^r h ^1 fcAPB OF GOOD HOPbJ -^ ' £>ocs ANSWER TO AN ADDRESS OF THE HONOURABLE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL TO HIS EXCELLENCY THE GOVERNOR, DATED 21ST APRIL, 1856, FOR DOCUMENTS RELATIVE TO THE UUESTION OF A SEPARATE GOVERNMENT FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICTS OF THE CAPE COLONY. )\Mxi\t)i bg Kkx flf \\t l^fgislatte (Lmrnl CAPE TOWN SAUL SOLOMON & CO., STEAM PRINTING OFFICE, G3, LONGMARKET-STf^EET. 1857. pOCUWcNTS h y. ' f ».•■• \ V . ANSWER, &c No. 47,-1856. Answer to an Address of the Honourable the Legislative Council to His Excel- lency the Governor, dated 21st April, 1856, for — 1. Copy of despatch of the late Sir Benjamin D'Urban, when Governor of of the colony, relative to tlie removal of the seat of government from Cape Town to Uitenhage. 2. Copies of all official correspondence between the members of the Execu- tive Council and tlie Governor of the colony, or the Secretary of State, upon the subject of the removal of tiie seat of government from Cape Tovvn to the eastern province. 3. Copy of (lespatcli from Earl Grey, when Secretary of State for the Colonies, to the Governor of this colony, on the same subject. 4. Copies of all correspondence between Governor Sir Henry Pottinger and Lieut. -Governor Sir Henry Fox Young, on the subject of the separation of the eastern and western provinces, and formation of the former into a distinct and separate government 5. Copies of correspondence between Lieut.-Governor .Sir Henry Fox Young, while Lieut. Governor of this colony, and Graham's Town, Port Eliza- beth, and Graaff-Hcinct, on the same subject. 6 Returns of all revenue received in the eastern province during the five years, ending 31st December, 1855, distinguishing the respective districts or divisions, and the several sources from which such revenue was derived. 7. Return of public expenditure in the eastern province, during the same period. 8. Return of expenditure in the eastern province, for the formation or repair of public roads, bridges, or ponts, during the same period. 9. Return of the road rates paid by the eastern province, distinguishing the contributions of the several divisions, during the same period. 10. Return of the number ot convicts employed on the roads of the eastern province, during the last five years, ending December, 1855, and the cost of their maintenance, and of the "tools" supplied to them, together with the salaries of the respective officers having charge of them. 11. Similar return of convicts employed in the western province for the same period. 12. Return of colonial produce, distinguishing the articles exported during the year 1855, from Table Bay and Port Elizabeth, respectively. Colonial Office, 22nd May, 185G. PAPERS CALLED FOR BY ADDRESS OF COUNCIL. REFERENCE TO ADDRESS. REMARKS. No. 1 Vide Appendix to Blue Book on Separate Govern- ment, p. 153, among the records of the Council, No. 2 Furnished herewith. No. 3 Ditto. Nos. 4 and 5 Vide Blue Books, "Correspondence between Sir H. Pottinger and Sir H. E. F. Young, relative to Separation of Eastern and Western Provinces," and " Documents relative to the question of a Separate Government," both among the records of the Council. \ Nos. 6 and 7 Furnished herewith. Nos. 8, 9, 10, 1 1 In course of preparation, to be furnished separately. No. 12. . Furnished herewith. 2a<^33 Digitized by tine Internet Arcinive in 2008 witin funding from IVIicrosoft Corporation y .i^l-jJincQ' littp://www.arcliive.org/details/answertoaddressoOOGaperiGli CORRESPONDENCE, &c. Copy from Parliamentary Paper ; part 3, March 10, 1846, p. 58. Sir B. D'Urban to Secretary of State. Graham's Town, 26th June, 1 835. My Lord,— In having the honour to transmit herewith a duplicate of my despatch of the 1 9th instant (sent by Lieut. Beresford), I request permission to offer to your Lordship's attention a few observations upon a subject which, as I think, is of great importance to the future good government of this colony. The seat of the Colonial Government, Cape Town, is, without doubt, ill-placed with relation to the present extent and local circumstances of the colony. At the very extremity of the peninsula which forms it, Cape Town is too far from its central, northern, and, above all, its eastern provinces, even without the late addition of that of Queen Adelaide. This was not the case in the original extept of the colonial territory ; but it certainly is so now, and it sometimes occasions great inconvenience and embarrassment to the public ser- vice. It is 300 miles from the district town of the province of George ; 600 from that of Uijenhage ; 700 from those of Graaff-Reinet, and of Albany and Somerset; great part of these communications, too, by very bad roads. If the lately acquired province be retained, tiie distance to King William's Town will be about 80 m|es farther, 780. At such distances respectively, there are many references to the Governor, of which the decisions are unavoidably retarded, to the inconvenience of the parties ; many hings requiring his more frequent personal superintendence than it is now possible for him to afford it, without neglecting other duties : and the provinces wlier; that superintendence is most frequently requisite are at once the most distant aril the most valuable of the colony. The pract cal result of all this has brought me to the conclusion that one of two remedies is absolutely necessary, and that even without considering the new province of Ad'laide. One (and, in my opinion, the best) is the removal of the seat ofgovernnent; the other, the appointment of a Lieutenant-Governor for the distant provinces. In the lasl of these, besides a great increase of expense by an additional establishment, vhich will be considerable, I foresee great collision and want of efficient co-ope ation and much resulting inconvenience to the public service. Thi^, therefore, I cannot recommend ; but I am of opinion that the first may be applied, with n) comparative difficulty in execution to its prospective advan- tages. For this erl I would propose to remove the seat of government to Uiten hage. Its position is central, and exceedingly well adapted, as it appears to me, to all the purposes of a seat of government, with relation to the different pro- vinces and other circumstances of the colony. Its communications with Ehq;- land would be direct by Port Elizabeth, 18 miles off, where Algoa Bay affords a harbour which only requires a hghthouse and a landing pier (works of incon- siderable expense compared with the object of them) to render it excellent and perfectly fit for its purpose. Upon this point I may here say, that the naval officers who have been recently there co-operating with me entertained a very favourable opinion of it, which was certainly borne out by the fact that, during six months, notwithstanding the number of vessels continually lying there for the supply of the troops and inhabitants in the eastern districts, and in all the various winds which have from time to time prevailed during that period, not one has been lost, nor has any cargo, that I am aware of, in the absence of a pier, failed of being safely landed. Cape Town might still remain a commercial port, and its communications with Port Elizabeth by steam navigation, which would naturally result from the proposed change, would be rapid and continual ; and Simon's Bay, as now, be the naval depot and station. I have ventured to offer my view upon this subject to your liordship, be- cause I think it my duty in the circumstances ; it is at least the result of practical experience, and of mature consideration. If, however, your Lordships should not concur with me in it, then a Lieut.- Governor, with a certain establishment, should be placed at Uitenhage, to execute for that province, and those to the northward and eastward of it, all the ordinary functions of the executive, under the general superintendence and authority of the Governor, to whom should be reserved the higher powers which His Majesty delegates, of pardon, the fiat of condign punishments, the enact- ment of colonial ordinances, &c. And in this case I do not think the Lieut.-Governor's salary could be fairly less than £1,000 a year, with a house, secretary, &c., and the necessary estab- lishments of his office ; and should this be so determined, it appears to me that, considering, too, the unquiet state in which these border districts must inevitably continue for a considerable time to come, there is no person so well calculated to serve His Majesty efficiently in the capacity of Lieut. -Governor as C'olonel Smith, now holding the military command in the province of Queen Adelaide, who is besides, as your Lordship is aware, ex officio, as senior officer of the troops, actually the successor of the Governor, in case of the death or absence of the latter. This arrangement, however, of a Lieut-Governor, as I have already said, I do not recommend ; nor do I think it judicious, or on3 that will well succeed in practice. If the other (the removal, namely, of thi seat of govern- ment, which I do recommend, because I think it will answer its purpose) be adopted, and if also the new province of Adelaide be, as I earnestly hope it will, retained, then I request your Lordship, because I know it wil be for the true interests of His Majesty's service, that Colonel Smith may be appointed Civil Commissioner of that province, with the ordinary emoluments of that appoint- ment (£500 a year and a secretary), continuing also in the military command of the district, as at present. I have the honour, &c., (Signed) E. D'URBAN. C_ Correspondence between the Right Hon'ble Sir Henry Pot- TiNGEE, Bart, G.C.B., Governor, His Honour Sir H. E. F. YouJN^G, Kt., Lieutenant-Governor, Eastern Districts, and others, respecting a Separation of the Eastern and Western Provinces, &c. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 30th April, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honorable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., Governor, &c. &c. Sir, — My attention has been dravi^n to the existing laws for the making and repairing of roads throughout the colony, and, if I rightly interpret them, it would seem that a Central Board at Cape Town have the care of the main roads ; and that certain Divisional Boards in the Eastern Districts have the care of the branch roads of that portion of the colony. . The Divisional Board is invested with the authority of the Central Board, but only so far as respects branch roads ; and the road from Port Elizabeth to Graham's Town is, under the denomination of a main road, excluded from the care and control of the Divisional Board of Albany. In December, 1846, the Central Board made known to the Divisional Board of Albany its intention to continue the Howison's Poort portion of the main road from Port Elizabeth to Graham's Town ; the Divisional Board, in the same month of December, 1846, expressed its satisfaction at the intentions of the Central Board ; and its opinion, as requested to be given by the Central Board, that at the commencement of 1847 it would be safe and expedient to enter on the work. In April, 1847, convicts are directed to be sent from Graham's Town to be employed on CradocK's Kloof in the Western Districts, although labour is re- quired on the Howison's Poort road j and that convict labour can by law be as well applied to the one road as to the other. With this arrangement, the Divisional Board are dissatisfied. . In their dissatisfaction, I feel bound to say, it appears to me that they are reasonable. It seems to me to have been a defect, or imperfection, or inequality in the system for the care of roads throughout the colony, that the Divisional Board of Albany should not possess over the main roads of the Eastern Districts the same powers as the Cape Town Board possesses over the main roads of the Western Districts. Nor can I think it reasonable that whilst convict labour is required, and may lawfully be used, on the main road of the eastern districts, it should be ab- stracted from thence to be applied to the main road of the western districts. The laws respecting convict discipline are as capable of being enforced at the one place as at the other. The like executive machinery may be employed at both places. 01 the importance of the road by Howison's Poort nothing need be added to the concurrent opinions of the Central Board and the Divisional Board ; nor is the question of time as respects the progress of the work at all in conflict between the two Boards. These points are sufficiently established by the docu- ments which I have perused. Under all the circumstances of this case, as illustrative of the incon- veniences resulting from the present unequal distribution of authority between the Road Boards of the two great divisions of the colony, I beg respectfully to ^ c move your Excellency to instruct the Attorney-General to prepare ordinances for limiting the authority of the Central Board at Cape Town to the care of roads in the western districts ; and for conferring on the Divisional Board of Albany the style and title, and the powers, of a Central Board in respect to roads in those last-named districts. I apprehend that the convict discipline ordinance may, perhaps, also require an amendment, declaratory of the power of the Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts to be, on this subject, identical with that of the Governor in the western districts ; unless, as I think most probable, the Attorney -General should be of opinion that Her Majesty's commission and instructions to the Lieutenant- Governor are sufficiently explicit as to the present existence in the latter function- ary, in the eastern districts, of every power and authority which can be exercised by, or be vested in, the Governor, and that this last-named amendment is there- fore superfluous. The amendments of the road laws, to which I refer, would not divert from the common treasury of the colony any portion of the general revenue. The funds applicable to roads are not now applied to purposes of general expenditure ; they are specifically appropriated to, and expended by, the Road Board at Cape Town. The improvement on this method consists in stimulating the payers of taxes for road purposes to pay them more cheerfully, because of their local representatives being invested with the power of raising and expending them, locally. Of the zeal and laudable spirit of the inhabitants of the eastern districts, in regard to road-making, no better or more striking instance can be submitted to your Excellency's notice than the voluntary offer of the Howison's Poort farmers to relieve the Central Board at Cape Town of the expense and trouble of that portion of the main road from Port Elizabeth to Graham's Town, which I know, from personal experience, to be most difficult, and at present nearly impassable. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Civil Commissioner's Office, Graham's Town, 13th April, 1847. The Secretary to the Central Board, Cape Town. Sir, — I have the honour to transmit to you copy of a letter just received by me from several farmers, being near Howison's Poort, and to acquaint you that 28 males and 4 females have been sentenced by Mr. Justice Musgrave. May I therefore request you to furnish me with instructions, whether the parties at present applying may be permitted to open the Pass in Howison's Poort as proposed, or if it is the intention of Government, or the Central Board of Roads, to have the work completed. I have, &c., H. HUDSON, Civil Commissioner for Albany. Graham's Town, 12th April, 1847. H. Hudson, Esq., Civil Commissioner, Division of Albany. SiR^._We, the undersigned, farmers residing in the neighbourhood of Howison's Poort, beg leave to bring before your notice, that as no probability apparently exists, on the part of the Central Board, in causing the pass in Howison's Poort to be opened, and much inconvenience having resulted there- from, and accidents occurring daily thereby, preventing farmers attending the market with their produce in consequence of the same being impassable, — we deem it expedient, for the safety, protection, and benefit of carriers and travellers ])assing on that road, to cause the same to be immediately opened, and have therefore subscribed a sutficient sum for carrying out and accomplishing the same. You will therefore be pleased to take the above circumstances into your con- sideration, and grant us your permission for opening the pass in question, at our cost aud charges. Your early attention to this subject is solicited. We have, &c. H. KEULDER, q.q. N. Lake. J. T. POHL. B. WOEST. J. C. FERREIRA. J. MALANG. J. RENSBURG. N. LAKE. W. STANTON, Field-cornet. OflBce of the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, Cape Town, 11th December, 1846. The Secretary to the Board of Public Roads for the Division of Albany. Sir, — I am directed by the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads to observe to the Divisional Board of Albany, that the Central Board have been unable, with the exception of Howison's Poort, to commence the construction of any main road in that division, until the survey which was under- taken, to ascertain the best lines of road, had been completed, and the plans for bridging the rivers, determined upon. These objects having now been completed, I am instructed to inform the Divisional Board that the Central Board are pre- pared to make the road from Port Elizabeth to Graham's Town, by placing a party of free labourers at each end of the line, to work towards each other until they meet. Should the Divisional Board consider that the most advantageous work which can be undertaken for the division, the Central Board presume, from the present aspect of the Kafir war, that this work can be undertaken with safety at the commencement of next year ; but upon this point they would also be glad to receive the opinion of the Divisional Board. I have, &c. W. TENNANT, Secretary. OflBce of the Board of Public Roads for the Division of Albany, Graham's Town, 22nd December, 1846. The Secretary to the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, Cape Town. Sir, — I am directed by the Board of Public Roads for the Division of Albany to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 11th instant, and with reference thereto to state, that the Board is of opinion that the main road from Port Elizabeth to Graham's Town is the most advantageous which can be under- taken by the Central Board for this division, and the Board consider it of the greatest importance that that work should be commenced by parties placed at each end, working towards each other until they meet, and that it can with safety be resumed at the beginning of the next year. The Board take this opportunity of suggesting to the Central Board the ) 6 expediency of placing the whole strength of the party, in the first instance, at that part of Howison's Poort called the " Krantz," and keeping them there until that part is wholly completed. Not only does this pass, which is now quite impassable, prevent the farmer from bringing his produce to market, but it also prevents the free and open communication with the richest part of the district from which the Commissariat supplies of grain, &c., are chiefly drawn, and the impediments which this road has presented to the merchant, as well as to the public service, the loss of, and damage done to property, in consequence of its unfinished state, and the inconvenience and loss of time occasioned by carriers and others having to take a circuitous route to reach this town, are deemed by this Board to be reasons of such importance as to call upon them to submit to the Central Board the necessity of completing this necessary work as early as possible. In conclusion, the Board beg to submit, in order that an effective control should be had, and that this work may be completed as early as possible, the propriety of placing the superintendent under their orders, so far as the Howison's Poort road is concerned. I have, &c., J. H. B. WIENAND, Secretary. Office of the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, Cape Town, 22nd April, 1847. The Civil Commissioner for Albany. Sir, — I am directed by the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the I3th instant, transmitting a memorial from several farmers living near Howison's Poort, requesting to be permitted to open the pass at their own cost and charges, as no probability ap- parently exists on the part of the Central Board to undertake that work ; and in reply, I am instructed to acquaint you, for the information of memorialists, that the Central Board, as far as they are concerned, have for some time since been prepared, as stated in their report to the Right Honourable the Governor, of the '25th February, and which was published in the Government Gazette of the 4th March last, to enter upon their intentions in respect of the Howison's Pooit, but that they have only been deterred from recommencing their labours there, on account of the general impression of the continued insecure state of the frontier, and in the absence of any further communication from the Board of Public Roads for Albany, with reference to the last paragraph of the Central Board's letter to them of the 1 1th December last, in which that Board was requested to give the Central Board their opinion when the work could be undertaken with safety, but to which the Divisional Board's reply of the 22nd December does not relate ; hut as your letter under acknowledgment seems to imply that the time has arrived, that the works at present suspended may be safely resumed, the Board have to acquaint you that they will be prepared to cause the works in the Howison's Poort to be recommenced forthwith, upon receiving your official com- munication that the state of the country will permit of such being done. With reference to your intimation about the convicts recently sentenced by the judge on circuit, I am instructed to inform you, that the disposal of the convicts is a matter of convict discipline, and forms no part of the Board's functions. The Board have ascertained that the Secretary to Government's instruc- tions in this respect have already been conveyed to you. I have, &c. G. S. WATERMEYER, Acting Secretary. » (^ Civil Commissioner's Office, Graham's Town, 27th April, 1847. The Secretary to the Central Board of Roads, Cape Town. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt ot' your letter of the 22nd instant, and iti reply, to state that, on reference being had to the communication of the Divisional Board of the 22nd December last, it will be seen that that Board stated that they considered that the work could with safety be resumed at the commencement of the year: As far as I am able to judge I see no cause tor dissenting from their opinion, and I consider that the work at Howison's Poort may with safety be resumed immediately. I have, &c. H. HUDSON, Civil Commissioner for Albany. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 15th April, 1847. The Civil Commissioner, Albany. Sir, — I am directed by His Excellency the Right Honourable the Gover- nor to request you will cause all the prisoners convicted at the last Circuit Court, and sentenced to hard labour for upwards of three months, to be forwarded to the North Station, Cradock's Kloof, without waiting for their names being sent to you, after my receiving the list from yourself. You will hire wagons for this purpose, and procure an escort, under a proper person, to take charge of the whole, who will be responsible for their safe delivery at Cradock's Kloof, and upon whom you will impress the necessity of the greatest vigilance on the road, in order to prevent escape. I have, &c., JOHN MONTAGU. Camp, Fort Peddie, May 4, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry Young, Kt,, Lieut. -Governor, &c. &c. Sir, — 1 have carefully perused your Honour's letter, dated the 30th of last month, with its accompaniments, on the subject of roads. I deem it to be quite proper that all parts of the colony should be equally looked to in that respect ; and I may add, from my personal observation, that I consider the question of the immediate completion of Howison's Poort, as well as the repair of the whole road between Graham's Town and Port Elizabeth, to be second to none in general advantages to the traffic aud prosperity of the colony at large. I shall therefore forward your Honour's letter to Cape Town, to be laid before the Hon'ble the Executive Council for its advice, with a view to the arrangements you suggest, or others, for the attainment of the same end, beino- adopted with as little delay as possible ; but as the ordinance on which the whole system is based is of comparatively recent date, and has been subsequently amended by another, it will require the fullest deliberation and inquiry, and possibly a reference to the Secretary of State, before I can take upon myself to propose to the Legislative Council to pass an ordinance which would, in the matter of roads, establish two separate and perfectly independent executive authorities in the colony. 1 have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. ) 8 MEMORANDUM. I forward herewith a letter which I have received from His Honour the Lieut.-Governor, with various accompaniments, and the drafts of my reply. I beg that they may be laid before the Hon'ble the Executive Council, for its advice and opinion. I am decidedly of opinion that measures should be adopted, forthwith, to complete Howison's Poort and to put the road betv^een Graham's Town and Port Elizabeth into perfect order. This might be done as one means of finding work for the thousands of persons who have latterly been living at the public expense, and who are now about to have that idle means of subsistence terminated, by the stoppage of rations. Personally, I feel not the smallest objection to Sir Henry Young's proposal for an ordinance, but 1 think it would not be approved of by Her Majesty's Government ; and, at all events, it should not be refused without being most fully weighed in all possible bearings. HENRY POTTINGER. Camp, Fort Peddie, 5th May, 1847. MEMORANDUM. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 15th May, 1847. The Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bt, K.C.B., &c. &c. In obedience to the directions of the Right Honourable the Governor, con- veyed to us in his memorandum of the 5th instant, requiring our advice and opinion upon a letter from His Honour the Lieut.-Governor, dated the 30th April, and His Excellency's reply thereto, dated the 4th instant, regarding roads and convicts, we have the honour to submit the documents enumerated in the margin,* to which we request the particular attention of His Excellency. By them it will be seen that the present road administration, and the existing system of convict discipline, were adopted after extensive inquiries made, and the whole subject had been thoroughly sifted, with the view of establishing and acting upon the most beneficial principles in regard to both,— and we are decidedly of opinion that no change whatever should be made, either in the one or the other, without the previous authority of the Secretary of State. We further submit, for consideration, the three reports made for the years 1844-45-46, by the commissioners of the Central Road Board, showing what their proceedings have been, the last of which will explain, we hope satisfactorily, why the Howison's Poort road is not completed, and the road between Graham's Town and Port Elizabeth has not been sooner taken in hand by that Board. It will also show that those works will be immediately commenced, and that the sum of £10,000 has been appropriated by that Board for them, in addition to whatever may be required for completing the Howison's Poort road. The first undersigned begs to state, that as soon as Mr. Hudson's letter (of which a copy is annexed to the Lieutenant-Governor's letter) of the 27th of April was received by the Central Board, in which it is stated that, in Mr. Hudson's opinion, the work at Howison's Poort might be with safety resumed, the Board gave immediate directions to Lieutenant-Colonel Michell to organise a working party and its necessary establishment, to proceed to the work without delay, all of which instructions, he has reported to the Board, have been attended to by him. It will also be seen by the same report, that by the end of the present year • Despatch and Enclosures, Sir G. Napier to Lord Stanley, No. 212, 27tb October, 18M ; Despatch from Lord Stanley to Sir G. Napier, No. 22, 12th February, 1844 ; Despatch and Enclosures, Sir George Napier to Lord Stan- ley, No. 9, 23rd January, 1844 ; Despatch from'Lord Stanley tcrSir G. Napier, No. 52, 24th April, 1844 ; Despatch and Enclosures, Sir P. Maitland to Lord Stanley, No. 89, 3rd March, 1845 ; Despatch and Enclosures, Sir P. .\Iait- land to Lord Stanley, No. 57, 26lh February, \&i6; Despatch from Mr. Gladstone to Sir P. Maitland, No. 70, 26tl» April, 1846. ( 9 the convict p;ang, now at work at the Cradock's Kloof Pass, will be removed to open the passes of the Zuurherji- mountains in the eastern division, where they will probably be employed for between two and three years. We would here observe, that there are between 400 and 500 convicts in the whole colony, two- thirds of whom have been employed at the Cradock's Pass since the year 1844 ; the other third, after having assisted to make the hard road across the Cape Flats, are now employed ia opening the Mosterd's Hoek, in the western division of the colony. f It is true that up to the present time none of the convict gangs have been actunlli/ employed wilhiti the eastern division, but we submit they have been employed for that division, by opening the Cradock's Pass, that pass being within a few miles of the boundary line which divides the western from the eastern division. In point of fact, it is a work of as much importance, utility, and benefit to the eastern as to the western division of the colony. In some respects it is of more consequence to the eastern, seeing that a large amount of produce consumed in the eastern is brought there from the George and Swellendam districts, in the western division, the cost of vvhich will be very much redticed by the opening of the Cradock's i*ass. The difficulties of making that pass have been greater than were at first con- templated ; but it is a stupendous work, and of greater magnitude than any other which vvill be attenipted in the colony. We are of opinion that no person, who takes a comprehensive view of the wants and necessities of the colony, as a whole, will hesitate to proncunce upon the importance of opening that pass, in prefer- ence to any work actually within the eastern division. The mountain in which it is situated, of between 3000 and 4000 feet in height, must be traversed on the direct main line of road between Cape Town and Graham's Town, — it is intjwssiljle to aooid it. Upon the old Cradock's Pass it required 32 oxen to carry a wagon-load of the ordinary weight over it, and it occupied between 14 and 18 hours, and very often more, accompanied by much danger and damage to the animals and pro- perty ; accidents to both beuig of very frequent occurrence. By the new pass the same load will be carried through the mountain by 8 bullocko, in 2 hours, without any danger or damage to animals or property. We (io not think it necessary, with the documents we submit, to vindicate in detail the two systems the Lieutenant-Governor desires to alter, but we cannot conclude without again expressing our unanimous opinions and advice to the Right lionounible the Governor, not to di?turb the existing road administration, or system ot convict discipline, without the previous authority of the Secretary of Stale. JOHN MONTAGU, . HARRY RIVERS, W. PORTER, W. FIELD. Graham's Town, June 21, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry Young, Kt., Lieutenant Governor Sir, — With reference to my letter dated 4th of iVlay last, I have the honour to forward, for your Honour's perusal and informntion, a packet of original papers (includmg a minute of the Executive Council), which were transmitted to me some weeks ago from Cape Town, but which I have not till yesterday had time to attend to. A perusal of these documents.