Wynberg, which for Divisional Council purposes form portion of the Cape Division; (c) Adelaide, which for Divisional Council purposes forms Bedford and Fort Beaufort portion of the Division; (d) Hopefield which for Divisional Council purposes forms portion of the Malmesbury Division; (e) Keiskama Hoek and Middel Drift which for Divisional Council purposes form portion of the Kingwilliamstown Division; (f) Somerset West which for Divisional Council purposes forms portion of the Stellenbosch Division; (g) Taungs which for Divisional Council purposes forms portion of the Vryburg Division; and (h) Glen Grey and Herschel which, being native areas, are separately administered. Divisional Councils have also been constituted in two Transkeian districts, viz., Matatiele and Mount Currie. Each Divisional Council consists of at least six members elected quinquennially by the owners or occupiers of immovable property. These Councils are charged with the duty of constructing and maintaining roads and bridges, controlling public outspans, trek-paths and public servitudes, and perform other local duties. There are 133 Municipalities, each governed by a Mayor, or Chairman and Councillors, a certain number of whom are elected annually by the registered voters. There are also 94 Village Management Boards, 32 Local Areas, established under the Divisional Councils and Road Ordinance, No. 13 of 1917, and 23 Local Boards, established under Ordinance No. 11 of 1921. In 1921 there were 1,684,906 Christians546,065 Dutch Churches, 358,827 Anglican Churches, 105,696 Presbyterians, 115,941 Congregationalists, 394,085 Methodists, 76,421 Lutherans, 47,293 Roman Catholics, 16,102 Baptists, and 24,476 other Christians. Mohammedans, 24,513, Hebrews, 21,244, heathen, 1,002,450. Constitution and Government. The Colony of the Cape of Good Hope was originally founded by the Dutch in the year 1652. Great Britain took possession of it in 1795, but evacuated it in 1803. A British force again took possession in 1806, and the Colony has remained a British Possession since that date. It was formally ceded to Great Britain by the Convention of London, 1814. The original Colony has been extended from time to time. East and West Pondoland were annexed in 1894 and Bechuanaland in 1895. For many years the form of government in the Colony depended on the terms of the Royal Letters Patent and Instruc tions to Governors. Letters Patent issued in 1850 to Governor Sir Henry Smith declared that in the Colony there should be a Parliament which should consist of the Governor, a Legislative Council, and a House of Assembly. A Constitution Ordinance was enacted by Order in Council of March 11th, 1853, and took effect on May 1st ensuing. This Order in Council provided that nothing it contained should prevent the Parliament of the Colony from making Acts (subject to the power of Her Majesty in Council either to disallow or assent to such Acts) in amendment of the said Ordinance. This power of amending the Constitution was exercised from time to time as the bounds of the Colony were extended. In 1872 an Act was passed at the Cape and assented to by Order of the Council providing for the system of Executive Administration known as Responsible Government. The Constitution formed under these various Acts vested the Executive in the Governor and an Executive Council, composed of certain office (c) On the 31st holders appointed by the Crown. May, 1910, the Colony was merged in the Union of South Africa, thereafter forming an original Province of the Union. Cape Town is the seat of the Provincial Administration. The educational system (for other than higher education) is maintained by the Provincial Administration under the general control of the Administrator of the Province. It is administered by the Department of Public Education under the direction of the Superintendent-General of Education, financial matters being regulated by the Provincial Secretary in his capacity of Controller of Educational Finance. Practically the whole cost of the maintenance of the schools under the Department's control is borne by the Administration. The local administration of undenominational public schools is conducted by school boards and school committees, the unit of administration being the school district. There are 111 such districts. Every public school under a board is ordinarily managed by a committee elected by the parents, or, in default, nominated by the board. Members of School Boards are partly elected and partly nominated by the Administration and by Municipal and Divisional councils. School boards have the power, subject to departmental approval, to establish and maintain schools; further, subject to departmental approval, they have the general financial management of schools under their jurisdiction. They also have the power to enforce school attendance. Denominational Schools are mainly mission schools for coloured or native children and are under the local management of representatives of the various religious denominations at whose instance they were established. Education is free for all children, whether European, coloured or native, in all primary standards and also in secondary standards up to the age of 15 years, except in a limited number of European schools