. There might be a -deadlock about money. There might be much that would be disagreeable. -But the Governor would be responsible for the government, and no one -would necessarily come in or go out. Such a state of things, however, is -very improbable in a Colony in which the Crown nominates so great a -minority as thirteen members out of a Chamber of twenty-eight. It is not -probable that the fifteen elected members will combine themselves -together to create a difficulty. - -In 1876 the Revenue of the Colony was £265,551. In 1846 it was only -£3,095. In 1876 the expenditure was £261,933. What was the expenditure -in 1846 I do not know, but certainly more than the Revenue,--as has -often been the case since. The Colony owes an old funded debt of -£331,700, and it has now borrowed or is in the act of borrowing -£1,200,000 for its railways. The borrowed money will no doubt all be -expended on public works. When a country has but one harbour, and that -harbour has such a sandbank as the bar at Durban, it has to spend a -considerable sum of money before it can open the way for its commerce. -Upon the whole it may be said that the financial affairs of the Colony -are now in a good condition. - -When I had been a day or two in the place the Governor was kind enough -to ask me to his house and extended his hospitality by inviting me to -join him in an excursion which he was about to make through that portion -of his province which lies to the immediate North of Pieter Maritzburg, -and thence, eastward, down the coast through the sugar districts to -Durban. It was matter of regret to me that my arrangements were too far -fixed to enable me to do all that he suggested; but I had a few days at -my disposal and I was very glad to take the opportunity of seeing, under -such auspices, as much as those few days would allow. An active Colonial -Governor will be so often on the move as to see the whole of the -territory confided to his care and to place himself in this way within -the reach of almost every Colonist who may wish to pay his respects or -may have ought of which to complain. This is so general that Governors -are very often away from home, making semi-regal tours through their -dominions, not always very much to their own comfort, but greatly to the -satisfaction of the male Colonist who always likes to see the -Governor,--very much indeed to the satisfaction of the lady Colonist who -likes the Governor to call upon her. - -Upon such occasions everything needed upon the road has to be carried, -as, except in towns, no accommodation can be found for the Governor and -his suite. In Natal for instance I imagine that Durban alone would be -able to put the Governor up with all his followers. He lives as he goes -under canvas, and about a dozen tents are necessary. Such at least was -the case on this trip. Cooks, tentpitchers, butlers, guards, -aides-de-camp, and private secretary are all necessary. The progress was -commenced by the despatch of many waggons with innumerable oxen. Then -there followed a mule waggon in which those men were supposed to sit who -did not care to remain long on horseback. While I remained the mule -waggon was I think presided over by the butler and tenanted by his -satellites, the higher persons preferring the more animated life of the -saddle. I had been provided with a remarkably strong little nag, named -Toby Tub, who seemed to think nothing of sixteen stone for six or seven -hours daily and who would canter along for ever if not pressed beyond -eight miles an hour. The mode of our progress was thus;--as the slow -oxen made their journeys of twelve or fourteen miles a day the Governor -deviated hither and thither to the right and the left, to this village -or to that church, or to pay a visit to some considerable farmer; and -thus we would arrive at the end of our day’s journey by the time the -tents were pitched,--or generally before. There was one young officer -who used to shoot ahead about three in the afternoon, and it seemed that -everything in the way of comfort depended on him. My own debt of -gratitude to him was very great, as he let me have his own peculiar -indiarubber tub every morning before he used it himself. Tubbing on such -occasions is one of the difficulties, as the tents cannot be pitched -quite close to the spruits, or streams, and the tubs have to be carried -to the water instead of the water to the tubs. Bathing would be -convenient, were it not that the bather is apt to get out of a South -African spruit much more dirty than he went into it. I bathed in various -rivers during my journey, but I did not generally find it satisfactory. - -We rode up to many farms at which we were of course received with the -welcome due to the Governor, and where in the course of the interview -most of the material facts as to the farmer’s enterprise,--whether on -the whole he had been successful or the reverse, and to what cause his -success or failure had been owing,--would come out in conversation. An -English farmer at home would at once resent the questionings which to a -Colonial farmer are a matter of course. The latter is conscious that he -has been trying an experiment and that any new comer will be anxious to -know the result. He has no rent to pay and does not feel that his -condition ought to remain a secret between him and his landlord alone. -One man whom we saw had come from the East Riding of Yorkshire more than -twenty years ago, and was now the owner of 1,200 acres,--which however -in Natal is not a large farm. But he was well located as to land, and -could have cultivated nearly the whole had labour been abundant enough, -and cheap enough. He was living comfortably with a pleasant wife and -well-to-do children, and regaled us with tea and custard. His house was -comfortable, and everything no doubt was plentiful with him. But he -complained of the state of things and would not admit himself to be well -off. O fortunati nimium sua si bona norint Agricolæ. He had no rent to -pay. That was true. But there were taxes,--abominable taxes. This was -said with a side look at the Governor. And as for labour,--there was no -making a Zulu labour. Now you could get a job done, and now you -couldn’t. How was a man to grow wheat in such a state of things, and -that, too, with the rust so prevalent? Yes;--he had English neighbours -and a school for the children only a mile and a half off. And the land -was not to say bad. But what with the taxes and what with the Zulus, -there were troubles more than enough. The Governor asked, as I thought -at the moment indiscreetly, but the result more than justified the -question,--whether he had any special complaint to make. He had paid the -dog tax on his dogs,--5s. a dog, I think it was;--whereas some of his -neighbours had escaped the imposition! There was nothing more. And in -the midst of all this the man’s prosperity and comfort were leaking out -at every corner. The handsome grown-up daughter was telling me of the -dancing parties around to which she went, and there were the pies and -custards all prepared for the family use and brought out at a moment’s -notice. There were the dining room and drawing room, well furnished and -scrupulously clean,--and lived in, which is almost more to the purpose. -There could be no doubt that our Yorkshire friend had done well with -himself in spite of the Zulus and the dog tax. - -An Englishman, especially an English farmer, will always complain, where -a Dutchman or a German will express nothing but content. And yet the -Englishman will probably have done much more to secure his comfort than -any of his neighbours of another nationality. An English farmer in Natal -almost always has a deal flooring to his living rooms; while a Dutchman -will put up with the earth beneath his feet. The one is as sure to be -the case as the other. But the Dutchman rarely grumbles,--or if he -grumbles it is not at his farm. He only wants to be left alone, to live -as he likes on his earthen floor as his fathers lived before him, and -not to be interfered with or have advice given to him by any one. - -In the course of our travels we came to a German village,--altogether -German, and were taken by the Lutheran parson to see the Lutheran church -and Lutheran school. They were both large and betokened a numerous -congregation. That such a church should have been built and a clergyman -supported was evidence of the possession of considerable district funds. -I am not sure but that I myself was more impressed by the excellence of -the Lutheran oranges, grown on the spot. It was very hot and the pastor -gave us oranges just picked from his own garden to refresh us on our -journey. I never ate better oranges. But an orange to be worth eating -should always be just picked from the tree. - -Afterwards as we went on we came to Hollanders, Germans, Dutchmen, and -Englishmen, all of whom were doing well, though most of them complained -that they could not grow corn as they would wish to do because the -natives would not work. The Hollander and the Dutchman in South Africa -are quite distinct persons. The Hollander is a newly arrived emigrant -from Holland, and has none of the Boer peculiarities, of which I shall -have to speak when I come to the Transvaal and the Free State. The -Dutchman is the descendant of the old Dutch Colonist, and when living on -his farm is called a Boer,--the word having the same signification as -husbandman with us. It flavours altogether of the country and country -pursuits, but would never be applied to any one who worked for wages. -They are rare in the part of the country we were then visiting, having -taken themselves off, as I have before explained, to avoid English rule. -There is however a settlement of them still left in the northern part -of the Colony, about the Klip River and in Weenen. - -One Hollander whom we visited was very proud indeed of what he had done -in the way of agriculture and gave us, not only his own home-grown -oranges, but also his own home-grown cigars. I had abandoned smoking, -perhaps in prophetical anticipation of some such treat as this. Others -of the party took the cigars,--which, however, were not as good as the -oranges. This man had planted many trees, and had done marvels with the -land round his house. But the house itself was deficient,--especially in -the article of flooring. - -Then we came to a German farmer who had planted a large grove about his -place, having put down some thousands of young trees. Nothing can be -done more serviceable to the country at large than the planting of -trees. Though there is coal in the Colony it is not yet accessible,--nor -can be for many years because of the difficulty of transport. The land -is not a forest-land,--like Australia. It is only on the courses of the -streams that trees grow naturally and even then the growth is hardly -more than that of shrubs. Firewood is consequently very dear, and all -the timber used in building is imported. But young trees when planted -almost always thrive. It has seemed to me that the Governments of South -Africa should take the matter in hand,--as do the Governments of the -Swiss Cantons and of the German Duchies, which are careful that timber -shall be reproduced as it is cut down. In Natal it should be produced; -and Nature, though she has not given the country trees, has manifestly -given it the power of producing them. The German gentleman was full of -the merits of the country, freely admitting his own success, and -mitigating in some degree the general expressions against the offending -Native. He could get Zulus to work--for a consideration. But he was of -opinion that pastoral pursuits paid better than agriculture. - -We came to another household of mixed Germans and Dutch, where we -received exactly the same answers to our enquiries. Farming answered -very well,--but cattle or sheep were the articles which paid. A man -should only grow what corn he wanted for himself and his stock. A farmer -with 6,000 acres, which is the ordinary size of a farm, should not -plough at the most above 40 acres,--just the patches of land round his -house. For simply agricultural purposes 6,000 acres would of course be -unavailable. The farming capitalists in England who single-handed plough -6,000 acres might probably be counted on the ten fingers. In Natal,--and -in South Africa generally,--when a farm is spoken of an area is -signified large enough for pastoral purposes. This may be all very well -for the individual farmer, but it is not good for a new country, such as -are the greater number of our Colonies. In Australia the new coming -small farmer can purchase land over the heads of the pastoral Squatters -who are only tenants of the land under Government. But in South Africa -the fee of the land has unfortunately been given away. - -On many of these farms we found that Zulus had “locations.” A small -number,--perhaps four or five families,--had been allowed to make a -kraal,--or native village,--on condition that the men would work for -wages. The arrangement is not kept in any very strict way, but is felt -to be convenient by farmers who have not an antipathy to the Zulus. The -men will work, unless they are particularly anxious just then to be -idle;--which is, I think, as much as can be expected from them just at -present. Throughout this country there are other “locations”--very much -larger in extent of land and numerously inhabited,--on which the Natives -reside by their own right, the use of the soil having been given to them -by the Government. - -At Greyton the capital of the district I met an English farmer, a -gentleman living at a little distance whose residence and station I did -not see, and found him boiling over with grievances. He found me walking -about the little town at dawn, and took out of his pocket a long letter -of complaint, addressed to some one in authority, which he insisted on -reading to me. It was a general accusation against the Zulus and all -those who had the management of the Zulus. He was able to do nothing -because of the injuries which the vagabond Natives inflicted upon him. -He would not have had a Zulu near him if he could have helped it. I -could not but wish that he might be deserted by Zulus altogether for a -year,--so that he might have to catch his own horse, and kill his own -sheep, and clean his own top boots--in which he was dressed when he -walked about the streets of Greyton that early morning reading to my -unwilling ears his long letter of complaint. - -At his camp in the neighbourhood of Greyton I bade adieu to the -Governor and his companions and went back to Pieter Maritzburg by the -mail cart. I had quite convinced myself that the people whom I had seen -during my little tour had done well in settling themselves in Natal, and -had prospered as Colonists, in spite of the dog tax and the wickedness -of the Zulus to the unfortunate owner of the top boots. - - - - -CHAPTER XVII. - -THE ZULUS. - - -Upon entering Natal we exchange the Kafir for the Zulu,--who conceives -himself to be a very superior sort of man--not as being equal to the -white man whom he reverences, but as being greatly above the other black -races around him. And yet he is not a man of ancient blood, or of long -established supremacy. In the early part of this century,--beyond which -I take it Zulu history goeth not,--there was a certain chief of the -Zulus whom we have spoken of as King Chaka. To spell the name aright -there should be a T before the C, and an accent to mark the peculiar -sound in the Kafir language which is called a click. To the uninstructed -English ear Chaka will be intelligible and sufficient. He was King of -the Zulus, but the tribe was not mighty before his time. He was a great -warrior and was brave enough and gradually strong enough to “eat up” all -the tribes around him; and then, according to Kafir fashion, the tribes -so eaten amalgamated themselves with the eaters, and the Zulus became a -great people. But Chaka was a bloody tyrant and if the stories told be -true was nearly as great an eater of his own people as of his enemies. -In his early days the territory which we now call Natal was not -inhabited by Zulus but by tribes which fell under his wrath, and which -he either exterminated or assimilated,--which at any rate he “ate up.” -Then the Zulus flocked into the land, and hence the native population -became a Zulu people. But Zulu-land proper, with which we Britons have -no concern and where the Zulus live under an independent king of their -own, is to the North of Natal, lying between the Colony and the -Portuguese possession called Delagoa Bay. - -It may be as well to say here a few words about the Zulus on their own -land. I did not visit their country and am not therefore entitled to say -much, but from what I learned I have no doubt that had I visited the -nation I should have been received with all courtesy at the Court of his -dreaded Majesty King Cetywayo,--who at this moment, January, 1878, is I -fear our enemy. The spelling of this name has become settled, but -Cetch-way-o is the pronunciation which shews the speaker to be well up -in his Zulu. King Chaka, who made all the conquests, was murdered by his -brother Dingaan[16] who then reigned in his stead. Dingaan did not add -much territory to the territories of his tribe as Chaka had done, but he -made himself known and probably respected among his Zulu subjects by -those horrible butcheries of the Dutch pioneers of which I have spoken -in my chapter on the early history of the Colony. The name of Dingaan -then became dreadful through the land. It was not only that he -butchered the Dutch, but that he maintained his authority and the dread -of his name by the indiscriminate slaughter of his own people. If the -stories told be true, he was of all South African Savages the most -powerful and the most savage. But as far as I can learn English -missionaries were safe in Zulu-land even in Dingaan’s time. - -Then Dingaan was murdered and his brother Panda became Chief. Neither -Chaka or Dingaan left sons, and there is extant a horrible story to the -effect that they had their children killed as soon as born, thinking -that a living son would be the most natural enemy to a reigning father. -Panda was allowed to live and reign, and seems to have been a fat -do-nothing good-natured sort of King,--for a Zulu. He died some years -since,--in his bed if he had one,--and now his son Cetywayo reigns in -his stead. - -Cetywayo has certainly a bad reputation generally, though he was till -quite lately supposed to be favourable to the English as opposed to the -Dutch. When dealing with the troubles of the Transvaal I shall have to -say something of him in that respect. He has probably been the indirect -cause of the annexation of that country. In Natal there are two opinions -about the Zulu monarch. As the white man generally dislikes the black -races by whom he is surrounded and troubled in South Africa,--not averse -by any means to the individual with whom he comes in immediate contact, -but despising and almost hating the people,--Cetywayo and his subjects -are as a rule evil spoken of among the Europeans of the adjacent -Colony. He is accused of murdering his people right and left according -to his caprices. That is the charge brought against him. But it is -acknowledged that he does not murder white people, and I am not at all -sure that there is any conclusive evidence of his cruelty to the blacks. -He has his white friends as I have said, and although they probably go a -little too far in whitewashing him, I am inclined to believe them when -they assert that the spirit of European clemency and abhorrence from -bloodshed has worked its way even into the Zulu Court and produced a -respect for life which was unknown in the days of Chaka and Dingaan. It -is no doubt the case that some of the missionaries who had been settled -in Zulu-land have in the year that is last past,--1877,--left the -country as though in a panic. I presume that the missionaries have gone -because two or three of their converts were murdered. Two or three -certainly have been murdered, but I doubt whether it was done by order -of the Chief. The converts have as a rule been safe,--as have the -missionaries,--not from any love borne to them by Cetywayo, but because -Cetywayo has thought them to be protected by English influence. Cetywayo -has hitherto been quite alive to the expediency of maintaining peace -with his white neighbours in Natal, though he could afford to despise -his Dutch neighbours in the Transvaal. It has yet to be seen whether we -shall be able to settle questions as to a line of demarcation between -himself and us in the Transvaal without an appeal to force. - -When I was at Pieter Maritzburg a young lady who was much interested in -the welfare of the Zulus and who had perhaps a stronger belief in the -virtues of the black people than in the justice of the white, read to me -a diary which had just been made by a Zulu who had travelled from Natal -into Zulu-land to see Cetywayo, and had returned not only in safety but -with glowing accounts of the King’s good conduct to him. The diary was -in the Zulu language and my young friend, if I may call her so, shewed -her perfect mastery over that and her mother tongue by the way in which -she translated it for me. That the diary was an excellent literary -production, and that it was written by the Zulu in an extremely good -running hand, containing the narrative of his journey from day to day in -a manner quite as interesting as many published English journals, are -certainly facts. How far it was true may be a matter of doubt. The lady -and her family believed it entirely,--and they knew the man well. The -bulk of the white inhabitants of Pieter Maritzburg would probably not -have believed a word of it. I believed most of it, every now and then -arousing the gentle wrath of the fair reader by casting a doubt upon -certain details. The writer of the journal was present, however, -answering questions as they were asked; and, as he understood and spoke -English, my doubts could only be expressed when he was out of the room. -“There is a touch of romance there,” I would say when he had left us -alone. “Wasn’t that put in specially for you and your father?” I asked -as to another passage. But she was strong in support of her Zulu, and -made me feel that I should like to have such an advocate if ever -suspected myself. - -The personal adventures of the narrator and the literary skill displayed -were perhaps the most interesting features of the narrative;--but the -purport was to defend the character of Cetywayo. The man had been told -that being a Christian and an emissary from Natal he would probably be -murdered if he went on to the Chief’s Kraal; but he had persevered and -had been brought face to face with the King. Then he had made his -speech. “I have come, O King, to tell you that your friend Langalibalele -is safe.” For it was supposed in Zulu-land that Langalibalele, who shall -have the next chapter of this volume devoted to him, had been made away -with by the English. At this the King expressed his joy and declared his -readiness to receive his friend into his kingdom, if the Queen of -England would so permit. “But, O King,” continued the audacious herald, -“why have you sent away the missionaries, and why have you murdered the -converts? Tell me this, O King, because we in Natal are very unhappy at -the evil things which are said of you.” Then the King, with great -forbearance and a more than British absence of personal tyranny, -explained his whole conduct. He had not sent the missionaries away. They -were stupid people, not of much use to any one as he thought, who had -got into a fright and had gone. He had always been good to them;--but -they had now run away without even the common civility of saying -good-bye. He seemed to be very bitter because they had “trekked” without -even the ceremony of leaving a P.P.C. card. He had certainly not sent -them away; but as they had left his dominions after that fashion they -had better not come back again. As for the murders he had had nothing -to do with them. There was a certain difficulty in ruling his subjects, -and there would be bad men and violent men in his kingdom,--as in -others. Two converts and two only had been murdered and he was very -sorry for it. As for making his people Christians he thought it would be -just as well that the missionaries should make the soldiers in Pieter -Maritzburg Christians before they came to try their hand upon the Zulus. - -I own I thought that the highly polished black traveller who was sitting -before me must have heard the last little sarcasm among his white -friends in Natal and had put the sharp words into the King’s mouth for -effect. “I think,” said my fair friend, “that Cetywayo had us there,” -intending in her turn to express an opinion that the poor British -soldier who makes his way out to the Colony is not always all that he -should be. I would not stop to explain that the civilization of the -white and black men may go on together, and that Cetywayo need not -remain a Savage because a soldier is fond of his beer. - -Such was the gist of the diary,--which might probably be worth -publishing as shewing something of the manners of the Zulus, and -something also of the feeling of these people towards the English. -Zulu-land is one of the problems which have next to be answered. Let my -reader look at his map. Natal is a British Colony;--so is now the -Transvaal. The territory which he will see marked as Basuto Land has -been annexed to the Cape Colony. Kafraria, which still nominally belongs -to the natives, is almost annexed. The Kafrarian problem will soon be -solved in spite of Kreli. But Zulu-land, surrounded as it is by British -Colonies and the Portuguese settlement at Delagoa Bay, is still a native -country,--in which the king or chief can live by his own laws and do as -his soul lusts. I am very far from recommending an extension of British -interference; but if I know anything of British manners and British -ways, there will be British interference in Zulu-land before long. - -In the meantime our own Colony of Natal is peopled with Zulus whom we -rule, not very regularly, but on the whole with success. They are, to my -thinking, singularly amenable; and though I imagine they would vote us -out of the country if a plebiscite were possible, they are individually -docile and well-mannered, and as Savages are not uncomfortable -neighbours. That their condition as a people has been improved by the -coming of the white man there can be no doubt. I will put out of -consideration for a moment the peculiar benefits of Christianity which -have not probably reached very many of them, and will speak only of the -material advantages belonging to this world. The Zulu himself says of -himself that he can now sleep with both eyes shut and both ears, -whereas, under tribal rule, it was necessary that he should ever have -one eye open and one ear, ready for escape. He can earn wages if he -pleases. He is fed regularly, whereas it was his former fate,--as it is -of all Savages and wild beasts,--to vacillate between famine and a -gorge. He can occupy land and know it for his own, so that no Chief -shall take away his produce. If he have cattle he can own them in -safety. He cannot be “smelt out” by the witchfinder and condemned, so -that his wealth be confiscated. He is subjected no doubt to thraldom, -but not to tyranny. To the savage subject there is nothing so terrible -as the irresponsible power of a savage ruler. A Dingaan is the same as a -Nero,--a ruler whose heart becomes impregnated by power with a lust for -blood. “No emperor before me,” said Nero, “has known what an emperor -could do.” And so said Dingaan. Cetywayo would probably have said the -same and done the same had he not been checked by English influences. -The Zulu of Natal knows well what it is to have escaped from such -tyranny. - -He is a thrall, and must remain so probably for many a year to come. I -call a man a thrall when he has to be bound by laws in the making of -which he has no voice and is subject to legislators whom he does not -himself choose. But the thraldom though often irrational and sometimes -fantastic is hardly ever cruel. The white British ruler who is always -imperious,--and who is often irrational and sometimes fantastic,--has -almost always at his heart an intention to do good. He has a conscience -in the matter--with rare exceptions, and though he may be imperious and -fantastic, is not tyrannical. He rules the Zulu after a fashion which to -a philanthropist or to a stickler for the rights of man, is abominable. -He means to be master, and knowing the nature of the Zulu, he stretches -his power. He cannot stand upon scruples or strain at gnats. If a blow -will do when a word has not served he gives the blow,--though the blow -probably be illegal. There are certain things which he is entitled to -demand, certain privileges which he is entitled to exact; but he cannot -stop himself for a small trifle. There are twenty thousand whites to be -protected amidst three hundred thousand blacks, with other hundreds of -thousands crowding around without number, and he has to make the Zulu -know that he is master. And he quite understands that he has to keep the -philanthropist and Exeter Hall,--perhaps even Downing Street and -Printing House Square,--a little in the dark as to the way he does it. -But he is not wilfully cruel to the Zulu, and not often really unkind. - -I was riding, when in Natal, over a mountain with a gentleman high in -authority when we met a Zulu with his assegai and knobkirrie.[17] It is -still the custom of a Zulu to carry with him his assegai and knobkirrie, -though the assegai is unlawful wherever he may be, and the knobkirrie is -forbidden in the towns. My companion did not know the Zulu, but found it -necessary, for some official reason, to require the man’s presence on -the following morning at the place from which we had ridden, which was -then about ten miles distant. The purport of the required attendance I -now forget,--if I ever knew it,--but it had some reference to the -convenience of the party of which I made one. The order was given and -the Zulu, assenting, was passing on. But a sudden thought struck my -companion. He spoke a word in the native tongue desiring that the -assegai and knobkirrie might be given up to him. With a rueful look the -weapons were at once surrendered and the unarmed Zulu passed on. “He -knows that I do not know him,” said my companion, “and would not come -unless I had a hold upon him;”--meaning that the Zulu would surely come -to redeem his assegai and knobkirrie. - -Then I enquired into this practice, and perhaps expostulated a little. -“What would you have done,” I asked, “if the man had refused to give up -his property?” “Such a thing has never yet occurred to me,” said the -gentleman in authority. “When it does I will tell you.” But again I -remonstrated. “The things were his own, and why should they have been -taken away from him?” The gentleman in authority smiled, but another of -our party remarked that the weapons were illegal, and that the -confiscation of them was decidedly proper. But the knobkirrie on the -mountain side was not illegal, and even the assegai was to be restored -when the man shewed himself at the appointed place. They were not taken -because they were illegal, but as surety for the man’s return. I did not -press the question, but I fear that I was held to have enquired too -curiously on a matter which did not concern me. I thought that it -concerned me much, for it told me plainer than could any spoken -description how a savage race is ruled by white men. - -The reader is not to suppose that I think that the assegai and -knobkirrie should not have been taken from the man. On the other hand I -think that my companion knew very well what he was about, and that the -Zulu generally is lucky to have such men in the land. I say again that -we must have resort to such practices, or that we must leave the -country. But I have told the tale because it exemplifies what I say as -to the manner in which savage races are ruled by us. We were all -shocked the other day because an Indian servant was struck by a white -master, and died from the effects of the blow. The man’s death was an -unfortunate accident which probably caused extreme anguish to the -striker, but cannot be said to have increased at all the criminality of -his act. The question is how far a white master is justified in striking -a native servant. The idea of so doing is to us at home abominable;--but -I fear that we must believe that it is too common in India to create -disgust. It is much the same in Zulu-land. Something is done -occasionally which should not be done, but the rule generally is -beneficent. - -Of all the towns in South Africa Pieter Maritzburg is the one in which -the native element is the most predominant. It is not only that the -stranger there sees more black men and women in the streets than -elsewhere, but that the black men and women whom he sees are more -noticeable. While I was writing of “The Colony,” as the Cape Colony is -usually called in South Africa, I spoke of Kafirs. Now I am speaking of -Zulus,--a comparatively modern race of savages as I have already said. I -have seen a pedigree of Chaka their king, but his acknowledged ancestors -do not go back far. Chaka became a great man, and the Zulus swallowed -all the remainder of the conquered tribes, and became so dominant that -they have given their name to the natives of this part of the continent. - -The Zulus as seen in Maritzburg are certainly a peculiar people, and -very picturesque. I have said of the Kafir that he is always dressed -when seen in town, but that he is dressed like an Irish beggar. I -should have added, however, that he always wears his rags with a grace. -The Zulu rags are perhaps about equal to the Kafir rags in raggedness, -but the Zulu grace is much more excellent than the Kafir grace. Whatever -it be that the Zulu wears he always looks as though he had chosen that -peculiar costume, quite regardless of expense, as being the one mode of -dress most suitable to his own figure and complexion. The rags are -there, but it seems as though the rags have been chosen with as much -solicitude as any dandy in Europe gives to the fit and colour of his -raiment. When you see him you are inclined to think, not that his -clothes are tattered, but “curiously cut,”--like Catherine’s gown. One -fellow will walk erect with an old soldier’s red coat on him and nothing -else, another will have a pair of knee breeches and a flannel shirt -hanging over it. A very popular costume is an ordinary sack, inverted, -with a big hole for the head, and smaller holes for the arms, and which -comes down below the wearer’s knees. This is serviceable and decent, and -has an air of fashion about it too as long as it is fairly clean. Old -grey great coats with brass buttons, wherever they may come from, are in -request, and though common always seem to confer dignity. A shirt and -trowsers worn threadbare, so ragged as to seem to defy any wearer to -find his way into them, will assume a peculiar look of easy comfort on -the back and legs of a Zulu. An ordinary flannel shirt, with nothing -else, is quite sufficient to make you feel that the black boy who is -attending you, is as fit to be brought into any company as a powdered -footman. And then it is so cheap a livery! and over and above their -dress they always wear ornaments. The ornaments are peculiar, and might -be called poor, but they never seem amiss. We all know at home the -detestable appearance of the vulgar cad who makes himself odious with -chains and pins,--the Tittlebat Titmouse from the counter. But when you -see a Zulu with his ornaments you confess to yourself that he has a -right to them. As with a pretty woman at home, whose attire might be -called fantastic were it not fashionable, of whom we feel that as she -was born to be beautiful, graceful, and idle, she has a right to be a -butterfly,--and that she becomes and justifies the quaint trappings -which she selects, so of the Zulu do we acknowledge that he is warranted -by the condition of his existence in adorning his person as he pleases. -Load him with bangle, armlet, ear-ring and head-dress to any extent, and -he never looks like a hog in armour. He inserts into the lobes of his -ears trinkets of all sorts,--boxes for the conveyance of his snuff and -little delights, and other pendants as though his ears had been given to -him for purposes of carriage. Round his limbs he wears round shining -ornaments of various material, brass, ivory, wood and beads. I once took -from off a man’s arm a section of an elephant’s tooth which he had -hollowed, and the remaining rim of which was an inch and a half thick. -This he wore, loosely slipping up and down and was apparently in no way -inconvenienced by it. Round their heads they tie ribbons and bandelets. -They curl their crisp hair into wonderful shapes. I have seen many as to -whom I would at first have sworn that they had supplied themselves with -miraculous wigs made by miraculous barbers. They stick quills and bones -and bits of wood into their hair, always having an eye to some peculiar -effect. They will fasten feathers to their back hair which go waving in -the wind. I have seen a man trundling a barrow with a beautiful green -wreath on his brow, and have been convinced at once that for the proper -trundling of a barrow a man ought to wear a green wreath. A Zulu will -get an old hat,--what at home we call a slouch hat,--some hat probably -which came from the corner of Bond Street and Piccadilly three or four -years ago, and will knead it into such shapes that all the -establishments of all the Christys could not have done the like. The -Zulu is often slow, often idle, sometimes perhaps hopelessly useless, -but he is never awkward. The wonderfully pummelled hat sits upon him -like a helmet upon Minerva or a furred pork pie upon a darling in Hyde -Park in January. But the Zulu at home in his own country always wears on -his head the “isicoco,” or head ring, a shining black coronet made hard -with beaten earth and pigments,--earth taken from the singular ant hills -of the country,--which is the mark of his rank and virility and to -remove which would be a stain. - -I liked the Zulu of the Natal capital very thoroughly. You have no cabs -there,--and once when in green ignorance I had myself carried from one -end of the town to another in a vehicle, I had to pay 10s. 6d. for the -accommodation. But the Zulu, ornamented and graceful as he is, will -carry your portmanteau on his head all the way for sixpence. Hitherto -money has not become common in Natal as in British Kafraria, and the -Zulu is cheap. He will hold your horse for you for an hour, and not -express a sense of injury if he gets nothing;--but for a silver -threepence he will grin at you with heartfelt gratitude. Copper I -believe he will not take,--but copper is so thoroughly despised in the -Colony that no one dares to shew it. At Maritzburg I found that I could -always catch a Zulu at a moment’s notice to do anything. At the hotel or -the club, or your friend’s house you signify to some one that you want a -boy, and the boy is there at once. If you desired him to go a journey of -200 miles to the very boundary of the Colony, he would go instantly, and -be not a whit surprised. He will travel 30 or 40 miles in the -twenty-four hours for a shilling a day, and will assuredly do the -business confided to him. Maritzburg is 55 miles from Durban and an -acquaintance told me that he had sent down a very large wedding cake by -a boy in 24 hours. “But if he had eaten it?” I asked. “His Chief would -very soon have eaten him,” was the reply. - -But there is a drawback to all these virtues. A Zulu will sometimes -cross your path with so strong an injury to your nose as almost to make -you ill. I have been made absolutely sick by the entrance of a -good-natured Zulu into my bedroom of a morning, when he has come near me -in his anxiety about my boots or my hot water. In this respect he is -more potent than any of his brethren of the negro race who have come in -my way. Why it is or whence I am unable to say, or how it comes to pass -that now and again there is one who will almost knock you down, while a -dozen others shall cross you leaving no more than a mere flavour of -Zuluism on your nasal organs. I do not think that dirt has anything to -do with it. They are a specially clean people, washing themselves often -and using soap with a bountiful liberality unknown among many white men. -As the fox who leaves to the hounds the best scent is always the fox in -the strongest health, so I fancy is it with the Zulu,--whereas dirt is -always unhealthy. But there is the fact; and any coming visitor to Natal -had better remember it, and be on his guard. - -Almost all domestic service is done by the Zulu or Kafir race in Natal. -Here and there may be found a European servant,--a head waiter at an -hotel, or a nurse in a lady’s family, or a butler in the establishment -of some great man. But all menial work is as a rule done by the natives -and is done with fidelity. I cannot say that they are good servants at -all points. They are slow, often forgetful, and not often impressed with -any sense of awe as to their master, who cannot eat them up or kill them -as a black master might do. But they are good-humoured, anxious to -oblige, offended at nothing, and extremely honest. Their honesty is so -remarkable that the white man falls unconsciously into the habit of -regarding them in reference to theft as he would a dog. A dog, unless -very well mannered, would take a bit of meat, and a Zulu boy might help -himself to your brandy if it was left open within his reach. But your -money, your rings, your silver forks, and your wife’s jewels,--if you -have a wife and she have jewels,--are as safe with a Zulu servant as -with a dog. The feeling that it is so comes even to the stranger after -a short sojourn in the land. I was travelling through the country by a -mail cart, and had to stay at a miserable wayside hut which called -itself an hotel, with eight or ten other passengers. Close at hand, not -a hundred yards from the door, were pitched the tents of a detachment of -soldiers, who were being marched up to the border between Natal and the -Transvaal. Everybody immediately began to warn his neighbour as to his -property because of the contiguity of the British soldier. But no one -ever warns you to beware of a Zulu thief though the Zulus swarm round -the places at which you stop. I found myself getting into a habit of -trusting a Zulu just as I would trust a dog. - -I have already said something of Zulu labour when speaking of the sugar -districts round Durban. It is the question upon which the prosperity of -South Africa and the civilization of the black races much depend. If a -man can be taught to want, really to desire and to covet the good things -of the world, then he will work for them and by working he will be -civilized. If, when they are presented to his notice, he still despises -them,--if when clothes and houses and regular meals and education come -in his way, he will still go naked, and sleep beneath the sky, and eat -grass or garbage and then starve, and remain in his ignorance though the -schoolmaster be abroad, then he will be a Savage to the end of the -chapter. It is often very hard to find out whether the good things have -been properly proffered to the Savage, and whether the man’s neglect of -them has come from his own intellectual inability to appreciate them or -from the ill manner in which they have been tendered to him. The -aboriginal of Australia has utterly rejected them, as I fear we must say -the North American Indian has done also,--either from his own fault or -from ours. The Maori of New Zealand seemed to be in the way of accepting -them when it was found out that the reception of them was killing him. -He is certainly dying whether from that or other causes. The Chinaman -and the Indian Coolie are fully alive to the advantages of earning -money, and are consequently not to be classed among Savages. The South -Sea Islander has as yet had but few chances of working; but when he is -employed he works well and saves his wages. With the Negro as imported -into the West Indies the good things of the world have, I fear, made but -little way. He despises work and has not even yet learned to value the -advantages which work will procure for him. The Negro in the United -States, who in spite of his prolonged slavery has been brought up in a -better school, gives more promise; but even with him the result to be -desired,--the consciousness that by work only can he raise himself to an -equality with the white man,--seems to be far distant. I cannot say that -it is near with the Kafir or the Zulu;--but to the Kafir and the Zulu -the money market has been opened comparatively but for a short time. -They certainly do not die out under the yoke, and they are not -indifferent to the material comforts of life. Therefore I think there is -a fair hope that they will become a laborious and an educated people. - -At present no doubt throughout Natal there is a cry from the farmer that -the Zulu will not work. The farmer cannot plough his land and reap it -because the Zulu will not come to him just when work is required. It -seems hard to the farmer that, with 300,000 of a labouring class around, -the 20,000 white capitalists,--capitalists in a small way,--should be -short of labour. That is the way in which the Natal farmer looks at it, -when he swears that the Zulu is trash, and that it would be well if he -were swept from the face of the earth. It seems never to occur to a -Natal farmer that if a Zulu has enough to live on without working he -should be as free to enjoy himself in idleness as an English lord. The -business of the Natal farmer is to teach the Zulu that he has not enough -to live on, and that there are enjoyments to be obtained by working of -which the idle man knows nothing. - -But the Zulu does work, though not so regularly as might be desirable. I -was astonished to find at how much cheaper a rate he works than does the -Kafir in British Kafraria or in the Cape Colony generally. The wages -paid by the Natal farmer run from 10s. down to 5s. a month, and about 3 -lbs. of mealies or Indian corn a day for diet. I found that on road -parties,--where the labour is I am sorry to say compulsory, the men -working under constraint from their Chiefs,--the rate is 5s. a month, or -4d. a day for single days. The farmer who complains of course expects to -get his work cheap, and thinks that he is injuring not only himself but -the community at large if he offers more than the price which has been -fixed in his mind as proper. But in truth there is much of Zulu -agricultural work done at a low rate of wages, and the custom of such -work is increasing. - -As to other work, work in towns, work among stores, domestic work, -carrying, carting, driving, cleaning horses, tending pigs, roadmaking, -running messages, scavengering, hod bearing and the like, the stranger -is not long in Natal before he finds, not only that all such work is -done by Natives, but that there are hands to do it more ready and easy -to find than in any other country that he has visited. - - - - -CHAPTER XVIII. - -LANGALIBALELE. - - -The story of Langalibalele is one which I must decline to tell with any -pretence of accuracy, and as to the fate of the old Zulu,--whether he -has been treated wrongly or rightly I certainly am not competent to give -an opinion with that decision which a printed statement should always -convey. But in writing of the Colony of Natal it is impossible to pass -Langalibalele without mention. It is not too much to say that the doings -of Langalibalele have altered the Constitution of the Colony; and it is -probable that as years run on they will greatly affect the whole -treatment of the Natives in South Africa. And yet Langalibalele was -never a great man among the Zulus and must often have been surprised at -his own importance. - -Those who were concerned with the story are still alive and many of them -are still sore with the feeling of unmerited defeat. And to no one in -the whole matter has there been anything of the triumph of success. The -friends of Langalibalele, and his enemies, seem equally to think that -wrong has been done,--or no better than imperfect justice. And the case -is one the origin and end of which can hardly now be discovered, so -densely are they enveloped in Zulu customs and past Zulu events. -Whether a gentleman twenty years ago when firing a pistol intended to -wound or only frighten? Such, and such like, are the points which the -teller of the story would have to settle if he intended to decide upon -the rights and wrongs of the question. Is it not probable that a man -having been called on for sudden action, in a great emergency, may -himself be in the dark as to his own intention at so distant a -period,--knowing only that he was anxious to carry out the purpose for -which he was sent, that purpose having been the establishment of British -authority? And then this matter was one in which the slightest possible -error of judgment, the smallest deviation from legal conduct where no -law was written, might be efficacious to set everything in a blaze. The -natives of South Africa, but especially the natives of Natal, have to be -ruled by a mixture of English law and Zulu customs, which mixture, I -have been frequently told, exists in its entirety only in the bosom of -one living man. It is at any rate unwritten,--as yet unwritten though -there now exists a parliamentary order that this mixture shall be -codified by a certain fixed day. It is necessarily irrational,--as for -instance when a Zulu is told that he is a British subject but yet is -allowed to break the British law in various ways, as in the matter of -polygamy. It must be altogether unintelligible to the subject race to -whom the rules made by their white masters, opposed as they are to their -own customs, must seem to be arbitrary and tyrannical,--as when told -that they must not carry about with them the peculiar stick or -knobkirrie which has been familiar to their hands from infancy. It is -opposed to the ideas of justice which prevail in the intercourse -between one white man and another, as when the Zulu, whom the white man -will not call a slave, is compelled through the influence of his Chief -to do the work which the white man requires from him;--as an instance of -which I may refer to those who are employed on the roads, who are paid -wages, indeed, but who work not by their own will, but under restraint -from their Chiefs. It must I think be admitted that when a people have -to be governed by such laws mistakes are to be expected,--and that the -best possible intentions, I may almost say the best possible practice, -may be made matter of most indignant reproach from outraged -philanthropists. - -The white man who has to rule natives soon teaches himself that he can -do no good if he is overscrupulous. They must be taught to think him -powerful or they will not obey him in anything. He soon feels that his -own authority, and with his authority the security of all those around -him, is a matter of “prestige.” Prestige in a highly civilized community -may be created by virtue,--and is often created by virtue and rank -combined. The Archbishop of Canterbury is a very great man to an -ordinary clergyman. But, with the native races of South Africa, prestige -has to be created by power though it may no doubt be supported and -confirmed by justice. Thus the white ruler of the black man knows that -he must sometimes be rough. There must be a sharp word, possibly a blow. -There must be a clear indication that his will, whatsoever it may be, -has to be done,--that the doing of his will has to be the great result -let the opposition to it be what it may. He cannot strain at a gnat in -the shape of a little legal point. If he did so the Zulus would cease -to respect him, and would never imagine that their ruler had been turned -from his way by a pang of conscience. The Savage, till he has quite -ceased to be savage, expects to be coerced, and will no more go straight -along the road without coercion, than will the horse if you ride him -without reins. And with a horse a whip and spurs are necessary,--till he -has become altogether tamed. - -The white ruler of the black man feels all this, and knows that without -some spur or whip he cannot do his work at all. His is a service, -probably, of much danger, and he has to work with a frown on his brow in -order that his life may be fairly safe in his hand. In this way he is -driven to the daily practice of little deeds of tyranny which abstract -justice would condemn. Then, on occasion, arises some petty -mutiny,--some petty mutiny almost justified by injustice but which must -be put down with a strong hand or the white man’s position will become -untenable. In nineteen cases the strong hand is successful and the -matter goes by without any feeling of wrong on either side. The white -man expects to be obeyed, and the black man expects to be coerced, and -the general work goes on prosperously in spite of a small flaw. Then -comes the twentieth case in which the one little speck of original -injustice is aggravated till a great flame is burning. The outraged -philanthropist has seen the oppression of his black brother, and evokes -Downing Street, Exeter Hall, Printing House Square, and all the Gospels. -The savage races from the East to the West of the Continent, from the -mouth of the Zambesi to the Gold Coast, all receive something of -assured protection from the effort;--but, probably, a great injustice is -done to the one white ruler who began it all, and who, perhaps, was but -a little ruler doing his best in a small way. I am inclined to think -that the philanthropist at home when he rises in his wrath against some -white ruler of whose harshness to the blacks he has heard the story -forgets that the very civilization which he is anxious to carry among -the savage races cannot be promulgated without something of -tyranny,--some touch of apparent injustice. Nothing will sanctify -tyranny or justify injustice, says the philanthropist in his wrath. Let -us so decide and so act;--but let us understand the result. In that case -we must leave the Zulus and other races to their barbarities and native -savagery. - -In what I have now said I have not described the origin of the -Langalibalele misfortune, having avoided all direct allusion to any of -its incidents,--except that of the firing of a pistol twenty years ago. -But I have endeavoured to make intelligible the way in which untoward -circumstances may too probably rise in the performance of such a work as -the gradual civilization of black men without much fault on either side. -And my readers may probably understand how, in such a matter as that of -Langalibalele, it would be impossible for me as a traveller to unravel -all its mysteries, and how unjust I might be were I to attempt to prove -that either on this side or on that side wrong had been done. The doers -of the wrong, if wrong there was, are still alive; and the avengers of -the wrong,--whether a real or a fancied wrong,--are still keen. In what -I say about Langalibalele I will avoid the name of any white man,--and -as far as possible I will impute no blame. That the intentions on both -sides have been good and altogether friendly to the black man I have no -doubt whatsoever. - -Langalibalele was sent for and did not come. That was the beginning of -the whole. Now it is undoubted good Kafir law in Natal,--very well -established though unwritten,--that any Kafir or Zulu is to come when -sent for by a white man in authority. The white man who holds chief -authority in such matters is the Minister for Native Affairs, who is one -of the Executive Council under the Governor, and probably the man of -greatest weight in the whole Colony. He speaks the Zulu language, which -the Governor probably has not time to learn during his period of -governorship. He is a permanent officer,--as the Ministry does not go in -and out in Natal. And he is in a great measure irresponsible because the -other white men in office do not understand as he does that mixture of -law and custom by which he rules the subject race, and there is -therefore no one to judge him or control him. In Natal the Minister for -Native Affairs is much more of a Governor than his Excellency himself, -for he has over three hundred thousand natives altogether under his -hand, while his Excellency has under him twenty thousand white men who -are by no means tacitly obedient. Such is the authority of the Minister -for Native Affairs in Natal, and among other undoubted powers and -privileges is that of sending for any Chief among the Zulu races -inhabiting the Colony, and communicating his orders personally. -Naturally, probably necessarily, this power is frequently delegated to -others as the Minister cannot himself see every little Chief to whom -instructions are to be given. As the Secretary of State at home has -Under Secretaries, so has the Minister for Native Affairs under -Ministers. In 1873 Langalibalele was sent for but Langalibalele would -not come. - -He had in years long previous been a mutinous Chief in Zulu-land,--where -he was known as a “rain-maker,” and much valued for his efficacy in that -profession;--but he had quarrelled with Panda who was then King of -Zulu-land and had run away from Panda into Natal. There he had since -lived as the Chief of the Hlubi tribe, a clan numbering about 10,000 -people, a proportion of whom had come with him across the borders from -Zulu-land. For it appears that these tribes dissolve themselves and -reunite with other tribes, a tribe frequently not lasting as a tribe -under one great name for many years. Even the great tribe of the Zulus -was not powerful till the time of their Chief Chaka, who was uncle of -the present King or Chief Cetywayo. Thus Langalibalele who had been -rainmaker to King Panda, Cetywayo’s father, became head of the Hlubi -tribe in Natal, and lived under the mixture of British law of which I -have spoken. But he became mutinous and would not come when he was sent -for. - -When a Savage,--the only word I know by which to speak of such a man as -a Zulu Chief so that my reader shall understand me; but in using it of -Langalibalele I do not wish to ascribe to him any specially savage -qualities;--when a Savage has become subject to British rule and will -not obey the authority which he understands,--it is necessary to reduce -him to obedience at almost any cost. There are three hundred and twenty -thousand Natives in Natal, with hundreds of thousands over the borders -on each side of the little Colony, and it is essential that all these -should believe Great Britain to be indomitable. If Langalibalele had -been allowed to be successful in his controversy every Native in and -around Natal would have known it;--and in knowing it every Native would -have believed that Great Britain had been so far conquered. It was -therefore quite essential that Langalibalele should be made to come. And -he did more than refuse to obey the order. A messenger who was sent for -him,--a native messenger,--was insulted by him. The man’s clothes were -stripped from him,--or at any rate the official great coat with which he -had been invested and which probably formed the substantial part of his -raiment. It has been the peculiarity of this case that whole books have -been written about its smallest incidents. The Langalibalele literature -hitherto written,--which is not I fear as yet completed,--would form a -small library. This stripping of the great coat, or jazy[18] as it is -called,--the word ijazi having been established as good Zulu for such an -article,--has become a celebrated incident. Langalibalele afterwards -pleaded that he suspected that weapons had been concealed, and that he -had therefore searched the Queen’s messenger. And he justified his -suspicion by telling how a pistol had been concealed and had been fired -sixteen years before. And then that old case was ripped up, and thirty -or forty native messengers were examined about it. But Langalibalele -after taking off the Queen’s messenger’s jazy turned and fled, and it -was found to be necessary that the Queen’s soldiers should pursue him. -He was pursued,--with terrible consequences. He turned and fought and -British blood was shed. Of course the blood of the Hlubi tribe had to -flow, and did flow too freely. It was very bad that it should be -so;--but had it not been so all Zululand, all Kafirland, all the tribes -of Natal and the Transvaal would have thought that Langalibalele had -gained a great victory, and our handful of whites would have been unable -to live in their Colony. - -Then Langalibalele was caught. As to matters that had been done up to -that time I am not aware that official fault of very grave nature has -been found with those who were concerned; but the trial of Langalibalele -was supposed to have been conducted on unjust principles and before -judges who should not have sat on the judgment seat. He was tried and -was condemned to very grave punishment, and his tribe and his family -were broken up. He was to be confined for his life, without the presence -of any of his friends, in Robben Island, which, as my reader may -remember, lies just off Capetown, a thousand miles away from Natal,--and -to be reached by a sea journey which to all Zulus is a thing of great -terror. The sentence was carried out and Langalibalele was shipped away -to Robben Island. - -It may be remembered how the news of Langalibalele’s rebellion, trial -and punishment gradually reached England, how at first we feared that a -great rebel had arisen, to conquer whom would require us to put out all -our powers, and then how we were moved by the outraged philanthropist to -think that a grievous injustice had been done. I cannot but say that in -both matters we allowed ourselves to be swayed by exaggerated reports -and unwarranted fears and sympathies. Langalibalele did rebel and had to -be punished. His trial was no doubt informal and overformal. Too much -was made of it. The fault throughout has been that too much has been -made of the whole affair. Partisans arose on behalf of the now notorious -and very troublesome old Pagan, and philanthropy was outraged. Then came -the necessity of doing something to set right an acknowledged wrong. It -might be that Langalibalele had had cause for suspicion when he stripped -the Queen’s Messenger. It might be that the running away was the natural -effect of fear, and that the subsequent tragedies had been simply -unfortunate. The trial was adjudged to have been conducted with -overstrained rigour and the punishment to have been too severe. -Therefore it was decided in England that he should be sent back to the -mainland from the island, that he should be located in the neighbourhood -of Capetown,--and that his tribe should be allowed to join him. - -That was promising too much. It was found to be inconvenient to settle a -whole tribe of a new race in the Cape Colony. Nor was it apparent that -the tribe would wish to move after its Chieftain. Then it was decided -that instead of the tribe the Chieftain’s family should follow him with -any of his immediate friends who might wish to be transported from -Natal. Now Langalibalele had seventy wives and a proportionate -offspring. And it soon became apparent that whoever were sent after him -must be maintained at the expense of Government. Moreover it could -hardly be that Exeter Hall and the philanthropists should desire to -encourage polygamy by sending such a flock of wives after the favoured -prisoner. Complaint was made to me that only two wives and one man were -sent. With them Langalibalele was established in a small house on the -sea shore near to Capetown, and there he is now living at an expense of -£500 per annum to the Government. - -But this unfortunately is not the end. He has still friends in Natal, -white friends, who think that not nearly enough has been done for him. A -great many more wives ought to be allowed to join him, or the promise -made to him will not have been kept. He is languishing for his wives, -and all should be sent who would be willing to go. I saw one of them -very ill,--dying I was told because of her troubles, and half a dozen -others, all of them provided with food gratis, but in great -tribulation,--so it was said,--because of this cruel separation. The -Government surely should send him three or four more wives, seeing that -to a man who has had seventy less than half a dozen must be almost worse -than none. But his friends are not content with asking for this further -grace, but think also that the time has come for forgiveness and that -Langalibalele should be restored to his own country. He has still fame -as a rain-maker and Cetywayo the Zulu King would be delighted to have -him in Zulu-land. The prayer is much the same as that which is -continually being put forward for the pardon of the Fenians. I myself in -such matters am loyal, but, I fear, hard-hearted. I should prefer that -Langalibalele should be left to his punishment, thinking that would-be -rebels, whether Zulu or Irish, will be best kept quiet by rigid -adherence to a legal sentence. Such is the story of Langalibalele as I -heard it. - -On my return to Capetown I visited the captured Chieftain at his farm -house on the flats five or six miles from the city, having obtained an -order to that effect from the office of the Secretary for Native -Affairs. I found a stalwart man, represented to be 65 years of age, but -looking much younger, in whose appearance one was able to recognise -something of the Chieftain. He had with him three wives, a grown-up son, -and a nephew; besides a child who has been born to him since he has been -in the Cape Colony. The nephew could talk a little English, and acted as -interpreter between us. - -The prisoner himself was very silent, hardly saying a word in answer to -the questions put to him,--except that he should like to see his -children in Natal. The two young men were talkative enough, and did not -scruple to ask for sixpence each when we departed. I and a friend who -was with me extended our liberality to half a crown a piece,--with which -they expressed themselves much delighted. - - - - -CHAPTER XIX. - -PIETER MARITZBURG TO NEWCASTLE. - - -When starting from Pieter Maritzburg to Pretoria I have to own that I -was not quite at ease as to the work before me. From the moment in which -I had first determined to visit the Transvaal, I had been warned as to -the hard work of the task. Friends who had been there, one or two in -number,--friends who had been in South Africa but not quite as far as -the capital of the late Republic, perhaps half a dozen,--and friends -very much more numerous who had only heard of the difficulties, combined -either in telling me or in letting me understand that they thought that -I was,--well--much too old for the journey. And I thought so myself. But -then I knew that I could never do it younger. And having once suggested -to myself that it would be desirable, I did not like to be frightened -out of the undertaking. As far as Pieter Maritzburg all had been easy -enough. Journeys by sea are to me very easy,--so easy that a fortnight -on the ocean is a fortnight at any rate free from care. And my inland -journeys had not as yet been long enough to occasion any inconvenience. -But the journey now before me, from the capital of Natal to the capital -of the Transvaal and thence round by Kimberley, the capital of the -Diamond Fields, to Bloemfontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, -and back thence across the Cape Colony to Capetown, exceeding 1,500 -miles in length, all of which had to be made overland under very rough -circumstances, was awful to me. Mail conveyances ran the whole way, but -they ran very roughly, some of them very slowly, generally travelling as -I was told, day and night, and not unfrequently ceasing to travel -altogether in consequence of rivers which would become unpassable, of -mud which would be nearly so, of dying horses,--and sometimes of dying -passengers! A terrible picture had been painted. As I got nearer to the -scene the features of the picture became more and more visible to me. - -One gentleman on board the ship which took me out seemed to think it -very doubtful whether I should get on at all, but hospitably recommended -me to pass by his house, that I might be sure at least of one quiet -night. At Capetown where I first landed a shower of advice fell upon me. -And it was here that the awful nature of the enterprise before me first -struck my very soul with dismay. There were two schools of advisers, -each of which was sternly strenuous in the lessons which it inculcated. -The first bade me stick obdurately to the public conveyances. There was -no doubt very much against them. The fatigue would be awful, and quite -unfitted for a man of my age. I should get no sleep on the journey, and -be so jolted that not a bone would be left to me. And I could carry -almost no luggage. It must be reduced to a minimum,--by which a -toothbrush and a clean shirt were meant. And these conveyances went but -once a week, and it might often be the case that I might not be able to -secure a place. But the post conveyances always did go, and I should at -any rate be able to make my way on;--if I could live and endure the -fatigue. - -The other school recommended a special conveyance. The post carts would -certainly kill me. They generally did kill any passengers, even in the -prime of life, who stuck to them so long as I would have to do. If I -really intended to encounter the horrors of the journey in question I -must buy a cart and four horses, and must engage a coloured driver, and -start off round the world of South Africa under his protection. But -among and within this school of advisers there was a division which -complicated the matter still further. Should they be horses or should -they be mules;--or, indeed, should they be a train of oxen as one friend -proposed to me? Mules would be slow but more hardy than horses. Oxen -would be the most hardy, but would be very slow indeed. Horses would be -more pleasant but very subject in this country to diseases and death -upon the roads. And then where should I buy the equipage,--and at what -price,--and how should I manage to sell it again,--say at half price? -For my friends on the mail cart side of the question had not failed to -point out to me that the carriage-and-horses business would be -expensive,--entailing an outlay of certainly not less than £250, with -the probable necessity of buying many subsidiary horses along the road, -and the too probable impossibility of getting anything for my remaining -property when my need for its use was at an end. - -One friend, very experienced in such matters, assured me that my only -plan was to buy the cart in Capetown and carry it with me by ship round -the coast to Durban, and to remain there till I could fit myself with -horses. And I think that I should have done thus under his instructions, -had I not given way to the temptations of procrastination. By going on -without a cart I could always leave the ultimate decision between the -private and the public conveyance a little longer in abeyance. Thus when -I reached Durban I had no idea what I should do in the matter. But -finding an excellent public conveyance from Durban to Pieter Maritzburg, -I took advantage of that, and arrived in the capital of Natal, -embarrassed as yet with no purchased animals and impeded by no property, -but still with my heart very low as to the doubts and perils and fatigue -before me. - -At East London I had made the acquaintance of a gentleman of -about a third of my own age, who had been sent out by a great -agricultural-implement-making firm with the object of spreading the use -of ploughs and reaping machines through South Africa, and thus of -carrying civilization into the country in the surest and most direct -manner. He too was going to Pretoria, and to the Diamond Fields,--and to -the Orange Free State. He was to carry ploughs with him,--that is to say -ploughs in the imagination, ploughs in catalogues, ploughs upon paper, -and ploughs on his eloquent and facile tongue; whereas it was my object -to find out what ploughs had done, and perhaps might do, in the new -country. He, too, thought that the public conveyance would be a -nuisance, that his luggage would not get itself carried, and that from -the mail conveyances he would not be able to shoot any of the game with -which the country abounds. When we had travelled together as far as -Pieter Maritzburg we put our heads together,--and our purses, and -determined upon a venture among the dealers in carts, horses, and -harness. - -I left the matter very much to him, merely requiring that I should see -the horses before they were absolutely purchased. A dealer had turned up -with all the articles wanted,--just as though Providence had sent -him,--with a Cape cart running on two wheels and capable of holding -three persons beside the driver, the four horses needed,--and the -harness. The proposed vendor had indeed just come off a long journey -himself, and was therefore able to say that everything was fit for the -road. £200 was to be the price. But when we looked at the horses, their -merits, which undoubtedly were great, seemed to consist in the work -which they had done rather than in that which they could immediately do -again. In this emergency I went to a friendly British major in the town -engaged in the commissariat department, and consulted him. Would he look -at the horses? He not only did so, but brought a military veterinary -surgeon with him, who confined his advice to three words, which, -however, he repeated thrice, “Physical energy deficient!” The words were -oracular, and the horses were of course rejected. - -I was then about to start from Pieter Maritzburg on a visit of -inspection with the Governor and was obliged to leave my young friend to -look out for four other horses on his own responsibility--without the -advice of the laconic vet whom he could hardly ask to concern himself a -second time in our business. And I must own that while I was away I was -again down at heart. For he was to start during my absence, leaving me -to follow in the post cart as far as Newcastle, the frontier town of -Natal. This was arranged in order that three or four days might be -saved, and that the horses might not be hurried over their early -journey. When I got back to Pieter Maritzburg I found that he had gone, -as arranged, with four other horses;--but of the nature of the horses no -one could tell me anything. - -The mail cart from the capital to Newcastle took two and a half days on -the journey, and was on the whole comfortable enough. One moment of -discord there was between myself and the sable driver, which did not, -however, lead to serious results. On leaving Pieter Maritzburg I found -that the vehicle was full. There were seven passengers, two on the box -and five behind,--the sixth seat being crowded with luggage. There was -luggage indeed everywhere, above below and around us,--but still we had -all of us our seats, with fair room for our legs. Then came the question -of the mails. The cart to Newcastle goes but once a week; and though -subsidiary mails are carried by Zulu runners twice a week over the whole -distance,--175 miles,--and carried as quickly as by the cart, the -heavier bulk, such as newspapers, books, &c., are kept for the mail -conveyance. The bags therefore are, in such a vehicle, somewhat heavy. -When I saw a large box covered with canvas brought out I was alarmed, -and I made some enquiry. It was, said the complaisant postmaster’s -assistant who had come out into the street, a book-post parcel; somewhat -large as he acknowledged, and not strictly open at the ends as required -by law. It was, he confessed, a tin box and he believed that it -contained--bonnets. But it was going up to Pretoria, nearly 400 miles, -at book-parcel rate of postage,--the total cost of it being, I think he -said, 8s. 6d. Now passengers’ luggage to Pretoria is charged 4s. a -pound, and the injustice of the tin box full of bonnets struck my -official mind with horror. There was a rumour for a moment that it was -to be put in among us, and I prepared myself for battle. But the day was -fine, and the tin box was fastened on behind with all the mails,--merely -preventing any one from getting in or out of the cart without climbing -over them. That was nothing, and we went away very happily, and during -the first day I became indifferent to the wrong which was being done. - -But when we arrived for breakfast on the second morning the clouds began -to threaten, and it is known to all in those parts that when it rains in -Natal it does rain. The driver at once declared that the bags must be -put inside and that we must all sit with our legs and feet in each -other’s lap. Then we looked at each other, and I remembered the tin box. -I asked the conscientious mail-man what he would do with the bag which -contained the box, and he immediately replied that it must come behind -himself, inside the cart, exactly in the place where my legs were then -placed. I had felt the tin box and had found that the corners of it were -almost as sharp as the point of a carving knife. “It can’t come here,” -said I. “It must,” said the driver surlily. “But it won’t,” said I -decidedly. “But it will,” said the driver angrily. I bethought myself a -moment and then declared my purpose of not leaving the vehicle, though I -knew that breakfast was prepared within. “May I trouble you to bring a -cup of tea to me here,” I said to one of my fellow victims. “I shall -remain and not allow the tin box to enter the cart.” “Not allow!” said -the custodian of the mails. “Certainly not,” said I, with what authority -I could command. “It is illegal.” The man paused for a moment awed by -the word and then entered upon a compromise, “Would I permit the mail -bags to be put inside, if the tin box were kept outside?” To this I -assented, and so the cart was packed. I am happy to say that the clouds -passed away, and that the bonnets were uninjured as long as I remained -in their company. I fear from what I afterwards heard that they must -have encountered hard usage on their way from Newcastle to Pretoria. - -The mail cart to Newcastle was, I have said, fairly comfortable, but -this incident and other little trifles of the same kind made me glad -that I had decided on being independent. Three of my fellow passengers -were going on to Pretoria and I found that they looked forward with -great dread to their journey,--not even then expecting such hardships as -did eventually befall them. - -The country from Pieter Maritzburg to Newcastle is very hilly,--with -hills which are almost mountains on every side, and it would be -picturesque but for the sad want of trees. The farm homesteads were few -and far between, and very little cultivation was to be seen. The land -is almost entirely sold,--being, that is, in private possession, having -been parted with by the governing authorities of the Colony. I saw -cattle, and as I got further from Maritzburg small flocks of sheep. The -land rises all the way, and as we get on to the colder altitudes is -capable of bearing wheat. As I went along I heard from every mouth the -same story. A farmer cannot grow wheat because he has no market and no -labour. The little towns are too distant and the roads too bad for -carriage;--and though there be 300,000 natives in the Colony, labour -cannot be procured. I must remark that through this entire district the -Kafirs or Zulus are scarce,--from a complication of causes. No doubt it -was inhabited at one time; but the Dutch came who were cruel tyrants to -the natives,--which is not surprising, as they had been most -disastrously handled by them. And Chaka too had driven from this country -the tribes who inhabited it before his time. In other lands, nearer to -the sea or great rivers, and thus lying lower, the receding population -has been supplied by new comers; but the Zulus from the warmer regions -further north seem to have found the high grounds too cold for them. At -any rate in these districts neither Kafirs or Zulus are now -numerous,--though there are probably enough for the work to be done if -they would do it. - -At Howick, twelve miles from Maritzburg, are the higher falls on the -Umgeni,--about a dozen miles from other falls on the same river which I -had seen on my way to Greyton. Here they fall precipitously about 300 -feet, and are good enough to make the fortune of a small hotel, if they -were anywhere in England. At Estcourt, where we stopped the first -night, we found a comfortable Inn. After that the accommodation along -the road was neither plenteous nor clean. The second night was passed -under very adverse circumstances. Ten of us had to sleep in a little -hovel with three rooms including that in which we were fed, and as one -of us was a lady who required one chamber exclusively to herself, we -were somewhat pressed. I was almost tempted to think that if ladies will -travel under such circumstances they should not be so particular. As I -was recognized to be travelling as a stranger, I was allowed to enjoy -the other bedroom with only three associates, while the other five laid -about on the table and under the table, as best they could, in the -feeding room. - -Immediately opposite to this little hovel there was on that night a -detachment of the 80th going up to join its regiment at Newcastle. The -soldiers were in tents, ten men in a tent, and when I left them in the -evening seemed to be happy enough. It poured during the whole night and -on the next morning the poor wretches were very miserable. The rain had -got into their tents and they were wet through in their shirts. I saw -some of them afterwards as they got into Newcastle, and more miserable -creatures I never beheld. They had had three days of unceasing -rain,--and, as they said, no food for two days. This probably was an -exaggeration;--but something had gone wrong with the commissariat and -there had been no bread where bread was expected. When they reached -Newcastle there was a river between them and their camping ground. In -fine weather the ford is nearly dry; but now the water had risen up to a -man’s middle, and the poor fellows went through with their great coats -on, too far gone in their misery to care for further troubles. - -All along the road the little Inns and stores at which we stopped were -kept by English people;--nor till I had passed Newcastle into the -Transvaal did I encounter a Dutch Boer; but I learned that the farms -around were chiefly held by them, and that the country generally is a -Dutch country. Newcastle is a little town with streets and squares laid -out, though the streets and squares are not yet built. But there is a -decent Inn, at which a visitor gets a bedroom to himself and a tub in -the morning;--at least such was my fate. And there is a billiard room -and a table d’hote, and a regular bar. In the town there is a post -office, and there are stores, and a Court House. There is a Dutch church -and a Dutch minister,--and a clergyman of the Church of England, who -however has no church, but performs service in the Court House. - -Newcastle is the frontier town of the Natal Colony, and is nearly -half-way between Pieter Maritzburg and Pretoria, the capital of the -Transvaal. It is now being made a military station,--with the double -purpose of overawing the Dutch Boers who have been annexed, and the -Zulus who have not. The Zulus I think will prove to be the more -troublesome of the two. A fort is being planned and barracks are being -built, but as yet the army is living under canvas. When we were there -250 men constituted the army; but the number was about to be increased. -The poor fellows whom I had seen so wet through on the road were on -their way to fill up deficiencies. We had hardly been an hour in the -place before one of the officers rode down to call and to signify to -us,--after the manner of British officers,--at what hour tiffin went on -up at the mess, and at what hour dinner. There was breakfast also if we -could cross the river and get up on the hill early enough. And, for the -matter of that, there was a tent also, ready furnished, if we chose to -occupy it. And there were saddle horses for us whenever we wanted them. -The tiffins and the dinners and the saddle horses we took without stint. -Everything was excellent; but that on which the mess prided itself most -was the possession of Bass’s bitter beer. An Englishman in outlandish -places, when far removed from the luxuries to which he has probably been -accustomed, sticks to his Bass more constantly than to any other home -comfort. A photograph of his mother and sister,--or perhaps some other -lady,--and his Bass, suffice to reconcile him to many grievances. - -We stayed at Newcastle over a Sunday and went up to service in the camp. -The army had its chaplain, and 150 men collected themselves under a -marquee to say their prayers and hear a short sermon in which they were -told to remember their friends at home, and to write faithfully to their -mothers. I do not know whether soldiers in London and in other great -towns are fond of going to church, but a church service such as that we -heard is a great comfort to men when everything around them is desolate, -and when the life which they lead is necessarily hard. We were only -three nights at Newcastle, but when we went away we seemed to be leaving -old friends under the tents up on the hill. - -I had come to the place on the mail cart, and on my arrival was very -anxious to know what my travelling companion had done in the way of -horse-buying. All my comfort for the next six weeks, and perhaps more -than my comfort, depended on the manner in which he had executed his -commission. It seemed now as though the rainy season had begun in very -truth, for the waters for which everybody had been praying since I had -landed in South Africa came down as though they would never cease to -pour. On the day after our arrival I had got up to see the departure of -the mail cart for Pretoria, and a more melancholy attempt at a public -vehicle I had never beheld. Prophecies were rife that the horses would -not be able to travel and that the miseries to be surmounted by the -passengers before they reached their destination would be almost -unendurable. When I saw the equipage I felt that the school of friends -who had warned me against a journey to Pretoria in the mail carts had -been right. I was extremely happy, therefore, when all the quidnuncs -about the place, the butcher who had been travelling about the Colony in -search of cattle for the last dozen years, the hotel-keeper who was -himself in want of horses to take him over the same road, the -commissariat employés, and all the loafers about the place, -congratulated me on the team of which I was now the joint proprietor. -There was a cart and four horses,--one of which however was a wicked -kicker,--and complete harness, with a locker full of provisions to eke -out the slender food to be found on the road,--all of which had cost -£220. And there was a coloured driver, one George, whom everybody -seemed to know, and who was able, as everybody said, to drive us -anywhere over Africa. George was to have £5 a month, his passage paid -back home, his keep on the road, and a douceur on parting, if we parted -as friends. - -Remembering what I might have had to suffer,--what I might have been -suffering at that very moment,--I expressed my opinion that the affair -was very cheap. But my young friend indulged in grander financial views -than my own. “It will be cheap,” said he, “if, we can sell it at the end -of the journey for £150.” That was a contingency which I altogether -refused to entertain. It had become cheap to me without any idea of a -resale, as soon as I found what was the nature of the mail cart from -Newcastle to Pretoria,--and what was the nature of the mail cart horses. - -Before leaving the Colony of Natal I must say that at this -Newcastle,--as at other Newcastles,--coal is to be found in abundance. I -was taken down to the river side where I could see it myself. There can -be no doubt but that when the country is opened up coal will be one of -its most valuable products. At present it is all but useless. It cannot -be carried because the distances are so great and the roads so bad; and -it cannot be worked because labour has not been organised. - - -THE END OF VOL. I. - - -PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, CITY ROAD, LONDON. - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The name was probably taken from some sound in their language which -was of frequent occurrence. They seem to have been called “Ottentoos,” -“Hotnots,” “Hottentotes,” “Hodmodods,” and “Hadmandods” promiscuously. - -[2] The first record we have of the Kafirs refers to the years 1683-84, -when we are told the Dutch were attacked by the Kafirs, who, however, -quickly ran away before the firearms of the strangers. - -[3] A Kafir thief who had stolen an axe was rescued by a band of Kafirs -on his way to jail. - -[4] This is so far accurate that it certainly does not overstate the -coloured population. No doubt the coloured people are more numerous. I -have seen 800,000 stated as the black population of the Transvaal. But -as the limits of the territory are not settled, any estimate must be -vague. - -[5] It must at least have seemed so when the Permissive Bill for South -African Confederation was passed. The present disturbance will no doubt -lead to the annexation of these districts. - -[6] - - Cape Colony 150,000 - Orange Free State 30,000 - The Transvaal 40,000 - ------- - 220,000 - -[7] I do not intend to suggest that any man should be excluded by his -colour from the hustings. I am of opinion that no allusion should be -made to colour in defining the franchise for voters in any British -possession. But in colonies such as those of South Africa,--in which -the bulk of the population is coloured,--the privilege should be -conferred on black and white alike, with such a qualification as will -admit only those who are fit. - -[8] So called from a block of granite lying on the mountain over the -town, to which has been given the name of The Pearl. - -[9] Mr. Esselin told us that since he had been at Worcester he had had -a few but only a very few Kafir children in his schools. - -[10] This did not come at all from any property of the water but simply -from the foulness of the place. - -[11] At the present time about a hundredth part of the area of the -Cape Colony is under cultivation. The total area comprises 20,454,602 -morgen, whereas only 217,692 morgen are cultivated. The morgen is a -little more than two acres. Of the proportion cultivated, nearly a half -is under wheat. - -[12] It should be understood that the places described in the last -three chapters were not visited till after my return from Natal, the -Transvaal, the Diamond Fields, and the Orange Free State. - -[13] This conversation occurred and the above words were written before -the disturbance of 1877. But the Kafirs here spoken of are the very -Gaikas who have been expected to join the Galekas in their rebellion, -but who have not as yet done so. Nor, as I think, will they do so. - -[14] “The form of Constitutional Government existing in the Colony of -Natal considered,” by John Bird. Mr. Bird’s object is to shew that -Natal is not in a condition to be benefitted by a parliamentary form -of government, and his arguments are well worthy of the attention of -gentlemen in Downing Street. He thoroughly understands his subject, -and, as I think, proves his conclusion. Mr. Bird is now Colonial -Treasurer in Natal. - -[15] My narrative of the facts of this period is based chiefly on the -story as told in Judge Cloete’s five lectures on the Emigration of the -Dutch farmers into Natal. - -[16] He was murdered either by Dingaan or by another brother named -Umolangaan who was then murdered by Dingaan. Dingaan at any rate became -Chief of the tribe. - -[17] A knobkirrie is a peculiar bludgeon with a thin stick and a large -knob which in the hands of an expert might be very deadly. An assegai, -as my reader probably knows, is a short spear with a sharp iron head. - -[18] I have seen it asserted that this word comes from “jersey”--a -flannel under shirt; but I seem to remember the very sound as -signifying an old great coat in Ireland, and think that it was so used -long before the word “jersey” was introduced into our language. - - - - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA; VOL I. *** - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the -United States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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I., by Anthony Trollope. -</title> -<style type="text/css"> - -a:link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - - link {background-color:#ffffff;color:blue;text-decoration:none;} - -a:visited {background-color:#ffffff;color:purple;text-decoration:none;} - -a:hover {background-color:#ffffff;color:#FF0000;text-decoration:underline;} - -big {font-size: 130%;} - -body{margin-left:4%;margin-right:6%;background:#ffffff;color:black;font-family:"Times New Roman", serif;font-size:medium;} - -.c {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.cb {text-align:center;text-indent:0%;font-weight:bold;} - -.fint {text-align:center;text-indent:0%; -margin-top:2em;} - -.figcenter {margin:3% auto 3% auto;clear:both; -text-align:center;text-indent:0%;} - -.footnotes {border:dotted 3px gray;margin-top:5%;clear:both;} - -.footnote {width:95%;margin:auto 3% 1% auto;font-size:0.9em;position:relative;} - -.label {position:relative;left:-.5em;top:0;text-align:left;font-size:.8em;} - -.fnanchor {vertical-align:30%;font-size:.8em;} - - h1 {margin-top:5%;text-align:center;clear:both; -font-weight:normal;letter-spacing:.2em;font-size:250%;} - - h2 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:150%;font-weight:normal;} - - h3 {margin-top:4%;margin-bottom:2%;text-align:center;clear:both; - font-size:120%;font-weight:normal;} - - hr {width:90%;margin:2em auto 2em auto;clear:both;color:black;} - - hr.full {width: 60%;margin:2% auto 2% auto;border-top:1px solid black; -padding:.1em;border-bottom:1px solid black;border-left:none;border-right:none;} - - img {border:none;} - -.nind {text-indent:0%;} - -.nonvis {display:inline;} -.x-bookmaker .nonvis {display: none;} - @media print, handheld - {.nonvis - {display: none;} - } - - p {margin-top:.2em;text-align:justify;margin-bottom:.2em;text-indent:4%;} - -.pagenum {font-style:normal;position:absolute; -left:95%;font-size:55%;text-align:right;color:gray; -background-color:#ffffff;font-variant:normal;font-style:normal;font-weight:normal;text-decoration:none;text-indent:0em;} -.x-bookmaker .pagenum {display: none;} - -.pdd {padding-left:1em;text-indent:-1em;} - -.rt {text-align:right;} - -small {font-size: 70%;} - -.smcap {font-variant:small-caps;font-size:110%;} - -table {margin-top:2%;margin-bottom:2%;margin-left:auto;margin-right:auto;border:none;} - -th {padding-top:1em;padding-bottom:.5em;} - -div.poetry {text-align:center;} -div.poem {font-size:90%;margin:auto auto;text-indent:0%; -display: inline-block; text-align: left;} -.poem .stanza {margin-top: 1em;margin-bottom:1em;} -.poem span.i0 {display: block; margin-left: 0em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i2 {display: block; margin-left: 1em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -.poem span.i3 {display: block; margin-left: 2em; padding-left: 3em; text-indent: -3em;} -</style> - </head> -<body> - -<div style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of South Africa; vol I., by Anthony Trollope</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and -most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms -of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online -at <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: South Africa; vol I.