^'in conjunction with the Ordinances No. 8, of 1843, and No. 12. of 1844, have confirmed the views I took in my letter to vou, of the 18th instant. I am, however, happy to see that the Central Board of c > 1% Road Commissioners had arrantjed for giving effect to your wishes; and Flieg to repeat my assurance that any suggestions and plans which you may offer for the improvement of the eastern portion of the colony will, at all times, meet with my ready attention and full consideration, as well as my conviction, grounded on personal observation, that that feeling is cordially participated in by the mem- bers of both the Executive and Legislative Councils. As some of the documents now sent are, I am informed, the only copies, I have to beg that your Honour will have them carefully returned to rae, when you have quite done with them. I have. &c,, HENRY POTTIXGER. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 14th June, 1847. His Excellency the Right Hon'ble Sir Henry Pottinger, Bt., Governor, &c, &c. Sir, — I have the honour of forwarding to your Excellency a copy of a letter this day received from the Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate of Somerset, in reference to the expenditure of the road rates levied in that district, which expenditure, ahhough large in amount, has hitherto been without the least local advantage to the inhabitants. It appears that a road ovt^r the Zuurberg mountain would open up an almost direct communication with T.^itenhage, GraafF-Reinet, Somerset, and Cradock, over a tract of country which, with the solitary exception of the Zuurberg mountains, is remarkably easy of transit ; would thereby not only augment the internal traffic of the country, but would facilitate the conveyance of a vast amount of produce to its port of siiipment at Algoa Bay, from which it is now nearly altogether excluded. The expense of constructing the Somerset portion of the Zuurberg road is estimated at 4:'500. The inhabitants of Somerset, like the other inhabitants of the colony, are liable to two rates for road purposes. These rates are usually levied in succession, and not both jointly in the same year : the one rate ought to be applied to main roads of the district by the Central Board ; the other rate ought to be applied by the local divisional board to branch roads of the district. The rate for the main roads of the district in 1845 has been paid over to the Central Board, and amounts to £732 10s., and not a shilling of it has been so expended. The rate for the branch roads of the district in 1846 amounted to £732 10s. ; and £500 of this sum has been promised to the Central Board. Thus the Central Board has had at its disposal, for the purpose of the wain road of the district, £1232 10s., without expending in the district any portion of it whatever ; although the sum thus contributed by the district far exceeds what is the estimated ex- pense of constructing the district proportion of this important main road. Independently of this pecuniary aid, the Central Board has had also the monopoly of the convict labour of the district of Somerset, and of all the other eastern districts. I learn from personal communication with the Civil Commissioner of Cra- dock, that that district, too, has in like manner had abstracted from it the amount of the rate for the main roads for 1845, and that the next rate to be levied is also required by the Central Board ; and that it, too, has sustained the loss of the labour of the Cradock 's convicts ; whilst the roads of the Cradock district remain as unimproved, indeed as untouched, by the Central Board, as are tiiose of Somerset. r These striking instances of the grounds on which the inhabitants of the east- ern districts are dissatisfied with the present mode of expending the road rates by a Central Board situate at the inconvenient distance of Cape Town, have come to my knowledge since the date of my communication to Your Excellency, on the roads of the district of Albany, and I feel it to be my duty to make them known to Your Excellency. I cannot doubt that road-making would progress under a Central Board in the eastern districts on a system, in point of general convenience, quite equal to that which prevails under the administration of the Board at Cape Town ; more expeditious in point of time, as regards these eastern districts, and more to the satisfaction of its inhabitants, who cannot at present comprehend, or acquiesce in, the justice of devoting the convict labour and the public district taxes of the east- ern districts to road-making in the western districts In conclusion, I have respectfully to request that, as the Central Board at Cape Town have not as yet entered on the construction of the Zuurberg road, nor even oi)tained a survey of the most eligible line, the work may be left to be com- menced and finished by the respective Divisional Boards through whose districts the road is to pass, and that the fittest general line of direction through each district may be forthwith reported on by a competent surveyor, to be specially employed for the purpose ; and thereafter, that the same be notified to the Divi- sional Board, for their information and guidance By these means, unity of plan, and expedition in the execution of its several parts, will best be attained. It will also be necessary for the Central Board to refund to the. eastern dis- tricts all rates collected within them, but expended beyond them, and that the Divisional Boards be instructed to advertise for labourers to the extent of the funds at their command in their districts respectively, including the amounts to be refunded from Cape Town. I am so convinced of the public utility of this plan, and of the public zeal with which the several districts would enter on its execution, in detail, that 1 trust Your Excellency will excuse the importunity with which it is urged. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Civil Commissioner's Office, Somerset, 10th June, J847. His Honour Sir H. E F. Young, Lieutenant-Governor, &c. &c. Sir, — Fully aware that the important subject of the making, repairing, and keeping in order of the public roads of the eastern districts receives your Honour's attention, and as you may not be in possession of what has passed between the Central Board of Public Roads and the Divisional Road Board of this division, relative to opening the communication over the Zuurberg, with this and other eastern districts, from Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, I conceive it to be my duty to afford you all the information in my power, especially as I have reason to believe the subject of the Zuurberg road was under Your Honour's notice shortly previous to my departure from Graham's Town. I enclose, therefore, copies of two letters from the Central Board, dated 2nd April, 1846, and 11th December, 1846, and two replies thereto from this Divisional Board, dated 17th March, 1846, and 5th March, 1847, relative to the road in question. The total amount of road rate levied and collected in this division, of which the Central Board has had the disposal, for the year ended on the 31st May, 1845, and no part of which has been applied exclusively to the main roads in this division, as contemplated and intended by the ordinance, is about £732 lOa. • The same amount for the year ended on 30th May, 1846, but of which a a ) li small portion only lias yet been paid, is disposable by the Divisional Board for branch roads, who have handsomely come forward to assist the Central Board with £500 from this sum. in addition to the £732 lOs — thus contributing from this division towards the Zuurberg road about £1232 10s. It is estimated, as Your Honour will perceive, from the enclosures, that the cost of the extent of the said road passing through this division may be reasonably fixed at about £500, — thus leaving a surplus to the Divisional Board of about £230. While upon the subject of roads, and without my suggestion being taken as interfering with either the Central or Divisional Boards, I would beg, as Civil Commissioner, to state for Your Honour's information, that it would be iiighly desirable, as soon as it can be undertaken, to procure the survey of a new line of road between this place and Graham's Town. The distance of the present line is about 85 miles, and a line more direct, easier, and shorter, by about 15 or 20 miles, could without difficulty be obtained, and the balance of £2.J0 might, if the Divisional Board approved of it, be appropriated to the formaiion of the half of the line of road falling within the Somerset division. I believe there is a question pending, whether the road to Graham's Town should be considered as a main, or a branch road. I incline to consider it as the former, in consequence of the road to Graaff-Reinet and Coiesberg being a continuation of the Graham's I'own road to Somerset; but of courso, if under- taken, it will be immaterial, as the cost must be defrayed from rates levied within divisions in which it is situated. The rate for the year ended on 31st May, 1847, is to be collected for the Central Board. I have, &c., H. HUDSON, junr., Civil Commissioner. Somerset, 17th March, 1846. The Secretary to the Central Board, Cape Town. Sir, — I am directed by the Board of Commissioners for Public Roads of this division, to request that you will be pleased to move the Central Road Board to cause a survey to be made, with the least possible delay, of the intended line of main road, from the Uitenhage division, over the Zuurberg, and through this division, in order that this Board may be better guided in recommending, for the approval of His Excellency the Governor, which shall be the branch roads of this division. I am further directed by the Board of this division, to convey to the Central Board an expression of it-t willingness to co operate with the latter Board, in everyway practicable, in forming the main road over the Zuurberg, and also to state, that even if it were necessary to devote the greater portion of the rates to be levied by the Divisional Board of this division, during the present year, that Board veould feel no hesitation in applying the amount towards that purpose, which is one of paramount importance to tiie divisions of Somerset, Graaff-Reinet, Cradock, and Coiesberg. I llHVP iVO CHAS. HAW, Secretary. Office of the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, Cape Town, 2nd April, 1846. The Secretary to the Board of Public Roads for the Division of Somerset. Sir, — It being the opinion of the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads that the opening of a pass through the Zuurberg mountain range is a work of greater importance and more beneficial to the general interests of the divisions r 14 of i^olpsberg, Graaff-Heinet, Cradock, and Somerset, than any other which they could pertbrm for those divisions, I am directed by the Central Board to acquaint you, for the information of the Divisional Board of Somerset, that the Central Hoard purpose, so soon as the new road over Cradock's mountain is finished, to employ the two gangs of convicts now at work there, in opening a road through theZuurberg; but as the execution of that work will involve a considerable expense, the Central Board are not in a position to undertake it without the co- operation of the Divisional Boards ; and I am accordingly instructed to request that the Divisional Board of Somerset will be good enouirh to inform the Central Board, whether, in the event of the Central Board undertaking and completing the work in question, the Divisional Board of Somerset wjuld be content to con- sider the expenditure upon it, of the rates the Central Board may levy in that division, equivalent to and in lieu of an expenditure being made by them upon the main roads through that division, and also whether the Divisional Board would feel disposed further to contribute towards the same work any portion of the rates they are empowered to levy, and, if so, to what extent. A similar communication has been addressed to the other three Divisional Boards, and the Divisional Board of Uitenha<:e has also been applied to for assist- ance from the levies which that Board are empowered to make, as it is necessary that the Central Board should ascertain what aid they may calculate upon, before undertaking so expensive a work. Until a survey and estimate have been made, it is not in the power of the Central Board to state what amount will be required for the work, but it is believed that to do it effectually and permanently, it will be a very large sum. 1 have, &c., W. TENNANT, Secretary. Office of the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, Cape Town, 11th December, 1846. The Secretary to the Board of Public Roads for the Division of Somerset. Sir, — I am directed by the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads to acquaint you, for the information of the Divisional Board of Somerset, that the Central Board will, about the middle of next year, have a body of 300 convicts at their disposal, and they are anxious, therefore, to ascertain from the Divisional Board, what line of main road they would consider best for (he division of Somer- set, which would afford work suited for convict gangs, bearing in mind, of course, the genera! interests of the colony, as well as the advantages to be derived by the division. The Central Board are at present of opinion that the opening of the Zuurberg mountain pass would be the most important work which they could undertake for the eastern divisions of the colony, as the construction of a road through those mountains would afford greater facility of communication, and for the disposal of produce, than any other. 1 am therefore instructed to request, that the Divisional Board of Somerset will favour the Central Board with their opinion, and with every information which they may be able to afford upon the subject. 1 nnvp &C \V. TENNANT, Secretary. Somerset, 5th March, 1847. The Secretary to the Central Board, Cape Town. Sir, — Having this day submitted your two letters, dated respectively, the 2d April and 11th December, 1846, to a meeting of the Board of Commissioners for Public Roads for this division, 1 am directed by that Board to acquaint you, for ) 14 the information of the Central Road Board, that they concur in the opinion ex- pressed by the Central Board, that the opening of the Zuurberg mountain pass would be the most important work whicli could be undertaken for the benefit of the eastern division of this colony ; and that, in order to render every assistance towards the completion of that work, the Divisional Board here are willing to give up all claim which they may have in the expenditure, upon the main roads of this division, of the rates already collected in behalf of the (Central Board, provided the whole amount be expended in the opening of the pass in question,— and further, that, in addition thereto they are willing to contribute Irom the amount of the rates which they are empowered to levy, and which are already due, but not yet collected, in consequence of the present Kafir war, the sum of £500, which latter sum alone is, in the opinion of this Board, sufficient to open the pass from this side to the boundary line of the Uitenhage division. Moreover, I am directed to add, that as the work proceeds, the Divisional Board here, will be better able to judge of their means for contributing a further sum, and should such be neces- sary, and they able to grant a further contribution, great pleasure will be felt in so doing. With respect to the latter paragraph of your letter of the 1 1th December last, 1 have been directed to state tbat, in the absence of any survey (the necessity of which was so strongly brought to the notice of the Central Board in my letter of the 17th March, 1846), it is the opinion of the Divisional Board, that the road, in rising the mountain from this side, should pass the place of the Widow Matthys, descending on the other side near the place called " Schipper's Slag Boom,' that line being, in the opinion of this Board, the most direct between Port Elizabeth and Colesberg, and at the same time equally suitable to the general interests of this division ; but before this important work be commenced, the Board for this division most urgently recommend the Central Board to cause a proper survey to be made of the proposed line, in order that, should the one now recommended not prove suitable, another may be fixed upon. Further, I have been instructed to request, that in sending the body of 300 convicts referred to in your letter last mentioned, to work at the pass in question, no Fingoes, Kafirs, or native foreigners may be forwarded, as the mountains over which the pass must be carried form one continuous range, densely wooded, to near the borders of Kafirland ; and it is feared that in the present state of affairs with the border tribes, ill results might ensue, from an endeavour by them to rescue their countrymen. I regret that the circumstances of the country should have prevented an earlier reply. CHAS. HAW, Secretary. Graham's Town, 15th June, 1847. His Honour Sir H. E. F. Young, Kt , Lieut.-Governor, &c. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Honour's letter containing one from the Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate of Somerset, on the subject of road rates, &c. Your Honour's remarks are evidently grounded on the assumption that, as Lieut.-Governor of the Eastern Provinces, you have the power to propose measures, and act independently of the ordinances and regulations in force throughout the colony. I apprehend that such is not the case. I believe that the law places the disposal of all road rates, as well as the consideration of all such matter*, in the hands of the Central Board of Commissioners at Cape Town, and (as stated to Your Honour in my letter of the 4th of last month) this arrangement has been made and allowed by the Queen so recently, that I should hesitate to set it aside without previous reference to England. 16 I beg Your Honour will not iiragine that I have any personal feeling m sup- porting the present system. My object is to further the prosperity of all parts of the colony, but I must look at things as I have found them on assuming charge of the Government ; and even supposing I have legally the power to do so, I should hesitate to act in this, or any other matter, in which delay can hardly be attended with any very serious or dangerous consequence, in direct opposition to the opinion and recommendation of the Executive Council, which body is not appointed by Her Majesty solely for the management of the western districts, but is mtended lo exercise a like degree of watchfulness over the interests of the eastern portion of the colony. 1 have Sic HENRY POTTINGER. MINUTE. Graham's Town, June 19, 1847. The letter which I herewith forward (and to which my reply is appended) has been addressed to me by the Lieutenant-Governor. I believe the view I have taken in my answer to be correct, but as I have found it necessary to quote the authority of the Hon'blo the Executive Council, I deem it proper to lay this correspondence before the members for their opinions. HENRY POTTINGER. MINUTE. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 28th June, 1847. To the Right Honourable the Governor, &c. &c. &o. In attention to the instructions of the Right Honourable the Governor, we members of the Executive Council, have perused the letter with its enclosures from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, addressed to His Excellency, dated Graham's Town, 14th June, 1847 (returned herewith), and we are of opinion that the view contained in His Excellency's reply of the 15th June is quite correct and entirely in unison with the intentions and instruction of Her Majesty's Government, and in Hccordance with the local laws which regulate the Road and Convict administrations. In offering our opinion upon the correspondence, as required by His Excfllencys minute, we would respectfully submit, that the duration of the Cen- tral Road Board has not yet been long enough to disprove the soundness of the principles it was formed to work out ; nor have its operations been of sufficient extent to justify the opinion that the objects of the Colonial Legislature, in invest-, ing it with novel and unusual powers, will not be accomplished. It should be borne in mind, that before the formation of the Central Board in November, 1843 no attempt had ever been made in this colony to construct roads upon any general or uniform system. There had been no unity of design ; each division acted and worked independently ; and the dissatisfaction with the results was universal and loud. To obviate these, and several other acknowledged evils, arisino- out of an absence of all system, as well as an absence of tangible responsibility, the Central Board and its functions were defined and created by law, and a duration of about seven or eight years was given it, that period being deemed sufficient to test the efficiency of the centralization system. Without going into the details of the measures to be performed by the Central Board, it will, we believe, be sufficient here to state, that by entrustino- to that Board the formation and repair of all the main roads of the colony, ancf by placing at its disposal a certain amount of the colonial revenue, of road rates ) 16 and the labour of the convicts sentenced by the superior colonial courts, it was not contemplated that an undue proportion of those means should be appropriated to one district in preference to another; nor upon the western more than upon the eastern division of the colony. The Legislature and the Government evidently intended the Board to take a comprehensive view of the requirements, in this respect, of the colony as a whole, for the advancement of agriculture, commerce, and communication, with all its attendant benefits. It was obviously impossible for every needful work to Le undertaken at once, or at tlie same time. Tlie greatest obstructions to the greatest number of people were first to be removed, by which each succeeding work would become of less magnitude and of less general interest than its predecessor. The opening of mountain passes, bridging rivers and mountain torrents, making hard roads over sandy deserts, were named as the first and paramount duty of the Central Board, — and to the performance of it, the members have steadily applied their resources. In one respect they have, however, been — and, from the nature of the case, always must be — somewhat restricted in their judgment. We allude to the ap plication of the convict labour. The number of convicts in this colony is not, and is not likely to be, larger than sufficient for two well constructed working parties, and as the men have to be brought from all parts of the colony to the convict stati(ms, there must always be one conveniently placed to receive the convicts of the western, and the other, as conveniently, those of the eastern districts. Up to the present tia)e, one half of the convicts have been exclusively employed on roads to benefit the western districts; while the other half, although actually employed in a western distiict (Cradockspass), v\ere so near its confines and the boundary of an adjoining eastern district, as to justify us in stating, from the great use the road will be to the eastern, that the benefit will be, at least, equal to both. By the public announcement made in February last by the Central Board, it appears that the next great work, to be shortly undertaken (the Zuurberg passes) by one half of the convict labour entrusted to them, is situated in the eastern districts ; and from what we learn from the Surveyor-General, the magnitude and extent of that work, and others in connexion with it, before it could be pronounced complete, will absorb lor a considerable time a large amount of convict labour. In regard to the application of convict labour, there is, in our opinion, suflBcient reason for believing that the Board will perform that portion of their trust faithfully, impartially, and beneficially for the general good of the colony. We would observe, in respect of the pecuniary expenditure in the eastern districts, that some misconception appcais to have obtained. We have procured from tiie secretary of the Central Board, the accompanying statement of the receipts and disbursements of that Board, for the districts forming the eastern province of the colony ; and from it, it will be seen that the expen- diture has exceeded the receipts by the sum of £284, irrespective, as we are informed, of a further sum of about ^£"600 for road surveys in the eastern province, recently made for the Board by a surveyor exclusively employed on that business. Although, in the aggregate, the expenditure lor the eastern districts has exceeded the receipts, it will be seen by that statement, that, with the exception of Albany, the receipts exceed, in every other district, the expenditure ; but we consider this as immaterial at the pr Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 11th June, 1847. ^ His Excellency the Right Hon'ble Sir H. Pottinger, Bart., > Governor, &c., &c., &c. Sir, — I have the honour to forward to Your Excellency a copy of a letter, dated the 3rd instant, from the Honourable the Secretary to Government to the Civil Commissioner of Albany, directing him to explain why the convict E. T. Taylor was not sent to ^^Cradock's Kloof, in the western district, as had been directed by his letter of the 15th April last; and I beg to enclose a copy of Your Excellency's authority to the Civil Commissioner for detaining the prisoner in question. With great respect and deference, I have the honour to suggest that the Honourable the Secretary be instructed to abstain in future from corresponding directly v^ith the subordinate officers in the eastern district, and to observe the more regular as well as convenient course of conveying to me, and not to them, the signification of Your Excellency's commands. 1 also fee! myself to be under the necessity, on public grounds, of respect- fully drawing Your Excellency's attention to the following paragraph of an antecedent letter from the Honourable the Secretary to Government to the Civil Commissioner, under date 27th ultimo, viz. : — " I beg further to request that you will explain to Sir Henry Young that the law authorises the Governor to imprison and work the convicts sentenced by the circuit courts at such place as he (the Governor) may appoint, and that as His Excellency has appointed for the men in question the Cradock's Kloof road stations, they are not now legally held or worked ; and if anything serious should occur to any men attempting to escape, or from any other cause, it might be very awkward." I have the honour to submit that the accurate and legal interpretation of the word " governor," wherever it occurs in the laws of the colony, must be taken to mean the officer for the time being administering the government ; that the Lieutenant-Governor is the sole functionary appointed to that duty in the eastern districts ; and that in the aforesaid capacity, the Royal Letters Patent confer on him the executive authority of the Governor within those districts ; and hence the Lieutenant-Governor has the power of assigning stations of hard labour, in the eastern district, for convicts, in the same way as that power may be exercised by the Governor in the western district, and in and over the whole colony, provided the Governor's authority in the eastern district be pre- viously revived in the terms of the Royal Letters Patent. o 2 ^ c 20 I have to request that, in the event of the Attorney-General bein^ of the foregoing opinion, the same may be intimated to the Honourable the Secretary to Government ; and that if the Attorney-General should be of a contriiry opinion, Your Excellency may be pleased to consider, with the advice of the Council, whether it be not fitting, by a legislative enactment, to establish the requisite correspondence between the laws of the colony and the provisions of the Letters Patent, which the contrary opinion of the Attorney-General, if oiven as last adverted to, would then imply to be at present wanting. Entertaining the opinion that convict discipline, and the maintenance of convicts in the manner contemplated by the annual estimate, could be as effi- ciently secured in the eastern as in the western districts, I have recently in- curred, with great reluctance, the responsibility of sanctioning the great expense and delay of the transfer of convicts from hence to the western districts. Four convicts recently sent fnmi Somerset, cost £25. Twenty-seven from Graaff-Ileinet, d£?74 ; and from Graham's Town about £44 for twenty-three convicts. I enclose an extract of a communication from the Civil Commissioner of Graaff-Reinet, to be allowed to retain one convict in his division, because of the enormous difference between the cost of his solitary conveyance to Cradock's Kloof, and the value of his services. Nevertheless, unless the view taken of the existing law by the Honourable the Secretary to Government be incorrect, serious responsibility will attach to me for the detention of the convict in ques- tion in the eastern districts, where he was tried and sentenced. I have, &c., n. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 3rd June, 1847. The Civil Commissioner, Albany. Sir, — I have to acknowledge your letter of the 29th ultimo, enclosing a list of the convicts sentenced at the last circuit court at Graham's Town, and sent by you to the Cradock's Kloof stations, and from which 1 perceive that the convict 1112, Edward Thomas Taylor, has not been forwarded. I am directed by the Right Honourable the Governor to request you will explain why that convict was not forwarded, or by what authority he was detained at Graham's Town, as you were directed by my letter of the 15th April last to forward all prisoners who might be sentenced at the circuit court to upwards of three months' imprison- ment. I have, &c., JOHN MONTAGU. Camp, Fort Peddie, 12th April, 1847. H. Hudson, Esq., Civil Commissioner, Division of Albany. My dear Sir, — I have not time to address you officially. I write this private note to authorise you (until yen shall receive further instructions from n\e) to sus- pend that part of the sentence on Edward Thomas Taylor, apothecary, which adjudges him to be put to hard labour. I remain, &c., HENRY POTTINGER,., , 21 Extraci Letter from Civil Commissioner, Graaff-Reinet, dated \st June, 1847. " With respect to Van Wyk, the expense nf forwarding him alone from (his to the Cradock's Kloof would be so hie;h, as justly to expose me to Your Honour's censure if I had incurred it, even though I have general instructions to forward to that convict station, all convicts whose sentences exceed three months' imprison- ment with hard labour." MINUTE. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 8th July, 1847. The Right Honourable the Governor. In obedience to the memorandum of the Tiight Honourable the Governor, under date the 25th ultimo, we have read and attentively considered the letter addressed to His Excellency on the 1 1th ultimo, by His Honour Sir Henry Young. His Honour's letter relates to the existing convict system, and raises two separate questions, one, regaiding the true construction of the law as it now exists, and another, regardmg -an alteration in the existing law, should it be found to invest the Governor of the colony with the regulation of all convict discipline throughout the settlement, instead of investing the Lieutenant-Governor with the regulation of convict discipline in the eastern districts. Conceiving that, upon the first question (that which relates to the construction of the existing law), His Excellency would probably desire to have the Attorney- Generals opinion, that officer has been called upon for a report, and his opinion will be found herewith. Assuming the Attorney-General's view of the existing law to be correct. His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor would not seem to be possessed, at present, of the power with which he deems it expedient, for the public service, that he should be legally invested ; and it will, then-fore, devolve upon 11 is Excellency to deter- mine whether the change in the present law, conditionally requested by His Honour, siiould be proposed to the Legislative Council. Uj)on this point we have little to add to our Minute of the 15th of May last, being unable to discern in His Honour's letter of the 11th of June, any sufficient reason for modifying the opinions in regard to the convict system, which were therein submitted to His Excellency, to be adopted or rejected, as he might see fit. We trust to stand acquitted of any desire, or intention, to withhold from the eastern districts, as part and parcel of the colony, any right or privilege to which they are entitled. It is both our duty, and our desire, to advise His Excellency in a spirit of equal care and concern for the eastern, as much as for the western districts. And in humbly expressing our opinion that the existing convict system ought not, in the present stage of its progress, to be organically changed, we conceive that we are asserting a principle, in the maintenance of which, all sec- tions of the colony are alike concerned. When we speak of the existing convict system, we would be understood as referring to their discipline and management, and not at all, as referring to the roads or passes (whether in the eastern province or the western) to which their labour should be first applied. The principles upon which the Central Road Board have hitherto proceeded in regard to public works, and the placing of convict labour, have been already stated to His Excellency, and the plan upon which the Board has acted appears to us to have been just and comprehensive. But the existing distribution of convict labour may possibly be faulty, with- out in the least affecting the soundness of the existing system of convict discipline, the preservation of which, in its integrity, we cannot but regard as an object of primary importance. > 22 We humbly conceive that, no matter where the convicts may be located, it is expedient that their management should be committed directly to one central authority, and when we say that, in our opinion, that one central authority should be the Governor rather than the Lieutenant-Governor, we are influenced merely by considerations arising out of comparative official dignity, and obvious depart- mental convenience, of the sufficiency of which there can be no dispute. From personal knowledge, and public notoriety, we feel justified in saying that the mode in which the convict stations are now regulated merits much com- mendation, and we are impressed with the notion that its advantages are directly, if not indissolubly, connected with the oiicness of the convict administration. Without entering upon any general reasoning on the subject, we venture to assume that punishment by way of imprisonment with hard labour may be justly viewed as being efficacious or otherwise, in proportion as it is made conducive to the foUovving three great, though hot equally important, ends : 1. To make the results of the labour of the convicts most useful to the public 2. To make their punishment most influential to deter others. 3. To make their punishment most reformatory to themselves. In regard to the first of the ends in question, it might be anticipated a priori, and is proved by our colonial experience, that to congregate our comparatively few convicts, enables us to turn their labour to far more advantage than could have been obtained by smaller parties. In regard to the second of the ends in question, it is, we think, obvious, that to relegate all convicts from every district, to one or two spots, ratlier than to a greater number, almost necessarily involves the removal of the vast majority of them to the greatest distance from their former companions, who, knowing by report that they are worked at a distance, and in seclusion, in organized bands, are far more impressed by their unseen punishment, than if the convicts could be visited with comparative facility, and the nature of their life and occupation more easily scanned. In regard to the third, and, as we conceive, by far the most important of the three great ends enumerated, it appears to us that the advantages of the central plan of convict management are evident. It is the only security for symmetry of system. It enables the Government to supply tiie convicts, collected at not more than two stations, with schoolmasters, ministers, and other means of improvement, which could not be afforded to small divided parties. The beneficial effects which , have been produced by the civilising agencies referred to, operating upon the principle of emulation, kindled by the invariable action upon each other of men in numbers, might be detailed at length, but are omitted for the sake of brevity. Without entering into these details, we deem it right to submit to His Excel- lency the following extract from Mr. Gladstone's despatch No. 70, under date the 26th April last, in order to show the opinion which Her Majesty's Government appears to entertain of the system which it is proposed to alter: — " The results of that system, as it regards the welfare both of the colony and of the convicts them- selves, appear to me to be highly important, and as calculated to throw much useful light on the general question of convict management." Of a system, which has only been three and one-half years in operation, which during that time has worked well, and done much good, and in which unity of design and administration appears to us to occupy a prominent place, we are, we confess, averse to speculate upon the nature and amount of those changes which might possibly be made without seriously impairing its efficiency. We, therefore, cannot advise His Excellency to propose to the Legislature such a change as that which His Honour recommends. But while we thus submit our opinion for His Excellency's decision, we desire to add that, in forming it, we have taken the present constitution of the Colonial Government to be for the present settled. 'uo Should It please Her Majesty to create a wholly distinct and separate Gov- ernment in the eastern districts, with a distinct legislature, a distinct administration r 23 of justice, a distinct revenue, a distinct post-office administration, and other similar or subordinate distinct establishments, we should not, of course, for one moment, deny that the convict system would, in that case, sink under the advantages of following out the new principle of government. So long, however, as no such change of the Government in the Eastern Province as that which we have supposed is made, we submit to His Excellency's better judgment, that it would be hazard- ous, without the previous sanction of Her Majesty, to act in regard to the convict system, as if a wholly separate and distinct executive Government now existed in the eastern districts ; upon which principle, in the absence of any suggestion of defect in the existing system (much less of any defect which the projected change would remedy), the recommendation of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor must, as it appears to us, be understood to rest. JOHN MONTAGU. HARKY RIVERS. W. PORTEIU W. FIELD. MEMORANDUM. Colonial OfEce, Cape Town, 2nd July, 1847. The Right Honourable the Governor. In reference to the Lieutenant-Governor's letter of the 11th ultimo, addressed to the Right Honourable the Governor, I have the honour to submit the following remarks, which have immediate reference to myself, or to the department under my charge. 1st. As the convict E. T. Taylor was included in the instruction I sent to Mr. Hudson on the 15th April, for removal with other convicts to Crudock's Kloof, and finding, on the 2nd June last, that all the men ordered for removal had been forwarded to the Cradock's Kloof, excepting Taylor, —I requested, by my letter of the 3rd June, Mr. Hudson's explanation, why he had not been removed as directed. On the 12th of June, he transmitted to me the copy of His Excellency's letter to himself of the 12th of April, and although I saw by that letter, that the Governor authorised Mr. Hudson to " suspend ' that part of the sentence on Taylor, " which adjudges him to be put to hard labour," but that it contained no authority for his detention in the Graham's Town gaol, I took no further notice of that circumstance, as I conceived it might have been His Excel- lency's intention to keep him there, presuming that His Excellency was probably not aware that Taylor could have been confined at Cradock's Kloof without being put to hard labour, as has been the case with other convicts who have been sentenced to imprisonment without hard labour. If upon receipt of my letter of the 15th April, or at any time subsequently, Mr. Hudson had informed me that he had received His Excellency's commands in a letter of three days' prior date to mine of the 15th April, respecting Taylor, there would have been no occasion for the enquiry I made. 2nd. I am quite aware that the subordinate officers in the eastern districts should be corresponded with by me in the Governor's name, through His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, and I have only departed from that course to act, as I conceived, in accordance with the wishes of His Honour, communicated to me by himself. Shortly after Sir Henry Young assumed his Government, he trans- mitted to me some letters, &c., from some of his subordinate officers, for the decision of the Governor, '' as they had reference to periods antecedent to his entering on office ;" at another time he " declined interfering " upon some papers received by him, and transmitted by him to me, " the subjects being antecedent to his taking office." Under the impression that he wished me to dispose of the papers in the Governor's name, which related to subjects antecedent to his arrival, I have written some few letters to the subordinates of his Government direct, upon subjects so circumstanced, but not otherwise ; and my letters to Mr. > 24 Hudson, to which His Honour more particularly refers, belong to that class, the removal of the convicts from Graham's Town having been directed by the Gov- ernor, a fortnight before His Honour commenced his Government. Being now apprised of His Honour's wishes, I will take care in future, that all communica- tions made from this office to the subordinates of his Government, siiall be through His Honour himself. 3rd. I enclose, for His Excellency's perusal, copy of my letter of the 27th of May, to Mr. Hudson, in which lie is requested to explain to Sir Henry Young, that the convicts were not legally held or worked at Graham's Town. The first part of tliat letter shows the grounds upon which I deemed it necessary to request Mr. Hudson to make that explanation to His Honour, conceiving it probable that His Honour having been but a few weeks in his Government, had not liad that law brought under liis consideration. 4th. With reference to His Honour's remarks upon the expense of removing the convicts from Somerset, Graafl'-Reinet, and Graham's Town, I would observe, that the very great advance in the price of forage, transport, &c., in the eastern districts, arising out of the Kafir war, has greatly augmented this charge beyond the average in peaceful times, and that the expense of the removal from Somerset, which is very high, is owing to the circumstance, that they could not be sent on this occasion, as has usuady been the case, from Somerset to Graham's Town, and from thence to Cradock's Kloof with the Graham's Town convicts, but were obliged to be sent direct from Somerset, at a considerable increase of expense. It is the first time it has occurred, and is not likely to occur again. 5th. With regard to the case of Van Wyk, referred to by His Honour, there appears to be some misapprehension There has never been given to the Civil Commissioner of Graaff-Reinet, as he has stated in his letter of the 1st of June, J 847, "general instructions to forward to Cradock's Kloof stations all convicts whose sentences exceed three months' imprisonment with hard labour.' On the 22ud of April, the Civil Commissioner of GraafF-Heinet received a special instruc- tion from me to remove the convicts then in the gaol, whose sentences exceeded three months with hard labour; — but that instruction was not of the general nature he implies, nor did it apply to any other convicts than those who were then confined in the gaol at GraafF-Reinet. Van Wyk did not come under the class for removal, as he was sentenced to death, — and all the convicts ordered to be removed to Cradock's Kloof had left Graaff-Reinet before it was notified in a demi-official form to Mr. Ryneveld, that the Governor would commute Van Wyks sentence to two years* imprisonment with hard labour. After sentence of death has been passed on a convict, the Sheriff has the legal custody of him, until he is either executed or his sentence is commuted by the Judge's warrant, addressed to the Sheriff, issued upon the Governor's authority ; and which document enables the Sheriff to hand the convict over to the Civil Commissioner, — prior to which the man cannot be removed, nor in any way interfered with, by the Civil Commissioner. The formal authority which the law requires the Governor to issue to the Judge, did not arrive at this office until the 27th ultimo, and the Sheriff's order upon the Judge's warrant to transfer Van Wyk to the Civil Commissioner will not leave Cape Town till Monday, the 5th instant. From this statement it will be seen that Mr. Ryneveld had no authority which would have justified him in incurring the expense of Van Wyk's separate removal to Cradock's Kloof, and that he would have acted illegally if he had removed him before he had been informed what place the Governor had appointed for Van Wyk to be imprisoned and worked at. No such appointment has yet been made, and it will not be made until after the next circuit, when Van Wyk will be removed, with any other convicts there may then be in the Graaff-Reinet gaol, to such place as shall be appointed. It occasionally happens (but very rarely) from sickness, or from a cause similar to Van Wyk's, that a convict remains in a district gaol after the removal of the body of convicts at that gaol to the road stations. ( '^:j III such cases, sucli convicts are detaineil till after tlie ensuing circuit, but are never removed separately, as miglit be inferred from Mr. Ryiieveld's letter of the first of June. To these remarks 1 will merely add, as His Honour refers to the serious responsibility which attaches to himself by the detention of Van VVyk at Graafi- IJeinet, that it will be seen there is no responsibility in this instance, and that tlmt responsibility cannot commence until tiie Governor has appointed the place for the imprisonment, with hard labour, of Van Wyk. JOHN MONTAGU, Colonial Office, Cape Town, 27th May, 1847. The Civil Commissioner, Albany. Sir, — I have received your letter of the 20th instant, explaining the reason why the convicts you had been directed to send to Cradock's Kloof had not been forwarded. I am directed by the Right Honourable the Governor to express to you His Excellency's hope that the convicts will have been forwarded to (Jradock's ivloof before you receive this ; but should it be otherwise, 1 beg you will (confer with His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, and acquaint him with His Excel- lency's hope, that these men may be Jbrwarded as early as possible to their legal {.estinatiou, no provision having been made in the estimate for the maintenance of convicts in gaols. I beg further to request you will explain to Sir Henry Young that the law authorises the Governor to imprison and work the convicts sentenced at thecwcuit courts, at such places as His Excellency may appoint; and that, as His Excel- lency has appointed for the men in question the Cradocks Kloof convict stations, they are not now legally held or worked ; und. if anything serious should occur to any man attempting to escape, or from any other cause, it might be very awkward. I have, &.C., JOHN MONTAGU. Attorney General's Office, Cape Town, 7th July, 1847. I have read with attention the letters addressed by His Honour Sir Henry Young to the Right Honourable the Governor, bearing date, respectively, the 30th of April and the 1 1th of June last, and have considered the legal questions which are therein mooted. Those questions may, I think, b(! regarded as distinct from each other, and as two in number. The first question is — Whether, as often as the word " Governor " occurs in any of the laws of tiie colony which are of general operation throughout the settlement, that word is to be understood as referring, in regard to the eastern districts, to the Lieutenant-Governor, and not to the Governor of the colony? The second question is — Whether, in case such a construction be inap- plicable to all the laws of the colony, without exception or distinction, it is, not- withstanding, applicable to the Ordinance No. 10, of 1844, which provides that the Governor shall fix the place at which convicts sentenced to imprisonment with hard labour shall undergo their punishment? With reference to the first question, I am humbly of opinion that no such universal rule of construction as tlmt suggested can legally be laid down. Ordinances of the Governor and Council are laws of the colony, and it appears to me that no power creited by an ordinance passed since the issuing of the Letters Patent of the 19th February, 1836, and by that ordinance conferred upon the "Governor," could be exercised in the eastern districts by the Lieutenant- Governor. And in regard to the separate question, whether that power could. in the eastern districts, be executed by the Governor of the colony, I am humbly of opinion that it could. The nieaiiing; to be given to laws and ordinances promulgated previously to the issuing of the Letters Patent of the 19th February, I H36, is another question, and capable, perhaps, of another answer ; but it is, 1 think, a question wiiich need not, at present, be discussed. The grounds of the opinion winch 1 have advanced areplain and simple. They arc these. In construing any law. the thing to be looked to is the nitention of the Legislature ; the intention of the Legislature is to be collected from its words ; its words are to be read in their ordinary sense, unless some sense different from their ordinary sense is fixed upon them by the Legislature itself, or by some superior authority ; neither the Legislature itself nor any superior authority has fixed upon the word 'Governor," when used in such an ordinance as that which 1 have supposed, any sense different from its ordinary sense. The word "Governor," in its ordinary sense, designates one person, and but one person, who is the Governor of the colony, and not the Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts. His Honour Sir Henry Young will regard this chain of reasoning as unsound in an' essential link. He conceives, 1 think, that a superior authority (namely, the Letters Patent of the 19th February, 1836) ^«s fixed upon the word "Governor" a sense diflerentfrom its ordinary sense, and authoritatively settled, that in every case in which it occurs in any ordinance relating to the entire colony, it is to have a distributive meaning, and to denote different persons in different places, — that is to say, in the western province the Governor of the colony, and in the eastern province the Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts. [am, very respectfully, of a different opinion. I at once admit that it was competent for so high an instrument as the Letters Patent to have settled the meaning of the word "Governor" in the manner which His Honour Sir Henry Young supposes. If the Letters Patent have done so, all reference to what may have been intended by the local Legislature is idle. The higher instrument would control the lower, in spite of even the strongest opposition. But it appears to me that the Letters Patent have not controlled the local Legislature as to the bestowal of powers created by itself, nor imposed any sense upon the term "Governor" different from its ordinary sense, when used by the local Legis- lature in reference to such powers. Upon a reference to the Letters Patent of the 19th February, 1836, it will be found that they do not say that the Lieutenant-Governor is henceforth to exercise in the eastern districts every power which, by virtue of any previous colonial law, Sir Benjamin D'Urban, as Governor, could have exercised in and over the settlement at large. Much less do they say that the term " Governor," whenever it occurs in any future colonial law, shall be deemed and taken to mean, so far as the eastern districts are concerned, the Lieutenant-Governor thereof. Nor, farther still, do the Letters Patent provide that the local Legislature (of which the constitution is, by the Letters Patent, declared to be untouched) should henceibrth be incompetent, when creating executive powers or authorities, to vest the exercise of those powers and authorities, in regard to the eastern as well as the western districts, in the Governor of the colony. The Letters Patent merely say that in tiie eastern districts the Lieutenant-Governor thereof shall (subject to certain exceptions) possess all powers and authorities conferred upon .Sir Benjamin D Urban, as Governor, by one special instrument, Ids commission. Under these circumstances, I regard the Letters Patent as controlling the legis- lative power of the local Council, but not as furnishing any rule for the construc- tion of its language. An ordinance purporting to prevent the Lieutenant- Governor from exercising in the eastern districts any power granted by his com- mission to Sir Benjamin DUrban, and not reserved out of the Lieutenant- Governor's authority, vvonld, I think, be void, for it would expressly contradict the Letters Patent. An ordinance purporting to authorise the Governor to ex- ercise, in the eastern districts, any power conferred upon the Lieutenant Governor by the Letters Patent woqld, I think, be void, for it would, impliedly, contradict 27 the Letters Patent, which contemplate sole and undivided, instead of separate and concurrent, func iuns. Bi\t powers distinct from any contained in his com- mission, amy he con 'erred upon the Governor by the local Legislature. How tar the local Legislature, in conferring powers created by it should regard the Jjetters Patent as a model, and invariably grant to the Lieutenant-Governor in the eastern districts the same authority which it grants to the Governor in the western, is not, 1 submit, the question now under discussion. Without offering any opinion upon this question, 1 woidd merely remark that, however much the Letters Patent should guide the Council in legislating, they cannot, as it strikes nie, overrule the language of its legislation. For the reasons given, I am humbly of opinion that the word •' Governor," when used in laws made in the colony since the erection of the eastern districts into a distinct and separate government for certain purposes, so far from alwavs meaning, in law, the Lieutenant-Governor, in reference to those districts, will never be held to mean that functionary, unless there be something in the context, or subject-matter, which proves that that functionary was intended. 'J his leads me to the second question started by His Honour Sir Henrv Young, namely, whether the word " Governor," as it occurs in Ordinance No. 10 of 1844, sliould be taken to mean, in the eastern districts, the Lieutenant- Governor thereof ? And, upon this point, I am humbly of opinion that the ordinance in question is not susceptible of this construction The power conferred by this ordinance is distinct from any contained in Sir Benjamin D'Urban's commission, and, tlierefore, distinct from any contained in the Lieutenant-Governor's commission ; and the ordinance itself is long subse- quent to the erection of the Lieutenant-Governorship of the eastern districts. Were this ordinance older tiian the Letters Patent of the 1.9th February, IsyCi, there might be room to contend that the word " Governor," as used in it, having originally meant the chief executive authority, should be modified so as to con- form to the subsequent division of that authority But it appears to me that no such View can now be taken. With two authoiities before the Council, diH'er- ently designated, it uses the name of one authority only, and gives to him the power in quistion. The ordinance proposes to attain its object by means of a supposed sentence of court, couched in a certain form of words. Independent ly of the ordinance, such a sentence would, in my opinion, have had the effect of enabling the Governor, ;:nd him (mly, to fix the place of confinement of all colonial convicts indiscriminately 1 conceive that a man sentenced to death, at such time and place as the Governor of the colony should appoint, could not, even in the eastern districts, be executed at a time and place appointed by any other functionary, but might be executed at a time and place appointed by the Governor. What would be true of a capital sentence, will be true of any other sentence. But even if the effect of the sentence, conceived as unconnected with the ordinance, were more doubtful than I think it is, the scope and general intent of Ordinance No. 10 of 1844, would seem to remove all question. That its scope and general intent were to vest the disposal of the convicts in one func- tionary, and but one, is clear, I think, as well from the language of the law itself, as from the nature and design of some other kindred ordinances. Ordinance No. 10, 1844, is in pari materia with Ordinance No. 7 of the same year, for regulating the discipline and safe custody of convicts, which latter ordinance, again, is in pari materia with the 5th section of Ordinance No. 8, of 1843, which recites the intention of " the Governor of this colony" to commit to the Central Board of Public Roads the control and management of convict labour. Ordinances ma.d(iin pari materia are to be taken together ; and, applying this rule, I am of opinion that, unless changed by law, the power of convict control and management throughout the entire colony must be held to be m the Governor of the colony, and in none other. W. PORTER. B 1 •28 ■ 14tli July, 1847. Papers relating to road rates, convict discipline, &c., leceived from Cape Town on the 13«h of July, and now sent for the perusiil and information of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, wlio is requested to return them to me, \» hen lie has quite done with them. I may here briefly state, that after perusing these papers, and giving the subject due reflection, I have resolved not to meddle with the existing system, unless by permission and instructions from the Secretaiy of State. HENRY POTTINGER. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 25th jMay, 1857. His Excellency the Right Hon'ble Sir H. Pottinger, Bart., Governor, &.c. &c. &c. Sir, — I have the honour of representing to Your Excellency that various stHtements have been made to me of the very great public utility of a bridge over the Sunday's River; and having given the general subject of the very deplorable and neglected condition of the eastern districts, in regard to necessary public works, my best consideration, I beg to submit that this bridge, so universally desired by the inhabitants, could be constructed without any direct charge on the public revenues of the colony, and be y)roceeded witli without delay, in cither of the manners following; and these might be rendered applicable also to all similar, but previously approved, public works. 1st, That the Surveyor-General and Colonial Civil Engineer, or some com- petent person from that department, at present exclusively employed in the western districts, should be instructed forthwith to proceed to the spot, and after survey and report of a suitable site, to design the bridge, with specification of the M'drk, and building, plan, and estimate of its cost. 2ndly, That in the event of the services of the Survejor-General and Civil Engineer, and his department at Cape Town, not being either available for the above purpose, or not being capable of being spared I'rom the usual sphere of that department's usefulness, that thirty or forty pounds sterling, or other greater cr lesser sum which may be deemed necessary, be placed at my disposal, Irom the public treasury, by the Governor and Council, to award to the most approved design, specification, building plan, and estimate, that shall be received by me after public advertisement inviting their transmission. 3rdly, That an ordinance be passed, either specially limited to the Sunday's River bridge, or made applicable to all future public bridges, constructed by like means (with the previous sanction of the Governor and Council, made known by ]mJclamation\ authorisirg the raising en loan, a sum of money sufficient to defray the cost of the construction, bearing interest not exceeding six per cent, per annum ; and that a tariflf of tolls be enacted, to be levied on all persons, wagons, horses, and cattle, Sec, using the bridge so proclaimed to be a public loan bridge ; with prohibition and fine on the passing of the river within two miles of the bridge, except on payment of the like tolls as would be payable if the bridge had been crossed. The tolls to be fixed at a rate computed to be sufficient to ]j!iy the annual interest of the capital borrowed ; and to yield, moreover, an amount not exceeding four per cent. };er annum on the capital, to constitute a sinking fund for the gradual and final redemption of the amount borrowed. The ordinance should also contain power to the Governor, or Lieut.- Governor, to alter the rates of toll, by proclamation, from time to time, as it may be found necessary to increase or to diminish the tolls with reference to their sufficiency to pay the interest, and to form a fund for the liquidation of the loan. The exercise of the power to borrow money might also, by ordinance, be conditioned /" V 29 fo be exercised on the previous production of a certificate, to tlie satitsfaction of tlie«Govprnor or Lieut.-Governor, tlmt the amount required would be lodged in one of the local banks (to the account of the civil Government for the construc- tion of the particular public works designed to be executed'', so soon as interest on the amount to be so lodged shall have been guaranteed in terms of the ordinance. The public treasury would, under this plan, no doubt remain subject to the payment of the interest to the lenders of the money until the tolls became receivable, and proved sufficient to pay the interest. This expense would^i however, be regulated, kept within proper bounds, or altogether obviated, by raising the money only as it was required, and by taking care that the rate of tolls wa? sufficient to indemnify the treasury for its advances, if any were made.' Under such precautions, the risk of loss by the treasury is greatly reduced, and has been encountered in other colonies than in the eastern districts by the local legislatures, with the sancrtion of H. M. Government. ■' Indeed, it may reasonably be anticipated that any part, or even the whole, of the expense of the construction of public works, of recognised general utility, if unavoidably defrayed out of the common taxation of the colony, would not be objected to by the tax-payers, since, for such purposes, the taxes taken from them are so quickly and obviously repaid to them, in the advantages which are derived from such improvements to themselves personally, to their properties, and to the general traffic of the country, ^ As an illustration, however, of the facility with which public bridges might be constructed without resort to a drain on the public treasury, I may mention that when at Sunday's River, on my way to Graham's Town, I was informed that the proprietor of an inn recently erected on the bank of the river, would under- take, at his own cost, to throw a safe and commodious bridge over the river near! his inn, which is immediately opposite the present ford of the river, provided moderate tolls were authorised to be collected by him, until repayment should be made of the outlay. I sincerely hope that this spirited and enterprising irian may be encouraged, and others incited to make similar offers, b}' the adoption of the kind of legislation which I have in this communication ventured to suggest to Your Excellency, in the fnli knowledge, that no one more than yourself is disposed to promote the internal improvements, of vvhich this portion of the colony, both positively and compara- tively, stands in such urgent need. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Camp at Fort Peddie, May 31, 1847. His Honour Sir H. E. F. Young, Kt., Lieutenant-Governor, &c. Siii, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Honour's letter of the 25th instant, proposing certain plans for giving etfect to arrangements for the erection of a bridge over the Sundays River, and for other similar useful and necessary public works in the eastern districts of the colony. I most cordially concur in Your Honour's views as to the desirability and advantage of such works, but they obviously require the support and sanction of both the Executive and Legislative Councils, and I shall therefore transmit your letter and this reply, with a minute from myself, to belaid before those honourable bodies for their consideration and opinion. Whatever plan may appear feasible to the Councils will have my full appro- 1 bation, and I hope to receive an answer soon enough to be able to confer with Your Honour verbally, during the visit I am about to pay to Graham's Town on public business. j , „ Uiave, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. .;.. 30 MINUTE. Camp at Fort PeJdie, May 31, 1847. I forward licrevvitli an original letter (with my reply annexed) from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of tlie eastern districts, proposing plans for the building of a bridg^e over the Sunday's River, as well as for other similar works of public utility, within the portion of the colony subject to His Honours govern- ment. I think there can be no second opinion as to the vast benefits to the colony generally, to be anticipated from carrying out His Honour's suggestions; but the preiiminnry arrangements involve considerations and questions to which it has been hitherto quite out of my power to turn my attention and thoughts, and which, moreover, peculiarly appertain to the jcint deliberations of my honourable col- leagues of the Executive and Legislative Councils. I have therefore to request that the Honourable the Secretary to Government will take an early opportunity of laying these papers before the honourable mem- bers, and will obtain for me their advice and opinions as to His Honour's pro- positions. I may add that I shall be quite prepared to assent to any measure upon which the Honourable Councils may determine, and that there will not, in such an event, be occasion to await the result of a future reference to me. I believe that there is no want of employment for all classes at this moment within the colony, but as objections have been strongly urged to my late steps for reducing the enormous military (local) expenditure, on the ground that it was depriving numbers of their sole means of subsistence, it may be observed that the proposition of the Lieutenant-Governor would afford most useiul labour to all who wished for it. HENRY POTTINGER. MINUTE. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 7th June, 1S47. To His Excellency The Right Honourable the Governor. In obedience to the minute of the Right Honourable the Governor, dated the 31st ultimo, upon the letter of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, addressed to His Excellency, dated the 25th ultimo, proposing plans for the building of a bridge over the Sunday's River, as well as for other similar works of public utility in the eastern division of the colony, — the members of the Executive Council have taken the subject into their consideration, and beg to submit the following state- ment and observations : — Upon the utility of the work in question, the Council entirely concur with His Excellency, and, before further adverting to the particular bridge proposed, it is pecessary to offer a few prefatory remarks upon bridges in general. 1st. The construction of bridges or causeways upon the main lines of road throughout the colony devolves upon the Central Board. 2ndly. Similar works on branch roads devolve upon the Divisional Boards. Under the first of these heads, the proposed bridge across the Sunday's River falls ; and the Central Board, in the annual report to the Government, dated the 4th February last, state that, in consequence of the Kafir war, which commenced in the early part of 1846, they had been obliged to suspend the works they were then engaged upon in the division of Albany; and they proceed to state fheir intention of resuming the work upcn the new line of road recommended by Mr. Bird, land-surveyor (who had been specially employed to report as to the most eligible hne), between Uitenhage and Graham's Town, and which would have been undertaken several months before, had the state of the country permitted ; and in their estimates of expenditure for the year 1847, have appropriated for this line of 31 road the sum of £10,000, and a furtlier oiUiay for 1848, if required ; and the Board, in their notice of the lOth March, have fixed this line as "crossing the Sundays River about half a mile below tiie present drift." His Excellency will thus perceive that the construction of a bridge over the Sunday's River forms a part of the plan already announced to the public by the Central Board. Under these circumstances, we do not consider it advisable to take from that Board the management of the work in question, We are informed that the Central Board have, sometime since, instructed Lieutenant-Colonel Michell to proceed with the work without delay ; and it is believed that immediately upon his return from Cape Agulhas the operations already commenced will be followed up. In reference to the expediency of providing by legislation for the erection of bridges in other places, upon the plan proposed by His Honour, it appears to us that, whilst that plan is, in many respects, well worthy of attention, it may be doubted whether a necessity for acting upon it has yet arisen. We have already stated that bridges on the main and branch roads are now provided for, through the Central and Divisional Boards respectively, and we doubt much whether any bridge to be erected elsewhere would be sufficiently frequented to raise, by means of tolls, the funds which His Honour contemplates as necessary. Under these circumstances, it appears to us inexpedient to propose at present to the Legislative Council any general measure ; but we have no doubt that, upon sufficient information in regard to any particular locality being furnished to that body, it will readily enact such a law as may be necessary for constructing any bridge which does not come within the objects and administration of one or other of the Boards referred to. We are induced to come to this conclusion from our experience of the unwil- lingness of the Legislative Council, unless upon very strong grounds, to delegate to the Executive (iovernment the power of itself fixing tolls and charges. It is, however, to be observed, that this power has, in some instances, been delegated ; but we would not advise the measure of calling upon the Council to delegate such a power in regard to bridges, until His Excellency shall be in a position to show that a number of such erections is required, — too great to be provided for by separate ordinances, and which yet do not come within the province of either the Central or Divisional Boards. JOHN MONTAGU. HARRY RIVERS, W. PORTER. W. FIELD. GOVERNMENT NOTICE. Colonial Office, 4th August, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor has directed the pubh- cation of the following Minute and Documents for general information. (Signed) JOHN MONTAGU, Secretary to Government. MINUTE. Graham's Town, July 26, 1847. On the 24th of last month I received from the Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts a letter of that date, giving cover to a memorandum drawn up by His Flonour, and a copy of a memorial which had been addressed to him by certain inhabitants of Port Elizabeth, on the subject of road rates, Sec. 3-2 The ahove described papers were referred by me for the consideration and opinion of the Honourable the Members of the Executive Council, on the 2oth of June, that is, the day after they readied me ; and I was awaiting an answer, when I found that His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor had been pleased to send a copy of his letter to my address, and likewise of his memorandum, to the said certain inhabitants of Port Elizabeth, in acknowledgment of the receipt of their memorial, and that both had been immediately printed in the newspaper called the J^axtern Province Herald, of the 10th instant. I have now received a Minute from the Honourable the Executive Council, in answer to my request to be favoured with their sentiments, accompanied bv a report prepared by the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, dated at Cape Town on the 12th instant; and having attentively read, and given my most careful and impartial consideration to the contents of these documents, and others referred to in them, I deem it to be proper and necessary (however unusual such a procedure may be in the middle of an unfinished public discussion) to direct that the whole series of correspondence shall forthwith be published in the Government Gazette, for general information. I feel that it would be supererogatory were I here to attempt to enter into a minute examination or analysis of the report of the Central Board of Road Com- missioners, which, in my judgment, speaks sufficiently for itself, and contains a satisfactory and conclusive answer to, and refutation of, allegations which had been (I hope unthinkingly, and certainly unguardedly) made against gentlemen acting gratuitously for the benefit of the colony at large, under the obligation of a solemn oath. I cannot, however, acquit myself of what I conceive to be only a simple act of justice by directing the publication of tiiese papers, without expressing to the members of the Board, collectively and individually, the assurance of the grati- fication with which I have perused their report, as well as my personal thanks, as the head of the Government, for the able and zealous manner in which they have hitherto discharged the trust reposed in them. HEiNRY POTTINGER. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 24th June, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henhy Pottinger, Baronet, G.C.B , &c. &c. &c. Sir, — I have the honour to request that the accompanying copy of a petition, received by me on the 22nd instant, from the inhabitants of Port Elizabeth and its neighbourhood, may be referred, if Your Excellency pleases, to the Central Board of Roads at Cape Town, for report ; as also the accompanying memoran- dum of the points connected with the existing road ordinance, which occurred to me after perusal of the packet of papers on roads and convict labour, forwarded to me by Your Excellency on the 21st instant, and herewith returned, according to your desire. My present impression is that the reform in the employment of convict labour which was effected in 1844, has been a very advantageous measure for the convicts themselves and for the western districts ; and that if the usefulness of the system be hereafter applied for a like period of time by the employment of the convicts of the whole colony within these districts, the eastern and western divisions of the colony will eventually have reason to be equally satisfied. Irrespective, however, of the present convict system, I regret to have arrived at the conclusion that the past appropriations of money to road purposes have not been made by the Central Board at Cape Town, so far as the eastern districts are concerned, in the manner and to the extent authorised and required by Ordinance No. 8, anno 1843. t In tlie event of the Attorney- General being also of that opinion, I trust that it may be found practicable to restore the past deficiencies of funds, and thereby to render the continuation of the existing law consistent with the satisfaction of the inhabitants of this portion of the colony. H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant Governor. To His Honour Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Knight, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Eastern Districts of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, &c., &c., &c. The Memorial of the undersigned Inhabitants of Port Elizabeth and its vicinage, Humbly Showeth, — [ 1. That on the 22nd day of November, 1843, a certain ordinance, entituled an " Ordinance for improving the Roads of the Colony," was passed by the Legis- lative Council assembled at Cape Town, in virtue of which a heavy tax was imposed on all owners of landed property. This measure, in itself abstractedly most praiseworthy, is, nevertheless, your memorialists believe, faulty in its details; and, unfortunately for the inhabitants of the eastern province, was carried through a council in which they had no voice. 2. That your memorialists have been taxed w ithout their consent, and their money been expended without their concurrence, upon works which are of no use to them ; a proceeding, they humbly submit to be at variance with the spirit of the British Constitution, — their inalienable birthright. That this province has already paid its quota of the road-rate for the year 1845,— an amount about £7,500. That the local Divisional Boards would have called for a rate for 1846, but were prevented by the disordered and unsettled state of the country, and the severe losses which had fallen on many landowners by the Kafir war. That this province is again called upon, and is now threatened to be forced, to pay a similar amount to the Central Board at Cape Town for 1847, while no work of the small- est consequence has been performed or commenced in this eastern province, with the single exception of an improvement in the Howison's Poort near Graham's Town, which, however, has not been completed. 3. That your memorialists cannot help adverting to the great works already finished or in progress in the western province, on which their money has been expended, and for which the whole of their convicts' labour has been diverted from the districts in which their crimes were committed, and where their labour had been previously employed. 4. That your memorialists regret to observe that while the roads of this province have been entirely neglected, a great and stupendous work was com- menced on the 3 1st December, 1844, at Cradock's Kloof, in the district of George, in the western province, in a range of mountains which naturally divide the two great provinces of this colony; that this one road, when completed, which will not be before the close of the present year, will have cost the landowners of the colony some £40,000, or nearly the amount of two years' road income. 5. That it is generally acknowledged that this road was Httle called for by the circumstances of the country, and that as there is a better means of com- munication between the two provinces by sea, it is comparatively unnecessary, and might have been deferred until the completion of more urgent works, and that the immense expense incurred in its formation is unwarranted by the value of the surrounding districts and their products. 6. That your memorialists desire to point Your Honours attention to the sections No, 26 and 27 of the beforementioned ordinance, from which Your Honour will perceive that all these proceedings are in direct opposition to the spirit and letter of its provisions. That your petitioners beg to bring to Your 34 Honour's notice the deplorable state of the road between the capital of the pro- vince and this, its only sea-port, a road over which all the rapidly increasing ^'imporf''S,m ' commerce of the eastern province passes, to the value of £453,000 yearly, exclusive Kxport. 199,120. of the inland traffic ; and your memorialists cannot refrain from expressing their je«2,968. astonishment at an announcement made by the Cape Town Central Board, — " that is not prepared to admit that part of said road between Port Elizabeth and its junction with the great or mail road to be a main road, 7. That the whole machinery by which the affairs are regulated being con- centrated in Cape Town, and scarcely any power being delegated to the Divi- sional Boards, the efficiency and duties of the latter are become merely nominal, and they are without a voice in the management of the most important roads passing through their respective districts. 8. That your memorialists most particularly beg to call Your Honour's notice to the fact that a road across the " Zuurbergen"' (a mountain range) would con- nect, in a most advantageous manner, the districts of Graaff-Reinet, Somerset, Colesberg, and Cradock, besides the territory beyond the Great or Orange River up to the north of Natal, with the chief seaport of this your province, and would tend to a rapid development of the resources of the said districts, which road your memorialists have reason to believe could be completed at a compara- tively small outlay of the road income. 9. That your memorialists cannot allow this occasion to pass without making special reference to what they conceive the extreme injustice of appropriating the - revenue of the toll established at the entrance of this town, to the general purposes of the Cape Central Board. That a local ordinance was passed on the 13th August, 1824, for the establishment of this toll for the express purpose, as recited in the preamble, of keeping the street of and approaches to Port Elizabeth in a state of sufficient repair. That by an ordinance. No. 13, 1845, passed on the 15th January, 1845, this as well as other local tolls were vested in the Cape Town Central Hoad Board, that since that period the revenue derived from it figures in the general account of that Board ; and although the inhabitants, as well as ' all persons visiting the town, are burthened with a heavy local tax, since the removal of the convicts to the Cradock Pass, they have never derived from it the slightest benefit. 10. That your memorialists therefore beg Your Honour will be pleased to represent this their case in the proper quarter, and that the province, being pro- claimed " separate and distinct," may enjoy the advantages of a Central Road Board of its own, with the entire management of its own resources, and that all the sums already received from the province by the Cape Town Central Hoad Board, whether from road rates, sales of public property, tolls, &c., may be refunded, and carried to the credit of Your Honour's Government for road im- provement. And as in duty bound, your memorialists will ever pray. William Smith; W. Flemming, J. P., Commissioner Divisional Board ; Caesar Andrews ; John E Black ; William Kuhr ; W. H. Middleton ; W. Staines ; Henry Staines ; John Conry ; W. M. Harries, Commissioner Divisional Board ; John Centlivres Chase, J. P.; Hend. van Roan; James Crawford; Thomas Handfield ; Alfred Jarvis; R Davies ; Robt. H. Black; John Hugh ; Daniel Phillips ; Alexander Tennant ; Richard Lee ; William Armstrong; Henry Nathall Chase ; John Jeffries Long; Thomas M. Driver ; W. Pattinson ; M. Jennings ; A. B. Scheuble ; J. R. Board ; J. Proudfoot ; Francis Stanley ; W. Campbell ; Sam Carr ; James Hall ; Martinus Diesel ; George Ubsdell; Fred. R. Chase ; Jn. Scheuble ; Frederick Damant ; C. Adcock; John Eagar; J. W. Kemp ; G. Diesel ; W. Adcock ; T. Scallan ; R. H. Lovemore ; J. Palmer. Port Ehzabeth, 14th June, 1847. 35 J , .^, ,. ,.. ™ PARAGRAPH. M^^feW - Extracts from the Road Ordinances, Sections No. 2G and No. 27. XXVI. And be it enacted that the entire proceeds of any such rate as afore- said which shall be assessed in any particular division of this colony, shall be applied wholly and exclvdvely to the construction and improvement of the main • roads lying and being within that division, and not otherwise. XXVII. .\nd be it enacted that the said board shall, as much as may be, apply the convict labour, and the moneys granted from time to time by the Legis- lative Council, in such a manner as that the greatest amount of each shall be ex- pended upon the main roads of that division in which the greatest amount shall be levied by assessment, and so in proportion, diminishing the assistance to be rendered by the general government to the several divisions in proportion to the diminution therein, respectively, of the main road rate. PARAGRAPH. Memorandum of amount realised by the toll at Port Elizabeth from the 21st September, 1824, to ultimo, 1845. 1824 from September 21st to 24th September, 1825 £79 10 1825 from September 25th to 30th September, 1826, . . . . 61 11 6 1827 by cash in paid . , . . 18 6 1828 by amount of toll . . . . 94 8 6 - ■ 6 1829 do. do. 1830 do. do. 1831 do. do. 1832 do. do. 1833 do. do. 1834 do. do. 61 11 18 6 94 8 112 15 97 101 80 5 117 1 120 1835 Kafii war— no toll. 1836 by amount of toll . . . . £112 1837 do. do 190 1838 do. do 255 1839 do. do 105 1840 do. do 247 1841 do. do 225 1842 do. do 251 1843 do. do 152 1844 do. do 245 1845 do. do 100 JOHN CENTLIVRES CHASE. MEMORANDUM. 24th June, 1847. From the three printed reports, 1844, 1845, and 1846, I find that £61,665 i5s. 6d. have been received by the Central Board, at Cape Town, from the public treasury, and that the Central Board has also received, or is to receive, from the rates and tolls in the six eastern districts up to the 31st December, 1846, the sum of £7,353 5s. 3fd. The appropriation of this money is regulated by the following part of Ordinance No. 8, 1843: — "And be it enacted that the said board shall, as much as may be, apply the convict labour, and the moneys granted from time to time by the Legislative Council, in such a manner as that the greatest amount of each shall be expended upon the main roads of that division in which the greatest amount shall be levied by assessment, and so in proportion, diminishing the assist- ance to be rendered by the general government to the several divisions in propor- tion to the diminution therein, respectively, of the main road rate." Four districts, Somerset, Cradock, GraafF-Reinet, and Colesbei^, up to the 31st December, 1846, have no portion of the ^7,353 53. 3|d., nor of the £61,565, expended on their main roads; although, by the ordinance above quoted, an expenditure from each of these amounts was required to be made. The assessment of Uitenhage received, or to be received, by the Central Board to December, 1846, amounts to .^"1,452 12s. Id. The expenditure on its main roads is £390 18s. 2jd. F 3 36 The assessment in Albany to December, 1846, paid or owing to the Central Board, amounts to £2,195 7s. 3^d., and the Howison's Poort tolls, ulso received by the Central Board up to that period, £170 10s., make a total receipt of jf2,365 17s. S^d. To this amount there was added, by the Board at Cape Town, a proportion of its general funds, £3,281 2s. 9d., and forming together a total expenditure in the Albany district, of £5,647 Os. O^d In a general statement, then, of the receipts and expenditure of the Central Board on account of the six eastern districts, and without taking into account, at present, the amount to be contributed to those districts from the general funds of the Central Board, to be expended on their main roads in proportion to the amount of local rates for main roads, there remains a balance due by the Central Board. For the rates and tolls, to December, 1846, received from the eastern districts by the Central Board amount to £7.353 5s. 3f d. ; and the total expendi- ture, including £954 19s. lid., the cost of the valuations of immoveable property subject to be rated in the eastern districts, is £lfibl 18s. 9d. From the papers transmitted to me by Your Excellency, I find that in the four districts, viz , Somerset, Cradock, Colesberg, and GraaiF-Reinet, in which, as already observed, nothing has been expended by the Central Board, either from local assessments or the general funds at its disposal, the respective com- missioners desired to repair the main roads ; and there can be no doubt that the main road could and would have been repaired long ago, if, instead of the local assessments being abstracted from those divisions, they had been augmented and expended in the manner contemplated by the Ordinance No. 8, of 1843. A reference to the district reports of Somerset, Cradock, Graaff-Reinet, and Colesberg, will make the foregoing point evident. In Somerset, 275 miles of main road are estimated to be repaired for £412. The Civil Commissioner, in July, 1843, remarks, as has been represented to me also by the present holder of the office, that the want of title deeds to lands long ago surveyed, promised, and occupied, prevents the payment of revenue to the Government ; and that the alienation of other crown lands would yield ample means for maintaining the roads, if once put into order. In Cradock, one thousand pounds would be sufficient to put all the roads into good order, and ,^^250 would cover the expense of putting a chain suspension bridge, for horse and foot passengers, over the Great Fish River, whereby the uncertamty of communicating with Graham s Town and Colesberg, and of being able to send troops, if necessary, northwards, would be prevented. The bridge would also be in the direct line of the road over the Zuurberg from Port Elizabeth to Colesberg, via Somerset and Cradock. I find that tolls are also recommended to be established at Daggaboers Neck, and that it is calculated they would yield enough to keep in order the road from Cradock to Graham's Town and the Tarka. Another toll is recommended to be established at Poplar's Kloof, on the road to Somerset from Cradock, which would probably produce revenue sufficient for the maintenance of that road. A third toll is recommended to be established at Wagenspad Berg, on the road from Cradock to Graaff-Reinet, and the revenue is estimated as sufficient to keep the road in order for 50 miles to Cradock village. In the district of GraaflF-Reinet, five main roads to Uitenhage, Colesberg, Cradock, Somerset, and Beaufort could, it is reported, be put into efficient order for £770. In the district of Colesberg, a survey is required of the best line of road to Graaff-Reinet. Judging from the expense of the survey of the main road to Graham's Town, as mentioned in the printed report of the Central Board, this work could be effected for £60, and £150 are estimated to be sufficient to put all the Colesberg roads in good order. Tolls are recommended at Ealands Fontein and Jagt Fontein, and are calculated to yield a revenue, which, when the roads are repaired, would keep them in order. The total amount required, as above, for these four districts is £2,642 ; the Central Board has received from them £2,277 9s. 6|d. 37 Throughout the preceding statements, nothing of change is contemptated in the existing ordinance. No alteration of the powers of the Central Board is required ; the present convict system is undisturbed ; the employment of convict labour remains as before; the toll gates may be established under the 12th section of Ordinance No. 8, of 1843 ; the main roads may be reclaimed from the neglected condition in vyhich they have been, ever since the enactment of the ordinance, by an expenditure on them of their own local rates, aided by a grant from the moneys voted by the Legislative Council in terms of the 37th section of Ordinance No. 8, 1843. Taking the total value of rates levied in the colony to be £23,677, and that the eastern districts (exclusively of tolls) have paid towards this amount £6,955, the proportion of the eastern districts to the western would be as follows : — Western districts, loo'ooo — £16,722 Eastern do. 100000 — 6,955 £23,677 The amount received by the Central Board is £61,565; the proportion to each province, on the above ratio, would be £43,480 to the western, £18,084 to the eastern. This latter sum, with £7,353 5s. 3|d., being rates received, rates in arrear, and tolls, would be credited to the eastern districts, less £7,057 18s. 9d., expended by the Board in repan-s, valuations, and money in the eastern districts. More- over, the Central Board appears to have received a loan of £20,000 (over and above the £61,565 issued as a grant from the treasury) ; and if the road rates throughout the colony are liable for its repayment, the eastern districts ought to receive in return for their share of the liability, the benefit of an expenditure of upwards of £6,000 of the loan. H. E. F. YOUNG. Office of the Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, Cape Town, July 12, 1846. To the Honourable the Secretary to Government. The Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, in obedience to the instructions of the Right Hon'ble the Governor, have the honour to report on the memorial of the inhabitants of Port Elizabeth respecting the state and management of public roads in the eastern province, together with the letter and memorandum of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor (on the same subject) to whom the memorial was addressed. It is foreign to the duties of the Board to express any opinion on the allega- tions so prominently put by the memorialists, that the ordinance which provides for the existing administration and maintenance of public roads throughout the colony, was enacted by a Council in which they have no voice, and that, in violation of their inalienable birthright, they have been taxed and their money spent without their consent. The Board therefore confine their remarks to those matters, stated in the memorial and the Lieut. -Governor's memorandum, which directly refer to their own proceedings, — and to an explanation of the views and motives by which they have been guided in the discharge of their trust. It is alleged by memorialists, that to appropriate any rate levied and re- ceived by this Board, to the construction or improvement of any line of main road not in the division from which such rate was raised, is a direct violation, both in spirit and letter, of the ordinance which authorises the assessing of fixed property, both by the Central Board and by others that are local, for the improve- ment of the public roads of the colony. 