known as fee-paying schools. For secondary educa tion (available from Standard VII to Standard X in high schools and from Standard VII to Standard VIII in secondary schools) fees are payable according to approved scales for children over the age of fifteen. All fees received are paid into the Provincial revenue. The Superintendent-General of Education, however, may grant bursaries for the purpose of assisting any European or coloured pupil who has passed Standard VI or a higher standard to take advantage, by means of either conveyance or boarding, of the facilities offered for secondary education at a secondary or high school under the Department. Further school boards, with departmental consent, may to a limited extent grant remission of school fees in whole or in part in suitable cases. The secondary school curriculum is divided into two stages, each An examination covering a period of two years. is held at the conclusion of each two-year course of study, Standard VIII pupils taking the Secondary School Junior Certificate Examination, and Standard X pupils the Secondary School Senior Certificate Examination. A pass in the latter examination, provided a certain selection of subjects is taken, constitutes a qualification for admission to any South African University. School attendance is compulsory throughout the Province for children of European parentage or extraction who have completed their seventh but not their sixteenth year, unless the child has passed the sixth standard and is engaged in a regular occupation or has been otherwise exempted under certain statutory conditions. H A statement showing the classification and the end of 1937, is given below for general number of schools and the enrolment of pupils, at information: * 830 pupils in Secondary Departments attached to Coloured Training Schools and 358 pupils in Secondary Schools. of Union. Under the Fisheries Ordinance which was passed in 1920, regulations were promulgated providing for the better protection of both sea and fresh-water fish. Fishing boats employed for purposes of profit are licensed and registered, and a licence is also necessary before trout or other non-indigenous fish can be caught in any of the public waters of the Cape Province. The licence fee to catch trout or other non-indigenous fish is 10s. per month or 1. per fishing season for male adults and 58. per fishing season for women and juveniles under the age of 16 years. The licence fee to catch black bass and perch only is 2s. 6d. per fishing season. Holders of either of the first three licences do not require the fourth. The close seasons, in each year throughout the Cape Province and the Transkeian Territories, are from the 16th May to the 31st August for trout, and from the 1st September to the 31st December for largemouth black bass and European perch. The Cape Provincial Government maintains a trout hatchery and pondfish station at Jonkershoek, Stellenbosch, and also makes an annual grant towards the upkeep of the trout hatchery of the Frontier Acclimatization Society at Pirie, near Kingwilliamstown. The Inland Fisheries Advisory Officer of the Provincial Administration is stationed at Capetown. Scientific investigations into the habits and spawning seasons of various kinds of marine fish are also carried on at the Aquarium at St. James under Dr. C. von Bonde, the Director of Fisheries of the Union. Provincial Administration. Administrator, Hon. J. H. Conradie, 2,500l. Provincial Roads Engineer, W. P. F. McLaren, 1,0801. Local Government Inspector, R. Truter, 9001. Director of Valuations, A. J. Linnington, 920l. Education Department. Secretary, H. Z. van der Merwe, B.A., 1,0801. MEMBERS OF THE PROVINCIAL COUNCIL. Electoral Division. Cathcart. Fort Beaufort King William's Town Name of Member. J. C. Rae. H. T. van G. Bekker. J. H. Pansegrouw. T. Ericsen. J. C. C. Minnie. M. S. Grobler. P. J. H. Hofmeyr. M. J. van Breda, M.E.C. L. H. Metcalf. A. E. Erlank. J. R. Finch. Dr. L. P. Bosman. A. Bloomberg. C. M. Warren. B. Muller, M.E.C. J. N. Henshilwood. A. J. Herholdt. W. J. Michau. P. J. Goldwyn. G. K. Moorcroft. S. C. Zondagh. H. C. Olivier (Miss). J. P. Hurter. R. M. Fawcett. D. H. van Zyl. H. J. H. Claassens. H. D. van Huyssteen. G. M. H. Barrell, M.E.C. H. F. T. Malcomess. C. H. Badenhorst. E. G. Nyman. S. F. Malan, M.E.C. PROVINCE OF NATAL. Area and Population. Natal* derives its name from its discovery by Vasco da Gama, the celebrated Portuguese navigator, on Christmas Day, 1497. It lies on the south-east coast of Africa, about 800 miles from Cape Town, and between the 26th and 32nd parallels of S. lat. It is bounded on the north by the Portuguese possessions and the Transvaal, on the west by the Orange Free State and Basutoland, and on the south by the Province of the Cape of Good Hope and Umtamvuna River. It is a well-watered country, no less than 35 distinct rivers running into the Indian Ocean in the 376 miles of coast. Unfortunately none of them are navigable. Pietermaritz burg is the seat of the Provincial Government, and has a population of 49,539 (1936 census). According to the figures of the 1936 census, the European population was: males 10,534, females 11,912, total 22,446. The largest town and only port is Durban, the European population of which