</p> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Anthony Trollope</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: September 19, 2021 [eBook #66342]</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'>Character set encoding: UTF-8</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Produced by: Chuck Greif and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images available at The Internet Archive)</div> - -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA; VOL I. ***</div> -<hr class="full" /> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<img src="images/cover.jpg" height="500" alt="" /> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_i" id="page_i">{i}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ii" id="page_ii">{ii}</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iii" id="page_iii">{iii}</a></span></p> - -<p class="c">SOUTH AFRICA<br /> -—<br /> -VOL. I.</p> - -<h1> -SOUTH AFRICA.</h1> - -<p class="c"> -BY<br /> -ANTHONY TROLLOPE.<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -IN TWO VOLUMES.<br /> -VOL. I.<br /> -<br /> -<br /> -<i>FOURTH EDITION.</i><br /> -<br /> -<br /> -LONDON:<br /> -CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, PICCADILLY.<br /> -1878.<br /> -<br /> -(<i>All rights reserved.</i>)<br /> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_iv" id="page_iv">{iv}</a></span><br /><br /> - -<small> - -LONDON:<br /> -PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED,<br /> -CITY ROAD.<br /></small> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_v" id="page_v">{v}</a></span></p> - -<h2><a name="CONTENTS_OF_VOL_I" id="CONTENTS_OF_VOL_I"></a>CONTENTS OF VOL. I.</h2> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">——</td></tr> -<tr><th colspan="2"><big><a href="#SOUTH_AFRICA">SOUTH AFRICA</a></big>.</th></tr> - -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt"><small>PAGE</small></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_I">CHAPTER I.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Introduction</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_1">1</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_II">CHAPTER II.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Early Dutch History</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_10">10</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_III">CHAPTER III.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">English History</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_26">26</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV">CHAPTER IV.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Population and Federation</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_46">46</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">——</td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><big><a href="#THE_CAPE_COLONY">THE CAPE COLONY</a></big>.</th></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_V">CHAPTER V.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Capetown; the Capital</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_67">67</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI">CHAPTER VI.</a> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vi" id="page_vi">{vi}</a></span></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Legislature and Executive</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_85">85</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII">CHAPTER VII.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Knysna, George, and the Cango Caves</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_98">98</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">CHAPTER VIII.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Paarl, Ceres, and Worcester</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_121">121</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">CHAPTER IX.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Robertson, Swellendam, and Southey’s Pass</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_141">141</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">CHAPTER X.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Fort Elizabeth and Grahamstown</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_159">159</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">CHAPTER XI.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">British Kafraria</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_181">181</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">CHAPTER XII.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Kafir Schools</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_207">207</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">CHAPTER XIII.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Condition of the Cape Colony</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_224">224</a></td></tr> - -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">——</td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2"><big><a href="#NATAL">NATAL</a></big>.</th></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">CHAPTER XIV.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Natal.—History of the Colony</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_241">241</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">CHAPTER XV.</a> -<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_vii" id="page_vii">{vii}</a></span></th></tr> - -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Condition of the Colony.—No. 1.</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_263">263</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">CHAPTER XVI.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Condition of the Colony.—No. 2.</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_284">284</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">CHAPTER XVII.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">The Zulus</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_306">306</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">CHAPTER XVIII.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Langalibalele</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_327">327</a></td></tr> - -<tr><th colspan="2" class="c"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">CHAPTER XIX.</a></th></tr> -<tr><td><span class="smcap">Pieter Maritzburg to Newcastle</span></td><td class="rt" valign="bottom"><a href="#page_339">339</a></td></tr> -</table> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_ix" id="page_ix">{ix}</a></span><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_viii" id="page_viii">{viii}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_x" id="page_x">{x}</a></span> </p> - -<div class="figcenter"> -<a href="images/map.jpg"> -<img src="images/map.jpg" width="600" alt="[Image -of the map of South Africa is not available.]" /></a> -<br /><span class="nonvis"> -[<a href="images/map_lg.jpg">Larger view(296kb)]</a><br /> -[<a href="images/map_huge.jpg">Largest view (2.7mb)]</a></span> -</div> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_1" id="page_1">{1}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="SOUTH_AFRICA" id="SOUTH_AFRICA"></a>SOUTH AFRICA.</h2> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.<br /><br /> -<small>INTRODUCTION.</small></h3> - -<p class="c"><span class="c">I</span>T was in April of last year, 1877, that I first formed a plan of paying -an immediate visit to South Africa. The idea that I would one day do so -had long loomed in the distance before me. Except the South African -group I had seen all our great groups of Colonies,—among which in my -own mind I always include the United States, for to my thinking, our -Colonies are the lands in which our cousins, the descendants of our -forefathers, are living and still speaking our language. I had become -more or less acquainted I may say with all these offshoots from Great -Britain, and had written books about them all,—except South Africa. To -“do” South Africa had for some years past been on my mind, till at last -there was growing on me the consciousness that I was becoming too old -for any more such “doing.” Then, suddenly, the newspapers became full of -the Transvaal Republic. There was a country not indeed belonging to -Great Britain but which once had been almost British, a country, with -which Britain was much too closely concerned to ignore it,—a country, -which had been occupied by British subjects, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_2" id="page_2">{2}</a></span> established as a -Republic under British authority,—now in danger of being reconquered by -the native tribes which had once peopled it. In this country, for the -existence of which in its then condition we were in a measure -responsible, the white man there would not fight, nor pay taxes, nor -make himself conformable to any of these rules by which property and -life are made secure. Then we were told that English interference and -English interference only could save the country from internecine -quarrels between black men and white men. While this was going on I made -up my mind that now if ever must I visit South Africa. The question of -the Confederation of the States was being mooted at the same time, a -Confederation which was to include not only this Republic which was so -very much out of elbows, but also another quiet little Republic of which -I think that many of us did not know much at home,—but as to which we -had lately heard that it was to receive £90,000 out of the revenue of -the Mother Country, not in compensation for any acknowledged wrong, but -as a general plaster for whatever little scratches the smaller -community, namely the Republic of the Orange Free States, might have -received in its encounters with the greater majesty of the British -Empire. If a tour to South Africa would ever be interesting, it -certainly would be so now. Therefore I made up my mind and began to make -enquiries as to steamers, cost, mode of travelling, and letters of -introduction. It was while I was doing this that the tidings came upon -us like a clap of thunder of the great deed done by Sir Theophilus -Shepstone. The Transvaal had already been annexed! The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_3" id="page_3">{3}</a></span> thing which we -were dreaming of as just possible,—as an awful task which we might -perhaps be forced to undertake in the course of some indefinite number -of months to come, had already been effected. A sturdy Englishman had -walked into the Republic with five and twenty policemen and a Union Jack -and had taken possession of it. “Would the inhabitants of the Republic -like to ask me to take it?” So much enquiry he seems to have made. No; -the people by the voice of their parliament declined even to consider so -monstrous a proposition. “Then I shall take it without being asked,” -said Sir Theophilus. And he took it.</p> - -<p>That was what had just been done in the Transvaal when my idea of going -to South Africa had ripened itself into a resolution. Clearly there was -an additional reason for going. Here had been done a very high-handed -thing as to which it might be the duty of a Briton travelling with a pen -in his hand to make a strong remonstrance. Or again it might be his duty -to pat that sturdy Briton on the back,—with pen and ink,—and hold his -name up to honour as having been sturdy in a righteous cause. If I had -premeditated a journey to South Africa a year or two since, when South -Africa was certainly not very much in men’s mouths, there was much more -to reconcile me to the idea now that Confederation and the Transvaal -were in every man’s mouth.</p> - -<p>But when my enquiries which had at first been general came down to -minute details, when I was warned by one South African friend that the -time I had chosen for my journey was so altogether wrong that I should -be sure to find myself in some improvisioned region between two rivers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_4" id="page_4">{4}</a></span> -of which I should be as unable to repass the one as to pass the other, -and by another that the means of transit through the country were so -rough as to be unfit for any except the very strong,—or very slow; when -I was assured that the time I had allowed myself was insufficient even -to get up to Pretoria and back, I confess that I became alarmed. I shall -never forget the portentous shaking of the head of one young man who -evidently thought that my friends were neglecting me in that I was -allowed to think of such a job of work. Between them all they nearly -scared me. Had I not been ashamed to abandon my plan I think I should -have gone into the city and begged Mr. Donald Currie to absolve me from -responsibility in regard to that comfortable berth which he had promised -to secure for me on board the Caldera.</p> - -<p>I have usually found warnings to be of no avail, and often to be -illfounded. The Bay of Biscay as I have felt it is not much rougher than -other seas. No one ever attempted to gouge me in Kentucky or drew a -revolver on me in California. I have lived in Paris as cheaply as -elsewhere; and have invariably found Jews to be more liberal than other -men. Such has been the case with the South African lions which it was -presumed that I should find in my path. I have never been stopped by a -river and have never been starved; and am now, that the work is done, -heartily glad that I made the attempt. Whether my doing so can be of any -use in giving information to others will be answered by the fate of my -little book which is thus sent upon the waves within twelve months of -the time when I first thought of making the journey; but I am sure that -I have added<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_5" id="page_5">{5}</a></span> something worth having to my own stock of knowledge -respecting the Colonies generally.</p> - -<p>As I have written the following chapters I think that I have named the -various works, antecedent to my own, from which I have made quotations -or taken information as to any detail of South African history. I will, -however, acknowledge here what I owe to Messrs. Wilmot and Chase’s -“History of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope,”—to the “Compendium of -South African History and Geography,” by George M. Theal, as to which -the reader may be interested to know that the entire work in two volumes -was printed, and very well printed, by native printers at Lovedale,—to -Mr. John Noble’s work, entitled “South Africa, Past and Present,”—to -Messrs. Silver and Co.’s “Handbook to South Africa,” which of all such -works that have ever come into my hands is the most complete; and to the -reprints of two courses of lectures, one given by Judge Watermeyer on -the Cape Colony, and the other by Judge Cloëte “On the Emigration of the -Dutch Farmers.” I must also name the “Compendium of Kafir Laws and -Customs” collected and published by Col. Maclean, who was at one time -Lieut.-Governor of British Kafraria. Were I to continue the list so as -to include all the works that I have read or consulted I should have to -name almanacks, pamphlets, lectures, letters and blue books to a very -great number indeed.</p> - -<p>I have a great deal of gratitude to own to gentlemen holding official -positions in the different Colonies and districts I have visited, -without whose aid my task would have been hopeless. Chief among these -have been Captain Mills<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_6" id="page_6">{6}</a></span> the Colonial Secretary at Capetown, without -whom I cannot presume it possible that the Cape Colony should continue -to exist. There is however happily no reason why for many years to come -it should be driven to the necessity of even contemplating such an -attempt. At Pieter Maritzburg in Natal I found my old friend Napier -Broome, and from him and from the Governor’s staff generally I received -all the assistance that they could give me. At Pretoria Colonel Brooke -and Mr. Osborn, who were ruling the Dutchmen in the absence of Sir -Theophilus Shepstone, were equally kind to me. At Bloemfontein Mr. -Höhne, who is the Government Secretary, was as cordial and communicative -as though the Orange Free States were an English Colony and he an -English Minister. I must also say that Mr. Brand, the President of the -Free States, though he is Dutch to the back bone, and has in his time -had some little tussles with what he has thought to be British -high-handedness,—in every one of which by-the-bye he has succeeded in -achieving something good for his country,—was with me as open and -unreserved as though I had been a Dutch Boer, or he a member of the same -political club with myself in England. But how shall I mention the -full-handed friendship of Major Lanyon, whom I found administering the -entangled affairs of Griqualand West,—by which perhaps hitherto unknown -names my readers will find, if they go on far enough with the task -before them, that the well-known South African Diamond Fields are -signified? When last I had seen him, and it seems but a short time ago, -he was a pretty little boy with a pretty little frock in Belfast.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_7" id="page_7">{7}</a></span> And -there he was among the diamonds carrying on his government in a capital -which certainly is not lovely to look at,—which of itself is perhaps -the most unlovely city that I know,—but which his kindness succeeded in -making agreeable, though not even his kindness could make it other than -hideous.</p> - -<p>These names I mention because of the information which I have received -from their owners. What I owe to the hospitality of the friends I have -made in South Africa is a matter private between me and them. I may -however perhaps acknowledge the great courtesy which I have received -from Sir Bartle Frere and Sir Henry Bulwer, the Governors of the Cape -Colony and Natal. As to the former it was a matter of much regret to me -that I should not have seen him on my return to Capetown after my -travels, when he was still detained at the frontier by the disturbances -with Kreli and the Galekas. It was my misfortune not to become -personally acquainted with Sir Theophilus Shepstone, who unhappily for -me was absent inspecting his new dominion when I was at Pretoria.</p> - -<p>I must express my hearty thanks to Sir Henry Barkly, the late Governor -of the Cape Colony, who had returned home just before I started from -London, and who was kind enough to prepare for me with great minuteness -a sketch of my journey, as, in his opinion, it ought to be made, giving -me not only a list of the places which I should visit but an estimate of -the time which should be allotted to each, so as to turn to the best -advantage the months which I had at my disposal. I have not quite done -all which his energy would<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_8" id="page_8">{8}</a></span> have exacted from me. I did not get to the -Gold-fields of the Transvaal or into Basutoland. But I have followed his -guidance throughout, and can certainly testify to the exactness of his -knowledge of the country.</p> - -<p>My readers will find that in speaking of the three races I found in -South Africa, the native tribes namely, the Dutch and the English, I -have attributed by far the greater importance to the former because of -their numbers. But I fear that I have done so in such a way as not to -have conciliated the friends of the aborigines at home, while I shall -certainly have insured the hostility,—or at any rate opposition,—of -the normal white men in the Colonies. The white man in the South African -Colonies feels that the colony ought to be his and kept up for him, -because he, perhaps, with his life in his hand, went forth as a pioneer -to spread the civilization of Europe and to cultivate the wilds of the -world’s surface. If he has not done so himself, his father did it before -him, and he thinks that the gratitude of the Mother Country should -maintain for him the complete ascendency which his superiority to the -black man has given him. I feel confident that he will maintain his own -ascendency, and think that the Mother Country should take care that that -ascendency be not too complete. The colonist will therefore hardly agree -with me. The friend of the aborigines, on the other hand, seems to me to -ignore the fact,—a fact as it presents itself to my eyes,—that the -white man has to be master and the black man servant, and that the best -friendship will be shown to the black man by seeing that the terms on -which the master and servant shall be brought to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_9" id="page_9">{9}</a></span>gether are just. In the -first place we have to take care that the native shall not be subjected -to slavery on any pretence or in any of its forms; and in doing this we -shall have to own that compulsory labour, the wages for which are to be -settled by the employer without the consent of the employed, is a form -of slavery. After that,—after acknowledging so much, and providing -against any infraction of the great law so laid down,—the more we do to -promote the working of the coloured man, the more successful we are in -bringing him into his harness, the better for himself, and for the -colony at large. A little garden, a wretched hut, and a great many hymns -do not seem to me to bring the man any nearer to civilization. Work -alone will civilize him, and his incentive to work should be, and is, -the desire to procure those good things which he sees to be in the -enjoyment of white men around him. He is quite alive to this desire, and -is led into new habits by good eating, good clothes, even by finery and -luxuries, much quicker than by hymns and gardens supposed to be just -sufficient to maintain an innocent existence. The friend of the -aboriginal would, I fear, fain keep his aboriginal separated from the -white man; whereas I would wish to see their connexion as close as -possible. In this way I fear that I may have fallen between two stools.</p> - -<p>In regard to Kreli and his rebellious Galekas,—in regard also to the -unsettled state of the Zulus and their borders, I have to ask my readers -to remember that my book has been written while these disturbances were -in existence. In respect to them I can not do more than express an -opinion of my own,—more or less crude as it must necessarily be.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_10" id="page_10">{10}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.<br /><br /> -<small>EARLY DUTCH HISTORY.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Our</span> possessions in South Africa, like many of our other Colonial -territories, were taken by us from others who did the first rough work -of discovering and occupying the land. As we got Canada from the French, -Jamaica from the Spaniards, and Ceylon from the Dutch, so did we take -the Cape of Good Hope from the latter people. In Australia and New -Zealand we were the pioneers, and very hard work we found it. So also -was it in Massachusetts and Virginia, which have now, happily, passed -away from us. But in South Africa the Dutch were the first to deal with -the Hottentots and Bushmen; and their task was nearly as hard as that -which fell to the lot of Englishmen when they first landed on the coast -of Australia with a cargo of convicts.</p> - -<p>The Portuguese indeed came before the Dutch, but they only came, and did -not stay. The Cape, as far as we know, was first doubled by Bartholomew -Diaz in 1486. He, and some of the mariners with him, called it the Cape -of Torments, or Capo Tormentoso, from the miseries they endured. The -more comfortable name which it now bears was given to it by King John of -Portugal, as being the new way<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_11" id="page_11">{11}</a></span> discovered by his subjects to the -glorious Indies. Diaz, it seems, never in truth saw the Cape but was -carried past it to Algoa Bay where he merely landed on an island and put -up a cross. But he certainly was one of the great naval heroes of the -world and deserves to be ranked with Columbus. Vasco da Gama, another -sailor hero, said to have been of royal Portuguese descent, followed him -in 1497. He landed to the west of the Cape. There the meeting between -Savage and Christian was as it has almost always been. At first there -was love and friendship, a bartering of goods in which the Christian of -course had the advantage, and a general interchange of amenities. Then -arose mistakes, so natural among strangers who could not speak to each -other, suspicion, violence, and very quickly an internecine quarrel in -which the poor Savage was sure to go to the wall. Vasco da Gama did not -stay long at the Cape, but proceeding on went up the East Coast as far -as our second South African colony, which bears the name which he then -gave to it. He called the land Tierra de Natal, because he reached it on -the day of our Lord’s Nativity. The name has stuck to it ever since and -no doubt will now be preserved. From thence Da Gama went on to India, -and we who are interested in the Cape will lose sight of him. But he -also was one of the world’s mighty mariners,—a man born to endure much, -having to deal not only with Savages who mistook him and his purposes, -but with frequent mutinies among his own men,—a hero who had ever to do -his work with his life in his hand, and to undergo hardships of which -our sailors in these happier days know nothing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_12" id="page_12">{12}</a></span></p> - -<p>The Portuguese seem to have made no settlement at the Cape intended even -to be permanent; but they did use the place during the sixteenth and -first half of the next century as a port at which they could call for -supplies and assistance on their way out to the East Indies.</p> - -<p>The East had then become the great goal of commerce to others besides -the Portuguese. In 1600 our own East India Company was formed, and in -1602 that of the Dutch. Previous to those dates, in 1591, an English -sailor, Captain Lancaster, visited the Cape, and in 1620 Englishmen -landed and took possession of it in the name of James I. But nothing -came of these visitings and declarations, although an attempt was made -by Great Britain to establish a house of call for her trade out to the -East. For this purpose a small gang of convicts was deposited on Robben -Island, which is just off Capetown, but as a matter of course the -convicts quarrelled with themselves and the Natives, and came to a -speedy end. In 1595 the Dutch came, but did not then remain. It was not -till 1652 that the first Europeans who were destined to be the pioneer -occupants of the new land were put on shore at the Cape of Good Hope, -and thus made the first Dutch settlement. Previous to that the Cape had -in fact been a place of call for vessels of all nations going and coming -to and from the East. But from this date, 1652, it was to be used for -the Dutch exclusively. The Hollanders of that day were stanch -Protestants and sound Christians, but they hardly understood their duty -to their neighbours. They had two ideas in forming their establishment -at the Cape;—firstly that of aiding their own commerce with the East, -and secondly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_13" id="page_13">{13}</a></span> that of debarring the commerce of all other nations from -the aid which they sought for themselves. It is on record that when a -French merchant-vessel was once treated with hospitality by the -authorities at the Cape, the authorities at home brought their colonial -dependents very severely to task for such forgetfulness of their duty. -The Governor at the time was dismissed for not allowing the Frenchman to -“float on his own fins.” It was then decided that water should be given -to Europeans in want of it, but as little other refreshment as possible.</p> - -<p>The home Authority at this time was not the Dutch Government, but the -Council of Seventeen at Amsterdam, who were the Directors of the Dutch -East India Company. For, as with us, the commercial enterprise with the -East was a monopoly given over to a great Company, and this Company for -the furtherance of its own business established a depôt at the Cape of -Good Hope. When therefore we read of the Dutch Governors we are reading -of the servants not of the nation but of a commercial firm. And yet -these Governors, with the aid of their burgher council, had full power -over life and limb.</p> - -<p>Jan van Riebeek was the first Governor, a man who seems to have had a -profound sense of the difficulties and responsibilities of his -melancholy position, and to have done his duty well amidst great -suffering, till at last, after many petitions for his own recall, he was -released. He was there for ten sad years, and seems to have ruled,—no -doubt necessarily,—with a stern hand. The records of the little -community at this time are both touching and amusing, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_14" id="page_14">{14}</a></span> tragedy being -interspersed with much comedy. In the first year Volunteer Van Vogelaar -was sentenced to receive a hundred blows from the butt of his own musket -for “wishing the purser at the devil for serving out penguins instead of -pork.” Whether the despatch devilwards of the purser or of Van Vogelaar -was most expedited by this occurrence we are not told. Then the -chaplain’s wife had a child, and we learn that all the other married -ladies hurried on to follow so good an example. But the ladies generally -did not escape the malice of evil tongues. Early in the days of the -establishment one Woüters was sentenced to have his tongue bored, to be -banished for three years, and to beg pardon on his bare knees for -speaking ill of the Commander’s wife and of other females. It is added -that he would not have been let off so lightly but that his wife was -just then about to prove herself a good citizen by adding to the -population of the little community. In 1653, the second year of Van -Riebeek’s government, we are told that the lions seemed as though they -were going to take the fort by storm, and that a wolf seized a sheep -within sight of the herds. We afterwards hear that a dreadful -ourang-outang was found, as big as a calf.</p> - -<p>From 1658, when the place was but six years old, there comes a very sad -record indeed. The first cargo of slaves was landed at the Cape from the -Guinea Coast. In this year, out of an entire population of 360, more -than a half were slaves. The total number of these was 187. To control -them and to defend the place there were but 113 European men capable of -bearing arms. This slave element<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_15" id="page_15">{15}</a></span> at once became antagonistic to any -system of real colonization, and from that day to this has done more -than any other evil to retard the progress of the people. It was -extinguished, much to the disgust of the old Dutch inhabitants, under -Mr. Buxton’s Emancipation Act in 1834;—but its effects are still felt.</p> - -<p>In 1666 two men were flogged and sentenced to work in irons for three -years for stealing cabbages. Terrible severity seems to have been the -only idea of government. Those who were able to produce more than they -consumed were allowed to sell to no purchaser except the Company. Even -the free men, the so-called burghers, were little better than slaves, -and were bound to perform their military duties with almost more than -Dutch accuracy. Time was kept by the turning of an official hour glass, -for which purpose two soldiers called Rondegangers were kept on duty, -one to relieve the other through the day and night. And everything was -done vigorously by clockwork,—or hour-glass work rather; the Senate -sitting punctually at nine for their executive and political duties. A -soldier, if he was found sleeping at his post, was tied to a triangle -and beaten by relays of flagellators. Everything was done in accordance -with the ideas of a military despotism, in which, however, the -Commander-in-chief was assisted by a Council or Senate.</p> - -<p>And there was need for despotism. Food often ran short, so that penguins -had to be supplied in lieu of pork,—to the infinite disgust we should -imagine of others besides poor Van Vogelaar. It often became a serious -question whether the garrison,—for then it was little more than a -garrison,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_16" id="page_16">{16}</a></span>—would produce food sufficient for their need. But this was -not the only or the worse trouble to which the Governor was subjected. -The new land of which he had taken possession was by no means unoccupied -or unpossessed. There was a race of savages in possession, to whom the -Dutch soon gave the name of Hottentots,<a name="FNanchor_1_1" id="FNanchor_1_1"></a><a href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> and who were friendly enough -as long as they thought that they were getting more than they gave; but, -as has always been the case in the growing relations between Christians -and Savages, the Savages quickly began to understand they were made to -have the worst in every bargain. Soon after the settlement was -established the burghers were forbidden to trade with these people at -all, and then hostilities commenced. The Hottentots found that much, in -the way of land, had been taken from them and that nothing was to be -got. They too, Savages though they were, became logical, and asked -whether they would be allowed to enter Holland and do there as the Dutch -were doing with them. “You come,” they said, “quite into the interior, -selecting our best land, and never asking whether we like it;”—thus -showing that they had made themselves accustomed to the calling of -strangers at their point of land, and that they had not objected to such -mere calling, because something had always been left behind; but that -this going into the interior and taking from them their best land was -quite a different thing. They understood the nature of pasture<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_17" id="page_17">{17}</a></span> land -very well, and argued that if the Dutchmen had many cattle there would -be but little grass left for themselves. And so there arose a war.</p> - -<p>The Hottentots themselves have not received, as Savages, a bad -character. They are said to have possessed fidelity, attachment, and -intelligence; to have been generally good to their children; to have -believed in the immortality of the soul, and to have worshipped a god. -The Hottentot possessed property and appreciated its value. He was not -naturally cruel, and was prone rather to submit than to fight. The -Bosjesman, or Bushman, was of a lower order, smaller in stature, more -degraded in appearance, filthier in his habits, occasionally a cannibal -eating his own children when driven by hunger, cruel, and useless. Even -he was something better than the Australian aboriginal, but was very -inferior to his near relative the Hottentot.</p> - -<p>But the Hottentot, with all his virtues, was driven into rebellion. -There was some fighting in which the natives of course were beaten, and -rewards were offered, so much for a live Hottentot, and so much for a -dead one. This went on till, in 1672, it was found expedient to purchase -land from the natives. A contract was made in that year to prevent -future cavilling, as was then alleged, between the Governor and one of -the native princes, by which the district of the Cape of Good Hope was -ceded to the Dutch for a certain nominal price. The deed is signed with -the marks of two Hottentot chiefs and with the names of two Dutchmen. -The purchase was made simply as an easy way out of the difficulty. But -after a very early period—1684—there<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_18" id="page_18">{18}</a></span> was no further buying of land. -“There was no longer an affectation of a desire on the part of the Dutch -authorities,” as we are told by Judge Watermeyer, “that native claims to -land should be respected.” The land was then annexed by Europeans as -convenience required.</p> - -<p>In all this the Dutch of those days did very much as the English have -done since. Of all the questions which a conscientious man has ever had -to decide, this is one of the most difficult. The land clearly belongs -to the inhabitants of it,—by as good a title as England belongs to the -English or Holland to the Dutch. But the advantage of spreading -population is so manifest, and the necessity of doing so has so clearly -been indicated to us by nature, that no man, let him be ever so -conscientious, will say that throngs of human beings from the -over-populated civilized countries should refrain from spreading -themselves over unoccupied countries or countries partially occupied by -savage races. Such a doctrine would be monstrous, and could be held only -by a fanatic in morality. And yet there always comes a crisis in which -the stronger, the more civilized, and the Christian race is called upon -to inflict a terrible injustice on the unoffending owner of the land. -Attempts have been made to purchase every acre needed by the new -comers,—very conspicuously in New Zealand. But such attempts never can -do justice to the Savage. The savage man from his nature can understand -nothing of the real value of the article to be sold. The price must be -settled by the purchaser, and he on the other side has no means of -ascertaining who in truth has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_19" id="page_19">{19}</a></span> the right to sell, and cannot know to -whom the purchase money should be paid. But he does know that he must -have the land. He feels that in spreading himself over the earth he is -carrying out God’s purpose, and has no idea of giving way before this -difficulty. He tries to harden his heart against the Savage, and -gradually does so in spite of his own conscience. The man is a nuisance -and must be made to go. Generally he has gone rapidly enough. The -contact with civilization does not suit his nature. We are told that he -takes the white man’s vices and ignores the white man’s virtues. In -truth vices are always more attractive than virtues. To drink is easy -and pleasant. To love your neighbour as yourself is very difficult, and -sometimes unpleasant. So the Savage has taken to drink, and has worn his -very clothes unwholesomely, and has generally perished during the -process of civilization. The North American Indian, the Australian -Aboriginal, the Maori of New Zealand are either going or gone,—and so -in these lands there has come, or is coming, an end of trouble from that -source.</p> - -<p>The Hottentot too of whom we have been speaking is said to be nearly -gone, and, being a yellow man, to have lacked strength to endure -European seductions. But as to the Hottentot and his fate there are -varied opinions. I have been told by some that I have never seen a pure -Hottentot. Using my own eyes and my own idea of what a Hottentot is, I -should have said that the bulk of the population of the Western Province -of the Cape Colony is Hottentot. The truth probably is that they have -become so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_20" id="page_20">{20}</a></span> mingled with other races as to have lost much of their -identity; but that the race has not perished, as have the Indians of -North America and the Maoris. The difficulty as to the Savage has at any -rate not been solved in South Africa as in other countries in which our -Colonies have settled themselves. The Kafir with his numerous varieties -of race is still here, and is by no means inclined to go. And for this -reason South Africa at present differs altogether from the other lands -from which white Colonists have driven the native inhabitants. Of these -races I shall have to speak further as I go on with my task.</p> - -<p>In 1687 and 1689 there arrived at the Cape a body of emigrants whose -presence has no doubt had much effect in creating the race which now -occupies the land, and without whom probably the settlers could not have -made such progress as they did effect. These were Protestant Frenchmen, -who in consequence of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes were in want -of a home in which they could exercise their religion in freedom. These -arrived to the number of about 300, and the names of most of them have -been duly recorded. Very many of the same names are now to be found -through the Colony—to such an extent as to make the stranger ask why -the infant settlement should have been held to be exclusively Dutch. -These Frenchmen, who were placed out round the Cape as agriculturists, -were useful, industrious, religious people. But though they grew and -multiplied they also had their troubles, and hardly enjoyed all the -freedom which they had expected. The Dutch, indeed, appear to have had -no idea of freedom either as to private<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_21" id="page_21">{21}</a></span> life, political life, or -religious life. Gradually they succeeded in imposing their own language -upon the new comers. In 1709 the use of French was forbidden in all -public matters, and in 1724 the services of the French Church were for -the last time performed in the French language. Before the end of the -last century the language was gone. Thus the French comers with their -descendants were forced by an iron hand into Dutch moulds, and now -nothing is left to them of their old country but their names. When one -meets a Du Plessis or a De Villiers it is impossible to escape the -memory of the French immigration.</p> - -<p>The last half of the seventeenth and the whole of the eighteenth century -saw the gradual progress of the Dutch depôt,—a colony it could hardly -be called,—going on in the same slow determined way, and always with -the same purpose. It was no colony because those who managed it at home -in Holland, and they who at the Cape served with admirable fidelity -their Dutch masters, never entertained an idea as to the colonization of -the country. A half-way house to India was erected by the Dutch East -India Company for the purpose of commerce, and it was necessary that a -community should be maintained at the Cape for this purpose. The less of -trouble, the less of expense, the less of anything beyond mechanical -service with which the work could be carried on, the better. It was not -for the good of the Dutchmen who were sent out or of the Frenchmen who -joined them, that the Council of 17 at Amsterdam troubled themselves -with the matter; but because by doing so they could assist their own -trade and add to their own gains.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_22" id="page_22">{22}</a></span> Judge Watermeyer in one of three -lectures which he gave on the state of the Colony under the Dutch quotes -the following opinion on colonization from a Dutch Attorney General of -the time. “The object of paramount importance in legislation for -Colonies should be the welfare of the parent State of which the Colony -is but a subordinate part and to which it owes its existence!” I need -hardly point out that the present British theory of colonization is -exactly the reverse of this. Some of those prosperous but by no means -benevolent looking old gentlemen with gold chains, as we see them -painted by Rembrandt and other Dutch Masters, were no doubt the owners -of the Cape and its inhabitants. Slave labour was the readiest labour, -and therefore slave labour was procured. The native races were not to be -oppressed beyond endurance, because they would rise and fight. The -community itself was not to grow rich, because if rich it would no -longer be subservient to its masters. In the midst of all this there -were fine qualities. The Governors were brave, stanch, and faithful. The -people were brave and industrious,—and were not self-indulgent except -with occasional festivities in which drunkenness was permissible. The -wonder is that for so long a time they should have been so submissive, -so serviceable, and yet have had so little of the sweets of life to -enjoy.</p> - -<p>There were some to whom the austerities of Dutch rule proved too hard -for endurance, and these men moved away without permission into further -districts in which they might live a free though hard life. In other -words they “trekked,” as the practice has been called to this day.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_23" id="page_23">{23}</a></span> This -system has been the mode of escape from the thraldom of government which -has been open to all inhabitants of South Africa. Men when they have -been dissatisfied have gone away, always intending to get beyond the arm -of the existing law; but as they have gone, the law has of necessity -followed at their heels. An outlawed crew on the borders of any colony -or settlement must be ruinous to it. And therefore far as white men have -trekked, government has trekked after them, as we shall find when we -come by and bye to speak of Natal, the Orange Free State, and the -Transvaal.</p> - -<p>In 1795 came the English. In that year the French Republican troops had -taken possession of Holland, and the Prince of Orange, after the manner -of dethroned potentates, took refuge in England. He gave an authority, -which was dated from Kew, to the Governor of the Cape to deliver up all -and everything in his hands to the English forces. On the arrival of the -English fleet there was found to be, at the same time, a colonist -rebellion. Certain distant burghers,—for the territory had of course -grown,—refused to obey the officers of the Company or to contribute to -the taxes. In this double emergency the poor Dutch Governor, who does -not seem to have regarded the Prince’s order as an authority, was sorely -puzzled. He fought a little, but only a little, and then the English -were in possession. The castle was given up to General Craig, and in -1797 Lord Macartney came out as the first British Governor.</p> - -<p>Great Britain at this time took possession of the Cape to prevent the -French from doing so. No doubt it was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_24" id="page_24">{24}</a></span> most desirable possession, as -being a half-way house for us to India as it had been for the Dutch. But -we should not, at any rate then, have touched the place had it not been -that Holland, or rather the Dutch, were manifestly unable to retain it. -We spent a great deal of money at the settlement, built military works, -and maintained a large garrison. But it was but for a short time, and -during that short time our rule over the Dutchmen was uneasy and -unprofitable. Something of rebellion seems to have been going on during -the whole time,—not so much against English authority as against Dutch -law, and this rebellion was complicated by continual quarrels between -the distant Boers, or Dutch farmers, and the Hottentots. It was an -uncomfortable possession, and when at the peace of Amiens in 1802 it was -arranged that the Cape of Good Hope should be restored to Holland, -English Ministers of State did not probably grieve much at the loss. At -this time the population of the Colony is supposed to have been 61,947, -which was divided as follows:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td align="left">Europeans </td><td align="left">21,746.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Slaves</td><td align="left">25,754.</td></tr> -<tr><td align="left">Hottentots</td><td align="left">14,447.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>But the peace of Amiens was delusive, and there was soon war between -England and France. Then again Great Britain felt the necessity of -taking the Cape, and proceeded to do so on this occasion without any -semblance of Dutch authority. At that time whatever belonged to Holland -was almost certain to fall into the hands of France. In 1805, while the -battle of Austerlitz was making Napoleon a hero<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_25" id="page_25">{25}</a></span> on land, and Trafalgar -was proving the heroism of England on the seas, Sir David Baird was sent -with half a dozen regiments to expel, not the Dutch, but the Dutch -Governor and the Dutch soldiers from the Cape. This he did easily, -having encountered some slender resistance; and thus in 1806, on the -19th January, after a century and a half of Dutch rule, the Cape of Good -Hope became a British Colony.</p> - -<p>It should perhaps be stated that on the restoration of the Cape to -Holland the dominion was not given back to the Dutch East India Company, -but was maintained by the Government at the Hague. The immediate -consequence of this was a great improvement in the laws, and a -considerable relaxation of tyranny. Of this we of course had the full -benefit, as we entered in upon our work with the idea of maintaining in -most things the Dutch system.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_26" id="page_26">{26}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.<br /><br /> -<small>ENGLISH HISTORY.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">I have</span> to say that I feel almost ashamed of the headings given to these -initiatory chapters of my book as I certainly am not qualified to write -a history of South Africa. Nor, were I able to do so, could it be done -in a few pages. And, again, it has already been done and that so -recently that there is not as yet need for further work of the kind. But -it is not possible to make intelligible the present condition of any -land without some reference to its antecedents. And as it is my object -to give my reader an idea of the country as I saw it I am obliged to -tell something of what I myself found it necessary to learn before I -could understand that which I heard and saw. When I left England I had -some notion more or less correct as to Hottentots, Bushmen, Kafirs, and -Zulus. Since that my mind has gradually become permeated with Basutos, -Griquas, Bechuanas, Amapondos, Suazies, Gaikas, Galekas, and various -other native races,—who are supposed to have disturbed our serenity in -South Africa, but whose serenity we must also have disturbed very -much,—till it has become impossible to look at the picture without -realizing something of the identity of those people. I do not expect to -bring any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_27" id="page_27">{27}</a></span> readers to do that. I perhaps have been filling my mind with -the subject for as many months as the ordinary reader will take hours in -turning over these pages. But still I must ask him to go back a little -with me, or, as I go on, I shall find myself writing as though I -presumed that things were known to him, as to which if he have learned -much, it may be unnecessary that he should look at my book at all.</p> - -<p>The English began their work with considerable success. The Dutch laws -were retained, but were executed with mitigated severity; a large -military force was maintained in the Colony, numbering from four to five -thousand men, which of course created a ready market for the produce of -the country; and there was a Governor with almost royal appanages and a -salary of £12,000 a year,—as much probably, when the change in the -value of money is considered, as the Governor-General of India has now. -Men might sell and buy as they pleased, and the intolerable strictness -of Dutch colonial rule was abated. Whatever Dutch patriotism might say, -the English with their money were no doubt very welcome at first, and -especially at or in the neighbourhood of Capetown. We are told that Lord -Caledon, who was the first regular Governor after the return of the -English, was very popular. But troubles soon came, and we at once hear -the dreaded name of Kafir.<a name="FNanchor_2_2" id="FNanchor_2_2"></a><a href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a></p> - -<p>In 1811 the Dutch Boers had stretched themselves as far east as the -country round Graff Reynet,—for which I must<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_28" id="page_28">{28}</a></span> refer my reader to the -map. Between the Dutch and the Kafirs a neutral district had been -established in the vain hope of maintaining limits. Over this district -the Kafirs came plundering,—no doubt thinking that they were exercising -themselves in the legitimate and patriotic defence of their own land. -The Dutch inhabitants of course called for Government aid, and such aid -was forthcoming. An officer sent to report on the matter recommended -that all the Kafirs should be expelled from the Colony, and that the -district called the Zuurveld,—a district which by treaty had been left -to the Kafirs,—should be divided among white farmers. “This,” says the -chronicler, “was hardly in accordance with the agreement with Ngquika, -but necessity has no law.” The man whose name has thus been imperfectly -reduced to letters was the Kafir chieftain of that ilk, and is the same -as the word Gaika now used for a tribe of British subjects. Necessity we -all know has no law. But what is necessity? A man must die. A man, -generally, must work or go to the wall. But need a man establish himself -as a farmer on another man’s land? The reader will understand that I do -not deny the necessity;—but that I feel myself to be arrested when I -hear it asserted as sufficient excuse.</p> - -<p>The Dutch never raised a question as to the necessity. The English have -in latter days continually raised the question, but have so acted that -they have been able to argue as sufferers while they have been the -aggressors. On this occasion the necessity was allowed. A force was -sent, and a gallant Dutch magistrate, one Stockenstroom, who trusted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_29" id="page_29">{29}</a></span> -himself among the Kafirs, was, with his followers, murdered by them. -Then came the first Kafir war. We are told that no quarter was given by -the white men, no prisoners taken;—that all were slaughtered, till the -people were driven backwards and eastwards across the Great Fish river. -This, the first Kafir war, took place in 1811.</p> - -<p>The next and quickly succeeding trouble was of another kind. There have -been the two great troubles;—the contests between the white men and the -savages, and then the contests between the settled colonists and those -who have ever been seceding or “trekking” backwards from the -settlements. These latter have been generally, though by no means -exclusively, Dutchmen; and it is of them we speak when we talk of the -South African up-country Boers. These men, among other habits of their -time, had of course been used to slavery;—and though the slavery of the -Colony had never been of its nature cruel, it had of course been open to -cruelty. Laws were made for the protection of slaves, and these laws -were unpalatable to the Boer who wished to live in what he called -freedom,—“to do what he liked with his own,” according to the Duke of -Newcastle,—“to do what he dam pleased,” as the American of the South -used to say. A certain Dutchman named Bezuidenhout refused to obey the -law, and hence there arose a fight between a party of Dutch who swore -that they would die to a man rather than submit, and the armed British -authorities. The originator of the rebellion was shot down. The Dutch -invited the Kafirs to join them; but the Kafir chief declared that as -sparks were flying about, he would like to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_30" id="page_30">{30}</a></span> wait and see which way the -wind blew. But the battle went on, and of course the rebels were beaten. -There then followed an act of justice combined with vengeance. The -leaders were tried and six men were condemned to be hanged. That may -have been right;—but their friends and relatives were condemned to see -them executed. That must have been wrong, and in the result was most -unfortunate. Five of the six were hanged,—while thirty others had to -stand by and see. The place of execution was called Slagter’s Nek, a -name long remembered by the retreating Dutch Boers. But they were -hanged,—not simply once, but twice over. The apparatus, overweighted -with the number, broke down when the poor wretches dropped from the -platform. They were half killed by the ropes, but gradually struggled -back to life. Then there arose prayers that they might now at least be -spared;—and force was attempted, but in vain. The British officer had -to see that they were hanged, and hanged they were a second time, after -the interval of many hours spent in constructing a second gallows. They -were all Dutchmen, and the Dutch implacable Boer has said ever since -that he cannot forget Slagter’s Nek. It was the followers and friends of -these men who trekked away northwards and eastwards till after many a -bloody battle with the natives they at last came to Natal.</p> - -<p>From this time the Colony went on with a repetition of those two -troubles,—war with the Kafirs and disturbances with other native races, -and an ever-increasing disposition on the part of the European Colonists -to go backwards so that they might live after their own fashion and not -be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_31" id="page_31">{31}</a></span> forced to treat either slaves or natives according to humanitarian -laws. While this was going on the customary attempts were made to -civilize and improve both the colonists and the natives. Schools, -libraries, and public gardens were founded, and missionaries settled -themselves among the Kafirs and other coloured people. The public -institutions were not very good, nor were the missionaries very -wise;—but some good was done. The Governors who were sent out were of -course various in calibre. Lord Charles Somerset, who reigned for nearly -twelve consecutive years, is said to have been very arbitrary; but the -Colony prospered in spite of Kafir wars. From time to time further -additions were made to our territories, always of course at the expense -of the native races. In 1819 the Kafirs were driven back behind the -Keiskamma River; where is the region now called British Kafraria,—which -was then allowed to be Kafirs’ land. Since that they have been -compressed behind the Kei River, where lies what is now called Kafraria -Proper. Whether it will continue “proper” to the Kafirs is hardly now -matter of doubt. I may say that a considerable portion of it has been -already annexed.</p> - -<p>In 1820 it was determined to people the districts from which the natives -had last been driven by English emigrants. The fertility of the land and -the salubrity of the climate had been so loudly praised that there was -no difficulty in procuring volunteers for the purpose. The applications -from intending emigrants were numerous, and from these four thousand -were selected, and sent out at the expense of Government to Algoa -Bay;—where is Port Elizabeth, about<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_32" id="page_32">{32}</a></span> four hundred miles east of -Capetown. Hence have sprung the inhabitants of the Eastern Province, -which is as English as the Western Province is Dutch. And hence has come -that desire for separation,—for division into an Eastern and a Western -Colony, which for a long time distracted the Colonial Authorities both -at home and abroad. The English there have prospered better than their -old Dutch neighbours,—at any rate as far as commerce is concerned. The -business done in Algoa Bay is of a more lively and prosperous kind than -that transacted at Capetown. Hence have arisen jealousies, and it may -easily be understood that when the question of Colonial Parliaments -arose, the English at Algoa Bay thought it beneath them to be carried -off, for the purpose of making laws, to Capetown.</p> - -<p>It was from the coming of these people that the English language began -to prevail in the Colony. Until 1825 all public business was done in -Dutch. Proceedings in the law courts were carried on in that language -even later than that,—and it was not till 1828 that the despatches of -Government were sent out in English. The language of social and -commercial life can never be altered by edicts, but gradually, from this -time the English began to be found the most convenient. Now it is -general everywhere in the Colony, though of course Dutch is still spoken -by the descendants of the Dutch among themselves: and church services in -the Lutheran churches are performed in Dutch. It will probably take -another century to expel the language. In 1825 the despotism of the -Governors was lessened by the appointment of a Council of seven, which -may be regarded as the first<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_33" id="page_33">{33}</a></span> infant step towards Parliamentary -institutions; and in 1828 the old Dutch courts of Landdrosts and -Neemraden were abolished, and resident magistrates and justices were -appointed.</p> - -<p>But in the same year a much greater measure was accomplished. A very -small minority of liberal-minded men in the Colony, headed by Dr. -Philip, the missionary, bestirred themselves on behalf of the -Hottentots, who were in a condition very little superior to that of -absolute slavery. The question was stirred in England, and was taken up -by Mr. Buxton, who gave notice of a motion in the House of Commons on -the subject. But the Secretary of State for the Colonies was beforehand -with Mr. Buxton, and declared in the House that the Government would -grant all that was demanded. The Hottentots were put on precisely the -same footing as the Europeans,—very much to the disgust of the -Colonists in general and of the rulers of the Colony. So much was this -understood at home, and so determined was the Home Government that the -colonial feeling on the matter should not prevail, that a clause was -added to the enactment declaring that it should not be competent for any -future Colonial Government to rescind its provisions.</p> - -<p>To argue as to the wisdom and humanity of such a measure now would be -futile. The question has so far settled itself that no one dreams of -supposing that a man’s social rights should be influenced by colour or -race. But these Dutchmen and Englishmen knew very well that a Hottentot -could not be made to be equal in intelligence or moral sense to a -European, and they should I think be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_34" id="page_34">{34}</a></span> pardoned for the ill will with -which they accepted the change. And this becomes the more clear to us -when we remember that slavery was at the time still an institution of -the country, and that the slaves, who were an imported people from the -Straits and the Guinea Coast, were at any rate equal in intelligence to -the Hottentots.</p> - -<p>Six years afterwards, in 1834, slavery itself was abolished in all lands -subject to the British flag,—and this created even a greater animosity -among the Dutch than the enactments in favour of the Hottentots. Perhaps -no one thing has so strongly tended to alienate the Boer from us as this -measure and the way in which it was carried out. In the first place the -institution of slavery recommended itself entirely to the Dutch mind. -Taking him altogether we shall own that he was not a cruel slave owner; -but he was one to whom slavery of itself was in no way repugnant. That -he as the master should have a command of labour seemed to him to be -only natural. To throw away this command for the sake of putting the -slave into a condition which,—as the Dutchman thought,—would be worse -for the slave himself was to him an absurdity. He regarded the matter as -we regard the doctrine of equality. The very humanitarianism of it was -to him a disgusting pretence. The same feeling exists still. It strikes -one at every corner in the Colony. A ready mode to comfort, wealth, and -general prosperity was, as the Dutchman thinks,—and also some who are -not Dutch,—absolutely thrown away. Then came the question of -compensation. Some of us are old enough to remember the difficulty in -distributing the twenty millions which were voted for the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_35" id="page_35">{35}</a></span> slave owners. -The slaves of the Cape Colony were numbered at 35,745, and were valued -at £3,000,000. The amount of money which was allowed for them was -£1,200,000. But even this was paid in such a manner that much of it fell -into the hands of fraudulent agents before it reached the Boer. There -was delay and the orders for the money were negotiated at a great -discount. The sum expected dwindled down to so paltry a sum that some of -the farmers refused to accept what was due to them. Then there was -further trekking away from a land which in the minds of the emigrants -was so abominably mismanaged. But the slaves fell into the body of the -coloured population without any distinction, and were added of course to -the free labour of the country. The ordinary labourer in all countries -earns so little more than board lodging and clothes for himself and his -children, and it is so indispensable a necessity on the slave owner to -provide board lodgings and clothes for his slaves, that the loss of -slaves, when all owners lose them together, ought not to impoverish any -one. There may be local circumstances, as there were in Jamaica, which -upset the working of this rule. In the Cape Colony there were no such -circumstances; and it seems that those who remained and accepted the law -were not impoverished. There can be no doubt, however, that the -inhabitants of the Colony generally were disgusted. The measure was -brought into effect in 1838, an apprenticeship of four years having been -allowed.</p> - -<p>But we must go back for a moment to the Kafir war of 1835,—the third -Kafir war, for there was a second, of which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_36" id="page_36">{36}</a></span> as being less material I -have spared the reader any special mention. Of all our Kafir wars this -was probably the most bitter. There had been continual contests, in all -of which the Kafirs had undoubtedly thought themselves to be ill used, -but in all of which the evils inflicted upon them had been perpetrated -in punishment and reprisal for thefts of cattle. The Kafir thefts were -in comparison small but were often repeated. Then the Europeans sent out -what were called “Commandos,”—which consisted of an armed levy of -mounted men intent upon seizing cattle by way of restitution. The reader -of the histories of the period is compelled to think that the -unfortunate cattle were always being driven backwards and forwards over -the borders. During the period, however, more than once cattle were -restored by the colonists to the Kafirs which were supposed to have been -taken from them in excess of just demands. In December 1834 this state -of things was brought to a crisis by an attempt which was made by a -party of Europeans to recover some stolen horses. Some cattle were -seized, and others were voluntarily surrendered, but the result was that -in December a large body of Kafirs invaded the European lands, and -massacred the farmers to their hearts’ content. They overran the border -country to the number of ten or twelve thousand, and then returned, -carrying with them an immense booty. It all reads as a story out of -Livy, in which the Volsci will devastate the Roman pastures and then -return with their prey to one of their own cities. The reader is sure -that the Romans are going to get the best of it at last;—but in the -meantime the Roman people are nearly ruined.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_37" id="page_37">{37}</a></span></p> - -<p>Sir Benjamin D’Urban was then Governor, and he took strong and -ultimately successful steps to punish the Kafirs. I have not space here -to tell how Hintsa, the Kafir chief, was shot down as he was attempting -to escape from the British whom he had undertaken to guide through his -country, or how the Kafirs were at last driven to sue for peace and to -surrender the sovereignty of their country. The war was not only bloody, -but ruinous to thousands. The cattle were of course destroyed, so that -no one was enriched. Ill blood, of which the effects still remain, was -engendered. Three hundred thousand pounds were spent by the British. But -at last the Kafirs were supposed to have been conquered, and Sir -Benjamin D’Urban supposed to be triumphant.</p> - -<p>The triumph, however, to Sir Benjamin D’Urban was not long-lived. At -this time Lord Glenelg was Secretary of State for the Colonies in -England, and Lord Glenelg was a man subject to what I may perhaps not -improperly call the influences of Exeter Hall. When the full report of -the Kafir war reached him a certain party at home had been loud in -expressions of pity and perhaps of admiration for the South African -races. Hottentots and Kafirs had been taken home,—or at any rate a -Hottentot and a Kafir,—and had been much admired. No doubt Lord Glenelg -gave his best attention to the reports sent to him;—no doubt he -consulted those around him;—certainly without doubt he acted in -accordance with his conscience and with a full appreciation of the -greatness of the responsibility resting upon him;—but I think he acted -with very bad judgment. He utterly repu<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_38" id="page_38">{38}</a></span>diated what Sir Benjamin D’Urban -had done, and asserted that the Kafirs had had “ample justification” for -the late war. He declared in his despatch that “they had a perfect right -to hazard the experiment of extorting by force that redress which they -could not expect otherwise to obtain,” and he caused to be returned to -the Kafirs the land from which they had been driven,—which land has -since that again become a part of the British Colony. There was a -correspondence in which Sir B. D’Urban supported his own views,—but -this ended in the withdrawal of the Governor in 1838, Lord Glenelg -declaring that he was willing to take upon himself the full -responsibility of what he had done, and of all that might come from it.</p> - -<p>I think I am justified in saying that since that time public opinion has -decided against Lord Glenelg, and has attributed to his mistake the -further Kafir wars of 1846 and 1850. It is often very difficult in the -beginning of such quarrels to say who is in the right, the Savage or the -civilized invader of the country. The Savage does not understand the -laws as to promises, treaties, and mutual compacts which we endeavour to -impose upon him, and we on the other hand are determined to live upon -his land whether our doing so be just or unjust. In such a condition of -things we,—meaning the civilized intruders,—are obliged to defend our -position. We cannot consent to have our throats cut when we have taken -the land, because our title to possession is faulty. If ever a Governor -was bound to interfere for the military defence of his people, Sir -Benjamin D’Urban was so bound. If ever a Savage was taken red-handed in -treachery, Hintsa was so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_39" id="page_39">{39}</a></span> taken, and was so shot down. The full carrying -out of Lord Glenelg’s views would have required us to give back all the -country to the Hottentots, to compensate the Dutch for our interference, -and to go back to Europe. Surely no man was ever so sorely punished for -the adequate performance of a most painful public duty as Sir Benjamin -D’Urban.</p> - -<p>In 1838 slavery was abolished;—and as one of the consequences of that -abolition, the Dutch farmers again receded. Their lands were occupied by -the English and Scotch who followed them, and in the hands of these men -the growth of wool began to prevail. Merino sheep were introduced, and -wool became the most important production of the colony.</p> - -<p>During the whole of this period the practice was continued by the -old-fashioned farmers of receding from their farms in quest of new lands -in which they might live without interference. The Colony in spite of -Kafirs had prospered under English rule, whilst the Dutch farmers had no -doubt enjoyed the progress as well as their English neighbours. Their -condition was infinitely more free than it had ever been under Dutch -rule, and very much more comfortable. But still they were dissatisfied. -British ideas as to Hottentots and Kafirs and British ideas as to -slavery were in their eyes absurd, unmanly and disagreeable. And -therefore they went away across the Orange River; but we shall be able -to deal better with their further journeyings when we come to speak of -the colony of Natal, of the Orange Free State, and of the Transvaal -Republic.</p> - -<p>In 1846 came another Kafir war, called the war of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_40" id="page_40">{40}</a></span> axe,<a name="FNanchor_3_3" id="FNanchor_3_3"></a><a href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a> which -lasted to the end of 1847. This too grew out of a small incident. A -Kafir prisoner was rescued and taken into Kafir land, and the Kafirs -would not give him up when he was demanded by the Authorities. It seems -that whenever any slight act of rebellion on their parts was successful, -the whole tribe and the neighbouring tribes would be so elated as to -think that now had come the time for absolutely subduing the white -strangers. They were at last beaten and starved into submission, but at -a terrible cost; and it seems to have been acknowledged at home that -Lord Glenelg had been wrong. Sir Harry Smith was sent out, and he again -extended the Colony to the Kei River, leaving the district between that -and the Keiskamma as a British home for Kafirs, under the name of -British Kafraria.</p> - -<p>In 1849, when Earl Grey was at the Colonial Office, an attempt was made -to induce the Cape Colony to receive convicts, and a ship laden with -such a freight was sent to Table Bay. But they were never landed. With -an indomitable resolution which had about it much that was heroic the -inhabitants resolved that the convicts should not be allowed to set foot -on the soil of South Africa. The Governor, acting under orders from -home, no doubt was all powerful, and there was a military force at hand -quite sufficient to enforce the Governor’s orders. Nothing could have -prevented the landing of the men had the Governor persevered. But the -inhabitants of the place agreed among themselves that if the convicts -were landed they should not be fed. No stores of any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_41" id="page_41">{41}</a></span> kind were to be -sold to any one concerned should the convicts once be put on shore. The -remedy then seemed to be rebellious and has since been called -ridiculous;—but it was successful, and the convicts were taken away. -For four wretched months the ship with its miserable freight lay in the -bay, but not a man was landed. No such freight had ever been brought to -the Cape before since the coming of a party of criminals from the Dutch -East India possessions, who were sold as slaves,—and no such attempt -has been made since. Those who know anything of the history of our -Australian Colonies are aware that there is nothing to which the British -Colonist has so strong an objection as the presence of a convict from -the mother country. Whatever the mother country may send let it not send -her declared rascaldom. The use of a Colony as a prison is no doubt in -accordance with the Dutch theory that the paramount object of the -outlying settlement is the welfare of the parent state,—but it is not -at all compatible with the existing British idea that the paramount -object is the well-being of the Colonists themselves. It seems hard upon -England that with all her territories she can find no spot of ground for -the reception of her thieves and outcasts,—that she, with all her -population, sending out her honest folks over the whole world, should be -obliged to keep her too numerous rascals at home. But it seems that -where the population is which creates the crime, there the criminals -must remain. The Colonies certainly will not receive them.</p> - -<p>Then came the fifth Kafir war, which of all these wars was the -bloodiest. It began in 1850, and seems to have been instigated by a -Kafir prophet. It would be impossible<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_42" id="page_42">{42}</a></span> in a short sketch such as this to -give any individual interest to these struggles of the natives against -their invaders. Through them all we see an attempt, made at any rate by -the British rulers of the land, to bind these people by the joint -strength of treaties and good offices. “If you will only do as we bid -you, you shall be better off than ever you were. We will not hurt you, -and the land will be enough for both of us.” That is what we have said -all along with a clear intention of keeping our word. But it has been -necessary, if we were to live in the land at all, that we should bind -them to keep their word whether they did or did not understand what it -was to which they pledged themselves. Lord Glenelg’s theory required -that the British holders of the land should recognise and respect the -weakness of the Savage without using the strength of his own -civilization. Colonization in such a country on such terms is -impossible. He may have had abstract justice on his side. On that point -I say nothing here. But if so, and if Great Britain is bound to -reconcile her conduct to the rules which such justice requires, then she -must abandon the peculiar task which seems to have been allotted to her, -of peopling the world with a civilized race. In 1850 the fifth Kafir war -arose, and the inhabitants of one advanced military village after -another were murdered. This went on for nearly two years and a half, but -was at last suppressed by dint of hard fighting. It cost Great Britain -upwards of two millions of money, with the lives of about four hundred -fighting men. This was the last of the Kafir wars,—up to that of 1877, -if that is to be called a Kafir war.