38 On this the Board have to observe that their powers to assess liave refi^rence solely to such as shall, by the Governor's proclamation, be defined and declared main roads, and are limited by the ordinance in respect to the number of rates they are to levy, and the amount of each. That when the Board shall have levied three rates on each of the several divisions, neither of which shall exceed one penny in the pound, nor shall be levied within one year from the date in which any other road rate shall have become due in the division assessed, their powers have ceased. And that then, and not till then, do they consider their exercise of this trust amenable to the enquiry, whether, in applying the resources which have been placed at their disposal for the construction and improvement of the main roads throughout the colony, they have discharged the obligations under which they are placed by those sections of the ordinance referred to by the memorialists. This view and interpretation of the provisions of the road ordi- nance, which alone can give efficiency to the principle of a central or general board, by which the Government co-operates with the landowners of the several divisions in the construction of roads and bridges, and the opening up of mountain passes, — the Board have the satisfaction to know, are confirmed by the profes- sional opinion of Her Majesty's Attorney-General. The memorialists complain, that the Board have hitherto confined the ex- penditure of the proceeds of the rates they have levied, and the grants from the public revenue, together with the convict labour, placed at their disposal, to the execution of works in the western province ; and His Honour points to four divisions belonging to his Government, in which none of the rates levied by the Central Board have been expended on the main roads belonging to, or passing through them. To this the Board have to reply, that under the views they hold, and have just stated, of the manner in which the powers they are vested with are to be exercised, confirmed as they have been by the legal adviser of the crown, their duty is, under the oaths they have solemnly taken, to husband with care the resources with which they are entrusted for the public good, and to apply them, in the first instance, to the removal of those barriers, of whatever form, which most obstruct internal intercourse throughout the colony, in whatever province or division they may be found. Now, the Board respectfully submit, while they firmly maintain, that this clear and obvious line of duty must have been abandoned, had they acted either on the views expressed by the Lieutenant-Governor, or on those entertained by the memorialists. Works comparatively unimportant would have had to be carried on simultaneously with others of the highest interest, at a necessarily increased expense in consequence, and a total sacrifice of the present system of convict discipline, so lately adopted, to remedy very serious evils, with general approbation ; — while some ten or fifteen additional years would have to be spent by the Board in applying feeble and contracted means to the opening up of mountain barriers, which in this colony reduce whole districts to a state of unmitigated isolation ; in effecting which it best consists with the interests of the colony, in all respects, that its entire convict labour, without respect to district or division, should be exclusively employed. This charge of undue preference on the part of the Board to the interests of the western province compared to the eastern, is stated in less general terms in that clause of the memorial which refers to the opening of the mountain pass in the Geoi^e division, called Cradock's Kloof When tiiis Board entered on their duties in the close of 1843, their attention was at once directed to the formation of a continuous line of road between the metropolis of the colony and its eastern frontier, which in extent could not be less than 500 miles. Considerations as obvious as important pointed this out as the first and principal undertaking in which the Board would have to engage. Apart from the consequence which must attach to the maintenance of an uninterrupted line of open intercourse between the seats of the supreme and provincial governments, the Board were impressed with this additional consideration, that the contemplated line of main road with a few 39 branches of trifling extent, would connect with the seats of government and with one another three fifths of the chief towns of divisions, seats of magistracy, and villages in the colony, — while running nearly parallel with the sea coast east of Table Bay, it would open up every port of importance to those districts of the colony belting the shore, which are now the most populous and productive, and at the same time capable, from climate, soil, and the richest fishing grounds, of supporting a large increase of population. In constructing this line, the first work in point of magnitude and impor- tance was the formation of a hard road across the Cape Flats, which connects 52^ per cent, of the whole fixed property of the colony with the principal harbour and the chief seat of government, capital, and trade. Next in importance was the opening of the Cradock Pass, the most formidable barrier to traffic and general intercourse in the whole line, and situate in the very centre of those fertile districts forming the sea-board of the colony, to an extent of 500 miles. To this formidable and arduous undertaking, the Surveyor-General personally drew the attention of the home government several j'ears before the passing of the road ordinance, as the first of a series of efforts which ought to be made to bestow on this colony one of the leading characteristics of a civilised and industrious people, viz. : internal intercourse by good roads. The Board therefore felt themselves fully justified in commencing this work with the least possible delay, which, however, they would here remark, to account for the postponement of other works, has occupied more time, and incurred a larger expenditure, than could, from the most careful survey, have been anticipated. The opening of this pass, which will take place in next January, not only removes the only remaining difficulty of a formidable kind on this extensive line, but at the same time opens a safe and valuable harbour to the central division of the colony. The importance of this may be in some degree estimated from the fact that, anticipating the great facilities to trade which will result from the con- struction of public roads, the harbour in Mossel Bay, which three years ago had no market, and scarcely a store, has now a market established by proclamation, in which, during the last year, produce was sold from the surrounding districts to an amount little short of one hundred and twenty thousand rixdollars. While engaged with this pass and the hard road across the Cape Flats, the Board caused the remainder of the main line of road to be surveyed, and without delay, formed a road station at Howison's Poort, in the immediate vicinity of Graham's Town, where, under the views held by the Executive Government respecting the working of convicts, free labour could alone be employed. This work was subsequently interrupted by the unfortunate and protracted Kafir war, which unavoidably withdrew the labourers for the defence of the adjoining frontier; but it was resumed as soon as the circumstances of the country could possibly admit. The next work to which the Board will direct their resources, is the Zuurberg Pass, in the eastern province, which belongs to an important trunk line, connecting several of the eastern districts with Port Elizabeth in Algoa Bay. Instructions have been given by the Civil Engineer for its survey, and a large convict station, which will contain one half of the convicts at the disposal of the Board, will be formed there towards the close of the year, which, but for the unforeseen difficul- ties which had to be met in opening Cradock's Pass, would have broken ground before this time on that line. The Board have noticed the objections raised to this line not having suflRcient importance attached to it, as it respects the order in which the several works have been undertaken by the Board. Having already explained their views gener- ally on this head in another part of their report, it only remains for the Board briefly to state, that they cannot concur in an opinion which they believe to be at variance with a dispassionate and impartial consideration of the relative necessity and importance of the several works. And though anxious to connect the back districts of the eastern province with its chief port by an improved line of road, yet the work to which they have given precedence, and which opens a new and 40 ' ' ' . ^ . - ■■ valuable Tiarbbur, in the very centre of the colony, to districts whose inhabitants have hitherto had to travel hundreds of miles to port or market, is to their mind, and to that of the Civil Engineer, in whose professional opinion they have every confidence, one of greater general interest to the colony at large. In confirmation of this view of the propriety of their course, the Board would simply advert to the probable difficulties which might intervene, if the formation of trunk lines had been less removed from local interests The traffic of Port Elizabeth may, and probably will, be diminished by the opening of Mossel Bay to the greater part of the Uitenhage, George, and other divisions to the eastward of Cradock's Pass, and there can be no doubt that the incalculable benefits the districts of Somerset, Cradock, Graaff-Reinet, and Colesberg will receive by the formation of the road through the Zuurberg mountains, will withdraw a consider- able traffic from Graham's Town and the Albany district. It is stated in the memorandum of His Honour annexed to the memorial, that £6],565 15s. 6d. have been received by the Central Board at Cape Town from the public treasury, during the years 1844, 1845, and 1846. He further remarks, that the appropriation of this money to the construction of roads in the several divisions is regulated by the sections of the road ordinance referred to by the memorialists. As the Board have already expressed their views on this subject, they would not have again referred to it, were it not for the impression resting on the mind of His Honour, that the whole of this amount was disposable for road purposes in the manner he describes. That such is not the case, will reaaily appear from the following facts. By the road ordinance, the Central Board has placed at its disposal, all moneys granted by the vote of the Legislative Council for road and convict purposes. These moneys have, during the three years mentioned, amounted to the sum in question, less £1000, received in excess in 1846, and which has been refunded to the treasury ; but it is to be borne in mind, that of this, £6000 (two thousand pounds annually) are set apart for the expenses of the department by the appropriation ordinance, and that £28,605 5s. have been granted and applied for free labour and road materials, thus leaving £25,960 10s. 6d. for convict purposes. In the expenditure of this last-mentioned sum, the Board have had to perform the double duty of trustees to the public, and agents to the Government. As trustees they have to provide and pay for, under their own discretion and responsibility, the maintenance, clothing, &c., and safe custody of the convicts on the public works, and, as agents, they have had to pay, under the directions of Government, for medicine and medical charges, rehgious and secular instruction, and the administration of justice on the spot, as well as tbe support, &c., of the sick, feeble, and cripple, and those under punishment, and likewise for the whole body on non-working days ; all of which charges are necessary for the convict system, but have no connection with labour on the roads. The Board, after a strict enquiry into the expenses incurred under the various heads, which cannot be properly charged against labour, or their administration of the main roads of the colony, have ascertained that instead of £25,960 having been placed at their disposal up to the close of 1846 for supplying convict labour, the sum of £10,028 must be deducted for charges they have been required to pay away as agents for the Government ; thus leaving the Board chargeable with the sum of ^£"15,932 only for convict labour purposes. In connection with the subject oi liability and expenditure, the Board would here refer to the distribution of the loan of £20,000, as proposed by His Honour, between the eastern and western provinces, on the assumption that the rates leviable in both have been guaranteed for its repayment. This is not the case. Of the sum above referred to, £10,000 were raised on the security of the rates of certain divisions of the western province, and the remainder upon the several divisions of the colony. It is not the intention of the Board to give any opinion on the right claimed by the memorialists, that the labour of the convict belongs to the district where 41 the crime was committed ; but being charged by the Government with the carry- ing out of all sentences of imprisonment with hard labour exceeding three months, the Board think it proper that the Executive should be put in possession of such a statement of the results of the new system of employing convict labour, as will enable it to judge whether that system should be continued, or whether, as the memorialists desire, the old should be resumed. From an analysis of the weekly returns of labour performed at the several stations, it is found that the aggregate value of convict labour on the public roads during 1844, '5, and '6, calculated at the rate paid for free labour, namely, at two shillings for the day's work of every eifective convict, amounts to £24,420, whilst the expense of maintaining all con- victs whether effective labourers or otherwise, and the working of the present system, amounts to £25,960. From the memoranda, reports, and other documents appended to the Gov- ernor's minute, read in the Legislative Council on the 14th September, 1843, previous to the adoption of the new road and convict system, it appears that the convicts then under the direction of the Civil Commissioners in the several divi- sions, amounting to 270, were chiefly employed in repairing the streets and roads of the several villages and municipalities, at an annual charge to the public (ex- clusive of £3,000 per annum for the penal settlement of Robben Island) of £6,750, without any permanent value resulting therefrom ; and moreover, that the expense of maintenance and supervision was greater than that now incurred, while hard labour, seclusion, reformation, and restraint may be said to have been wholly in abeyance. The average number of convicts maintained, &c., daily by the Central Board, during the years 1844, 1845, and 1846, was 365, at a total cost of £25,960 ; the cost of the available convict labour during the same period having amounted to £15,932, and (the Board feeling quite satisfied that the convicts perform more work in the same time than an equal number of free men) its value to £24,420. His Honour points out in his memorandum the amount received by the Board from the districts of GraafF-Reinet, Cradock, Colesberg, and Somerset, viz., £2,277, and requests an appropriation from this Board of £2,642 for making and repairing their main roads. The Board take leave to refer His Excellency to the estimate of their expenditure contained in their published report, dated the 24th February last, from which it will be seen that a larger amount than that requested by His Honour has been set apart, by the Board, to be expended in 1847 for the improvement of the roads in those districts; and it is not undeserv- ing of notice, that the amount already expended by the Central Board in the eastern province, to the end of 1846, exceeded the amount received by them from that province, in rates and tolls, by the sum of £452. Nor is it improper to mention that the expenditure about to be laid out in the ZuUrberg Pass, is as essential to the general interests of each of those four districts as any road within them. It is with reluctance that the Board enter upon any discussion respecting rates and revenue which would make it appear that the two provinces felt as if they had conflicting interests in the Board's administration of the public roads belonging to both. But as this subject has been entered into in detail in the documents to which this report refers, they feel it due to truth, and the interests of their trust, to submit to His Excellency the following brief statement of the comparative amount of moneys supplied by the Government for road purposes, and received from the eastern and western provinces respectively, up to the 31st December, 1846. Up to that date, the Government has contributed in money and convict labour (exclusive of the sum the Board has expended as the agents of the Government, for convict purposes, unconnected with convict labour, and the expenses of the department), £44,537. The eastern province has raised for the Central Board in tolls £'641, and rates £6,094, together £6,735 ; and the western, in tolls £7,697, and rates £18,807, together £26,504. These diff"erent sources of 42 revenue placed at the disposal of the Board during the years 1844, '5, and '6 are, in centesimal proportions, as follows, viz. : — from Government 67j per cent., western province 34 per cent., eastern province, 8^ per cent. These collections are, however, irrespective of the rates levied and received by the Divisionid Boards of the two provinces, which have amounted, to the end of 1846, in the eastern, to £1,007, and in the western to £10,003. Assuming, however, that the Government applies, without charge, its convict labour to the opening of mountain passes and other barriers to internal intercourse, to which the resources of single divisions, with proportionate contributions from the public treasury, are wholly inadequate, then the comparative amounts of con- tributions will be as follows : — by the Government, £2S,605, and by the eastern and western provinces as already stated, making a total of £61,844, of which 4fti per cent, has been contributed by Government, 10^ per cent, by tlie Ciistern province, and 42^ by the western. Of the aggregate of ali rates and tolls levied throughout the whole colony, and amounting to £44,249,— the sum of £19,414, or about 44 per cent, of the whole, has been raised within Cape Town and division. In conclusion, the Board cannot but remark on that part of the memorial where the following passage under inverted commas occurs : — "Your memorialists cannot refrain from expressing their astonishment at an announcement made by the Central Board, ' that it is not prepared to admit that part of said road between Port Elizabeth and its junction with the great or main road to be a main road.'" The only correspondence on the subject of roads leading to Port Elizabeth in which the Board has been engaged, is that which has passed between them and the Divisional Board of Uitenhage, in none of which is such a passage to be found. If the memorialists refer to that part of the road leading to Graham's Town which lies between Port Elizabeth and the junction with the main road, the Board beg, in answer to this allegation, to refer His Excellency to the follow- ing extract from their published report, dated 4th February, 1847 : — " From Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth the Board have decided upon making, by free labour, the new line of road to Graham's Town, which Mr. Bird has recommended, and which would have been undertaken several months back had the state of the country permitted." To this the Board do not think it necessary to make any further remark. By order of the Board, W. TENNANT, Secretary. MINUTE. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 12th July, 1847. To the Right Honourable the Governor. In pursuance of the reference of the Right Honourable the Governor, dated the 25th, upon the letter of His Honour the Lieut.-Governor, dated the 24th ultimo, addressed to His Excellency regarding road rates, &c. &c. : — We, the members of the Executive Council, having taken the same into con- sideration, beg to state that His Honour's letter and its enclosures were referred to the Commissioners of the Central Road Board for report, and that Board hav- ing now made their report, it appears to enter so fully into the subject in all its details as to render it unnecessary for us, in transmitting it to His Excellency, to do more than express our concurrence therewith. We think it our duty to advert to those passagesin the 1st and 2nd paragraphs in the memorial of the inhabitants of Port Elizabeth, wherein it is stated in re- ference to the road ordinance. No. 8, 1843, that " unfortunately for the inhabi- tants of the eastern province (it) was carried through in a council in which they had no voice," — and again : " That memorialists have been taxed without their consent." 43 Now, we respectfully submit that, in point of fact, there is not any just ground of complaint connected with the passing of the ordinance in question. It received the most deliberate and impartial consideration in the Legislative Council, without the slightest regard or reference to any one particular district or division of the colony more than another. Ample time had been allowed to the inhabitants at large for stating their sentiments, or objections to the measure, previously to the passing of the ordinance, as a reference to dates will show. On the 7th July, 1843, a circular letter was addressed to the respective Civil Commissioners throughout the colony, and published in all the colonial news- papers, announcing the intention of the Governor to submit to the Legislative Council "a Bill for making and repairing the Main Roads of the Colony," — and calling for replies and suggestions to a series of queries therein proposed. On the 14th of September the Governor laid before the Council a minute on the subject, in the principles of which the Council fully concurred, and passed certain resolutions. The draft of the ordinance was published in the Government Gazette on the 27th October, 1843, and was passed into law on the 22nd November following. Of the advantages which have — in the comparatively short existence of this law— resulted, we might, among many others, advert to the fact of Government lands which had been previously unsaleable, or only possessing a nominal value, being purchased at public auction in consequence of their vicinity to lines of road, either completed or projected, at high prices, varying from two shillings to thirty pounds per acre ; and, as a matter of course, private property has shared in this advantage where situated near the lines of road. JOHN MONTAGU, W. PORTER, HARRY RIVERS, W. FIELD. Graham's Town, 6th October, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bt., G.C.B. Sir, — I have the honour of forwarding an extract, this day received, of a letter written on the 23rd December, 1843, by Mr. Justice Menzies ; and availing myself of his permission to make any use of it that may seem to me to be proper, I request that it may be added to the road papers referred to in my letter to Your Excellency of 24th of June last, inasmuch as it is a corroboration of my opinion that the road rates have not hitherto been applied in the eastern districts to local improvements, in the manner required by the existing law, I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG. Extract from a Letter, dated 22nd December, \ 843, from Mr. Justice Menzies to the Honourable John Montagu, Esq., Secretary to Government. Before concluding, I have only further to suggest that Dr. Stanger should be instructed to obtain accurate information as to what particular districts, in the great divisions through which the main road between Cape Town and Graham's Town passes, make use of any, and if so, of what portions of the said main roads, in conveying their produce to their usual market, and as to what districts make no use whatever of any part of such main road for such purpose, as also what are the markets at which each of such districts generally disposes of its produce and obtains its supplies, and what lines of roads are used in the cou veyance of the same, o a 44 I understand the principle of the Ordinance No. 8, 1843, to be, that the expense of making and repairing both the main and branch roads in the colony should be defrayed, partly by a contribution from the general revenue of the colony, and partly by a contribution raised by assessment on the owners of landed property who will be directly benefited, or the value of whose properties will be directly increased by the making or repairing those roads, in proportion to the expenditure required, for which they are respectively called on to contribute. And that it was for the purpose of carrying this principle fully into effect that the 22nd, 26th, and 47th clauses of the ordinance have been enacted, pro- viding that whenever an assessment on the landed property of any division shall be necessary for making or repairing any main or branch roads ia that division, all the landed property in that division (except as is excepted in the 22nd clause) shall be assessed for that purpose, and that the proceeds of every such assessment in any particular division shall be applied wholly and exclusively to the construction and improvement of the roads lying and being in that DIVISION, and not otherwise. If it were not contemplated, when the ordinance was passed, that the effect of the provisions of those clauses should be, that no landowner should be called on to contribute by such assessment to the construction or improvement of any road from which he did not derive a positive and direct benefit, and that no part of the funds so levied should be expended, except in the construction or im- provement of roads, from which those from whom the levy had been made derived a positive and direct benefit, it is difficult to imagine why the provision as to assessing the several divisions of the colony separately was introduced, and why the rates to be assessed and levied on landed property for their construction should not have been a general one over the whole colony, the proceeds of which should have been applied by the Government or the general Board for their purposes, in such manner as appeared most expedient. Accurate information as to the actual local circumstances of this colony, will, however, prove that the provisions of the above-mentioned clauses will not only fail to produce the effects contemplated, but will actually produce effects directly the reverse of those intended. For example, there is not one of the great undertakings which have been proposed for the improvement of the roads of the colony, viz., Cradock's Berg, Mosterd's Hoek, Du Toit's Kloof, the construction of a hard road across the Flats in the line of the main post road between Cape Town and Graham's Town, the road from Knysna to Langekloof, the road from Beaufort over the Zwarte- berg into George, — which will not be wholly unproductive of any conceivable advantage to many of the landowners whose properties are situated in the divi- sions in which those undertakings are to be carried on ; — nay, which will not ia some cases be productive of direct and positive injury to many of such land- owners, who have been forced to contribute to the expense of completing them, while in few or any of those instances will there be found in the same division any second undertaking of a similar nature and magnitude, which, if completed at the general expense of the division, will compensate those who have received no advantage from, or been injured by, the completion of the first, for the money they have been obliged to contribute to the first, or for the loss which the first has occasioned to them. On the other hand, in some of the above cases it will be found that the landowners of an adjoining division will derive as much advantage as some, and more advantages than many, of the landowners of the division in which the new or improved road has been made, and also that the local circumstances of those adjacent divisions do not afford any opportunity for making any new or improved road in them, which will be productive of any advantage whatever to the land- owners of the division at whose expense, exclusively, the road benefiting the landowners of the adjacent division was made and improved. Thus the making of the new road through Mosterd's Hoek would not only be productive of no advantage whatever to the landowners in the field -cornetcies of Worcester, Goudini, Hex River, and the Boschjesvelds, but be most injurious to the three first by preventing the passage through any part of them of all the traffic to and from the interior of the colony by Hex River. While, on the other hand, many of the field-cornetcies of Worcester would derive no benefit whatever from the proposed improvement of the road through Hex River and Du Toit's Kloof, and would not be compensated for the amount of the expense contributed by them for that purpose, by the contributions which would be received by the landowners of the field-cornetcies above mentioned, to the much less expensive operation of making the road through Mosterd 's Hoek, if this road and that through Hex River and Du Toit's Kloof should both be made. The proposed road from Beaufort over Zwarteberg into George will be pro- ductive of benefit solely to the inhabitants of Beaufort, and of none whatever to those of George, yet as the south side of the Zwarteberg is in the division of George, the landowners of George must, under the present provisions of the ordi- nance, pay the expense of making the road on the south of the ridge, if it shall be considered a main road. And if it be considered a branch road, the proposed road, so advantageous to Beaufort, and also beneficial to the merchants of Cape Town, will never be made ; because the local board of George will never assess the landowners of George for making a road of no use or advantage to them, and because, by the provisions of the ordinance, the landowners of Beaufort cannot appropriate any of the funds, levied by assessment on their properties under the ordinance, to making any part of a branch road, which is not lying or being in the division of Beaufort. The very same remarks will apply, and to the same extent, to the projected road over the Zuurberg, which is to afford a direct communication to the division of Somerset, and part of the divisions of Graaff-Reinet and Cradock, with Port Elizabeth, from which the inhabitants of those districts will derive very great advantage, but the landowners of the division of Uitenhage none, if, as L believe to be the case, the north side of the ridge over which the road is to be made is in the division of Somerset, and the south side in that of Uitenhage. If it be said, true it is that the distinction made in the ordinance, as to the several divisions, does not exactly distribute the expense of making and improving the roads in each among the landowners thereof, in proportion to the amount of the benefit derived by them from the several roads, but it is impossible to frame any provisions which will accurately produce this result, and the system estab- lished by the ordinance is as near an approximation to the attainment of such accurate proportionment as can be had, the answer is, this system is not such an approximation, nor even an approximation at all, and the information which it has been above suggested ought to be obtained, will, when obtained and made use of with a sound discretion by the Governor and the Executive Council, or the General Board, and provided the obnoxious clauses of the ordinance are repealed, and amendments introduced in their stead, enable them so to arrange the mode of assessing the landowners in the several divisions of the colony, as will make the benefit which the landowners of each sub-district or particular locality derive from the construction or improvement of the roads in their neigh- bourhood, commensurate with the amount of the expense which they are called on to contribute for that purpose. The enquiry which I have suggested Dr. Stanger ought to be instructed to make, and the facts which the Civil Commissioners might with advantage be called on to furnish both, by their own reports and those of their field-carnets, on the subject, will produce a mass of statistical information, which cannot fail to be of great use to the general Board in the discharge of its duties. I consider that your note was written, and Dr. Stanger's instructions com- municated to me by you privately, and not as Secretary to Government or chair- man of the general Board ; but you are at perfect liberty to make any use of this letter you think fit. All I stipulate is, that if any reference, to it is made, either in the Legislative or Executive Councils, or in the general Board, a full copy of it may be submitted to them. 46 MINUTE. Graham's Town, 7th October, 1847. In forwarding this letter, I may say that I have read the extract which is enclosed, and that it does not alter my opinion of tlie correctness of the report of the Central Board of Road Commissioners. I still hold that there must be one Board for the main roads of the whole colony that even were the western and eastern districts separated in other respects, this should still be the case with respect to roads (however the Commissioners may be chosen or appointed), to ensure unanimity and regularity of purpose, without which no adequate end could be obtained. To me it is obvious that to lay out the assessments in the driblets in which, comparatively speaking, they are collected from the different districts, in each particular district, would be a mere waste of money, and I am (with every deference to Mr. Justice Menzies' sentiments) satisfied that all legal provisions will be met by the total amount collected in each district being expended in that district during the continuance of the ordinance. These papers should of course go home with the others now being prepared, and I wish this minute to accompany them. I may add, that I am quite ignorant of the circumstances under which Mr. Justice Menzies wrote the letter from which this extract is taken. I suppose he was asked to offer any hints that might occur to him. This, however, should be explained by the Honourable the Secretary to Government ; and as I see at the bottom of the extract that the writer requests that a ^'full copy " may be used, I think that ought to be done, distinguishing what is in this extract by inverted commas. As two of the Honourable Members of the Executive Council are now here on duty, I send these papers for their perusal, and any remarks they may wish to offer, previous to forwarding them to Cape Town. HENRY POTTINGER. Graham's Town, 8th October, 184i7. The Right Honourable the Governor, &c. &c. &c. In obedience to the desire expressed by the Right Honourable the Gov- ernor, in his minute of yesterday's date, we have read the letter of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of the 6th instant, addressed to His Excellency, as well as the extract from a letter of Mr. Justice Menzies to Mr. Montagu, forwarded by Sir Henry Young. We are humbly of opinion that these papers should be laid before the Central Board of Road Commissioners for their report. But, in the mean time, we take the liberty of observing that His Honour appears to us to labour under a slight misapprehension of the scope of Mr. Menzies' reasonings when he calls them a corroboration of his opinion that the road rates have not, in the eastern districts, been applied in the manner required by the existing law. Mr. Menzies endeavours to prove that the existing law is framed upon a wrong principle, and ought to be amended. His Honour endeavours to prove that the existing law, be its principle right or wrong, has been violated. These propositions, as we respectfully submit, are separate and distinct, and furnish no corroboration of each other. The plan recommended by Mr. Menzies of removing all former land-marks, and creating wholly new divisions of the colony for the purposes of road-taxation, would, no doubt, have been attended by some obvious advantages. But, con- sidering that no care or cost could secure more than a very rough approximation to the principle of taxing every man in proportion to the benefit to be by him derived from the roads in his vicinity, —that an old division which has, by time, given a sort of corporate or collective feeling to the inhabitants residing within it, 47 should not be abandoned for a new division, for merely road purposes, made up of bits and scraps from the old divisions, unless in obedience to public opinion, clearly expressed, — that no such public opinion, so far as we know, has ever been declared, — and that the principle of breaking up old divisions, if once introduced, would probably lead to a minuteness of subdivision fatal to any great or effective administration of the public roads of the colony, — we are humbly of opinion that the principle of the ordinance No. 8, 1843, is not unsound in the point to which Mr. Menzies has adverted. The separate and distinct question agitated by His Honour has already been sufficiently discussed, and we shall not, upon this occasion, trouble His Excellency with any observations upon that subject, further than to repeat that neither of us has ever doubted, that every division is entitled to have the whole amount of the assessment levied within it applied to its ovv'n roads. , But we dobut just as little that, in the first instance, all divisional assessments may properly be paid into one common cheset, keeping correct and separate accounts, — and that the Central Board cannot be deemed to be chargeable with any irregularity until it shall be found, upon the close of their legislative existence, that some districts have not had the amount of their respective contributions spent upon their respective roads W. PORTER. W. FIELD. Cape Town, 9th October, 1847. The Lieutenant.