according to the same census was stated to be: males 46,496, females 48,537, total, 95,033. There was formerly another British settlement named Natal, a factory of the East India Company on the west coast of Sumatra, founded 1751, and not finally abandoned until the cession of Sumatra to the Dutch in 1824. (c) From the discovery of Natal by Vasco da Gama, in 1497, little is to be found respecting it until 1686, when a Dutch vessel was wrecked in the Bay of Natal. The Dutch formed a settlement in 1721, but soon abandoned it. In 1824 Lieutenant Farewell, of the Royal Navy, having in the previous year visited Natal on an exploring voyage, endeavoured to colonise it. Tahaka, a chief of the greatest talent, who had fused into a nation under his own despotic sway the various tribes inhabiting a vast tract of country, sanctioned the formation of a settlement by this small band of white men, which, however, was broken up about four years later. Towards the close of 1837 a large body of Boers from the Cape Colony, taking offence at what they regarded as the weak and vacillating frontier policy of the British Government which gave them no adequate protection against native marauders, migrated to Natal. Many of them were treacherously murdered by Dingaan, then Zulu chief, the murderer of, and successor to, his brother Tshaka. For two years the Zulus and the Boers waged war with varied success; but in 1839 the Boers obtained a decisive victory, and placed Mpande, an ally of theirs, and brother of Dingaan, on the Zulu throne. Owing chiefly to these disturbances, the Governor of the Cape decided to take military possession of the district, and sent there a force under Captain Smith (1842). These troops came into collision with the Boers, were defeated by them, forced to entrench themselves, and completely blockaded until the arrival of considerable reinforcements under Colonel Cloete. The Boers submitted, on the 5th July, to Colonel Cloete at Pietermaritzburg. In consequence of the outbreak of war between the South African Republic (as the Transvaal was at that time called) and Orange Free State on one side and Her Majesty's Government on the other, Natal was invaded by the Boer forces in Oct., 1899. The first important engagement took place at Dundee, the Boers being repulsed by an advanced British force under Sir W. Penn Symons, who was mortally wounded. The British troops, under General Yule, then fell back upon Ladysmith, and rejoined the main army of defence under Sir G. White, who in the meantime had gained a decide! H 2 victory over a Boer commando at Elandslaagte. Ladysmith was invested by a largely superior Boer army on the 28th October. Ladysmith was relieved by the British forces under Sir R. Buller at the end of February, 1900, and the Boers were cleared out of Natal in the course of the following few months, the British advancing into the Transvaal, where Lord Roberts was already operating with an invading army. It was not, however, until the signature of the terms of surrender by the Boer leaders on the 31st May, 1902, that peace was generally restored throughout South Africa, and that Natal was relieved from all further danger from the Boer forces remaining in the field up to that date. An Act was passed in 1902, providing for the annexation to Natal of certain territories hitherto forming part of the Transvaal, and a Commission appointed to report as to the new boundaries. The new territory was annexed to Natal in January, 1903, and is divided into the five Magisterial divisions of Vryheid, Utrecht, Paulpietersburg, Ngotshe, and Babanango. The population at the census of April 17th, 1904, was 5,754 Europeans (mostly Dutch), 45 mixed and others, 5 Indians and Asiatics, 4,104 Natives in service, and 86,911 Natives in native areas: total 96,819. This territory represents an area of 6,970 square miles. Zululand and Tongaland. as The Zulus are a warlike tribe who, in the beginning of the century, under Tshaka, pressed southwards and became consolidated into a powerful and well-organised kingdom. Tshaka was murdered and was succeeded by Dingaan in 1828, who came into conflict with the emigrant Dutch, by whom he was deposed in 1839, in favour of his brother Mpande. In the latter years of Mpande Zululand was distracted by the rival ambitions of his sons, and the Natal Government in 1861 sent Mr. (the late Sir) Theophilus Shepstone, Secretary for Native Affairs, on a mission to Zululand, to induce the Zulus to recognise some one of Mpande's sons as heir to his throne, and thus restore tranquillity to the country. The son chosen, with the consent of the nation, the king, and the Natal Government, was Cetshwayo, who from that time acted to a great extent regent for his father until the latter died in 1873. Cetshwayo, at the instance of Mr. Shepstone, proclaimed certain new laws, which in effect came to this, that he was not to kill his subjects without adequate cause and without trial. The relations between Cetshwayo and Natal during the first years of his reign were not unfriendly, though they became occasionally strained through disregard by him of his coronation law. But after the annexation by England of the Transvaal, a material change in the relations of the two Powers took place. Cetshwayo had long hated the