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_43" id="page_43">{43}</a></span></p> - -<p>After that, in 1857, occurred what seems to be the most remarkable and -most unintelligible of all the events known to us in Kafir history. At -this time Sir George Grey was Governor of the Colony,—a most remarkable -man, who had been Governor of South Australia and of New Zealand, who -had been once recalled from his office of Governor at the Cape and then -restored, who was sent back to New Zealand as Governor in the hottest of -the Maori warfare, and who now lives in that Colony and is at this -moment,—the beginning of 1878,—singularly enough Prime Minister in the -dependency in which he has twice been the Queen’s vicegerent. Whatever -he may be, or may have been, in New Zealand, he certainly left behind -him at the Cape of Good Hope a very great reputation. There can be no -doubt that of all our South African Governors he was the most -popular,—and probably the most high-handed. In his time there came up a -prophecy among the Kafirs that they were to be restored to all their -pristine glories and possessions not by living aid, but by the dead. -Their old warriors would return to them from the distant world, and they -themselves would all become young, beautiful, and invincible. But great -faith was needed. They would find fat cattle in large caves numerous as -their hearts might desire; and rich fields of flowing corn would spring -up for them as food was required. Only they must kill all their own -cattle, and destroy all their own grain, and must refrain from sowing a -seed. This they did with perfect faith, and all Kafirdom was well nigh -starved to death. The English and Dutch around them did what they could -for their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_44" id="page_44">{44}</a></span> relief;—had indeed done what they could to prevent the -self-immolation; but the more that the white men interfered the more -confirmed were the black men in their faith. It is said that 50,000 of -them perished of hunger. Since that day there has been no considerable -Kafir war, and the spirit of the race has been broken.</p> - -<p>Whence came the prophecy? There is a maxim among lawyers that the -criminal is to be looked for among those who have profited by the crime. -That we the British holders of the South African soil, and we only, were -helped on in our work by this catastrophe is certain. No such -prophecy,—nothing like to it,—ever came up among the Kafirs before. -They have ever been a superstitious people, given to witchcraft and much -afraid of witches. But till this fatal day they were never tempted to -believe that the dead would come back to them, or to look for other food -than what the earth gave them by its natural increase. It is more than -probable that the prophecy ripened in the brain of an imaginative and -strong-minded Anglo-Saxon. This occurred in 1857 when the terrible -exigences of the Indian Mutiny had taken almost every redcoat from the -Cape to the Peninsula. Had the Kafirs tried their old method of warfare -at such a period it might have gone very hard indeed with the Dutch and -English farmers of the Eastern Province.</p> - -<p>During the last twenty years of our government there have been but two -incidents in Colonial life to which I need refer in this summary,—and -both of them will receive their own share of separate attention in the -following chapters. These two are the finding of the Diamond Fields, and -the commencement of responsible government at the Cape Colony.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_45" id="page_45">{45}</a></span></p> - -<p>In 1867 a diamond was found in the hands of a child at the south side of -the Orange River. Near to this place the Vaal runs into the Orange, and -it is in the angle between the two that the diamonds have been found. -This particular diamond went through various hands and was at last sold -to Sir Philip Wodehouse, the Governor, for £500. As was natural, a -stream of seekers after precious stones soon flowed in upon the country, -some to enrich themselves, and many to become utterly ruined in the -struggle. The most manifest effect on the Colony, as it has always been -in regions in which gold has been found, has been the great increase in -consumption. It is not the diamonds or the gold which enrich the country -in which the workings of Nature have placed her hidden treasures, but -the food which the diggers eat, and the clothes which the diggers wear, -and, I fear, the brandy which the diggers drink. Houses are built; and a -population which flows in for a temporary purpose gradually becomes -permanent.</p> - -<p>In 1872 responsible government was commenced at Capetown with a -Legislative Council and House of Assembly, with full powers of passing -laws and ruling the country by its majorities;—or at any rate with as -full powers as belong to any other Colony. In all Colonies the Secretary -of State at home has a veto; but such as is the nature of the -constitution in Canada or Victoria, such is it now in the Cape Colony. -For twenty years previous to this there had been a Parliament in which -the sucking legislators of the country were learning how to perform -their duties. But during those twenty years the Ministers were -responsible to the Governors. Now they are responsible to Parliament.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_46" id="page_46">{46}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.<br /><br /> -<small>POPULATION AND FEDERATION.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">In</span> a former chapter I endeavoured to give a rough idea of the -geographical districts into which has been divided that portion of South -Africa which Europeans have as yet made their own. I will now attempt to -explain how they are at present ruled and will indulge in some -speculations as to their future condition.</p> - -<p>How the Cape Colony became a Colony I have already described. The Dutch -came and gradually spread themselves, and then the English becoming -owners of the Dutch possessions spread themselves further. With the -natives,—Hottentots as they came to be called,—there was some trouble -but not very much. They were easily subjected,—very easily as compared -with the Kafirs,—and then gradually dispersed. As a race they are no -longer troublesome;—nor are they very profitable to the Cape Colony. -The labour of the Colony is chiefly done by coloured people, but by -people who have mainly been immigrants,—the descendants of those whom -the Dutch brought, and bastard Hottentots as they are called, with a -sprinkling of Kafirs and Fingos who have come from the East in quest of -wages. The Colony is divided into a Western and Eastern Province, and -these<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_47" id="page_47">{47}</a></span> remarks refer to the whole of the former and to the western -portion of the latter district. In this large portion of the Colony -there is not now nor has there been for many years anything to be feared -from pugnacious natives. It is in the eastern half of the Eastern -Province that Kafirs have been and still are troublesome.</p> - -<p>The division into Provinces is imaginary rather than real. There are -indeed at this moment twenty-one members of the Legislative Council of -which eleven are supposed to have been sent to Parliament by the Western -District, and ten by the Eastern;—but even this has now been altered, -and the members of the next Council will be elected for separate -districts,—so that no such demarcation will remain. I think that I am -justified in saying that the constitution knows no division. In men’s -minds, however, the division is sharp enough, and the political feeling -thus engendered is very keen. The Eastern Province desires to be -separated and formed into a distinct Colony, as Victoria was separated -from New South Wales, and afterwards Queensland. The reasons for -separation which it puts forward are as follows. Capetown, the capital, -is in a corner and out of the way. Members from the East have to make -long and disagreeable journeys to Parliament, and, when there, are -always in a minority. Capetown and the West with its mongrel population -is perfectly safe, whereas a large portion of the Eastern Province is -always subject to Kafir “scares” and possibly to Kafir wars. And yet the -Ministry in power is, and has been, and must be a Western Ministry, -spending the public money for Western objects and ruling the East -according to its<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_48" id="page_48">{48}</a></span> pleasure. It was by arguments such as these that the -British Government was induced to sanction the happy separation of -Queensland from New South Wales. Then why not separate the Eastern from -the Western Province in the Cape Colony? But the western people, as a -matter of course, do not wish to see a diminution of their own -authority. Capetown would lose half its glory and more than half its -importance if it were put simply on a par with Grahamstown, which is the -capital of the East. And the western politicians have their arguments -which have hitherto prevailed. As to the expenditure of public money -they point to the fact that two railway enterprises have been initiated -in the East,—one up the country from Port Elizabeth, and the other from -East London,—whereas there is but the one in the West which starts from -Capetown. Of course it must be understood that in the Colonies railways -are always or very nearly always made by Government money. The western -people also say that the feeling produced by Kafir aggression in the -Eastern Province is still too bitter to admit of calm legislation. The -prosperity of South Africa must depend on the manner in which the Kafir -and cognate races, Fingos and Basutos, Pondos, Zulus and others are -amalgamated and brought together as subjects of the British Crown; and -if every unnecessary scare is to produce a mixture of fear and -oppression then the doing of the work will be much protracted. If the -Eastern Province were left alone to arrange its affairs with the natives -the chances of continual Kafir wars would be very much increased.</p> - -<p>Arguments and feelings such as these have hitherto availed<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_49" id="page_49">{49}</a></span> to prevent a -separation of the Provinces; but though a belief in this measure is -still the eastern political creed, action in that direction is no longer -taken. No eastern politician thinks that he will see simple separation -by a division of the Colony into two Colonies. But another action has -taken place in lieu of simple separation which, if successful, would -imply something like separation, and which is called Federation. Here -there has been ample ground for hope because it has been understood that -Federation is popular with the authorities of the Colonial Office at -home.</p> - -<p>It will hardly be necessary for me to explain here what Federation -means. We have various Groups of Colonies and the question has arisen -whether it may not be well that each group should be bound together -under one chief or Federal Government, as the different States of the -American Union are bound. It has been tried, as we all believe -successfully, with British North America. It has been recommended in -regard to the Australian Colonies. It has been attempted, not as yet -successfully, in the West Indies. It has been talked of and become the -cause of very hot feeling in reference to Her Majesty’s possessions in -South Africa.</p> - -<p>I myself have been in favour of such Federation since I have known -anything of our colonial possessions. The one fact that at present the -produce of a Colony, going into an adjacent district as closely -connected with it as Yorkshire is with Lancashire, should be subjected -to Custom duties as though it came from a foreign land, is a strong -reason for such union. And then the mind foresees that there will at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_50" id="page_50">{50}</a></span> -some future time be a great Australia, and probably a great South -Africa, in which a division into different governments will, if -continued, be as would be a Heptarchy restored in England. But it is -this very feeling,—the feeling which experience and foresight produce -among us in England,—which renders the idea of Federation unpalatable -in the Colonies generally. The binding together of a colonial group into -one great whole is regarded as a preparation for separation from the -mother country. It is as though we at home in England were saying to our -children about the world;—“We have paid for your infantine bread and -butter; we have educated you and given you good trades; now you must go -and do for yourselves.” There is perhaps no such feeling in the bosom of -the special Colonial Minister at home who may at this or the other time -be advocating this measure; but there must be an idea that some -preparation for such a possible future event is expedient. We do not -want to see such another colonial crisis as the American war of last -century between ourselves and an English-speaking people. But in the -Colonies there is a sort of loyalty of which we at home know nothing. It -may be exemplified to any man’s mind by thinking of the feeling as to -home which is engendered by absence. The boy or girl who lives always on -the paternal homestead does not care very much for the kitchen with its -dressers, or for the farmyard with its ricks, or the parlour with its -neat array. But let the boy or girl be banished for a year or two and -every little detail becomes matter for a fond regret. Hence I think has -sprung that colonial anger which has been entertained against Ministers<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_51" id="page_51">{51}</a></span> -at home who have seemed to prepare the way for final separation from the -mother country.</p> - -<p>Federation, though generally unpopular in the Colonies, has been -welcomed in the Eastern Province of South Africa, because it would be a -means of giving if not entire at any rate partial independence from -Capetown domination. If Federation were once sanctioned and carried out, -the Eastern Province thinks that it would enter the union as a separate -state, and that it would have such dominion as to its own affairs as New -York and Massachusetts have in the United States.</p> - -<p>But there would be various other States in such a Federation besides the -two into which the Cape Colony might be divided, and in order that my -readers may have some idea of what would or might be the component parts -of such a union, I will endeavour to describe the different territories -which would be included, with some regard to their population.</p> - -<p>At present that South African district of which the South African -politician speaks when he discusses the question of South African -Federation, contains by a rough but fairly accurate computation,<a name="FNanchor_4_4" id="FNanchor_4_4"></a><a href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> -2,276,000 souls, of whom 340,000 may be classed as white men and -1,936,000 as coloured men. There is not therefore one white to five -coloured men. And these coloured people are a strong and increasing -people,—by no means prone to die out and cease to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_52" id="page_52">{52}</a></span> either useless or -useful, as are the Maoris in New Zealand and the Indians in North -America. Such as they are we have got to bring them into order, and to -rule them and teach them to earn their bread,—a duty which has not -fallen upon us in any other Colony. The population above stated may be -divided as follows:—</p> - -<p><span class="smcap">Estimated Population of European South Africa.</span></p> - -<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr class="c" valign="middle"><td>Names of Districts.</td> -<td> White<br />persons.</td> -<td> Coloured<br />persons.</td> -<td> Total.</td></tr> -<tr><td>Orange Free State</td><td class="rt"> 30,000</td><td class="rt"> 15,000</td><td class="rt"> 45,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Transkeian districts</td><td class="c"> —</td><td class="rt"> 501,000</td><td class="rt"> 501,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>The Cape Colony</td><td class="rt"> 235,000</td><td class="rt"> 485,000</td><td class="rt"> 720,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Native districts belonging to the Cape Colony</td><td class="c"> —</td><td class="rt"> 335,000</td><td class="rt"> 335,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>The Diamond Fields</td><td class="rt"> 15,000</td><td class="rt"> 30,000</td><td class="rt"> 45,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Natal</td><td class="rt"> 20,000</td><td class="rt"> 320,000</td><td class="rt"> 340,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Transvaal</td><td class="rt"> 40,000</td><td class="rt"> 250,000</td><td class="rt"> 290,000</td></tr> -<tr><td><span style="margin-left: 4em;">Total</span></td><td class="rt"> 340,000</td><td class="rt">1,936,000</td><td class="rt">2,276,000</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>I must first remark in reference to this table that the district named -first,—the one containing by far the smallest number of native -inhabitants, called the Orange Free State—is not a British possession -nor, as far as I am aware, is it subject to British influences. It is a -Dutch Republic, well ruled as regards its white inhabitants, untroubled -by the native question and content with its own position. It is -manifest, however, that it has succeeded in making the natives -understand that they can live better outside its borders, and it has -continued by its practice to banish the black man and to rid itself of -trouble on that score. My reader if he will refer to the map will see -that now, since the annexation of the Transvaal by Great Britain, the -Free State is surrounded by British territory,—for Basuto land, which -lies to the west<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_53" id="page_53">{53}</a></span> of the Free State between the Cape Colony and Natal, -is a portion of the Cape Colony. This being so I cannot understand how -the Orange Free State can be comprised in any political Confederation. -The nature of such a Confederation seems to require one Head, one flag, -and one common nationality. I cannot conceive that the Savoyards should -confederate with the Swiss,—let their interests be ever so -identical,—unless Savoy were to become a Swiss Canton. The Dutch -Republic is no doubt free to do as she pleases, which Savoy is not; but -the idea of Confederation presumes that she would give herself up to the -English flag. There may no doubt be a Confederation without the Orange -Free State, and that Confederation might offer advantages so great that -the Dutchmen of the Free State should ultimately feel disposed to give -themselves up to Great Britain; but the question for the present must be -considered as subject to considerable disturbance from the existence of -the Republic. The roads from the Cape Colony to the Transvaal and the -Diamond Fields lie through the Free State, and there would necessarily -arise questions of transit and of Custom duties which would make it -expedient that the districts should be united under one flag; but I can -foresee no pretext for compulsion.</p> - -<p>In the annexation of the Transvaal there was at any rate an assignable -cause,—of which we were not slow to take advantage. In regard to the -Orange Free State nothing of the kind is to be expected. The population -is chiefly Dutch. The political influence is altogether Dutch. A -reference to the above table will show how the Dutchman -succeeds,—whether for good or ill,—in ridding himself of the coloured<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_54" id="page_54">{54}</a></span> -man. The Free State is a large district; but it contains altogether only -45,000 inhabitants,—and there are on the soil no more than 15,000 -natives.</p> - -<p>I will next say a word as to the Transkeian districts, which also have -been supposed to be outside the dominion of the British Crown and which -therefore it would seem to be just to exclude were we to effect a -Confederation of our British South African Colonies.<a name="FNanchor_5_5" id="FNanchor_5_5"></a><a href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> But all these -districts would certainly be included in any Confederation, with great -advantage to the British Colonies, and with greater advantages to the -Kafirs themselves who live beyond the Kei. I must again refer my readers -to the map. They will see on the South Eastern Coast of the continent a -district called Kafraria,—as distinct from British Kafraria further -west,—the independence of which is signified by its name. Here they -will find the river Kei, which till lately was supposed to be the -boundary of the British territories,—beyond which the Kafir was -supposed to live according to his own customs, and in undisturbed -possession of independent rule. But this, even before the late Kafir -outbreak, was by no means the case. A good deal of British annexation -goes on in different parts of the world of which but little mention is -made in the British Parliament, and but little notice taken even by the -British press. It will be seen that in this territory there live 501,000 -natives, and it is here, no doubt, that Kafir habits are to be found in -their fullest perfection. The red Kafir is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_55" id="page_55">{55}</a></span> here,—the man who dyes -himself and his blanket and his wives with red clay, who eschews -breeches and Christianity, and meditates on the coming happy day in -which the pestilent interfering European may be driven at length into -the sea. It is here that Kreli till lately reigned the acknowledged king -of Kafirdom as being the chief of the Galekas. Kreli had foughten and -been conquered and been punished by the loss of much of his -territory;—but still was allowed to rule over a curtailed empire. His -population is now not above 66,000. Among even these,—among the Pondos, -who are much more numerous than the Galekas, our influence is maintained -by European magistrates, and the Kafirs, though allowed to do much -according to their pleasures, are not allowed to do everything. The -Pondos number, I believe, as many as 200,000. In the remainder of -Kafraria British rule is nearly as dominant to the east as to the west -of the Kei. Adam Kok’s land,—or no man’s land, as it has been -called,—running up north into Natal, we have already annexed to the -Cape Colony, and no parliamentary critic at home is at all the wiser. -The Fingos hold much of the remainder, and wherever there is a Fingo -there is a British subject. There would now be no difficulty in sweeping -Kafraria into a general South African Confederation.</p> - -<p>I will now deal with those enumerated in the above table who are at -present undoubtedly subjects of Her Majesty, and who are bound to comply -with British laws. The Cape Colony contains nearly three-quarters of a -million of people, and is the only portion of South Africa which has -what may be called a large white population; but that population,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_56" id="page_56">{56}</a></span> -though comparatively large,—something over a quarter of a million,—is -less in number than the inhabitants of the single city of Melbourne. One -colonial town in Australia, and that a town not more than a quarter of a -century old, gives a home to more white people than the whole of the -Cape Colony, which was colonized with white people two hundred years -before Melbourne was founded. And on looking at the white population of -the Cape Colony a further division must be made in order to give the -English reader a true idea of the Colony in reference to England. A -British colony to the British mind is a land away from home to which the -swarming multitudes of Great Britain may go and earn a comfortable -sustenance, denied to them in the land of their birth by the narrowness -of its limits and the greatness of its population, and may do so with -the use of their own language, and in subjection to their own laws. We -have other senses of the word Colony,—for we call military garrisons -Colonies,—such as Malta, and Gibraltar, and Bermuda. But the true -Colony has, I think, above been truly described; and thus the United -States of America have answered to us the purpose of a Colony as well as -though they had remained under British rule. We should, therefore, -endeavour to see how far the Cape Colony has answered the desired -purpose.</p> - -<p>The settlement was Dutch in its origin, and was peopled by -Dutchmen,—with a salutary sprinkling of Protestant French who -assimilated themselves after a time to the Dutch in language and -religion. It is only by their religion that we can now divide the Dutch -and the English;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_57" id="page_57">{57}</a></span> and on enquiry I find that about 150,000 souls belong -to the Dutch Reformed and Lutheran Churches,—leaving 85,000 of English -descent in the Colony. If to these we add the 20,000 white persons -inhabiting Natal, and 15,000 at the Diamond Fields, we shall have the -total English population of South Africa;—for the Europeans of the -Transvaal, as of the Orange Free State, are a Dutch people. There are -therefore about 120,000 persons of British descent in these South -African districts,—the number being little more than that of the people -of the small unobtrusive Colony which we call Tasmania.</p> - -<p>I hope that nobody will suppose from this that I regard a Dutch subject -of the British Crown as being less worthy of regard than an English -subject. My remarks are not intended to point in that direction, but to -show what is the nature of our duties in South Africa. Thus are there -about 220,000<a name="FNanchor_6_6" id="FNanchor_6_6"></a><a href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> persons of Dutch descent, though the emigrants from -Holland to that land during the present century have been but few;—so -few that I have found no trace of any batch of such emigrants; and there -are but 120,000 of English descent although the country has belonged to -England for three-quarters of a century! The enquirer is thus driven to -the conclusion that South Africa has hardly answered the purpose of a -British Colony.</p> - -<p>And I hope that nobody will suppose from this that I regard the coloured -population of Africa as being unworthy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_58" id="page_58">{58}</a></span> of consideration. My remarks, on -the other hand, are made with the object of showing that in dealing with -South Africa the British Parliament and the British Ministers should -think,—not indeed exclusively,—but chiefly of the coloured people. -When we speak of Confederation among these Colonies and districts we -should enquire whether such Confederation will be good for those races -whom at home we lump under the name of Kafirs. As a Colony, in the -proper sense of the word, the Cape Colony has not been successful. -Englishmen have not flocked there in proportion to its area or to its -capabilities for producing the things necessary for life. The working -Englishman,—and it is he who populates the new lands,—prefers a -country in which he shall not have to compete with a black man or a red -man. He learns from some only partially correct source that in one -country the natives will interfere with him and that in another they -will not; and he prefers the country in which their presence will not -annoy him.</p> - -<p>But then neither have Englishmen flocked to India, which of all our -possessions is the most important,—or to Ceylon, which as being called -a Colony and governed from the Colonial Office at home may afford us the -nearest parallel we can find to South Africa. No doubt they are in many -things unlike. No English workman takes his family to Ceylon because the -tropical sun is too hot for a European to work beneath it. South Africa -is often hot, but it is not tropical, and an Englishman can work there. -And again in Ceylon the coloured population have from the first British -occupation of the island been recognised as “the people,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_59" id="page_59">{59}</a></span>”—an -interesting and submissive but still foreign and coloured people, whom -she should not dream of inviting to govern themselves. It is a matter of -course that Ceylon should be governed as a Crown Colony,—with edicts -and laws from Downing Street, administered by the hand of a Governor. A -Cingalee Parliament would be an absurdity in our eyes. But in the Cape -Colony we have, as I shall explain in another chapter, all the -circumstances of parliamentary government. The real Governor is the -Colonial Prime Minister for the time, with just such restraints as -control our Prime Minister at home. Therefore Ceylon and the Cape Colony -are very unlike in their circumstances.</p> - -<p>But the likeness is much more potential than the unlikeness. In each -country there is a vast coloured population subject to British -rule,—and a population which is menaced by no danger of coming -extermination. It must always be remembered that the Kafirs are not as -the Maoris. They are increasing now more quickly than ever because, -under our rule, they do not kill each other off in tribal wars. No doubt -the white men are increasing too,—but very slowly; so that it is -impossible not to accept the fact a few white men have to rule a great -number of coloured men, and that that proportion must remain.</p> - -<p>A coloured subject of the Queen in the Cape Colony has all the -privileges possessed by a white subject,—all the political privileges. -The elective franchise under which the constituencies elect their -members of Parliament is given under a certain low property -qualification. A labourer who for a year shall have earned £25 in wages -and his diet may<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_60" id="page_60">{60}</a></span> be registered as a voter, or if a man shall have held -for a year a house, or land, or land and house conjointly, worth £50, he -may be registered. It is certainly the case that even at present a very -large number of Kafirs might be registered. It has already been -threatened in more than one case that a crowd of Kafirs should be taken -to the poll to carry an election in this or that direction. The Kafirs -themselves understand but little about it,—as yet; but they will come -to understand. The franchise is one which easily admits of a simulated -qualification. It depends on the value of land,—and who is to value it? -If one Kafir were now to swear that he paid another Kafir 10s. a week -and fed him; no registrar would perhaps believe the oath. But it will -not be long before such oath might probably be true, or at any rate -impossible of rejection. The Registrar may himself be a Kafir,—as may -also be the member of Parliament. We have only to look at the Southern -States of the American Union to see how quickly the thing may run when -once it shall have begun to move. With two million and a quarter of -coloured people as against 340,000 white, all endowed with equal -political privileges, why should we not have a Kafir Prime Minister at -Capetown, and a Kafir Parliament refusing to pay salary to any but a -Kafir Governor?</p> - -<p>There may be those who think that a Kafir Parliament and a Kafir -Governor would be very good for a Kafir country. I own that I am not one -of them. I look to the civilization of these people, and think that I -see it now being effected by the creation of those wants the desire for -supplying which has since the creation of the world been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_61" id="page_61">{61}</a></span> the one -undeviating path towards material and intellectual progress. I see them -habituating their shoulders to the yoke of daily labour,—as we have all -habituated ours in Europe, and I do not doubt the happiness of the -result. Nor do I care at present to go into the question of a far -distant future. I will not say but that in coming ages a Kafir may make -as good a Prime Minister as Lord Beaconsfield. But he cannot do so -now,—nor in this age,—nor for many ages to come. It will be sufficient -for us if we can make up our minds that at least for the next hundred -years we shall not choose to be ruled by him. But if so, seeing how -greatly preponderating is his number, how are we to deal with him when -he shall have come to understand the meaning of his electoral -privileges, but shall not yet have reached that intellectual equality -with the white man which the more ardent of his friends anticipate for -him? Such are the perils and such the political quagmire among which the -Southern States of the Union are now floundering. In arranging for the -future government of South Africa, whether with, or without, a -Confederation, we should I think be on the alert to guard against -similar perils and a similar quagmire there.</p> - -<p>I have now spoken of the Queen’s subjects in the Cape Colony. Then come -on my list as given above the inhabitants of native districts which are -subject to the Cape Colony, either by conquest or by annexation in -accordance with their own wishes. These are so various and scattered -that I can hardly hope to interest my reader in the tribes individually. -The Basutos are probably the most promi<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_62" id="page_62">{62}</a></span>nent. They are governed by -British magistrates, pay direct and indirect taxes,—are a quiet orderly -people, not given to fighting since the days of their great King -Moshesh, and are about 127,000 in number. Then there are the Damaras and -Namaquas of the Western coast, people allied to the Hottentots, races of -whom no great notice is taken because their land has not yet been good -enough to tempt colonists. But a small proportion of these people as yet -live within electoral districts and therefore at present they have no -votes for members of Parliament. But were any scheme of Confederation -carried out their position would have to be assimilated to that of the -other natives.</p> - -<p>The Diamond Fields are in a condition very little like that of South -Africa generally. They are now, so to say, in the act of being made a -portion of the Cape Colony, the bill for this purpose having been passed -only during the last Session. They were annexed to the British Dominions -in 1871, and have been governed since that time by a resident -Sub-Governor under the Governor and High Commissioner of the Cape -Colony. The district will now have a certain allotment of members of -Parliament, but it has not any strong bearing on the question we are -considering. The population of the district is of a shifting nature, the -greater portion of even the coloured people having been drawn there by -the wages offered by capitalists in search of diamonds. The English have -got into the way of calling this territory the Diamond Fields, but its -present proper geographical name is Griqualand West.</p> - -<p>We then come to Natal with its little handful of white<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_63" id="page_63">{63}</a></span> people,—20,000 -Europeans among 320,000 Kafirs and Zulus. Natal at present is under a -separate Governor of its own and a separate form of government. There is -not a Parliament in our sense of the word, but a Legislative Council. -The Executive Officers are responsible to the Governor and not to the -Council. Natal is therefore a Crown Colony, and is not yet afflicted -with any danger from voting natives. I can understand that it should be -brought into a Confederation with other Colonies or Territories under -the same flag without any alteration in its own Constitution,—but in -doing so it must consent to take a very subordinate part. Where there is -a Parliament, and the clamour and energy and strife of parliamentary -life, there will be the power. If there be a Confederation with a -central Congress,—and I presume that such an arrangement is always -intended when Confederation is mentioned,—Natal would demand the right -to elect members. It would choose its own franchise, and might perhaps -continue to shut out the coloured man; but it would be subjected to and -dominated by the Institutions of the Cape Colony, which, as I have -endeavoured to show, are altogether different from its own. The smaller -States are generally those most unwilling to confederate, fearing that -they will be driven to the wall. The founders of the American -Constitution had to give Rhode Island as many Senators as New York -before she would consent to Federation.</p> - -<p>There remains the Transvaal, which we have just annexed with its 40,000 -Dutchmen and its quarter of a million of native population,—a number -which can only be taken as a rough average and one which will certainly -be greatly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_64" id="page_64">{64}</a></span> exceeded as our borders stretch themselves in their -accustomed fashion. Here again we have for the moment a Crown Colony, -and one which can hardly get itself into working order for Confederation -within the period allowed by the Permissive Bill of last Session. The -other day there was a Dutch Parliament,—or Volksraad,—in which the -Dutchman had protected himself altogether from any voting interference -on the part of the native. Downing Street can make the Transvaal -confederate if she so please, but can hardly do so without causing Dutch -members to be sent up to the general Parliament. Now these Dutchmen do -not talk English, and are supposed to be unwilling to mix with -Englishmen. I fear that many years must pass by before the Transvaal can -become an operative part of an Anglo-South African Confederation.</p> - -<p>I have here simply endeavoured to point at the condition of things as -they may affect the question of Confederation;—not as intending to -express an opinion against Confederation generally. I am in doubt -whether a Confederation of the South African States can be carried in -the manner proposed by the Bill. But I feel sure that if such a measure -be carried the chief object in view should be the amelioration of the -coloured races, and that that object cannot be effected by inviting the -coloured races to come to the polls. Voting under a low suffrage would -be quite as appropriate to the people of the Indian Provinces and of -Ceylon as it is at the present moment to the people of South Africa. The -same evil arose in Jamaica and we know what came from it there.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_65" id="page_65">{65}</a></span></p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_66" id="page_66">{66}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_67" id="page_67">{67}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="THE_CAPE_COLONY" id="THE_CAPE_COLONY"></a>THE CAPE COLONY.</h2> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.<br /><br /> -<small>CAPETOWN; THE CAPITAL.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">I had</span> always heard that the entrance into Capetown, which is the capital -of the Cape Colony, was one of the most picturesque things to be seen on -the face of the earth. It is a town lying close down on the seashore, -within the circumference of Table Bay so that it has the advantage of an -opposite shore which is always necessary to the beauty of a seashore -town; and it is backed by the Table Mountain with its grand upright -cliffs and the Lion with its head and rump, as a certain hill is called -which runs from the Table Mountain round with a semicircular curve back -towards the sea. The “Lion” certainly put me in mind of Landseer’s -lions, only that Landseer’s lions lie straight. All this has given to -Capetown a character for landscape beauty, which I had been told was to -be seen at its best as you enter the harbour. But as we entered it early -on one Sunday morning neither could the Table Mountain nor the Lion be -seen because of the mist, and the opposite shore, with its hills towards -The Paarl and Stellenbosch, was equally invisible. Seen as I first saw -it Capetown was not an attractive port, and when I found myself standing -at the gate of the dockyard for an hour and a quarter waiting for a -Custom House<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_68" id="page_68">{68}</a></span> officer to tell me that my things did not need -examination,—waiting because it was Sunday morning,—I began to think -that it was a very disagreeable place indeed. Twelve days afterwards I -steamed out of the docks on my way eastward on a clear day, and then I -could see what was then to be seen, and I am bound to say that the -amphitheatre behind the place is very grand. But by that time the -hospitality of the citizens had put me in good humour with the city and -had enabled me to forget the iniquity of that sabbatical Custom House -official.</p> - -<p>But Capetown in truth is not of itself a prepossessing town. It is hard -to say what is the combination which gives to some cities their peculiar -attraction, and the absence of which makes others unattractive. Neither -cleanliness, nor fine buildings, nor scenery, nor even a look of -prosperity will effect this,—nor will all of them combined always do -so. Capetown is not specially dirty,—but it is somewhat ragged. The -buildings are not grand, but there is no special deficiency in that -respect. The scenery around is really fine, and the multiplicity of -Banks and of Members of Parliament,—which may be regarded as the two -most important institutions the Colonies produce,—seemed to argue -prosperity. But the town is not pleasing to a stranger. It is as I have -said ragged, the roadways are uneven and the pavements are so little -continuous that the walker by night had better even keep the road. I did -not make special enquiry as to the municipality, but it appeared to me -that the officers of that body were not alert. I saw a market out in the -open street which seemed to be rather amusing than<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_69" id="page_69">{69}</a></span> serviceable. To this -criticism I do not doubt but that my friends at the Cape will -object;—but when they do so I would ask whether their own opinion of -their own town is not the same as mine. “It is a beastly place you -know,” one Capetown gentleman said to me.</p> - -<p>“Oh no!” said I in that tone which a guest is obliged to use when the -mistress of a house speaks ill of anything at her own table. “No, no; -not that.”</p> - -<p>But he persisted. “A beastly place,”—he repeated. “But we have plenty -to eat and plenty to drink, and manage to make out life very well. The -girls are as pretty as they are any where else, and as kind;—and the -brandy and water as plentiful.” To the truth of all these praises I bear -my willing testimony,—always setting aside the kindness of the young -ladies of which it becomes no man to boast.</p> - -<p>The same thing may be said of so many colonial towns. There seems to be -a keener relish of life than among our steadier and more fastidious folk -at home, with much less to give the relish. So that one is driven to ask -oneself whether advanced Art, mechanical ingenuity, and luxurious modes -of living do after all add to the happiness of mankind. He who has once -possessed them wants to return to them,—and if unable to do so is in a -far worse position than his neighbours. I am therefore disposed to say -that though Capetown as a city is not lovely, the Capetowners have as -good a time of it as the inhabitants of more beautiful capitals.</p> - -<p>The population is something over 30,000,—which when we remember that -the place is more than two centuries old<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_70" id="page_70">{70}</a></span> and that it is the capital of -an enormous country, and the seat of the colonial legislature, is not -great. Melbourne which is just two hundred years younger than Capetown -contains above a quarter of a million of inhabitants. Melbourne was of -course made what it is by gold;—but then so have there been diamonds to -enhance the growth of Capetown. But the truth, I take it, is that a -white working population will not settle itself at any place where it -will have to measure itself against coloured labour. A walk through the -streets of Capetown is sufficient to show the stranger that he has -reached a place not inhabited by white men,—and a very little -conversation will show him further that he is not speaking with an -English-speaking population. The gentry no doubt are white and speak -English. At any rate the members of Parliament do so, and the clergymen, -and the editors—for the most part, and the good-looking young -ladies;—but they are not the population. He will find that everything -about him is done by coloured persons of various races, who among -themselves speak a language which I am told the Dutch in Holland will -hardly condescend to recognise as their own. Perhaps, as regards labour, -the most valuable race is that of the Malays, and these are the -descendants of slaves whom the early Dutch settlers introduced from -Java. The Malays are so-called Mahommidans, and some are to be seen -flaunting about the town in turbans and flowing robes. These, I -understand, are allowed so to dress themselves as a privilege in reward -for some pious work done,—a journey to Mecca probably. Then there is a -Hottentot admixture, a sprinkling of the Guinea-coast negro,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_71" id="page_71">{71}</a></span> and a -small but no doubt increasing Kafir element. But all this is leavened -and brought into some agreement with European modes of action and -thought by the preponderating influence of Dutch blood. So that the -people, though idle, are not apathetic as savages, nor quite so -indifferent as Orientals. But yet there is so much of the savage and so -much of the oriental that the ordinary Englishman does not come out and -work among them. Wages are high and living, though the prices of -provisions are apt to vary, is not costly. Nor is the climate averse to -European labourers, who can generally work without detriment in regions -outside the tropics. But forty years ago slave labour was the labour of -the country, and the stains, the apathy, the unprofitableness of slave -labour still remain. It had a curse about it which fifty years have not -been able to remove.</p> - -<p>The most striking building in Capetown is the Castle, which lies down -close to the sea and which was built by the Dutch,—in mud when they -first landed, and in stone afterwards, though not probably as we see it -now. It is a low edifice, surrounded by a wall and a ditch, and divided -within into two courts in which are kept a small number of British -troops. The barracks are without, at a small distance from the walls. In -architecture it has nothing to be remarked, and as a defence would be -now of no avail whatever. It belongs to the imperial Government, who -thus still keep a foot on the soil as though to show that as long as -British troops are sent to the Cape whether for colonial or imperial -purposes, the place is not to be considered free from imperial<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_72" id="page_72">{72}</a></span> -interference. Round the coast at Simon’s Bay, which is at the back or -eastern side of the little promontory which constitutes the Cape of Good -Hope, Great Britain possesses a naval station, and this is another -imperial possession and supposed to need imperial troops for its -defence. And from this possession of a naval station there arises the -fiction that for its need the British troops are retained in South -Africa when they have been withdrawn from all our other self-governing -Colonies. But we have also a station for ships of war at Sydney, and -generally a larger floating force there than at Simon’s Bay. But the -protection of our ships at Sydney has not been made an excuse for having -British troops in New South Wales. I will, however, recur again to this -subject of soldiers in the Colony,—which is one that has to be treated -with great delicacy in the presence of South African Colonists.</p> - -<p>There was lately a question of selling the Castle to the Colony,—the -price named having been, I was told, something over £60,000. If -purchased by the municipality it would I think be pulled down. Thus -would be lost the most conspicuous relic of the Dutch Government;—but -an ugly and almost useless building would be made to give way to better -purposes.</p> - -<p>About thirty years ago Dr. Gray was appointed the first bishop of -Capetown and remained there as bishop till he died,—serving in his -Episcopacy over a quarter of a century. He has been succeeded by Bishop -Jones, who is now Metropolitan of South Africa to the entire -satisfaction of all the members of the Church. Bishop Gray inaugurated -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_73" id="page_73">{73}</a></span> building of a Cathedral, which is a large and serviceable church, -containing a proper ecclesiastical throne for the Bishop and a stall for -the Dean; but it is not otherwise an imposing building and certainly is -anything but beautiful. That erected for the use of the Roman Catholics -has been built with better taste. Near to the Cathedral,—behind it, and -to be reached by a shady walk which is one of the greatest charms of -Capetown, is the Museum, a handsome building standing on your right as -you go up from the Cathedral. This is under the care of Mr. Trimen who -is well known to the zoologically scientific world as a man specially -competent for such work and whose services and society are in high -esteem at Capetown. But I did not think much of his African wild beasts. -There was a lion and there were two lionesses,—stuffed of course. The -stuffing no doubt was all there; but the hair had disappeared, and with -the hair all that look of martial ardour which makes such animals -agreeable to us. There was, too, a hippopotamus who seemed to be -moulting,—if a hippopotamus can moult,—very sad to look at, and a long -since deceased elephant, with a ricketty giraffe whose neck was sadly -out of joint. I must however do Mr. Trimen the justice to say that when -I remarked that his animals seemed to have needed Macassar oil, he -acknowledged that they were a “poor lot,” and that it was not by their -merits that the Capetown Museum could hope to be remembered. His South -African birds and South African butterflies, with a snake or two here -and there, were his strong points. I am but a bad sightseer in a museum, -being able to detect the deficiencies of a mangy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_74" id="page_74">{74}</a></span> lion, but unable from -want of sight and want of education to recognise the wonders of a -humming bird. But I saw a hideous vulture, and an eagle, and some -buzzards, with a grand albatross or two, all of which were as glossy and -natural as glass eyes and well brushed feathers could make them. A -skeleton of a boa-constrictor with another skeleton of a little animal -just going to be swallowed interested me perhaps more than anything -else.</p> - -<p>Under the same roof with the Museum is the public library which is of -its nature very peculiar and valuable. It would be invidious to say that -there are volumes there so rare that one begrudges them to a distant -Colony which might be served as well by ordinary editions as by scarce -and perhaps unreadable specimens. But such is the feeling which comes up -first in the mind of a lover of books when he takes out and handles some -of the treasures of Sir George Grey’s gift. For it has to be told that a -considerable portion of the Capetown library,—or rather a small -separate library itself numbering about 5,000 volumes,—was given to the -Colony by that eccentric but most popular and munificent Governor. But -why a MS. of Livy, or of Dante, should not be as serviceable at Capetown -as in some gentleman’s country house in England it would be hard to say; -and the Shakespeare folio of 1623 of which the library possesses a -copy,—with a singularly close cut margin,—is no doubt as often looked -at, and as much petted and loved and cherished in the capital of South -Africa, as it is when in the possession of a British Duke. There is also -a wonderful collection in these shelves of the native literature of -Africa and New<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_75" id="page_75">{75}</a></span> Zealand. Perhaps libraries of greater value have been -left by individuals to their country or to special institutions, but I -do not remember another instance of a man giving away such a treasure in -his lifetime and leaving it where in all human probability he could -never see it again.</p> - -<p>The remaining, or outer library, contains over thirty thousand volumes, -of which about 5,000 were left by a Mr. Dessin more than a hundred years -ago to the Dutch Reformed Church in Capetown. These seem to have been -buried for many years, and to have been disinterred and brought into use -when the present public library was established in 1818. The public are -admitted free, and ample comforts are supplied for reading,—such as -warmth, seats, tables and a handsome reading-room. A subscription of £1 -per annum enables the subscriber to take a set of books home. This seems -to us to be a munificent arrangement; but it should always be remembered -that at Boston in the United States any inhabitant of the city may take -books home from the public library without any deposit and without -paying anything. Among all the philanthropical marvels of public -libraries that is the most marvellous. I was told that the readers in -Capetown are not very numerous. When I visited the place there were but -two or three.</p> - -<p>A little further up along the same shady avenue, and still on the right -hand side is the entrance to the Botanic Gardens. These, I was told, -were valuable in a scientific point of view, but were, as regards beauty -and arrangement, somewhat deficient, because funds were lacking. There -is a Government grant and there are subscriptions, but the Government<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_76" id="page_76">{76}</a></span> -is stingy,—what Good Government ever was not stingy?—and the -subscriptions are slender. I walked round the garden and can imagine -that if I were an inhabitant of Capetown and if, as would probably be -the case, I made frequent use of that avenue, I might prolong my -exercise by a little turn round the garden. But this could only be three -times a week unless my means enabled me to subscribe, for on three days -the place is shut against the world at large. As a public pleasure -ground the Capetown gardens are not remarkable. As I walked up and down -this somewhat dreary length I thought of the glory and the beauty and -the perfect grace of the gardens at Sydney.</p> - -<p>Opposite to the Museum and the Gardens is the Government House in which -Sir Bartle Frere with his family had lately come to reside. In many -Colonies, nay in most that I have visited, I have heard complaints that -Government Houses have been too small. Seeing such hospitality as I have -seen in them I could have fancied that Governors, unless with long -private purses, must have found them too large. They are always full. At -Melbourne, in Victoria, an evil-natured Government has lately built an -enormous palace which must ruin any Governor who uses the rooms placed -at his disposal. When I was there the pleasant house at Tourac sufficed, -and Lord Canterbury, who has now gone from us, was the most genial of -hosts and the most sage of potentates. At Capetown the house was larger -than Tourac, and yet not palatial. It seemed to me to be all that such a -house should be;—but I heard regrets that there were not more rooms. I -know no office in which it<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_77" id="page_77">{77}</a></span> can be less possible for a man to make money -than in administering the government of a constitutional Colony. In a -Colony that has no constitution of its own,—in which the Governor -really governs,—the thing is very different. In the one there is the -salary and the house, and that is all. In a Crown Colony there is no -House of Commons to interfere when this and the other little addition is -made. We all know what coals and candles mean at home. The -constitutional Governor has no coals and candles.</p> - -<p>Wherever I go I visit the post-office, feeling certain that I may be -able to give a little good advice. Having looked after post-offices for -thirty years at home I fancy that I could do very good service among the -Colonies if I could have arbitrary power given to me to make what -changes I pleased. My advice is always received with attention and -respect, and I have generally been able to flatter myself that I have -convinced my auditors. But I never knew an instance yet in which any -improvement recommended by me was carried out. I have come back a year -or two after my first visit and have seen that the things have been just -as they were before. I did not therefore say much at Capetown;—but I -thought it would have been well if they had not driven the public to buy -stamps at a store opposite, seeing that as the Colony pays salaries the -persons taking the salaries ought to do the work;—and that it would be -well also if they could bring themselves to cease to look at the public -as enemies from whom it is necessary that the officials inside should be -protected by fortifications in the shape of barred windows and closed -walls. Bankers do their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_78" id="page_78">{78}</a></span> work over open counters, knowing that no one -would deal with them were they to shut their desks up behind barricades.</p> - -<p>But I am bound to say that my letters were sent after me with that -despatch and regularity which are the two first and greatest of -post-official virtues. And the services in the Colony generally are very -well performed, and performed well under great difficulties. The roads -are bad, and the distances long, and the transit is necessarily rough. I -was taken out to see such a cart as I should have to travel on for many -a weary day before I had accomplished my task in South Africa. My spirit -groaned within me as I saw it,—and for many a long and weary hour it -has since expanded itself with external groanings though not quite on -such a cart as I saw then. But the task has been done, and I can speak -of the South African cart with gratitude. It is very rough,—very rough -indeed for old bones. But it is sure.</p> - -<p>I should weary my reader were I to tell him of all the civilized -institutions,—one by one,—which are in daily use in Capetown. There is -a Custom House, and a Sailors’ Home, and there are hospitals, and an -observatory,—very notable I believe as being well placed in reference -to the Southern hemisphere,—and a Government Herbarium and a lunatic -asylum at Robben Island. Of Mr. Stone, the Astronomer Royal and lord of -the Observatory, I must say one word in special praise. “Do you care for -the stars?” he asked me. In truth I do not care for the stars. I care, I -think, only for men and women, and so I told him. “Then,” said he, “I -won’t bother you to come to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_79" id="page_79">{79}</a></span> Observatory. But if you wish to see -stars I will show them to you.” I took him at his word and did not then -go to the Observatory. This I had said with some fear and trembling as I -remembered well the disgust which Agazziz once expressed when I asked -permission not to be shown his museum at Cambridge, Massachusetts. But -Mr. Stone seemed to understand my deficiency, and if he pitied me he -abstained from expressing his pity. Afterwards I did make a special -visit to the Observatory,—which is maintained by the imperial -Government and not by the Colony,—and was shown all the wonders of the -Southern Heavens. They were very beautiful, but I did not understand -much about them.</p> - -<p>There is a comfortable and hospitable club at Capetown, to which, as at -all colonial clubs, admission is given to strangers presumed to be of -the same social standing as the members. The hour of lunch seems to be -the hour of the day at which these institutions are most in request. -This is provided in the form of a table d’hôte, as is also a dinner -later on in the day. This is less numerously attended, but men of heroic -mould are thus enabled to dine twice daily.</p> - -<p>Capetown would be no city without a railway. The Colony at present has -three starting-points for railways from the coast, one of which runs out -of Capetown, with a branch to Wynberg which is hardly more than a suburb -and is but eight miles distant, and a second branch to Worcester which -is intended to be carried up the country to the distant town of Graaf -Reynet and so on through the world<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_80" id="page_80">{80}</a></span> of Africa. The line to Wynberg is of -infinite importance to the city as giving to the inhabitants easy means -of access to a charming locality. Capetown itself is not a lovely spot -on which to reside, but the district at the back of the Table Mountain -where are Mowbray, Rondebusch, Wynberg and Constantia,—which district -is reached by the railway,—supplies beautiful sites for houses and -gardens. There are bits of scenery which it would be hard to beat either -in form or colour, so grand are the outlines of the mountain, and so -rich and bountiful the verdure of the shrubs and timbers. It would be -difficult to find a site for a house more charming than that occupied by -the bishop, which is only six miles from town and hardly more than a -mile distant from a railway station. Beyond Wynberg lies the grape -district of Constantia so well known in England by the name of its -wine;—better known, I think, forty years ago than it is now.</p> - -<p>All these places, Rondebusch, Wynberg, Constantia and the rest lie on -that promontory which when we look at the map we regard as the Cape of -Good Hope. The Dutch had once an idea of piercing a canal across the -isthmus from sea to sea, from Table Bay to False Bay,—in which lies -Simon’s Bay where is our naval station,—and maintaining only the island -so formed for its own purposes, leaving the rest of South Africa to its -savagery. And, since the time of the Dutch, it has been suggested that -if England were thus to cut off the Table Mountain with its adjacent -land, England would have all of South Africa that it wants. The idea is -altogether antagonistic to the British notion of colonization,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_81" id="page_81">{81}</a></span> which -looks to a happy home for colonists or the protection natives, rather -than the benefit or glory of the Mother Country. But were such a cutting -off to be effected, the morsel of land so severed would be very -charming, and would demand I think a prettier town than Capetown.</p> - -<p>Beyond and around Wynberg there is a little world of lovely scenery. -Simonstown is about twelve miles from Wynberg, the road passing by the -now growing bathing-place of Kalk bay. It is to Kalk bay that the ladies -of Capetown go with their children when in summer they are in search of -fresh air, and sea breezes, and generally improved sanitary -arrangements. A most delightful spot it would be if only there were -sufficient accommodation. The accommodation of course will come as years -roll on. Beyond Kalk bay are Simonstown and Simon’s Bay, where lives the -British Commodore who has the command of these waters. The road, the -whole way down, lies between the mountain and the sea. Beyond Simonstown -I rode out for six or seven miles with the Commodore along the side of -the hill and through the rocks till we could see the lighthouse at the -extremity of the Cape. It is impossible to imagine finer sea scenery or -a bolder coast than is here to be seen. There is not a yard of it that -would not be the delight of tourists if it were in some accessible part -of Europe,—not a quarter of a mile that would not have its marine villa -if it were in England.</p> - -<p>Before I returned home I stayed for a week or two at an Inn, a mile or -two beyond Wynberg, called Rathfelders. I suppose some original Dutchman -of that name once kept the house. It is of itself an excellent place of -resort, cool<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_82" id="page_82">{82}</a></span> in summer, being on the cool side of the Table Mountains -and well kept;—a comfortable refuge to sojourners who do not object to -take their meals at a public table; but peculiarly pleasant as being in -the midst of mountain scenery. From here there is a ride through the -mountains to Hout’s Bay,—a little inlet on the other side of the Cape -promontory,—which cannot be beaten for beauty of the kind. The distance -to be ridden may be about ten miles each way, and good riding horses are -kept at Rathfelders. But I did not find that very many had crossed the -pass. I should say that in the neighbourhood of Wynberg there are -various hotels and boarding houses so that accommodation may always be -had. The best known of these is Cogill’s Hotel close to the Wynberg -Railway Station. I did not stay there myself, but I heard it well spoken -of.</p> - -<p>Altogether the scenery of the Promontory on which the Dutch landed, the -southern point of which is the Cape of Good Hope, and on which stands -Capetown, is hardly to be beaten for picturesque beauty by any landskip -charms elsewhere within the same area.</p> - -<p>I was taken down to Constantia where I visited one of the few grape -growers among whom the vineyards of this district are divided. I found -him with his family living in a fine old Dutch residence,—which had -been built I was told by one of the old Dutch Governors when a Governor -at the Cape was a very aristocratic personage. Here he keeps a few -ostriches, makes a great deal of wine, and has around him as lovely -scenery as the eye of man can desire. But he complained bitterly as to -the regulations,—or want of regu<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_83" id="page_83">{83}</a></span>lations,—prevailing in regard to -labour. “If an idle people could only be made to work for reasonable -wages the place would become a very Paradise!” This is the opinion as to -labour which is left behind in all lands in which slavery has prevailed. -The man of means, who has capital either in soil or money, does not -actually wish for a return to slavery. The feelings which abolished -slavery have probably reached his bosom also. But he regrets the control -over his fellow creatures which slavery formerly gave him, and he does -not see that whether a man be good or bad, idle by nature and habits or -industrious, the only compulsion to work should come from hunger and -necessity,—and the desire of those good things which industry and -industry alone will provide.</p> - -<p>On the other side of Capetown,—the other side from the direction -towards Wynberg,—there is another and the only other road out of -Capetown which leads down to Sea Point, where there is a second pleasant -suburb and a second clustering together of villa residences. Here the -inhabitants look direct on to Table Bay and have the surges of the -Atlantic close to their front doors. The houses at Sea Point are very -nice, but they have nothing of the Elysian scenery of Wynberg. -Continuing the road from Sea Point the equestrian, or energetic walker, -may return by the Kloof,—anglice Cleft,—which brings him back to town -by a very picturesque route between the Lion and Table Mountains. This -is almost too steep for wheels, or it would claim to be called a third -road out of the town.</p> - -<p>I was taken to see two schools, the high school at Rondebusch, and a -school in the town for coloured lads. At the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_84" id="page_84">{84}</a></span> high school the boys were -away for their holidays and therefore I could see nothing but the -outside material. I do not doubt but that lads are educated there quite -as well as at similar institutions in England. It is under the guidance -of a clergyman of the Church of England, and is thoroughly English in -all its habits. I found a perfect menagery of interesting animals -attached to it, which is an advantage which English schools seldom -possess. The animals, which, though wild by nature, were at this place -remarkably tame, had, fortunately for me, not gone home for their -holidays,—so that, wanting the boys, I could amuse myself with them. I -will not speak here of the coloured school, as I must, as I progress, -devote a short chapter to the question of Kafir education.</p> - -<p>In speaking of the Capital of the Colony I need only further remark that -it possesses a completed and adequate dock for the reception of large -ships, and a breakwater for the protection of the harbour. The traffic -from England to the Cape of Good Hope is now mainly conducted by two -Steam Ship Companies, the Union and Donald Currie & Co., which carry the -mails with passengers and cargo each way weekly. Many of these vessels -are of nearly 3,000 tons burden, some even of more, and at Capetown they -are brought into the dock so that passengers walk in and out from the -quay without the disagreeable aid of boats. The same comfort has not as -yet been afforded at any other port along the coast.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_85" id="page_85">{85}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.<br /><br /> -<small>THE LEGISLATURE AND EXECUTIVE.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">It</span> has come to be understood that the appropriate mode of governing a -Colony is to have a King, Lords and Commons as we do at home. And if a -Colony be a Colony in the fashion described by me when endeavouring to -define the nature of a Colony proper, there cannot be a doubt that this -is the best mode. Where Englishmen,—or white men whether they be of -English or other descent,—have gone to labour and have thus raised a -community in a distant land under the British flag, the old -constitutional mode of arranging things seems always to act well, though -it may sometimes be rough at first, and sometimes at starting may be -subject to difficulties. It has been set on foot by us, or by our -Colonists, with a population perhaps not sufficient to give two members -to an English borough,—and has then started with a full-fledged -appanage of Governor, aide-de-camps, private secretaries, Legislative -Council, Legislative Assembly, Prime Minister and Cabinet,—with a -surrounding which one would have thought must have swamped so small a -boat;—but the boat has become almost at once a ship and has ridden -safely upon the waves. The little State has borrowed money like a proud -Empire and has at once had its stocks<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_86" id="page_86">{86}</a></span> quoted in the share lists. There -have been causes for doubt, but I do not remember an instance of -failure. This has been so universally the result that the British -Government at home have become averse to Crown Colonies, and has of late -invited her children to go out alone into the world, to enjoy their own -earnings, and pay their own bills, and do as may seem good to them each -in his own sight. I find that there are many in the Cape Colony who say -that she undertook to govern herself in the proper parliamentary way not -because she especially desired the independence to be thus obtained, but -because the Colonial Office at home was anxious on the subject and put -pressure on the Colony.</p> - -<p>At any rate in 1872 the Cape began to rule itself. The process of ruling -themselves rarely begins with Colonies all at once. The acme of -independence is reached when a Colony levies and spends its own taxes -and when the country is ruled by Ministers who are appointed because -they have a parliamentary majority at their back and who go out of -office when they are no longer so supported. There are various -preliminary steps before this state of perfection be reached and in no -Colony, I think, have these various steps been more elaborated than at -the Cape. In 1825 the Governor ruled almost as a despot. He was of -course subject to the Secretary of State at home,—by whom he might be -dismissed or, if competent, would be promoted; but he was expected to be -autocratic and imperious. I may say that he rarely fell short of the -expectation. Lord Charles Somerset, who was the last of those Governors -at the Cape, did and said things which are charming in the simplicity of -their<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_87" id="page_87">{87}</a></span> tyranny. In 1825 an Executive Council was appointed. These were, -of course, nominees of the Government; but they divided the -responsibility with the Governor, and were a check upon the exercise of -his individual powers. The next step, in 1834, was to a Legislative -Council. These were to be the lawmakers, but all of them were elected by -the Governor. Six of the Council were the Governor’s executive -ministers, and the other six,—for the Council consisted of -twelve,—were unofficial nominees.</p> - -<p>But the existence of such a Council—a little Parliament elected by the -Crown—created a desire for a popular Parliament and the people of the -Colony petitioned for a representative House of Assembly. Then there was -much hesitation, one Secretary of State after another and one Governor -after another, struggling to produce a measure which should be both -popular and satisfactory. For the element of colour,—the question as to -white men and black men, which has been inoperative in Canada, in the -Australias, and even in New Zealand,—was as early as in those days felt -to create a peculiar difficulty in South Africa. But at length the -question was decided in favour of the black man and a low franchise. Sir -Harry Smith the then Governor expressed an opinion that “by showing to -all classes that no man’s station was in this free country,”—meaning -South Africa,—“determined by the accident of his colour, all ranks of -men might be stimulated to improve and maintain their relative -position.” The principle enunciated is broad and seems, at the first -hearing of it, to be excellent; but it would appear on examination to be -almost as correct<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_88" id="page_88">{88}</a></span> to declare to candidates for the household cavalry -that the accident of height should have nothing to do with their -chances. It may be open to argument whether the Queen would not be as -well defended by men five feet high as by those who are six,—but the -six-feet men are wanted. There may be those who think that a Kafir -Parliament would be a blessing;—but the white men in the Colony are -determined not to be ruled by black men.<a name="FNanchor_7_7" id="FNanchor_7_7"></a><a href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a> It was intended, no doubt, -simply to admit a few superior Kafirs to the franchise,—a select body -whose appearance at the hustings would do good to the philanthropic -heart; but it has led to the question whether there may not be more -Kafirs than European voters. When it leads to the question whether there -shall be Kafir members of Parliament, then there will be a revolution in -the Colony. One or two the House might stand, as the House in New -Zealand endures four or five Maoris who sit there to comfort the -philanthropic heart; but should the number increase materially then -there would be revolution in the Cape Colony. In New Zealand the number -is prescribed and, as the Maoris are coming to an end, will never be -increased. In the Cape Colony every electoral district might return a -Kafir; but I think those who know the Colony will agree with me when I -say that the European would not consent to be so represented.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_89" id="page_89">{89}</a></span></p> - -<p>After much discussion, both at the Cape and in England, two Houses of -Parliament both elective were established and met together for the first -time in July 1854. The franchise was then established on the basis which -still prevails. To vote either for a member of the Legislative Council, -or of the House of Assembly, a man must occupy land or a building -alleged to be worth £25; or he must earn £50 per annum; or he must earn -£25 per annum,—about 10s. a week,—and his diet. The English reader -must understand that wages are very much higher in the Colony than in -England, and that the labouring Kafir who works for wages frequently -earns as much as the required sum. And the pastoral Kafir who pays rent -for his land, does very often occupy a tract worth more than £25. There -are already districts in which the Kafirs who might be registered as -voters exceed in number the European voters. And the number of such -Kafirs is increasing from day to day.</p> - -<p>But even yet parliamentary government had not been attained in the Cape. -Under the Constitution, as established in 1854, the power of voting -supplies had been given, but the manner in which the supplies should be -used was still within the Governor’s bosom. His ministers were selected -by him as he pleased, and could not be turned out by any parliamentary -vote. That is the system which is now in existence in the United -States,—where the President may maintain his ministers in opposition to -the united will of the nation. At the Cape, after 1854, the Governor’s -ministers could sit and speak either in one House or in the other,—but -were not members of Parliament and could not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_90" id="page_90">{90}</a></span> vote. Nor, which was more -important, could they be turned out!</p> - -<p>The next and last step was not taken till 1872, and was perhaps somewhat -pressed on the Colony by the Home Government, who wished to assimilate -the form of parliamentary constitution in all the Colonies which were -capable of enjoying it. The measure however was carried at the Cape by -majorities in both Houses,—by a majority of 34 to 27 votes in the House -of Assembly,—which on such a subject was a slender majority as showing -the wish of the Colony, and by 11 votes against 10 in the Legislative -Council. I think I am right in saying that two out of these eleven were -given by gentlemen who thought it right to support the Government though -in opposition to their own opinions. There were many who considered that -in such a condition of things the measure should have been referred back -to the people by a general dissolution. But so did not think the late -Governor, Sir Henry Barkly, or the Secretary of State at home. The -question was settled in favour of our old well-beloved form of -constitutional government; and the Cape Colony became like to the -Canadas and the Australias. The Governor has really little or nothing to -say to the actual government of the country,—as the Sovereign has not -with us. The Ministers are responsible, and must be placed in power or -turned out of power as majorities may direct. And the majorities will of -course be created by the will of the people, or, as it would be more -fair to say, by the will of the voters.</p> - -<p>But there are two points in which, with all these Colonies,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_91" id="page_91">{91}</a></span> the -resemblance to England ceases. I have said that there were in the Cape -Colony, Kings, Lords and Commons. With us, at home, the Lords are -hereditary. An hereditary Upper House in a Colony would be impossible, -and if possible would be absurd. There are two modes of selecting such a -body,—one that of election by the people as is the case in Victoria, -and the other that of nomination by the Crown, as is the practice in New -South Wales. At the Cape the more democratic method has been adopted. It -may be a question whether in regard to the special population of the -Country, the other plan would not have been preferable. The second -difference is common to all our Colonies, and has reference to the power -which is always named first and which, for simplicity, I have described -as the King. With us the Crown has a veto on all parliamentary -enactments, but is never called upon to exercise it. The Crown with us -acts by its Ministers who either throw out a measure they disapprove by -the use of the majority at their back, or go out themselves. But in the -Colonies the veto of the third party to legislation is not unfrequently -exercised by the Secretary of State at home, and here there is a -safeguard against intemperate legislation.</p> - -<p>Such is the form of government at the Cape of Good Hope. Of all forms -known to us it is perhaps the most liberal, as the franchise is low -enough to enable the ordinary labourer to vote for members of both -Houses. For in truth every working man in the Colony may without -difficulty earn 10s. a week and his diet; and no small holder of land -will occupy a plot worth less than £25. Had the matter in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_92" id="page_92">{92}</a></span> question been -the best form for the maintenance of liberty and assurance of liberty -among white people, I, at least, should have nothing to say against it; -but, seeing that the real people of the country is and will remain a -coloured population, I cannot but think that there is room for doubt. I -will not,—as I said before, venture to enquire into the far distant -future of the black races of South Africa. There are many who think that -the black man should not only be free but should be, and by his nature -is, the equal of the white man. As I am glad to see all political -inequalities gradually lessened among men of European descent, so should -I be glad to think that the same process should take place among all -men. But not only has not that time come yet, but I cannot think that it -has so nearly come as to justify us in legislating upon the supposition -that it is approaching. I find that the very men who are the friends of -the negro hold the theory but never entertain the practice of equality -with the negro. The stanchest disciple of Wilberforce and Buxton does -not take the negro into partnership, or even make him a private -secretary. The conviction that the white man must remain in the -ascendant is as clear in his mind as in that of his opponent; and though -he will give the black man a vote in hope of this happy future, he is -aware that when black men find their way into any Parliament or Congress -that Parliament or Congress is to a degree injured in public estimation. -A power of voting in the hands of negroes has brought the time-honoured -constitution of Jamaica to an end. The same power in the Southern States -of the American Union is creating a political con<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_93" id="page_93">{93}</a></span>fusion of which none -of us can foretell the end, but as to which we are all convinced that in -one way or another a minority of white men will get the better of a -majority of coloured men. In British South Africa the majority of -coloured men is so great that the country has to be compared to India or -Ceylon rather than to the Southern American States. When once the Kafir -shall have learned what voting means there will be no withstanding him, -should the system of voting which now prevails in the Cape Colony be -extended over a South African Confederation. The Kafir is not a bad -fellow. Of the black African races the South Eastern people whom we call -Kafirs and Zulus are probably the best. They are not constitutionally -cruel, they learn to work readily, and they save property. But they are -as yet altogether deficient in that intelligence which is needed for the -recognition of any political good. There can be no doubt that the -condition of the race has been infinitely improved by the coming of the -white man; but, were it to be put to the vote to-morrow among the Kafirs -whether the white man should be driven into the sea, or retained in the -country, the entire race would certainly vote for the white man’s -extermination. This may be natural; but it is not a decision which the -white man desires or by which he intends to abide.</p> - -<p>I will quote here a few words from an official but printed report, sent -by Mr. Bowker, the late Commandant of the Frontier Mounted Police, to -the Chairman of the Frontier Defence Committee in 1876, merely adding, -that perhaps no one in the Cape Colony better understands the feeling<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_94" id="page_94">{94}</a></span> -between the Kafirs and their white neighbours than the gentleman whose -words I use. “It must not be forgotten that while collectively the -Border farmers look upon the natives as their bitterest foes, -individually they have greater confidence in their Kafir servants than -in any European immigrant whose services can be obtained in the Colony. -It is much the same with the native servants. As a nation they hate the -white man, and look forward to the day when he will be expelled the -country; while individually they are as much or more attached to their -masters than would be the case with European servants.” This represents -exactly the condition of feeling in South Africa:—and, if so, it -certainly is not to such feeling that we can safely entrust an equality -of franchise with ourselves, seeing that they outnumber us almost by -five to one. It is said that they cannot combine. If they could the -question would be settled against us,—without any voting. But nothing -will teach men to combine so readily as a privilege of voting. The -franchise is intended to teach men to combine for a certain object, and -when freely given has always succeeded in its intention.</p> - -<p>As far as it has yet gone Parliamentary Government has worked well in -the Cape Colony. There had been so long a period of training that a -sufficient number of gentlemen were able to undertake the matter at -once. I attended one hot debate and heard the leaders of the Opposition -attack the Prime Minister and his colleague in the proper parliamentary -manner. The question was one of defence against the border Kafirs;—and -the Premier who had brought in a measure which the Opposition, as it -appeared, was desirous<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_95" id="page_95">{95}</a></span> of slaughtering peacemeal, was suspected of an -intention to let the measure drop. And yet he was asking for an -increased vote for defence, which,—so said the opposition,—ought not -to be granted till he had declared his entire purpose in that respect. -The object of the opposition of course was to say all the severe words -which parliamentary manners allowed, and it succeeded as well as do our -practised swordsmen at home. It was made to appear that the Prime -Minister was a very wicked man indeed, whose only object it was to rob -the Colony of its money. Of Mr. Paterson, who was the keenest of the -swordsmen, I must say that he was very eloquent. Of Mr. Southey and Mr. -Sprigg that they were very efficacious. It was of course the object of -the Ministers to get the vote passed with as little trouble as possible, -knowing that they had a majority at their back. Mr. Molteno the Premier -declared that he really did not know what gentlemen on the other side -wanted. If they could throw out the vote let them do it,—but what was -the use of their reiterating words if they had no such power. That -seemed to be the gist of the Premier’s arguments,—and it is the natural -argument for a Prime Minister who has never yet been turned out. Of -course he got his vote,—as to which I presume that no one had the least -doubt.