-Governor and Mr. Justice Menzies on roads. To be laid before the Executive Council, and sent to the Central Board of Commissioners for their sentiments on it. HENRY POTTINGER. MINUTE. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 2l8t Oct., 1847. The Right Honourable the Governor. We, the members of the Executive Council, having, in obedience to the Right Honourable the Governor's commands, attentively considered the letter from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, giving cover to an extract of a letter from Mr. Justice Menzies, dated 22nd December, 1843, have the honour to submit, that we entirely concur in the opinion expressed by His Excellency, that under any circumstances, one Board only for the main roads of the colony should exist. We further concur with His Excellency, that to lay out the assessments in each division, as they are collected from the different divisions, would be a waste of money. With reference to His Excellency's instructions that these papers should be forwarded to the Central Board, we beg to transmit the report of that Board, in which we entirely concur. With regard to His Excellency's remark, that the circumstance under which Mr. Justice Menzies wrote the letter from which the extract is taken, should be explained by the Secretary to Government, the first undersigned begs to draw His Excellency's attention to a separate letter addressed by him, under date the 19th instant, explanatory of these circumstances. JOHN MONTAGU. HARRY RIVERS. 48 i. 'f. <■ 1,1 '' . ' . Office of tlbe Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads, Cape Town, 20th October, 1847. The Honourable the Secretary to Government. Sir, — The Central Board of Commissioners of Public Roads have this day had under their consideration the following documents, referred to them by order of the Right Honourable the Governor : — 1st. — An extract from a private letter addressed by Mr. Justice Menzies, on the 22nd December, 1843, to Mr. Montagu, Secretary to Government, on the subject of public roads and the Road Ordinance passed on the 22nd of the month immediately preceding. 2nd. — A letter addressed to the Right Honourable the Governor, on the 6th instant, by the Lieutenant-Qovernor of the eastern districts, requesting that the abovementioned extract may be added to the other oiBcial documents relating to public roads, as corroborative of His Honour's opinion, previously expressed, " that the road rates have not hitherto been applied in the eastern districts to local improvements, in the manner required by the existing law." On these documents the Board of Commissioners take leave to report as follows : — It is not necessary that the grounds should again be brought under the notice of His Excellency, on which the Board have differed in opinion from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor as to the legality of their proceedings in the exercise of the trust reposed in them by the Ordinance No. 8, 1843. Their views on this head have been fully explained in a former report, and it only remains for them to state, in reference to His Honour's letter now under consideration, that with every feeling of respect for His Honour's judgment and discernment, the Board are at a loss to comprehend how the extract from Mr. Justice Menzies' letter can be considered in any way corroborative of His Honour's opinion on this point. The extract in question refers exclusively to the principle on which the road ordinance was framed — and was /len nee? before it had been brought into oper- ation ; whilst His Honour's charge is that in working the law, this Board had violated the provisions contained in the 26th and 27th sections. It is true that Mr. Menzies refers to the obligations imposed upon the Board by these clauses, in regard to the appropriation of assessments levied on landed property in the several divisions, but he nowhere states that the assessments of each division for the lines of main road shall constitute a distinct and separate fund, and that, as they are levied so shall they be applied, which is the interpretation on which His Honour has founded his charge against this Board. The object of Mr. Menzies' suggestion, that Dr. Stanger should be instructed to obtain accurate information as to the districts through which the main road from Cape Town to the frontier would pass, and the extent to which these districts would avail themselves of any portion of that line in bringing produce to market, seems to have been that the Central Board might thereby be put in possession of sufficient statistical data (before moving the Governor to proclaim) to determine whether the line, as projected by Dr. Stanger, was, on the whole, the most advan- tageous to the surrounding districts. That the Board have not gone ignorantly or precipitately to work in this matter does abundantly appear from the fact that the whole of this road has been surveyed, and more than one half of it proclaimed for some time past, while not a single objection has reached the Board from any of the surrounding districts against the line selected by the surveyor, nor a word uttered in disparagement of this important public work by any public paper or journal in the colony. And as to the extent to which the paramount object of such a work will be attained by the construction of this line as projected, viz., the advancement of the trade of the colony, both domestic and foreign, and the full development of its resources, the Board take leave to refer His Excellency to the following statement in their previous report : — " This line of main road, with a few branches of trifling extent, 49 will, when completed, connect with the seats of Government and with one another three-fifths of the chief towns of divisions, seats of magistracy, and villages in the colony; — while, running nearly parallel with the sea coast east of Table Bay, it will open up every port of importance to those districts of the colony belting the 'shore, which are now the most populous and productive, and at the same time capable, from climate, soil, and the richest fishing grounds, of supporting a largely increased population." In the second paragraph of the extract from his letter, Mr. Menzies states the principle on which the road ordinance was framed, to be, " that the expense of making and repairing both the main and branch roads in the colony should be defrayed partly by a contribution from the general revenue of the colony, and partly by a contribution raised by assessment on the owners of landed property, who will be directly benefitted, or the value of whose properties will be directly increased, by the making or repairing those roads, in proportion to the expenditure required, for which they are respectively called on to contribute." And in the paragraphs immediately following he maintains that it was to uphold the integrity of this principle that the 22nd, 26th, and 47th sections of the road ordinance were enacted. Although it does not belong to this Board to account for, or defend, the principles of the road ordinance, or of any other, their duties being wholly minis- terial, yet, as the carrying out of these principles has, in consequence of their trust, devolved upon them, it was natural that His Excellency should require of the Board, from their intimate relation to the ordinance in question, their views and sentiments on this head. In obedience to His Excellency's request, the Board, therefore, take leave to remark that their views of the principles and provisions of the road ordinance are very different from those of Mr. Justice Menzies. Roads are characteristic of every country not wholly barbarous ; they are coeval with the existence of real property in any community, and by the unwritten law of every state in Europe their maintenance is an obligation blended in the right in real property, and inalienable from it. In this colony, previous to the passing of the road ordinance, this obligation was discharged by the occupiers of land in each field-cornetcy furnishing a specified number of labourers for a cer- tain number of days to repair the roads within its bounds, — a regulation which, in later years, fell into abeyance, chiefly from the scarcity of labour among the agricultural inhabitants. That such an arrangement, which in Europe belonged to the last century, could adapt itself to the present progress of the colony in every branch of industry, by opening up harbours to the adjacent districts and the mountain barriers that intersect the colony, by bridging rivers and constructing main lines of road on scientific principles, so that each should form part of one consentaneous system, will scarcely be maintamed. It therefore, we presume, became the duty of the Executive to supersede a system whose character in every respect unfitted it for the present and prospective wants of the colony, and to establish by ordinance a law whereby the internal intercourse of the colony would be provided for on general and systematic principles, by the commutation of forced labour for an assessment on fixed property and contributions from the general revenue, to meet those expenses, in the opening up of mountain passes and works of a similar kind, with which the landed interest of any single division could not, with justice, be exclusively burdened. For this end the road ordinance is understood to have been passed. But it would have been anything but consistent with the views thus expressed, which from the documents laid on the table of the Legislative Council are known to have been those entertained by the Executive, had that ordinance been based on the principle for which Mr. Menzies contends, viz., thai no landowner should be assessed for the construction or repair of roads which do not directly benefit his own property, or whereby its value is not enhanced in proportion to the amount he is taxed for the expenditure. To concede this, is at once to admit that the so ^eat object for which the ordinance was passed has been abandoned — and that an obnoxious and objectionable system, unfitted for the present state of the colony, has been more firmly established than before, with this simple modification, that for a time an assessment on fixed property has been substituted for contributions of forced labour. The Board, however, fully consider that such is not the principle of the road ordinance, and that the provisions quoted by Mr. Menzies in support of his ar^- ment can be accounted for on very different grounds. In imposing an assessment on fixed property in lieu of a system of compul- sorylabour, which for some years had fallen into abeyance, it became the Executive, where so important an interest was at stake, to guard against the risk of creating such a hostility to the measure as might endanger its success, — and the more so, as, in this colony, all direct taxes and assessments had been abolished some time previous to the framing of the ordinance. Having strong reasons for believing that a formidable, and in all probability a successful, resistance would have been made to any measure for the construction of roads, which involved a permanent tax on the landed property of the colony, it appears to have been considered by the Executive Government, in the first instance, expedient to regard the assessing of the landed property as experimental, and in consequence to limit the provisions of the ordinance for this impost to the levying of six rates, one half of which, under the direction of the Central Board, should be expended in the construction of main lines of road, and the other half, under the administration of Divisional Boards, should be applied to the formatiim of branch roads, connecting the several districts of each division with the main lines passing through them. But whilst the Government had thus resolved on limiting the assessments to six rates, they were not ignorant of the fact, that the proceeds of the three rates, together with the contributions from the general revenue which would be placed at the disposal of the Central Board for constructing the main lines of road throughout the colony, would come far short of that object, — the aggregate of such rates from every division not realising more than i'70,830. And on this ground they considered it but equitable, as also indispensable to the formation of branch roads under the administration of Divisional Boards, that, though the opening of mountain passes and the removal of the most formidable barriers to internal intercourse must first engage the attention of the Central Board and engross their resources, yet tiiat they should be bound by the provisions of the ordinance so to diffuse their labours over the whole colony, that the landowners of each division should find improvements effected in the main lines of road therein, at least equivalent in value to the rates that had been levied for that purpose. Such the Board believe to be the correct interpretation of the object of those provisions contained in the 22nd, 26th, and 27th clauses of the road ordinance, on which Mr. Menzies rests his argument for the principle on which he maintains that ordinance is framed, viz. : That no landowner can be taxed for the construc- tion and repair of roads where he is not directly benefitted, or the value of his property thereby enhanced in proportion to the amount of his share of the expense. And from this statement of the circumstances, connected with the framing and passing of this ordinance. His Excellency will at once see the grounds on which the Board differ from Mr. Menzies in the views he has taken of the whole matter. But, irrespective of this, the Board maintain that the " principle of direct benefit proportionate to the amount of rate levied," is not to be found in any clause or section of the ordinance in question. On the contrary, there is a very significant indication of an opposite tendency in the fact, that the fixed property of the municipalities both of Cape Town and Green Point are rated not only for the main roads leading to town, but also for the branch roads throughout the division, — an assessment more than double of any other in the colony, though at the same time in direct violation of the principle for which Mr. Justice Menzies contends ; the landowners in these municipalities having a direct benefit in the 51 maintenance of their streets, but an indirect one in the construction and repair of roads throughout the division. In another part of this extract Mr. Menzies endeavours to show that the ordinance ought to have been so framed as to enable the Central Board to levy rates throughout the colony, and to carry on the construction of roads, without reference to the amount expended in any one district or division ; or, if the principle acted upon was to be that of local appropriation in proportion to the amount of local impost levied, that in that case the districts called field-cornetcies should have been adopted, and not the fiscal divisions referred to in the ordinance. In support of this, Mr. Menzies quotes several instances in which he believes that field-cornetcies will, under the present ordinance, be assessed for roads pass- ing through the division to which they belong, from which they will have not only no direct benefit, but will actually suffer injury, by changing the line of direction of some road that had previously passed through that part of the divi- sion. On this the Board have to remark that the internal intercourse of any single division is not solely provided for by the main roads that pass through it, but chiefly by those ramifications or branch roads connecting field-cornetcies or dis- tricts with one another, and (by means of the main roads) with the chief ports and general markets of tlie colony. These branch roads, it is unnecessary to state, are, under local administration, so constituted, that whilst measures are taken to pro- vide for the internal intercourse of the division as a whole, the interests of no individual field-cornetcy need be sacrificed or overlooked. Hence His Excellency will be prepared to expect that this Board prefers the scheme adopted in the ordinance to either of tlie alternatives proposed by Mr. Menzies. And were it necessary, as the Board believe it is not, to impress on His Excellency's mind the importance of adhering to the principle and provisions of the existing ordinance in this respect, they would take leave to refer His Excel- lency to the history of roads in England and other countries, where experience has compelled them to abolish parochial trusts, as far as main roads are concerned, and, by combining parishes, to form road districts, with qualified surveyors,— committing also extensive lines of road either to Parliamentary Commissioners or other special trusts. This, again, from the consequent absence of any consentane- ous system of operation, has been found unfitted to the growing wants of the country ; and from, what has recently dropped from the late Premier, Sir Robert Peel, in the House of Commons, it is more than probable that, in a short time, the same system will have to be adopted in England which the Board now solicit may be retained in this colony The Board do not think it necessary to occupy His Excellency's tune with any additional remarks on the documents which have been thus submitted to them. By order of the Board, W. TENNANT, Secretary. Colonial Office, 19th October, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., G.C.B. Sir, — In attention to Your Excellency's intimation that the circumstances under which Mr. Justice Menzies wrote his letter to me of the 22nd December, 1843, should be explained, 1 have the honour to submit the following statement : — A few months after my arrival in this colony in 1843, I collected materials and prepared a report to the Governor, for establishing an improved system of convict discipline and the administration of public roads. Desirous of procuring information from every quarter. I conversed with Mr. Menzies and many other persons, and ray report was laid by the Governor on the u a 52 table of the Legislative Council, on the 14th September, 1843. My conversa- tions with Mr. Menzies were not official, they were merely casual, when we happened to meet, and such as occur daily between two gentlemen in familiar in- tercourse upon any public topic. I never consulted with Mr. Menzies officially, nor did I, in any manner, ask his advice or suggestions. In September of that year he went on circuit, and from a note he wrote me from Uitenhage on the 6th of the following month, which I have found amongst my private papers, and transmit herewith, it will be seen that, in a friendly un- official form, he wrote to me, as to a private gentleman, and not as the Secretary to Government, nor for the information of the Governor, but for my own notice, pointing out some difficulties which appeared to him to stand in the way of the working of my proposed road and convict system. In that note he alludes to a survey of the roads, and I imagine that I must have informed him, either in a similar description of note or perhaps verbally, on his return to Cape Town, that Dr Stanger had been engaged to make such a survey, and most likely sent him a copy of his instructions, as they were printed for distribution. I beg to enclose a copy of them for Your Excellency's perusal. If I wrote to Mr. Menzies I kept no copy, as it is not my habit to keep copies of such notes, as they are never written by me for an ulterior object, or to be made available for an official purpose. Indeed I am sorry to be obliged, by the course Mr. Menzies has adopted, without any reason assigned, of converting a private letter to me into an official document, to use the accompanying note from himself, and I do it with the greatest reluctance ; but without it, I cannot furnish the explanation called for by Your Excellency. I usually destroy notes of that character ; I imagined this from Mr. Menzies had been so, and if it had, I could not have complied with Your Excellency's suggestion. Mr. Menzies' letter of 22nd December, 1843, must, I conceive, have been written to me in reply to my informing him of Dr. Stanger's employment, as I can recollect no other circumstance to account for it These few words afford the explanation required of me, and perhaps I ought not to add to them. But as it appears to me that something more will be expected from me, as the Secretary to Government, to account for my silence to the Governor of the colony upon such a letter from such a quarter, during the late investigation into the con- duct and proceedings of the Central Board, I shall take the liberty of submitting some further explanation. In the first place, I must remark that Mr. Menzies is in error in designating the extract he has furnished of his letter to me of the 22nd December, 1843, as from Mr. Justice Menzies to me, as Secretary to Government. It is not probable that a Judge of the Sujireme Court would write officially to the Secretary to Government upon such subjects, nor the Secretary to the Judge; their respective positions and duties under the Government forbid it. But Mr. William Menzies wrote to Mr. John Montagu an unofficial, friendly, private letter ; - and the extract he has furnished establishes that fact, and shows that it has no reference to the Government, and contains no request to me to convey his suggestions to the Governor. Moreover, if, instead of supplying an extract only Mr. Menzies had sent a copy of the whole letter, it would, upon the face of it, have been found to contain nothing whatever indicative of an official character, but everything dia- metrically the reverse, precisely as is shown by his note of the 6th October. The circumstance of holding a public office, does not take from me the privilege of having private, friendly, and unofficial correspondents ; but I am, and always have been, so sensible of the importance of rigidly observing the distinction between the two descriptions of letters, as to enable me to state, in the most decided terms, that I have never withheld from the head of the Government, any letter, in whatever form it came to me, which had the slightest pretension to official or public, or which had been apparently written or intended for his in- formation. 63 Mr. Menzies' letter had no such pretensions, and as I did not conceive it would be used by him for any other purpose without my permission, I destroyed it shortly after 1 perused it ; and from that time to the present, I believe, I have had no further conversation nor unofficial correspondence with Mr. Menzies upon my system of roads and convicts. I confess that his letter provoked me, and that I destroyed it, perhaps in warmth. From his long residence and experience in the colony, I certainly expected to obtain from him some useful information, — some practical hints, — some obser- vations above common-place. But on every occasion he attempted it, he disap* pointed me, and his letter of 22nd December concluded him in my estimation. His belief, in October, 1843, that if the convicts were placed in large bodies, and put to moderate hard labour, without guards and physical coercion, one-half of them would desert within the first month, and the remainder at the end of the second month, and that they were not to be restrained by mere moral and religious influence, evinced, to my mind, such small knowledge of human nature, as to leave with me an unfavourable opinion of his judgment. And when, in addition to this, I perceived he could not see how convicts, concentrated in large gangs, could be fed, clothed, lodged, and instructed, at less expense than the same number had been while dispersed in small parties all over the colony ; and, further, that he was of opinion that every convict who escaped would kill a sheep or an ox, or break open a storehouse or mill within 24 hours after he had effected his escape, — my opinion was equally unfavourable in regard to his penetration. And how completely have the results of four years' trial of my system nulli- fied Mr. Menzies' predictions in every particular, and justified those opinions. For instance, the convicts have been put in gangs of from 200 to 250. Their work is extremely hard, incessant, and very laborious. They are held without the aid of a guard ; out of upwards of 1,200 convicts who have been under the system, 13 only, having deserted, are at large at this moment. The men have been restrained, excepting the aid of a few indifferent constables, entirely by the operation of moral and religious influences ; their expense has been decreased by more than one-fourth. And with one exception, no deserter has committed a robbery of any kind, either within 24 hours, or within as many days or weeks after desertion, but all have secreted themselves, and have skulked far away as quietly and as quickly as they possibly could. These unfavourable opinions were followed by the letter of the 22nd Dec, containing Mr. Menzies' notions of the proper principles for a road ordinance; and when 1 then discovered that in his opinion the system of providing for the expense of roads ought to be governed by the amount of positive and direct benefit each contributor derived from each particular work, and that unless a contributor could be shown to derive such individual benefit, he would receive direct and positive injury by the formation of roads,— all respect for his views and knowledge of such subjects entirely vanished. I then conceived, and still conceive, that the views of any person are undeserving of attention, who, when providing for the wants and advancement of a large but widely dispersed com- munity, cannot take a more comprehensive range of such a measure, and cannot comprehend the benefits to that community, of decreasing the expense of car- riage, by removing, without reference to individual interests, the greatest obstacles to general traffic, and thus to efiect the greatest improvements for the greatest number. This explanation will, in some measure, account for the silence I have referred to, for I admit that the whole of Mr. Menzies' correspondence and conversations had entirely passed from my mind. But if it had been otherwise, I should not have brought them under Your Excellency's observation, because I should have felt I was not at liberty to make an official use of a private letter, and also because 1 should have deemed them undeserving of it, in so far as respects the main question which was then under consideration. 64 Mr. Menzies, in his letter of December, does not assert that the proceeds of every road assessment shall be applied, when and as received, to the particular divisions which contributed it. but that it shall be applied wholly and exclusively to the roads of that division ; Your Excellency, the Attorney- General, and the Central Board, have taken the same view of the law. The different opinion entertained by the Lieutenant-Governor is one of time only. He contends that those moneys should be expended as received, and not at any time the Board may select during the continuance of the ordinance. Considering, however, that the unofficial opinion of Mr. Menzies to me as Mr. Montagu, could not, even if I had remembered it, have been used by me as the official opinion of Mr. Justice Menzies to the Secretary to Government, I should not have repeated it ; and feeling too, that upon any matter in which the Government, or a department of the Government, is concerned, the opinion of a Judge, who may have it brought judicially before him, ought not to be embar- rassed by an extra-judicial opinion, and that the less a judge is mixed up with the proper business of the Executive Government the better, — I should for these reasons likewise have remained silent It does not appear, from the documents, in what character or capacity, nor under what circumstances, nor with what object or motive, Mr. Menzies fur- nished the Lieutenant-Governor with the extract of his private letter to me ; nor can I discover from them why, two months after Your Excellency's decision upon the former correspondence upon this subject had been notified officially and publicly, Mr. Justice Menzies should have taken the trouble to prepare himself before leaving Cape Town on circuit, and step in, uninvited by the head of the Government, to revive it, and probably again renew the agitation which had subsided. Such a proceeding, commenced under the Lieutenant-Governor, in- stead of the Governor, who was equally accessible at the time, would appear to be more inexplicable in the case of Mr. Justice Menzies, when Your Excellency calls to your recollection that it is but five months since that he declined to fur- nish the Lieutenant-Governor with information, upon his requisition, unless the application was made for it by the Lieutenant-Governor through the Governor, upon which occasion Sir Henry Young deemed it to be his duty to move Your Excellency to take the proper steps for removing Mr. Justice Menzies from office. Concurring as I do in the opinion entertained by Mr. Porter and Mr. Field, that the extract furnished by Mr. Justice Menzies could not, of itself, justify the donfident terms which His Honour uses in his letter to Your Excellency respecting the accuracy of his views, previously expressed, as to the legality of the pro- ceedings of the Central Board, it is not unreasonable to assume that His Honour has been strengthened in his views by the opinion of the Judge on that head. Should this prove to be the case, it would enhance in no small degree, the diffi- culty of the Commissioners of the Board to defend themselves in the Supreme Court against any action which might be brought against them thereon ; and, moreover, it will be for Your Excellency to consider whether, in such a case, it is fitting in a Judge to express an opinion, in any manner, upon any matter, of which there is the remotest prospect of its being brought judicially before him. I have, &c., JOHN MONTAGU. Qitenhage, 6th October, 1843. The Hon'ble John Montagu, Esq. My dear Sir, — I avail myself of a very few spare minutes, before starting for Sunday's River, to bring under your notice some difficulties which appear to me to stand in the way of the working of your proposed system. I believe that if the present convicts were placed in large bodies on the roads without guards and physical coercion, and although nothing more disagreeable was required of them than that species of healthy exercise at present miscalled hard labour, one-half of them would desert within the first month, and that if what you and I would call moderate hard labour, but which they would consider excessively severe labour, were enforced, a great majority of the re- mainder would desert before the end of the second month. That the flightiness of mind and incapacity to look forward to anything at a distance of the coloured convicts, will prevent mere moral and religious restraint, and promised rewards after a lapse of time, from producing any considerable effect in rendering them more industrious ; and therefore, that to carry out a system of stricter convict discipline than the present, guards and coercion are indispensably necessary. 