Boers, with whom he had a boundary dispute, dating from 1861, and after the annexation his enmity appeared to be transferred to the new Government. The Zulu war party wanted at once to occupy the whole territory in dispute, and a collision between the Zulus and the British Government of the Transvaal appeared imminent, but was averted by the suggestion of Sir Henry Bulwer, LieutenantGovernor of Natal, to refer the dispute to the arbitration of three Commissioners to be selected by himself. This was accepted, both by Sir T. Shepstone, as Governor of the Transvaal, and by Cetshwayo, and approved by Her Majesty's Government; the final award being, however, by them reserved to Sir B. Frere as Her Majesty's High Commissioner in South Africa. The Natal Commission reported, in June, 1878, in favour of the claims of the Zulu king, and in September Sir B. Frere arrived in Natal and took up the consideration of the boundary dispute, and also of our general relations with the Zulus, which were becoming more and more strained. On the 11th of December his award in the arbitration was delivered to the representatives of the Zulu nation at the Lower Tugela Drift. At the same time Cetshwayo was required to introduce some modification of his administration, especially as regards military service, and to surrender certain refugees from Natal, and pay a fine for harbouring them, and for border outrages by his subjects. The king not having complied, the further enforcement of the demands was confided to Lieut.-General Lord Chelmsford, whose forces advanced into Zululand in three columns between the 11th and 14th of January, 1879. On the 22nd of January two engagements were fought; one at Isandhlwana, the other at Inyezane; the former with disastrous, the latter with doubtful, results to the British. On the same night part of the Zulu impi crossed the Buffalo and attacked the commissariat and hospital post of Rorke's Drift, held by one company of the 24th Regiment. The post was without defences; but the officer in command, Lieut. Chard, V.C., R.E., with great rapidity and skill converted the stores themselves into a defence, and throughout the whole night the little garrison, behind a flimsy rampart of rice bags and biscuit boxes, successfully maintained an heroic defence. In the meantime, the northern column, under Colonel (the late Sir Evelyn) Wood, continued to engage and harass the enemy. Even in this part, British arms were not free from disaster at the Intombi River, and in a reconnaissance at the Hlobane Mountain; but immediately after the whole Zulu army, numbering 24,000 men, having attacked Wood's camp at Kambula Kop, suffered a severe defeat. At the beginning of April, reinforcements having begun to arrive from England and the neighbouring colonies, Lord Chelmsford advanced across the Lower Tugela to the relief of Colonel Pearson, who was shut up in Eshowe ; defeated the enemy at Ginginhlovu on the 2nd of April, and relieved the garrison. The military power of the Zulu kingdom was finally broken to pieces at the battle of Ulundi on the 4th of July, and Cetshwayo fled to the bush with a few followers. Chief after chief submitted, and Cetshwayo himself was captured. The dynasty of Tshaka was deposed, and the country was divided into thirteen districts, each under an independent chief, holding office by the gift of the Queen of England, subject to certain conditions accepted by him; a British resident was appointed to reside in Zululand, and be the adviser of the chiefs and channel of communication between them and the British Government. Difficulties were soon experienced in working this arrangement. Some of the chiefs quarrelled and fought with one another and with their subjects, many of whom refused to recognise their authority; while a large and influential party were anxious for the restoration of Cetshwayo. Sir H. Bulwer, who had assumed the government of Natal in the early part of 1882, was specially commissioned to inquire into the whole question of the Zulu settlement. After fully considering his report, Her Majesty's Government decided to replace the ex-king over the whole country north of the Umhlatuze River, with the exception of a small territory in the north-east, which Usibepu, one of the thirteen chiefs appointed by Sir Garnet Wolseley, was allowed to retain. The territory between the Umhlatuze and the Natal frontier was constituted a native reserve, under the supervision of a British commissioner, and it was arranged that locations should be provided in this reserve for any of the Zulus who might be unwilling to again submit to the restored king. Cetshwayo, who had at his own request been allowed to visit England, where the decision of the Government was communicated to him, and by him formally accepted, was reinstalled by Sir Theophilus Shepstone on the 29th January, 1883, in the presence of 5,000 Zulus. His enemies, headed by Usibepu, proved more formidable than he or others had anticipated, and after a struggle of some months he was overthrown and his kraal destroyed. He took refuge in the Reserve, where he lived practically under the care of the Resident, until the 8th of February, 1884, when he died. Soon after his death his followers, the Usutus (the name by which the personal adherents of