</p> - -<p>Mr. Molteno, who has been in parliamentary life for many years, having -held a seat since the creation of the first House of Assembly in 1854, -has been a very useful public servant and thoroughly understands the -nature of the work required of him; but I fancy that in a parliamentary -constitutional government things cannot go quite straight till<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_96" id="page_96">{96}</a></span> there -has been at least one change,—till a Minister has been made to feel -that any deviation from responsibility may bring upon him at a moment’s -notice a hostile majority. We at home talk about a strong Government; -but a very strong Government is likely to be a fainéant Government, and -is rarely a faithful Government. A Minister should have before him a -lively dread. Mr. Molteno seemed to be too confident,—and to be almost -fretful because gentlemen made him sit there in the House when he would -have preferred being in his office or at home. I am far from saying that -the Cape can have a better Minister;—but if he could go out for a short -while and then come back it would probably be for his comfort.</p> - -<p>I cannot finish these remarks without saying that the most sensible -speech I heard in the House was from Mr. Saul Solomon. Mr. Solomon has -never been in the Government and rarely in opposition, but he has been -perhaps of as much use to the Colony as any living man. He is one who -certainly should be mentioned as a very remarkable personage, having -risen to high honours in an occupation perhaps of all the most esteemed -among men, but for which he must have seemed by nature to be peculiarly -ill adapted. He is a man of very small stature,—so small that on first -seeing him the stranger is certainly impressed with the idea that no man -so small has ever been seen by him before. His forehead however is fine, -and his face full of intelligence. With all this against him Mr. Solomon -has gone into public life, and as a member of Parliament in the Cape -Colony has gained a respect above that of Ministers in office. It is -not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_97" id="page_97">{97}</a></span> too much to say that he is regarded on both sides as a safe -adviser; and I believe that it would be hardly possible to pass any -measure of importance through the Cape Legislature to which he offered a -strenuous opposition. He reminded me of two other men whom it has been -my privilege to know and who have been determined to seize and wear -parliamentary honours in the teeth of misfortunes which would have -closed at any rate that profession against men endowed with less than -Herculean determination. I mean Mr. Fawcett who in our own House at home -has completely vanquished the terrible misfortune of blindness, and my -old friend John Robertson of Sydney,—Sir John I believe he is now,—who -for many years presided over the Ministry in New South Wales, leading -the debates in a parliamentary chamber, without a palate to his mouth. I -regard these three men as great examples of what may be done by -perseverance to overcome the evils which nature or misfortune have -afflicted.</p> - -<p>The people of Capetown think of the two chambers in which the two Houses -sit with something of shame, declaring that they are not at all what -they ought to be,—that they are used as makeshifts, and that there has -never yet been time, or perhaps money at hand, for constructing proper -Houses of Parliament. Had I not heard this I should have thought that -each of them was sufficiently commodious and useful, if not quite -sufficiently handsome or magnificent.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_98" id="page_98">{98}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.<br /><br /> -<small>WESTERN PROVINCE.—KNYSNA, GEORGE, AND THE CANGO CAVES.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">When</span> I had spent a few weeks in Capetown and the immediate neighbourhood -I went into the Eastern Province of the Cape Colony, and thence on to -Natal, the Transvaal, the Diamond Fields, and the Orange Free State -Republic,—as I hope to tell my readers in this and the next volume; but -as I afterwards came back to the Western Province,—of which I had as -yet seen but little,—and used what remainder of time was at my command -in visiting what was easiest reached, I will now go forwards so as to -complete my narrative as to the West before I speak of the East. In this -way my story may be more intelligible than if I were to follow strictly -the course of my own journeyings. I have already alluded to the -political division of the Cape Colony, and to the great desire which has -pervaded the men of the East to separate themselves from the men of the -West;—and when, a few chapters further on, I shall have brought myself -eastwards I shall have to refer to it again. This desire is so strong -that it compels a writer to deal separately with the two Provinces, and -to divide them almost as completely as though they had been separated. -South Africa is made up<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_99" id="page_99">{99}</a></span> of different parts. And as there are the four -divisions which I have named above, so are there the two Provinces of -the Cape Colony, which are joined under the same Parliament and the same -Governor but which can hardly be said to have identical interests. The -West no doubt is contented with the union, having the supremacy; but the -East has been always clamorous for Separation.</p> - -<p>After a very long coach journey from Bloemfontein down to Fort -Elizabeth, of which I shall have to say a few words further on, I went -by steamer to Mossel Bay on my way back to Capetown. Mossel Bay is the -easternmost harbour in the Western Province, collecting a Custom Revenue -of £20,000. It is fourth in importance of the ports of the Colony, those -ranking higher being Capetown itself, Fort Elizabeth, and East -London,—the two latter belonging to the Eastern Province. It contains -about 1,400 inhabitants, and has three hotels, a bank, a Custom House, -and a Resident Magistrate. I doubt, however, whether all these -attractions would have taken me to Mossel Bay had I not been told of the -scenery of the Outeniqua mountains and of the Knysna river. It had been -averred to me that I should do injustice to South Africa generally if I -did not visit the prettiest scenery known in South Africa. Having done -so I feel that I should have done injustice at any rate to myself if I -had not taken the advice given me.</p> - -<p>Of all the beneficent Institutions of Mossel Bay which I have named I -became personally acquainted with but one,—the Resident Magistrate, who -was so beneficent that at a moment’s notice he offered to make the trip -to the Knysna<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_100" id="page_100">{100}</a></span> with me. By this I gained a guide, philosopher, and -friend,—and a very pleasant companion for my excursion. In such -tourings solitude will often rob them of all delight, and ignorance of -all instruction. It is impossible to see the things immediately under -the eye, unless there be some one to tell you where to look for them. A -lone wanderer may get up statistics, and will find persons to discuss -politics with him in hotel parlours and on the seats of public -conveyances. He may hear, too, the names of mountains and of rivers. But -of the inner nooks of social life or of green hills he will know nothing -unless he can fall into some intimacy, even though it be short-lived, -with the people among whom he is moving.</p> - -<p>We had to be in a hurry because a Cape Colony Resident Magistrate cannot -be absent long from his seat of justice. If he be not on the spot there -is no one to whom misfortune can appeal or whom iniquity need dread. In -an English town a Mayor has his aldermen, and the Chairman of the Bench -his brother magistrates;—but at Mossel Bay the Resident is as necessary -at ten o’clock on a Monday morning as is the Speaker to the House of -Commons at four o’clock in the afternoon. So we started at once with a -light cart and a pair of horses,—which was intended to take us as far -as George, a distance of 30 miles.</p> - -<p>We went through a country teeming with ostriches. Ostrich-farming on a -great scale I will describe further on. Here the work was carried on in -a smaller way, but, as I was told, with great success. The expenses were -small, and the profits very great,—unless there should come -misfortunes,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_101" id="page_101">{101}</a></span> as when a valuable bird will break his leg and so destroy -himself, or when a hen supposed to be worth £50 or £60 won’t lay an egg. -I think that in ostrich-farming, as in all commercial pursuits, the many -little men who lose a little money,—perhaps their little all,—and then -go quietly to the wall, attract less attention than the prosperous few. -I am bound however to say that in this district I saw many ostriches and -heard of much success.</p> - -<p>As evening was coming on, when we had got half way to George, we found -that our horses were knocked up. We stopped therefore at a woolwashing -establishment, and sent round the country to beg for others. Here there -was also a large shop, and a temperance hotel, and an ostrich farm, all -kept by the same person or by his son. Word came to us that all the -horses in the place had done, each of them, an extra hard day’s work -that day; but, so great a thing is it to be a Resident Magistrate, that -in spite of this difficulty two horses were promised us! But they had to -be caught. So we walked up to see the woolwashers finish their day’s -work, the sun having already set.</p> - -<p>Their mode of woolwashing was quite new to me. The wool, which seemed to -have been shorn in a very rough manner,—cut off in locks after a -fashion which would have broken the heart of an Australian Squatter, -wool chopped as you would chop a salad,—was first put into a square -caldron of boiling, or nearly boiling water. Then it was drawn out in -buckets, and brought to troughs made in a running stream, in which the -dirt was trodden out of it by coloured men. These were Hottentots, and -Negroes,—the children of the old slaves,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_102" id="page_102">{102}</a></span>—and one or two Kafirs from -the East. The wool is then squeezed and laid out on drying grounds to -dry. The most interesting part of the affair was the fact that these -coloured men were earning 4s. 6d. a day wages each. Some distance -further on the next day we came on two white men,—navvies,—who were -making a dam and were earning only 1s. 7d. a day, and their diet. That -might together be worth 2s. 6d. They explained to us that they had found -it very hard to get any job, and had taken this almost in despair. But -they wouldn’t have trod the wool along with the black men, even for 4s. -6d.</p> - -<p>Just as the night was set in we started at a gallop with our tired -horses. I know so well the way in which a poor weary brute may be -spirited up for five minutes; not, alas, without the lash. A spur to a -tired horse is like brandy to a worn-out man. It will add no strength, -but it will enable the sufferer to collect together and to use quickly -what little remains. We had fifteen miles to do, and wearily, with sad -efforts, we did twelve of them. Then we reached a little town, Blanco, -and were alive with hopes of a relay. But everybody in Blanco was in -bed, and there was nothing for us but to walk, the driver promising that -if we would allow the poor animals twenty minutes to look about them, -they would be able to crawl on with the cart and our portmanteaus. And -so we walked on to George, and found our dinner of mutton chops ready -for us at eleven o’clock. A telegram had been sent on so that a vehicle -might be prepared for us before daybreak on the morrow.</p> - -<p>As I entered George,—the geographers I believe call the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_103" id="page_103">{103}</a></span> place -Georgetown, but the familiar name is George,—by star light, just able -to discern the tops of the mountains above it, I felt that it was a -pretty place. On the following morning, as I walked up and down its -so-called principal street, waiting between 5 and 6, for the wicked -mules which were an hour late, I swore that it was the prettiest village -on the face of the earth,—the prettiest village at any rate that I had -ever seen. Since that I have moderated my enthusiasm so far that I will -admit some half dozen others to the same rank. George will probably -resent the description, caring more for its importance than its -prettiness. George considers itself to be a town. It is exactly what in -England we would describe to be a well-to-do village. Its so-called -street consists of a well made broad road, with a green sward treble the -width of the road on each side. And here there are rows of oak -trees,—real English oak trees, planted by some most beneficent because -patient inhabitant of the earlier days. A man who will plant a poplar, a -willow, or even a blue-gum in a treeless country,—how good is he! But -the man who will plant an oak will surely feel the greenness of its -foliage and the pleasantness of its shade when he is lying down, down -beneath the sod!</p> - -<p>In an English village there are gentlemen’s houses, and cottages, and -shops. Shops are generally ugly, particularly shops in a row, and the -prettiness of a village will depend mostly on the number of what may be -called gentlemen’s houses, and on the grouping of them. Cottages may be -lovely to look at;—sometimes are; but it is not often. 15<i>s.</i> a week -and roses form a combination which I have seen, but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_104" id="page_104">{104}</a></span> of which I have -read in poetry much more than I have seen. Perhaps the ugliest -collection of ruined huts I ever visited was “Sweet Auburn, loveliest -village of the plain.” But the pretty English villages will have a -parson, a doctor, an officer’s widow, a retired linen-draper, and -perhaps the Dowager Squiress, living in houses of different patterns, -each standing in its own garden, but not so far from the road as to -stand in its own ground. And there will be an inn, and the church of -course, and probably a large brick house inhabited by some testy old -gentleman who has heaps of money and never speaks to any body. There -will be one shop, or at the most two, the buying and selling of the -place being done in the market-town two miles off. In George the houses -are all of this description. No two are alike. They are all away from -the road. They have trees around them. And they are quaint in their -designs, many of them having been built by Dutch proprietors and after -Dutch patterns. And they have an air of old fashioned middle class -comfort,—as though the inhabitants all ate hot roast mutton at one -o’clock as a rule of their lives. As far as I could learn they all did.</p> - -<p>There are two churches,—a big one for the Dutch, and a little one for -the English. Taking the village and the country round, the Dutch are no -doubt in a great majority; but in George itself I heard nothing but -English spoken. Late on a Sunday evening, when I had returned from the -Knysna, I stood under an oak tree close to the corner of the English -church and listened to a hymn by star light. The air was so soft and -balmy that it was a pleasure to stand and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_105" id="page_105">{105}</a></span> breathe it. It was the -longest hymn I ever heard; but I thought it was very sweet; and as it -was all that I heard that Sunday of sacred service, I did not begrudge -its length. But the South Africans of both colours are a tuneful people -in their worship.</p> - -<p>The comfort of the houses, and the beauty of the trees, and the numbers -of the gardens, and the plentiful bounty of the green swards have done -much for George;—but its real glory is in the magnificent grouping of -the Outiniqua mountains under which it is clustered. These are -altogether unlike the generality of South African hills, which are -mostly flat-topped, and do not therefore seem to spring miscellaneously -one from another,—but stand out separately and distinctly, each with -its own flat top. The Outiniquas form a long line, running parallel with -the coast from which they are distant perhaps 20 miles, and so group -themselves,—as mountains should do,—that it is impossible to say where -one ends and another begins. They more resemble some of the lower -Pyrenees than any other range that I know, and are dark green in colour, -as are the Pyrenees.</p> - -<p>The Knysna, as the village and little port at the mouth of the Knysna -river are called, is nearly 60 miles from George. The rocks at the -entrance from the sea are about that distance, the village being four or -five miles higher up. We started with four mules at 6.30,—but for the -natural wickedness of the animals it would have been at 5.30,—and went -up and down ravines and through long valleys for 50 miles to a place -called Belvidere on the near side of the Knysna river. It would be hard -to find 50 miles of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_106" id="page_106">{106}</a></span> more continuously picturesque scenery, for we were -ever crossing dark black streams running down through the close ravines -from the sides of the Outiniqua mountains. And here the ravines are very -thickly wooded, in which respect they differ much from South African -hill sides generally. But neither would it be easy to find 50 miles more -difficult to travel. As we got nearer to the Knysna and further up from -the little streams we had crossed, the ground became sandy,—till at -last for a few miles it was impossible to do more than walk. But the -mules, which had been very wicked in the morning, now put forth their -virtues, and showed how superior they could be under stress of work to -their nobler half-brother the horse.</p> - -<p>At Belvidere we found an Inn and a ferry, and put them both to their -appropriate use, drinking at the one and crossing the other. Here we -left our mules and proceeded on foot each with his own bag and baggage. -On the further side there was to be a walk of three miles, and it was -very hot, and we had already trudged through some weary miles of sand. -And though we had compelled the ferryman to carry our bags, we were -laden with our great coats. But, lo, Providence sent the mounted -post-boy along our path, when the resource of giving him the great coats -to carry, and taking his pony for my own use was too evident to require -a moment’s thought. He saw it in the same light and descended as though -it were a matter of course. And so I rode into the village, with the -post boy and the post boy’s dog, the ferryman and the Resident -Magistrate following at my heels.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_107" id="page_107">{107}</a></span></p> - -<p>Here was another English village, but quite of a different class;—and -yet picturesque beyond expression. “The” Knysna as the place is called -is a large straggling collection of houses which would never be called -other than a village in England, but would strike an investigating -visitor as a village rising townwards. It is, in a very moderate way, a -seaport, and possesses two inns. The post boy with unflinching -impartiality refused to say which was the better, and we went to the -wrong one,—that which mariners frequented. But such is South African -honesty that the landlord at once put us right. He could put us up no -doubt;—but Mr. Morgan at the other house could do it better. To Mr. -Morgan, therefore, we went, and were told at once that we could have a -leg of mutton, potatoes, and cabbages for dinner. “And very glad you -ought to be to get them,” said Mrs. Morgan. We assented of course, and -every thing was pleasant.</p> - -<p>In fifteen minutes we were intimate with everybody in the place, -including the magistrate, the parson, and the schoolmaster; and in half -an hour we were on horse back,—the schoolmaster accompanying us on the -parson’s nag,—in order that we might rush out to the Heads before dark. -Away we scampered, galloping through salt water plashes, because the sun -was already disappearing. We had just time to do it,—to gallop through -the salt water and up the hills and round to the headland, so that we -might look down into the lovely bright green tide which was rushing in -from the Indian ocean immediately beneath our feet. From where I stood I -could have dropped a penny into the sea without touching a rock.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_108" id="page_108">{108}</a></span></p> - -<p>The spot is one of extreme beauty. The sea passes in and out between two -rocks 160 yards apart, and is so deep that even at low tide there are 18 -feet of water. Where we stood the rocks were precipitous, but on the -other side it was so far broken that we were told that bucks when -pressed by hounds would descend it, so as to take the water at its foot. -This would have seemed to be impossible were it not that stags will -learn to do marvellous things in the way of jumping. On our right hand, -between us and the shore of the outer Ocean, there was a sloping narrow -green sward, hardly broader than a ravine, but still with a sward at its -foot, running down to the very marge of the high tide, seeming to touch -the water as we looked at it. And beyond, further on the left, there -were bright green shrubs the roots of which the sea seemed to wash. A -little further out was the inevitable “bar,”—injurious to commerce -though adding to the beauty of the spot, for it was marked to us only by -the breakers which foamed across it.</p> - -<p>The schoolmaster told us much of the eligibility of the harbour. Two men -of war,—not probably first-class ironclads, modest little gun boats -probably,—had been within the water of the Knysna. And there were -always 18 feet of water on the bar because of the great scour occasioned -by the narrow outlet, whereas other bars are at certain times left -almost waterless. A great trade was done,—in exporting wood. But in -truth the entrance to the Knysna is perhaps more picturesque and -beautiful than commercially useful. For the former quality I can -certainly speak; and as I stood there balancing between the charms of -the spot and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_109" id="page_109">{109}</a></span> the coming darkness, aggravated by thoughts which would -fly off to the much needed leg of mutton, I felt it to be almost hard -that my friend the magistrate should have punctilious scruples as to his -duties on Monday morning.</p> - -<p>The description given to me as to trade at the Knysna was not altogether -encouraging. The people were accustomed to cut wood and send it away to -Capetown or Fort Elizabeth, and would do nothing else. And they are a -class of Dutch labourers, these hewers of wood, who live a foul unholy -life, very little if at all above the Hottentots in civilization. The -ravines between the spurs of the mountains which run down to the sea are -full of thick timber, and thus has grown up this peculiarity of industry -by which the people of the Knysna support themselves. But wood is -sometimes a drug,—as I was assured it was at the time of my visit,—and -then the people are very badly off indeed. They will do nothing else. -The land around will produce anything if some little care be taken as to -irrigation. Any amount of vegetables might be grown and sent by boat to -Capetown or Algoa Bay. But no! The people have learned to cut wood, and -have learned nothing else. And consequently the Knysna is a poor -place,—becoming poorer day by day. Such was the description given to -us; but to the outward eye everybody seemed to be very happy,—and if -the cabbage had been a little more boiled everything would have been -perfect. The rough unwashed Dutch woodcutters were no doubt away in -their own wretched homes among the spurs of the mountains. We, at any -rate, did not see them.</p> - -<p>Cutting timber is a good wholesome employment; and if<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_110" id="page_110">{110}</a></span> the market be bad -to-day it will probably be good to-morrow. And even Dutch woodcutters -will become civilized when the schoolmaster gradually makes his way -among them. But I did express myself as disappointed when I was told -that nothing was ever done to restore the forests as the hill-sides are -laid bare by the axe. There will be an end to the wood even on the spurs -of the Outiniqua range, if no care be taken to assist the reproduction -of nature. The Government of the Cape Colony should look to this, as do -the Swiss Cantons and the German Duchies.</p> - -<p>The Knysna is singularly English, being, as it is, a component part of a -Dutch community, and supported by Dutch labour. I did not hear a Dutch -word spoken while I was there,—though our landlady told us that her -children played in Dutch or in English, as the case might be. Our -schoolmaster was English, and the parson, and the magistrate, and the -innkeeper, and the tradesmen of the place who called in during the -evening to see the strangers and to talk with the magistrate from -distant parts about Kreli and the Kafirs who were then supposed to be -nearly subdued. It is a singularly picturesque place, and I left it on -the following morning at 5 <small>A.M.</small> with a regret that I should never see -the Knysna again.</p> - -<p>There was to have been a cart to take us; but the horse had not chosen -to be caught, and we walked to the ferry. Then, at the other side, at -Belvidere, the wicked eggs would not get themselves boiled for an hour, -though breakfast at an appointed time, 6 <small>A.M.</small>, had been solemnly -promised to us. Everything about the George and the Knysna gratified me<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_111" id="page_111">{111}</a></span> -much. But here, as elsewhere in South Africa, punctuality is not among -the virtues of the people. Six o’clock means seven, or perhaps twenty -minutes after seven. If a man promises to be with you at nine, he thinks -that he has done pretty well if he comes between ten and eleven. I have -frequently been told that a public conveyance would start at four in the -morning,—or at five, as it might be,—and then have had to walk about -for half an hour before a horse has made its appearance. And it is -impossible for a stranger to discount this irregularity, so as to take -advantage of it. It requires the experience of a life to ascertain what -five o’clock will mean in one place, and what in another. When the -traveller is assured that he certainly will be left behind if he be not -up an hour before dawn, he will get up, though he knows that it will be -in vain. The long minutes that I have passed, during my late travels, -out in the grey dawn, regretting the bed from which I have been -uselessly torn, have been generally devoted to loud inward assertions -that South Africa can never do any good in the world till she learns to -be more punctual. But we got our breakfast at Belvidere at last, and -returned triumphantly with our four mules to George.</p> - -<p>In the neighbourhood of George there is a mission station called -Pacaltsdorp, for Hottentots, than which I can imagine nothing to be less -efficient for any useful purpose. About 500 of these people live in a -village,—or straggling community,—in which they have huts and about an -acre of land for each family. There is a church attached to the place -with a Minister, but when I visited the place there was no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_112" id="page_112">{112}</a></span> school. The -stipend of the minister is paid by some missionary society at home, and -it would seem that it is supported chiefly because for many years past -it has been supported.</p> - -<p>The question has frequently been raised whether the Hottentots are or -are not extinct as a people. Before the question can be answered some -one must decide what is a Hottentot. There is a race easily recognized -throughout South Africa,—found in the greatest numbers in the Western -Province of the Cape Colony,—who are at once known by their colour and -physiognomy, and whom the new-comer will soon learn to call Hottentots -whether they be so or not. They are of a dusty dusky hue, very unlike -the shining black of the Kafir or Zulu, and as unlike the well shaded -black and white of the so-called “Cape Boy” who has the mixed blood of -Portuguese and Negroes in his veins. This man is lantern-jawed, -sad-visaged, and mild-eyed,—quite as unlike a Kafir as he is to a -European. There can be no doubt but that he is not extinct. But he is -probably a bastard Hottentot,—a name which has become common as applied -to his race,—and comes of a mingled race half Dutch and half South -African.</p> - -<p>These people generally perform the work of menial servants. They are -also farm labourers,—and sometimes farmers in a small way. They are not -industrious; but are not more lazy than men of such a race may be -expected to be. They are not stupid, nor, as I think, habitually -dishonest. Their morals in other respects do not rank high. Such as they -are they should be encouraged in all ways to work for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_113" id="page_113">{113}</a></span> hire. Nothing can -be so antagonistic to working as such a collection of them as that at -Pacaltsdorp, where each has land assigned to him just sufficient to -enable him to live,—with the assistance of a little stealing. As for -church services there are quite enough for their wants in the -neighbourhood, of various denominations. The only excuse for such an -establishment would be the existence of a good school. But here there -was none. Pacaltsdorp is I believe more than half a century old. When it -was commenced the people probably had no civilizing influences round -them. Now the Institution hardly seems to be needed.</p> - -<p>From George I went over the Montague Pass to Oudtshoorn. My travels -hitherto had chiefly been made with the view of seeing people and -studying the state of the country,—and at this time, as I have -explained above, my task was nearly completed. But now I was in search -of the picturesque. It is not probable that many tourists will go from -England to South Africa simply in quest of scenery. The country is not -generally attractive, and the distances are too long. But to those who -are there, either living in the Colony, or having been carried thither -in search of health or money, the district of which I am now speaking -offers allurements which will well repay the trouble of the journey. I -am bound however to say that the beauties of this region cannot be seen -at a cheap rate. Travelling in South Africa is costly. The week which I -spent in the neighbourhood of George cost me £30, and would have cost me -much more had I been alone. And yet I was not overcharged. The -travellers in South Africa are few in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_114" id="page_114">{114}</a></span> number, and it is much travelling -which makes cheap travelling.</p> - -<p>Montague Pass is a road through the Outiniqua mountains,—which was made -by Mr. White and called by the name of Mr. Montague who was the Colonial -Secretary when the line was opened. It is very fine, quite equal to some -of the mountain roads through the Pyrenees. There are spots on which the -traveller will quite forget South African ugliness and dream that he is -looking at some favoured European landskip. Throughout the whole of -those mountains the scenery must be very grand, as they group themselves -with fantastic intermingling peaks, and are green to the top. The ascent -from the side nearest to George, which the tourist will probably walk, -is about four miles, and the views are varied at almost every step,—as -is the case in all really fine mountain scenery.</p> - -<p>From the foot of the hill on the side away from George the road to -Oudtshoorn passes for about thirty miles through the Karoo. The Karoo is -a great Institution in the Cape Colony and consists of enormous tracts -of land which are generally devoted to the pasture of sheep. The karoo -properly is a kind of shrub which sheep will eat, such as is the salt -bush in Australia. Various diminutive shrubs are called “karoo,” of -which most are aromatic with a rich flavour as of some herb, whereas -others are salt. But the word has come to signify a vast flowery plain, -which in seasons of drought is terribly arid, over which the weary -traveller has often to be dragged day after day without seeing a tree, -or a green blade of grass; but which in spring becomes covered<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_115" id="page_115">{115}</a></span> with -wild flowers. A large portion of the Western Province is called Karoo, -and is very tedious to all but sheep. That over which I passed now was -“Karoo” only in its produce, being closely surrounded by mountains. The -sheep, however, had in most places given way to ostriches,—feathers at -present ruling higher in the world than wool. I could not but hope as I -saw the huge birds stalking about with pompous air,—which as you -approached them they would now and again change for a flirting gait, -looking back over their shoulders as they skipped along with ruffled -tails;—I have seen a woman do very much the same;—that they might soon -be made to give place again to the modest sheep.</p> - -<p>Oudtshoorn,—a place with a most uncomfortably Dutch name,—is an -uninteresting village about two miles long; which would, at least, be -uninteresting were it not blessed with a superlatively good hotel kept -by one Mr. Holloway. Mr. Holloway redeems Oudtshoorn, which would -otherwise have little to say for its own peculiar self. But it is the -centre of a rich farming district, and the land in the valleys around it -is very fertile. It must be remembered that fertility in South Africa -does not imply a broad area of cultivated land, or even a capacity for -it. Agriculture is everywhere an affair of patches, and frequently -depends altogether on irrigation. Near Oudtshoorn I saw very fine -crops,—and others which were equally poor,—the difference having been -caused altogether by the quantity of water used. The productiveness of -South Africa is governed by the amount of skill and capital which is -applied to the saving of rain when rain does fall, and to the -application of it to the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_116" id="page_116">{116}</a></span> land when no rain is falling. How far the -water sent by God may, with the assistance of science, be made -sufficient for the cultivation of the broad plains, I, at least, am -unable to say. They who can measure the rainfalls, and the nature of the -slopes by which the storms and showers may be led to their appointed -places, will after a while tell us this. But it is patent to all that -extensive cultivation in South Africa must depend on irrigation.</p> - -<p>I had come to Oudtshoorn chiefly to see the Cango Caves. I wish some of -my readers would write the name of the village in order that they may -learn the amount of irritation which may be produced by an unfortunately -awkward combination of letters. The Cango Caves are 24 miles distant -from the place, and are so called after the old name of the district. -Here too they make brandy from grapes,—called euphoniously “Old Cango.” -The vituperative have christened the beverage Cape Smoke. “Now I’ll give -you a glass of real fine Old Cango,” has been said to me more than once. -I would strongly advise weak-headed Europeans, not to the manner born, -to abstain from the liquor under whatever name it may make its -appearance. But the caves may be seen without meddling with the native -brandy. We brought ours with us, and at any rate believed that it had -come from France.</p> - -<p>The road from the village to the caves is the worst, I think, over which -wheels were ever asked to pass. A gentleman in Oudtshoorn kindly offered -to take us. No keeper of post horses would let animals or a carriage for -so destructive a journey. At every terrific jolt and at every struggle -over<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_117" id="page_117">{117}</a></span> the rocks my heart bled for our friend’s property,—of which he -was justly proud. He abstained even from a look of dismay as we came -smashing down from stone to stone. Every now and then we heard that a -bolt had given way, but were assured in the same breath that there were -enough to hold us together. We were held together; but the carriage I -fear never can be used again. The horses perhaps with time may get over -their ill usage. We were always going into a river or going out of it, -and the river had succeeded in carrying away all the road that had ever -been made. Unless the engineers go seriously to work I shall be the last -stranger that will ever visit the Cango Caves in a carriage.</p> - -<p>I have made my way into various underground halls, the mansions of bats -and stalactites. Those near Deloraine in Tasmania are by far the most -spacious in ascertained length that I have seen. Those at Wonderfontein -in the Transvaal, of which I will speak in the next volume, may be, and -probably are, larger still, but they have never been explored. In both -of these the stalactites are much poorer in form than in the caves of -the Cheddar cliffs,—which however are comparatively small. The Mammoth -Caves in Kentucky I have not visited; but I do not understand that the -subterranean formations are peculiarly grand. In the Cango Grottoes the -chambers are very much bigger than in the Tasmanian Caves. They also -have not been fully explored. But the wonderful forms and vagaries of -the stalactites are infinitely finer than anything I have seen -elsewhere. We brought with us many blue lights,—a sort of luminary -which spreads a powerful<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_118" id="page_118">{118}</a></span> glare to a considerable distance for three or -four minutes,—without which it would be impossible to see the shapes -around. The candles which we carried with us for our own guidance had -little or no effect.</p> - -<p>In some places the droppings had assumed the shape of falling curtains. -Across the whole side of a hall, perhaps sixty feet long, these would -hang in regular pendent drapery, fold upon fold, seeming to be as equal -and regular as might be the heavy folds protecting some inner sacred -chapel. And in the middle of the folds there would be the entrance, -through which priests and choristers and people might walk as soon as -the machinery had been put to work and the curtain had been withdrawn. -In other places there would hang from the roof the collected gathered -pleats, all regular, as though the machinery had been at work. Here -there was a huge organ with its pipes, and some grotesque figure at the -top of it as though the constructor of all these things had feared no -raillery. In other places there were harps against the walls, from -which, as the blue lights burned, one expected to hear sounds of perhaps -not celestial minstrelsy. And pillars were erected up to the -ceiling,—not a low grovelling ceiling against which the timid visitor -might fear to strike his head, but a noble roof, perfected, groined, -high up, as should be that of a noble hall. That the columns had in fact -come drop by drop from the rock above us did not alter their appearance. -There was one very thick, of various shapes, grotesque and daring, -looking as though the base were some wondrous animal of hideous form -that had been made to bear the superstructure from age to age. Then as -the eye would struggle to examine<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_119" id="page_119">{119}</a></span> it upwards, and to divide the details -each from the others, the blue light would go out and the mystery would -remain. Another blue light would be made to burn; but bats would come -flitting through, disturbing all investigation;—and the mystery would -still remain.</p> - -<p>There were various of these halls or chambers, all opening one to -another by passages here and there, so that the visitor who is never -compelled to travel far, might suppose them all to be parts of one huge -dark mansion underground. But in each hall there were receding closets, -guarded by jutting walls of stalactite breast high, round which however -on closer search, a way would be found,—as though these might be the -private rooms in which the ghouls would hide themselves when thus -disturbed by footsteps and voices, by candles and blue lights from -above. I was always thinking that I should come upon a ghoul; but there -were inner chambers still into which they crept, and whither I could not -follow them.</p> - -<p>Careful walking is necessary, as the ground is uneven; and there are -places in which the ghouls keep their supply of water,—stone troughs -wonderfully and beautifully made. But except in one place there is no -real difficulty in moving about, when once the visitor to the Caves has -descended into them. At this place the ascent is perplexing, because the -ground is both steep and slippery. I can imagine that a lady or an old -man might find it difficult to be dragged up. Such lady or old man -should either remain below or allow his companions to drag him up. There -is very little stooping necessary anywhere. But it has to be borne in -mind<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_120" id="page_120">{120}</a></span> that after entering the mouth of the cave and reaching the first -chamber, the realms I have described have to be reached by an iron -ladder which holds 38 steps. To get on to this ladder requires some -little care and perhaps a dash of courage. The precautions taken, -however, suffice, and I think I may say that there is no real danger.</p> - -<p>We called at a Dutch Boer’s house about a mile from the Caves, and were -accompanied by three members of the Boer’s family. This is usual, and, I -believe, absolutely necessary. I paid one of the men a sovereign for his -trouble,—which sum he named as his regular price for the assistance -provided. He found the candles, but some of our party took the blue -lights with them. Nothing could have been seen without them.</p> - -<p>From Oudtshoorn I travelled back through the Outiniqua mountains by -Robinson’s pass to Mossel Bay, and thence returned by steamer to -Capetown.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_121" id="page_121">{121}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.<br /><br /> -<small>WESTERN PROVINCE, THE PAARL, CERES, AND WORCESTER.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">My</span> last little subsidiary tours in South Africa were made from Capetown -to the country immediately across the Hottentot mountains after my -return from Oudtshoorn and the Cango Caves. It had then become nearly -midsummer and I made up my mind that it would be very hot. I prepared -myself to keep watch and ward against musquitoes and comforted myself by -thinking how cool it would be on my return journey, in the Bay of Biscay -for instance on the first of January. I had heard, or perhaps had -fancied, that the South African musquito would be very venomous and also -ubiquitous. I may as well say here as elsewhere that I found him to be -but a poor creature as compared with other musquitoes,—the musquito of -the United States for instance. The South African December, which had -now come, tallies with June on the other side of the line;—and in June -the musquito of Washington is as a roaring lion.</p> - -<p>On this expedition I stopped first at The Paarl, which is not across the -Hottentot mountains but in the district south of the mountains to which -the Dutch were at first inclined to confine themselves when they -regarded the apparently<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_122" id="page_122">{122}</a></span> impervious hills at their back as the natural -and sufficient barrier of their South African dominions.</p> - -<p>There is now a railway out of Capetown which winds its way through these -mountains, or rather circumvents them by a devious course. It branches -from the Wynberg line a mile or two out of Capetown, and then pursues -its way towards the interior of Africa with one or two assistant -branches on the southern side of the hills. The Wynberg line is -altogether suburban and pleasant. The first assistant branch goes to -Malmesbury and is agricultural. Malmesbury is a corn producing country -in the flats north of Capetown, and will, I hope, before long justify -the railway which has been made. At present I am told that the branch -hardly pays for the fuel it consumes. It no doubt will justify the -railway as wheat can be grown in the district without irrigation, and it -will therefore become peopled with prosperous farmers. Then there is a -loop line to Stellenbosch, an old and thriving little Dutch town which I -did not visit. It is very old, having been founded in 1684. In 1685 the -French Refugees came of whom a large proportion were settled at -Stellenbosch. The main line which is intended to cross the entire Colony -then makes its way on to The Paarl and Wellington,—from whence it takes -its passage among the mountains. This is of course in the Western -Province,—which I must persist in so designating though I know I shall -encounter the wrath of many South African friends of the West. In the -Eastern Province there are two lines which have been commenced from the -coast with the same mission of making their way up into<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_123" id="page_123">{123}</a></span> the whole -continent of Africa, one of them starting from Port Elizabeth, intending -to go on by Cradock, with a branch already nearly finished to -Grahamstown, and the other from East London travelling north by King -Williamstown and Queenstown. The rivalry between the three is great. It -is so great even between the two latter as to have much impaired the -homogeneity of the Eastern Province. At present the chief object of them -all is to secure the trade to Kimberley and the Diamond Fields. That by -which I was now travelling is already open to Worcester, across the -mountain, for all traffic, and for goods traffic forty miles beyond -Worcester, up the valley of the Hex River.</p> - -<p>I stopped at The Paarl to see the vineyards and orange groves, and also -the ostriches. These are the industries of The Paarl, which is in its -way a remarkable and certainly a very interesting place. It was only -during the last month of my sojourn in South Africa that I came to see -how very much lovely scenery there is within reach of the residents of -Capetown. As in all countries of large area, such as South Africa, the -United States, the interior of Australia, and Russia generally,—of -which I speak only from hearsay,—the great body of the landskip is -uninteresting. The Transvaal, the Orange Free State, Griqua Land West, -and the Karoos of the Cape Colony are not beautiful. This the traveller -hears, and gradually sees for himself. But if he will take the trouble -he may also see for himself spots that are as entrancing as any among -the more compressed charms of European scenery. The prettinesses of The -Paarl, how<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_124" id="page_124">{124}</a></span>ever, come from the works of man almost as much as from those -of Nature.</p> - -<p>It is a very long town,—if town it is to be called,—the main street -running a length of eight miles. Through all this distance one spot is -hardly more central than another,—though there is a market-place which -the people of The Paarl probably regard as the heart of the town. It is -nowhere contiguous, the houses standing, almost all, separately. It is -under the paarl, or pearl rock,<a name="FNanchor_8_8" id="FNanchor_8_8"></a><a href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a>—which strangers are invited to -ascend, but are warned at the same time that the ascent in summer may be -very hot. I thanked my friend for the caution and did not ascend the -mountain. I was of course told that without ascending I could not see -The Paarl aright. I did not therefore see it aright, and satisfy my -conscience by instructing others how they may do so. The town from one -end to the other is full of oak trees, planted as I was told by the -Dutch. They did not look to be over seventy years of age, but I was -assured that the growth though certain had been slow. It is perhaps the -enormous number of oak trees at The Paarl which more than anything else -makes the place so graceful. But many of the houses too are graceful, -being roomy old Dutch buildings of the better class, built with gables -here and there, with stables and outhouses around them, and with many -oaks at every corner, all in full foliage at the time of my visit. At -The Paarl there are no bad houses. The coloured people who pick the -grapes and tread the wine vats and hoe the vines<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_125" id="page_125">{125}</a></span> live in pretty -cottages up the hill side. There is nothing squalid or even untidy at -The Paarl. For eight miles you are driven through a boskey broad -well-shaded street with houses on each side at easy intervals, at every -one of which you are tempted to think that you would like to live.</p> - -<p>What do the people do? That is of course the first question. It was -evident from the great number of places of worship that they all went to -church very often;—and from the number of schools that they were highly -educated. Taking the population generally, they are all Dutch, and are -mostly farmers. But their farming is very unlike our farming,—and still -more unlike that of the Dutch Boers up the country,—the main work of -each individual farmer being confined to a very small space, though the -tract of adjacent land belonging to him may extend to one or two or -three thousand acres. The land on which they really live and whereby -they make their money is used chiefly for the growth of grapes,—and -after that for oranges and ostriches. The district is essentially wine -making,—though at the time of my visit the low price of wine had forced -men to look to other productions to supplement their vines.</p> - -<p>I was taken to the house of one gentleman,—a Dutchman of course,—whose -homestead in the middle of the town was bosomed amidst oaks. His -vineyard was a miracle of neatness, and covered perhaps a dozen -acres;—but his ostriches were his pride. Wine was then no more than £3 -the “ligger,”—the ligger, or leaguer, being a pipe containing 126 -gallons. This certainly is very cheap for wine,—so cheap that I was -driven to think that if I lived at The Paarl<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_126" id="page_126">{126}</a></span> I would prefer ostriches. -It seemed to be thought, however, that a better time would come, and -that the old price of £5 or £6 the ligger might again be reached. I am -afraid there is some idea that this may be done by the maternal -affection of the Mother Country,—which is to be shewn in a reduction of -the duties, so that Cape wine may be consumed more freely in England. I -endeavoured to explain that England cannot take wine from the Colonies -at a lower rate of duty than from foreign countries. I did not say -anything as to the existing prejudice against South African sherries. I -was taken into this gentleman’s house and had fruit and wine of his own -producing. The courtesy and picturesque old-fashioned neatness of it all -was very pleasing. He himself was a quiet well-mannered man, shewing no -excitement about anything, till it was suggested to him that a mode of -incubating ostriches’ eggs different to his own might be preferable. -Then he shewed us that on a subject which he had studied he could have a -strong opinion of his own. This was in the town. The owner, no doubt, -had a considerable tract of land lying far back from the street; but all -his operations seemed to be carried on within a quarter of a mile of his -house.</p> - -<p>I was afterwards driven out to two country farms, but at both of them -the same thing prevailed. Here there were large vineyards, and oranges -in lieu of ostriches. At one beautiful spot, just under the mountains, -there was a grove of 500 orange trees from which, the proprietor told -me, he had during the last year made a net profit of £200 after paying -all expenses. £200 will go a long way towards the expen<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_127" id="page_127">{127}</a></span>diture of a -Dutch farmer’s house. Of course there was no rent to be paid as the -whole place belonged to him,—and had probably belonged to his ancestors -for many generations. He was lord also of a large vineyard which he told -me had cost a great deal of labour to bring to its present perfection of -cleanliness and fertility.</p> - -<p>Here too we were taken into the house and had wine given to us,—wine -that was some years old. It certainly was very good, resembling a fine -port that was just beginning to feel its age in the diminution of its -body. We enquired whether wine such as that was for sale, but were told -that no such wine was to be bought from any grower of grapes. The -farmers would keep a little for their own use, and that they would never -sell. Neither do the merchants keep it,—not finding it worth their -while to be long out of their money,—nor the consumers, there being no -commodity of cellarage in the usual houses of the Colony. It has not -been the practice to keep wine,—and consequently the drinker seldom has -given to him the power of judging whether the Cape wines may or may not -become good. At dinner tables at the Cape hosts will apologise for -putting on their tables the wines of the Colony, telling their guests -that that other bottle contains real sherry or the like. I am inclined -to think that the Cape wines have hardly yet had a fair chance, and have -been partly led to this opinion by the excellence of that which I drank -at Great Draghenstern,—which was the name either of the farm or of the -district in question.</p> - -<p>As we had wandered through the grove we saw oranges still hanging on the -trees, high up out of reach. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_128" id="page_128">{128}</a></span> season was over but still there were a -few. It is a point of honour to keep them as long as possible,—so that -towards December they become valuable treasures. I had one given to me -when we started, as being the oldest of the party. It was scrupulously -divided, and enjoyed no doubt very much more than had we been sent away -with our cart full.</p> - -<p>Here too the house was exceedingly picturesque, being surrounded by oak -trees. There was no entrance hall, such as has been common with us for -many years; but the rooms were lofty, spacious, and well built, and the -neighbouring wilderness of a garden was wonderfully sweet with flowers. -The owner was among the vines when we arrived, and as he walked up to us -in the broad place in front of his house, he informed us that he was -“jolly old —— ——” This he said in Dutch. His only word of English was -spoken as we parted. “Good bye, old gentleman,” he holloaed out to me as -I shook hands with him. Here as elsewhere there was no breadth of -cultivation. The farm was large, but away from the house, and on it -there were only a few cattle. There can be no cultivation without -irrigation, and no extended irrigation without much labour. Like other -farmers in South Africa jolly old —— —— complained that his industry -was sadly crippled by want of labour. Nevertheless jolly old —— —— -seemed to me to be as well off as a man need be in this world. Perhaps -it was that I envied him his oaks, and his mountains, and his old -wine,—and the remaining oranges.</p> - -<p>We visited also a wool-washing establishment which had just been set up -with new fashioned machinery, and then<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_129" id="page_129">{129}</a></span> we had seen all that The Paarl -had to shew us in the way of its productions. I should perhaps say that -I visited the stores of a great wine company, at which, in spite of the -low price of the article in which they deal, good dividends are being -paid. At the wine stores I was chiefly interested in learning that a -coloured cooper whom I saw at work on a cask,—a black man,—was earning -£300 a year. I enquired whether he was putting by a fortune and was told -that he and his family lived from hand to mouth and that he frequently -overdrew his wages. “But what does he do with the money?” I asked. -“Hires a carriage on Sundays or holy days and drives his wife about,” -was the reply. The statement was made as though it were a sad thing that -a coloured man should drive his wife about in a carriage while labour -was so scarce and dear, but I was inclined to think that the cooper was -doing well with his money. At any rate it pleased me to learn that a -black man should like to drive his wife about;—and that he should have -the means.</p> - -<p>I was very much gratified with The Paarl, thinking it well for a Colony -to have a town and a district so pretty and so prosperous. The -population of the district is about 16,000, and of the town about 8000. -It is, however, much more like a large village than a small town,—the -feeling being produced by the fact that the houses all have gardens -attached to them and are built each after its own fashion and not in -rows.</p> - -<p>From this place I and the friend who was travelling with me went on by -cart to Ceres. It would have been practicable to go by railway at any -rate to the Ceres Road Station,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_130" id="page_130">{130}</a></span> but we were anxious to travel over two -of the finest mountain roads in South Africa, Bain’s Kloof, and -Mitchell’s Pass, both of which lay on the road from The Paarl to Ceres. -To do so we passed through Wellington and Wagon-maker’s valley, which -lay immediately under the Hottentot mountains. I have described grapes -and oranges as being the great agricultural industries of The Paarl -district;—but I must not leave the locality without recording the fact -that the making of Cape carts and wagons is a specialty of The Paarl and -of the adjacent country. It is no more possible to ignore the fact in -passing through its streets than it is to ignore the building of -carriages in Long Acre. The country up above The Paarl has been called -Wagon-maker’s valley very far back among the Dutch of the Cape, and the -trade remains through the whole district. And at Wellington there is I -believe the largest orange grove in the country. Time did not allow me -to see it, but I could look down upon it from some of the turns in the -wonderful road by which Mr. Bain made his way through the mountains.</p> - -<p>Rising up from Wellington is the Bain’s Kloof road which traverses the -first instalment of the barrier mountains. It is the peculiarity of -these hills that they seem to lie in three folds,—so that when you make -your way over the first you descend into the valley of the Breede -River,—and from thence ascend again on high, to come down into the -valley of Ceres, with the third and last range of the Hottentots still -before you. Bain’s Kloof contains some very grand scenery, especially -quite at the top;—but is not equal either to Montague Pass,—or to -Mitchell’s Pass which we were just<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_131" id="page_131">{131}</a></span> about to visit. Descending from this -we crossed at the fords two branches of the Breede River,—at one of -which the bridge was impassable, there never having been a bridge at the -other,—and immediately ascended Mitchell’s Pass. The whole of the -country north and east of Capetown as far as the mountains extend is -made remarkable by these passes which have been carried through the -hills with great engineering skill and at an enormous cost to the -Colony. It has chiefly been done by convict labour,—the labour of its -own convicts—for the Colony, as my reader will I hope remember, has -never received a convict from the Mother Country. But convict labour is -probably dearer than any other. The men certainly are better fed than -they would be if they were free. Houses have to be built for them which -are afterwards deserted. And when the man has been housed and fed he -will not work as a freeman must do if he means to keep his place. But -the roads have been made, and Mitchell’s Pass into the valley of Ceres -is a triumph of engineering skill.</p> - -<p>To see it aright the visitor should travel by it from Ceres towards the -Railway. We passed it in both directions and I was never more struck by -the different aspect which the same scenery may bear if your face be -turned one way or the other. The beauty here consists of the colour of -the rocks rather than of the shape of the hills. There is a world of -grey stone around you as you ascend from the valley which becomes almost -awful as you look at it high above your head and then low beneath your -feet. As you begin the ascent from Ceres, near the road but just out of -sight of it, there is a small cataract where the Breede runs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_132" id="page_132">{132}</a></span> deep -through a narrow channel,—so narrow that a girl can jump from rock to -rock. Some years since a girl was about to jump it when her lover, -giving her a hand to help her, pulled her in. She never lived to become -his bride but was drowned there in the deep black waters of the narrow -Breede.</p> - -<p>Ceres is one of those village-towns by which this part of the Colony is -populated, and lies in a Rasselas happy valley,—a basin so surrounded -by hills as to shew no easy way out. The real Rasselas valley, however, -was, we suppose, very narrow, whereas this valley is ten miles long by -six broad, and has a mail cart road running through it. It lies on the -direct route from Capetown to Fraserburg, and thence, if you choose to -go that way, to the Diamond Fields and the Orange Free State. -Nevertheless the place looks as though it were, or at least should be, -delightfully excluded from all the world beyond. Here again the houses -stand separate among trees, and the river flowing through it makes -everything green. I was told that Ceres had been lately smitten with too -great a love of speculation, had traded beyond her means, and lost much -of her capital. It was probably the reaction from this condition of -things which produced the peculiarly sleepy appearance which I observed -around me. A billiard room had been lately built which seemed just then -to monopolize the energy of the place. The hotel was clean and -pleasant,—and would have been perfect but for a crowd of joyous -travellers who were going down to see somebody married two or three -hundred miles off. On our arrival we were somewhat angry with the very -civil and considerate<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_133" id="page_133">{133}</a></span> landlady who refused to give us all the -accommodation we wanted because she expected twelve other travellers. I -did not believe in the twelve travellers, and muttered something as to -trying the other house even though she devoted to the use of me and my -friend a bedroom which she declared was as a rule kept for ladies. We of -course demanded two rooms,—but as to that she was stern. When a party -of eleven did in truth come I not only forgave her, but felt remorse at -having occupied the best chamber. She was a delightful old lady, a -German, troubled much in her mind at the time by the fact that a -countryman of hers had come to her house with six or seven dozen -canaries and had set up a shop for them in her front sitting room. She -did not know how to get rid of them; and, as all the canaries sang -continuously the whole day through, their presence did impair the -comfort of the establishment. Nevertheless I can safely recommend the -hotel at Ceres as the canaries will no doubt have been all sold before -any reader can act on this recommendation.</p> - -<p>The name of Ceres has been given to the valley in a spirit of prophecy -which has yet to be fulfilled. The soil no doubt is fertile, but the -cereal produce is not as yet large. Here, as in so large a proportion of -South Africa, irrigation is needed before wheat can be sown with any -certainty of repaying the sower. But the valley is a smiling spot, green -and sweet among the mountains, and gives assurance by its aspect of -future success and comfort. It has a reputation for salubrity, and -should be visited by those who wish to see the pleasant places of the -Cape Colony.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_134" id="page_134">{134}</a></span></p> - -<p>From Ceres we went back over Mitchell’s Pass to the railway, and so to -Worcester. Worcester is a town containing 4,000 inhabitants, and is the -capital of a “Division.” The whole Colony is portioned out into -Divisions, in each of which there is located a Resident Magistrate or -Commissioner, who lives at the chief town. The Division and the Capital -have, I believe always, the same name. Worcester is conspicuous among -other things for its huge Drotsdy, or Chief Magistrate’s mansion. In the -old Dutch days the Drotsdy was inhabited by the Landroost, whose place -is now filled by the English Commissioner. I grieve to say that with the -spirit of economy which pervades self-governing Colonies in these modern -days, the spacious Drotsdy houses have usually been sold, and the -Commissioners have been made to find houses for themselves,—just as a -police magistrate does in London. When I was at George I could not but -pity the Commissioner who was forced day after day to look at the -beautiful Drotsdy house, embowered by oak trees, which had been -purchased by some rich Dutch farmer. But at Worcester the Drotsdy, which -was certainly larger than any other Drotsdy and apparently more modern, -was still left as a residence for the Commissioner. When I asked the -reason I was told that no one would buy it.</p> - -<p>It is an enormous mansion, with an enormous garden. And it is approached -in front through a portico of most pretentious and unbecoming columns. -Nothing could be imagined less like Dutch grandeur or Dutch comfort. The -house, which might almost contain a regiment, certainly contained a -mystery which warranted enquiry. Then I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_135" id="page_135">{135}</a></span> told the story. One of the -former great Governors, Lord Charles Somerset,—the greatest Governor -the Colony ever had as far as a bold idea of autocratic authority can -make a Governor great,—had wanted a shooting lodge under the mountains, -and had consequently caused the Drotsdy house at Worcester to be -built,—of course at the expense of the Crown. I can never reflect that -such glorious days have gone for ever without a soft regret. There was -something magnificent in those old, brave, unhidden official peculations -by the side of which the strict and straight-laced honesty of our -present Governors looks ugly and almost mean.</p> - -<p>Worcester is a broad town with well arranged streets, not fully filled -up but still clean,—without that look of unkempt inchoation which is so -customary in Australian towns and in many of the young municipalities of -the United States. The churches among its buildings are -conspicuous,—those attracting the most notice being the Dutch Reformed -Church, that of the Church of England,—and a church for the use of the -natives in which the services are also in accordance with the Dutch -Reformed religion. The latter is by far the most remarkable, and belongs -to an Institution which, beyond even the large Drotsdy house, makes -Worcester peculiarly worth visiting.</p> - -<p>Of the Institution the Revd. Mr. Esselin is the Head, but was not the -founder. There were I think two gentlemen in charge of a native mission -before he came to Worcester;—but the church and schools have obtained -their great success under his care. He is a German clergyman who came -to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_136" id="page_136">{136}</a></span> the place in 1848, and has had charge of the Institution since that -date. That he has done more than any one else as a teacher and preacher -among the coloured races, at any rate in the Western Province, I think -will hardly be denied. But for Lovedale in the East of which I shall -speak further on, I should have claimed this pre-eminence for him as to -all South Africa. This I believe is owing to the fact that under his -guidance the coloured people have been treated as might any poor -community in England or elsewhere in Europe which required instruction -either secular or religious. There has been a distinct absence of the -general missionary idea that coloured people want special protection, -that they should be kept separate, and that they should have provided -for them locations,—with houses and grounds. The ordinary missionary -treatment has I think tended to create a severance between the natives -and the white people who are certainly destined to be their masters and -employers,—at any rate for many years to come; whereas M. Esselin has -from the first striven to send them out into the world to earn their -bread, giving them such education as they have been able to receive up -to the age of fifteen. Beyond that they have not, except on rare -occasions, been kept in his schools.</p> - -<p>The material part of the Institution consists of a church, and four -large school-rooms, and of the pastor’s residence. There are also other -school-rooms attached of older date. The church has been built -altogether by contributions from the coloured attendants, and is a -spacious handsome building capable of containing 900 persons. M. Esselin -told me that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_137" id="page_137">{137}</a></span> his ordinary congregation amounted to 500. I went to the -morning service on Sunday, and found the building apparently full. I -think there was no white person there besides the clergyman, my -companion, and myself. As the service was performed in Dutch I did not -stay long, contenting myself with the commencing hymn—which was well -sung, and very long, more Africano. I had at this time been in various -Kafir places of worship and had become used to the Kafir physiognomies. -I had also learned to know the faces of the Hottentots, of old Cape -negroes, of the coloured people from St. Helena, and of the Malays. The -latter are not often Christians; but the races have become so mixed that -there is no rule which can be accepted in that respect. Here there were -no Kafirs, the Kafirs not having as yet made their way in quest of wages -as far west as Worcester.<a name="FNanchor_9_9" id="FNanchor_9_9"></a><a href="#Footnote_9_9" class="fnanchor">[9]</a> The people were generally Hottentot, half -negro,—with a considerable dash of white blood through them. But in the -church I could see no Europeans. It is a coloured congregation, and -supported altogether by contributions from the coloured people.</p> - -<p>The school interested me, however, more than the church. I do not know -that I ever saw school-rooms better built, better kept, or more cleanly. -As I looked at them one after another I remembered what had been the big -room at Harrow in my time, and the single school-room which I had known -at Winchester,—for there was only one; and the school-room, which I had -visited at Eton and Westminster;<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_138" id="page_138">{138}</a></span> and I was obliged to own that the -coloured children of Worcester are very much better housed now during -their lessons than were the aristocracy of England forty or fifty years -ago. There has been an improvement since, but still something might be -learned by a visit to Worcester. At Worcester the students pay a penny a -week. At the other schools I have named the charges are something -higher.</p> - -<p>There are 500 children at these schools among whom I saw perhaps half a -dozen of white blood. M. Esselin said that he took any who came who -would comply with the general rules of the school. The education of -coloured children is, however, the intention of the place. In addition -to the pence, which do not amount to £100 a year, the Government -grant,—given to this school, as to any other single school kept in -accordance with Government requirements,—amounts to £70 per annum. The -remaining cost, which must be very heavy, is made up out of the funds -raised by the congregation of the church. Under M. Esselin there is but -one European master. The other teachers are all females and all -coloured. There were I think seven of them. The children, as I have said -before, are kept only till they are fifteen and are then sent out to the -work of the world without any pretence of classical scholarship or -ecstatic Christianity.</p> - -<p>Having heard of a marvellous hot spring or Geyser in the neighbourhood -of Worcester I had myself driven out to visit it. It is about 8 miles -from the town at, or rather beyond, a marshy little lake called Brand -Vley, the name of which the hot spring bears. It is adjacent to a Dutch -farmhouse to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_139" id="page_139">{139}</a></span> which it belongs, and is to some small extent used for -sanitary purposes. If, as I was told, the waters are peculiarly -serviceable to rheumatic affections, it is a pity that such sanitary -purposes should not be extended, and be made more acceptable to the -rheumatic world at large.</p> - -<p>There is but one spring of boiling water. In New Zealand they are very -numerous, bubbling up frequently in close proximity to each other, -sometimes so small and unpronounced as to make it dangerous to walk -among them lest the walker’s feet should penetrate through the grass -into the boiling water. Here the one fountain is very like to some of -the larger New Zealand springs. The water as it wells up is much hotter -than boiling, and fills a round pool which may perhaps have a -circumference of thirty feet. It is of a perfectly bright green colour, -except where the growth of a foul-looking weed defaces the surface. From -this well the still boiling water makes its way under ground, a distance -of a few yards into a much larger pool where it still boils and bubbles, -and still maintains that bright green colour which seems to be the -property of water which springs hot from the bowels of the earth.</p> - -<p>At a little distance a house has been built intended to contain baths, -and conduits have been made to bring a portion of the water under cover -for the accommodation of bathers,—while a portion is carried off for -irrigation. We made our way into the house where we found a large Dutch -party, whether of visitors or residents at the house we did not know; -and one of them, a pretty Dutch girl prettily dressed, who could speak -English was kind enough to show<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_140" id="page_140">{140}</a></span> us the place. We accompanied her, -though the stench was so foul that it was almost impossible to remain -beneath the roof.<a name="FNanchor_10_10" id="FNanchor_10_10"></a><a href="#Footnote_10_10" class="fnanchor">[10]</a> It was difficult to conceive how these people -could endure it and live. The girl opened the bath rooms, in which the -so-called baths, constructed on the floor, were dilapidated and ruined. -“They are all just now near broke to pieces,” she said. I asked her what -the patients paid. “Just sixpence a day,” she replied, “because one -cannot in these hard days charge the people too much.” I presume that -the patients were expected to bring their diet with them,—and probably -their beds.</p> - -<p>And yet an invaluable establishment might be built at this spot, and be -built in the midst of most alluring scenery! The whole district of which -I am now speaking is among the mountains, and the Worcester railway -station is not more than eight or ten miles distant. The Auckland -Geysers in New Zealand cannot be reached except by long journeys on -horseback, and accommodation for invalids could be procured only at -great cost. But here an establishment of hot baths might be made very -easily. It seemed at any rate to be a pity that such a provision of hot -water should be wasted,—especially if it contain medicinal properties -of value. We were forced to return to Worcester without trying it, as -there were not means of bathing at our command. No possible medicinal -properties would have atoned for the horrors of undressing within that -building.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_141" id="page_141">{141}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.<br /><br /> -<small>ROBERTSON, SWELLENDAM, AND SOUTHEY’S PASS.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">From</span> Worcester we went on to a little town called Robertson, which is -also the capital of an electoral division. The country here is -altogether a country of mountains, varying from three to seven thousand -feet high. The valleys between them are broad, so as to give ample space -for agriculture,—if only agriculture can be made to pay. Having heard -much of the continual plains of South Africa I had imagined that every -thing beyond the hills immediately surrounding Capetown would be flat; -but in lieu of that I found myself travelling through a country in which -one series of mountains succeeds another for hundreds of miles. The Cape -Colony is very large,—especially the Western Province, which extends -almost from the 28th to much below the 34th degree of latitude S., and -from the 17th to the 23rd of longitude E. Of this immense area I was -able to see comparatively only a small part;—but in what I did see I -was never out of the neighbourhood of mountains. The highest mountain in -South Africa is Cathkin Peak, in Natal, and that is over 10,000 feet. In -the districts belonging to the Cape Colony the highest is in Basuto, and -is the Mont aux Sources. The highest in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_142" id="page_142">{142}</a></span> Western Province is called -The Seven Weeks Poort, which is in the neighbourhood of Swellendam and -belongs to the district of which I am now speaking. It is 7,600 feet -high. As the first and most important consequence of this the making of -roads within a couple of hundred miles of Capetown has been a matter of -great difficulty. In every direction passes through the mountains have -had to be found, which when found have required great skill and a very -heavy expenditure before they could be used for roads. But a second -consequence has been that a large extent of magnificent scenery has been -thrown open, which, as the different parts of the world are made nearer -to each other by new discoveries and advancing science, will become a -delight and a playground to travellers,—as are the Alps and the -Pyrenees and the Apennines in Europe. At present I think that but few -people in England are aware that among the mountains of the Cape Colony -there is scenery as grand as in Switzerland or the south-west of France. -And the fact that such scenery is close to them attracts the notice of -but a small portion of the inhabitants of the Colony itself. The Dutch I -fancy regarded the mountains simply as barriers or disagreeable -obstacles, and the English community which has come since has hardly as -yet achieved idleness sufficient for the true enjoyment of tourist -travelling.</p> - -<p>Robertson itself is not an interesting town, though it lies close under -the mountains. Why it should have missed the beauty of The Paarl, of -Ceres, and of Swellendam which we were about to visit, I can hardly say. -Probably its youth is against it. It has none of the quaintness of -Dutch<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_143" id="page_143">{143}</a></span> architecture; and the oaks,—for it has oaks,—are not yet large -enough to be thoroughly delightful. We found, however, in its -neighbourhood a modern little wood large enough to enable us to lose -ourselves, and were gratified by the excitement.</p> - -<p>I have said that in these districts, mountainous as they are, the -valleys are broad enough for agriculture, if only agriculture can be -made to pay. The fertility of the soil is apparent everywhere. Robertson -itself is devoted to the making of brandy, and its vineyards are -flourishing. Patches of corn were to be seen and trees had grown -luxuriantly here and there. It seemed that almost anything would grow. -But little or nothing useful will grow without the aid of other water -than that bestowed in the regular course of nature. “I plant as many -trees,” said the magistrate of the district, speaking to me of the -streets of the town, “as I can get convicts to water.” “Wheat;—oh yes, -I can grow any amount of wheat,” a farmer said to me in another place, -“where I can lead water.” In Messrs. Silver and Co.’s Guide book, page -99, I find the following passage in reference to the Cape Colony. “The -whole question of the storing of water by means of scientifically -constructed dams is one that cannot be too strongly urged on the Cape -Government.” Of the truth of this there can be no doubt, nor is the -district one in which the fall of rain is deficient, if the rain could -be utilized. It amounts to something over 24 inches annually, which -would suffice for all the purposes required if the supply given could be -made to flow upon the lands. But it falls in sudden storms, is attracted -by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_144" id="page_144">{144}</a></span> mountains, and then runs off into the rivers and down to the sea -without effecting those beneficent objects which I think we may say it -was intended to produce. The consequence is that agriculture is -everywhere patchy, and that the patches are generally small. The farmer -according to his means or according to his energy will subject 10, 20, -30, or 40 acres to artificial irrigation. When he does so he can produce -anything. When he does not do so he can produce nothing.<a name="FNanchor_11_11" id="FNanchor_11_11"></a><a href="#Footnote_11_11" class="fnanchor">[11]</a></p> - -<p>There are the mountains and the rains fall upon them, running off -uselessly to the ocean with their purpose unaccomplished. When we want -to store the rain water from our roof for domestic uses we construct -pipes and tanks and keep the blessing by us so as to have it when we -want it. The side of a mountain is much like the roof of a house,—only -larger. And the pipes are for the most part made to our hand by nature -in the shape of gullies, kloofs, and rivulets. It is but the tanks that -we want, and some adjustment as to the right of using them. This, if -ever done, must be done by the appliance of science, and I of all men am -the last to suggest how such appliance should be made. But that it is -practicable appears to be probable, and that if done it would greatly -increase the produce of the lands affected and the general well being of -the Colony no one can doubt. But the work is I fear beyond the compass -of private enterprise in a small community, and seems to be one which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_145" id="page_145">{145}</a></span> -requires the fostering hand of Government. If a Governor of the Cape -Colony,—or a Prime Minister,—could stop the waters as they rush down -from the mountains and spread them over the fields before they reach the -sea he would do more for the Colony than has been effected by any -conqueror of Kafirs.</p> - -<p>From Robertson we went a little off our road to Montague for the sake of -seeing Cogman’s Pass. That also is interesting though not as fine as -some others. Whence it has taken its name I could not discover. It was -suggested to me that it was so called because of its lizards;—and the -lizards certainly were there in great numbers. I could not find that -Cogman meant lizard either in Hottentot language or in Dutch. Nor did it -appear that any man of note of the name of Cogman had connected himself -with the road. But there is the Pass with its ugly name leading -gallantly and cleverly through the rocks into the little town of -Montague.</p> - -<p>Montague like Oudtshoorn and Robertson makes brandy, the Montague brandy -being, I was assured, equal to the Cango brandy which comes from -Oodtshoorn, and much superior to that made at Robertson. I tasted them -all round and declare them to be equally villainous. I was assured that -it was an acquired taste. I hope that I may not be called on to go -through the practice necessary for acquiring it. I shall perhaps be told -that I formed my judgment on the new spirit, and that the brandy ought -to be kept before it is used. I tried it new and old. The new spirit is -certainly the more venomous, but they are equally nasty. It is generally -called Cape Smoke. Let me warn my readers against Cape Smoke should they -ever visit South Africa.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_146" id="page_146">{146}</a></span></p> - -<p>At Montague, as we were waiting outside the inn for our cart, two sturdy -English beggars made their appearance before us, demanding charity. They -could get no work to do,—so they said,—in this accursed land, and -wanted money to buy bread. No work to do! And yet every farmer, every -merchant, every politician I had met and spoke with since I had put my -foot on South African soil, had sworn to me that the country was a -wretched country simply because labour could not be had! The two men had -Cape Smoke plainly developed in every feature of their repulsive faces. -As we were seated and could not rid ourselves of our countrymen without -running away, we entered into conversation with them. Not get work! It -was certainly false! They were on their way, they said, from the Eastern -Province. Had they tried the railway? We knew that at the present moment -labour was peculiarly wanted on the railway because of the disturbance -created by Kreli and his Galekas. For the disturbance of which I shall -speak in one of the concluding chapters of my work was then on hand. -“Yes,” said the spokesman who, as on all such occasions, was by far the -more disreputable of the two. “They had tried the railway, and had been -offered 2s. 6d. a day. They were not going to work along side of niggers -for 2s. 6d., which would only supply them with grub! Did we want real -Englishmen to do that?” We told them that certainly we did want real -Englishmen to earn their grub honestly and not to beg it; and then, -having endeavoured to shame them by calling them mean fellows, we were -of course obliged to give them money.