1 have not been able to see how the convicts can be fed, clothed, lodged, and watched in temporary buildings on the roads, with fewer, I admit, but more expensive superintendents, even supposing guards can be dispensed with, at less expense than they are at present. You have so much better information, however, than I can possibly have, that I express this doubt with great diffidence. The nature of the country gives them every facility to escape, and to avoid being retaken. Every convict who escapes will kill a sheep or an ox, or break open a store-house or mill, within 24 hours after he has effected his escape. The nature of the country renders the efficient collection of tolls very difficult. I repeat my doubts of your being able generally to procure materials for good working local Boards. Before introducing so new, extensive, and complicated a system, which there might be some difficulty in getting rid of, even if found to work ill, I would suggest that 50 or 60 of the very best and most trustworthy of the convicts throughout the whole colony should be selected and placed in a body, for the next six months, on the main road between Cape Town and Swellendam, under the control of the Surveyor-General, and superintendence of some skilful proper person, and endeavours made gradually to dispense with guards and trust to moral restraint. This would cause very little additional expense, if any. No great expenditure should be made, even on the main roads, until the line has been carefully surveyed by a skilful engineer. One such engineer would do more good than all the local Boards in the colony, provided his time and attention be devoted exclusively to the roads. Without such a survey, a great part of any expenditure which may at present be made on the roads will ultimately be found to be thrown away. I have given you a capital batch of convicts here. Everything has gone on smoothly this circuit. I have observed that the diminution in the number of coloured persons in the country districts, not being Kafirs or Fingoes, continues to go on even at a greater rate than it has been doing for the last six years. I like the new line of road I took from Somerset here very much. I have not hitherto lengthened my journey by my new route. May I request you will be so good as to forward the enclosed to their respective destinations. Not knowing whether Musgrave has been gazetted, I have addressed him as formerly. Believe me, &c., W. MENZIES. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 11 th November, 1843. Dr. Stanger. Sir, — His Excellency the Governor has been pleased to appoint you to make a running survey of the line of road between Cape Town and Graham's Town, in order to obtain the following objects : — 1. A report on the present state of the roads, and the improvements required, for making a road upon which the inland mails may be conveyed on carriages ia 56 the nearest practicable distance, compatible with the demands of the intervening townships or post towns between Cape Town and Graham's Town. 2. A correction of the errors which are supposed to exist in the map of the eastern districts, and which have been shown by Mr. Maclear, the Astronomer Royal, to exist in the western districts of the colony. 3. A report on the rocks and soil through which the road runs. You will therefore receive the following as your general instructions in the important work you are about to undertake. As the improvement of the road is the first and most important object of your attention, you will ascertain the comparative quantity of what may be called good and bad road, stating the length of each; and you will be careful to point out those portions which require the greatest quantity of labour expended upon them, in order that those parts may be immediately attended to. You will also measure the breadth of the rivers, both at flood and low water, stating, as far as you can discover, the greatest height to which the water ever rises, and every other point which appears to you to be of importance, with a view to the building of bridges, &c. You will observe the mountain passes, to ascertain if any, and what, improve- ments can be made in them. Also the direction the water runs, taken with regard to the present or any future road which it may appear desirable to you to form. You will ascertain the perpendicular inclination of the roads over the mountain passes, and at all places where the inclination is worth consideration, in the carriage pull, by taking the angles of elevation or depression with the theodolite, and note the length of the inclination by means of the chain where the distances are short, and estimate them where long. In the length of the interval, a sufficient approximation may be obtained by the register invented by the late Dr. Wollaston, called trochliometer, or some similar contrivance. As the bearing of Graham's Town on the horizon of Cape Town appears not to be more than two or three degrees north of east, starting from Cape Town, you will determine the latitude (by astronomical observations^ of points at inter- vals of from 20 to 40 miles, particularly of prominent objects close to the crossings of rivers (where the crossings cannot be seen, noting the distance and bearing of the crossing from the object), and at localities where the path tends from the straight line, abrupt turnings, or where it passes over hills, the length of the intervals to depend mainly on these circumstances. One second of error in the altitudes involves an error of 101 feet only, and as the absolute latitudes are not of so much importance as their differences, in the use that is to be made of them for the road line, the-constant errors, if any, ofthe sextant will disappear in the differences^ At the latitude stations you will intersect, with the theodolite, all conspicuous objects ; noting the bearings of the detached magnetic needle. Having reached Graham's Town (or some other important place through which it is determined the road shall pass) you will project all your latitudes on square- ruled paper, the co-ordinates being the latitudes and distances, — in fact, similar to an ordinary nautical traverse. By drawing a line through the latitudes the deflections of the path become palpable, demonstrating the localities for re- examination on your way back. With a view to ascertain if the character of the ground will admit of a straighter line, and to facilitate the enquiry, the irregularities may be laid down on an extended scale, — as l-5th or 1-lOth of a mile for each subdivision of the paper, according to circumstances As there seems to be no doubt that the main road to Graham's Town must pass over the Cradock's Kloof, a party of 100 con- victs has been ordered to work there; and it is, therefore, very important that you should lay out the line for their work as speedily as practicable, otherwise they will shortly be idle and unemployed. Having disposed ofthe road, the latitudes of other points in the districts you will undertake, intersecting from each station any prominent object, as the tops of mountains, or other features worthy of attention, lieeping in mind that the value of result will increase with the number of stations, but generally the principal lati- tude stations need not be nearer to each other than 50 or 60 miles, unless locali- ties of colonial importance intervene ; and where practicable, the principal stations should be visible from each other. You will determine the differences in longitude by a line of signals, select- ing the signal stations from the latitude stations. The signals may be made by flashing small quantities of gunpowder in the night, or in the day-time by re- flectors, such as are employed in the arc of the meridian, or by a method requiring less personal scientific force, viz., by means of five or six chronometers conveyed from station to station. This, being an entirely independent operation, may be judiciously undertaken by itself, after you shall have reported on the beforementioned subjects. You will also direct your attention to the character of the rocks and soils over which you pass, not only with the important object of obtaining materials for road-making and mending, and information on the comparative value and facility with which those materials may be obtained, but also with the object of extending our knowledge of the geology and agriculture of the colony. As it is desirable to obtain a report on the abovenamed subjects at as early a period as possible, consistently with the well performance of the work, you will leave all those points not directly connected with the improvement of the road, and which may require some delay, until your return from Graham's Town. As it is impossible to give you full instructions, bearing on every part of your duty, you are to understand you will be expected to report, with as little delay as possible, and from time to time, on all subjects which have any relation to the great question of the improvement of the roads. For the accomplishment of the above objects, you will be provided with assistance from the Surveyor-Generals office, with the means of transport for yourself, instruments, attendants, and equipments, and a government order to render you any further assistance you may require. The Surveyor-Genera! will also be instructed to furnish you with every information his office possesses re- specting the line of road alluded to, and to afford you every aid and facility in his power in performing those duties, and you can correspond with him direct upon any points which relate to their execution. For the performance of this work, His Excellency has been pleased to grant you an allowance of one guinea per diem from this date, and the expense incurred for transport, attendants, &c., will also be defrayed by the Government; but you must understand that your personal travelling expenses are to be borne by your- self. I have, &c., JOHN MONTAGU. MINUTE. Graham's Town, October 29, 1847, 2 a.m. I considered it to be my duty to refer the letter which I had received, of the 6th inst., with its accompanying extract of one sent to His Honour the Lieutenant- Governor by Mr Justice Menzies, to two of the Hon'ble Members of the Execu- tive Council, who were then at Graham's Town on duty ; and I afterwards forwarded the papers to Cape Town, to be submitted to the Executive Councils and to be sent to the Central Board of Road Commissioners, for their sentiment, upon them. I have now received these papers back, with the following additions : — 1. A minute of the Executive Council, dated the 21st instant. 2. A letter to my address from the Hon'ble the Secretary to Government. I 58 3. A private letter addressed on the 6th October, 1 843, by Mr. Menzies to Mr. Montagu. 4. A copy of the instructions issued on the 1 1th of November, 1843, to Dr. Stanger, regarding the survey of the great road been Cape Town and Graham's Town. 5. A report of the Central Board of Road Commissioners, dated at Cape Town on the 20th instant, remarking on the papers which had been sent to them by my desire. Even did my other pressing duties allow of ray entering into a critical examination and analysis of the above described five documents, it would be superfluous for me to do so. I have perused them with great attention, and I trust under the most impartial feelings, and anxiety to form a correct conclusion upot) them ; and, with this avowal, I cannot hesitate for one moment to place on record my full and unqualified official concurrence in the sentiments expressed by the Hon'ble the Executive Council, by the Secretary to Government, and by the members of the Central Board of Road Commissioners, through the medium of their secretary. I deeply regret to feel myself called on to speak in such decided terms of the proceedings of a gentleman filling the high station of one of the judges of the colony But Mr. Justice Menzies has originated and invited this discussion, and I should fail in the public trust reposed in me were I to shrink from declaring that I can discover no sufficient cause for the course he has adopted. I differ so en- tirely from the theory which he proposes in his " Extract," that I did not even think it necessary to notice it in my first minute of the 7th instant, appended to the Lieutenant-Governors letter ; and I therefore contented myself with meeting what I conceived to be his legal (and, as I then believed, official) opinion as to the proper interpretation of the ordinance ; but when I now find that that opinion was extra-judicial, that it was communicated in a private form, that it neither was intended to be, nor has been hitherto, laid before the head of the Government, and that it was coupled with further opinions (as shown in Mr. Menzies' note to Mr. Montagu of the 6th of October, 1843), all of which have been proved to have been erroneous to a degree that could hardly have been hoped for, — I am reluc- tantly compelled to admit that I can see no motive which Mr. Justice Menzies could have had, but that of agitating an unpleasant and fruitless discussion, which had — for the present, at least— been disposed of by those whose province it was to act as they had done. I intend to forward the whole of the papers again to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, in order that he may add any remarks he may think fit, and 1 shall afterwards transmit them to Cape Town to be printed, preparatory to their being submitted to the Right Hon'ble the Secretary of State. HENRY POTTINGER. MEMORANDUM. Friday Morning, 29th October, 2 a.m. I have just finished these papers, and beg to forward them for the perusal of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, with a request that he will return them in time to go by the mail of to-morrow to Cape Town. HENRY POTTINGER. Perused. H. E. F. YOUNG. 29th October, 1847. 59 ,rr,.-^. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 9th December, 1847. The Honourable Mr. Justice Menzies. Sir, — A despatch from the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger to Earl Grey, dated the 27th ultimo, was received this day from Graham's Town, and has been laid before His Excellency the Administrator of the Government. That despatch contains a printed correspondence respecting the separation of the governments of the eastern and western provinces; and as that printed document contains some correspondence relative to yourself, I am instructed to transmit a copy of it for your information. 1 have, &c., JOHN MONTAGU. Chambers, 22nd December, 1847. The Honourable John Montagu, Esq., &c. &c. &c. Sir, — I have the honour herewith to transmit to you a letter of this date, addressed by me to His Excellency Sir Harry Smith, with its appendix, which I request you will have the goodness to forward to him, by the post of to-morrow. To prevent any cause of delay in the Colonial Office, I enclose a duplicate of that letter and its appendix, and request you will be so good as to inform me by what post my letter is forwarded. I have, &c., W. MENZIES. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 23rd December, 1847. The Hon'ble Mr. Justice Menzies, Senior Puisne Judge. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of yester- day's date, enclosing a communication addressed by you to His Excellency Sir Harry Smith ; and, with reference thereto, I beg to acquaint you that it will be forwarded to His Excellency, together with its appendix, by this day's post. I have, &c., JOHN MONTAGU Cape Town, 22nd December, 1847. His Excellency Lieutenant-General Sir Harry Smith, G.C.B., Administrator of the Government of the colony. Sir, — I liave the honour to inform Your Excellency that, on the 10th instant, I received the following letter : — Colonial Office, Cape Town, 9th December, 1847. The Honourable Mr. Justice Menzies. Sir, — A despatch from the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger to Earl Grey, dated the 27th ultimo, was received this day from Graham's Town, and has been laid before His Excellency the Administrator of the Government. That despatch contains a printed correspondence respecting the separation of the governments of the eastern and western provinces; and as that printed document contains some correspondence relative to yourself, I am instructed to transmit a copy of it for your information. I have, &c., (Signed) JOHN MONTAGU. , I a 1 received at the same time a copy of the printed documeni referred to in the letter. On examining this document, I find the correspondence relative to myself is contained in pages 115 to 128, both inclusive. The document of most importance to me, is the minute by Sir Henry Pottinger, dated 29th October, 1847, in which, vi^ith reference to my having, on the 6th October last, given an extract of a letter from me to Mr. Montagu, dated 22nd December, 1843, to Sir H. Young, with permission to make any use of it that might seem to him proper. Sir Henry Pottinger states that he feels it to be his duty to declare that he can discover no sufficient cause for the course I had adopted, — that he considers the opinion given by me in the said extract, and other opinions given by me in a private note to Mr. Montagu, dated the 6th October, 1843, to have been proved to have been erroneous to a degree that could hardly have been hoped for, — and that he could see no motive which I could have had, but that of agitating an unpleasant and fruitless discussion, which had, for the present at least, been disposed of by those whose province it was to act as they have done. Had not this minute been printed with the other documents connected with it, and made part of the enclosures of a despatch from Sir H, Pottinger, as Gover- nor of this colony, to the Secretary of State for the Colonies, I should not have deemed it necessary now to take any notice of it. But, under these circumstances, I feel compelled to avail myself of the opportunity which Your Excellency has kindly afforded me, to place on record that explanation and defence of my conduct and motives, which, I humbly submit, Sir Henry Pottinger was in justice bound to have put it in my power to give to him, before he condemned me on charges of the very existence of which I was left in ignorance, and still more, before he transmitted to the Secretary of State, without any previous communication of it to me, so marked and decided an ex- pression of his censure and disapprobation of my conduct. As it is evident, from the terms of this minute, more especially when con- trasted with those of his previous minute dated 7th October, 1847, that Sir H. Pottinger was led to the decision to which he came, solely from believing that all the statements of fact contained in Mr. Montagu's letter to him, dated 19tb October, 1847, were accurate, all his insinuations against me well founded, and all his conclusions sound, I shall abstain from any further remarks on the minute of the 29th October, 1847, and proceed to submit to Your Excellency, as briefly as possible, the necessary comments and observations on that letter of Mr. Montagu. For many years before Mr. Montagu's arrival in this colony, I had taken a veiy warm interest in the improvement of the roads of this colony, as might very naturally be expected, seeing that, as circuit judge, I was obliged to spend a period of 10 or II consecutive weeks once in every 18, and more frequently once in every 12 months, in travelling round the whole colony. I had been frequently consulted on the subject of the improvement of the roads by Sir Lowry Cole and Sir George Napier, and their Secretaries to Government, Major-General Bell and Mr. Craig, and had thus been led to believe that there was no subject to which I could more innocently, and without violation of my duty as a judge, devote my attention and exertions than the improvement of the roads of this colony. After Mr. Montagu's arrival here, seeing the zeal and energy with which he applied himself to devising measures for establishing an improved system of convict discipline and the administration of public roads, I gladly entered into such casual conversations with him on those topics as, in consequence of our then familiar intercourse, occasionally occurred. These conversations were not in any way official, or were considered by either of us as being so. But they must have satisfied him that nobody could be more anxious than I was, that the schemes for these purposes which he had in preparation might prove successful, and that I would gladly, whenever required by him, give him every information and assis- tance in my power. 61 On the 14th September, 1843, the Governor laid on the table of the Legis- lative Council, together with other documents and reports explanatory of the measures which were to be proposed for the amelioration of convict discipline, and the improvement of the roads, a report drawn by Mr. Montagu, dated llth September. 1843. This document was published in the Cape Town Mail of the 16th Septem- ber, 1843, which reached me (then on circuit) at Uitenhage, early in October. Having carefully read Mr. Montagu's report, I observed in it the following passage : — '* As uniformity of employment, discipline, and management of the road parties, is very important, a code of regulations should be framed for them with- out delay. Control of the convicts by physical force is out of the question, even if it were desirable. The regulations should therefore be based upon the principle of inducements to good conduct and reform, through the instrumentality of reli- gious and moral instruction, and through a consistent and uniform course of moral discipline." In other passages of this report, I found mention made of superintendents and overseers, but, from beginning to end of it, I found no mention made of guards, watchmen, or any other class of persons, by whom the convicts were to be pre- vented from running away, nor of any means for the restraint or confinement of the persons of any of the convicts. It therefore occurred to me that Mr. Montagu must either have intended (which I thought highly improbable) to leave the con- victs without guards or physical coercion of any kind, or that he had omitted to mention and take into account these, among the other details of his plan. In order to bring to his notice, for his own private consideration, this and some other difficulties, which appeared to me to stand in the way of the working of his proposed system, I wrote to him my private and unofficial letter of the 6th October, 1843. On the 20th November, after my return from circuit, the bill, which is now in substance the ordinance No. 8, 1843, and which had then been read a second time, having, in the usual form, been referred to the judges for their certificate that, if passed, there would be no legal impediment to its execution by the colonial tribunals, it became my duty to make myself thoroughly acquainted with its pro- visions. It then appeared to me, for the reasons afterwards stated in my letter to Mr. Montagu of the 22nd December, 1 843, that its provisions enacting that the proceeds of every assessment for road rates, in any particular division, shall be applied wholly and exclusively to the construction and improvement of the roads lying and being in that division, and not otherwise, and that the existing divisions of the colony should be the divisions for the purposes of the ordinance, were in- expedient, and calculated in some instances to occasion injustice in the assessment of rates. In the course of a casual conversation with Mr. Montagu, on the 20th or 21st November, I mentioned these opinions, and I thought (erroneously, as it afterwards turned out) that they had made some impression on him, On the 22nd November, I was present, as one of the audience, in the Legis- lative Council when the road bill was recommitted, and finding that no alterations were proposed in the abovementioned provisions, I requested Mr. Montagu to come with me out of Council into the ante-room, and there strongly urged on him the expediency of then introducing a clause, giving the Governor the power by proclamation of, from time to time, dividing the colony for the purposes of the road ordinance into any divisions or districts he might think fit. Mr. Montagu stated that the bill had been so much delayed already, and he was so anxious to get it into immediate operation, that he was unwilling then to propose any amendment, which might occasion further discussion and delay, but that most probably the ordinance would be found to require amendment in some of its details, and that the amendment I proposed might then be introduced, if it were then considered expedient to do so. 62 Appendix N o. 2. Appendix No. 1. Tlie bill was then read a third time and passed. 1 went from the Council with Sir George Napier and Mr. Montagu to the Colonial Office, when, in Mr. Montagu's presence, I said to the Governor that he had that day carried two very important measures, the one for the regulation of convict discipline, which I considered one of the most beneficial measures which had been introduced in my time ; the other for the improvement of the roads, which, in consequence of defects in its machinery and details, I thought would prove partly impracticable and partly unjust, inasmuch as it would not enable persons to be rated for purposes for which, under the spirit of the ordinance, they ought to be rated, — and unjust, in causing parties to be rated for purposes for which, in justice, they ought not to be compelled to contribute. Sir George appearing not to understand to what I alluded, Mr. Montagu explained to him what I meant. The subject was then dropped. The conversation I had had with Mr. Montagu in the Council ante-room, left me in the belief that Mr. Montagu thought the question as to the amendments I had proposed, one which was open for further discussion and consideration. On the 22nd December, 1 843, I wrote to Mr. Montagu my letter of that date, the extract of which I gave in October last to Sir H. Young. I annex a full copy of that letter. It will be seen that, in that part of it which forms the extract, I gave the reasons and arguments which had induced me to object to the ordinance and propose to amend it, and which I had not previously had an opportunity of stating fully to Mr. Montagu, either verbally or in writing. I am glad to be able to concur with Mr. Montagu in one point respecting this letter, namely, that it was an unofficial, friendly, private letter, written not by the Judge to the Secretary to Government, but to Mr. John Montagu by Mr. William Menzies. It was as much private and unofficial as if, at its date, I had been an advocate at the Cape bar, and Mr. Montagu an unofficial member of the Road Board. Mr» Montagu is in error when he represents me as having, to Sir H. Young, designated the extract as being one of an official letter from Mr. Justice Menzies to him as Secretary to Government. The last paragraph of the extract rendered it impossible for Sir il. Young for an instant to believe that it was anything but a private letter. The parties, by and to whom the letter was written, were merely described in the heading of the extract by their usual designations. In his letter to Sir H. Pottinger, Mr. Montagu says : — " Mr. Menzies' letter of 22nd December, 1843, mu.st, I conceive, have been written to me in reply to my informing him of Dr. Stanger's employment, as I can recollect no other cir- cumstance to account for it. " On the 16th December I had had a long conversation with Mr. Montagu on the subject of roads and convict discipline, and on some day between the 16th and 22nd December, Mr. Montagu sent to me a written copy of Dr. Stanger's instruc- tions (now in my possession; and the draft of the proposed convict regulations, with a note, requesting me to favour him with any observations and suggestions which might occur to me thereon. The last paragraph of the extract ought to have recalled this fact to Mr. Montagu's recollection. I cannot now find this note, but fortunately Mr. Montagu's letter of the 23rd December, 1 843, shows what its contents were, for in that letter he says, " I hope you will favour me with your remarks upon the convict regulations, ' &c. " The regulations, like Dr. Stanger's instructions, were sent to you by me," &c. &c. The purpose for which Dr. Stanger's instructions were sent to me, is also proved by the first paragraph of my letter of the 22nd December, 1843. In his letter to Sir H. Pottinger, Mr. Montagu further writes, - " I destroyed it (the letter of the 22nd December, 1843,) shortly alter I perused it," &c. &c. " I confess that his letter provoked me, and that I destroyed it perhaps in warmth. From his long residence and experience in the colony, I certainly expected to obtain from him some useful information, — some practical hints, — some observa- tions above common place. But on every occasion he attempted it, he disappointed 63 me, and his letter of 22nd December concluded him in my estimation." He then adds that certain opinions expressed in my letter of the 6th October, 1843, " evinced to my mind such small knowledge of human nature, as to leave me an unfavourable opinion of his judgment," &c. " My opinion was equally unfavour- able in regard to his penetration," &c. &c. " These unfavourable opinions were followed by the letter of the 22nd December," &c. &c., after which " all respect for his views and knowledge of such subjects entirely vanished." So writes Mr. Montagu to Sir H. Pottinger in lf^47, but in his autograph letter of the 23rd December, 1843, in reply to mine of the 22nd December, he thus wrote to me : — " My dear Sir, — Your observations upon Dr. Stanger's instructions I have read with much attention and interest, and thank you for the trouble you have so kindly taken. 1 hope you will soon favour me with your remarks upon the convict regulations, as I am only waiting for them to complete the code," &c. &c. On the 26th December, 1843, I wrote to Mr. Montagu a letter containing the suggestions which had occurred to me after a consideration of the convict regulations ; and, with one exception, all my suggestions were adopted, and now form part of the convict regulations at present in force. On the 27th December, 1 843, I had a conversation with Mr. Montagu on the same subject, in consequence of which I wrote to him on the 29th December a letter enclosing a draft of certain clauses to be inserted in the ordinance which it was proposed to pass — " For the discipline and safe custody of the convicts employed on the public roads;" which draft clauses now form, almost totidem verbis, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th clauses of Ordinance No. 7, 1844. I do not think it convenient to overload the appendix to this letter, by insert- ing in it the correspondence and other documents relative to the convict regula- tions ; but I have them in readiness to be produced when required. 