Cetshwayo-as distinct from the Zulus in general-were known), finding themselves no match for Usibepu, called in some Boer adventurers, with whose assistance they inflicted a crushing defeat on Usibepu, who took refuge in the Reserve. And as a reward for this service the Boers received a grant of land, in which they established the "New Republic.' Finding that the Zulu people were unable to form any orderly administration of the remaining territory, Her Majesty's Government decided, with the general assent of the Zulus, to declare their country to be British territory, which was done in May, 1887. Some disturbances occurred soon after in connection with an attempt to set up Dinuzulu, a son of Cetshwayo, as King; but it was soon checked, with the assistance of the Imperial troops, and Dinuzulu with his uncles Ndabuko and Tshingana were arrested, tried and convicted of high treason, and removed to St. Helena, while other offenders were tried on other charges, and imprisoned or fined. Dinuzulu and his two uncles were permitted to return from exile at the beginning of 1898. In 1890 Tongaland and the districts of Fokoti, Umjindi, and Manaba, were proclaimed part of Zululand. In 1895 the territories of the Chiefs Mbikiza and Sambana, in extent 668 square miles, lying between Zululand and Swaziland, the Portuguese territories, and Tongaland, were annexed to Zululand. By Government Notice, dated 11th June, 1895, a British Protectorate was declared over the territory of Tongaland, also called Maputaland, which is about 1,200 square miles in area, and is bounded on the north by Portuguese possessions, on the west and south by Zululand, and on the east by the Indian Ocean. Under the AngloPortuguese Convention, signed at Lisbon on 11th June, 1891, the spheres of influence of Great Britain and Portugal over the country occupied by the Tongas was defined by a line following the parallel of the confluence of the River Pongolo with the River Maputa to the sea coast. The boundary then agreed upon was surveyed in 1896, and laid off by a joint commission appointed by the British and Portuguese Governments. In November, 1897, a Bill was introduced into the Natal Parliament to provide for the annexation of Zululand to Natal, and became law. A Proclamation was issued by the Governor on the 30th December, giving effect to the annexation from that date. The British Tongaland Protectorate had been previously annexed to the Queen's dominions, and were incorporated with Zululand on the 27th December, 1897. In 1906 a serious native rebellion broke out in the colony and spread to Zululand. It was suppressed by the Colonial forces, with assistance from detachments of volunteers from the Transvaal and the Cape Colony. A Commission was appointed to enquire into the native question generally, and the Commission's Report has since been published. In 1907 there was a further recrudescence of unrest amongst the natives in Zululand, which was, however, easily suppressed without actual bloodshed. Dinuzulu, son of Cetshwayo, together with other chiefs and ringleaders, was arrested, and tried on charges of high treason, rebellion, sedition, murder, etc., and found guilty, though complicity in the murders of several noted loyalist Chiefs was not proved as against Dinuzulu. Dinuzulu was sentenced to four years' imprison. ment, whilst other Chiefs were sentenced for longer periods and transported to St. Helena. Constitution. Natal, which had been annexed to Cape Colony in 1844, was placed under separate government in 1845, and under charter of July 15, 1856, was erected into a separate Colony. By this charter partially representative institutions were established, and, under a Natal Act of 1893, assented to by Order in Council June 26, 1893, the Colony obtained responsible government. The province of Zululand was annexed to Natal on December 30th, 1897. The districts of Vryheid, Utrecht and part of Wakkerstroom, formerly belonging to the Transvaal, were in January, 1903, annexed to the colony. On May 31, 1910, the Colony was merged in the Union of South Africa, becoming an original province of the Union. Instruction. With the exception of higher and vocational education, which has been placed under the control of the Union Government, education comes under the Provincial Administration. There are in the Province, 1 Training College for Teachers, 1 Farm Training School, 24 secondary and intermediate schools, 2 preparatory schools and 133 primary schools for Europeans; 99 schools for Natives; 17 for Indians, and 14 for Coloured children, all under direct Government administration, and the following numbers of schools which receive Government aid and inspection: 27 for Europeans (of which 9 are secondary schools), 350 farmhouse schools; 651 for Natives, 85 for Indians, and 23 for Coloured children; and about 47 purely private schools for Europeans, which number includes about 9 large and successful secondary schools. The average number of Europeans enrolled in Government and Government-aided schools in 1937 was 29,414 (the average daily attendance being 93 per cent. of that figure), including 943 in farmhouse schools. With the large number attending private schools, it is estimated that there are few European children who are receiving no education. |