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_147" id="page_147">{147}</a></span></p><p>Such rascals might turn up anywhere,—in any town in England much more -probably than in South Africa. But their condition as we saw them, and -the excuse which they made for their condition, were typical of the -state of labour in South Africa generally. The men, if worth anything, -could earn more than 2s. 6d. a day,—as no doubt those other men could -have done of whom I spoke some chapters back;—but an Englishman in -South Africa will not work along side of a coloured man on equal terms -with the coloured man. The English labourer who comes to South Africa -either rises to more than the labouring condition, or sinks to something -below it. And he will not be content simply to supply his daily wants. -He at once becomes filled with the idea that as a Colonist he should -make his fortune. If he be a good man,—industrious, able to abstain -from drink and with something above ordinary intelligence,—he does make -some fortune, more or less adequate. At any rate he rises in the world. -But if he have not those gifts,—then he falls, as had done those two -ugly reprobates.</p> - -<p>On our way from Montague to Swellendam, where was to be our next short -sojourn, our Cape cart broke down. The axle gave way, and we were left -upon the road;—or should have been left, some fifteen miles from -Montague in one direction and the same distance from Swellendam in the -other, had not the accident happened within sight of a farm house. As -farm houses occur about once in every six or seven miles, this was a -blessing; and was felt so very strongly when a young Dutch farmer came -at once to our rescue with another cart. “I might as well take it,” he -said with a smile when we offered him half a sovereign, “but<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_148" id="page_148">{148}</a></span> you’d have -had the cart all the same without it.” This was certainly true as we -were already taking our seats when the money was produced. I am bound to -say that I was never refused anything which I asked of a Dutchman in -South Africa. I must remark also that often as I broke down on my -travels,—and I did break down very often and sometimes in circumstances -that were by no means promising,—there always came a Deus ex machina -for my immediate relief. A generous Dutchman would lend me a horse or a -cart;—or a needy Englishman would appear with an animal to sell when -the getting of a horse under any circumstances had begun to appear -impossible. On one occasion a jibbing brute fell as he was endeavouring -to kick everything to pieces, and nearly cut his leg in two;—but a -kindhearted colonist appeared immediately on the scene, with a very -pretty girl in his cart, and took me on to my destination. And yet one -often travels hour after hour, throughout the whole day, without meeting -a fellow traveller.</p> - -<p>Swellendam is such another village as The Paarl, equally enticing, -equally full of oaks, though not equally long. From end to end it is but -three miles, while The Paarl measures eight. But the mountains at -Swellendam are finer than the mountains at The Paarl, and with the -exception of those immediately over George, are the loveliest which I -saw in the Colony. Swellendam is close under the Langeberg range,—so -near that the kloofs or wild ravines in the mountains can be reached by -an easy walk. They are very wild and picturesque, being thickly wooded, -but so deep that from a little distance the wood can hardly be seen. -Here at the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_149" id="page_149">{149}</a></span> foot of the hills were exquisite sites for country -houses,—to be built, perhaps, by the future coloured millionaires of -South Africa,—with grand opportunities for semi-tropical gardens, if -only the water from the mountains could be used. Oranges, grapes, and -bananas grow with the greatest profusion wherever water has been “led -on.” And yet it seems that the district is the very country for oaks. I -had found more oaks during this last little tour through a portion of -the Western Province of the Cape Colony than I have ever seen during the -same time in England.</p> - -<p>My kind host at Swellendam told me that it was imperative to go to the -Tradouw,—or Southey’s Pass through the mountains. The Tradouw is the -old Dutch name for the ravine which was used for a pass before the -present road was made. An energetic traveller will do as he is bid, -especially when he is in the hands of an energetic host. The traveller -wishes to see whatever is to be seen but has to be told what he should -see. To such commands I have generally been obedient. He is too often -told also what he should believe. Against this I have always -rebelled;—mutely if possible, but sometimes, under coercion, with -outspoken vehemence. “If it be true,” I have had to say, “that I mean to -write a book, I shall write my book and not yours.” But as to the seeing -of sights absolute obedience is the best. Therefore I allowed my host to -take me to the Tradouw, though my bones were all bruised and nearly -dislocated with Cape cart travelling and the sweet idea of a day of rest -under the Swellendam oaks had taken strong hold of my imagination. I was -amply repaid for my compliance.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_150" id="page_150">{150}</a></span></p> - -<p>On our way to the Tradouw we passed through a long straggling village -inhabited exclusively by coloured people, and called the Caledon -Missionary Institution. It had also some native name which I heard but -failed to note. It was under the charge of a Dutch pastor upon whom we -called and from whom I learned something of the present condition of the -location. I will say, however, before I describe the Institution, that -it is already doomed and its days numbered. That this should be its fate -was not at all marvellous to me. That it should have been allowed to -live so long was more surprising.</p> - -<p>The place is inhabited by and belongs to persons of colour to whom it -was originally granted as a “location” in which they might live. The -idea of course has been that as the Colonists made the lands of the -Colony their own, driving back the Hottentots without scruple, -exercising the masterdom of white men for the spoliation of the natives, -something should be secured to the inferior race, the giving of which -might be a balm to the conscience of the invader and at the same time -the means of introducing Christianity among the invaded, Nothing can be -better than the idea,—which has been that on which the South African -missionaries have always worked. Nor will I in this place assail the -wisdom of the undertaking at the time at which it was set on foot. -Whether anything better could then have been done may, perhaps, be -doubted. I venture only to express an opinion that in the present -condition of our South African Colonies all such Institutions are a -mistake. As the Caledon Institution is about to be brought to an end, I -may say this with the less chance of giving offence.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_151" id="page_151">{151}</a></span></p> - -<p>The last census taken of the population of the village gave its numbers -as 3,000. I was told that at present there might be perhaps 2,000 -coloured persons living there. I should have thought that to be a very -exaggerated number, judging from the size of the place and the number of -ruined and deserted huts, were it not that the statement was made to me -in a tone of depreciation rather than of boasting. “They call it three -thousand,” said the pastor, “but there are not more than two.” Looking -at the people as I passed through the village I should be inclined to -describe them as Hottentots, were it not for the common assertion that -the Hottentot race is extinct in these parts. The Institution was -originally intended for Hottentots, and the descendants of Hottentots -are now its most numerous inhabitants. That other blood has been mixed -with the Hottentot blood,—that of the negroes who were brought to the -Cape as slaves and of the white men who were the owners of the -slaves,—is true here as elsewhere. There is a church for the use of -these people,—and a school. Without these a missionary institution -would be altogether vain;—though, as I have stated some pages back, the -school belonging to the Institution at Pacaltsdorp had gone into -abeyance when I visited that place. Here the school was still -maintained; but I learned that the maximum number of pupils never -exceeded a hundred. Considering the amount of the population and the -fact that the children are not often required to be absent on the score -of work, I think I am justified in saying that the school is a failure. -M. Esselin in his schools at Worcester, which is a town of 4,000 -inhabitants of whom a large pro<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_152" id="page_152">{152}</a></span>portion are white, has an average -attendance of 500 coloured children. The attendance at the missionary -church is no better, the number of customary worshippers being the same -as that of the scholars,—namely a hundred. With these people there is -nothing to compel them to send their children to school, and nothing but -the eloquence of the pastor to induce them to go to church. The same may -be said as to all other churches and all other congregations. But we are -able to judge of the utility of a church by the force of example which -it creates. Among these people the very fashion of going to church is -dying out.</p> - -<p>But I was more intent, perhaps, on the daily employment than the -spiritual condition of these people, and asked whether it sent out girls -as maid-servants to the country around. The pastor assured me that he -was often unable to get a girl to assist his wife in the care of their -own children. The young women from the Missionary Institution do not -care for going into service.</p> - -<p>“But how do they live?” Then it was explained to me that each resident -in the Institution had a plot of ground of his own, and that he lived on -its produce, as far as it went, like any other estated gentleman. Then -the men would go out for a little sheep-shearing, or the picking of -Buchus in the Buchu season. The Buchu is a medicinal leaf which is -gathered in these parts and sent to Europe. Such an arrangement cannot -be for the welfare either of the Colony or of the people concerned. -Nothing but work will bring them into such communion with civilization -as to enable them to approach the condition of the white man. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_153" id="page_153">{153}</a></span> -arcadian idea of a coloured man with his wife and piccaninnies living -happily under the shade of his own fig tree and picking his own grapes -and oranges is very pretty in a book, and may be made interesting in a -sermon. But it is ugly enough in that reality in which the fig tree is -represented by a ruined mud-hut and the grapes and oranges by stolen -mutton. The sole effect of the missionary’s work has too often been that -of saving the Native from working for the white man. It was well that he -should be saved from slavery;—but to save him from other work is simply -to perpetuate his inferiority.</p> - -<p>The land at the Caledon Institution is the property of the resident -Natives. Each landowner can at present sell his plot with the sanction -of the Governor. In ten years’ time he will be enabled to sell it -without such sanction. The sooner he sells it and becomes a simple -labourer the better for all parties. I was told that the Governor’s -sanction is rarely if ever now refused.</p> - -<p>Then we went on to the Tradouw, and just at the entrance of the ravine -we came upon a party of coloured labourers, with a white man over them, -making bricks in the close vicinity of an extensive building. A party of -convicts was about to come to the spot for the purpose of mending the -road, and the bricks were being made so that a kitchen might be built -for the cooking of their food. The big building, I was told, had been -erected for the use of the convicts who a few years since had made the -road. But it had fallen out of repair, and the new kitchen was -considered necessary, though the number of men needed for the repair<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_154" id="page_154">{154}</a></span> -would not be very large, and they would be wanted only for a few months. -I naturally asked what would become of the kitchen afterwards,—which -seemed to be a spacious building containing a second apartment, to be -used probably as a scullery. The kitchen would again be deserted and -would become the property of the owner of the land. I afterwards heard -by chance of a contract for supplying mutton to the convicts at 6½d. -a pound,—a pound a day for each man;—and I also heard that convict -labour was supposed to be costly. The convicts are chiefly coloured -people. With such usage as they receive the supply, I should imagine, -would be ample. The ordinary Hottentot with his daily pound of mutton, -properly cooked in a first-class kitchen and nothing but convict labour -to do, would probably find himself very comfortable.</p> - -<p>Southey’s Pass,—so called from Mr. Southey who was Colonial Secretary -before the days of parliamentary government, and is now one of the -stoutest leaders of the opposition against the Ministers of the day,—is -seven miles from end to end and is very beautiful throughout. But it is -the mile at the end,—furthest from Swellendam,—in which it beats in -sublimity all the other South African passes which I saw, including even -the Montague Pass which crosses the Outiniqua mountains near George. -South Africa is so far off that I cannot hope to be able to excite -English readers to visit the Cape Colony for the sake of the -scenery,—though for those whose doctors prescribe a change of air and -habits and the temporary use of a southern climate I cannot imagine that -any trip should be more pleasant and service<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_155" id="page_155">{155}</a></span>able;—but I do think that -the inhabitants of Capetown and the neighbourhood should know more than -they do of the beauties of their own country. I have never seen rocks of -a finer colour or twisted about into grander forms than those which make -the walls of that part of Southey’s Pass which is furthest from -Swellendam.</p> - -<p>When we were in the ravine two small bucks called -Klip-springers,—springers that is among the stones,—were disturbed by -us and passing down from the road among the rocks, made their way to the -bottom of the ravine. Two dogs had followed the Hottentot who was -driving us, a terrier and a large mongrel hound, and at once got upon -the scent of the bucks. I shall never forget the energy of the Hottentot -as he rushed down from the road to a huge prominent rock which stood -over the gorge, so as to see the hunt as near as possible, or my own -excitement as I followed him somewhat more slowly. The ravine was so -narrow that the clamour of the two dogs sounded like the music of a pack -of hounds. The Hottentot as he leant forward over his perch was almost -beside himself with anxiety. Immediately beneath us, perhaps twenty feet -down, were two jutting stones separated from each other by about the -same distance, between which was a wall of rock with a slant almost -perpendicular and perfectly smooth, so that there could be no support to -the foot of any animal. Up to the first of these stones one of the -Klip-springers was hunted with the big hound close at his heels. From it -the easiest escape was by a leap to the other rock which the buck made -without a moment’s hesitation. But the dog could not follow. He knew the -distance to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_156" id="page_156">{156}</a></span> too great for his spring, and stood on his rock gazing -at his prey. Nor could the buck go further. The stone it occupied just -beneath ourselves was altogether isolated, and it stood there looking up -at us with its soft imploring eyes, while the Hottentot in his -excitement cheered on the dog to make the leap which the poor hound knew -to be too much for him. I cannot say which interested me most, the man -beside me, the little buck just below my feet, or the anxious eager -palpitating hound with his short sharp barks. There was no gun with us, -but the Hottentot got fragments of stone to throw at the quarry. Then -the buck knew that he must shift his ground if he meant to save himself, -and, marking his moment, he jumped back at the dog, and was then up -among the almost perpendicular rocks over our heads before the brute -could seize it. I have always been anxious for a kill when hunting, but -I was thoroughly rejoiced when that animal saved himself. The Hottentot -who was fond of venison did not at all share my feelings.</p> - -<p>This occurred about 22 miles from Swellendam, and delayed us a little. -My host, who had accompanied me, had asked a house full of friends to -dine with him at seven, and it was five when the buck escaped. South -African travelling is generally slow; but under the pressure of the -dinner party our horses were made to do the distance in an hour and -fifty minutes.</p> - -<p>From Swellendam we went on to Caledon another exquisitely clean little -Dutch town. The distance from Swellendam to Caledon is nearly eighty -miles, through the whole of which the road runs under the Zondereinde<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_157" id="page_157">{157}</a></span> -mountains through a picturesque country which produces some of the best -wool of the Colony. Caledon is another village of oak trees and pleasant -detached Dutch-looking houses, each standing in its own garden and never -mounting to a story above the ground. In winter no doubt the feeling -inspired by these village-towns would be different; but when they are -seen as I saw them, with the full foliage and the acorns on the oaks, -and the little gardens over-filled with their luxuriance of flowers, -with the streets as clean and shaded as the pet road through a -gentleman’s park, the visitor is tempted to repine because Fate did not -make him a wine-growing, orange-planting, ostrich-feeding Dutch farmer. -From Caledon we returned through East Somerset, a smaller village and -less attractive but still of the same nature, to Capetown, getting on to -the railway about twenty miles from the town at the Eerste River -Station. In making this last journey we had gone through or over two -other Passes, called How Hoek and Sir Lowry’s Pass. They are, both of -them, interesting enough for a visit from Capetown, but not sufficiently -so to be spoken of at much length after the other roads through the -mountains which I had seen. The route down from Sir Lowry’s Pass leads -to the coast of False Bay,—of which Simon’s Bay is an inlet. Between -False Bay to the South and Table Bay to the North is the flat isthmus -which forms the peninsula, on which stands Capetown and the Table -Mountains, the Southern point of which is the Cape of Good Hope.</p> - -<p>In this journey among the Dutch towns which lie around the capital I -missed Stellenbosch, which is, I am told, the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_158" id="page_158">{158}</a></span> most Dutch of them all. -As good Americans when dead go to Paris, so do good Dutchmen while still -alive go to Stellenbosch,—and more especially good Dutchwomen, for it -is a place much affected by widows. The whole of this country is so -completely Dutch that an Englishman finds himself to be altogether a -foreigner. The coloured people of all shades talk Dutch as their native -language. It is hard at first to get over the feeling that a man or -woman must be very ignorant who in an English Colony cannot speak -English, but the truth is that many of the people are much less ignorant -than they are at home with us, as they speak in some fashion both -English and Dutch. In the Eastern Province of the Colony, as in the -other Colonies and divisions of South Africa, the native speaks some -native language,—the Kafir, Zulu, or Bechuana language as the case may -be; but in the part of the Western Province of which I am -speaking,—that part which the Dutch have long inhabited,—there is no -native language left among the coloured people. Dutch has become their -language. The South African language from the mouths of Kafirs and Zulus -does not strike a stranger as being odd;—but Dutch volubility from -Hottentot lips does do so.</p> - -<p>I must not finish this short record of my journeys in the Western -Province of the Cape Colony without repeating the expression of my -opinion as to the beauty of the scenery and the special charms of the -small towns which I had visited.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_159" id="page_159">{159}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.<br /><br /> -<small>PORT ELIZABETH AND GRAHAMSTOWN.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">From</span> Capetown I went on by sea to Port Elizabeth or Algoa Bay, thus -travelling from the Western to the Eastern Province,—leaving the former -when I had as yet seen but little of its resources because it was -needful that I should make my tour through Natal and the Transvaal -before the rainy season had commenced.<a name="FNanchor_12_12" id="FNanchor_12_12"></a><a href="#Footnote_12_12" class="fnanchor">[12]</a> The run is one which -generally occupies from thirty to forty hours, and was effected by us -under the excellent auspices of Captain Travers in something but little -in excess of the shorter period. It rained during the whole of our -little journey, so that one could not get out upon the deck without a -ducking;—which was chiefly remarkable in that on shore every one was -complaining of drought and that for many weeks after my first arrival in -South Africa this useless rain at sea was the only rain that I saw. -Persons well instructed in their geography will know that Algoa Bay and -Port Elizabeth signify the same seaport,—as one might say that a ship -hailed from the Clyde or from Glasgow. The Union Steam Ship Company<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_160" id="page_160">{160}</a></span> -sends a first-class steamer once a month from Southampton to Algoa Bay, -without touching at Capetown.</p> - -<p>Port Elizabeth, as I walked away from the quay up to the club where I -took up my residence, seemed to be as clean, as straight, and as regular -as a first class American little town in the State of Maine. All the -world was out on a holyday. It was the birthday of the Duke of -Edinburgh, and the Port-Elizabethians observed it with a loyalty of -which we know nothing in England. Flags were flying about the ships in -the harbour and every shop was closed in the town. I went up all alone -with my baggage to the club, and felt very desolate. But everybody I met -was civil, and I found a bedroom ready for me such as would be an -Elysium, in vain to be sought for in a first class London hotel. My -comfort, I own, was a little impaired by knowing that I had turned a -hospitable South African out of his own tenement. On that first day I -was very solitary, as all the world was away doing honour somewhere to -the Duke of Edinburgh.</p> - -<p>In the evening I went out, still alone, for a walk and, without a guide, -found my way to the public park and the public gardens. I cannot say -that they are perfect in horticultural beauty and in surroundings, but -they are spacious, with ample room for improvement, well arranged as far -as they are arranged, and with a promise of being very superior to -anything of the kind at Capetown. The air was as sweet, I think, as any -that I ever breathed. Through them I went on, leaving the town between -me and the sea, on to a grassy illimitable heath on which, I told -myself, that with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_161" id="page_161">{161}</a></span> perseverance I might walk on till I came to Grand -Cairo. I had my stick in my hand and was prepared for any lion that I -might meet. But on this occasion I met no lion. After a while I found -myself descending into a valley,—a pretty little green valley -altogether out of sight of the town, and which as I was wending along -seemed at first to be an interruption in my way to the centre of the -continent. But as I approached the verge from which I could look down -into its bosom, I heard the sound of voices, and when I had reached a -rock which hung over it, I saw beneath me a ring, as it might be of -fairy folk, in full glee,—of folk, fairy or human, running hither and -thither with extreme merriment and joy. After standing awhile and gazing -I perceived that the young people of Port Elizabeth were playing -kiss-in-the-ring. Oh,—how long ago it was since I played -kiss-in-the-ring, and how nice I used to think it! It was many many -years since I had even seen the game. And these young people played it -with an energy and an ecstasy which I had never seen equalled. I walked -down, almost amongst them, but no one noticed me. I felt among them like -Rip Van Winkle. I was as a ghost, for they seemed not even to see me. -How the girls ran, and could always have escaped from the lads had they -listed, but always were caught round some corner out of the circle! And -how awkward the lads were in kissing, and how clever the girls in taking -care that it should always come off at last, without undue violence! But -it seemed to me that had I been a lad I should have felt that when all -the girls had been once kissed, or say twice,—and when every girl had -been<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_162" id="page_162">{162}</a></span> kissed twice round by every lad, the thing would have become tame, -and the lips unhallowed. But this was merely the cynicism of an old man, -and no such feeling interrupted the sport. There I left them when the -sun was setting, still hard at work, and returned sadly to my dinner at -the club.</p> - -<p>The land round the town, though well arranged for such purpose as that -just described, is not otherwise of a valuable nature. There seems to be -an unlimited commonage of grass, but of so poor and sour a kind that it -will not fatten and will hardly feed cattle. For sheep it is of no use -whatever. This surrounds the town, and when the weather is cool and the -air sweet, as it was when I visited the place, even the land round Port -Elizabeth is not without its charms. But I can understand that it would -be very hot in summer and that then the unshaded expanse would not be -attractive. There is not a tree to be seen.</p> - -<p>The town is built on a steep hill rising up from the sea, and is very -neat. The town hall is a large handsome building, putting its rival and -elder sister Capetown quite to shame. I was taken over a huge store in -which, it seemed to me, that every thing known and wanted in the world -was sold, from American agricultural implements down to Aberdeen red -herrings. The library and reading room, and public ball room or concert -hall, were perfect. The place contains only 15,000 inhabitants, but has -every thing needed for instruction, civilization and the general -improvement of the human race. It is built on the lines of one of those -marvellous American little towns in which philanthropy<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_163" id="page_163">{163}</a></span> and humanity -seem to have worked together to prevent any rational want.</p> - -<p>Ostrich feathers and wool are the staples of the place. I witnessed a -sale of feathers and was lost in wonder at the ingenuity of the -auctioneer and of the purchasers. They seemed to understand each other -as the different lots were sold, with an average of 30 seconds allowed -to each lot. To me it was simply marvellous, but I gathered that the -feathers were sold at prices varying from £5 to £25 a pound. They are -sold by the pound, but in lots which may weigh perhaps not more than a -few ounces each. I need only say further of Port Elizabeth that there -are churches, banks, and institutions fit for a town of ten times its -size,—and that its club is a pattern club, for all Colonial towns.</p> - -<p>Twenty miles north west of Port Elizabeth is the pleasant little town of -Uitenhage,—which was one of the spots peopled by the English emigrants -who came into the Eastern Province in 1820. It had previously been -settled and inhabited by Dutch inhabitants in 1804, but seems to have -owed its success to the coming of the English,—and is now part of an -English, as distinct from a Dutch Colony. It is joined to Port Elizabeth -by a railway which is being carried on to the more important town of -Graff Reynet. It is impossible to imagine a more smiling little town -than Uitenhage, or one in which the real comforts of life are more -accessible. There is an ample supply of water. The streets are well laid -out, and the houses well built. And it is surrounded by a group of -mountains, at thirty miles distance, varying from 3,000 to 6,000 feet in -height, which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_164" id="page_164">{164}</a></span> give a charm to the scenery around. It has not within -itself much appearance of business, but everything and everybody seems -to be comfortable. I was told that it is much affected by well-to-do -widows who go thither to spend the evenings of their lives and enjoy -that pleasant tea-and-toast society which is dear to the widowed heart. -Timber is generally scarce in South Africa;—but through the streets of -Uitenhage there are lovely trees, which were green and flowering when I -was there in the month of August, warning me that the spring and then -the heats of summer were coming on me all too soon.</p> - -<p>During the last few years a special industry has developed itself at -Uitenhage,—that of washing wool by machinery. As this is all carried -on, not in stores or manufactories within the place, but at suburban -mills placed along the banks of the river Swartzcop outside the town, -they do not affect the semi-rural and widow-befitting aspect of the -place. I remarked to the gentleman who was kindly driving me about the -place that the people I saw around me seemed to be for the most part -coloured. This he good-humouredly resented, begging that I would not go -away and declare that Uitenhage was not inhabited by a white population. -I have no doubt that my friend has a large circle of white friends, and -that Uitenhage has a pure-blooded aristocracy. Were I to return there, -as I half promised, for the sake of meeting the charming ladies whom he -graciously undertook to have gathered together for my gratification, I -am sure that I should have found this to be the case. But still I -maintain that the people are a coloured people. I saw no<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_165" id="page_165">{165}</a></span> white man who -looked as though he earned his bread simply with his hands. I was driven -through a street of pleasant cottages, and in asking who lived in the -best looking of the lot I was told that he was an old Hottentot. The men -working at the washing machines were all Kafirs,—earning on an average -3s. 6d. a day. It is from such evidence as this that we have to form an -opinion whether the so called savage races of South Africa may or may -not ultimately be brought into habits of civilization. After visiting -one of the washing mills and being driven about the town we returned to -Port Elizabeth to dine.</p> - -<p>Starting from Port Elizabeth I had to commence the perils of South -African travel. These I was well aware would not come from lions, -buffaloes, or hippopotamuses,—nor even, to such a traveller as myself, -from Kafirs or Zulus,—but simply from the length, the roughness and the -dustiness of roads. I had been told before I left England that a man of -my age ought not to make the attempt because the roads were so long, so -rough,—and so dusty. In travelling round the coast there is nothing to -be dreaded. The discomforts are simply of a marine nature, and may -easily be borne by an old traveller. The terrible question of luggage -does not disturb his mind. He may carry what he pleases and revel in -clean shirts. But when he leaves the sea in South Africa every ounce has -to be calculated. When I was told at Capetown that on going up from -Natal to the Transvaal I should be charged 4s. extra for every pound I -carried above fifteen I at once made up my mind to leave my bullock -trunk at Government House. At Port<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_166" id="page_166">{166}</a></span> Elizabeth a gentleman was very kind -in planning my journey for me thence up to Grahamstown, King -Williamstown &c.,—but, on coming into my bed room, he strongly -recommended me to leave my portmanteau and dispatch box behind me, to be -taken on, somewhither, by water, and to trust myself to two bags. So I -tied on addresses to the tabooed receptacles of my remaining comforts, -and started on my way with a very limited supply of wearing apparel. In -the selection which one is driven to make with an agonized mind,—when -the bag has been stamped full to repletion with shirts, boots, and the -blue books which are sure to be accumulated for the sake of statistics, -the first thing to be rejected is one’s dress suit. A man can live -without a black coat, waistcoat, and trousers. But so great is colonial -hospitality wherever the traveller goes, and so similar are colonial -habits to those at home, that there will always come a time,—there will -come many times,—in which the traveller will feel that he has left -behind him the very articles which he most needed, and that the blue -books should have been made to give way to decent raiment. These are -difficulties which at periods become almost heartbreaking. Nevertheless -I made the decision and rejected the dress suit. And I trusted myself to -two pair of boots. And I allowed my treasures to be taken from me, with -a hope that I might see them again some day in the further Colony of -Natal.</p> - -<p>From Port Elizabeth there is a railway open on the road to Grahamstown -as far as a wretched place called Sand Flat. From thence we started in a -mail cart,—or Cob<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_167" id="page_167">{167}</a></span>b’s omnibus as it is called. The whole distance to -Grahamstown is about 70 miles, and the journey was accomplished in -eleven hours. The country through which we passed is not favourable for -agriculture or even for pasture. Much of it was covered with bush, and -on that which is open the grass is too sour for sheep. It is indeed -called the Zuurveld, or sour-field country. But as we approached -Grahamstown it improved, and farming operations with farm steads,—at -long distances apart,—came in view. For some miles round Port Elizabeth -there is nothing but sour grass and bush and the traveller inspecting -the country is disposed to ask where is the fertility and where the -rural charms which produced the great effort at emigration in 1820, when -5,000 persons were sent out from England into this district. The Kafirs -had driven out the early Dutch settlers, and the British troops had -driven out the Kafirs. But the country remained vacant, and £50,000 was -voted by Parliament to send out what was then a Colony in itself, that -the land might be occupied. But it is necessary to travel forty or fifty -miles from Port Elizabeth, or Algoa Bay, before the fertility is -discovered.</p> - -<p>Grahamstown when it is reached is a smiling little town lying in a -gentle valley on an elevated plateau 1,700 feet above the sea. It -contains between eight and nine thousand inhabitants of whom a third are -coloured. The two-thirds are almost exclusively British, the Dutch -element having had little or no holding in this small thriving capital -of the Eastern Province. For Grahamstown is the capital of the East, and -there are many there who think that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_168" id="page_168">{168}</a></span> it should become a Capital of a -Colony, whether by separation of the East from the West, or by a general -federation of South African States—in which case the town would, they -think, be more eligible than any other for all the general honours of -government and legislation. I do not know but that on the whole I am -inclined to agree with them. I think that if there were an united South -Africa, and that a site for a capital had to be chosen afresh, as it was -chosen in Canada, Grahamstown would receive from an outside commission -appointed to report on the matter, more votes than any other town. But I -am far from thinking that Grahamstown will become the capital of a South -African Confederation.</p> - -<p>The people of Grahamstown are very full of their own excellencies. No -man there would call his town a “beastly place.” The stranger on the -other hand is invited freely to admire its delights, the charm of its -position up above the heat and the musquitoes, the excellence of its -water supply, the multiplicity of its gardens, the breadth and -prettiness of its streets, its salubrity,—for he is almost assured that -people at Grahamstown never die,—and the perfection of its -Institutions. And the clock tower appended to the cathedral! The clock -tower which is the work of the energetic Dean was when I was there,—not -finished indeed for there was the spire to come,—but still so far -erected as to be a conspicuous and handsome object to all the country -round. The clock tower was exercising the minds of men very much, and -through a clever manœuvre,—originating I hope with the Dean,—is -supposed to be a town-clock tower<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_169" id="page_169">{169}</a></span> and not an appanage of the cathedral. -In this way all denominations have been got to subscribe, and yet, if -you were not told to the contrary, you would think that the tower -belongs to the cathedral as surely as its dome belongs to St. Paul’s.</p> - -<p>In truth Grahamstown is a very pretty town, and seen, as it is on all -sides, from a gentle eminence, smiles kindly on those who enter it. The -British troops who guarded the frontier from our Kafir enemies were -formerly stationed here. As the Kafirs have been driven back eastwards, -so have the troops been moved in the same direction and they are now -kept at King Williamstown about 50 miles to the North East of -Grahamstown, and nearer to the Kei river which is the present boundary -of the Colony;—or was till the breaking out of the Kafir disturbance in -1877. The barracks at Grahamstown still belong to the Imperial -Government, as does the castle at Capetown, and are let out for various -purposes. Opening from the barrack grounds are the public gardens which -are pretty and well kept. Grahamstown altogether gives the traveller an -idea of a healthy, well-conditioned prosperous little town, in which it -would be no misfortune to be called upon to live. And yet I was told -that I saw it under unfavourable circumstances, as there had been a -drought for some weeks, and the grasses were not green.</p> - -<p>I was taken from Grahamstown to see an ostrich farm about fifteen miles -distant. The establishment belongs to Mr. Douglas, who is I believe -among the ostrich farmers of the Colony about the most successful and -who was if not the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_170" id="page_170">{170}</a></span> first, the first who did the work on a large scale. -He is, moreover, the patentee for an egg-hatching machine, or incubator, -which is now in use among many of the feather-growers of the district. -Mr. Douglas occupies about 1,200 acres of rough ground, formerly devoted -to sheep-farming. The country around was all used not long since as -sheep walks, but seems to have so much deteriorated by changes in the -grasses as to be no longer profitable for that purpose. But it will feed -ostriches.</p> - -<p>At this establishment I found about 300 of those birds, which, taking -them all round, young and old, were worth about £30 a piece. Each bird -fit for plucking gives two crops of feathers a year, and produces, on an -average, feathers to the value of £15 per annum. The creatures feed -themselves unless when sick or young, and live upon the various bushes -and grasses of the land. The farm is divided out into paddocks, and, -with those which are breeding, one cock with two hens occupies each -paddock. The young birds,—for they do not breed till they are three -years old,—or those which are not paired, run in flocks of thirty or -forty each. They are subject to diseases which of course require -attention, and are apt to damage themselves, sometimes breaking their -own bones, and getting themselves caught in the wire fences. Otherwise -they are hardy brutes, who can stand much heat and cold, can do for long -periods without water, who require no delicate feeding, and give at -existing prices ample returns for the care bestowed upon them.</p> - -<p>But, nevertheless, ostrich farming is a precarious venture. The birds -are of such value, a full grown bird in perfect<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_171" id="page_171">{171}</a></span> health being worth as -much as £75, that there are of course risks of great loss. And I doubt -whether the industry has, as yet, existed long enough for those who -employ it to know all its conditions. The two great things to do are to -hatch the eggs, and then to pluck or cut the feathers, sort them, and -send them to the market. I think I may say that ostrich farming without -the use of an incubator can never produce great results. The birds -injure their feathers by sitting and at every hatching lose two months. -There is, too, great uncertainty as to the number of young birds which -will be produced, and much danger as to the fate of the young bird when -hatched. An incubator seems to be a necessity for ostrich farming. -Surely no less appropriate word was ever introduced into the language, -for it is a machine expressly invented to render unnecessary the process -of incubation. The farmer who devotes himself to artificial hatching -provides himself with an assortment of dummy eggs,—consisting of -eggshells blown and filled with sand,—and with these successfully -allures the hens to lay. The animals are so large and the ground is so -open that there is but little difficulty in watching them and in -obtaining the eggs. As each egg is worth nearly £5 I should think that -they would be open to much theft when the operation becomes more -general, but as yet there has not come up a market for the receipt of -stolen goods. When found they are brought to the head quarters and kept -till the vacancy occurs for them in the machine.</p> - -<p>The incubator is a low ugly piece of deal furniture standing on four -legs, perhaps eight or nine feet long. At each<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_172" id="page_172">{172}</a></span> end there are two -drawers in which the eggs are laid with a certain apparatus of flannel, -and these drawers by means of screws beneath them are raised or lowered -to the extent of two or three inches. The drawer is lowered when it is -pulled out, and is capable of receiving a fixed number of eggs. I saw, I -think, fifteen in one. Over the drawers and along the top of the whole -machine there is a tank filled with hot water, and the drawer when -closed is screwed up so as to bring the side of the egg in contact with -the bottom of the tank. Hence comes the necessary warmth. Below the -machine and in the centre of it a lamp, or lamps, are placed which -maintain the heat that is required. The eggs lie in the drawer for six -weeks, and then the bird is brought out.</p> - -<p>All this is simple enough, and yet the work of hatching is most -complicated and requires not only care but a capability of tracing -results which is not given to all men. The ostrich turns her egg -frequently, so that each side of it may receive due attention. The -ostrich farmer must therefore turn his eggs. This he does about three -times a day. A certain amount of moisture is required, as in nature -moisture exudes from the sitting bird. The heat must be moderated -according to circumstances or the yolk becomes glue and the young bird -is choked. Nature has to be followed most minutely, and must be observed -and understood before it can be followed. And when the time for birth -comes on the ostrich farmer must turn midwife and delicately assist the -young one to open its shell, having certain instruments for the purpose. -And when he has performed his obstetrical<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_173" id="page_173">{173}</a></span> operations he must become a -nursing mother to the young progeny who can by no means walk about and -get his living in his earliest days. The little chickens in our farm -yards seem to take the world very easily; but they have their mother’s -wings, and we as yet hardly know all the assistance which is thus given -to them. But the ostrich farmer must know enough to keep his young ones -alive, or he will soon be ruined,—for each bird when hatched is -supposed to be worth £10. The ostrich farmer must take upon himself all -the functions of the ostrich mother, and must know all that instinct has -taught her, or he will hardly be successful.</p> - -<p>The birds are plucked before they are a year old, and I think that no -one as yet knows the limit of age to which they will live and be -plucked. I saw birds which had been plucked for sixteen years and were -still in high feather. When the plucking time has come the necessary -number of birds are enticed by a liberal display of mealies,—as maize -or Indian corn is called in South Africa,—into a pen one side of which -is moveable. The birds will go willingly after mealies, and will run -about their paddocks after any one they see, in the expectation of these -delicacies. When the pen is full the moveable side is run in, so that -the birds are compressed together beyond the power of violent -struggling. They cannot spread their wings or make the dart forward -which is customary to them when about to kick. Then men go in among -them, and taking up their wings pluck or cut their feathers. Both -processes are common but the former I think is most so, as being the -more<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_174" id="page_174">{174}</a></span> profitable. There is a heavier weight to sell when the feather is -plucked; and the quil begins to grow again at once, whereas the process -is delayed when nature is called upon to eject the stump. I did not see -the thing done, but I was assured that the little notice taken by the -animal of the operation may be accepted as proof that the pain, if any, -is slight. I leave this question to the decision of naturalists and -anti-vivisectors.</p> - -<p>The feathers are then sorted into various lots, the white primary -outside rim from under the bird’s wing being by far the most -valuable,—being sold, as I have said before, at a price as high as £25 -a pound. The sorting does not seem to be a difficult operation and is -done by coloured men. The produce is then packed in boxes and sent down -to be sold at Port Elizabeth by auction.</p> - -<p>As far as I saw all labour about the place was done by black men except -that which fell to the lot of the owner and two or three young men who -lived with him and were learning the work under his care. These black -men were Kafirs, Fingos, or Hottentots—so called, who lived each in his -own hut with his wife and family. They received 26s. a month and their -diet,—which consisted of two pound of meat and two pound of mealies a -day each. The man himself could not eat this amount of food, but would -no doubt find it little enough with his wife and children. With this he -has permission to build his hut about the place, and to burn his -master’s fuel. He buys coffee if he wants it from his master’s store, -and in his present condition generally does want it. When in his hut he -rolls himself in his<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_175" id="page_175">{175}</a></span> blanket, but when he comes out to his work attires -himself in some more or less European apparel according to regulation. -He is a good humoured fellow, whether by nature a hostile Kafir, or a -submissive Fingo, or friendly Basuto, and seems to have a pleasure in -being enquired into and examined as to his Kafir habits. But, if -occasion should arise, he would probably be a rebel. On this very spot -where I was talking to him, the master of the farm had felt himself -compelled during the last year,—1876—to add a couple of towers to his -house so that in the event of an attack he might be able to withdraw his -family from the reach of shot, and have a guarded platform from whence -to fire at his enemies. Whether or not the danger was near as he thought -it last year I am unable to say; but there was the fact that he had -found it necessary so to protect himself only a few months since within -twenty miles of Grahamstown! Such absence of the feeling of security -must of course be injurious if not destructive to all industrial -operations.</p> - -<p>I may add with regard to ostrich farming that I have heard that 50 per -cent. per annum on the capital invested has been not uncommonly made. -But I have heard also that all the capital invested has not been -unfrequently lost. It must be regarded as a precarious business and one -which requires special adaptation in the person who conducts it. And to -this must be added the fact that it depends entirely on a freak of -fashion. Wheat and wool, cotton and coffee, leather and planks men will -certainly continue to want, and of these things the value will -undoubtedly be maintained by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_176" id="page_176">{176}</a></span> competition for their possession. But -ostrich feathers may become a drug. When the nurse-maid affects them the -Duchess will cease to do so.</p> - -<p>Grahamstown is served by two ports. There is the port of Port Elizabeth -in Algoa Bay which I have already described as a thriving town and one -from which a railway is being made across the country, with a branch to -Grahamstown. All the mail steamers from England to Capetown come on to -Algoa Bay, and there is also a direct steamer from Plymouth once a -month. The bulk of the commerce for the whole adjacent district comes no -doubt to Port Elizabeth. But the people of Grahamstown affect Port -Alfred, which is at the mouth of the Kowie river and only 35 miles -distant from the Eastern Capital. I was therefore taken down to see Port -Alfred.</p> - -<p>I went down on one side of the river by a four-horsed cart as far as the -confluence of the Mansfield, and thence was shewn the beauties of the -Kowie river by boat. Our party dined and slept at Port Alfred, and on -the following day we came back to Grahamstown by cart on the other side -of the river. I was perhaps more taken with the country which I saw than -with the harbour, and was no longer at a loss to know where was the land -on which the English settlers of 1820 were intended to locate -themselves. We passed through a ruined village called Bathurst,—a -village ruined while it was yet young, than which nothing can be more -painful to behold. Houses had been built again, but almost every house -had at one time,—that is in the Kafir war of 1850,—been either burnt -or left to desola<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_177" id="page_177">{177}</a></span>tion. And yet nothing can be more attractive than the -land about Bathurst, either in regard to picturesque situation or -fertility. The same may be said of the other bank of this river. It is -impossible to imagine a fairer district to a farmer’s eye. It will grow -wheat, but it will also grow on the slopes of the hills, cotton and -coffee. It is all possessed, and generally all cultivated;—but it can -hardly be said to be inhabited by white men, so few are they and so -far-between. A very large proportion of the land is let out to Kafirs -who pay a certain sum for certain rights and privileges. He is to build -his hut and have enough land to cultivate for his own purposes, and -grass enough for his cattle;—and for these he contracts to pay perhaps -£10 per annum, or more, or less, according to circumstances. I was -assured that the rent is punctually paid. But this mode of disposing of -the land, excellent for all purposes as it is, has not arisen of choice -but of necessity. The white farmer knows that as yet he can have no -security if he himself farms on a large scale. Next year there may be -another scare, and then a general attack from the Kafirs; or the very -scare if there be no attack, frightens away his profits;—or, as has -happened before, the attack may come without the scare. The country is a -European country,—belongs that is to white men,—but it is full of -Kafirs;—and then, but a hundred miles away to the East, is Kafraria -Proper where the British law does not rule even yet.</p> - -<p>No one wants to banish the Kafirs. Situated as the country is and will -be, it cannot exist without Kafirs, because the Kafirs are the only -possible labourers. To<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_178" id="page_178">{178}</a></span> utilize the Kafir and not to expel him must be -the object of the white man. Speaking broadly it may be said of the -Colony, or at any rate of the Eastern district, that it has no white -labourers for agricultural purposes. The Kafir is as necessary to the -Grahamstown farmer as is his brother negro to the Jamaica sugar grower. -But, for the sake both of the Kafir and of the white man, some further -assurance of security is needed. I am inclined to think that more evil -is done both to one and the other by ill defined fear than by actual -danger.</p> - -<p>Along the coast of the Colony there are various sea ports, none of which -are very excellent as to their natural advantages, but each of which -seems to have a claim to consider itself the best. There is Capetown of -course with its completed docks, and Simon’s Bay on the other side of -the Cape promontory which is kept exclusively for our men of war. Then -the first port, eastwards, at which the steamers call is Mossel Bay. -These are the chief harbours of the Western Province. On the coast of -the Eastern Province there are three ports between which a considerable -jealousy is maintained, Port Elizabeth, Port Alfred, and East London. -And as there is rivalry between the West and East Provinces, so is there -between these three harbours. Port Elizabeth I had seen before I came up -to Grahamstown. From Grahamstown I travelled to Port Alfred, taken -thither by two patriotic hospitable and well-instructed gentlemen who -thoroughly believed that the commerce of the world was to flow into -Grahamstown via Port Alfred, and that the overflowing produce of South -Africa will, at some not far<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_179" id="page_179">{179}</a></span> distant happy time, be dispensed to the -various nations from the same favoured harbour. “Statio bene fida -carinis,” was what I heard all the way down,—or rather promises of -coming security and marine fruitfulness which are to be results of the -works now going on. It was all explained to me,—how ships which now -could not get over the bar would ride up the quiet little river in -perfect safety, and take in and discharge their cargoes on comfortable -wharves at a very minimum of expense. And then, when this should have -been completed, the railway from the Kowie’s mouth up to Grahamstown -would be a certainty, even though existing governments had been so -shortsighted as to make a railway from Port Elizabeth to -Grahamstown—carrying goods and passengers ever so far out of their -proper course.</p> - -<p>It is a matter on which I am altogether unable to speak with any -confidence. Neither at Port Elizabeth, or at the mouth of the Kowie -where stands Port Alfred, or further eastwards at East London of which I -must speak in a coming chapter, has Nature done much for mariners, and -the energy shown to overcome obstacles at all these places has certainly -been very great. The devotion of individuals to their own districts and -to the chances of prosperity not for themselves so much as for their -neighbours, is almost sad though it is both patriotic and generous. The -rivalry between places which should act together as one whole is -distressing;—but the industry of which I speak will surely have the -results which industry always obtains. I decline to prophesy whether -there will be within the next dozen years a railway from Port Alfred to -Grahamstown,—or<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_180" id="page_180">{180}</a></span> whether the goods to be consumed at the Diamond Fields -and in the Orange Free State will ever find their way to their -destinations by the mouth of the Kowie;—but I think I can foresee that -the enterprise of the people concerned will lead to success.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_181" id="page_181">{181}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.<br /><br /> -<small>BRITISH KAFRARIA.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">It</span> is not improbable that many Englishmen who have not been altogether -inattentive to the course of public affairs as affecting Great Britain -may be unaware that we once possessed in South Africa a separate colony -called British Kafraria, with a governor of its own, and a form of -government altogether distinct from that of its big brother the Cape -Colony. Such however is the fact, though the territory did not, perhaps, -attract much notice at the time of its annexation. Some years after the -last Kafir war which may have the year 1850 given to it as its date, and -after that wonderful Kafir famine which took place in 1857,—the famine -which the natives created for themselves by destroying their own cattle -and their own food,—British Kafraria was made a separate colony and was -placed under the rule of Colonel Maclean. The sanction from England for -the arrangement had been long given, but it was not carried out till -1860. It was not intended that the country should be taken away from the -Kafirs;—but only the rule over the country, and the privilege of living -in accordance with their own customs. Nor was this privilege abrogated -all at once, or abruptly. Gradually and piecemeal they were to be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_182" id="page_182">{182}</a></span> -introduced to what we call civilization. Gradually and piecemeal the -work is still going on,—and so progressing that there can hardly be a -doubt that as far as their material condition is concerned we have done -well with the Kafirs. The Kafir Chiefs may feel,—certainly do -feel,—that they have been aggrieved. They have been as it were knocked -about, deprived of their power, humiliated and degraded, and, as far as -British Kafraria is concerned, made almost ridiculous in the eyes of -their own people. But the people themselves have been relieved from the -force of a grinding tyranny. They increase and multiply because they are -no longer driven to fight and be slaughtered in the wars which the -Chiefs were continually waging for supremacy among each other. What -property they acquire they can hold without fear of losing it by -arbitrary force. They are no longer subject to the terrible -superstitions which their Chiefs have used for keeping them in -subjection. Their huts are better, and their food more constantly -sufficient. Many of them work for wages. They are partially -clothed,—sometimes with such grotesque partiality as quite to justify -the comical stories which we have heard at home as to Kafir full dress. -But the habit of wearing clothes is increasing among them. In the towns -they are about as well clad as the ordinary Irish beggar,—and as the -traveller recedes from the towns he perceives that this raiment -gradually gives way to blankets and red clay. But to have got so far as -the Irish beggar condition in twenty years is very much, and the custom -is certainly spreading itself. The Kafir who has assiduously worn -breeches for a year does feel, not a moral<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_183" id="page_183">{183}</a></span> but a social shame, at going -without them. As I have no doubt whatever that the condition of these -people has been improved by our coming, and that British rule has been -on the whole beneficent to them, I cannot but approve of the annexation -of British Kafraria. But I doubt whether when it was done the -justification was as complete as in those former days, twenty years -before, when Lord Glenelg reprimanded Sir Benjamin D’Urban for the -extension he made in the same territory, and drew back the borders of -British sovereignty, and restored their lands and their prestige and -their customs to the natives, and declared himself willing to be -responsible for all results that might follow,—results which at last -cost so much British blood and so much British money!</p> - -<p>The difficult question meets one at every corner in South Africa. What -is the duty of the white man in reference to the original inhabitant? -The Kafir Chief will say that it is the white man’s duty to stay away -and not to touch what does not belong to him. The Dutch Colonist will -say that it is the white man’s duty to make the best he can of the good -things God has provided for his use,—and that as the Kafir in his -natural state is a bad thing he should either be got rid of, or made a -slave. In either assertion there is an intelligible purpose capable of a -logical argument. But the Briton has to go between the two, wavering -much between the extremes of philanthropy and expansive energy. He knows -that he has to get possession of the land and use it, and is determined -that he will do so;—but he knows also that it is wrong to take what -does not belong to him<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_184" id="page_184">{184}</a></span> and wrong also to treat another human being with -harshness. And therefore with one hand he waves his humanitarian -principles over Exeter Hall while with the other he annexes Province -after Province. As I am myself a Briton I am not a fair critic of the -proceeding;—but it does seem to me that he is upon the whole -beneficent, though occasionally very unjust.</p> - -<p>After the wars, when this Kafraria had become British, a body of German -emigrants were induced to come here who have thriven wonderfully upon -the land,—as Germans generally do. The German colonist is a humble hard -working parsimonious man, who is content as long as he can eat and drink -in security and put by a modicum of money. He cares but little for the -form of government to which he is subjected, but is very anxious as to a -market for his produce. He is unwilling to pay any wages, but is always -ready to work himself and to make his children work. He lives at first -in some small hovel which he constructs for himself, and will content -himself with maize instead of meat till he has put by money enough for -the building of a neat cottage. And so he progresses till he becomes -known in the neighbourhood as a man who has money at the bank. Nothing -probably has done more to make Kafraria prosperous than this emigration -of Germans.</p> - -<p>But British Kafraria did not exist long as a separate possession of the -Crown, having been annexed to the Cape Colony in 1864. From that time it -has formed part of the Eastern Province. It has three thriving English -towns, King-Williamstown, the capital, East London the port, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_185" id="page_185">{185}</a></span> -Queenstown, further up the country than King-Williamstown;—towns which -are peculiarly English though the country around is either cultivated by -German farmers or held by Kafir tenants. The district is still called -British Kafraria. I myself have some very dim remembrance of British -Kafraria as a Colony, but like other places in the British empire it has -been absorbed by degrees without much notice at home.</p> - -<p>Starting from Grahamstown on a hired Cape cart I entered British -Kafraria somewhere between that town and Fort Beaufort. A “Cape cart” is -essentially a South African vehicle, and is admirably adapted for the -somewhat rough roads of the country. Its great merit is that it travels -on only two wheels;—but then so does our English gig. But the English -gig carries only two passengers while the Cape cart has room for -four,—or even six. The Irish car no doubt has both these -merits,—carries four and runs on two wheels; but the wheels are -necessarily so low that they are ill adapted for passing serious -obstructions. And the Cape cart can be used with two horses, or four as -the need may be. A one-horse vehicle is a thing hardly spoken of in -South Africa, and would meet with more scorn than it does even in the -States. But the chief peculiarity of the Cape cart is the yoke of the -horses, which is somewhat similar in its nature to that of the curricle -which used to be very dangerous and very fashionable in the days of -George IV. With us a pair of horses is now always connected with four -wheels, and with the idea of security which four wheels give. Though the -horse may tumble down the vehicle<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_186" id="page_186">{186}</a></span> stands. It was not so with the -curricle. When a horse fell, he would generally bring down his comrade -horse with him, and then the vehicle would go,—to the almost certain -destruction of the pole and the imminent danger of the passengers. But -with the Cape cart the bar, instead of passing over the horse’s -back—the bar on which the vehicle must rest when for a moment it loses -its balance on the two wheels with a propulsion forwards—passes under -the horses’ necks, with straps appended to the collars. I have never -seen a horse fall with one of them;—but I can understand that when such -an accident happens the falling horse should not bring the other animal -down with him. The advantage of having two high wheels,—and only -two,—need not be explained to any traveller.</p> - -<p>On the way to Fort Beaufort I passed by Fort Brown,—a desolate barrack -which was heretofore employed for the protection of the frontier when -Grahamstown was the frontier city. I arrived there by a fine pass, -excellently well engineered, through the mountains, called the Queen’s -Road,—very picturesque from the shape of the hills, though desolate -from the absence of trees. But at Fort Brown the beauty was gone and -nothing but the desolation remained. The Fort stands just off the road, -on a plain, and would hold perhaps 40 or 50 men. I walked up to it and -found one lonely woman who told me that she was the wife of a policeman -stationed at some distant place. It had become the fate of her life to -live here in solitude, and a more lonely creature I never saw. She was -clean and pleasant and talked well;—but she declared that unless she -was soon<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_187" id="page_187">{187}</a></span> liberated from Fort Brown she must go mad. She was eloquent in -favour of hard work, declaring that there was nothing else which could -give a real charm to life;—but perhaps she had been roused to that -feeling by knowing that there was not a job to be done upon the earth to -which in her present circumstances she could turn her hand. Optat arare -caballus. She told me of a son who was employed in one of the distant -provinces, and bade me find him if I could and tell him of his mother. -“Tell him to think of me here all alone,” she said. I tried to execute -my commission but failed to find the man.</p> - -<p>I had intended sleeping at Fort Beaufort and on going from thence up the -Catsberg Mountain. But I was prevented by the coming of a gentleman, a -Wesleyan minister, who was very anxious that I should see the Kafir -school at Healdtown over which he presided. From first to last through -my tour I was subject to the privileges and inconveniences of being -known as a man who was going to write a book. I never said as much to -any one in South Africa,—or even admitted it when interrogated. I could -not deny that I possibly might do so, but I always protested that my -examiner had no right to assume the fact. All this, however, was quite -vain as coming from one who had written so much about other Colonies, -and was known to be so inveterate a scribbler as myself. Then the -argument, though never expressed in plain words, would take, in -suggested ideas, the following form. “Here you are in South Africa, and -you are going to write about us. If so I,—or we, or my or our -Institution, have an absolute claim to a certain<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_188" id="page_188">{188}</a></span> portion of your -attention. You have no right to pass our town by, and then to talk of -the next town merely because such an arrangement will suit your -individual comfort!” Then I would allege the shortness of my time. “Time -indeed! Then take more time. Here am I,—or here are we, doing our very -best; and we don’t intend to be passed by because you don’t allow -yourself enough of time for your work.” When all this was said on behalf -of some very big store, or perhaps in favour of a pretty view, or—as -has been the case,—in pride at the possession of a little cabbage -garden, I have been apt to wax wroth and to swear that I was my own -master;—but a Kafir missionary school, to which some earnest Christian -man, with probably an earnest Christian wife, devotes a life in the hope -of making fresh water flow through the dry wilderness, has claims, -however painful they may be at the moment. This gentleman had come into -Fort Beaufort on purpose to catch me. And as he was very eloquent, and -as I did feel a certain duty, I allowed myself to be led away by him. I -fear that I went ungraciously, and I know that I went unwillingly. It -was just four o’clock and, having had no luncheon, I wanted my dinner. I -had already established myself in a very neat little sitting-room in the -Inn, and had taken off my boots. I was tired and dusty, and was about to -wash myself. I had been on the road all day, and the bedroom offered to -me looked sweet and clean;—and there was a pretty young lady at the Inn -who had given me a cup of tea to support me till dinner should be ready. -I was anxious also about the Catsberg Mountain, which under the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_189" id="page_189">{189}</a></span> -minister’s guidance I should lose, at any rate for the present. I spoke -to the minister of my dinner;—but he assured me that an hour would take -me out to his place at Healdtown. He clearly thought,—and clearly -said,—that it was my duty to go, and I acceded. He promised to convey -me to the establishment in an hour,—but it was two hours and a half -before we were there. He allured me by speaking of the beauty of the -road,—but it was pitch dark all the way. It was eight o’clock before my -wants were supplied, and by that time I hated Kafir children thoroughly.</p> - -<p>Of Healdtown and Lovedale,—a much larger Kafir school,—I will speak in -the next chapter, which shall be exclusively educational. Near to -Lovedale is the little town of Alice in which I stayed two days with the -hospitable doctor. He took me out for a day’s hunting as it is called, -which in that benighted country means shooting. I must own here to have -made a little blunder. When I was asked some days previously whether I -would like to have a day’s hunting got up for me in the neighbourhood of -Alice, I answered with alacrity in the affirmative. Hunting, which is -the easiest of all sports, has ever been an allurement to me. To hunt, -as we hunt at home, it is only necessary that a man should stick on to -the back of a horse,—or, failing that, that he should fall off. When -hunting was offered to me I thought that I could at any rate go out and -see. But on my arrival at Alice I found that hunting meant—shooting, an -exercise of skill in which I had never even tried to prevail. “I haven’t -fired off a gun,” I said, “for forty<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_190" id="page_190">{190}</a></span> years.” But I had agreed to go out -hunting, and word had passed about the country, and a hundred naked -Kafirs were to be congregated to drive the game. I tried hard to escape. -“Might I not be allowed to go and see the naked Kafirs, without a -gun,—especially as it was so probable that I might shoot one of them if -I were armed?” But this would not do. I was told that the Kafirs would -despise me. So I took the gun and carried it ever so many miles, on -horseback, to my very great annoyance.</p> - -<p>At a certain spot on a hill side,—where the hill downwards was covered -with bush and shrubs, we met the naked Kafirs. There were a hundred of -them, I was told, more or less, and they were as naked as my heart could -desire,—but each carrying some fragment of a blanket wound round on his -arm, and many of them were decorated with bracelets and earrings. There -were some preliminary ceremonies, such as the lying down of a young -Kafir and the pretence of all the men around him,—and of all the dogs, -of which there was a large muster,—that the prostrate figure was a dead -buck over whom it was necessary to lick their lips and shake their -weapons;—and after this the Kafirs went down into the bush. Then I was -led away by my white friend, carrying my gun and leading my horse, and -after a while was told that the very spot had been found. If I would -remain there with my gun cocked and ready, a buck would surely come by -almost at once so that I might shoot him. I did as I was bid, and sat -alert for thirty minutes holding my gun as though something to be shot -would surely come every second. But nothing came and I gradually went to -sleep.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_191" id="page_191">{191}</a></span></p> - -<p>Then of a sudden I heard the Kafirs approaching. They had beaten the -woods for a mile along the valley; and then a gun was fired and then -another, and gradually my white friends reappeared among the Kafirs. One -had shot a bird, and another a hare; and the most triumphant of the -number had slaughtered a very fat monkey of a peculiarly blue colour -about his hinder quarters. This was the great battue of the day. There -were two or three other resting places at which I was instructed to -stand and wait; and then we would be separated again, and again after a -while would come the noise of the Kafirs. But no one shot anything -further, and during the whole day nothing appeared before my eyes at -which I was even able to aim my gun. But the native Kafirs with their -red paint and their blankets wound round their arms, passing here and -there through the bush and beating for game, were real enough and very -interesting. I was told that to them it was a day of absolute delight, -and that they were quite satisfied with having been allowed to be there.</p> - -<p>I have spoken before of the Kafir scare of 1876 during which it was -certainly the general opinion at Grahamstown that there was about to be -a general rising among the natives, and that it would behove all -Europeans in the Eastern Province to look well to their wives and -children and homesteads. I have described the manner in which my friend -at the ostrich farm fortified his place with turrets, and I had heard of -some settlers further east who had left their homes in the conviction -that they were no longer safe. Gentlemen at Grahamstown had assured me -that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_192" id="page_192">{192}</a></span> the danger had been as though men were going about a powder -magazine with lighted candles. Here, where was our hunting party, we -were in the centre of the Kafirs. A farmer who was with us owned the -land down to the Chumie river which was at our feet, and on the other -side there was a wide district which had been left by Government to the -Kafirs when we annexed the land,—a district in which the Kafirs live -after their old fashion. This man had his wife and children within a -mile or two of hordes of untamed savages. When I asked him about the -scare of last year, he laughed at it. Some among his neighbours had -fled;—and had sold their cattle for what they would fetch. But he, when -he saw that Kafirs were buying the cattle thus sold, was very sure that -they would not buy that which they could take without price if war -should come. But the Kafirs around him, he said, had no idea of war; -and, when they heard of all that the Europeans were doing, they had -thought that some attack was to be made on them.<a name="FNanchor_13_13" id="FNanchor_13_13"></a><a href="#Footnote_13_13" class="fnanchor">[13]</a> The Kafirs as a -body no doubt hate their invaders; but they would be well content to be -allowed to hold what they still possess without further struggles with -the white man, if they were sure of being undisturbed in their holdings. -But they will be disturbed. Gradually, for this and the other reason, -from causes which the white man of the day will be sure to be able to -justify at any rate to himself, more and more will be annexed, till -there will not be<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_193" id="page_193">{193}</a></span> a hill side which the Kafir can call his own -dominion. As a tenant he will be admitted, and as a farmer, if he will -farm the land, he will be welcomed. But the Kafir hill sides with the -Kafir Kraals,—or homesteads,—and the Kafir flocks will all gradually -be annexed and made subject to British taxation.</p> - -<p>From Alice I went on to King Williamstown,—at first through a cold but -grandly mountainous country, but coming, when half way, to a spot -smiling with agriculture, called Debe Nek, where too there were forest -trees and green slopes. At Debe Nek I met a young farmer who was full of -the hardships to which he was subjected by the unjust courses taken by -the Government. I could not understand his grievance, but he seemed to -me to have a very pleasant spot of ground on which to sow his seed and -reap his corn. His mother kept an hotel, and was racy with a fine Irish -brogue which many years in the Colony had failed in the least to -tarnish. She had come from Armagh and was delighted to talk of the -beauty and bounty and great glory of the old primate, Beresford. She -sighed for her native land and shook her head incredulously when I -reminded her of the insufficiency of potatoes for the needs of man or -woman. I never met an Irishman out of his own country, who, from some -perversity of memory, did not think that he had always been accustomed -to eat meat three times a day, and wear broad cloth when he was at home.</p> - -<p>King Williamstown was the capital of British Kafraria, and is now the -seat of a British Regiment. I am afraid that at this moment it is the -Head Quarters of much more than<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_194" id="page_194">{194}</a></span> one. This perhaps will be the best -place in which to say a few words on the question of keeping British -troops in the Cape Colony. It is held to be good colonial doctrine that -a Colony which governs itself, which levies and uses its own taxes, and -which does in pretty nearly all things as seems good to itself in its -own sight, should pay its own bills;—and among other bills any bill -that may be necessary for its own defence. Australia has no British -soldiers,—not an English redcoat; nor has Canada, though Canada be for -so many miles flanked by a country desirous of annexing it. My readers -will remember too that even while the Maoris were still in arms the last -regiment was withdrawn from New Zealand,—so greatly to the disgust of -New Zealand politicians that the New Zealand Minister of the day flew -out almost in mutiny against our Secretary of State at the time. But the -principle was maintained, and the measure was carried, and the last -regiment was withdrawn. But at that time ministerial responsibility and -parliamentary government had not as yet been established in the Cape -Colony, and there were excuses for British soldiers at the Cape which no -longer existed in New Zealand.</p> - -<p>Now parliamentary government and ministerial responsibility are as -strong at Capetown as at Wellington, but the British troops still remain -in the Cape Colony. There will be, I think, when this book is published -more than three regiments in the Colony or employed in its defence. The -parliamentary system began only in 1872, and it may be alleged that the -withdrawal of troops should be gradual. It may be alleged also that the -present moment is peculiar, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_195" id="page_195">{195}</a></span> that the troops are all this time -specially needed. It should, however, be remembered that when the troops -were finally withdrawn from New Zealand, disturbance among the Maoris -was still rampant there. I suppose there can hardly be a doubt that it -is a subject on which a so called Conservative Secretary of State may -differ slightly from a so called Liberal Minister. Had Lord Kimberley -remained in office there might possibly be fewer soldiers in the Cape -Colony. But the principle remains, and has I think so established itself -that probably no Colonial Secretary of whatever party would now deny its -intrinsic justice.</p> - -<p>Then comes the question whether the Cape Colony should be made an -exception, and if so why. I am inclined to think that no visitor -travelling in the country with his eyes open, and with capacity for -seeing the things around him, would venture to say that the soldiers -should be withdrawn now, at this time. Looking back at the nature of the -Kafir wars, looking round at the state of the Kafir people, knowing as -he would know that they are armed not only with assegais but with guns, -and remembering the possibilities of Kafir warfare, he would hesitate to -leave a quarter of a million of white people to defend themselves -against a million and a half of warlike hostile Natives. The very -withdrawal of the troops might itself too probably cause a prolonged -cessation of that peace to which the Kafir Chiefs have till lately felt -themselves constrained by the presence of the red coats, and for the -speedy re-establishment of which the continued presence of the red coats -is thought to be necessary. The capable and clearsighted stranger of -whom I am speaking<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_196" id="page_196">{196}</a></span> would probably decline to take such responsibility -upon himself, even though he were as strong in the theory of colonial -self-defence as was Lord Granville when he took the soldiers away from -New Zealand.</p> - -<p>But it does not follow that on that account he should think that the -Cape Colony should be an exception to a rule which as to other Colonies -has been found to be sound. It may be wise to keep the soldiers in the -Colony, but have been unwise to saddle the Colony with full -parliamentary institutions before it was able to bear their weight. “If -the soldiers be necessary, then the place was not ripe for parliamentary -institutions.” That may be a very possible opinion as to the affairs of -South Africa generally.</p> - -<p>I am again driven to assert the difference between South Africa, and -Canada, or Australia, or New Zealand. South Africa is a land peopled -with coloured inhabitants. Those other places are lands peopled with -white men. I will not again vex my reader with numbers,—not now at -least. He will perhaps remember the numbers, and bethink himself of what -has to be done before all those negroes can be assimilated and digested -and made into efficient parliamentary voters, who shall have -civilization, and the good of their country, and “God save the Queen” -generally, at their hearts’ core. A mistake has perhaps been made;—but -I do not think that because of that mistake the troops should be -withdrawn from the Colony.</p> - -<p>I cannot, however, understand why they should be kept at Capetown, to -the safety of which they are no more necessary than they would be to -that of Sydney or Melbourne.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_197" id="page_197">{197}</a></span> It is alleged that they can be moved more -easily from Capetown, than they might be from any inland depot. But we -know that if wanted at all they will be wanted on the frontier,—say -within 50 miles of the Kei river which is the present boundary of the -Colony. If the Kafirs east of the Kei can be kept quiet, there will be -no rising of those to the west of the river. It was the knowledge that -there were troops at King Williamstown, not that there were troops at -Capetown, which operated so long on the minds of Kreli and other -Transkeian Kafirs. And now that disturbance has come all the troops are -sent to the frontier. If this be so, it would seem that British Kafraria -is the place in which they should be located. But Capetown has been Head -Quarters since the Colony was a Colony, and Head Quarters are never -moved very easily. It is right that I should add that the Colony pays -£10,000 a year to the mother country in aid of the cost of the troops. I -need hardly say that that sum does not go far towards covering the total -expense of two or more regiments on foreign service.</p> - -<p>Another difficulty is apt to arise,—which I fear will now be found to -be a difficulty in South Africa. If imperial troops be used in a Colony -which enjoys parliamentary government, who is to be responsible for -their employment? The Parliamentary Minister will expect that they shall -be used as he may direct;—but so will not the authorities at home! In -this way there can hardly fail to be difference of opinion between the -Governor of the Colony and his responsible advisers.</p> - -<p>King Williamstown is a thoroughly commercial little city<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_198" id="page_198">{198}</a></span> with a -pleasant club, with a railway to East London, and with smiling German -cultivation all around it. But it has no trees. There is indeed a public -garden in which the military band plays with great éclat, and in which -horses can be ridden, and carriages with ladies be driven about,—so as -to look almost like Hyde Park in June. I stayed three or four days at -the place and was made very comfortable; but what struck me most was the -excellence of the Kafir servant who waited upon me. A gentleman had -kindly let me have the use of his house, and with his house the services -of this treasure. The man was so gentle, so punctual, and so mindful of -all things that I could not but think what an acquisition he would be to -any fretful old gentleman in London.</p> - -<p>When I was at King Williamstown I was invited to hold a conference with -two or three Kafir Chiefs, especially with Sandilli, whose son I had -seen at school, and who was the heir to Gaika, one of the great kings of -the Kafirs, being the son of Gaika’s “great wife,” and brother to Makomo -the Kafir who in the last war had done more than Kafir had ever done -before to break the British power in South Africa. It was Makomo who had -been Sir Harry Smith’s too powerful enemy,—and Sandilli, who is still -living in the neighbourhood of King Williamstown, was Makomo’s younger -but more royal brother. I expressed, of course, great satisfaction at -the promised interview, but was warned that Sandilli might not -improbably be too drunk to come.</p> - -<p>On the morning appointed about twenty Kafirs came to me, clustering -round the door of the house in which I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_199" id="page_199">{199}</a></span> lodging,—but they declined -to enter. I therefore held my levee out in the street. Sandilli was not -there. The reason for his absence remained undivulged, but I was told -that he had sent a troop of cousins in his place. The spokesman on the -occasion was a chief named Siwani, who wore an old black coat, a flannel -shirt, a pair of tweed trousers and a billycock hat,—comfortably and -warmly dressed,—with a watch-key of ordinary appearance ingeniously -inserted into his ear as an ornament. An interpreter was provided; and, -out in the street, I carried on my colloquy with the dusky princes. Not -one of them spoke but Siwani, and he expressed utter dissatisfaction -with everything around him. The Kafirs, he said, would be much better -off if the English would go away and leave them to their own customs. As -for himself, though he had sent a great many of his clansmen to work on -the railway,—where they got as he admitted good wages,—he had never -himself received the allowance per head promised him. “Why not appeal to -the magistrate?” I asked. He had done so frequently, he said, but the -Magistrate always put him off, and then, personally, he was treated with -very insufficient respect. This complaint was repeated again and again. -I, of course, insisted on the comforts which the Europeans had brought -to the Kafirs,—trousers for instance,—and I remarked that all the -royal princes around me were excellently well clad. The raiment was no -doubt of the Irish beggar kind but still admitted of being described as -excellent when compared in the mind with red clay and a blanket. -“Yes,—by compulsion,” he said. “We were told that we must come in and -see you, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_200" id="page_200">{200}</a></span> therefore we put on our trousers. Very uncomfortable they -are, and we wish that you and the trousers and the magistrates, but -above all the prisons, would go—away out of the country together.” He -was very angry about the prisons, alleging that if the Kafirs did wrong -the Kafir Chiefs would know how to punish them. None of his own children -had ever gone to school,—nor did he approve of schools. In fact he was -an unmitigated old savage, on whom my words of wisdom had no effect -whatever, and who seemed to enjoy the opportunity of unburdening his -resentment before a British traveller. It is probable that some one had -given him to understand that I might possibly write a book when I -returned home.</p> - -<p>When, after some half hour of conversation, he declared that he did not -want to answer any more questions, I was not sorry to shake hands with -the prominent half dozen, so as to bring the meeting to a close. But -suddenly there came a grin across Siwani’s face,—the first look of good -humour which I had seen,—and the interpreter informed me that the Chief -wanted a little tobacco. I went back into my friend’s house and emptied -his tobacco pot, but this, though accepted, did not seem to give -satisfaction. I whispered to the interpreter a question, and on being -told that Siwani would not be too proud to buy his own tobacco, I gave -the old beggar half a crown. Then he blessed me, as an Irish beggar -might have done, grinned again and went off with his followers. The -Kafir boy or girl at school and the Kafir man at work are pleasing -objects; but the old Kafir chief in quest of tobacco,—or brandy,—is -not delightful.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_201" id="page_201">{201}</a></span></p> - -<p>King Williamstown is the head quarters of the Cape mounted frontier -police, of which Mr. Bowker, whose opinion respecting Kafirdom I have -already quoted, was at the period of my visit the Commandant. This is a -force, consisting now of about 1,200 men, maintained by the Colony -itself for its own defence, and was no doubt established by the Colony -with a view of putting its own foot forward in its own behalf and doing -something towards the achievement of that colonial independence of which -I have spoken. It has probably been thought that the frontier police -might at last stand in lieu of British soldiers. The effort has been -well made, and the service is of great use. The brunt of the fighting in -the late disturbance has been borne by the mounted police. The men are -stationed about the country in small parties,—never I think more than -thirty or forty together, and often in smaller numbers. They are very -much more efficacious than soldiers, as every man is mounted,—and the -men themselves come from a much higher class than that from which our -soldiers are enlisted. But the troop is expensive, each private costing -on an average about 7s. a day. The men are paid 5s. 6d. a day as soon as -they are mounted,—out of which they have to buy and keep their horses -and furnish everything for themselves. “When they join the force their -horses and equipments are supplied to them, but the price is stopped out -of their pay. They are recruited generally, though by no means -universally, in England, under the care of an emigration agent who is -maintained at home. I came out myself with six or seven of them,—three -of whom I knew<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_202" id="page_202">{202}</a></span> to be sons of gentlemen, and all of whom may have been -so. So terrible is the struggle at home to find employment for young men -that the idea of £100 a year at once has charms, even though the -receiver of it will have to keep not only himself, but a horse also, out -of the money. But the prospect, if fairly seen, is not alluring. The -young men when in the Colony are policemen and nothing more than -policemen. Many of them after a short compulsory service find a better -employment elsewhere, and their places are filled up by new comers.</p> - -<p>From King Williamstown I went to East London by railway and there waited -till the ship came which was to take me on to Natal. East London is -another of those ports which stubborn Nature seems to have made unfit -for shipping, but which energy and enterprise are determined to convert -to good purposes. As Grahamstown believes in Port Alfred, so does King -Williamstown believe in East London, feeling sure that the day will come -when no other harbour along the coast will venture to name itself in -comparison with her. And East London has as firm a belief in herself, -with a trustworthy reliance on a future day when the commerce of nations -will ride in safety within her at present ill-omened bar. I had heard -much of East London and had been warned that I might find it impossible -to get on board the steamer even when she was lying in the roads. At -Port Elizabeth it had been suggested to me that I might very probably -have to come back there because no boat at East London would venture to -take me out. The same thing was repeated to me along my route, and even -at<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_203" id="page_203">{203}</a></span> King Williamstown. But not the less on that account, when I found -myself in British Kafraria of which East London is the port, was I -assured of all that East London would hereafter perform. No doubt there -was a perilous bar. The existence of the bar was freely admitted. No -doubt the sweep of the sea in upon the mouth of the Buffalo river was of -such a nature as to make all intercourse between ships and the shore -both difficult and disagreeable. No doubt the coast was so subject to -shipwreck as to have caused the insurance on ships to East London to be -abnormally high. All these evils were acknowledged, but all these evils -would assuredly be conquered by energy, skill, and money. It was thus -that East London was spoken of by the friends who took me there in order -that I might see the works which were being carried on with the view of -overcoming Nature.</p> - -<p>At the present moment East London is certainly a bad spot for shipping. -A vessel had broken from her anchor just before my arrival and was lying -on the shore a helpless wreck. There were the fragments to be seen of -other wrecks; and I heard of many which had made the place noted within -the last year or two. Such was the character of the place. I was told by -more than one voice that vessels were sent there on purpose to be -wrecked. Stories which I heard made me believe in Mr. Plimsoll more than -I had ever believed before. “She was intended to come on shore,” was -said by all voices that day in East London as to the vessel that was -still lying among the breakers, while men were at work upon her to get -out the cargo. “They know<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_204" id="page_204">{204}</a></span> that ships will drag their anchor here; so, -when they want to get rid of an old tub, they send her to East London.” -It was a terrible tale to hear, and especially so from men who -themselves believe in the place with all the implicit confidence of -expended capital. On the second day after my arrival the vessel that was -to carry me on to Natal steamed into the roads. It had been a lovely -morning and was yet early,—about eleven o’clock. I hurried down with a -couple of friends to the man in authority who decides whether -communication shall or shall not be had between the shore and the ship, -and he, cocking a telescope to his eye, declared that even though the -Governor wanted to go on board he would not let a boat stir that day. In -my ill-humour I asked him why he would be more willing to risk the -Governor’s life than that of any less precious individual. I own I -thought he was a tyrant,—and perhaps a Sabbatarian, as it was on a -Sunday. But in half an hour the wind had justified him, even to my -uneducated intelligence. During the whole of that day there was no -intercourse possible between the ships and the shore. A boat from a -French vessel tried it, and three men out of four were drowned! Early on -the following day I was put on board the steamer in a life-boat. Again -it was a lovely morning,—and the wind had altogether fallen,—but the -boat shipped so much water that our luggage was wet through.</p> - -<p>But it is yet on the cards that the East Londoners may prevail. Under -the auspices of Sir John Coode a breakwater is being constructed with -the purpose of protecting<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_205" id="page_205">{205}</a></span> the river’s mouth from the prevailing winds, -and the river is being banked and altered so that the increased force of -the water through a narrowed channel may scour away the sand. If these -two things can be done then ships will enter the Buffalo river and ride -there in delicious ease, and the fortune of the place will be made. I -went to see the works and was surprised to find operations of such -magnitude going on at a place which apparently was so insignificant. A -breakwater was being constructed out from the shore,—not an isolated -sea wall as is the breakwater at Plymouth and at Port Elizabeth,—but a -pier projecting itself in a curve from one of the points of the river’s -mouth so as to cover the other when completed. On this £120,000 had -already been spent, and a further sum of £80,000 is to be spent. It is -to be hoped that it will be well expended,—for which the name of Sir -John Coode is a strong guarantee.</p> - -<p>At present East London is not a nice place. It is without a pavement,—I -may almost say without a street, dotted about over the right river bank -here and there, dirty to look at and dishevelled, putting one in mind of -the American Eden as painted by Charles Dickens,—only that his Eden was -a river Eden while this is a marine Paradise. But all that no doubt will -be mended when the breakwater has been completed. I have already spoken -of the rivalry between South African ports, as between Port Alfred and -Port Elizabeth, and between South African towns, as between Capetown and -Grahamstown. The feeling is carried everywhere, throughout everything. -Opposite to the town of East London, on the left side of the Buffalo -river, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_206" id="page_206">{206}</a></span> connected with it by ferries, is the township of Panmure. -The terminus of the railway is at Panmure and not at East London. And at -Panmure there has gathered itself together an unpromising assemblage of -stores and houses which declares of itself that it means to snuff East -London altogether out. East London and Panmure together are strong -against all the coast of South Africa to the right and left; but between -the two places themselves there is as keen a rivalry as between any two -towns on the continent. At East London I was assured that Panmure was -merely “upstart;”—but a Panmurite had his revenge by whispering to me -that East London was a nest of musquitoes. As to the musquitoes I can -speak from personal experience.</p> - -<p>And yet I ought to say a good word of East London for I was there but -three days and was invited to three picnics. I went to two of them, and -enjoyed myself thoroughly, seeing some beautiful scenery up the river, -and some charming spots along the coast. I was, however, very glad to -get on board the steamer, having always had before my eyes the terrible -prospect of a return journey to Port Elizabeth before I could embark for -Natal.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_207" id="page_207">{207}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.<br /><br /> -<small>KAFIR SCHOOLS.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> question of Kafir education is perhaps the most important that has -to be solved in South Africa,—and certainly it is the one as to which -there exists the most violent difference of opinion among those who have -lived in South Africa. A traveller in the land by associating -exclusively with one set of persons would be taught to think that here -was to be found a certain and quick panacea for all the ills and dangers -to which the country is subjected. Here lies the way by which within an -age or two the population of the country may be made to drop its -savagery and Kafirdom and blanket loving vagabondism and become a people -as fit to say their prayers and vote for members of parliament as at any -rate the ordinary English Christian constituent. “Let the Kafir be -caught young and subjected to religious education, and he will soon -become so good a man and so docile a citizen that it will be almost a -matter of regret that more of us were not born Kafirs.” That is the view -of the question which prevails with those who have devoted themselves to -Kafir education,—and of them it must be acknowledged that their efforts -are continuous and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_208" id="page_208">{208}</a></span> energetic. I found it impossible not to be moved to -enthusiasm by what I saw at Kafir schools.</p> - -<p>Another traveller falling into another and a different set will be told -by his South African associates that the Kafir is a very good fellow, -and may be a very good servant, till he has been taught to sing psalms -and to take pride in his rapidly acquired book learning;—but that then -he becomes sly, a liar and a thief, whom it is impossible to trust and -dangerous to have about the place. “He is a Kafir still,” a gentleman -said to me, “but a Kafir with the addition of European cunning without a -touch of European conscience.” As far as I could observe, the merchants -and shopkeepers who employ Kafirs about their stores, and persons who -have Kafirs about their houses, do eschew the school Kafir. The -individual Kafir when taken young and raw out of his blanket, put into -breeches and subjected to the general dominion of a white master, is -wonderfully honest, and, as far as he can speak at all, he speaks the -truth. There can I think be no question about his virtues. You may leave -your money about with perfect safety, though he knows well what money -will do for him; you may leave food,—and even drink in his way and they -will be safe. “Is there any housebreaking or shoplifting?” I asked a -tradesman in King Williamstown. He declared that there was nothing of -the kind known,—unless it might be occasionally in reference to a horse -and saddle. A Kafir would sometimes be unable to resist the temptation -of riding back into Kafirdom, the happy possessor of a steed. But let a -lad have passed three or four years at a Kafir school, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_209" id="page_209">{209}</a></span> then he -would have become a being very much altered for the worse and not at all -fit to be trusted among loose property. The saints in Kafirland will say -that I have heard all this exclusively among the sinners. If so I can -only say that the men of business are all sinners.</p> - -<p>For myself I found it very hard to form an opinion between the two, I do -believe most firmly in education. I should cease to believe in any thing -if I did not believe that education if continued will at least civilize. -I can conceive no way of ultimately overcoming and dispelling what I -must call the savagery of the Kafirs, but by education. And when I see -the smiling, oily, good humoured, docile, naturally intelligent but -still wholly uneducated black man trying to make himself useful and -agreeable to his white employers, I still recognise the Savage. With all -his good humour and spasmodic efforts at industry he is no better than a -Savage. And the white man in many cases does not want him to be better. -He is no more anxious that his Kafir should reason than he is that his -horse should talk. It requires an effort of genuine philanthropy even to -desire that those beneath us should become more nearly equal to us. The -man who makes his money by employing Kafir labour is apt to regard the -commercial rather than the philanthropic side of the question. I refuse -therefore to adopt his view of the matter. A certain instinct of -independence, which in the eyes of the employer of labour always takes -the form of rebellion, is one of the first and finest effects of -education. The Kafir who can argue a question of wages with his master -has already become an objectionable animal.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_210" id="page_210">{210}</a></span></p> - -<p>But again the education of the educated Kafir is very apt to “fall off.” -So much I have not only heard asserted generally by those who are -antikafir-educational in their sympathies, but admitted also by many of -those who have been themselves long exercised in Kafir education. And, -in regard to religious teaching, we all know that the singing of psalms -is easier than the keeping of the ten commandments. When we find much -psalm-singing and at the same time a very conspicuous breach of what has -to us been a very sacred commandment, we are apt to regard the -delinquent as a hypocrite. And the Kafir at school no doubt learns -something of that doctrine,—which in his savage state was wholly -unknown to him, but with which the white man is generally more or less -conversant,—that speech has been given to men to enable them to conceal -their thoughts. In learning to talk most of us learn to lie before we -learn to speak the truth. While dropping something of his ignorance the -Savage drops something also of his simplicity. I can understand -therefore why the employer of labour should prefer the unsophisticated -Kafir, and am by no means sure that if I were looking out for black -labour in order that I might make money out of it I should not eschew -the Kafir from the schools.</p> - -<p>The difficulty arises probably from our impatience. Nothing will satisfy -us unless we find a bath in which we may at once wash the blackamoor -white, or a mill and oven in which a Kafir may be ground and baked -instantly into a Christian. That much should be lost,—should “fall off” -as they say,—of the education imparted to them is natural.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_211" id="page_211">{211}</a></span> Among those -of ourselves who have spent, perhaps, nine or ten years of our lives -over Latin and Greek how much is lost! Perhaps I might say how little is -kept! But something remains to us,—and something to them. There is need -of very much patience. Those who expect that a Kafir boy, because he has -been at school, should come forth the same as a white lad, all whose -training since, and from long previous to his birth, has been a European -training, will of course be disappointed. But we may, I think, be sure -that no Kafir pupil can remain for years or even for months among -European lessons and European habits, without carrying away with him to -his own people, when he goes, something of a civilizing influence.</p> - -<p>My friend the Wesleyan Minister, who by his eloquence prevailed over me -at Fort Beaufort in spite of my weariness and hunger, took me to -Healdtown, the Institution over which he himself presides. I had already -seen Kafir children and Kafir lads under tuition at Capetown. I had -visited Miss Arthur’s orphanage and school, where I had found a most -interesting and cosmopolitan collection of all races, and had been taken -by the Bishop of Capetown to the Church of England Kafir school at -Zonnebloom, and had there been satisfied of the great capability which -the young Kafir has for learning his lessons. I had been assured that up -to a certain point and a certain age the Kafir quite holds his own with -the European. At Zonnebloom a master carpenter was one of the -instructors of the place, and, as I thought, by no means the least -useful. The Kafir lad may perhaps forget the names of the “five great -English poets<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_212" id="page_212">{212}</a></span> with their dates and kings,” by recapitulating which he -has gained a prize at Lovedale,—or may be unable some years after he -has left the school to give an “Outline of Thomson’s Seasons,” but when -he has once learned how to make a table stand square upon four legs he -has gained a power of helping his brother Kafirs which will never -altogether desert him.</p> - -<p>At Healdtown I found something less than 50 resident Kafir boys and -young men, six of whom were in training as students for the Wesleyan -Ministry. Thirteen Kafir girls were being trained as teachers, and two -hundred day scholars attended from the native huts in the -neighbourhood,—one of whom took her place on the school benches with -her own little baby on her back. She did not seem to be in the least -inconvenienced by the appendage. I was not lucky in my hours at -Healdtown as I arrived late in the evening, and the tuition did not -begin till half-past nine in the morning, at which time I was obliged to -leave the place. But I had three opportunities of hearing the whole -Kafir establishment sing their hymns. The singing of hymns is a -thoroughly Kafir accomplishment and the Kafir words are soft and -melodious. Hymns are very good, and the singing of hymns, if it be well -done, is gratifying. But I remember feeling in the West Indies that they -who devoted their lives to the instruction of the young negroes thought -too much of this pleasant and easy religious exercise, and were hardly -enough alive to the expediency of connecting conduct with religion. The -black singers of Healdtown were, I was assured, a very moral and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_213" id="page_213">{213}</a></span> -orderly set of people; and if so the hymns will not do them any harm.</p> - -<p>For the erudition of such of my readers as have not hitherto made -themselves acquainted with the religious literature of Kafirland I here -give the words of a hymn which I think to be peculiarly mellifluous in -its sounds. I will not annex a translation, as I cannot myself venture -upon versifying it, and a prose version would sound bald and almost -irreverent. I will merely say that it is in praise of the Redeemer, -which name is signified by the oft-repeated word Umkululi.</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<p class="c">ICULO 38.</p> - -<p class="c"><i>Elamashumi matatu anesibozo.</i></p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Ungu-Tixo Umkululi,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Wenza into zonke;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Ungu-Tixo Umkululi,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ungopezu konke.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Waba ngumntu Umkululi,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ngezizono zetu;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Waba ngumntu Umkululi,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Wafa ngenxa yetu.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Unosizi Umkululi<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ngabasetyaleni;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Unosizi Umkululi<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ngabasekufeni.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Unxamile Umkululi<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ukusiguqula;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Unxamile Umkululi<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ukusikulula.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_214" id="page_214">{214}</a></span><br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Unamandla Umkululi<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ukusisindisa;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Unamandla Umkululi<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Ukusonwabisa.<br /></span> -</div><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Unotando Umkululi,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Unofefe kuti;<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Unotando Umkululi,<br /></span> -<span class="i2">Masimfune futi.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>If the lover of sweet sounds will read the lines aloud, merely adding a -half pronounced U at the beginning of those words which are commenced -with an otherwise unpronounceable ng, so as to make a semi-elided -syllable, I think he will understand the nature of the sweetness of -sound which Kafirs produce in their singing. When he finds that nearly -all the lines and more than half the words begin with the same letter he -will of course be aware that their singing is monotonous.</p> - -<p>I was glad to find that the Kafir-scholars at Healdtown among them paid -£200 per annum towards the expense of the Institution. The Government -grants £700, and the other moiety of the total cost—which amounts to -£1,800,—is defrayed by the Wesleyan missionary establishment at home. -As the Kafir contribution is altogether voluntary, such payment shews an -anxiety on the part of the parents that their children should be -educated. As far as I remember nothing was done at Healdtown to teach -the children any trade. It is altogether a Wesleyan missionary -establishment, combining a general school in which religious education -is perhaps kept uppermost, with a training college for native teachers -and ministers. I cannot doubt but that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_215" id="page_215">{215}</a></span> its effect is salutary. It has -been built on a sweet healthy spot up among the hills, and nothing is -more certain than the sincerity and true philanthropy of those who are -engaged upon its work.</p> - -<p>My friend who had carried me off from Fort Beaufort kept his word like a -true man the next morning, in allowing me to start at the time named, -and himself drove me over a high mountain to Lovedale. How we ever got -up and down those hill sides with a pair of horses and a vehicle, I -cannot even yet imagine;—but it was done. There was a way round, but -the minister seemed to think that a straight line to any place or any -object must be the best way, and over the mountain we went. Some other -Wesleyan minister before his days, he said, had done it constantly and -had never thought anything about it. The horses did go up and did go -down; which was only additional evidence to me that things of this kind -are done in the Colonies which would not be attempted in England.</p> - -<p>On my going down the hill towards Lovedale, when we had got well out of -the Healdtown district, an argument arose between me and my companion as -to the general effect of education on Kafir life. He was of opinion that -the Kafirs in that locality were really educated, whereas I was quite -willing to elicit from him the sparks of his enthusiasm by suggesting -that all their learning faded is soon as they left school. “Drive up to -that hut,” I said, picking out the best looking in the village, “and let -us see whether there be pens, ink and paper in it.” It was hardly a fair -test, because such accommodation would not be found in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_216" id="page_216">{216}</a></span> cottage of -many educated Englishmen. But again, on the other side, in my desire to -be fair I had selected something better than a normal hut. We got out of -our vehicle, undid the latch of the door,—which was something half way -between a Christian doorway and the ordinary low hole through which the -ordinary Kafir creeps in and out,—and found the habitation without its -owners. But an old woman in the kraal had seen us, and had hurried -across to exercise hospitality on behalf of her absent neighbours. Our -desire was explained to her and she at once found pens and ink. With the -pens and ink there was probably paper, on which she was unable to lay -her hand. I took up, however, an old ragged quarto edition of St. Paul’s -epistles,—with very long notes. The test as far as it was carried -certainly supported my friend’s view.</p> - -<p>Lovedale is a place which has had and is having very great success. It -has been established under Presbyterian auspices but is in truth -altogether undenominational in the tuition which it gives. I do not say -that religion is neglected, but religious teaching does not strike the -visitors as the one great object of the Institution. The schools are -conducted very much like English schools,—with this exception, that no -classes are held after the one o’clock dinner. The Kafir mind has by -that time received as much as it can digest. There are various masters -for the different classes, some classical, some mathematical, and some -devoted to English literature. When I was there there were eight -teachers, independent of Mr. Buchanan who was the acting Head or -President of the whole Institution. Dr. Stewart,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_217" id="page_217">{217}</a></span> who is the permanent -Head, was absent in central Africa. At Lovedale, both with the boys and -girls black and white are mixed when in school without any respect of -colour. At one o’clock I dined in hall with the establishment, and then -the coloured boys sat below the Europeans. This is justified on the plea -that the Europeans pay more than the Kafirs and are entitled to a more -generous fare,—which is true. The European boys would not come were -they called upon to eat the coarser food which suffices for the Kafirs. -But in truth neither would the Europeans frequent the schools if they -were required to eat at the same table with the natives. That feeling as -to eating and drinking is the same in British Kafraria as it was with -Shylock in Venice. The European domestic servant will always refuse to -eat with the Kafir servant. Sitting at the high table,—that is the -table with the bigger of the European boys, I had a very good dinner.</p> - -<p>At Lovedale there are altogether nearly 400 scholars, of whom about 70 -are European. Of this number about 300 live on the premises and are what -we call boarders. The others are European day scholars from the adjacent -town of Alice who have gradually joined the establishment because the -education is much better than anything else that can be had in the -neighbourhood. There are among the boarders thirty European boys. The -European girls were all day scholars from the neighbourhood. The -coloured boarders pay £6 per annum, for which everything is supplied to -them in the way of food and education. The lads are expected to supply -themselves with mattresses, pillows, sheets, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_218" id="page_218">{218}</a></span> towels. I was taken -through the dormitories, and the beds are neat enough with their rug -coverings. I did not like to search further by displacing them. The -white boarders pay £40 per annum. The Kafir day scholars pay but 30s., -and the European day scholars 60s. per annum. In this way £2,650 is -collected. Added to this is an allowance of £2,000 per annum from the -Government. These two sources comprise the certain income of the school, -but the Institution owns and farms a large tract of land. It has 3,000 -acres, of which 400 are cultivated, and the remainder stocked with -sheep. Lovedale at present owns a flock numbering 2,000. The native lads -are called upon to work two hours each afternoon. They cut dams and make -roads, and take care of the garden. Added to the school are workshops in -which young Kafirs are apprenticed. The carpenters’ department is by far -the most popular, and certainly the most useful. Here they make much of -the furniture used upon the place, and repair the breakages. The waggon -makers come next to the carpenters in number; and then, at a long -interval, the blacksmiths. Two other trades are also -represented,—printing namely, and bookbinding. There were in all 27 -carpenters with four furniture makers, 16 waggon makers, 8 blacksmiths, -5 printers, and 2 book-binders;—all of whom seemed to be making -efficient way in their trades.</p> - -<p>This direction of practical work seems to be the best which such an -Institution can take. I asked what became of these apprentices and was -told that many among them established themselves in their own country as -master tradesmen in a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_219" id="page_219">{219}</a></span> small way, and could make a good living among -their Kafir neighbours. But I was told also that they could not often -find employment in the workshops of the country unless the employers -used nothing but Kafir labour. The white man will not work along with -the Kafir on equal terms. When he is placed with Kafirs he expects to be -“boss,” or master, and gradually learns to think that it is his duty to -look on and superintend, while it is the Kafir’s duty to work under his -dictation. The white bricklayer may continue to lay his bricks while -they are carried for him by a black hodsman, but he will not lay a brick -at one end of the wall while a Kafir is laying an equal brick at the -other.</p> - -<p>But in this matter of trades the skill when once acquired will of course -make itself available to the general comfort and improvement of the -Kafir world around. I was at first inclined to doubt the wisdom of the -printing and bookbinding, as being premature; but the numbers engaged in -these exceptional trades are not greater perhaps than Lovedale itself -can use. I do not imagine that a Kafir printing press will for many -years be set up by Kafir capital and conducted by Kafir enterprise. It -will come probably, but the Kafir tables and chairs and the Kafir -waggons should come first. At present there is a “Lovedale News,” -published about twice a month. “It is issued,” says the Lovedale printed -Report, “for circulation at Lovedale and chiefly about Lovedale matters. -The design of this publication was to create a taste for reading among -the native pupils.” It has been carried on through twelve numbers, says -the report, “with a fair prospect of success and rather more than a fair -share of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_220" id="page_220">{220}</a></span> difficulties.” The difficulties I can well imagine, which -generally amount to this in the establishment of a newspaper,—that the -ambitious attempt so often costs more than it produces. Mr. Theal is one -of the masters of Lovedale, and his History of South Africa was here -printed;—but not perhaps with so good a pecuniary result as if it had -been printed elsewhere. I was told by the European foreman in the -printing establishment that the Kafirs learned the art of composition -very readily, but that they could not be got to pull off the sheets -fairly and straightly. As to the bookbinding, I am in possession of one -specimen which is fair enough. The work is in two volumes and it was -given to me at Capetown;—but unfortunately the two volumes are of -different colours.</p> - -<p>In the younger classes among the scholars the Kafirs were very -efficient. None of them, I think, had reached the dignity of Greek or -Natural Philosophy, but some few had ascended to algebra and geometry. -When I asked what became of all this in after life there was a doubt. -Even at Lovedale it was acknowledged that after a time it “fell -off,”—or in other words that much that was taught was afterwards lost. -Out in the world, as I have said before, among the Europeans who regard -the Kafir simply as a Savage to whom pigeon-English has to be talked, it -is asserted broadly that all this education leads to no good -results,—that the Kafir who has sung hymns and learned to do sums is a -savage to whose natural and native savagery additional iniquities have -been added by the ingenuity of the white philanthropist. To this opinion -I will not accede. That<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_221" id="page_221">{221}</a></span> such a place as Lovedale should do evil rather -than good is to my thinking impossible.</p> - -<p>To see a lot of Kafir lads and lasses at school is of course more -interesting than to inspect a seminary of white pupils. It is something -as though one should visit a lion tamer with a group of young lions -around him. The Kafir has been regarded at home as a bitter and almost -terrible enemy who, since we first became acquainted with him in South -Africa, has worked us infinite woe. I remember when a Kafir was regarded -as a dusky demon and there was a doubt whether he could ever be got -under and made subject to British rule;—whether in fact he would not in -the long run be too much for the Britons. The Kafir warrior with his -assegai and his red clay, and his courageous hatred, was a terrible -fellow to see. And he is still much more of a Savage than the ordinary -negro to whom we have become accustomed in other parts of the world. It -was very interesting to see him with a slate and pencil, wearing his -coarse clothing with a jaunty happy air, and doing a sum in subtraction. -I do not know whether an appearance of good humour and self-satisfaction -combined does not strike the European more than any other Kafir -characteristic. He never seems to assert that he is as good as a white -man,—as the usual negro will do whenever the opportunity is given to -him,—but that though he be inferior there is no reason why he should -not be as jolly as circumstances will admit. The Kafir girl is the same -when seen in the schools. Her aspect no doubt will be much altered for -the worse when she follows the steps of her Kafir husband as his wife -and slave.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_222" id="page_222">{222}</a></span> But at Lovedale she is comparatively smart, and gay-looking. -Many of these pupils while still at school reach the age at which young -people fall in love with each other. I was told that the young men and -young women were kept strictly apart; but nevertheless, marriages -between them on their leaving school are not uncommon,—nor unpopular -with the authorities. It is probable that a young man who has been some -years at Lovedale will treat his wife with something of Christian -forbearance.</p> - -<p>I find from the printed report of the seminary that the four following -young ladies got the prizes in 1877 at Lovedale for the different -virtues appended to their names. I insert the short list here not only -that due honour may be given to the ladies themselves, but also that my -readers may see something of Kafir female nomenclature.</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2">GIRLS.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="c" colspan="2"><small>GENERAL PRIZES.</small></td></tr> -<tr><td> </td></tr> -<tr class="c"><td><i>Bible.</i></td><td align="left"><i>Good Conduct.</i></td></tr> -<tr class="c"><td>Victoria Kwankwa.</td><td align="left">Ntame Magazi.</td></tr> -<tr class="c"><td> </td><td align="left"> </td></tr> -<tr class="c"><td><i>Tidiness in Dress.</i></td><td align="left"><i>For best kept room.</i></td></tr> -<tr class="c"><td>Ntombenthle Njikelana. </td><td align="left">Sarah Ann Bobi.</td></tr> -</table> - -<p class="nind">Miss Kwankwa and Miss Bobi had I suppose Christian names given to them -early in life. The other two are in possession of thoroughly Kafir -appellations,—especially the young lady who has excelled in tidiness, -and who no doubt will have become a bride before these lines are read in -England.</p> - -<p>I was taken out from King Williamstown to Peeltown to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_223" id="page_223">{223}</a></span> see another -educational Kafir establishment. At Peeltown the Rev. Mr. Birt presides -over a large Kafir congregation, and has an excellent church capable of -holding 500, which has been built almost exclusively by Kafir -contributions. The boys’ school was empty, but I was taken to see the -girls who lived together under the charge of an English lady. I wished -that I might have been introduced to the presence of the girls at once, -so as to find how they occupied themselves when not in school. But this -was not to be. I was kept waiting for a few moments, and then was -ushered into a room where I found about twenty of them sitting in a row -hemming linen. They were silent, well behaved and very demure while I -saw them,—and then before I left they sang a hymn.</p> - -<p>If I had an Institution of my own to exhibit I feel sure that I should -want to put my best foot forward,—and the best foot among Kafir female -pupils is perhaps the singing of hymns and the hemming of linen.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_224" id="page_224">{224}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.<br /><br /> -<small>CONDITION OF THE CAPE COLONY.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Later</span> on in my journey, when I was returning to Capetown, I came back -through some of the towns I have mentioned in the last chapter or two, -and also through other places belonging to the Western Province. On that -occasion I took my place by coach from Bloemfontein, the capital of the -little Orange Free State or Republic to Port Elizabeth,—or to the -railway station between Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth,—and in this way -passed through the Stormberg and Catberg mountains. Any traveller -visiting South Africa with an eye to scenery should see these passes. -For the mere sake of scenery no traveller does as yet visit South -Africa, and therefore but little is thought about it. I was, however, -specially cautioned by all who gave me advice on the subject, not to -omit the Catberg in my journey. I may add also that this route from the -Diamond Fields to Capetown is by far the easiest, and for those -travelling by public conveyances is the only one that is certain as to -time and not so wearisome as to cause excruciating torment. When -travelling with a friend in our own conveyance I had enjoyed our -independence,—especially our breakfasts in the veld; but I had become -weary of sick and dying horses, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_225" id="page_225">{225}</a></span> of surrounding myself with horse -provender. I was therefore glad to be able to throw all the -responsibility of the road on to the shoulders of the proprietor of the -coach, especially when I found that I was not to be called on to travel -by night. A mail cart runs through from the Diamond Fields to Capetown, -three times a week;—but it goes day and night and has no provision for -meals. The journey so made is frightful, and is fit only for a very -young man who is altogether regardless of his life. There is also a -decent waggon;—but it runs only occasionally. Families, to whom time is -not a great object, make the journey with ox-waggons, travelling perhaps -24 miles a day, sleeping in their waggons and carrying with them all -that they want. Ladies who have tried it have told me that they did not -look back upon the time so spent as the happiest moments of their -existence. The coach was tiresome enough, taking seven days from the -Diamond Fields to Port Elizabeth. Between Bloemfontein and Grahamstown, -a trip of five days, it travels about fourteen hours a day. But at night -there was always ten hours for supper and rest, and the accommodation on -the whole was good. The beds were clean and the people along the road -always civil. I was greatly taken with one little dinner which was given -to us in the middle of the day at a small pretty Inn under the Catberg -Mountain. The landlord, an old man, was peculiarly courteous, opening -our soda water for us and handing us the brandy bottle with a grace that -was all his own. Then he joined us on the coach and travelled along the -road with us, and it turned out that he had been a member of the old -Capetown Parliament, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_226" id="page_226">{226}</a></span> had been very hot in debate in the time of the -Kafir wars. He became equally hot in debate now, declaring to us that -everything was going to the dogs because the Kafirs were not made to -work. I liked his politics less than his leg of mutton,—which had been -excellent. The drive through the Stormberg is very fine;—but the -mountains are without timber or water. It is the bleak wildness of the -place which gives it its sublimity. Between the Stormberg and the -Catberg lies Queenstown,—a picturesque little town with two or three -hotels. The one at which the coach stopped was very good. It was a -marvel to me that the Inns should be so good, as the traffic is small. -We sat down to a table d’hôte dinner, at which the host with all his -family joined us, that would have done credit to a first class Swiss -hotel. I don’t know that a Swiss hotel could produce such a turkey. When -the landlord told his youngest child, who had modestly asked for boiled -beef, that she might have turkey in spite of the number at table, I -don’t know whether I admired most, the kind father, the abstemious -daughter, or the capacious turkey.</p> - -<p>I think that South Africa generally is prouder of the road over the -Catberg than of any other detail among its grand scenery. I had been -told so often that whatever I did I must go over the Catberg! I did go -over the Catberg, walking up the bleak side from the North, and -travelling down in the coach, or Cape cart which we had got there, among -the wooded ravines to the South. It certainly is very fine,—but not -nearly so grand in my opinion as Montague Pass or Southey’s Pass in the -Western Province.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_227" id="page_227">{227}</a></span> From the foot of the Catberg we ran into Fort -Beaufort, to which town I carried my reader in a previous chapter. It -was over this road that I had poured into my ears the political harangue -of that late member of the Legislature. He belonged to a school of -politicians which is common in South Africa, but which became very -distasteful to me. The professors of it are to be found chiefly in the -Eastern Province of the Cape Colony, in which I was then travelling, -though the West is by no means without them. Their grand doctrine is -that the Kafirs should be “ruled with a rod of iron.” That phrase of the -rod of iron had become odious to me before I left the country. -“Thieves!” such a professor will say. “They are all thieves. Their only -idea is to steal cattle.” Such an one never can be made to understand -that as we who are not Savages have taken the land, it is hardly -unnatural that men who are Savages should think themselves entitled to -help themselves to the cattle we have put on the land we have taken from -them. The stealing of cattle must of course be stopped, and there are -laws for the purpose; but this appealing to a “rod of iron” because men -do just that which is to be expected from men so placed was always -received by me as an ebullition of impotent and useless anger. A farmer -who has cattle in a Kafir country, on land which has perhaps cost him -10s. or 5s., or perhaps nothing, an acre for the freehold of it, can -hardly expect the same security which a tenant enjoys in England, who -pays probably 20s. an acre for the mere use of his land.</p> - -<p>As I have now finished the account of my travels in the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_228" id="page_228">{228}</a></span> two Provinces -and am about to go on to Natal, I will say a few words first as to the -produce of the Cape Colony.</p> - -<p>In the Cape Colony, as in Australia, wool has been for many years the -staple of the country;—and, as in Australia the importance or seeming -importance of the staple produce has been cast into the shade by the -great wealth of the gold which has been found there, so in South Africa -has the same been done by the finding of diamonds. Up to the present -time, however, the diamond district has not in truth belonged to the -Cape Colony. Soon after these pages will have been printed it will -probably be annexed. But the actual political possession of the land in -which the diamonds or gold have been found has had little to do with the -wealth which has flowed into the different Colonies from the finding of -the treasures. That in each case has come from the greatly increased -consumption created by the finders. Men finding gold and diamonds eat -and drink a great deal. The persons who sell such articles are -enriched,—and the articles are subject to taxation, and so a public -revenue is raised. It is hence that the wealth comes rather than from -the gold and diamonds themselves. Had it been possible that the -possession of the land round the Kimberley mines should have been left -in the hands of the native tribes, there would have been but little -difference in the money result. The flour, the meat, the brandy, and the -imported coats and boots would still have been carried up to Kimberley -from the Cape Colony.</p> - -<p>But of the Colony itself wool has been the staple,—and among its -produce the next most interesting are its wheat,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_229" id="page_229">{229}</a></span> its vines, and its -ostriches. In regard to wool I find that the number of wooled sheep in -the Cape Colony has considerably increased during the last ten years. I -say wooled sheep, because there is a kind of sheep in the Colony, native -to the land, which bear no wool and are known by their fat tails and lob -ears. As they produce only mutton I take no reckoning of them here. In -1875 there were 9,986,240 wooled sheep in the Colony producing -28,316,181 pounds of wool, whereas in 1865 there were only 8,370,179 -sheep giving 18,905,936 pounds of wool. This increase in ten years would -seem to imply a fair progress,—especially as it applies not only to the -number of sheep in the Colony, but also to the amount of wool given by -each sheep; but I regret to say that during the latter part of that -period of ten years there has been a very manifest falling off. I cannot -give the figures as to the Cape Colony itself, as I have done with the -numbers for 1865 and 1875;—but from the ports of the Cape Colony there -were exported—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td>In 1871, 46,279,639</td><td>pounds of wool,</td><td align="left">value £2,191,233</td></tr> -<tr><td>In 1872, 48,822,562</td><td class="c">” <span style="margin-left: 2em;">”</span></td><td class="rt">£3,275,150</td></tr> -<tr><td>In 1873, 40,393,746</td><td class="c">” <span style="margin-left: 2em;">”</span></td><td class="rt">£2,710,481</td></tr> -<tr><td>In 1874, 42,620,481</td><td class="c">” <span style="margin-left: 2em;">”</span></td><td class="rt">£2,948,571</td></tr> -<tr><td>In 1875, 40,339,674</td><td class="c">” <span style="margin-left: 2em;">”</span></td><td class="rt">£2,855,899</td></tr> -<tr><td>In 1876, 34,861,339</td><td class="c">” <span style="margin-left: 2em;">”</span></td><td class="rt">£2,278,942</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>These figures not only fail to shew that ratio of increase without which -a colonial trade cannot be said to be in a healthy condition; but they -exhibit also a very great decrease,—the falling off in the value of -wool from 1872 to 1876 being no less than £1,048,208, or nearly a third -of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_230" id="page_230">{230}</a></span> whole. They whom I have asked as to the reason of this, have -generally said that it is due to the very remunerative nature of the -trade in ostrich feathers, and have intimated that farmers have gone out -of wool in order that they might go into feathers. To find how far this -may be a valid excuse we must enquire what has been the result of -ostrich farming during the period. What was the export of ostrich -feathers for each of the ten executive years, I have no means of saying. -In 1865 there were but 80 tame ostriches kept by farmers in the Colony, -though no doubt a large amount of feathers from wild ostriches was -exported. In 1875, 21,751 ostriches were kept, and the total value of -feathers exported was £306,867, the whole amount coming from ostriches -thus being less by £700,000 than the falling off in the wool. Had the -Colony been really progressing, a new trade might well have been -developed to the amount above stated without any falling off in the -staple produce of the country. The most interesting circumstance in -reference to the wool and sheep of the country is the fact that the -Kafirs own 1,109,346 sheep, and that they produced in 1875 2,249,000 -pounds of wool.</p> - -<p>It is certainly the case that the wools of the Cape Colony are very -inferior to those of Australia. I find from the Prices Current as -published by a large woolbroker in London for the year 1877, that the -average prices through the year realized by what is called medium washed -wool were for Australian wools,—taking all the Australian Colonies -together,—something over 1s. 6d. a pound, whereas the average price for -the same class of wool from the Cape<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_231" id="page_231">{231}</a></span> Colony was only something over 1s. -1d. a pound. There has been a difference of quite 5d. a pound; or about -40 per cent. in favour of the Australian article. “There is no doubt,” -says my friend who furnished me with this information, “that valuable -and useful as are Cape wools they are altogether distanced by the fine -Australian. Breeding has to do with this. So has climate and country.” -For what is called Superior washed wool, the Victorian prices are fully -a shilling a pound higher than those obtained by the growers of the -Cape, the average prices for the best of the class being 2s. 6d. for -Victorian, and 1s. 6d. a pound for Cape Colony wool.</p> - -<p>Perhaps the fairest standard by which to test the prosperity of a new -country is its capability of producing corn,—especially wheat. It is by -its richness in this respect that the United States have risen so high -in the world. Australia has not prospered so quickly, and will never -probably prosper so greatly, because on a large portion of her soil -wheat has not been grown profitably. The first great question is whether -a young country can feed herself with bread. The Cape Colony has -obtained a great reputation for its wheat, and does I believe produce -flour which is not to be beaten anywhere on the earth. But she is not -able to feed herself. In 1875, she imported wheat and flour to the -value, including the duty charged on it, of £126,654. In reaching this -amount I have deducted £2,800 the value of a small amount which was -exported. This is more than 10s. per annum for each white inhabitant of -the country, the total white population being 236,783. The deficiency is -not very large; but in a Colony the climate of which is in so many<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_232" id="page_232">{232}</a></span> -respects adapted to wheat there should be no deficiency. The truth is -that it is altogether a question of artificial irrigation. If the waters -from the mountains can be stored and utilized, the Cape will run over -with wheat.</p> - -<p>I find that in the whole Colony there were in 1875 about 80,000,000 -acres of land in private hands;—that being the amount of land which has -been partly or wholly alienated by Government. I give the number of -acres in approximate figures because in the official return it is stated -in morgen. The morgen is a Dutch measure of land and comprises a very -little more, but still little more than two acres. Out of this large -area only 550,000 acres or less than 1-14th are cultivated. It is -interesting to know that more than a quarter of this, or 150,000 acres -are in the hands of the native races and are cultivated by -them;—cultivated by them as owners and not as servants. In 1875 there -were 28,416 ploughs in the Cape Colony and of these 9,179, nearly a -third, belonged to the Kafirs or Hottentots.</p> - -<p>In 1855 there were 55,300,025 vines in the Colony, and in 1875 this -number had increased to 69,910,215. The increase in the production of -wine was about in the same proportion. The increase in the distilling of -brandy was more than proportionate. The wine had risen from 3,237,428 -gallons to 4,485,665, and the brandy from 430,955 to 1,067,832 gallons. -I was surprised to find how very small was the exportation of brandy, -the total amount sent away, and noted by the Custom House as exported -being 2,910 gallons. No doubt a comparatively large quantity is sent to -the other districts of South Africa by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_233" id="page_233">{233}</a></span> inland carriage, so that the -Custom House knows nothing about it. But the bulk of this enormous -increase in brandy has been consumed in the Colony, and must therefore -have had its evil as well as its good results. Of the brandy exported by -sea by far the greatest part is consumed in South Africa, the Portuguese -at Delagoa Bay taking nearly half. Great Britain, a country which is -fond of brandy, imports only 695 gallons from her own brandy-making -Colony. As the Cape brandy is undoubtedly made from grapes, and as the -preference for grape-made brandy is equally certain, the fact I fear -tells badly for the Cape manufacture. It cannot be but that they might -make their brandy better. Of wine made in the Colony 60,973 gallons were -exported in 1875, or less than 1-7th of the amount produced. This is a -very poor result, seeing that the Cape Colony is particularly productive -in grapes and seems to indicate that the makers of wine have as yet been -hardly more successful in their manufacture, than the makers of brandy. -Much no doubt is due to the fact that the merchants have not as yet -found it worth their while to store their wines for any lengthened -period.</p> - -<p>At the time of my visit ostrich feathers were the popular produce of the -Colony. Farmers seemed to be tired of sheep,—tired at least of the -constant care which sheep require, to be diffident of wheat, and -down-hearted as to the present prices of wine. It seemed to me that in -regard to all these articles there was room for increased energy. As to -irrigation, which every one in the Colony feels to be essential to -agricultural success in the greater part not only of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_234" id="page_234">{234}</a></span> Colony but of -South Africa generally, the first steps must I think be taken by the -governments of the different districts.</p> - -<p>The total population of the Colony is 720,984. Of these less than a -third, 209,136, are represented as living on agriculture which in such a -Colony should support more than half the people. The numbers given -include of course men women and children. Of this latter number, less -than a third again, or 60,458, are represented as being of white -blood,—or Dutch and English combined. I believe about two-thirds of -these to be Dutch,—though as to that I can only give an opinion. From -this it would result that the residue, perhaps about 20,000 who are of -English descent, consists of the farmers themselves and their families. -Taking four to a family, this would give only 5,000 English occupiers of -land. There is evidently no place for an English agricultural labourer -in a Colony which shows such a result after seventy years of English -occupation. And indeed there is much other evidence proving the same -fact. Let the traveller go where he will he will see no English-born -agricultural labourer in receipt of wages. The work, if not done by the -farmer or his family, is with but few exceptions done by native hands. -Should an Englishman be seen here or there in such a position he will be -one who has fallen abnormally in the scale, and will, as an exception, -only prove the rule. If a man have a little money to commence as a -farmer he may thrive in the Cape Colony,—providing that he can -accommodate himself to the peculiarities of the climate. As a navvy he -may earn good wages on the railways, or as a miner at the copper mines. -But, intending to be an<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_235" id="page_235">{235}</a></span> agricultural labourer, he should not emigrate -to South Africa. In South Africa the Natives are the labourers and they -will remain so, both because they can live cheaper than the white man, -and because the white man will not work along side of them on equal -terms. Though an Englishman on leaving his own country might assure -himself that he had no objection to such society, he would find that the -ways of the Colony would be too strong for him. In Australia, in Canada, -in New Zealand, or the United States, he may earn wages as an -agriculturist;—but he will not do so in South Africa with content and -happiness to himself. The paucity of the English population which has -settled here since we owned the country is in itself sufficient proof of -the truth of my assertion.</p> - -<p>It is stated in the Blue Book of the Colony for 1876,—which no doubt -may be trusted implicitly,—that the average daily hire for an -agricultural labourer in the Colony is 3s. for a white man, and 2s. for -a coloured man, with diet besides. But I observe also that in some of -the best corn-districts,—especially in Malmsbury,—no entry is made as -to the wages of European agricultural labourers. Where such wages are -paid, it will be found that they are paid to Dutchmen. There are no -doubt instances of this sufficient in most districts to afford an -average. A single instance would do so.</p> - -<p>Taking the whole of the Colony I find that the wages of carpenters, -masons, tailors, shoemakers and smiths average 9s. a day for white men -and 6s. for coloured men. This is for town and country throughout. In -some places wages as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_236" id="page_236">{236}</a></span> high as 15s. a day has been paid for white -workmen, and as high as 8s.—9s.—and even 10s. for coloured. The -European artizan is no doubt at present more efficient than the native, -and when working with the native, works as his superintendent or Boss. -For tradesmen such as these,—men who know their trades and can eschew -drink,—there is a fair opening in South Africa, as there is in almost -all the British Colonies.</p> - -<p>The price of living for a working man is, as well as I can make a -calculation on the subject, nearly the same as in England, but with a -slight turn in favour of the Colony on account of the lower price of -meat. Meat is about 6d. a pound; bacon 1s. 5d. Bread is 4d. a pound; tea -3s. 10d., coffee 1s. 4d. Butter, fresh 1s. 10d.; salt 1s. 6d. Ordinary -wine per gallon,—than which a workman can drink no more wholesome -liquor,—is 6s. In the parts of the Colony adjacent to Capetown it may -be bought for 2s. and 3s. a gallon. The colonial beer is 5s. a gallon. -Whether it be good or bad I omitted to enable myself to form an opinion. -Clothing, which is imported from England, is I think cheaper than in -England. This I have found to be the case in the larger Colonies -generally, and I must leave those who are learned in the ways of -Commerce to account for the phenomenon. I will give the list, as I found -it in the Blue Book of the Cape Colony, for labourers’ clothing. Shirts -30s. 5d. per dozen. Shoes 10s. per pair. Jackets 15s. each. Waistcoats -7s. each. Trowsers 11s. 6d. per pair. Hats 5s. 6d. each. In these -articles so much depends on quality that it is hard to make a -comparison. In South Africa I<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_237" id="page_237">{237}</a></span> was forced to buy two hats, and I got -them very much cheaper than my London hatmaker would have sold me the -same articles. House-rent, taking the Colony through, is a little dearer -than in England. Domestic service is dearer;—but the class of whom I am -speaking would probably not be affected by this. The rate of wages for -house servants as given in the Blue Book is as follows:—</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td>Male domestic servants—</td><td align="left">European—£2 10s.</td><td align="left">a month,</td><td align="left">with board and lodging.</td></tr> -<tr><td class="c">” <span style="margin-left: 2em;">”</span></td><td align="left">Coloured—£1 8s.</td><td class="c">”</td><td class="c">”</td></tr> -<tr><td>Female <span style="margin-left: 3em;">”</span></td><td align="left">European—£1 7s.</td><td class="c">”</td><td class="c">”</td></tr> -<tr><td><span style="margin-left: 4em;">”</span> <span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">”</span></td><td align="left">Coloured—16s.</td><td class="c">”</td><td class="c">”</td></tr> -</table> - -<p>I profess the greatest possible respect for the Cape Colony Blue Book -and for its compilers. I feel when trusting to it that I am standing -upon a rock against which waves of statistical criticism may dash -themselves in vain. Such at least is my faith as to 968 out of the 969 -folio pages which the last published volume contains. But I would put it -to the compilers of that valuable volume, I would put it to my -particular friend Captain Mills himself, whether they, whether he, can -get a European man-servant for £30 a year, or a European damsel for £16 -4s.! Double the money would not do it. Let them, let him, look at the -book;—Section v. page 3;—and have the little error corrected, lest -English families should rush out to the Cape Colony thinking that they -would be nicely waited upon by white fingers at these easy but fabulous -rates. The truth is that European domestic servants can hardly be had -for any money.</p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_238" id="page_238">{238}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_239" id="page_239">{239}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_240" id="page_240">{240}</a></span> </p> - -<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="page_241" id="page_241">{241}</a></span> </p> - -<h2><a name="NATAL" id="NATAL"></a>NATAL.</h2> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.<br /><br /> -<small>NATAL.—HISTORY OF THE COLONY.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> little Colony of Natal has a special history of its own quite -distinct from that of the Cape Colony which cannot be said to be its -parent. In Australia, Queensland and Victoria were, in compliance with -their own demands, separated from New South Wales. In South Africa the -Transvaal Republic,—now again under British rule,—and the Orange Free -State were sent into the world to shift for themselves by the Mother -Country. In these cases there is something akin to the not unnatural -severance of the adult son from the home and the hands of his father. -But Natal did not spring into existence after this fashion and has owed -nothing to the fostering care of the Cape Colony. I will quote here the -commencing words of a pamphlet on the political condition of Natal -published in 1869, because they convey incidentally a true statement of -the causes which led to its colonization. “The motives which induced the -Imperial Government to claim Natal from the Dutch African emigrants were -not merely philanthropic. The Dutch in their occupation of the country -had been involved in serious struggles with the Zulus. The apprehension -that these struggles might be renewed and that the wave of disturbance -might be carried<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_242" id="page_242">{242}</a></span> towards the Eastern frontier of the Cape influenced to -some extent the resolution to colonize Natal. But whatever may have been -the prudential considerations that entered into their counsels, the -Government were deeply impressed with the wish to protect the Natives -and to raise them in the scale of humanity.”<a name="FNanchor_14_14" id="FNanchor_14_14"></a><a href="#Footnote_14_14" class="fnanchor">[14]</a> From this the reader -will learn that the British took up the country from the Dutch who had -on occupying it been involved in difficulties with the Natives, and that -the English had stepped in to give a government to the country, partly -in defence of the Dutch against the Natives,—but partly also, and -chiefly in defence of the Natives against the Dutch. This was, in truth, -the case. The difficulties which the Dutch wanderers had encountered -were awful, tragic, heartrending. They had almost been annihilated. -Dingaan, the then chief of the Zulus, had resolved to annihilate them, -and had gone nearer to success than the Indians of Mexico or Peru had -ever done with Cortez or Pizarro. But they had stood their ground,—and -were not inclined to be gentle in their dealings with the Zulus,—as the -congregation of tribes was called with which they had come in contact.</p> - -<p>Natal received its name four centuries ago. In 1497 it was visited,—or -at any rate seen,—by Vasco da Gama on Christmas day and was then called -Terra Natalis from that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_243" id="page_243">{243}</a></span> cause. It is now called Na-tal, with the -emphasis sharp on the last syllable. I remember when we simply -translated the Latin word into plain English and called the place Port -Natal in the ordinary way,—as may be remembered by the following stanza -from Tom Hood’s “Miss Kelmansegg”:—</p> - -<div class="poetry"> -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0">Into this world we come like ships,<br /></span> -<span class="i0">Launched from the docks and stocks and slips,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">For future fair or fatal.<br /></span> -<span class="i0">And one little craft is cast away<br /></span> -<span class="i0">On its very first trip to Babbicombe Bay,<br /></span> -<span class="i3">While another rides safe at Port Natal.<br /></span> -</div></div> -</div> - -<p>After that no more was known of the coast for more than a hundred and -fifty years. In the latter part of the eighteenth century the Dutch seem -to have had a settlement there,—not the Dutch coming overland as they -did afterwards, but the Dutch trading along the coast. It did not, -however, come to much, and we hear no more of the country till -1823,—only fifty-five years ago,—when an English officer of the name -of Farewell, with a few of his countrymen, settled himself on the land -where the town of D’Urban now stands. At that time King Chaka of the -Zulus, of whom I shall speak in a following chapter, had well-nigh -exterminated the natives of the coast, so that there was no one to -oppose Mr. Farewell and his companions. There they remained, with more -or less of trouble from Chaka’s successor and from invading Zulus, till -1835, when the British of the Cape Colony took so much notice of the -place as to call the settlement Durban, after Sir Benjamin D’Urban, its -then Governor.</p> - -<p>Then began the real history of Natal which like so many<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_244" id="page_244">{244}</a></span> other parts of -South Africa,—like the greater part of that South Africa which we now -govern,—was first occupied by Dutchmen trekking away from the to them -odious rule of British Governors, British officers, British laws,—and -what seemed to them to be mawkish British philanthropy. The time is so -recent that I myself have been able to hear the story told by the lips -of those who were themselves among the number of indignant -emigrants,—of those who had barely escaped when their brethren and -friends had been killed around them by the natives. “Why did you leave -your old home?” I asked one old Dutch farmer whom I found still in -Natal. With the urbanity which seemed always to characterize the Dutch -he would say nothing to me derogatory to the English. “He says that -there was not land enough for their wants,” explained the gentleman who -was acting as interpreter between us. But it meant the same thing. The -English were pressing on the heels of the Dutchmen.</p> - -<p>The whole theory of life was different between the two people and -remains so to the present day. The Englishman likes to have a neighbour -near him; the Dutchman cannot bear to see the smoke of another man’s -chimney from his own front door. The Englishman would fain grow wheat; -the Dutchman is fond of flocks and herds. The Englishman is of his -nature democratic;—the Dutchman is patriarchal. The Englishman loves to -have his finger in every pie around him. The Dutchman wishes to have his -own family, his own lands, above all his own servants and dependants, -altogether within his own grasp, and cares for little beyond that.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_245" id="page_245">{245}</a></span> -There had come various laws in the Cape Colony altogether antagonistic -to the feelings of the Dutch farmer, and at last in 1834, came the -emancipation act which was to set free all the slaves in 1838. Although -the Dutch had first explored Natal before that act came into -operation,—it had perhaps more to do with the final exodus of the -future Natalians than any other cause. The Dutchman of South Africa -could not endure the interference with his old domestic habits which -English laws were threatening and creating.</p> - -<p>In 1834 the first Dutch party made their way from Uitenhage in the -Eastern Province of the Cape Colony, by land, across the South Eastern -corner of South Africa over the Drakenberg mountains to the Natal coast. -Here they fraternised with the few English they found there, examined -the country and seemed to have made themselves merry,—till news reached -them of the Kafir wars then raging. They gallantly hurried back to their -friends, postponing their idea of permanent emigration till this new -trouble should be over. It was probably the feeling induced by Lord -Glenelg’s wonderful despatch of Dec. 1835,—in which he declared that -the English and Dutch had been all wrong and the Kafirs all right in the -late wars,—which at last produced the exodus. There were personal -grievances to boot, all of which sprang from impatience of the Dutch to -the English law; and towards the end of 1836 two hundred Dutchmen -started under Hendrik Potgieter. A more numerous party followed under -Gerrit Maritz. They crossed the Orange river, to which the Cape Colony -was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_246" id="page_246">{246}</a></span> then extended, and still travelling on, making their waggons their -homes as they went, they came to the Vaal, leaving a portion of their -numbers behind them in what is now the Orange Free State. We have no -written account of the mode of life of these people as they trekked on, -but we can conceive it. No Dutchman in South Africa is ever without a -waggon big enough to make a home for his family and to carry many of his -goods, or without a span or team of oxen numerous enough to drag it. -They took their flocks and horses with them, remaining here and there as -water and grass would suit them. And here and there they would sow their -seeds and wait for a crop, and then if the crop was good and the water -pleasant, and if the Natives had either not quarrelled with them or had -been subdued, they would stay for another season till the waggon would -at last give place to a house, and then, as others came after them, they -would move on again, jealous of neighbourhood even among their own -people. So they went northwards till they crossed the Vaal river and -came into hostile contact with the fierce tribes of the Matabeles which -then occupied the Transvaal.</p> - -<p>What took place then belongs rather to the history of the Transvaal than -to that of Natal; but the Dutch pioneers who had gone thus far were -forced back over the Vaal; and though they succeeded in recovering by -renewed raids many of the oxen and waggons of which they had been -deprived by a great Chief of the Matabele tribe named Mazulekatze, they -acknowledged that they must carry their present fortunes elsewhere, and -they remembered the pleasant<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_247" id="page_247">{247}</a></span> valleys which some of them had seen a few -years earlier on the Natal coast. With great difficulty they found a -track pervious to wheels through the Drakenbergs, and made their way -down to the coast. There had been disagreements among the Dutch -themselves after their return back over the Vaal river, and they did not -all go forth into Natal. Pieter Retief, who had now joined them from the -old Colony and who had had his own reasons for quarrelling with the -British authorities in the Cape, was chosen the Chief of those who made -their way eastwards into Natal, and he also, on reaching the coast, -fraternised with the English there who at that time acknowledged no -obedience to the British Government at Capetown. It seems that Retief -and the few English at Durban had some idea of a joint Republic;—but -the Dutchman took the lead and finding that the natives were apparently -amenable, he entertained the idea of obtaining a cession of the land -from Dingaan, who had murdered and succeeded his brother Chaka as King -of the Zulus.</p> - -<p>Dingaan made his terms, which Retief executed. A quantity of cattle -which another tribe had taken was to be returned to Dingaan. The cattle -were obtained and given up to the Zulu Chief. In the meantime Dutchman -after Dutchman swarmed into the new country with their waggons and herds -through the passes which had been found. We are told that by the end of -1837 a thousand waggons had made their way into this district now called -Natal and had occupied the northern portion of it. Probably not a single -waggon was owned by an Englishman,—though Natal is now<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_248" id="page_248">{248}</a></span> specially an -English and not a Dutch Colony. There was hardly a Native to be seen, -the country having been desolated by the King of the Zulus. It was the -very place for the Dutch,—fertile, without interference, and with space -for every one.</p> - -<p>Early in 1838 Retief with a party of picked men started for the head -quarters of Dingaan, the Zulu King, with the recovered cattle which he -was to give up as the price of the wide lands assigned to him. Then -there was a festival and rejoicings among the Zulus in which the -Dutchmen joined. A deed of cession was signed, of which Dingaan, the -King, understood probably but little. But he did understand that these -were white men coming to take away his land and at the moment in which -the ceremonies were being completed,—he contrived to murder them all. -That was the end of Pieter Retief, whose name in conjunction with that -of his friend and colleague Gerrit Maritz still lives in the singular -appellation found for the capital of Natal,—Pieter Maritzburg.</p> - -<p>Then Dingaan, with a spirit which I cannot reprobate as I find it -reprobated by other writers, determined to sally forth and drive the -Dutch out of the land. It seems to me of all things the most natural for -a king of Natives to do,—unless the contemplation of such a feat were -beyond his intelligence or its attempt beyond his courage. It may be -acknowledged that it is the business of us Europeans first to subjugate -and then to civilize the savage races—but that the Savage shall object -to be subjugated is surely natural. To abuse a Savage for being -treacherous and cruel is to abuse<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_249" id="page_249">{249}</a></span> him for being a Savage, which is -irrational. Dingaan failed neither in intelligence or courage, and went -forth to annihilate the Dutch in those northern portions of the present -Colony which are now called Klip-River and Weenen. The latter word is -Dutch for wailing and arose from the sufferings which Dingaan then -inflicted. He first came across a party of women and children at the -Blue Krans river,—in the district now called Weenen,—and killed them -all. Various separated parties were destroyed in the same way, till at -last an entrenchment of waggons was formed,—a “laager” as it is called -in Dutch,—and from thence a battle was fought as from a besieged city -against the besiegers. The old man who told me that he had trekked -because land in the Colony was insufficient had been one of the -besieged, and his old wife, who sat by and added a word now and then to -the tale, had been inside the laager with him and had held her baby with -one hand while she supplied ammunition to her husband with the other. It -was thus that the Dutch always defended themselves, linking their huge -waggons together into a circle within which were collected their wives -and children, while their cattle were brought into a circle on the -outside. It must be remembered that they, few in number, were armed with -rifles while the Savages around were attacking them with their pointed -spears which they call assegais.</p> - -<p>By far the greater number of Dutch who had thus made their way over into -Natal were killed,—but a remnant remained sufficient to establish -itself. In these contests the white man always comes off as conqueror at -last. Dingaan,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_250" id="page_250">{250}</a></span> however, carried on the battle for a long time, and -though driven out of Natal was never thoroughly worsted on his own Zulu -territory. Both Dutch and English attacked him in his own stronghold, -but of those who went over the Buffalo or Tugela river in Dingaan’s time -with hostile intentions but few lived to return and tell the tale. There -was one raid across the river in which it is said that 3,000 Zulus were -killed, and that Dingaan was obliged to burn his head kraal or capital, -and fly; but even in this last of their attacks on Zulu land the Dutch -were at first nearly destroyed.</p> - -<p>At last these battles with Dingaan were brought to an end by a quarrel -which the emigrants fostered between Dingaan and his brother Panda,—who -was also his heir. I should hardly interest my readers if I were to go -into the details of this family feud. It seems however that in spite of -the excessive superstitious reverence felt by these Savages for their -acknowledged Chief, they were unable to endure the prolonged cruelties -of their tyrant. Panda himself was not a warrior, having been kept by -Dingaan in the back-ground in order that he might not become the leader -of an insurrection against him; but he was put forward as the new king; -and the new king’s party having allied themselves with the Europeans, -Dingaan was driven into banishment and seems to have been murdered by -those among whom he fell. That was the end of Dingaan and has really -been the end, up to this time, of all fighting between the Zulus and the -white occupiers of Natal. From the death of Dingaan the ascendancy of -the white man seems to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_251" id="page_251">{251}</a></span> have been acknowledged in the districts south -and west of the Tugela and Buffalo rivers.</p> - -<p>The next phase in the history of Natal is that which has reference to -the quarrels between the Dutch and the English. There is I think no -doubt that during the first occupation of the land by the Dutch the -English Government refused to have anything to do with the territory. It -was then the same as it has been since when we gave up first the -Transvaal, and afterwards the Orange Free State, or “Sovereignty” as it -used to be called. A people foreign to us in habits and language, which -had become subject to us, would not endure our rule,—would go further -and still further away when our rule followed them. It was manifest that -we could not stop them without the grossest tyranny;—but were we bound -to go after them and take care of them? The question has been answered -in the negative even when it has been asked as to wandering Englishmen -who have settled themselves on strange shores,—but though answered in -the negative it has always turned out that when the Englishmen have -reached a number too great to be ignored the establishment of a new -Colony has been inevitable. Was it necessary that Downing Street should -run after the Dutch? Downing Street declared that she would do nothing -of the kind. Lord Glenelg had disclaimed “any intention on the part of -Her Majesty’s Government to assert any authority over any part of this -territory.” But Downing Street was impotent to resist. The Queen’s -subjects had settled themselves in a new country, and after some -shilly-shallying on the part of the Cape authorities, after the coming -and going of a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_252" id="page_252">{252}</a></span> small body of troops, these subjects declared their -intention of establishing themselves as a Republic—and begged Her -Majesty to acknowledge their independent existence. This was in January -1841, when Sir George Napier was Governor. In the meantime the Dutch had -had further contests with remaining natives,—contests in which they had -been the tyrants and in which they shewed a strong intention of driving -the black tribes altogether away from any lands which they might want -themselves. This, and probably a conviction that there were not -sufficient elements of rule among the Dutch farmers to form a -government,—a conviction for which the doings of the young Volksraad of -Natalia gave ample reason,—at last caused our Colonial Office to decide -that Natal was still British territory. Sir George Napier on 2nd Dec. -1841 issued a proclamation stating, “That whereas the Council of -emigrant farmers now residing at Port Natal and the territory adjacent -thereto had informed His Excellency that they had ceased to be British -subjects,” &c. &c.; the whole proclamation is not necessary here;—“his -Excellency announced his intention of resuming military occupation of -Port Natal by sending thither without delay a detachment of Her -Majesty’s forces.” And so the war was declared.<a name="FNanchor_15_15" id="FNanchor_15_15"></a><a href="#Footnote_15_15" class="fnanchor">[15]</a></p> - -<p>The war at first went very much in favour of the Dutch. A small -detachment of British troops,—about 300 men,—was marched overland to -Durban, and two little vessels of war were sent round with provisions -and ammunition. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_253" id="page_253">{253}</a></span>The proceedings of this force were so unfortunate that -a part of it was taken and marched up to prison at Pieter Maritzburg and -the remainder besieged in its own camp where it was nearly starved to -death. The story of the whole affair is made romantic by the remarkable -ride made by one Mr. King, during six days and nights, along the coast -and through the Kafir country, into the Cape Colony, bearing the sad -news and demanding assistance. As Great Britain had now begun the -campaign, Great Britain was of course obliged to end it successfully. A -larger force with better appurtenances was sent, and on 5th July, 1842, -a deed of submission was signed on behalf of the Dutch owning the -sovereignty of Queen Victoria. That is the date on which in fact Natal -did first become a British possession. But a contest was still carried -on for more that a twelvemonth longer through which the Dutch farmers -strove to regain their independence, and it was not till the 8th of -August, 1843, that the twenty-four members of the still existing -Volksraad declared Her Majesty’s Government to be supreme in Port Natal.</p> - -<p>But the Dutchmen could hardly even yet be said to be beaten. They -certainly were not contented to remain as British subjects. Very many of -them passed again back over the Drakenberg mountains determined to free -themselves from the British yoke, and located themselves in the -districts either to the North or South of the Vaal river,—although they -did so far away from the ocean which is the only highway for bringing to -them stores from other countries, and although they were leaving good -low-lying fertile lands for a high arid veld the most of which was only -fit for pastoral<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_254" id="page_254">{254}</a></span> purposes. But they would there be, if not free from -British rule,—for the Republics were not yet established,—far at any -rate from British interference. If any people ever fought and bled for a -land, they had fought and bled for Natal. But when they found they could -not do what they liked with it, they “trekked” back and left it. And yet -this people have shewn themselves to be generally ill-adapted for self -government,—as I shall endeavour to shew when I come to speak of the -Transvaal Republic,—and altogether in want of some external force to -manage for them their public affairs. Nothing perhaps is harder than to -set a new Government successfully afloat, and the Dutch certainly have -shewn no aptitude for the task either in Natal or in the Transvaal.</p> - -<p>It is not to be supposed that all the Dutch went, or that they went all -at once. In some parts of the Colony they are still to be found -prospering on their lands,—and some of the old names remain. But the -country strikes the stranger as being peculiarly English, in opposition -to much of the Cape Colony which is peculiarly Dutch. In one district of -Natal I came across a congregation of Germans, with a German minister -and a German church service, and German farmers around, an emigration -from Hanover having been made to the spot. But I heard of no exclusively -Dutch district. The traveller feels certain that he will not require the -Dutch language as he moves about, and he recognises the Dutchman as a -foreigner in the land when he encounters him. In the Transvaal, in the -Orange Free State, and in many parts of the Western districts of the -Cape Colony,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_255" id="page_255">{255}</a></span>—even in Capetown itself,—he feels himself to be among a -Dutch people. He knows as a fact that the Dutch in South Africa are more -numerous than the English. But in Natal he is on English soil, among -English people,—with no more savour of Holland than he has in London -when he chances to meet a Dutchman there. And yet over the whole South -African continent there is no portion of the land for which the Dutchman -has fought and bled and dared and suffered as he has done for Natal. As -one reads the story one is tempted to wish that he had been allowed to -found his Natalia, down by the sea shore, in pleasant lands, where he -would not have been severed by distance and difficulties of carriage -from the comforts of life,—from timber for instance with which to floor -his rooms, and wood to burn his bricks, and iron with which to make his -ploughs.</p> - -<p>But the Dutch who went did not go at once, nor did the English who came -come at once. It is impossible not to confess that what with the Home -Government in Downing Street and what with the Governors who succeeded -each other at the Cape there was shilly-shallying as to adopting the new -Colony. The province was taken up in the manner described in 1843, but -no Governor was appointed till 1845. Major Smith, who as Captain Smith -had suffered so much with his little army, was the military commander -during the interval, and the Dutch Volksraad continued to sit. Questions -as to the tenure of land naturally occupied the minds of all who -remained. If a Boer chose to stay would he or would he not be allowed to -occupy permanently the farm, probably of 6,000 acres which he had -assumed to him<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_256" id="page_256">{256}</a></span>self? And then, during this time, the tribes who had fled -in fear of the Dutch or who had been scattered by the Zulu King, flocked -in vast hordes into the country when they had been taught to feel that -they would be safe under British protection. It is said that in 1843 -there were not above 3,000 natives in all Natal, but that within three -or four years 80,000 had crowded in. Now the numbers amount to 320,000. -Of course they spread themselves over the lands which the Dutch had -called their own, and the Dutch were unable to stop them. In December -1845 Mr. West was appointed the first Governor of Natal, and attempts -were made to arrange matters between the remaining Boers and the Zulus. -A commission was appointed to settle claims, but it could do but -little,—or nothing. Native locations were arranged;—that is large -tracts of land were given over to the Natives. But this to the Boers was -poison. To them the Natives were as wild beasts,—and wild beasts whom -they with their blood and energy had succeeded in expelling. Now the -wild beasts were to be brought back under the auspices of the British -Government!</p> - -<p>In 1847 Andrias Pretorius was the dominant leader of the Natal Boers and -he went on a pilgrimage to Sir Henry Pottinger who was then Governor in -the Cape Colony. Sir Henry Pottinger would not see him,—required him to -put down what he had to say in writing, which is perhaps the most -heartbreaking thing which any official man can do to an applicant. What -if our Cabinet Ministers were to desire deputations to put down their -complaints in writing? Pretorius, who afterwards became a great rebel -against<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_257" id="page_257">{257}</a></span> British authority and the first President of the Transvaal -Republic, returned furious to Pieter Maritzburg,—having however first -put down “what he had to say” in very strong writing. Sir Henry was then -leaving the Colony and answered by referring the matter to his -successor. Pretorius flew to the public press and endeavoured to -instigate his fellow subjects to mutiny by the indignant vehemence of -his language. When the news of his failure with Sir Henry Pottinger -reached the Boers in Natal, they determined upon a further wholesale and -new expatriation. They would all “trek” and they did trek, on this -occasion into the district between the Orange and the Vaal,—where we -shall have to follow them in speaking of the origin of the two Dutch -Republics. In this way Natal was nearly cleared of Dutchmen in the year -1848.</p> - -<p>It all happened so short a time ago that many of the actors in those -early days of Natal are still alive, and some of my readers will -probably remember dimly something of the incidents as they passed;—how -Sir Harry Smith, who succeeded Sir Henry Pottinger as Governor of the -Cape, became a South African hero, and somewhat tarnished his heroism by -the absurdity of his words. The story of Retief hardly became known to -us in England with all its tragic horrors, but I myself can well -remember how unwilling we were to have Natal, and how at last it was -borne in upon us that Natal had to be taken up by us,—perhaps as a -fourth rate Colony, with many regrets, much as the Fiji islands have -been taken up since. The Transvaal, inferior as it is in advantages and -good gifts, has just now been accepted<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_258" id="page_258">{258}</a></span> with very much greater favour. -The salary awarded to a Governor may perhaps best attest the importance -of a new Colony. The Transvaal has begun with £3,000 a year. A poor -£2,500 is even still considered sufficient for the much older Colony of -Natal.</p> - -<p>Since 1848 Natal has had its history, but not one that has peculiarly -endeared it to the Mother Country. In 1849 a body of English emigrants -went out there who have certainly been successful as farmers, and who -came chiefly I think from the County of York. I do not know that there -has since that been any one peculiar influx of English, though of course -from time to time Englishmen have settled there,—some as farmers, more -probably as traders, small or large. In 1850 Mr. Pine succeeded Mr. West -as second Governor,—a gentleman who has again been Governor of the same -Colony as Sir Benjamin Pine, and who has had to encounter,—somewhat -unfairly, as I think,—the opprobrium incident to the irrational -sympathy of a certain class at home in the little understood matter of -Langalibalele. Langalibalele has, however, been so interesting a South -African personage that I must dedicate a separate chapter to his -history. In 1853 Dr. Colenso was appointed Bishop of Natal, and by the -peculiarity of his religious opinions has given more notoriety to the -Colony,—has caused the Colony to be more talked about,—than any of its -Governors or even than any of its romantic incidents. Into religious -opinion I certainly shall not stray in these pages. In my days I have -written something about clergymen but never a word about religion. No -doubt shall be thrown by me either upon the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_259" id="page_259">{259}</a></span> miracles or upon Colenso. -But when he expressed his unusual opinions he became a noted man, and -Natal was heard of for the first time by many people. He came to England -in those days, and I remember being asked to dinner by a gushing friend. -“We have secured Colenso,” said my gushing friend, as though she was -asking me to meet a royal duke or a Japanese ambassador. But I had never -met the Bishop till I arrived in his own see, where it was allowed me to -come in contact with that clear intellect, the gift of which has always -been allowed to him. He is still Bishop of Natal, and will probably -remain so till he dies. He is not the man to abandon any position of -which he is proud. But there is another bishop—of Maritzburg—whose -tenets are perhaps more in accord with those generally held by the -Church of England. The confusion has no doubt been unfortunate,—and is -still unfortunate, as has been almost everything connected with Natal. -And yet it is a smiling pretty land, blessed with numerous advantages; -and if it were my fate to live in South Africa I should certainly choose -Natal for my residence. Fair Natal, but unfortunate Natal! Its worldly -affairs have hitherto not gone smoothly.</p> - -<p>In 1856 the Colony, which had hitherto been but a sub-Colony under the -Cape was made independent, and a Legislative Council was appointed, at -first of twelve elected and of four official members;—but this has -since been altered. From that day to this there seems to have always -been alive in Natal questions of altering the constitution, with a -desire on the part of many of the English to draw nearer to, if not<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_260" id="page_260">{260}</a></span> to -adopt a system of government by parliamentary majorities,—and with a -feeling on the part of a few that a further departure and a wider -severance from such form of government would be expedient.</p> - -<p>In 1873 came the Langalibalele affair to which I will only refer here -for the purpose of saying that it led to the sending out of Sir Garnet -Wolseley as a temporary governor or political head mediciner to set -things right which were supposed at home to be wrong. There can be no -doubt that the coming of a picked man, as was Sir Garnet, had the effect -of subordinating the will of the people of the Colony to the judgment of -the Colonial Office at home. Such effects will always be caused by such -selections. A Cabinet Minister will persuade with words which from an -Under Secretary would be inoperative. A known man will be successful -with arguments which would be received with no respect from the mouth of -one unknown. Sir Garnet Wolseley enjoyed an African reputation and was -recognised as a great man when he landed in South Africa. The effect of -his greatness was seen in his ability to induce the Legislative Council -to add eight nominated members to their own House and thus to clip their -own wings. Before his coming there were 15 elected members, and 5 -official members—who were the Governor’s Council and who received a -salary. Now there are 13 nominated members, of whom eight are chosen by -the Governor but who receive no salaries. The consequence is that the -Government can command a majority in almost all cases, and that Natal is -therefore, in truth, a Crown Colony. I know that the word<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_261" id="page_261">{261}</a></span> will be -received with scorn and denial in Natal. A Legislative Council with a -majority of freely elected members will claim that it has the dominant -power and that it can do as it pleases. But in truth a Chamber so -constituted as is that now at Natal has but little power of persistent -operation.</p> - -<p>It was stated in the House of Commons, in the debate on the South -African Permissive Bill in the summer of 1877, that Natal contained a -population of 17,000 white and 280,000 Natives. I am assured that the -former number is somewhat understated, and I have spoken therefore of -20,000 white people. The Natives are certainly much more numerous than -was supposed. I have taken them as 320,000; but judging from the hut tax -I think they must be at least 10,000 more. Many probably evade the hut -tax and some live without huts. Let us take the numbers as 20,000 and -320,000. With such a population can it be well to draw even near to a -system of government by parliamentary majorities? We cannot exclude the -black voter by his colour. To do so would be to institute a class -legislation which would be opposed to all our feelings. Nor can any one -say who is black or who white. But we all know how impossible it is that -any number of whites, however small, should be ruled by any number of -blacks, however great. In dealing with such a population we are bound to -think of Ceylon or British Guiana, or of India,—and not of Canada, -Australia, or New Zealand. At present the franchise in Natal is only -given to such Natives as have lived for seven years in conformity with -European laws and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_262" id="page_262">{262}</a></span> customs,—having exempted themselves in that time -from native law,—and who shall have obtained from the Governor of the -Colony permission to vote on these grounds. At present the Native is in -this way altogether excluded. But the embargo is of its nature too -arbitrary;—and, nevertheless, would not be strong enough for safety -were there adventurous white politicians in the Colony striving to -acquire a parliamentary majority and parliamentary power by bringing the -Zulus to the poll.</p> - -<p>I think that the nature of the population of South Africa, and the -difficulties which must in coming years arise from that population, were -hardly sufficiently considered when government by parliamentary -majorities was forced upon the Cape Colony and carried through its -Legislative Houses by narrow majorities. That action has, I fear, -rendered the Cape unfit to confederate with the other Provinces; and -especially unfit to confederate with Natal, where the circumstances of -the population demand direct government from the Crown. I trust that the -experiment of parliamentary government may not be tried in Natal, where -the circumstances of the population are very much more against it than -they were in the Cape Colony.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_263" id="page_263">{263}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.<br /><br /> -<small>CONDITION OF THE COLONY.—NO. 1.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">I reached</span> Durban, the only seaport in the Colony of Natal, about the end -of August,—that is, at the beginning of spring in that part of the -world. It was just too warm to walk about pleasantly in the middle of -the day and cool enough at night for a blanket. Durban has a reputation -for heat, and I had heard so much of musquitoes on the coast that I -feared them even at this time of the year. I did kill one in my bedroom -at the club, but no more came to me. In winter, or at the season at -which I visited the place, Durban is a pleasant town, clean, attractive -and with beautiful scenery near it;—but about midsummer, and indeed for -the three months of December, January and February, it can be very hot, -and, to the ordinary Englishman, unaccustomed to the tropics, very -unpleasant on that account.</p> - -<p>I was taken over the bar on entering the harbour very graciously in the -mail tug which as a rule passengers are not allowed to enter, and was -safely landed at the quay about two miles from the town. I mention my -safety as a peculiar incident because the bar at Durban has a very bad -character indeed. South African harbours are not good<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_264" id="page_264">{264}</a></span> and among those -which are bad Durban is one of the worst. They are crossed by shifting -bars of sand which prevent the entrance of vessels. At a public dinner -in the Colony I heard The Bar given as a toast. The Attorney General -arose to return thanks, but another gentleman was on his legs in a -moment protesting against drinking the health of the one great obstacle -to commercial and social success by which the Colony was oppressed. The -Attorney General was a popular man, and the lawyers were popular; but in -a moment they were obliterated by the general indignation of the guests -at the evil done to their beautiful land by this ill-natured freak of -Nature. A vast sum of money has been spent at Durban in making a -breakwater, all of which has,—so say the people of Durban and -Maritzburg,—been thrown away. Now Sir John Coode has been out to visit -the bar, and all the Colony was waiting for his report when I was there. -Sir John is the great emendator of South African harbours,—full trust -being put in his capability to stop the encroachments of sand, and to -scour away such deposits when in spite of his precautions they have -asserted themselves. At the period of my visit nothing was being done, -but Natal was waiting, graciously if not patiently, for Sir John’s -report. Very much depends on it. Up in the very interior of Africa, in -the Orange Free State and at the Diamond Fields it is constantly -asserted that goods can only be had through the Cape Colony because of -the bar across the mouth of the river at Durban;—and in the Transvaal -the bar is given as one of the chief reasons for making a railway down -to Delagoa Bay instead of connecting the now<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_265" id="page_265">{265}</a></span> two British Colonies -together. I heard constantly that so many, or such a number of vessels, -were lying out in the roads and that goods could not be landed because -of the bar! The legal profession is peculiarly well represented in the -Colony; but I am inclined to agree with the gentleman who thought that -“The Bar” in Natal was the bar across the mouth of the river.</p> - -<p>I was carried over it in safety and was driven up to the club. There is -a railway from the port to the town, but its hours of running did not -exactly suit the mails, to which I was permitted to attach myself. This -railway is the beginning of a system which will soon be extended to -Pieter Maritzburg, the capital, which is already opened some few miles -northward into the sugar district, and which is being made along the -coast through the sugar growing country of Victoria to its chief town, -Verulam. There is extant an ambitious scheme for carrying on the line -from Pieter Maritzburg to Ladismith, a town on the direct route to the -Transvaal, and from thence across the mountains to Harrismith in the -Orange Free State, with an extension from Ladismith to the coal district -of Newcastle in the extreme north of the Colony. But the money for these -larger purposes has not yet been raised, and I may perhaps be justified -in saying that I doubt their speedy accomplishment. The lines to the -capital and to Verulam will no doubt be open in a year or two. I should -perhaps explain that Ladismith and Harrismith are peculiar names given -to towns in honour of Sir Harry Smith, who was at one time a popular -Governor in the Cape Colony. There is a project<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_266" id="page_266">{266}</a></span> also for extending the -Verulam line to the extreme northern boundary of the Colony so as to -serve the whole sugar producing district. This probably will be effected -at no very distant time as sugar will become the staple produce of the -coast, if not of the entire Colony. There is a belt of land lying -between the hills and the sea which is peculiarly fertile and admirably -adapted for the growth of sugar, on which very large sums of money have -been already expended. It is often sad to look back upon the beginnings -of commercial enterprises which ultimately lead to the fortunes not -perhaps of individuals but of countries. Along this rich strip of -coast-land large sums of money have been wasted, no doubt to the ruin of -persons of whom, as they are ruined, the world will hear nothing. But -their enterprise has led to the success of others of whom the world will -hear. Coffee was grown here, and capital was expended on growing it upon -a large scale. But Natal as a coffee-growing country has failed. As far -as I could learn the seasons have not been sufficiently sure and settled -for the growth of coffee. And now, already, in the new Colony, on which -white men had hardly trodden half a century ago, there are wastes of -deserted coffee bushes,—as there came to be in Jamaica after the -emancipation of the slaves,—telling piteous tales of lost money and of -broken hopes. The idea of growing coffee in Natal seems now to be almost -abandoned.</p> - -<p>But new ground is being devoted to the sugar cane every day, and new -machinery is being continually brought into the Colony. The cultivation -was first introduced into Natal by Mr. Morewood in 1849, and has -progressed since with<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_267" id="page_267">{267}</a></span> various vicissitudes. The sugar has progressed; -but, as is the nature of such enterprises, the vicissitudes have been -the lot of the sugar growers. There has been much success, and there has -also been much failure. Men have gone beyond their capital, and the -banks with their high rates of interest have too often swallowed up the -profits. But the result to the Colony has been success. The plantations -are there, increasing every day, and are occupied if not by owners then -by managers. Labourers are employed, and public Revenue is raised. A -commerce with life in it has been established so that no one travelling -through the sugar districts can doubt but that money is being made, into -whatever pocket the money may go.</p> - -<p>Various accounts of the produce were given to me. I was assured by one -or two sugar growers that four ton to the acre was not -uncommon,—whereas I knew by old experience in other sugar countries -that four ton to the acre per annum would be a very heavy crop indeed. -But sugar, unlike almost all other produce, can not be measured by the -year’s work. The canes are not cut yearly, at a special period, as wheat -is reaped or apples are picked. The first crop in Natal is generally the -growth of nearly or perhaps quite two years, and the second crop, being -the crop from the first ratoons, is the produce of 15 months. The -average yield per annum is, I believe, about 1½ tons per acre of -canes,—which is still high.</p> - -<p>It used to be the practice for a grower of canes to have as a matter of -course a plant for making sugar,—and probably rum. It seemed to be the -necessity of the business of cane-<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_268" id="page_268">{268}</a></span>growing that the planter should also -be a manufacturer,—as though a grower of hemp was bound to make ropes -or a grower of wheat to make bread. Thus it came to pass that it -required a man with considerable capital to grow canes, and the small -farmer was shut out from the occupation. In Cuba and Demerara and -Barbados the cane grower is, I think, still almost always a -manufacturer. In Queensland I found farmers growing canes which they -sold to manufacturers who made the sugar. This plan is now being largely -adopted in Natal and central mills are being established by companies -who can of course command better machinery than individuals with small -capitals. But even in this arrangement there is much difficulty,—the -mill owners finding it sometimes impossible to get cane as they want it, -and the cane growers being equally hard set to obtain the miller’s -services just as their canes are fit for crushing. It becomes necessary -that special agreements shall be made beforehand as to periods and -quantities, which special agreements it is not always easy to keep. The -payment for the service done is generally made in kind, the miller -retaining a portion of the sugar produced, half or two thirds, as he or -the grower may have performed the very onerous work of carrying the -canes from the ground to the mill. The latter operation is another great -difficulty in the way of central mills. When the sugar grower had his -own machinery in the centre of his own cane fields he was able to take -care that a minimum amount of carriage should be required;—but with -large central manufactories the growing cane is necessarily thrown back -to a distance from the mill and a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_269" id="page_269">{269}</a></span> heavy cost for carriage is added. The -amount of cane to make a ton of sugar is so bulky that a distance is -easily reached beyond which the plants cannot be carried without a cost -which would make any profit impossible.</p> - -<p>In spite of all these difficulties,—and they are very great,—the -stranger cannot pass through the sugar districts of Natal without -becoming conscious of Colonial success. I have heard it argued that -sugar was doing no good to Natal because the profits reached England in -the shape of dividends on bank shares which were owned and spent in the -mother country. I can never admit the correctness of this argument, for -it is based on the assumption that in large commercial enterprises the -gain, or loss, realized by the capitalist is the one chief point of -interest;—that if he makes money all is well, and that if he loses it -all is ill. It may be so to him. But the real effect of his operations -is to be found in the wages and salaries he pays and the amount of -expenditure which his works occasion. I have heard of a firm which -carried on a large business without any thought of profit, merely for -political purposes. The motive I think was bad;—but not the less -beneficial to the population was the money spent in wages. Even though -all the profits from sugar grown in Natal were spent in England,—which -is by no means the case,—the English shareholders cannot get at their -dividends without paying workmen of all classes to earn them,—from the -black man who hoes the canes up to the Superintendent who rides about on -his horse and acts the part of master.</p> - -<p>There is a side to the sugar question in Natal which to me<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_270" id="page_270">{270}</a></span> is less -satisfactory than the arrangements made in regard to Capital. As I have -repeated, and I fear shall repeat too often,—there are 320,000 Natives -in Natal; Kafirs and Zulus, strong men as one would wish to see; and yet -the work of the estates is done by Coolies from India. I ought not to -have been astonished by this for I had known twenty years ago that sugar -was grown or at any rate manufactured by Coolie labour in Demerara and -Trinidad, and had then been surprised at the apathy of the people of -Jamaica in that they had not introduced Coolies into that island. There -were stalwart negroes without stint in these sugar colonies,—who had -been themselves slaves, or were the children of slaves; but these -negroes would only work so fitfully that the planters had been forced to -introduce regular labour from a distance. The same thing, and nothing -more, had taken place in Natal. But yet I was astonished. It seemed to -be so sad that with all their idle strength standing close by, requiring -labour for its own salvation,—with so large a population which labour -only can civilize, we who have taken upon ourselves to be their masters -should send all the way to India for men to do that which it ought to be -their privilege to perform. But so it is. There are now over 10,000 -Coolies domiciled in Natal, all of whom have been brought there with the -primary object of making sugar.</p> - -<p>The Coolies are brought into the Colony by the Government under an -enactment of the Legislature. They agree to serve for a period of 10 -years, after which they are, if they please, taken back. The total cost -to the Government is in excess of £20 per man. Among the items of -expenditure in<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_271" id="page_271">{271}</a></span> 1875 £20,000 was voted for the immigration of Coolies, -of which a portion was reimbursed during that year, and further portions -from year to year. The Coolie on his arrival is allotted to a -planter,—or to any other fitting applicant,—and the employer for 5 -years pays £4 per annum to the Government for the man’s services. He -also pays the man 12s. a month, and clothes him. He feeds the Coolie -also, at an additional average cost of 12s. a month, and with some other -small expenses for medical attendance and lodging pays about £20 per -annum for the man’s services. As I shall state more at length in the -next volume, there are twelve thousand Kafirs at the Diamond Fields -earning 10s. a week and their diet;—and as I have already stated there -are in British Kafraria many Kafirs earning very much higher wages than -that! But in Natal a Zulu, who generally in respect to strength and -intelligence is superior to the ordinary Kafir, is found not to be worth -£20 a year.</p> - -<p>The Coolie after his five years of compulsory service may seek a master -where he pleases,—or may live without a master if he has the means. His -term of enforced apprenticeship is over and he is supposed to have -earned back on behalf of the Colony the money which the Colony spent on -bringing him thither. Of course he is worth increased wages, having -learned his business, and if he pleases to remain at the work he makes -his own bargain. Not unfrequently he sets up for himself as a small -farmer or market-gardener, and will pay as much as 30s. an acre rent for -land on which he will live comfortably. I passed through a village of -Coolies where the men had their wives and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_272" id="page_272">{272}</a></span> children and were living each -under his own fig tree. Not unfrequently they hire Kafirs to do for them -the heavy work, assuming quite as much mastery over the Kafir as the -white man does. Many of them will go into service,—and are greatly -prized as domestic servants. They are indeed a most popular portion of -the community, and much respected,—whereas the white man does I fear in -his heart generally despise and dislike the Native.</p> - -<p>I have said that the ordinary Kafir is found by the sugar grower not to -be worth £20 a year. The sugar grower will put the matter in a different -way and will declare that the Kafir will not work for £20 a year,—will -not work as a man should work for any consideration that can be offered -to him. I have no doubt that sugar can for the present be best made by -Coolie labour,—and that of course is all in all with the manufacturer -of sugar. It cannot be otherwise. But it is impossible not to see that -under it all there is an aversion to the Kafir,—or Zulu as I had -perhaps better call him now,—because he cannot be controlled, because -his labour cannot be made compulsory. The Zulu is not an idle man,—not -so idle I think as were the negroes in the West Indies who after the -emancipation were able to squat on the deserted grounds and live on -yams. But he loves to be independent. I heard of one man who on being -offered work at certain wages, answered the European by offering him -work at higher wages. This he would do,—if the story be true,—with -perfect good humour and a thorough appreciation of the joke. But the -European in Natal, and, indeed, the European throughout South Africa, -cannot rid<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_273" id="page_273">{273}</a></span> himself of the feeling that the man having thews and sinews, -and being a Savage in want of training, should be made to work,—say -nine hours a day for six days a week,—should be made to do as much as a -poor Englishman who can barely feed himself and his wife and children. -But the Zulu is a gentleman and will only work as it suits him.</p> - -<p>This angers the European. The Coolie has been brought into the land -under a contract and must work. The Coolie is himself conscious of this -and does not strive to rebel. He is as closely bound as is the English -labourer himself who would have to encounter at once all the awful -horrors of the Board of Guardians, if it were to enter into his poor -head to say that he intended to be idle for a week. The Zulu has his hut -and his stack of Kafir corn, and can kill an animal out in the veld, and -does not care a straw for any Board of Guardians. He is under no -contract by which he can be brought before a magistrate. Therefore the -sugar planter hates him and loves the Coolie.</p> - -<p>I was once interrogating a young and intelligent superintendent of -machinery in the Colony as to the labour he employed and asked him at -last whether he had any Kafirs about the place. He almost flew at me in -his wrath,—not against me but against the Kafirs. He would not, he -said, admit one under the same roof with him. All work was impossible if -a Kafir were allowed even to come near it. They were in his opinion a -set of human wretches whom it was a clear mistake to have upon the -earth. His work was all done by Coolies, and if he could not get Coolies -the work would not be worth doing at all by him. His was not a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_274" id="page_274">{274}</a></span> sugar -mill, but he was in the sugar country, and he was simply expressing -unguardedly,—with too little reserve,—the feelings of those around -him.</p> - -<p>I have no doubt that before long the Zulus will make sugar, and will -make it on terms cheaper to the Colony at large than those paid for the -Coolies. But the Indian Coolie has been for a long time in the world’s -workshop, whereas the Zulu has been introduced to it only quite of late.</p> - -<p>The drive from the railway station at Umgeni, about four miles from -Durban, through the sugar district to Verulam is very pretty. Some of -the rapid pitches into little valleys, and steep rapid rises put me in -mind of Devonshire. And, as in Devonshire, the hills fall here and there -in a small chaos of broken twisted ridges which is to me always -agreeable and picturesque. After a few turns the traveller, ignorant of -the locality, hardly knows which way he is going, and when he is shewn -some object which he is to approach cannot tell how he will get there. -And then the growth of the sugar cane is always in some degree green, -even in the driest weather. I had hardly seen anything that was not -brown in the Cape Colony, so long and severe had been the drought. In -Natal there was still no rain, but there was a green growth around which -was grateful to the eyes. Altogether I was much pleased with what I saw -of the sugar district of Natal, although I should have been better -satisfied could I have seen Natives at work instead of imported Coolies.</p> - -<p>Immediately west of the town as you make the first ascent up from the -sea level towards the interior there is the hill<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_275" id="page_275">{275}</a></span> called the Berea on -and about which the more wealthy inhabitants of Durban have built their -villas. Some few of them are certainly among the best houses in South -Africa, and command views down upon the town and sea which would be very -precious to many an opulent suburb in England. Durban is proud of its -Berea and the visitor is taken to see it as the first among the sights -of the place. And as he goes he is called upon to notice the road on -which he is riding. It is no doubt a very good road,—as good as an -ordinary road leading out of an ordinary town in England, and therefore -does not at first attract the attention of the ordinary English -traveller. But roads in young countries are a difficulty and sometimes a -subject of soreness;—and the roads close to the towns and even in the -towns are often so imperfect that it is felt to be almost rude to allude -to them specially. In a new town very much has to be done before the -roads can be macadamized. I was driven along one road into Durban in -company with the Mayor which was certainly not all that a road ought to -be. But this road which we were on now was, when I came to observe it, a -very good road indeed. “And so it ought,” said my companion. “It cost -the Colony——,” I forget what he said it cost. £30,000, I think, for -three or four miles. There had been some blundering, probably some -peculation, and thus the money of the young community had been -squandered. Then, at the other side of Durban, £100,000 had been thrown -into the sea in a vain attempt to keep out the sand. These are the -heartrending struggles which new countries have to make. It is not only -that they<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_276" id="page_276">{276}</a></span> must spend their hard-earned money, but that they are so -often compelled to throw it away because in their infancy they have not -as yet learned how to spend it profitably.</p> - -<p>Natal has had many hardships to endure and Durban perhaps more than its -share. But there it is now, a prosperous and pleasant seaport town with -a beautiful country round it and thriving merchants in its streets. It -has a park in the middle of it,—not very well kept. I may suggest that -it was not improved in general appearance when I saw it by having a -couple of old horses tethered on its bare grass. Perhaps the grass is -not bare now and perhaps the horses have been taken away. The -combination when I was there suggested poverty on the part of the -municipality and starvation on the part of the horses. There is also a -botanical garden a little way up the hill very rich in plants but not -altogether well kept. The wonder is how so much is done in these places, -rather than why so little;—that efforts so great should be made by -young and therefore poor municipalities to do something for the -recreation and for the relief of the inhabitants! I think that there is -not a town in South Africa,—so to be called,—which has not its -hospital and its public garden. The struggles for these institutions -have to come from men who are making a dash for fortune, generally under -hard circumstances in which every energy is required; and the money has -to be collected from pockets which at first are never very full. But a -colonial town is ashamed of itself if it has not its garden, its -hospital, its public library, and its two or three churches, even in its -early days.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_277" id="page_277">{277}</a></span></p> - -<p>I can say nothing of the hotels at Durban because I was allowed to live -at the club,—which is so peculiarly a colonial institution. Somebody -puts your name down beforehand and then you drive up to the door and ask -for your bedroom. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are provided at stated -hours. At Durban two lunches were provided in separate rooms, a hot -lunch and a cold lunch,—an arrangement which I did not see elsewhere. I -imagine that the hot lunch is intended as a dinner to those who like to -dine early. But, if I am not mistaken, I have seen the same faces coming -out of the hot lunch and going in to the hot dinner. I should imagine -that these clubs cannot be regarded with much favour by the Innkeepers -as they take away a large proportion of the male travellers.</p> - -<p>The population of Durban is a little in excess of that of the capital of -the Colony, the one town running the other very close. They each have -something above 4,000 white inhabitants, and something above half that -number of coloured people. In regard to the latter there must I think be -much uncertainty as they fluctuate greatly and live, many of them, -nobody quite knows where. They are in fact beyond the power of accurate -counting, and can only be computed. In Durban, as in Pieter Maritzburg, -every thing is done by the Zulus,—or by other coloured people;—and -when anything has to be done there is always a Zulu boy to do it. -Nothing of manual work seems ever to be done by an European. The -stranger would thus be led to believe that the coloured population is -greater than the white. But Durban is a sea port town requiring<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_278" id="page_278">{278}</a></span> many -clerks and having no manufactures. Clerks are generally white, as are -also the attendants in the shops. It is not till the traveller gets -further up the country that he finds a Hottentot selling him a -pockethandkerchief. I am bound to say that on leaving Durban I felt that -I had visited a place at which the settlers had done the very utmost for -themselves and had fought bravely and successfully with the difficulties -which always beset new comers into strange lands. I wish the town and -the sugar growers of its neighbourhood every success,—merely suggesting -to them that in a few years’ time a Zulu may become quite as handy at -making sugar as a Coolie.</p> - -<p>Pieter Maritzburg is about 55 miles from Durban, and there are two -public conveyances running daily. The mail cart starts in the morning, -and what is called a Cobb’s coach follows at noon. I chose the latter as -it travels somewhat faster than the other and reaches its destination in -time for dinner. The troubles of the long road before me,—from Durban -through Natal and the Transvaal to Pretoria, the Diamond Fields, -Bloemfontein—the capital of the Orange Free State,—and thence back -through the Cape Colony to Capetown were already beginning to lie heavy -on my mind. But I had no cause for immediate action at Durban. Whatever -I might do, whatever resolution I might finally take, must be done and -taken at Pieter Maritzburg. I could therefore make this little journey -without doubt, though my mind misgave me as to the other wanderings -before me.</p> - -<p>I found the Cobb’s coach,—which however was not a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_279" id="page_279">{279}</a></span> Cobb’s coach at -all,—to be a very well horsed and well arranged Institution. We -travelled when we were going at about ten miles an hour and were very -well driven indeed by one of those coloured half-bred Cape boys, as they -are called, whose parents came into the Cape Colony from St. Helena. -Almost all the driving of coaches and mail carts of South Africa has -fallen into their hands, and very good coachmen they are. I sometimes -flatter myself that I know something about the driving of ill-sorted -teams, having had much to do for many years with the transmission of -mails at home, and I do not know that I ever saw a more skilful man with -awkward horses than was this Cape driver. As well as I could learn he -was called Apollo. I hope that if he has a son he will not neglect to -instruct him in his father’s art as did the other charioteer of that -name. At home, in the old coaching days, we entertained a most -exaggerated idea of the skill of the red-faced, heavy, old fashioned -jarveys who used to succeed in hammering their horses along a road as -smooth as a bowling green, and who would generally be altogether at -their wits’ end if there came any sudden lack of those appurtenances to -which they were accustomed. It was not till I had visited the United -States, and Australia, and now South Africa that I saw what really might -be done in the way of driving four, six, or even eight horses. The -animals confided to Apollo’s care were generally good; but, as is always -the case in such establishments, one or two of them were new to the -work,—and one or two were old stagers who had a will of their own. And -the road was by<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_280" id="page_280">{280}</a></span> no means a bowling-green all the way. I was much taken -with the manner in which Apollo got the better of four jibbing brutes, -who, taking the evil fashion one from another, refused for twenty -minutes to make any progress with the vehicle to which they had just -been harnessed. He suddenly twisted them round and they started full -gallop as though they were going back to Durban. The animals knew that -they were wanted to go the other way and were willing to do anything in -opposition to the supposed will of their master. They were flying to -Durban. But when he had got them warm to the harness he succeeded in -turning them on the veld, keeping them still at a gallop, till they had -passed the stage at which they had been harnessed to the coach.</p> - -<p>As much of the driving in such a country has to be done with the brake -as with the reins and whip, and this man, while his hands and arms were -hard at work, had to manage the brake with his feet. Our old English -coachman could not have moved himself quick enough for the making of -such exertions. And Apollo sat with a passenger on each side, terribly -cramped for room. He was hemmed in with mail bags. My luggage so -obliterated the foot-board that he had to sit with one leg cocked up in -the air and the other loose upon the brake. Every now and again new -indignities were heaped upon him in the shape of parcels and coats which -he stuffed under him as best he could. And yet he managed to keep the -mastery of his reins and whip. It was very hot and he drank lemonade all -the way. What English coachman of the old days could have rivalled him<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_281" id="page_281">{281}</a></span> -there? At the end of the journey he asked for nothing, but took the -half-crown offered to him with easy nonchalance. He was certainly much -more like a gentleman than the old English coachman,—whose greedy eye -who does not remember that can remember at all those old days?</p> - -<p>We were apparently quite full but heard at starting that there was still -a place vacant which had been booked by a gentleman who was to get up -along the road. The back carriage, which was of the waggonette fashion, -uncovered, with seats at each side, seemed to be so full that the -gentleman would find a difficulty in placing himself, but as I was on -the box the idea did not disconcert me. At last, about half way, at one -of the stages, the gentleman appeared. There was a lady inside with her -husband, with five or six others, who at once began to squeeze -themselves. But when the gentleman came it was not a gentleman only, but -a gentleman with the biggest fish in his arms that I ever saw, short of -a Dolphin. I was told afterwards that it weighed 45 pounds. The fish was -luggage, he said, and must be carried. He had booked his place. That we -knew to be true. When asked he declared he had booked a place for the -fish also. That we believed to be untrue. He came round to the front and -essayed to put it on the foot-board. When I assured him that any such -attempt must be vain and that the fish would be at once extruded if -placed there, he threatened to pull me off the box. He was very angry, -and frantic in his efforts. The fish, he said, was worth £5, and must go -to Maritzburg that day. Here Apollo shewed,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_282" id="page_282">{282}</a></span> I think, a little -inferiority to an English coachman. The English coachman would have -grown very red in the face, would have cursed horribly, and would have -persistently refused all contact with the fish. Apollo jumped on his -box, seized the reins, flogged the horses, and endeavoured to run away -both from the fish and the gentleman.</p> - -<p>But the man, with more than colonial alacrity, and with a courage worthy -of a better cause, made a successful rush, and catching the back of the -vehicle with one hand got on to the step behind, while he held on to the -fish with his other hand and his teeth. There were many exclamations -from the folks behind. The savour of the fish was unpleasant in their -nostrils. It must have been very unpleasant as it reached us -uncomfortably up on the box. Gradually the man got in,—and the fish -followed him! Labor omnia vincit improbus. By his pertinacity the -company seemed to become reconciled to the abomination. On looking round -when we were yet many miles from Pieter Maritzburg I saw the gentleman -sitting with his feet dangling back over the end of the car; his -neighbour and vis-a-vis, who at first had been very loud against the -fish, was sitting in the same wretched position; while the fish itself -was placed upright in the place of honour against the door, where the -legs of the two passengers ought to have been. Before we reached our -journey’s end I respected the gentleman with the fish,—who nevertheless -had perpetrated a great injustice; but I thought very little of the -good-natured man who had allowed the fish to occupy the space intended -for a part of his own body. I never afterwards learned what became of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_283" id="page_283">{283}</a></span> -the fish. If all Maritzburg was called together to eat it I was not -asked to join the party.</p> - -<p>I must not complete my record of the journey without saying that we -dined at Pinetown, half way, and that I never saw a better coach dinner -put upon a table.</p> - -<p>The scenery throughout from Durban to Pieter Maritzburg is interesting -and in some places is very beautiful. The road passes over the ridge of -hills which guards the interior from the sea, and in many places from -its altitude allows the traveller to look down on the tops of smaller -hills grouped fantastically below, lying as though they had been -crumbled down from a giant’s hand. And every now and then are seen those -flat-topped mountains,—such as is the Table mountain over -Capetown,—which form so remarkable a feature in South African scenery, -and occur so often as to indicate some peculiar cause for their -formation.</p> - -<p>Altogether what with the scenery, the dinner, Apollo, and the fish, the -journey was very interesting.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_284" id="page_284">{284}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.<br /><br /> -<small>CONDITION OF THE COLONY.—NO. 2.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">On</span> arriving at Pieter Maritzburg I put up for a day or two at the Royal -Hotel which I found to be comfortable enough. I had been told that the -Club was a good club but that it had not accommodation for sleeping. I -arrived late on Saturday evening, and on the Sunday morning I went, of -course, to hear Bishop Colonso preach. Whatever might be the Bishop’s -doctrine, so much at any rate was due to his fame. The most innocent and -the most trusting young believer in every letter of the Old Testament -would have heard nothing on that occasion to disturb a cherished -conviction or to shock a devotional feeling. The church itself was all -that a church ought to be, pretty, sufficiently large and comfortable. -It was, perhaps, not crowded, but was by no means deserted. I had -expected that either nobody would have been there, or else that it would -have been filled to inconvenience,—because of the Bishop’s alleged -heresies. A stranger who had never heard of Bishop Colenso would have -imagined that he had entered a simple church in which the service was -pleasantly performed,—all completed including the sermon within an hour -and a half,—and would have had his special attention only called to the -two facts<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_285" id="page_285">{285}</a></span> that one of the clergymen wore lawn sleeves, and that the -other was so singularly like Charles Dickens as to make him expect to -hear the tones of that wonderful voice whenever a verse of the Bible was -commenced.</p> - -<p>Pieter Maritzburg is a town covering a large area of ground but is -nevertheless sufficiently built up and perfected to prevent that look of -scattered failure which is so common to colonial embryo cities. I do not -know that it contains anything that can be called a handsome -building;—but the edifices whether public or private are neat, -appropriate, and sufficient. The town is surrounded by hills, and is -therefore, necessarily, pretty. The roadways of the street are good, and -the shops have a look of established business. The first idea of Pieter -Maritzburg on the mind of a visitor is that of success, and this idea -remains with him to the last. It contains only a little more than 4,000 -white inhabitants, whereas it would seem from the appearance of the -place, and the breadth and length of the streets, and the size of the -shops, and the number of churches of different denominations, to require -more than double that number of persons to inhabit it. Observation in -the streets, however, will show that the deficiency is made up by -natives, who in fact do all the manual and domestic work of the place. -Their number is given as 2,500; but I am disposed to think that a very -large number come in from the country for their daily occupations in the -town. The Zulu adherents to Pieter Maritzburg are so remarkable that I -must speak separately of them in a separate chapter. The white man in -the capital as in Durban is not the working<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_286" id="page_286">{286}</a></span> man, but the master, or -boss, who looks after the working man.</p> - -<p>I liked Pieter Maritzburg very much,—perhaps the best of all South -African towns. But whenever I would express such an opinion to a Pieter -Maritzburger he would never quite agree with me. It is difficult to get -a Colonist to assent to any opinion as to his own Colony. If you find -fault, he is injured and almost insulted. The traveller soon learns that -he had better abstain from all spoken criticism, even when that often -repeated, that dreadful question is put to him,—which I was called upon -to answer sometimes four or five times a day,—“Well, Mr. Trollope, what -do you think of——,”—let us say for the moment, “South Africa?” But -even praise is not accepted without contradiction, and the peculiar -hardships of a Colonist’s life are insisted upon almost with indignation -when colonial blessings are spoken of with admiration. The Government at -home is doing everything that is cruel, and the Government in the Colony -is doing everything that is foolish. With whatever interest the -gentleman himself is concerned, that peculiar interest is peculiarly -ill-managed by the existing powers. But for some fatuous maddening law -he himself could make his own fortune and almost that of the Colony. In -Pieter Maritzburg everybody seemed to me very comfortable, but everybody -was ill-used. There was no labour,—though the streets were full of -Zulus, who would do anything for a shilling and half anything for -sixpence. There was no emigration from England provided for by the -country. <span class="pagenum"><a name="page_287" id="page_287">{287}</a></span>There were not half soldiers enough in Natal,—though Natal -has luckily had no real use for soldiers since the Dutch went away. But -perhaps the most popular source of complaint was that everything was so -dear that nobody could afford to live. Nevertheless I did not hear that -any great number of the inhabitants of the town were encumbered by debt, -and everybody seemed to live comfortably enough.</p> - -<p>“You must begin,” said one lady to me, “by computing that £400 a year in -England means £200 a year here.” To this I demurred before the -lady,—with very little effect, as of course she had the better of me in -the argument. But I demur again here, with better chance of success, as -I have not the lady by to contradict me.</p> - -<p>The point is one on which it is very difficult to come to a direct and -positive conclusion. The lady began by appealing to wages, rent, the -price of tea and all such articles as must be imported, the price of -clothes, the material of which must at least be imported, the price of -butter and vegetables, the price of schooling, of medical assistance and -of law, which must be regulated in accordance with the price of the -articles which the schoolmaster, doctors, and lawyers consume,—and the -price of washing. In all such arguments the price of washing is brought -forward as a matter in which the Colonist suffers great hardships. It -must be acknowledged that the washing is dear,—and bad, atrociously -bad;—so bad that the coming home of one’s linen is a season for tears -and wailing. Bread and meat she gave up to me. Bread might be about the -same as in Europe, and meat no doubt in Pieter Maritzburg was to be had -at about half the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_288" id="page_288">{288}</a></span> London prices. She defied me to name another article -of consumption which was not cheaper at home than in the Colony.</p> - -<p>I did not care to go through the list with her, though I think that a -London butler costs more than a Zulu boy. I found the matter of wages -paid to native servants to be so inexplicable as to defy my enquiries. A -boy,—that is a Zulu man—would run almost anywhere for a shilling with -a portmanteau on his head. I often heard of 7s. a month as the amount of -wages paid by a farmer,—with a diet exclusively of mealies or of Kafir -corn. And yet housekeepers have told me that they paid £5 and £6 a month -wages for a man, and that they considered his diet to cost them 15s. a -week. In the heat of argument exceptional circumstances are often taken -to prove general statements. You will be assured that the Swiss are the -tallest people in Europe because a Swiss has been found seven feet high. -A man will teach himself to think that he pays a shilling each for the -apples he eats, because he once gave a shilling for an apple in Covent -Garden. The abnormally dear Zulu servants of whom I have heard have been -I think like the giant Swiss and the shilling apple. Taking it all round -I feel sure that Zulu service in Natal is very much cheaper than English -service in England,—that it does not cost the half. I have no doubt -that it is less regular,—but then it is more good humoured, and what it -lacks in comfort is made up in freedom.</p> - -<p>But I would not compare items with my friend; nor do I think that any -true result can be reached by such comparison. Comfort in living depends -not so much on the amount of good things which a man can afford to -consume, but on the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_289" id="page_289">{289}</a></span> amount of good things which those with whom he -lives will think that he ought to consume. It may be true,—nay, it -certainly is true,—that for every square foot of house room which a -householder enjoys he pays more in Pieter Maritzburg than a householder -of the same rank and standing pays in London for the same space. But a -professional man, a lawyer let us say, can afford to live, without being -supposed to derogate from his position, in a much smaller house in Natal -than he can in England. It may cost sixpence to wash a shirt in Natal, -and only threepence in England; but if an Englishman be required by the -exacting fastidiousness of his neighbours to put on a clean white shirt -every day, whereas the Natalian can wear a flannel shirt for three days -running, it will be found, I think, that the Natalian will wash his -shirts a penny a day cheaper than the Englishman. A man with a family, -living on £400 a year, cannot entertain his friends very often either in -London or in Pieter Maritzburg;—but, of the two, hospitality is more -within the reach of the latter because the Colonist who dines out -expects much less than the Englishman. We clothe ourselves in broadcloth -instead of fustian because we are afraid of our neighbours, but the -obligation on us is imperative. In a country where it is less so, money -spent in clothing will of course go further. I do not hesitate to say -that a gentleman living with a wife and children on any income between -£400 and £1,000 would feel less of the inconveniences of poverty in -Natal than in England. That he would experience many -drawbacks,—especially in regard to the education of his children,—is -incidental to all colonial life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_290" id="page_290">{290}</a></span></p> - -<p>I find the following given in a list of prices prevailing at Pieter -Maritzburg in March 1876, and I quote from it as I have seen no list so -general of later date. Meat 6d. per pound. Wheat 13s. per cwt. Turkeys -from 8s. upwards. Fowls 2s. 4d. each. Ham Is. 1d. per lb. Bacon 8d. -Butter, fresh, 1s. 2d. to 1s. 6d. This is an article which often becomes -very much dearer, and is always too bad to be eaten. Coals £3 6s. 8d. -per ton. Good coal could not be bought for this; but coal is never used -in houses. Little fuel is needed except for cooking, and for that wood -is used—quoted at 1s. 4d. per cwt. Potatoes 4s. to 6s. per cwt. Onions -16s. per cwt. A horse can be kept at livery at 17s. 6d. a week. The same -clothes would be dearer in Pieter Maritzburg than in London, but the -same clothes are not worn. I pay £2 2s. for a pair of trowsers in -London. Before I left South Africa I found myself wearing garments that -a liberal tradesman in the Orange Free State, six hundred miles away -from the sea, had sold me for 16s.—although they had been brought ready -made all the way from England. This purchase had not taken place when I -was discussing the matter with the lady, or perhaps I might have been -able to convince her. I bought a hat at the Diamond Fields cheaper than -my friend Scott would sell it me at the corner of Bond Street.</p> - -<p>While in Pieter Maritzburg a public dinner was given to which I had the -honour of receiving an invitation. After dinner, as is usual on such -occasions, a great many speeches were made,—which differed very much -from such speeches as are usually spoken at public dinners in England, -by being all worth hearing. I do not know that I ever heard so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_291" id="page_291">{291}</a></span> many -good speeches made before on a so-called festive occasion. I think I may -say that at home the two or three hours after the health of Her Majesty -has been drunk are generally two or three hours of misery,—sometimes -intensified to such a degree as to induce the unfortunate one to fly for -support to the wine which is set before him. I have sometimes fancied -that this has come, not so much from the inability of the speakers to -make good speeches,—because as a rule able men are called upon on such -occasions,—as from a feeling of shame on the part of the orators. They -do not like to seem to wish to shine on an occasion so trivial. The “Nil -admirari” school of sentiment prevails. To be in earnest about anything, -except on a very rare occasion, would almost be to be ridiculous. -Consequently man after man gets up and in a voice almost inaudible -mumbles out a set of platitudes, which simply has the effect of -preventing conversation. Here, at Pieter Maritzburg, I will not say that -every speaker spoke his best. I do not know to what pitch of excellence -they might have risen. But they spoke so that it was a pleasure to hear -them. The health of the Chief Justice was given, and it is a pity that -every word which he used in describing the manner in which he had -endeavoured to do his duty to the public and the bar, and the pleasure -which had pervaded his life because the public had been law-abiding, and -the bar amenable, should not have been repeated in print. Judges at home -have not so much to say about their offices. There was a tradesman -called to his legs with reference to the commerce of Natal who poured -forth such a flood of words about the trade of the Colony as to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_292" id="page_292">{292}</a></span> make me -feel that he ought not to be a tradesman at all. Probably, however, he -has made his fortune, which he might not have done had he become a -member of Parliament. It was here that the gentleman protested against -drinking the health of The Bar at Durban, to the infinite delight of his -hearers. Napier Broome, who was known to many of us in London, is now -Colonial Secretary at Natal. I don’t remember that he ever startled us -by his eloquence at home; but on this occasion he made a speech which if -made after a London public dinner would be a great relief. Everybody had -something to say, and nobody was ashamed to say it.</p> - -<p>I found 1,200 British soldiers in Pieter Maritzburg, for the due -ordering of whom there was assembled there the rather large number of -eight or nine Field Officers. But in Natal military matters have had a -stir given to them by the necessity of marching troops up to -Pretoria,—at a terrible cost, and now an additional stir by Zulu -ambition. An Englishman in these parts, when he remembers the almost -insuperable difficulty of getting a sufficient number of men in England -to act as soldiers, when he tells himself what these soldiers cost by -the time they reach their distant billets, and reminds himself that they -are supported by taxes levied on a people who, man for man, are very -much poorer than the Colonists themselves, that they are maintained in -great part out of the beer and tobacco of rural labourers who cannot -earn near as much as many a Kafir,—the Englishman as he thinks of all -this is apt to question the propriety of their being there. He will say -to himself that at any rate the Colony should pay for them.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_293" id="page_293">{293}</a></span> A part of -the cost is paid for by the Colony, but only a small part. In 1876 -£4,596 9s. 11d. was so expended, and in 1877 £2,318 2s. 7d.</p> - -<p>Other countries, Spain most notoriously and Holland also, have held the -idea that they should use their Colonies as a source of direct wealth to -themselves,—that a portion of the Colonists’ earnings, or findings, -should periodically be sent home to enrich the mother country. England -has disavowed that idea and has thought that the Colonies should be for -the Colonists. She has been contented with the advantage to her own -trade which might come from the creating of new markets for her goods, -and from the increase which accrued to her honour from the spreading of -her language, her laws and her customs about the world. Up to a certain -point she has had to manage the Colonies herself as a mother manages her -child; and while this was going on she had imposed on her the necessary -task of spending Colonial funds, and might spend them on soldiers or -what not as seemed best to her. But when the Colonies have declared -themselves able to manage themselves and have demanded the privilege of -spending their own moneys, then she has withdrawn her soldiers. It has -seemed monstrous to her to have to send those luxuries,—which of all -luxuries are in England the most difficult to be had,—to Colonies which -assume to be able to take care of themselves with their own funds. But -the act of withdrawing them has been very unpopular. New South Wales has -not yet quite forgiven it, nor Tasmania. For a time there was a question -whether it might not drive New Zealand into<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_294" id="page_294">{294}</a></span> rebellion. But the soldiers -have been withdrawn,—from all parliamentary Colonies, I think, except -the Cape. Natal is not a parliamentary Colony in the proper sense, and -cannot therefore in this matter be put on quite the same footing as the -Cape Colony. But she spends her own revenues and according to the theory -which prevails on the subject, she should provide for her own defence.</p> - -<p>Australia wants no soldiers, nor does New Zealand in spite of the -unsubdued Maoris who are still resident within her borders. They fear no -evil from aboriginal races against which their own strength will not -suffice for them. At the Cape and in Natal it is very different. It has -to be acknowledged, at any rate as to Natal, that an armed European -force in addition to any that the Colony can supply for itself, has to -be maintained for its protection against the black races. But who should -pay the bill? I will not say that assuredly the Colony should do so,—or -else not have the soldiers. What is absolutely necessary in the way of -soldiers must be supplied, whoever pays for them. England will not let -her Colonies be overcome by enemies, black or white, even though she -herself must pay the bill. But it seems to me that a Colony should -either pay its bill or else be ruled from home. I cannot admit that a -Colony is in a position to levy, collect, and spend its own taxes, till -it is in a position to pay for whatever it wants with those taxes. Were -there many Colonies situated as are those of South Africa it would be -impossible for England to continue to send her soldiers for their -protection. In the mean time it is right to say that the Colony keeps a -colonial force of 150 mounted police who are stationed at three -different places<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_295" id="page_295">{295}</a></span> in the Colony,—the Capital, Eastcourt, and Greyton. -In these places there are barracks and stables, and the force as far as -it goes is very serviceable.</p> - -<p>The Colony is governed by a Lieutenant-Governor,—who however is not in -truth Lieutenant to any one but simply bears that sobriquet, and an -Executive Council consisting I think of an uncertain number. There is a -Colonial Secretary, a Secretary for Native Affairs, a Treasurer, and an -Attorney-General. The Commandant of the Forces is I think also called to -the Council, and the Superintendent of Public Works. The Governor is -impowered also to invite two members of the Legislative Council. They -meet as often as is found necessary and in fact govern the Colony. Laws -are of course passed by the Legislative Council of twenty-eight members, -of which, as I have stated before, fifteen are elected and thirteen -nominated. New laws are I think always initiated by the Government, and -the action of the Council, if hostile to the Government, is confined to -repudiating propositions made by the Government. But the essential -difference between such a government as that of Natal, and parliamentary -government such as prevails in Canada, the Australias, New Zealand and -in the Cape Colony, consists in this—that the Prime Minister in these -self-governing Colonies is the responsible head of affairs and goes in -and out in accordance with a parliamentary majority, as do our Ministers -at home; whereas in Natal the Ministers remain in,—or go out if they do -go out,—at the dictation of the Crown. Though the fifteen elective -members in Natal were to remain hostile to the Government on every point -year after year, there would be no constitutional necessity to<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_296" id="page_296">{296}</a></span> change a -single Minister of the Colony. The Crown,—or Governor,—would still -govern in accordance with its or his prevailing ideas. There might be a -deadlock about money. There might be much that would be disagreeable. -But the Governor would be responsible for the government, and no one -would necessarily come in or go out. Such a state of things, however, is -very improbable in a Colony in which the Crown nominates so great a -minority as thirteen members out of a Chamber of twenty-eight. It is not -probable that the fifteen elected members will combine themselves -together to create a difficulty.</p> - -<p>In 1876 the Revenue of the Colony was £265,551. In 1846 it was only -£3,095. In 1876 the expenditure was £261,933. What was the expenditure -in 1846 I do not know, but certainly more than the Revenue,—as has -often been the case since. The Colony owes an old funded debt of -£331,700, and it has now borrowed or is in the act of borrowing -£1,200,000 for its railways. The borrowed money will no doubt all be -expended on public works. When a country has but one harbour, and that -harbour has such a sandbank as the bar at Durban, it has to spend a -considerable sum of money before it can open the way for its commerce. -Upon the whole it may be said that the financial affairs of the Colony -are now in a good condition.</p> - -<p>When I had been a day or two in the place the Governor was kind enough -to ask me to his house and extended his hospitality by inviting me to -join him in an excursion which he was about to make through that portion -of his province which lies to the immediate North of Pieter Maritzburg, -and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_297" id="page_297">{297}</a></span> thence, eastward, down the coast through the sugar districts to -Durban. It was matter of regret to me that my arrangements were too far -fixed to enable me to do all that he suggested; but I had a few days at -my disposal and I was very glad to take the opportunity of seeing, under -such auspices, as much as those few days would allow. An active Colonial -Governor will be so often on the move as to see the whole of the -territory confided to his care and to place himself in this way within -the reach of almost every Colonist who may wish to pay his respects or -may have ought of which to complain. This is so general that Governors -are very often away from home, making semi-regal tours through their -dominions, not always very much to their own comfort, but greatly to the -satisfaction of the male Colonist who always likes to see the -Governor,—very much indeed to the satisfaction of the lady Colonist who -likes the Governor to call upon her.</p> - -<p>Upon such occasions everything needed upon the road has to be carried, -as, except in towns, no accommodation can be found for the Governor and -his suite. In Natal for instance I imagine that Durban alone would be -able to put the Governor up with all his followers. He lives as he goes -under canvas, and about a dozen tents are necessary. Such at least was -the case on this trip. Cooks, tentpitchers, butlers, guards, -aides-de-camp, and private secretary are all necessary. The progress was -commenced by the despatch of many waggons with innumerable oxen. Then -there followed a mule waggon in which those men were supposed to sit who -did not care to remain long on horseback. While I remained<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_298" id="page_298">{298}</a></span> the mule -waggon was I think presided over by the butler and tenanted by his -satellites, the higher persons preferring the more animated life of the -saddle. I had been provided with a remarkably strong little nag, named -Toby Tub, who seemed to think nothing of sixteen stone for six or seven -hours daily and who would canter along for ever if not pressed beyond -eight miles an hour. The mode of our progress was thus;—as the slow -oxen made their journeys of twelve or fourteen miles a day the Governor -deviated hither and thither to the right and the left, to this village -or to that church, or to pay a visit to some considerable farmer; and -thus we would arrive at the end of our day’s journey by the time the -tents were pitched,—or generally before. There was one young officer -who used to shoot ahead about three in the afternoon, and it seemed that -everything in the way of comfort depended on him. My own debt of -gratitude to him was very great, as he let me have his own peculiar -indiarubber tub every morning before he used it himself. Tubbing on such -occasions is one of the difficulties, as the tents cannot be pitched -quite close to the spruits, or streams, and the tubs have to be carried -to the water instead of the water to the tubs. Bathing would be -convenient, were it not that the bather is apt to get out of a South -African spruit much more dirty than he went into it. I bathed in various -rivers during my journey, but I did not generally find it satisfactory.</p> - -<p>We rode up to many farms at which we were of course received with the -welcome due to the Governor, and where in the course of the interview -most of the material facts as to the farmer’s enterprise,—whether on -the whole he had<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_299" id="page_299">{299}</a></span> been successful or the reverse, and to what cause his -success or failure had been owing,—would come out in conversation. An -English farmer at home would at once resent the questionings which to a -Colonial farmer are a matter of course. The latter is conscious that he -has been trying an experiment and that any new comer will be anxious to -know the result. He has no rent to pay and does not feel that his -condition ought to remain a secret between him and his landlord alone. -One man whom we saw had come from the East Riding of Yorkshire more than -twenty years ago, and was now the owner of 1,200 acres,—which however -in Natal is not a large farm. But he was well located as to land, and -could have cultivated nearly the whole had labour been abundant enough, -and cheap enough. He was living comfortably with a pleasant wife and -well-to-do children, and regaled us with tea and custard. His house was -comfortable, and everything no doubt was plentiful with him. But he -complained of the state of things and would not admit himself to be well -off. O fortunati nimium sua si bona norint Agricolæ. He had no rent to -pay. That was true. But there were taxes,—abominable taxes. This was -said with a side look at the Governor. And as for labour,—there was no -making a Zulu labour. Now you could get a job done, and now you -couldn’t. How was a man to grow wheat in such a state of things, and -that, too, with the rust so prevalent? Yes;—he had English neighbours -and a school for the children only a mile and a half off. And the land -was not to say bad. But what with the taxes and what with the Zulus, -there were troubles more than enough. The<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_300" id="page_300">{300}</a></span> Governor asked, as I thought -at the moment indiscreetly, but the result more than justified the -question,—whether he had any special complaint to make. He had paid the -dog tax on his dogs,—5s. a dog, I think it was;—whereas some of his -neighbours had escaped the imposition! There was nothing more. And in -the midst of all this the man’s prosperity and comfort were leaking out -at every corner. The handsome grown-up daughter was telling me of the -dancing parties around to which she went, and there were the pies and -custards all prepared for the family use and brought out at a moment’s -notice. There were the dining room and drawing room, well furnished and -scrupulously clean,—and lived in, which is almost more to the purpose. -There could be no doubt that our Yorkshire friend had done well with -himself in spite of the Zulus and the dog tax.</p> - -<p>An Englishman, especially an English farmer, will always complain, where -a Dutchman or a German will express nothing but content. And yet the -Englishman will probably have done much more to secure his comfort than -any of his neighbours of another nationality. An English farmer in Natal -almost always has a deal flooring to his living rooms; while a Dutchman -will put up with the earth beneath his feet. The one is as sure to be -the case as the other. But the Dutchman rarely grumbles,—or if he -grumbles it is not at his farm. He only wants to be left alone, to live -as he likes on his earthen floor as his fathers lived before him, and -not to be interfered with or have advice given to him by any one.</p> - -<p>In the course of our travels we came to a German village,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_301" id="page_301">{301}</a></span>—altogether -German, and were taken by the Lutheran parson to see the Lutheran church -and Lutheran school. They were both large and betokened a numerous -congregation. That such a church should have been built and a clergyman -supported was evidence of the possession of considerable district funds. -I am not sure but that I myself was more impressed by the excellence of -the Lutheran oranges, grown on the spot. It was very hot and the pastor -gave us oranges just picked from his own garden to refresh us on our -journey. I never ate better oranges. But an orange to be worth eating -should always be just picked from the tree.</p> - -<p>Afterwards as we went on we came to Hollanders, Germans, Dutchmen, and -Englishmen, all of whom were doing well, though most of them complained -that they could not grow corn as they would wish to do because the -natives would not work. The Hollander and the Dutchman in South Africa -are quite distinct persons. The Hollander is a newly arrived emigrant -from Holland, and has none of the Boer peculiarities, of which I shall -have to speak when I come to the Transvaal and the Free State. The -Dutchman is the descendant of the old Dutch Colonist, and when living on -his farm is called a Boer,—the word having the same signification as -husbandman with us. It flavours altogether of the country and country -pursuits, but would never be applied to any one who worked for wages. -They are rare in the part of the country we were then visiting, having -taken themselves off, as I have before explained, to avoid English rule. -There is however a settlement of them still<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_302" id="page_302">{302}</a></span> left in the northern part -of the Colony, about the Klip River and in Weenen.</p> - -<p>One Hollander whom we visited was very proud indeed of what he had done -in the way of agriculture and gave us, not only his own home-grown -oranges, but also his own home-grown cigars. I had abandoned smoking, -perhaps in prophetical anticipation of some such treat as this. Others -of the party took the cigars,—which, however, were not as good as the -oranges. This man had planted many trees, and had done marvels with the -land round his house. But the house itself was deficient,—especially in -the article of flooring.</p> - -<p>Then we came to a German farmer who had planted a large grove about his -place, having put down some thousands of young trees. Nothing can be -done more serviceable to the country at large than the planting of -trees. Though there is coal in the Colony it is not yet accessible,—nor -can be for many years because of the difficulty of transport. The land -is not a forest-land,—like Australia. It is only on the courses of the -streams that trees grow naturally and even then the growth is hardly -more than that of shrubs. Firewood is consequently very dear, and all -the timber used in building is imported. But young trees when planted -almost always thrive. It has seemed to me that the Governments of South -Africa should take the matter in hand,—as do the Governments of the -Swiss Cantons and of the German Duchies, which are careful that timber -shall be reproduced as it is cut down. In Natal it should be produced; -and Nature, though she has not given the country trees, has<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_303" id="page_303">{303}</a></span> manifestly -given it the power of producing them. The German gentleman was full of -the merits of the country, freely admitting his own success, and -mitigating in some degree the general expressions against the offending -Native. He could get Zulus to work—for a consideration. But he was of -opinion that pastoral pursuits paid better than agriculture.</p> - -<p>We came to another household of mixed Germans and Dutch, where we -received exactly the same answers to our enquiries. Farming answered -very well,—but cattle or sheep were the articles which paid. A man -should only grow what corn he wanted for himself and his stock. A farmer -with 6,000 acres, which is the ordinary size of a farm, should not -plough at the most above 40 acres,—just the patches of land round his -house. For simply agricultural purposes 6,000 acres would of course be -unavailable. The farming capitalists in England who single-handed plough -6,000 acres might probably be counted on the ten fingers. In Natal,—and -in South Africa generally,—when a farm is spoken of an area is -signified large enough for pastoral purposes. This may be all very well -for the individual farmer, but it is not good for a new country, such as -are the greater number of our Colonies. In Australia the new coming -small farmer can purchase land over the heads of the pastoral Squatters -who are only tenants of the land under Government. But in South Africa -the fee of the land has unfortunately been given away.</p> - -<p>On many of these farms we found that Zulus had “locations.” A small -number,—perhaps four or five families,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_304" id="page_304">{304}</a></span>—had been allowed to make a -kraal,—or native village,—on condition that the men would work for -wages. The arrangement is not kept in any very strict way, but is felt -to be convenient by farmers who have not an antipathy to the Zulus. The -men will work, unless they are particularly anxious just then to be -idle;—which is, I think, as much as can be expected from them just at -present. Throughout this country there are other “locations”—very much -larger in extent of land and numerously inhabited,—on which the Natives -reside by their own right, the use of the soil having been given to them -by the Government.</p> - -<p>At Greyton the capital of the district I met an English farmer, a -gentleman living at a little distance whose residence and station I did -not see, and found him boiling over with grievances. He found me walking -about the little town at dawn, and took out of his pocket a long letter -of complaint, addressed to some one in authority, which he insisted on -reading to me. It was a general accusation against the Zulus and all -those who had the management of the Zulus. He was able to do nothing -because of the injuries which the vagabond Natives inflicted upon him. -He would not have had a Zulu near him if he could have helped it. I -could not but wish that he might be deserted by Zulus altogether for a -year,—so that he might have to catch his own horse, and kill his own -sheep, and clean his own top boots—in which he was dressed when he -walked about the streets of Greyton that early morning reading to my -unwilling ears his long letter of complaint.</p> - -<p>At his camp in the neighbourhood of Greyton I bade<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_305" id="page_305">{305}</a></span> adieu to the -Governor and his companions and went back to Pieter Maritzburg by the -mail cart. I had quite convinced myself that the people whom I had seen -during my little tour had done well in settling themselves in Natal, and -had prospered as Colonists, in spite of the dog tax and the wickedness -of the Zulus to the unfortunate owner of the top boots.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_306" id="page_306">{306}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.<br /><br /> -<small>THE ZULUS.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">Upon</span> entering Natal we exchange the Kafir for the Zulu,—who conceives -himself to be a very superior sort of man—not as being equal to the -white man whom he reverences, but as being greatly above the other black -races around him. And yet he is not a man of ancient blood, or of long -established supremacy. In the early part of this century,—beyond which -I take it Zulu history goeth not,—there was a certain chief of the -Zulus whom we have spoken of as King Chaka. To spell the name aright -there should be a T before the C, and an accent to mark the peculiar -sound in the Kafir language which is called a click. To the uninstructed -English ear Chaka will be intelligible and sufficient. He was King of -the Zulus, but the tribe was not mighty before his time. He was a great -warrior and was brave enough and gradually strong enough to “eat up” all -the tribes around him; and then, according to Kafir fashion, the tribes -so eaten amalgamated themselves with the eaters, and the Zulus became a -great people. But Chaka was a bloody tyrant and if the stories told be -true was nearly as great an eater of his own people as of his enemies. -In his early days the territory which<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_307" id="page_307">{307}</a></span> we now call Natal was not -inhabited by Zulus but by tribes which fell under his wrath, and which -he either exterminated or assimilated,—which at any rate he “ate up.” -Then the Zulus flocked into the land, and hence the native population -became a Zulu people. But Zulu-land proper, with which we Britons have -no concern and where the Zulus live under an independent king of their -own, is to the North of Natal, lying between the Colony and the -Portuguese possession called Delagoa Bay.</p> - -<p>It may be as well to say here a few words about the Zulus on their own -land. I did not visit their country and am not therefore entitled to say -much, but from what I learned I have no doubt that had I visited the -nation I should have been received with all courtesy at the Court of his -dreaded Majesty King Cetywayo,—who at this moment, January, 1878, is I -fear our enemy. The spelling of this name has become settled, but -Cetch-way-o is the pronunciation which shews the speaker to be well up -in his Zulu. King Chaka, who made all the conquests, was murdered by his -brother Dingaan<a name="FNanchor_16_16" id="FNanchor_16_16"></a><a href="#Footnote_16_16" class="fnanchor">[16]</a> who then reigned in his stead. Dingaan did not add -much territory to the territories of his tribe as Chaka had done, but he -made himself known and probably respected among his Zulu subjects by -those horrible butcheries of the Dutch pioneers of which I have spoken -in my chapter on the early history of the Colony. The name of Dingaan -then became dreadful through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_308" id="page_308">{308}</a></span> land. It was not only that he -butchered the Dutch, but that he maintained his authority and the dread -of his name by the indiscriminate slaughter of his own people. If the -stories told be true, he was of all South African Savages the most -powerful and the most savage. But as far as I can learn English -missionaries were safe in Zulu-land even in Dingaan’s time.</p> - -<p>Then Dingaan was murdered and his brother Panda became Chief. Neither -Chaka or Dingaan left sons, and there is extant a horrible story to the -effect that they had their children killed as soon as born, thinking -that a living son would be the most natural enemy to a reigning father. -Panda was allowed to live and reign, and seems to have been a fat -do-nothing good-natured sort of King,—for a Zulu. He died some years -since,—in his bed if he had one,—and now his son Cetywayo reigns in -his stead.</p> - -<p>Cetywayo has certainly a bad reputation generally, though he was till -quite lately supposed to be favourable to the English as opposed to the -Dutch. When dealing with the troubles of the Transvaal I shall have to -say something of him in that respect. He has probably been the indirect -cause of the annexation of that country. In Natal there are two opinions -about the Zulu monarch. As the white man generally dislikes the black -races by whom he is surrounded and troubled in South Africa,—not averse -by any means to the individual with whom he comes in immediate contact, -but despising and almost hating the people,—Cetywayo and his subjects -are as a rule evil spoken of among the Europeans<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_309" id="page_309">{309}</a></span> of the adjacent -Colony. He is accused of murdering his people right and left according -to his caprices. That is the charge brought against him. But it is -acknowledged that he does not murder white people, and I am not at all -sure that there is any conclusive evidence of his cruelty to the blacks. -He has his white friends as I have said, and although they probably go a -little too far in whitewashing him, I am inclined to believe them when -they assert that the spirit of European clemency and abhorrence from -bloodshed has worked its way even into the Zulu Court and produced a -respect for life which was unknown in the days of Chaka and Dingaan. It -is no doubt the case that some of the missionaries who had been settled -in Zulu-land have in the year that is last past,—1877,—left the -country as though in a panic. I presume that the missionaries have gone -because two or three of their converts were murdered. Two or three -certainly have been murdered, but I doubt whether it was done by order -of the Chief. The converts have as a rule been safe,—as have the -missionaries,—not from any love borne to them by Cetywayo, but because -Cetywayo has thought them to be protected by English influence. Cetywayo -has hitherto been quite alive to the expediency of maintaining peace -with his white neighbours in Natal, though he could afford to despise -his Dutch neighbours in the Transvaal. It has yet to be seen whether we -shall be able to settle questions as to a line of demarcation between -himself and us in the Transvaal without an appeal to force.</p> - -<p>When I was at Pieter Maritzburg a young lady who was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_310" id="page_310">{310}</a></span> much interested in -the welfare of the Zulus and who had perhaps a stronger belief in the -virtues of the black people than in the justice of the white, read to me -a diary which had just been made by a Zulu who had travelled from Natal -into Zulu-land to see Cetywayo, and had returned not only in safety but -with glowing accounts of the King’s good conduct to him. The diary was -in the Zulu language and my young friend, if I may call her so, shewed -her perfect mastery over that and her mother tongue by the way in which -she translated it for me. That the diary was an excellent literary -production, and that it was written by the Zulu in an extremely good -running hand, containing the narrative of his journey from day to day in -a manner quite as interesting as many published English journals, are -certainly facts. How far it was true may be a matter of doubt. The lady -and her family believed it entirely,—and they knew the man well. The -bulk of the white inhabitants of Pieter Maritzburg would probably not -have believed a word of it. I believed most of it, every now and then -arousing the gentle wrath of the fair reader by casting a doubt upon -certain details. The writer of the journal was present, however, -answering questions as they were asked; and, as he understood and spoke -English, my doubts could only be expressed when he was out of the room. -“There is a touch of romance there,” I would say when he had left us -alone. “Wasn’t that put in specially for you and your father?” I asked -as to another passage. But she was strong in support of her Zulu, and -made me feel that I should like to have such an advocate if ever -suspected myself.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_311" id="page_311">{311}</a></span></p> - -<p>The personal adventures of the narrator and the literary skill displayed -were perhaps the most interesting features of the narrative;—but the -purport was to defend the character of Cetywayo. The man had been told -that being a Christian and an emissary from Natal he would probably be -murdered if he went on to the Chief’s Kraal; but he had persevered and -had been brought face to face with the King. Then he had made his -speech. “I have come, O King, to tell you that your friend Langalibalele -is safe.” For it was supposed in Zulu-land that Langalibalele, who shall -have the next chapter of this volume devoted to him, had been made away -with by the English. At this the King expressed his joy and declared his -readiness to receive his friend into his kingdom, if the Queen of -England would so permit. “But, O King,” continued the audacious herald, -“why have you sent away the missionaries, and why have you murdered the -converts? Tell me this, O King, because we in Natal are very unhappy at -the evil things which are said of you.” Then the King, with great -forbearance and a more than British absence of personal tyranny, -explained his whole conduct. He had not sent the missionaries away. They -were stupid people, not of much use to any one as he thought, who had -got into a fright and had gone. He had always been good to them;—but -they had now run away without even the common civility of saying -good-bye. He seemed to be very bitter because they had “trekked” without -even the ceremony of leaving a P.P.C. card. He had certainly not sent -them away; but as they had left his dominions after that fashion they -had better not come back again. As for<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_312" id="page_312">{312}</a></span> the murders he had had nothing -to do with them. There was a certain difficulty in ruling his subjects, -and there would be bad men and violent men in his kingdom,—as in -others. Two converts and two only had been murdered and he was very -sorry for it. As for making his people Christians he thought it would be -just as well that the missionaries should make the soldiers in Pieter -Maritzburg Christians before they came to try their hand upon the Zulus.</p> - -<p>I own I thought that the highly polished black traveller who was sitting -before me must have heard the last little sarcasm among his white -friends in Natal and had put the sharp words into the King’s mouth for -effect. “I think,” said my fair friend, “that Cetywayo had us there,” -intending in her turn to express an opinion that the poor British -soldier who makes his way out to the Colony is not always all that he -should be. I would not stop to explain that the civilization of the -white and black men may go on together, and that Cetywayo need not -remain a Savage because a soldier is fond of his beer.</p> - -<p>Such was the gist of the diary,—which might probably be worth -publishing as shewing something of the manners of the Zulus, and -something also of the feeling of these people towards the English. -Zulu-land is one of the problems which have next to be answered. Let my -reader look at his map. Natal is a British Colony;—so is now the -Transvaal. The territory which he will see marked as Basuto Land has -been annexed to the Cape Colony. Kafraria, which still nominally belongs -to the natives, is almost annexed. The Kafrarian problem will soon be -solved in spite of Kreli. But<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_313" id="page_313">{313}</a></span> Zulu-land, surrounded as it is by British -Colonies and the Portuguese settlement at Delagoa Bay, is still a native -country,—in which the king or chief can live by his own laws and do as -his soul lusts. I am very far from recommending an extension of British -interference; but if I know anything of British manners and British -ways, there will be British interference in Zulu-land before long.</p> - -<p>In the meantime our own Colony of Natal is peopled with Zulus whom we -rule, not very regularly, but on the whole with success. They are, to my -thinking, singularly amenable; and though I imagine they would vote us -out of the country if a plebiscite were possible, they are individually -docile and well-mannered, and as Savages are not uncomfortable -neighbours. That their condition as a people has been improved by the -coming of the white man there can be no doubt. I will put out of -consideration for a moment the peculiar benefits of Christianity which -have not probably reached very many of them, and will speak only of the -material advantages belonging to this world. The Zulu himself says of -himself that he can now sleep with both eyes shut and both ears, -whereas, under tribal rule, it was necessary that he should ever have -one eye open and one ear, ready for escape. He can earn wages if he -pleases. He is fed regularly, whereas it was his former fate,—as it is -of all Savages and wild beasts,—to vacillate between famine and a -gorge. He can occupy land and know it for his own, so that no Chief -shall take away his produce. If he have cattle he can own them in -safety. He cannot be “smelt out” by the witchfinder and condemned, so -that his wealth<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_314" id="page_314">{314}</a></span> be confiscated. He is subjected no doubt to thraldom, -but not to tyranny. To the savage subject there is nothing so terrible -as the irresponsible power of a savage ruler. A Dingaan is the same as a -Nero,—a ruler whose heart becomes impregnated by power with a lust for -blood. “No emperor before me,” said Nero, “has known what an emperor -could do.” And so said Dingaan. Cetywayo would probably have said the -same and done the same had he not been checked by English influences. -The Zulu of Natal knows well what it is to have escaped from such -tyranny.</p> - -<p>He is a thrall, and must remain so probably for many a year to come. I -call a man a thrall when he has to be bound by laws in the making of -which he has no voice and is subject to legislators whom he does not -himself choose. But the thraldom though often irrational and sometimes -fantastic is hardly ever cruel. The white British ruler who is always -imperious,—and who is often irrational and sometimes fantastic,—has -almost always at his heart an intention to do good. He has a conscience -in the matter—with rare exceptions, and though he may be imperious and -fantastic, is not tyrannical. He rules the Zulu after a fashion which to -a philanthropist or to a stickler for the rights of man, is abominable. -He means to be master, and knowing the nature of the Zulu, he stretches -his power. He cannot stand upon scruples or strain at gnats. If a blow -will do when a word has not served he gives the blow,—though the blow -probably be illegal. There are certain things which he is entitled to -demand, certain privileges which he is entitled to exact; but he cannot -stop himself for a small trifle. There<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_315" id="page_315">{315}</a></span> are twenty thousand whites to be -protected amidst three hundred thousand blacks, with other hundreds of -thousands crowding around without number, and he has to make the Zulu -know that he is master. And he quite understands that he has to keep the -philanthropist and Exeter Hall,—perhaps even Downing Street and -Printing House Square,—a little in the dark as to the way he does it. -But he is not wilfully cruel to the Zulu, and not often really unkind.</p> - -<p>I was riding, when in Natal, over a mountain with a gentleman high in -authority when we met a Zulu with his assegai and knobkirrie.<a name="FNanchor_17_17" id="FNanchor_17_17"></a><a href="#Footnote_17_17" class="fnanchor">[17]</a> It is -still the custom of a Zulu to carry with him his assegai and knobkirrie, -though the assegai is unlawful wherever he may be, and the knobkirrie is -forbidden in the towns. My companion did not know the Zulu, but found it -necessary, for some official reason, to require the man’s presence on -the following morning at the place from which we had ridden, which was -then about ten miles distant. The purport of the required attendance I -now forget,—if I ever knew it,—but it had some reference to the -convenience of the party of which I made one. The order was given and -the Zulu, assenting, was passing on. But a sudden thought struck my -companion. He spoke a word in the native tongue desiring that the -assegai and knobkirrie might be given up to him. With a rueful look the -weapons were at once surrendered and the unarmed Zulu passed on. “He -knows that I do not know him,<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_316" id="page_316">{316}</a></span>” said my companion, “and would not come -unless I had a hold upon him;”—meaning that the Zulu would surely come -to redeem his assegai and knobkirrie.</p> - -<p>Then I enquired into this practice, and perhaps expostulated a little. -“What would you have done,” I asked, “if the man had refused to give up -his property?” “Such a thing has never yet occurred to me,” said the -gentleman in authority. “When it does I will tell you.” But again I -remonstrated. “The things were his own, and why should they have been -taken away from him?” The gentleman in authority smiled, but another of -our party remarked that the weapons were illegal, and that the -confiscation of them was decidedly proper. But the knobkirrie on the -mountain side was not illegal, and even the assegai was to be restored -when the man shewed himself at the appointed place. They were not taken -because they were illegal, but as surety for the man’s return. I did not -press the question, but I fear that I was held to have enquired too -curiously on a matter which did not concern me. I thought that it -concerned me much, for it told me plainer than could any spoken -description how a savage race is ruled by white men.</p> - -<p>The reader is not to suppose that I think that the assegai and -knobkirrie should not have been taken from the man. On the other hand I -think that my companion knew very well what he was about, and that the -Zulu generally is lucky to have such men in the land. I say again that -we must have resort to such practices, or that we must leave the -country. But I have told the tale because it exemplifies what I say as -to the manner in which savage races are ruled by us. We<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_317" id="page_317">{317}</a></span> were all -shocked the other day because an Indian servant was struck by a white -master, and died from the effects of the blow. The man’s death was an -unfortunate accident which probably caused extreme anguish to the -striker, but cannot be said to have increased at all the criminality of -his act. The question is how far a white master is justified in striking -a native servant. The idea of so doing is to us at home abominable;—but -I fear that we must believe that it is too common in India to create -disgust. It is much the same in Zulu-land. Something is done -occasionally which should not be done, but the rule generally is -beneficent.</p> - -<p>Of all the towns in South Africa Pieter Maritzburg is the one in which -the native element is the most predominant. It is not only that the -stranger there sees more black men and women in the streets than -elsewhere, but that the black men and women whom he sees are more -noticeable. While I was writing of “The Colony,” as the Cape Colony is -usually called in South Africa, I spoke of Kafirs. Now I am speaking of -Zulus,—a comparatively modern race of savages as I have already said. I -have seen a pedigree of Chaka their king, but his acknowledged ancestors -do not go back far. Chaka became a great man, and the Zulus swallowed -all the remainder of the conquered tribes, and became so dominant that -they have given their name to the natives of this part of the continent.</p> - -<p>The Zulus as seen in Maritzburg are certainly a peculiar people, and -very picturesque. I have said of the Kafir that he is always dressed -when seen in town, but that<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_318" id="page_318">{318}</a></span> he is dressed like an Irish beggar. I -should have added, however, that he always wears his rags with a grace. -The Zulu rags are perhaps about equal to the Kafir rags in raggedness, -but the Zulu grace is much more excellent than the Kafir grace. Whatever -it be that the Zulu wears he always looks as though he had chosen that -peculiar costume, quite regardless of expense, as being the one mode of -dress most suitable to his own figure and complexion. The rags are -there, but it seems as though the rags have been chosen with as much -solicitude as any dandy in Europe gives to the fit and colour of his -raiment. When you see him you are inclined to think, not that his -clothes are tattered, but “curiously cut,”—like Catherine’s gown. One -fellow will walk erect with an old soldier’s red coat on him and nothing -else, another will have a pair of knee breeches and a flannel shirt -hanging over it. A very popular costume is an ordinary sack, inverted, -with a big hole for the head, and smaller holes for the arms, and which -comes down below the wearer’s knees. This is serviceable and decent, and -has an air of fashion about it too as long as it is fairly clean. Old -grey great coats with brass buttons, wherever they may come from, are in -request, and though common always seem to confer dignity. A shirt and -trowsers worn threadbare, so ragged as to seem to defy any wearer to -find his way into them, will assume a peculiar look of easy comfort on -the back and legs of a Zulu. An ordinary flannel shirt, with nothing -else, is quite sufficient to make you feel that the black boy who is -attending you, is as fit to be brought into any company as a powdered -footman. And then it is so<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_319" id="page_319">{319}</a></span> cheap a livery! and over and above their -dress they always wear ornaments. The ornaments are peculiar, and might -be called poor, but they never seem amiss. We all know at home the -detestable appearance of the vulgar cad who makes himself odious with -chains and pins,—the Tittlebat Titmouse from the counter. But when you -see a Zulu with his ornaments you confess to yourself that he has a -right to them. As with a pretty woman at home, whose attire might be -called fantastic were it not fashionable, of whom we feel that as she -was born to be beautiful, graceful, and idle, she has a right to be a -butterfly,—and that she becomes and justifies the quaint trappings -which she selects, so of the Zulu do we acknowledge that he is warranted -by the condition of his existence in adorning his person as he pleases. -Load him with bangle, armlet, ear-ring and head-dress to any extent, and -he never looks like a hog in armour. He inserts into the lobes of his -ears trinkets of all sorts,—boxes for the conveyance of his snuff and -little delights, and other pendants as though his ears had been given to -him for purposes of carriage. Round his limbs he wears round shining -ornaments of various material, brass, ivory, wood and beads. I once took -from off a man’s arm a section of an elephant’s tooth which he had -hollowed, and the remaining rim of which was an inch and a half thick. -This he wore, loosely slipping up and down and was apparently in no way -inconvenienced by it. Round their heads they tie ribbons and bandelets. -They curl their crisp hair into wonderful shapes. I have seen many as to -whom I would at first have sworn that they had supplied<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_320" id="page_320">{320}</a></span> themselves with -miraculous wigs made by miraculous barbers. They stick quills and bones -and bits of wood into their hair, always having an eye to some peculiar -effect. They will fasten feathers to their back hair which go waving in -the wind. I have seen a man trundling a barrow with a beautiful green -wreath on his brow, and have been convinced at once that for the proper -trundling of a barrow a man ought to wear a green wreath. A Zulu will -get an old hat,—what at home we call a slouch hat,—some hat probably -which came from the corner of Bond Street and Piccadilly three or four -years ago, and will knead it into such shapes that all the -establishments of all the Christys could not have done the like. The -Zulu is often slow, often idle, sometimes perhaps hopelessly useless, -but he is never awkward. The wonderfully pummelled hat sits upon him -like a helmet upon Minerva or a furred pork pie upon a darling in Hyde -Park in January. But the Zulu at home in his own country always wears on -his head the “isicoco,” or head ring, a shining black coronet made hard -with beaten earth and pigments,—earth taken from the singular ant hills -of the country,—which is the mark of his rank and virility and to -remove which would be a stain.</p> - -<p>I liked the Zulu of the Natal capital very thoroughly. You have no cabs -there,—and once when in green ignorance I had myself carried from one -end of the town to another in a vehicle, I had to pay 10s. 6d. for the -accommodation. But the Zulu, ornamented and graceful as he is, will -carry your portmanteau on his head all the way for sixpence. Hitherto -money has not become common in Natal<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_321" id="page_321">{321}</a></span> as in British Kafraria, and the -Zulu is cheap. He will hold your horse for you for an hour, and not -express a sense of injury if he gets nothing;—but for a silver -threepence he will grin at you with heartfelt gratitude. Copper I -believe he will not take,—but copper is so thoroughly despised in the -Colony that no one dares to shew it. At Maritzburg I found that I could -always catch a Zulu at a moment’s notice to do anything. At the hotel or -the club, or your friend’s house you signify to some one that you want a -boy, and the boy is there at once. If you desired him to go a journey of -200 miles to the very boundary of the Colony, he would go instantly, and -be not a whit surprised. He will travel 30 or 40 miles in the -twenty-four hours for a shilling a day, and will assuredly do the -business confided to him. Maritzburg is 55 miles from Durban and an -acquaintance told me that he had sent down a very large wedding cake by -a boy in 24 hours. “But if he had eaten it?” I asked. “His Chief would -very soon have eaten him,” was the reply.</p> - -<p>But there is a drawback to all these virtues. A Zulu will sometimes -cross your path with so strong an injury to your nose as almost to make -you ill. I have been made absolutely sick by the entrance of a -good-natured Zulu into my bedroom of a morning, when he has come near me -in his anxiety about my boots or my hot water. In this respect he is -more potent than any of his brethren of the negro race who have come in -my way. Why it is or whence I am unable to say, or how it comes to pass -that now and again there is one who will almost knock you down, while a<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_322" id="page_322">{322}</a></span> -dozen others shall cross you leaving no more than a mere flavour of -Zuluism on your nasal organs. I do not think that dirt has anything to -do with it. They are a specially clean people, washing themselves often -and using soap with a bountiful liberality unknown among many white men. -As the fox who leaves to the hounds the best scent is always the fox in -the strongest health, so I fancy is it with the Zulu,—whereas dirt is -always unhealthy. But there is the fact; and any coming visitor to Natal -had better remember it, and be on his guard.</p> - -<p>Almost all domestic service is done by the Zulu or Kafir race in Natal. -Here and there may be found a European servant,—a head waiter at an -hotel, or a nurse in a lady’s family, or a butler in the establishment -of some great man. But all menial work is as a rule done by the natives -and is done with fidelity. I cannot say that they are good servants at -all points. They are slow, often forgetful, and not often impressed with -any sense of awe as to their master, who cannot eat them up or kill them -as a black master might do. But they are good-humoured, anxious to -oblige, offended at nothing, and extremely honest. Their honesty is so -remarkable that the white man falls unconsciously into the habit of -regarding them in reference to theft as he would a dog. A dog, unless -very well mannered, would take a bit of meat, and a Zulu boy might help -himself to your brandy if it was left open within his reach. But your -money, your rings, your silver forks, and your wife’s jewels,—if you -have a wife and she have jewels,—are as safe with a Zulu servant as -with a dog. The feeling that it is so comes even<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_323" id="page_323">{323}</a></span> to the stranger after -a short sojourn in the land. I was travelling through the country by a -mail cart, and had to stay at a miserable wayside hut which called -itself an hotel, with eight or ten other passengers. Close at hand, not -a hundred yards from the door, were pitched the tents of a detachment of -soldiers, who were being marched up to the border between Natal and the -Transvaal. Everybody immediately began to warn his neighbour as to his -property because of the contiguity of the British soldier. But no one -ever warns you to beware of a Zulu thief though the Zulus swarm round -the places at which you stop. I found myself getting into a habit of -trusting a Zulu just as I would trust a dog.</p> - -<p>I have already said something of Zulu labour when speaking of the sugar -districts round Durban. It is the question upon which the prosperity of -South Africa and the civilization of the black races much depend. If a -man can be taught to want, really to desire and to covet the good things -of the world, then he will work for them and by working he will be -civilized. If, when they are presented to his notice, he still despises -them,—if when clothes and houses and regular meals and education come -in his way, he will still go naked, and sleep beneath the sky, and eat -grass or garbage and then starve, and remain in his ignorance though the -schoolmaster be abroad, then he will be a Savage to the end of the -chapter. It is often very hard to find out whether the good things have -been properly proffered to the Savage, and whether the man’s neglect of -them has come from his own intellectual inability to appreciate them or -from the ill<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_324" id="page_324">{324}</a></span> manner in which they have been tendered to him. The -aboriginal of Australia has utterly rejected them, as I fear we must say -the North American Indian has done also,—either from his own fault or -from ours. The Maori of New Zealand seemed to be in the way of accepting -them when it was found out that the reception of them was killing him. -He is certainly dying whether from that or other causes. The Chinaman -and the Indian Coolie are fully alive to the advantages of earning -money, and are consequently not to be classed among Savages. The South -Sea Islander has as yet had but few chances of working; but when he is -employed he works well and saves his wages. With the Negro as imported -into the West Indies the good things of the world have, I fear, made but -little way. He despises work and has not even yet learned to value the -advantages which work will procure for him. The Negro in the United -States, who in spite of his prolonged slavery has been brought up in a -better school, gives more promise; but even with him the result to be -desired,—the consciousness that by work only can he raise himself to an -equality with the white man,—seems to be far distant. I cannot say that -it is near with the Kafir or the Zulu;—but to the Kafir and the Zulu -the money market has been opened comparatively but for a short time. -They certainly do not die out under the yoke, and they are not -indifferent to the material comforts of life. Therefore I think there is -a fair hope that they will become a laborious and an educated people.</p> - -<p>At present no doubt throughout Natal there is a cry from the farmer that -the Zulu will not work. The farmer can<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_325" id="page_325">{325}</a></span>not plough his land and reap it -because the Zulu will not come to him just when work is required. It -seems hard to the farmer that, with 300,000 of a labouring class around, -the 20,000 white capitalists,—capitalists in a small way,—should be -short of labour. That is the way in which the Natal farmer looks at it, -when he swears that the Zulu is trash, and that it would be well if he -were swept from the face of the earth. It seems never to occur to a -Natal farmer that if a Zulu has enough to live on without working he -should be as free to enjoy himself in idleness as an English lord. The -business of the Natal farmer is to teach the Zulu that he has not enough -to live on, and that there are enjoyments to be obtained by working of -which the idle man knows nothing.</p> - -<p>But the Zulu does work, though not so regularly as might be desirable. I -was astonished to find at how much cheaper a rate he works than does the -Kafir in British Kafraria or in the Cape Colony generally. The wages -paid by the Natal farmer run from 10s. down to 5s. a month, and about 3 -lbs. of mealies or Indian corn a day for diet. I found that on road -parties,—where the labour is I am sorry to say compulsory, the men -working under constraint from their Chiefs,—the rate is 5s. a month, or -4d. a day for single days. The farmer who complains of course expects to -get his work cheap, and thinks that he is injuring not only himself but -the community at large if he offers more than the price which has been -fixed in his mind as proper. But in truth there is much of Zulu -agricultural work done at a low rate of wages, and the custom of such -work is increasing.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_326" id="page_326">{326}</a></span></p> - -<p>As to other work, work in towns, work among stores, domestic work, -carrying, carting, driving, cleaning horses, tending pigs, roadmaking, -running messages, scavengering, hod bearing and the like, the stranger -is not long in Natal before he finds, not only that all such work is -done by Natives, but that there are hands to do it more ready and easy -to find than in any other country that he has visited.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_327" id="page_327">{327}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.<br /><br /> -<small>LANGALIBALELE.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">The</span> story of Langalibalele is one which I must decline to tell with any -pretence of accuracy, and as to the fate of the old Zulu,—whether he -has been treated wrongly or rightly I certainly am not competent to give -an opinion with that decision which a printed statement should always -convey. But in writing of the Colony of Natal it is impossible to pass -Langalibalele without mention. It is not too much to say that the doings -of Langalibalele have altered the Constitution of the Colony; and it is -probable that as years run on they will greatly affect the whole -treatment of the Natives in South Africa. And yet Langalibalele was -never a great man among the Zulus and must often have been surprised at -his own importance.</p> - -<p>Those who were concerned with the story are still alive and many of them -are still sore with the feeling of unmerited defeat. And to no one in -the whole matter has there been anything of the triumph of success. The -friends of Langalibalele, and his enemies, seem equally to think that -wrong has been done,—or no better than imperfect justice. And the case -is one the origin and end of which can hardly now be discovered, so -densely are they enveloped in Zulu customs<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_328" id="page_328">{328}</a></span> and past Zulu events. -Whether a gentleman twenty years ago when firing a pistol intended to -wound or only frighten? Such, and such like, are the points which the -teller of the story would have to settle if he intended to decide upon -the rights and wrongs of the question. Is it not probable that a man -having been called on for sudden action, in a great emergency, may -himself be in the dark as to his own intention at so distant a -period,—knowing only that he was anxious to carry out the purpose for -which he was sent, that purpose having been the establishment of British -authority? And then this matter was one in which the slightest possible -error of judgment, the smallest deviation from legal conduct where no -law was written, might be efficacious to set everything in a blaze. The -natives of South Africa, but especially the natives of Natal, have to be -ruled by a mixture of English law and Zulu customs, which mixture, I -have been frequently told, exists in its entirety only in the bosom of -one living man. It is at any rate unwritten,—as yet unwritten though -there now exists a parliamentary order that this mixture shall be -codified by a certain fixed day. It is necessarily irrational,—as for -instance when a Zulu is told that he is a British subject but yet is -allowed to break the British law in various ways, as in the matter of -polygamy. It must be altogether unintelligible to the subject race to -whom the rules made by their white masters, opposed as they are to their -own customs, must seem to be arbitrary and tyrannical,—as when told -that they must not carry about with them the peculiar stick or -knobkirrie which has been familiar to their hands from infancy. It is -opposed to the ideas of justice which prevail<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_329" id="page_329">{329}</a></span> in the intercourse -between one white man and another, as when the Zulu, whom the white man -will not call a slave, is compelled through the influence of his Chief -to do the work which the white man requires from him;—as an instance of -which I may refer to those who are employed on the roads, who are paid -wages, indeed, but who work not by their own will, but under restraint -from their Chiefs. It must I think be admitted that when a people have -to be governed by such laws mistakes are to be expected,—and that the -best possible intentions, I may almost say the best possible practice, -may be made matter of most indignant reproach from outraged -philanthropists.</p> - -<p>The white man who has to rule natives soon teaches himself that he can -do no good if he is overscrupulous. They must be taught to think him -powerful or they will not obey him in anything. He soon feels that his -own authority, and with his authority the security of all those around -him, is a matter of “prestige.” Prestige in a highly civilized community -may be created by virtue,—and is often created by virtue and rank -combined. The Archbishop of Canterbury is a very great man to an -ordinary clergyman. But, with the native races of South Africa, prestige -has to be created by power though it may no doubt be supported and -confirmed by justice. Thus the white ruler of the black man knows that -he must sometimes be rough. There must be a sharp word, possibly a blow. -There must be a clear indication that his will, whatsoever it may be, -has to be done,—that the doing of his will has to be the great result -let the opposition to it be what it may. He cannot strain at a gnat in -the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_330" id="page_330">{330}</a></span> shape of a little legal point. If he did so the Zulus would cease -to respect him, and would never imagine that their ruler had been turned -from his way by a pang of conscience. The Savage, till he has quite -ceased to be savage, expects to be coerced, and will no more go straight -along the road without coercion, than will the horse if you ride him -without reins. And with a horse a whip and spurs are necessary,—till he -has become altogether tamed.</p> - -<p>The white ruler of the black man feels all this, and knows that without -some spur or whip he cannot do his work at all. His is a service, -probably, of much danger, and he has to work with a frown on his brow in -order that his life may be fairly safe in his hand. In this way he is -driven to the daily practice of little deeds of tyranny which abstract -justice would condemn. Then, on occasion, arises some petty -mutiny,—some petty mutiny almost justified by injustice but which must -be put down with a strong hand or the white man’s position will become -untenable. In nineteen cases the strong hand is successful and the -matter goes by without any feeling of wrong on either side. The white -man expects to be obeyed, and the black man expects to be coerced, and -the general work goes on prosperously in spite of a small flaw. Then -comes the twentieth case in which the one little speck of original -injustice is aggravated till a great flame is burning. The outraged -philanthropist has seen the oppression of his black brother, and evokes -Downing Street, Exeter Hall, Printing House Square, and all the Gospels. -The savage races from the East to the West of the Continent, from the -mouth of the Zambesi to the Gold<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_331" id="page_331">{331}</a></span> Coast, all receive something of -assured protection from the effort;—but, probably, a great injustice is -done to the one white ruler who began it all, and who, perhaps, was but -a little ruler doing his best in a small way. I am inclined to think -that the philanthropist at home when he rises in his wrath against some -white ruler of whose harshness to the blacks he has heard the story -forgets that the very civilization which he is anxious to carry among -the savage races cannot be promulgated without something of -tyranny,—some touch of apparent injustice. Nothing will sanctify -tyranny or justify injustice, says the philanthropist in his wrath. Let -us so decide and so act;—but let us understand the result. In that case -we must leave the Zulus and other races to their barbarities and native -savagery.</p> - -<p>In what I have now said I have not described the origin of the -Langalibalele misfortune, having avoided all direct allusion to any of -its incidents,—except that of the firing of a pistol twenty years ago. -But I have endeavoured to make intelligible the way in which untoward -circumstances may too probably rise in the performance of such a work as -the gradual civilization of black men without much fault on either side. -And my readers may probably understand how, in such a matter as that of -Langalibalele, it would be impossible for me as a traveller to unravel -all its mysteries, and how unjust I might be were I to attempt to prove -that either on this side or on that side wrong had been done. The doers -of the wrong, if wrong there was, are still alive; and the avengers of -the wrong,—whether a real or a fancied wrong,—are still keen. In what -I say about Langalibalele<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_332" id="page_332">{332}</a></span> I will avoid the name of any white man,—and -as far as possible I will impute no blame. That the intentions on both -sides have been good and altogether friendly to the black man I have no -doubt whatsoever.</p> - -<p>Langalibalele was sent for and did not come. That was the beginning of -the whole. Now it is undoubted good Kafir law in Natal,—very well -established though unwritten,—that any Kafir or Zulu is to come when -sent for by a white man in authority. The white man who holds chief -authority in such matters is the Minister for Native Affairs, who is one -of the Executive Council under the Governor, and probably the man of -greatest weight in the whole Colony. He speaks the Zulu language, which -the Governor probably has not time to learn during his period of -governorship. He is a permanent officer,—as the Ministry does not go in -and out in Natal. And he is in a great measure irresponsible because the -other white men in office do not understand as he does that mixture of -law and custom by which he rules the subject race, and there is -therefore no one to judge him or control him. In Natal the Minister for -Native Affairs is much more of a Governor than his Excellency himself, -for he has over three hundred thousand natives altogether under his -hand, while his Excellency has under him twenty thousand white men who -are by no means tacitly obedient. Such is the authority of the Minister -for Native Affairs in Natal, and among other undoubted powers and -privileges is that of sending for any Chief among the Zulu races -inhabiting the Colony, and communicating his orders personally. -Naturally, probably necessarily, this power is<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_333" id="page_333">{333}</a></span> frequently delegated to -others as the Minister cannot himself see every little Chief to whom -instructions are to be given. As the Secretary of State at home has -Under Secretaries, so has the Minister for Native Affairs under -Ministers. In 1873 Langalibalele was sent for but Langalibalele would -not come.</p> - -<p>He had in years long previous been a mutinous Chief in Zulu-land,—where -he was known as a “rain-maker,” and much valued for his efficacy in that -profession;—but he had quarrelled with Panda who was then King of -Zulu-land and had run away from Panda into Natal. There he had since -lived as the Chief of the Hlubi tribe, a clan numbering about 10,000 -people, a proportion of whom had come with him across the borders from -Zulu-land. For it appears that these tribes dissolve themselves and -reunite with other tribes, a tribe frequently not lasting as a tribe -under one great name for many years. Even the great tribe of the Zulus -was not powerful till the time of their Chief Chaka, who was uncle of -the present King or Chief Cetywayo. Thus Langalibalele who had been -rainmaker to King Panda, Cetywayo’s father, became head of the Hlubi -tribe in Natal, and lived under the mixture of British law of which I -have spoken. But he became mutinous and would not come when he was sent -for.</p> - -<p>When a Savage,—the only word I know by which to speak of such a man as -a Zulu Chief so that my reader shall understand me; but in using it of -Langalibalele I do not wish to ascribe to him any specially savage -qualities;—when a Savage has become subject to British rule and will -not obey the<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_334" id="page_334">{334}</a></span> authority which he understands,—it is necessary to reduce -him to obedience at almost any cost. There are three hundred and twenty -thousand Natives in Natal, with hundreds of thousands over the borders -on each side of the little Colony, and it is essential that all these -should believe Great Britain to be indomitable. If Langalibalele had -been allowed to be successful in his controversy every Native in and -around Natal would have known it;—and in knowing it every Native would -have believed that Great Britain had been so far conquered. It was -therefore quite essential that Langalibalele should be made to come. And -he did more than refuse to obey the order. A messenger who was sent for -him,—a native messenger,—was insulted by him. The man’s clothes were -stripped from him,—or at any rate the official great coat with which he -had been invested and which probably formed the substantial part of his -raiment. It has been the peculiarity of this case that whole books have -been written about its smallest incidents. The Langalibalele literature -hitherto written,—which is not I fear as yet completed,—would form a -small library. This stripping of the great coat, or jazy<a name="FNanchor_18_18" id="FNanchor_18_18"></a><a href="#Footnote_18_18" class="fnanchor">[18]</a> as it is -called,—the word ijazi having been established as good Zulu for such an -article,—has become a celebrated incident. Langalibalele afterwards -pleaded that he suspected that weapons had been concealed, and that he -had therefore searched the Queen’s messenger. And he<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_335" id="page_335">{335}</a></span> justified his -suspicion by telling how a pistol had been concealed and had been fired -sixteen years before. And then that old case was ripped up, and thirty -or forty native messengers were examined about it. But Langalibalele -after taking off the Queen’s messenger’s jazy turned and fled, and it -was found to be necessary that the Queen’s soldiers should pursue him. -He was pursued,—with terrible consequences. He turned and fought and -British blood was shed. Of course the blood of the Hlubi tribe had to -flow, and did flow too freely. It was very bad that it should be -so;—but had it not been so all Zululand, all Kafirland, all the tribes -of Natal and the Transvaal would have thought that Langalibalele had -gained a great victory, and our handful of whites would have been unable -to live in their Colony.</p> - -<p>Then Langalibalele was caught. As to matters that had been done up to -that time I am not aware that official fault of very grave nature has -been found with those who were concerned; but the trial of Langalibalele -was supposed to have been conducted on unjust principles and before -judges who should not have sat on the judgment seat. He was tried and -was condemned to very grave punishment, and his tribe and his family -were broken up. He was to be confined for his life, without the presence -of any of his friends, in Robben Island, which, as my reader may -remember, lies just off Capetown, a thousand miles away from Natal,—and -to be reached by a sea journey which to all Zulus is a thing of great -terror. The sentence was carried out and Langalibalele was shipped away -to Robben Island.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_336" id="page_336">{336}</a></span></p> - -<p>It may be remembered how the news of Langalibalele’s rebellion, trial -and punishment gradually reached England, how at first we feared that a -great rebel had arisen, to conquer whom would require us to put out all -our powers, and then how we were moved by the outraged philanthropist to -think that a grievous injustice had been done. I cannot but say that in -both matters we allowed ourselves to be swayed by exaggerated reports -and unwarranted fears and sympathies. Langalibalele did rebel and had to -be punished. His trial was no doubt informal and overformal. Too much -was made of it. The fault throughout has been that too much has been -made of the whole affair. Partisans arose on behalf of the now notorious -and very troublesome old Pagan, and philanthropy was outraged. Then came -the necessity of doing something to set right an acknowledged wrong. It -might be that Langalibalele had had cause for suspicion when he stripped -the Queen’s Messenger. It might be that the running away was the natural -effect of fear, and that the subsequent tragedies had been simply -unfortunate. The trial was adjudged to have been conducted with -overstrained rigour and the punishment to have been too severe. -Therefore it was decided in England that he should be sent back to the -mainland from the island, that he should be located in the neighbourhood -of Capetown,—and that his tribe should be allowed to join him.</p> - -<p>That was promising too much. It was found to be inconvenient to settle a -whole tribe of a new race in the Cape Colony. Nor was it apparent that -the tribe would wish to move after its Chieftain. Then it was decided -that instead of<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_337" id="page_337">{337}</a></span> the tribe the Chieftain’s family should follow him with -any of his immediate friends who might wish to be transported from -Natal. Now Langalibalele had seventy wives and a proportionate -offspring. And it soon became apparent that whoever were sent after him -must be maintained at the expense of Government. Moreover it could -hardly be that Exeter Hall and the philanthropists should desire to -encourage polygamy by sending such a flock of wives after the favoured -prisoner. Complaint was made to me that only two wives and one man were -sent. With them Langalibalele was established in a small house on the -sea shore near to Capetown, and there he is now living at an expense of -£500 per annum to the Government.</p> - -<p>But this unfortunately is not the end. He has still friends in Natal, -white friends, who think that not nearly enough has been done for him. A -great many more wives ought to be allowed to join him, or the promise -made to him will not have been kept. He is languishing for his wives, -and all should be sent who would be willing to go. I saw one of them -very ill,—dying I was told because of her troubles, and half a dozen -others, all of them provided with food gratis, but in great -tribulation,—so it was said,—because of this cruel separation. The -Government surely should send him three or four more wives, seeing that -to a man who has had seventy less than half a dozen must be almost worse -than none. But his friends are not content with asking for this further -grace, but think also that the time has come for forgiveness and that -Langalibalele should be restored to his own country. He has still fame -as a rain-maker and Cetywayo the Zulu<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_338" id="page_338">{338}</a></span> King would be delighted to have -him in Zulu-land. The prayer is much the same as that which is -continually being put forward for the pardon of the Fenians. I myself in -such matters am loyal, but, I fear, hard-hearted. I should prefer that -Langalibalele should be left to his punishment, thinking that would-be -rebels, whether Zulu or Irish, will be best kept quiet by rigid -adherence to a legal sentence. Such is the story of Langalibalele as I -heard it.</p> - -<p>On my return to Capetown I visited the captured Chieftain at his farm -house on the flats five or six miles from the city, having obtained an -order to that effect from the office of the Secretary for Native -Affairs. I found a stalwart man, represented to be 65 years of age, but -looking much younger, in whose appearance one was able to recognise -something of the Chieftain. He had with him three wives, a grown-up son, -and a nephew; besides a child who has been born to him since he has been -in the Cape Colony. The nephew could talk a little English, and acted as -interpreter between us.</p> - -<p>The prisoner himself was very silent, hardly saying a word in answer to -the questions put to him,—except that he should like to see his -children in Natal. The two young men were talkative enough, and did not -scruple to ask for sixpence each when we departed. I and a friend who -was with me extended our liberality to half a crown a piece,—with which -they expressed themselves much delighted.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_339" id="page_339">{339}</a></span></p> - -<h3><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.<br /><br /> -<small>PIETER MARITZBURG TO NEWCASTLE.</small></h3> - -<p class="nind"><span class="smcap">When</span> starting from Pieter Maritzburg to Pretoria I have to own that I -was not quite at ease as to the work before me. From the moment in which -I had first determined to visit the Transvaal, I had been warned as to -the hard work of the task. Friends who had been there, one or two in -number,—friends who had been in South Africa but not quite as far as -the capital of the late Republic, perhaps half a dozen,—and friends -very much more numerous who had only heard of the difficulties, combined -either in telling me or in letting me understand that they thought that -I was,—well—much too old for the journey. And I thought so myself. But -then I knew that I could never do it younger. And having once suggested -to myself that it would be desirable, I did not like to be frightened -out of the undertaking. As far as Pieter Maritzburg all had been easy -enough. Journeys by sea are to me very easy,—so easy that a fortnight -on the ocean is a fortnight at any rate free from care. And my inland -journeys had not as yet been long enough to occasion any inconvenience. -But the journey now before me, from the capital of Natal to the capital -of the Transvaal and thence round by Kimberley, the capital of the -Diamond Fields, to Bloem<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_340" id="page_340">{340}</a></span>fontein, the capital of the Orange Free State, -and back thence across the Cape Colony to Capetown, exceeding 1,500 -miles in length, all of which had to be made overland under very rough -circumstances, was awful to me. Mail conveyances ran the whole way, but -they ran very roughly, some of them very slowly, generally travelling as -I was told, day and night, and not unfrequently ceasing to travel -altogether in consequence of rivers which would become unpassable, of -mud which would be nearly so, of dying horses,—and sometimes of dying -passengers! A terrible picture had been painted. As I got nearer to the -scene the features of the picture became more and more visible to me.</p> - -<p>One gentleman on board the ship which took me out seemed to think it -very doubtful whether I should get on at all, but hospitably recommended -me to pass by his house, that I might be sure at least of one quiet -night. At Capetown where I first landed a shower of advice fell upon me. -And it was here that the awful nature of the enterprise before me first -struck my very soul with dismay. There were two schools of advisers, -each of which was sternly strenuous in the lessons which it inculcated. -The first bade me stick obdurately to the public conveyances. There was -no doubt very much against them. The fatigue would be awful, and quite -unfitted for a man of my age. I should get no sleep on the journey, and -be so jolted that not a bone would be left to me. And I could carry -almost no luggage. It must be reduced to a minimum,—by which a -toothbrush and a clean shirt were meant. And these conveyances went<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_341" id="page_341">{341}</a></span> but -once a week, and it might often be the case that I might not be able to -secure a place. But the post conveyances always did go, and I should at -any rate be able to make my way on;—if I could live and endure the -fatigue.</p> - -<p>The other school recommended a special conveyance. The post carts would -certainly kill me. They generally did kill any passengers, even in the -prime of life, who stuck to them so long as I would have to do. If I -really intended to encounter the horrors of the journey in question I -must buy a cart and four horses, and must engage a coloured driver, and -start off round the world of South Africa under his protection. But -among and within this school of advisers there was a division which -complicated the matter still further. Should they be horses or should -they be mules;—or, indeed, should they be a train of oxen as one friend -proposed to me? Mules would be slow but more hardy than horses. Oxen -would be the most hardy, but would be very slow indeed. Horses would be -more pleasant but very subject in this country to diseases and death -upon the roads. And then where should I buy the equipage,—and at what -price,—and how should I manage to sell it again,—say at half price? -For my friends on the mail cart side of the question had not failed to -point out to me that the carriage-and-horses business would be -expensive,—entailing an outlay of certainly not less than £250, with -the probable necessity of buying many subsidiary horses along the road, -and the too probable impossibility of getting anything for my remaining -property when my need for its use was at an end.</p> - -<p>One friend, very experienced in such matters, assured me<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_342" id="page_342">{342}</a></span> that my only -plan was to buy the cart in Capetown and carry it with me by ship round -the coast to Durban, and to remain there till I could fit myself with -horses. And I think that I should have done thus under his instructions, -had I not given way to the temptations of procrastination. By going on -without a cart I could always leave the ultimate decision between the -private and the public conveyance a little longer in abeyance. Thus when -I reached Durban I had no idea what I should do in the matter. But -finding an excellent public conveyance from Durban to Pieter Maritzburg, -I took advantage of that, and arrived in the capital of Natal, -embarrassed as yet with no purchased animals and impeded by no property, -but still with my heart very low as to the doubts and perils and fatigue -before me.</p> - -<p>At East London I had made the acquaintance of a gentleman of about a -third of my own age, who had been sent out by a great -agricultural-implement-making firm with the object of spreading the use -of ploughs and reaping machines through South Africa, and thus of -carrying civilization into the country in the surest and most direct -manner. He too was going to Pretoria, and to the Diamond Fields,—and to -the Orange Free State. He was to carry ploughs with him,—that is to say -ploughs in the imagination, ploughs in catalogues, ploughs upon paper, -and ploughs on his eloquent and facile tongue; whereas it was my object -to find out what ploughs had done, and perhaps might do, in the new -country. He, too, thought that the public conveyance would be a -nuisance, that his luggage would not get itself<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_343" id="page_343">{343}</a></span> carried, and that from -the mail conveyances he would not be able to shoot any of the game with -which the country abounds. When we had travelled together as far as -Pieter Maritzburg we put our heads together,—and our purses, and -determined upon a venture among the dealers in carts, horses, and -harness.</p> - -<p>I left the matter very much to him, merely requiring that I should see -the horses before they were absolutely purchased. A dealer had turned up -with all the articles wanted,—just as though Providence had sent -him,—with a Cape cart running on two wheels and capable of holding -three persons beside the driver, the four horses needed,—and the -harness. The proposed vendor had indeed just come off a long journey -himself, and was therefore able to say that everything was fit for the -road. £200 was to be the price. But when we looked at the horses, their -merits, which undoubtedly were great, seemed to consist in the work -which they had done rather than in that which they could immediately do -again. In this emergency I went to a friendly British major in the town -engaged in the commissariat department, and consulted him. Would he look -at the horses? He not only did so, but brought a military veterinary -surgeon with him, who confined his advice to three words, which, -however, he repeated thrice, “Physical energy deficient!” The words were -oracular, and the horses were of course rejected.</p> - -<p>I was then about to start from Pieter Maritzburg on a visit of -inspection with the Governor and was obliged to leave my young friend to -look out for four other horses on<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_344" id="page_344">{344}</a></span> his own responsibility—without the -advice of the laconic vet whom he could hardly ask to concern himself a -second time in our business. And I must own that while I was away I was -again down at heart. For he was to start during my absence, leaving me -to follow in the post cart as far as Newcastle, the frontier town of -Natal. This was arranged in order that three or four days might be -saved, and that the horses might not be hurried over their early -journey. When I got back to Pieter Maritzburg I found that he had gone, -as arranged, with four other horses;—but of the nature of the horses no -one could tell me anything.</p> - -<p>The mail cart from the capital to Newcastle took two and a half days on -the journey, and was on the whole comfortable enough. One moment of -discord there was between myself and the sable driver, which did not, -however, lead to serious results. On leaving Pieter Maritzburg I found -that the vehicle was full. There were seven passengers, two on the box -and five behind,—the sixth seat being crowded with luggage. There was -luggage indeed everywhere, above below and around us,—but still we had -all of us our seats, with fair room for our legs. Then came the question -of the mails. The cart to Newcastle goes but once a week; and though -subsidiary mails are carried by Zulu runners twice a week over the whole -distance,—175 miles,—and carried as quickly as by the cart, the -heavier bulk, such as newspapers, books, &c., are kept for the mail -conveyance. The bags therefore are, in such a vehicle, somewhat heavy. -When I saw a large box covered with canvas brought out I was<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_345" id="page_345">{345}</a></span> alarmed, -and I made some enquiry. It was, said the complaisant postmaster’s -assistant who had come out into the street, a book-post parcel; somewhat -large as he acknowledged, and not strictly open at the ends as required -by law. It was, he confessed, a tin box and he believed that it -contained—bonnets. But it was going up to Pretoria, nearly 400 miles, -at book-parcel rate of postage,—the total cost of it being, I think he -said, 8s. 6d. Now passengers’ luggage to Pretoria is charged 4s. a -pound, and the injustice of the tin box full of bonnets struck my -official mind with horror. There was a rumour for a moment that it was -to be put in among us, and I prepared myself for battle. But the day was -fine, and the tin box was fastened on behind with all the mails,—merely -preventing any one from getting in or out of the cart without climbing -over them. That was nothing, and we went away very happily, and during -the first day I became indifferent to the wrong which was being done.</p> - -<p>But when we arrived for breakfast on the second morning the clouds began -to threaten, and it is known to all in those parts that when it rains in -Natal it does rain. The driver at once declared that the bags must be -put inside and that we must all sit with our legs and feet in each -other’s lap. Then we looked at each other, and I remembered the tin box. -I asked the conscientious mail-man what he would do with the bag which -contained the box, and he immediately replied that it must come behind -himself, inside the cart, exactly in the place where my legs were then -placed. I had felt the tin box and had found that the corners of it were -almost as<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_346" id="page_346">{346}</a></span> sharp as the point of a carving knife. “It can’t come here,” -said I. “It must,” said the driver surlily. “But it won’t,” said I -decidedly. “But it will,” said the driver angrily. I bethought myself a -moment and then declared my purpose of not leaving the vehicle, though I -knew that breakfast was prepared within. “May I trouble you to bring a -cup of tea to me here,” I said to one of my fellow victims. “I shall -remain and not allow the tin box to enter the cart.” “Not allow!” said -the custodian of the mails. “Certainly not,” said I, with what authority -I could command. “It is illegal.” The man paused for a moment awed by -the word and then entered upon a compromise, “Would I permit the mail -bags to be put inside, if the tin box were kept outside?” To this I -assented, and so the cart was packed. I am happy to say that the clouds -passed away, and that the bonnets were uninjured as long as I remained -in their company. I fear from what I afterwards heard that they must -have encountered hard usage on their way from Newcastle to Pretoria.</p> - -<p>The mail cart to Newcastle was, I have said, fairly comfortable, but -this incident and other little trifles of the same kind made me glad -that I had decided on being independent. Three of my fellow passengers -were going on to Pretoria and I found that they looked forward with -great dread to their journey,—not even then expecting such hardships as -did eventually befall them.</p> - -<p>The country from Pieter Maritzburg to Newcastle is very hilly,—with -hills which are almost mountains on every side, and it would be -picturesque but for the sad want of trees. The farm homesteads were few -and far between, and very<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_347" id="page_347">{347}</a></span> little cultivation was to be seen. The land -is almost entirely sold,—being, that is, in private possession, having -been parted with by the governing authorities of the Colony. I saw -cattle, and as I got further from Maritzburg small flocks of sheep. The -land rises all the way, and as we get on to the colder altitudes is -capable of bearing wheat. As I went along I heard from every mouth the -same story. A farmer cannot grow wheat because he has no market and no -labour. The little towns are too distant and the roads too bad for -carriage;—and though there be 300,000 natives in the Colony, labour -cannot be procured. I must remark that through this entire district the -Kafirs or Zulus are scarce,—from a complication of causes. No doubt it -was inhabited at one time; but the Dutch came who were cruel tyrants to -the natives,—which is not surprising, as they had been most -disastrously handled by them. And Chaka too had driven from this country -the tribes who inhabited it before his time. In other lands, nearer to -the sea or great rivers, and thus lying lower, the receding population -has been supplied by new comers; but the Zulus from the warmer regions -further north seem to have found the high grounds too cold for them. At -any rate in these districts neither Kafirs or Zulus are now -numerous,—though there are probably enough for the work to be done if -they would do it.</p> - -<p>At Howick, twelve miles from Maritzburg, are the higher falls on the -Umgeni,—about a dozen miles from other falls on the same river which I -had seen on my way to Greyton. Here they fall precipitously about 300 -feet, and are good enough to make the fortune of a small hotel, if they -were any<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_348" id="page_348">{348}</a></span>where in England. At Estcourt, where we stopped the first -night, we found a comfortable Inn. After that the accommodation along -the road was neither plenteous nor clean. The second night was passed -under very adverse circumstances. Ten of us had to sleep in a little -hovel with three rooms including that in which we were fed, and as one -of us was a lady who required one chamber exclusively to herself, we -were somewhat pressed. I was almost tempted to think that if ladies will -travel under such circumstances they should not be so particular. As I -was recognized to be travelling as a stranger, I was allowed to enjoy -the other bedroom with only three associates, while the other five laid -about on the table and under the table, as best they could, in the -feeding room.</p> - -<p>Immediately opposite to this little hovel there was on that night a -detachment of the 80th going up to join its regiment at Newcastle. The -soldiers were in tents, ten men in a tent, and when I left them in the -evening seemed to be happy enough. It poured during the whole night and -on the next morning the poor wretches were very miserable. The rain had -got into their tents and they were wet through in their shirts. I saw -some of them afterwards as they got into Newcastle, and more miserable -creatures I never beheld. They had had three days of unceasing -rain,—and, as they said, no food for two days. This probably was an -exaggeration;—but something had gone wrong with the commissariat and -there had been no bread where bread was expected. When they reached -Newcastle there was a river between them and their camping ground. In -fine weather the ford is nearly dry; but now the water had risen up to a -man’s middle, and<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_349" id="page_349">{349}</a></span> the poor fellows went through with their great coats -on, too far gone in their misery to care for further troubles.</p> - -<p>All along the road the little Inns and stores at which we stopped were -kept by English people;—nor till I had passed Newcastle into the -Transvaal did I encounter a Dutch Boer; but I learned that the farms -around were chiefly held by them, and that the country generally is a -Dutch country. Newcastle is a little town with streets and squares laid -out, though the streets and squares are not yet built. But there is a -decent Inn, at which a visitor gets a bedroom to himself and a tub in -the morning;—at least such was my fate. And there is a billiard room -and a table d’hote, and a regular bar. In the town there is a post -office, and there are stores, and a Court House. There is a Dutch church -and a Dutch minister,—and a clergyman of the Church of England, who -however has no church, but performs service in the Court House.</p> - -<p>Newcastle is the frontier town of the Natal Colony, and is nearly -half-way between Pieter Maritzburg and Pretoria, the capital of the -Transvaal. It is now being made a military station,—with the double -purpose of overawing the Dutch Boers who have been annexed, and the -Zulus who have not. The Zulus I think will prove to be the more -troublesome of the two. A fort is being planned and barracks are being -built, but as yet the army is living under canvas. When we were there -250 men constituted the army; but the number was about to be increased. -The poor fellows whom I had seen so wet through on the road were on -their way to fill up deficiencies. We had hardly<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_350" id="page_350">{350}</a></span> been an hour in the -place before one of the officers rode down to call and to signify to -us,—after the manner of British officers,—at what hour tiffin went on -up at the mess, and at what hour dinner. There was breakfast also if we -could cross the river and get up on the hill early enough. And, for the -matter of that, there was a tent also, ready furnished, if we chose to -occupy it. And there were saddle horses for us whenever we wanted them. -The tiffins and the dinners and the saddle horses we took without stint. -Everything was excellent; but that on which the mess prided itself most -was the possession of Bass’s bitter beer. An Englishman in outlandish -places, when far removed from the luxuries to which he has probably been -accustomed, sticks to his Bass more constantly than to any other home -comfort. A photograph of his mother and sister,—or perhaps some other -lady,—and his Bass, suffice to reconcile him to many grievances.</p> - -<p>We stayed at Newcastle over a Sunday and went up to service in the camp. -The army had its chaplain, and 150 men collected themselves under a -marquee to say their prayers and hear a short sermon in which they were -told to remember their friends at home, and to write faithfully to their -mothers. I do not know whether soldiers in London and in other great -towns are fond of going to church, but a church service such as that we -heard is a great comfort to men when everything around them is desolate, -and when the life which they lead is necessarily hard. We were only -three nights at Newcastle, but when we went away we seemed to be leaving -old friends under the tents up on the hill.<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_351" id="page_351">{351}</a></span></p> - -<p>I had come to the place on the mail cart, and on my arrival was very -anxious to know what my travelling companion had done in the way of -horse-buying. All my comfort for the next six weeks, and perhaps more -than my comfort, depended on the manner in which he had executed his -commission. It seemed now as though the rainy season had begun in very -truth, for the waters for which everybody had been praying since I had -landed in South Africa came down as though they would never cease to -pour. On the day after our arrival I had got up to see the departure of -the mail cart for Pretoria, and a more melancholy attempt at a public -vehicle I had never beheld. Prophecies were rife that the horses would -not be able to travel and that the miseries to be surmounted by the -passengers before they reached their destination would be almost -unendurable. When I saw the equipage I felt that the school of friends -who had warned me against a journey to Pretoria in the mail carts had -been right. I was extremely happy, therefore, when all the quidnuncs -about the place, the butcher who had been travelling about the Colony in -search of cattle for the last dozen years, the hotel-keeper who was -himself in want of horses to take him over the same road, the -commissariat employés, and all the loafers about the place, -congratulated me on the team of which I was now the joint proprietor. -There was a cart and four horses,—one of which however was a wicked -kicker,—and complete harness, with a locker full of provisions to eke -out the slender food to be found on the road,—all of which had cost -£220. And there was a coloured driver, one George, whom everybody<span class="pagenum"><a name="page_352" id="page_352">{352}</a></span> -seemed to know, and who was able, as everybody said, to drive us -anywhere over Africa. George was to have £5 a month, his passage paid -back home, his keep on the road, and a douceur on parting, if we parted -as friends.</p> - -<p>Remembering what I might have had to suffer,—what I might have been -suffering at that very moment,—I expressed my opinion that the affair -was very cheap. But my young friend indulged in grander financial views -than my own. “It will be cheap,” said he, “if, we can sell it at the end -of the journey for £150.” That was a contingency which I altogether -refused to entertain. It had become cheap to me without any idea of a -resale, as soon as I found what was the nature of the mail cart from -Newcastle to Pretoria,—and what was the nature of the mail cart horses.</p> - -<p>Before leaving the Colony of Natal I must say that at this -Newcastle,—as at other Newcastles,—coal is to be found in abundance. I -was taken down to the river side where I could see it myself. There can -be no doubt but that when the country is opened up coal will be one of -its most valuable products. At present it is all but useless. It cannot -be carried because the distances are so great and the roads so bad; and -it cannot be worked because labour has not been organised.</p> - -<p class="fint">THE END OF VOL. I.<br /><br /> -<small>PRINTED BY VIRTUE AND CO., LIMITED, CITY ROAD, LONDON.</small></p> - -<div class="footnotes"><p class="cb">FOOTNOTES:</p> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_1_1" id="Footnote_1_1"></a><a href="#FNanchor_1_1"><span class="label">[1]</span></a> The name was probably taken from some sound in their -language which was of frequent occurrence. They seem to have been called -“Ottentoos,” “Hotnots,” “Hottentotes,” “Hodmodods,” and “Hadmandods” -promiscuously.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_2_2" id="Footnote_2_2"></a><a href="#FNanchor_2_2"><span class="label">[2]</span></a> The first record we have of the Kafirs refers to the years -1683-84, when we are told the Dutch were attacked by the Kafirs, who, -however, quickly ran away before the firearms of the strangers.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_3_3" id="Footnote_3_3"></a><a href="#FNanchor_3_3"><span class="label">[3]</span></a> A Kafir thief who had stolen an axe was rescued by a band -of Kafirs on his way to jail.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_4_4" id="Footnote_4_4"></a><a href="#FNanchor_4_4"><span class="label">[4]</span></a> This is so far accurate that it certainly does not -overstate the coloured population. No doubt the coloured people are more -numerous. I have seen 800,000 stated as the black population of the -Transvaal. But as the limits of the territory are not settled, any -estimate must be vague.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_5_5" id="Footnote_5_5"></a><a href="#FNanchor_5_5"><span class="label">[5]</span></a> It must at least have seemed so when the Permissive Bill -for South African Confederation was passed. The present disturbance will -no doubt lead to the annexation of these districts.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_6_6" id="Footnote_6_6"></a><a href="#FNanchor_6_6"><span class="label">[6]</span></a> -</p> - -<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" summary=""> -<tr><td>Cape Colony </td><td class="rt">150,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>Orange Free State</td><td class="rt">30,000</td></tr> -<tr><td>The Transvaal</td><td class="rt">40,000</td></tr> -<tr><td> </td><td class="rt" style="border-top:1px solid black;">220,000</td></tr> -</table> - -</div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_7_7" id="Footnote_7_7"></a><a href="#FNanchor_7_7"><span class="label">[7]</span></a> I do not intend to suggest that any man should be excluded -by his colour from the hustings. I am of opinion that no allusion should -be made to colour in defining the franchise for voters in any British -possession. But in colonies such as those of South Africa,—in which the -bulk of the population is coloured,—the privilege should be conferred -on black and white alike, with such a qualification as will admit only -those who are fit.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_8_8" id="Footnote_8_8"></a><a href="#FNanchor_8_8"><span class="label">[8]</span></a> So called from a block of granite lying on the mountain -over the town, to which has been given the name of The Pearl.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_9_9" id="Footnote_9_9"></a><a href="#FNanchor_9_9"><span class="label">[9]</span></a> Mr. Esselin told us that since he had been at Worcester he -had had a few but only a very few Kafir children in his schools.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_10_10" id="Footnote_10_10"></a><a href="#FNanchor_10_10"><span class="label">[10]</span></a> This did not come at all from any property of the water -but simply from the foulness of the place.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_11_11" id="Footnote_11_11"></a><a href="#FNanchor_11_11"><span class="label">[11]</span></a> At the present time about a hundredth part of the area of -the Cape Colony is under cultivation. The total area comprises -20,454,602 morgen, whereas only 217,692 morgen are cultivated. The -morgen is a little more than two acres. Of the proportion cultivated, -nearly a half is under wheat.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_12_12" id="Footnote_12_12"></a><a href="#FNanchor_12_12"><span class="label">[12]</span></a> It should be understood that the places described in the -last three chapters were not visited till after my return from Natal, -the Transvaal, the Diamond Fields, and the Orange Free State.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_13_13" id="Footnote_13_13"></a><a href="#FNanchor_13_13"><span class="label">[13]</span></a> This conversation occurred and the above words were -written before the disturbance of 1877. But the Kafirs here spoken of -are the very Gaikas who have been expected to join the Galekas in their -rebellion, but who have not as yet done so. Nor, as I think, will they -do so.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_14_14" id="Footnote_14_14"></a><a href="#FNanchor_14_14"><span class="label">[14]</span></a> “The form of Constitutional Government existing in the -Colony of Natal considered,” by John Bird. Mr. Bird’s object is to shew -that Natal is not in a condition to be benefitted by a parliamentary -form of government, and his arguments are well worthy of the attention -of gentlemen in Downing Street. He thoroughly understands his subject, -and, as I think, proves his conclusion. Mr. Bird is now Colonial -Treasurer in Natal.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_15_15" id="Footnote_15_15"></a><a href="#FNanchor_15_15"><span class="label">[15]</span></a> My narrative of the facts of this period is based chiefly -on the story as told in Judge Cloete’s five lectures on the Emigration -of the Dutch farmers into Natal.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_16_16" id="Footnote_16_16"></a><a href="#FNanchor_16_16"><span class="label">[16]</span></a> He was murdered either by Dingaan or by another brother -named Umolangaan who was then murdered by Dingaan. Dingaan at any rate -became Chief of the tribe.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_17_17" id="Footnote_17_17"></a><a href="#FNanchor_17_17"><span class="label">[17]</span></a> A knobkirrie is a peculiar bludgeon with a thin stick and -a large knob which in the hands of an expert might be very deadly. An -assegai, as my reader probably knows, is a short spear with a sharp iron -head.</p></div> - -<div class="footnote"><p><a name="Footnote_18_18" id="Footnote_18_18"></a><a href="#FNanchor_18_18"><span class="label">[18]</span></a> I have seen it asserted that this word comes from -“jersey”—a flannel under shirt; but I seem to remember the very sound -as signifying an old great coat in Ireland, and think that it was so -used long before the word “jersey” was introduced into our language.</p></div> - -</div> -<hr class="full" /> -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SOUTH AFRICA; VOL I. ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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