1 have the most distinct recollection of having, on one occasion, a few days after the opening of the Montagu .Bridge, had a casual conversation with Mr. Montao-u on the expediency of amending the ordinance in the manner proposed by me, but apparently produced no change in his opinion. From that time until August last, 1 saw no opportunity for renewing, with any prospect of success, my endeavours to procure an amendment of the ordi- nance. But I have, during the years 1844-5-6 and 7, repeatedly in conversation endeavoured to impress on the minds of two of the members of the Central Road Board, with whom I am in habits of constant and friendly intimacy, the personal responsibility they were incurring by levying rates in some districts to a greater amount than that for which it was, according to the letter of the road ordinance, in its present form, lawful to assess those districts 1 had no information as to the nature of the discussion which, in June and July last, took place between the Lieutenant-Governor and the Central Road Board, except what I obtained from the newspapers, and I paid little or no atten- tion to it, until all the documents connected with that discussion were published by the Governor in the Government Gazette of the 6th August, for general infor- mation. From them I learnt that the next work to which the Central Board intended to direct their resources, was the Zuurberg Pass, immediately connecting the districts of Somerset and Uitenhage, and belonging to an important trunk line, connecting the districts of Somerset, Oadock, Graatf-Reinet, and Colesberg, with Port Elizabeth, and from the formation of which these four districts will, as the Central Board have most truly remarked, in their letter of the 12th July, 1847, receive incalculable benefits ; more especially if a bridge be built across the Sun- day River, to connect the Zuurberg line of road with the great roads from that river to the towns of Uitenhage and Port Elizabeth. From these documents 1 also learnt that the Lieutenant-Governor was most anxious to erect a bridge over the Great Fish River, a work which would be most beneficial to the districts of Colesberg and Cradock, and, with reference to military operations on their northern frontiers, of the greatest importance to the colony. 64. These four districts, and that of Uitenhage, are the divisions of the colony to which the enactments of the road ordinance, which I have objected to, and seek to have amended, will prove most injurious ; and the Zuurberg Pass andits line of road, and the bridges over the Sunday and Great Fish Rivers are the works, to the complete and satisfactory execution of which those enactments oppose the greatest obstacles. As the state of those divisions and the circumstances connected with those works, afford me the best means of illustrating the nature of my objections to the ordinance, and of the amendments which I propose, I shall here give the explana- tion required. I may, however, premise by distinctly declaring that I entirely concur, as I have always done, with the opinion of Sir H. Pottinger, the Attorney-General, and the Central Hoad Board, that it is perfectly legal and competent for the Cen- tral Board, without violating any of the provisions of the road ordinance, to employ any amount of the rate lawfully levied by them in any one division, under the provisions of the 20th and 2'^nd sections of that ordinance, for the purpose of putting the main roads of that division into a good and serviceable state, tempo- rarily in making or improving the main roads of any other division, provided the total amount so levied in the first mentioned division be ultimately expended by the Central Board in it, by being applied to its own main roads during the con- tinuance of the road ordinance. I am also of opinion that it was expedient, if not absolutely necessary, that the rates collected in some divisions should be so temporarily employed to make the roads of other divisions, because the simultaneous application of the rates levied in each division immediately to the roads of that division would have com- pelled the Central Board so to fritter away their resources, as to prevent, or at least for years to postpone, the completion by them of any great and expensive work. And because the separation of the convicts into small parties, which would necessarily have been required under such a system, would, if it had not totally sacrificed, have, at least, greatly interrupted and prevented the fair and beneficial working of the system of convict discipline, introduced by Mr. Montagu, to which he is entitled to so great credit, and from which the colony has derived the most important benefits. But, on the other hand, I maintain it to be equally clear, and so it will be seen to be by any one who will read and consider the provisions of the road ordi- nance as dispassionately as he would have done on the day on which it was passed, and before the Central Board had pledged or committed themselves to any par- ticular course : — 1st. That the Central Board have no power to levy a single shilling from any division, except that which is given them by the provisions of the 20th and 22nd sections of the road ordinance. 2ndly. That these provisions empower the Board to levy, in any division, only such rates as shall be required, or as, according to a fair calculation, the Board shall deem necessary or expedient for putting the main roads of that divi- sion into a good and serviceable state. If the words of the ordinance left any doubt on this point, this doubt would be at once removed by a reference to the resolutions which were moved by Mr. Montagu, seconded by Mr. Porter, and unanimously passed by the Legislative Council, on the 16th October, 1843, to carry which resolutions into effect the road ordinance was afterwards enacted. The Uth resolution is as follows : — " When the probable cost of constructing main roads in each division shall have been estimated by the Central Board, the said Board, after calculating the amount of money to be anticipated from the Council by way of grant, which (upon the principles stated in No. 7) it will be just and practicable to reserve for, and bestow on, each division, — to be empowered to raise the difference by such assessment as aforesaid." And 3rdly. That therefore, if the Central Board have levied in any division a greater amount or rate than, according to a fair calculation, is required for putting 65 the main roads in that division into a good and serviceable state, — although they may have acted optima fide, and although they may have in the meantime em- ployed the surplus amount most advantageously for the public good, — they have made such levy without any lawful authority to do so, and that such levy is, con- sequently, illegal. The Civil Commissioner of Colesberg, in the report made by him to the Secretary to Government, in obedience to the circular of the 7th July, 1843, estimated that ±150 would be sufficient to put all the roads in that district into good order. So many of the high and public roads of that district have since been, or are intended to be, proclaimed to be branch roads, and, as such, liable to be ,,• J'^^ '^J ^^^'^"^pJ^^," repaired and improved by the local rates levied by the Divisional Board, that there Board in the « the Government, to adopt any other course than that which I did. It is true, that in the explanations which Mr. Menzies has given of the circum- stances that induced him to place the " extract" in Sir Henry Young's hands, and not in mine, he quotes that part of Lord Stanley's despatch, of the 4th of January, ; 1844, which he conceives precluded him from addressing me, even in a private form, on matters referring to the eastern districts ; that in another part of his letter he comments, at great length, on the injurious working of clauses of the rond ordinance to which he was opposed, in respect especially to the divisions of Uitenhage, Graaff- Reinet, Cradock, and Somerset, all of which are in the eastern province, and that^ on those grounds, he appears to have considered himself borne out in the cour.-e hei adopted ; but, in taking this line of defence, Mr. Menzies overlooks the fact, thatj in respect of works already done, or in the course of execution, there are divisional in the western province which have an equal, and perhaps higher claim to be* relieved (if relief is to be given to any) from the operation of the clauses in thei road ordinance to which he objects ; and that thus their repeal, which he had hoped to see brought about, as a purely local measure, through Sir Henry Young, was, in every respect, a measure of general applicability to the whole colony, and not to be confined to the divisions to which he referred, in the eastern province. Under these circumstances, combined with the fact that the "extract" was- furnished to the Lieutenant-Governor, not for any particular avowed purpose, such as the repeal of these clauses, but with an undefined object, — apparently that of reviving discussion on a topic that had already caused me much annoyance and trouble, — and coupled with this additional fact, that he allowed the Lieutenant- Governor to use it for quite a different purpose from that which he now explains, it is as difficult for me to account for the course Mr. Menzies pursued, in bringing his '' extract" to the notice of Sir Henry Young, as it has been to discover the exact motives by which he was influenced. Having thus submitted such remarks to your Lordship, on Mr. Menzies' part in this affair, as appear to me to be necessary to explain the line I took in dealing with the matter, I now solicit your attention to that other paragraph in his letter to Sir Harry Smith, in which he ascribes my decision solely to the influ--,- ence on my mind of Mr. Montagu's letter to my address, of the 19th October. ' In my minute of the 7th of that month, your Lordship will observe that I> confined myself chiefly to an expression of my dissent from the views held by the Lieutenant-Governor respecting the administration of roads in the colony, — my unabated confidence in the proceedings of the Central Road Board, — and my confirmed opinion, that by the method it had adopted, in appropriating the rates levied for main roads in the several divisions, both the provisions and purposes of the road ordinance would be satisfactorily and advantageously carried out. Beingi ignorant, however, of the circumstances which had called forth the letter from Mr. Menzies, of which the "extract" had given rise to this fresh and most inconvenient discussion, I instructed the Secretary to Government, to whom it had been originally addressed, to furnish the necessary explanation ; and, in the concluding paragraph I invited the opinions of the Executive Council and of the Central Board In my minute of the 29th October, I enumerated five distinct and additional papers, which had been forwarded to me from Cape Town, in order to my final decision on the matter. These documents, whilst they strengthened my former* i 83 opinions on the real merits of the question, and thence confirmed the views I had held throughout, respecting the existing system of convict discipline and road administration, placed the subject in a new and very different light from that in which it presented itself to my mind when I drafted my minute of 7th October. "Circumstancesweredisclosed,of the authenticity of which I could have no doubt, ' which, however unwillingly, compelled me, from a sense of public duty, to animadvert on the interference which Mr. Menzies had volunteered, at a most objectionable time, and in an equally objectionable manner (and from motives for which, I repeat, I cannot yet account;, relative to a question purely executive, and which had already been disposed of by those to whose province it belonged, !*'■ — a question, too, which, I may declare to your Lordship, had notoriously been formed into a handle for adding to the agitation regarding another of a higher stamp, viz , the separation of the government of the eastern from the western province. The circumstances which were thus disclosed, and which operated on my mind in coming to the decision I did, are now in your Lordship's full possession. They are to be found in the accompanying printed correspondence; and I must respectfully beg your Lordship's perusal of the whole of the documents from page 115 to 128, together with Mr. Menzies' letter and Mr. Montagu's memorandum, 'appended to it. These two latter, though forming no element in the decision I "pronounced in my minute of the 29th October, yet throw much light on the merits of the case, and determine the degree of authenticity due to the statements to which I hud given credence ; — and, after a full consideration of the whole, I will leave it to your Lordship to say, whether (as Mr. Justice Menzies has endeavoured to show) the censure I unwillmgly passed on his conduct in this affair was iiinmerited, or whether- as I submit — that censure was the fruit of the Judge's own act, and fully warranted by his uncalled-for interference in a question which I had, after full inquiry, disposed of to the best of my ability and judgment, — aided by those whose duty it was to advise and assist me. In concluding the subject to which this communication refers, I beg to add, that I have perused with great care and attention, the documents which Sir Harry Smith has so kindly placed at my disposal ; and, in contrasting them, I was induced to record, for my own satisfaction and guidance in the preparation of this despatch, some notes which appear to me to be of considerable importance as to the general merits of the question, though not so closely related to the subject matter of this letter as would justify their insertion in it. I, however, have revised those notes into a regular shape, and I annex them, in the hope that they will be honoured by your Lordship's perusal, and likewise that they may be of service to your Lordship in considering the highly important topic of the road administration of this colony. I have only further to state — in case your Lordship should have occasion, or see fit to correspond with my successor on the subject of this letter (which I sincerely lament having felt it necessary to write) — that I shall immediately furnish Sir H. Smith with a copy of it. 1 have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. Notes on Mr. Justice Menzies' Letter to Sir Harry Smith, and Mr. Montagu's Memorandum. Mr. Menzies states, in his letter to Sir Harry Smith, that the document which most concerns him is my minute, dated the 29th October, 1847. When 1 commented in that minute on Mr. Menzies' conduct and motives in re-opening a discussion which I had closed, I had before me all the documents touching the question of convict discipline and public roads, from the time when this branch of the public service became a separate department, under Mr. H 2 84 Montagu's road and convict system, which was established by ordinance at the close of 1843. 1 have had, consequently, to reconsider the whole matter, so far as respects Mr. Menzies, — and, in doing so, I took up the papers according to dates. Mr Menzies' Note ^his note touchcs on Several points connected with Mr. Montagu's road and ef «th October. convict System, but the only topic referred to in it which has been mixed up with this discussion, is the proposed plan of convict discipline, which, in its principles, was reformatory, and hence opposed to the mode of carrying out a convict's sentence by mere physical coercion. Mr. Menzies offers his opinion, that to carry out a system of stricter convict discipline than what had heretofore prevailed, guards and physical coercion would be indispensably necessary ; and expresses his belief that one-half of the convicts would desert by the end of the first month, and the remainder within the second ; further, that every convict who escaped, would, within 24 hours, kill a sheep or an ox, or break open a store-house or mill. * This note was transmitted to me by Mr. Montagu, with his letter dated the 19th October, in which he observes upon it : — " Mr. Menzies' belief, in October, 1843, that if the convicts were placed in large bodies, without guards and physical coercion, one-half of them would desert within the first month, and the remainder at the end of the second, and that they were not to be restrained by mere moral and religious influence, evinced to my mind so small a knowledge of human nature, as to leave with me an unfavourable opinion of his judgment." Mr. Montagu proceeds to show, by a statement of the result of four years' - trial of his system, how completely the Judge's prediction had failed. Considering the means which Mr. Montagu had, as chairman of the Central Road Board, and controller of the new system of convict discipline, of obtaining accurate information, I regarded his statement of the result of his scheme as conclusive proof of its entire success ; and, accordingly, in my minute of the 29th ' October, I spoke of Mr. Menzies' opinion as having been proved to be erroneous, to a degree that could hardly be hoped for. In his letter to Sir Harry Smith. I see Mr. Menzies explains the circumstances in which this expression of his opinion originated. When on circuit, it appears, he read in a newspaper Mr. Montagu's report, dated the 11 th of September, 1843, on the management of convicts and proposed plan for the construction and maintenance of public roads. In that report Mr. Menzies found no reference to guards, watchmen, or any other class of persons required for the safe custody of the convicts, nor to means for the restraint and confinement of their persons in case of violence or disobedi- ence. It, in consequence, seems to have struck him, that Mr. Montagu either intended to leave the convicts without guards or physical coercion of any kind, or had omitted to mention it in the details of his plan. To bring this to Mr. Montagu's notice, Mr. Menzies declares to have been his object in writing ttie note in question. In a concluding paragraph of his letter, Mr. Menzies endeavours to show that the opinions he expressed in that note were not so erroneous as they had been represented. This he does by stating that, on the occasions of his visiting the convict stations in 1845, '6, and '7, he found convicts in chains, as well as the road gangs guarded by armed men,— also that visiting magistrates had been appointed to punish offenders, and that several convicts, in attempting to escape, had been either shot, fired at, or wounded. Mr. Montagu, in his memorandum, remarks— that previous to Mr. Menzies' departure on circuit in 1843, he had spoken both to Sir George Napier and him- self, on the subject, but that the guards alluded to were soldiers, whom it had been the practice to employ at certain road stations, and whom Mr. Montagu proposed to abolish, together with the physical coercion of working the convicts in chains. Mr. Montagu further explains the reason why chain gangs were to be found at the road stations in 1845, '6, and 7, viz., the breaking up, subsequent 85 to the adoption of his system, of tlie penal establishment at Robben Island, which necessarily forced upon the road system, the chain gangs that had previously been employed on the Island. In looking at this disputed point (which, after all, is of no moment, but for the allusion to it in my minute of the 29th October) I cannot help feeling surprise that Mr. Menzies should have ascribed to Mr. Montagu, or to any other person of sense, the idea of conducting a convict establishment totally without physical coercion or restraint, merely because, in laying down in his report the principles of his scheme, he stated that " control of the convicts by physical force is out of the question," — or else because no mention was made of guards, watchmen, or others necessary at all times for the safe custody of convicts. That report, I may add, does not enter into the details of a convict establish- ment. It, however, mentions that a code of regulations would be framed for the future employment, discipline, and management of the convicts. Mr. Menzies, it appeared to me, might, on the same reasoning, have as justly concluded from the report that it was intended to leave the convicts at large, or unclothed and without food, since the report is equally silent as to the mention of bolts, bars, food, and clothing. The next document in point of date, is the extract from Mr. Menzies' letter Mr M«niie»' L«ttfr to Mr. Montagu, of date noted in the margin. It refers almost exclusively, to the "g^'^o^'ir ^ont^''" principles of the road ordinance which had just then been passed. It contains Mr. Menzies' arguments for objecting to certain provisions in that ordinance, which he suggests should be repealed. These provisions are— 1st. That the road assessment on landed property is to be made proportionate to the positive benefit such property will derive from the roads to be constructed and maintained. 2nd. That the assessment levied on the fixed property of each division is to be exclusively expended on the roads within it. The effect of such provisions, Mr. Menzies argues, will be to impose assess- ments on certain districts, for the construction of roads in the division to which they belong, but in which they have not only no interest, but will actually suffer injury from their being made,- whilst districts belonging to other divisions will be benefitted thereby, though not called upon to contribute. On the above grounds, Mr. Menzies urges the repeal of the two clauses containing the provisions above referred to, and that others be put in their stead. I cannot collect what those others are to be, unless I am to infer from some of Mr. Menzies' observations, that the ordinance should provide for an indiscriminate levy of a road-rate on the whole fixed property of the colony, to be appropriated by a Central Board, without regard to particular divisions, or the agency of Divisional Boards. On these points the Central Road Board observe, at length, in their report, dated the 20th October, 1847. In regard to the first of the alleged provisions, they deny the principle of the road ordinance to be, that each landed proprietor was to be assessed in proportion to the positive benefit his property would derive from the construction of the roads for which he contributed. They insist that no clause in the ordinance is * susceptible of such an interpretation, — whilst they say that the fact that it imposed the assessment on the fixed property in towns and villages, equally with that in country districts, fully bears out a directly opposite construction. The Commissioners adduce, as an example, the municipalities of Cape Town and Green Point, which are rated for the main and branch roads of the Cape division, in the construction and repair of which their interest is only an indii-ect one, whilst in the improvement and repairs of their own roads and streets that interest is direct. As to the second of the provisions objected to by Mr. Menzies, they entirely concur with him that the rates must be expended in the divisions in which they are levied. But whilst thus concurring, they proceed to account for its being 66 inserted in the ordinance, on grounds perfectly distinct from those set forth by Mr. Menzies. They allude to the fact that the Executive experienced formidable opposition in getting the road ordinance passed at all ; that, in consequence it was limited to six assessments, none of which should exceed one penny in the pound ; that the Executive was fully aware that this rate, even with the contributions from the general revenue, would be wholly inadequate to the opening up of the mountain passes of the colony, the erection of bridges, and the laying down on scientific principles of main and branch roads in the several divisions. For these reasons, the Board assert, and not for that alleged by Mr. Menzies, it was considered but just and equitable that this provision for the appropriation of the rates of each division should be made, — and thus the Central Board be bound so to diffuse their operations over the whole colony, that when their functions should cease, the landowners of each division should find that there had been expended on the main roads therein, an ainount at least equal to the rates levied. As to the division of the colony for road purposes into sub-districts, recom- mended in Mr. Menzies" " extract, " the Central Board strongly object to such a project. The plan of forming, for road purposes, sub-districts in divisions, each to have its own local Board, as suggested in the extract, the Board consider to be equally unnecessary and inexpedient, particularly as the divisions are already sub- divided into wards, each of which is represented in the local Board of its division, and their interests thus watched over, both in the main and branch roads of the division. The Executive Council, in their minute, totally object to any division of the colony for road purposes, as proposed by Mr. Menzies in the extract. They maintain that the existing division has for a long period been connected with the fiscal regulations and administration of the colony, and that to set it aside and construct districts, made up of bits and scraps of existing divisions, would be to abandon landmarks long and intimately associated in the minds of the inhabitants, for others that were neither called for nor shown to be required On this head Mr. Menzies, in explanation, remarks in his letter on which I am observing — that the apparent difference between his opinions and those of the Central Road Board and Executive Council is more in words than in substance. "When they are sufficiently informed," says Mr. Menzies, " as to what my plan really is, they will see that the new districts which I proposed that the Governor should have the power of creating, were neither to be made up of bits or scraps of old divisions, nor limited to single field-cornetcies." Though Mr. Menzies' plan, after a lapse of four years, is not yet apparently known, either to the Central Board or the Executive Council, yet both the Board and the Council appear, with reason, to have inferred, from the tenor of his remarks, that there were to be sub-districts, that is, districts subordinate to the existing divisions : as in the first paragraph of the "extract,'" Mr. Menzies suggests that Dr. Stanger, before laying down the line of road from Cape Town to Graham's Town, be instructed to obtain accurate information as to what particular districts in the great divisions through which the main road would have to pass, would make use of such line in conveying their produce to market And in another paragraph of the same " extract " he says, that this information, when obtained, will enable the Executive Council or Central Road Board, so to arrange the mode of assessment (the obnoxious clauses being repealed) as will enable each sub-district or particular locality to derive a benefit from the roads in their neighbourhood, proportionate to the amount of their contributions. In the account which Mr. Menzies gives in his letter, of his conversation with the Lieutenant-Governor, when he offered hira the "extract," he points out as one of the evils in the ordinance which he thinks should be remedied, not that each sub-district or locality would not profit from the roads in their immediate neighbourhood proportionate to rates there levied, — but that the surplus of rates levied in divisions where they are not required could not, according to the 8? present law, be applied to roads in other divisions where the amount of rates levied might prove inadequate to the construction of their roads, owing to moun- tain passes and other natural obstacles lying in them. From this remark it might be concluded that, instead of cutting up the division into sub-districts, as the "extract" implied, Mr. Menzies' object now is, the aggregation of divisions into road stations, especially as relates to the Divisions of Colesberg, Graaff-Reinet, Cradock, Somerset, and Uitenhage, in respect to the Zuurberg trunk line. These discrepancies have struck me, on carefully looking into the papers, but as I cannot reconcile or explain them, it must be left to Mr. Menzies to do so at some future period. The preceding observations embrace the objections contained in the" extract," and made by Mr. Menzies in 1843, and also the repeal, which he still recommends I have impartially considered the reasonings, statements, and explanations which have been adduced on both sides, and the opinions I have formed are : — 1st. That that provision of the road ordinance, which enjoins the expendi- ture of all rates in the division in which they are levied, is, for the reasons assigned by the Central Board, just and equitable, seeing that the powers to assess, authorised by the ordinance, are both limited and temporary. 2nd. That as to the division of the colony into districts for road purposes, no sufficient reason has been given by Mr Menzies in the "extract," for new and additional territorial divisions, in which it is more than probable, there would be found no adequate machinery for the levying of the rate, or local agency of suffi- cient weight and intelligence to co-operate with effect, in the general adminis- tration of the roads of the colony. 3rd. Throughout the whole line of argument against the present provisions of the ordinance, and in favour of constituting road districts distinct from the existing divisions, Mr. Menzies seems to me to have argued on false grounds, inasmuch as the main resources on which the Central Board have to depend, in opening up mountain passes and other natural obstacles, are not the road rates levied in divisions in which the roads lie, nor even the road rates of the whole colony, but, for such great and important works, the annual money-grants from the general revenue of the colony, to which all contribute, — the proceeds of tolls, likewise levied from all, whether landed proprietors or not, — and the labour of convicts. These I find to be scarcely, if at all, alluded to throughout the whole " extract." Had these been given the prominent position, in the discussion, that clearlv belongs to them, the question as to the special allocation of road rates might, I imagine, have been safely regarded as a distinction without a difference, — the penny in the pound rate being a call on the landed interest of the colony, neither too heavy to be borne nor intended to be of very long duration. These documents, to a considerable extent, refer to matters that are purely Mr. Mcmicj Letter personal. The question as to whether the letter written by Mr. Menzies to Mr. Mr.^Mo";gu"'Men«l Montagu, on the 22nd December, 1843, was an unofficial, friendly private ""''"'"• letter, or whether, as from its style and contents I at first took it to be, it was to be regarded in a different light, is of no real moment, beyond its involving the consideration of another question, namely, whether Mr. Montagu neglected his duty in neither bringing it to the notice of the Governor nor of any department of the Government. It seems to me, from the concluding paragraph of the letter, that Mr. Menzies wrote it exclusively for Mr Montagu's private information ; but he, at the same time, relieves him from the necessity of treating it as private, should he see fit. A large part of that letter is occupied in offering Mr. Menzies' views as to the line of road from George to Uitenhage, and it contains much topographical information. It is to this part that Mr. Montagu evidently replies in his note of the 23rd December, 1843, quoted in Mr. Menzies' letter to Sir Harry Smith. The remainder of the letter forms the " extract" which was put into the hands of the Lieutenant-Governor, to be used as he thought proper, and this is the part 88 which embraces the point under consideration ; for the line of road referred to in the first part of the letter, was well known to the Surveyor-General, and was then actually in the hands of a professional surveyor. Had this been a single instance {■h which Mr. Menzies brought his views under the consideration of the Executive, respecting the road ordinance, it would have been Mr. Montagu's business to have informed the Governor of those views ; but it is seen that this was not the case. From Mr. Menzies' own account of the matter, it appears that, on the road bill being referred to the Judges, he had on the 20th November, 1843, in the course of a personal interview with Mr. Montagu, pointed out his objections to the bill, — that when the Council was assembled for the third reading of it, he called Mr. Montagu into the ante-room, and pressed upon him his objections, on which Mr. Montagu assigned his reason for at once proceeding with the bill, adding that his (Mr. Menzies') amendment, if it were thought expedient, might be subsequently made. And on that day, after the bill had been passed, Mr. Menzies resumed the subject in the presence of the Governor, to whom Mr. Montagu had to explain the Judge's objections. From this I should say, that it isassumable that Mr. Menzies only reiterated in the " extract " what he had previously stated both to the Governor and Mr. Montagu. In the letter, Mr. Menzies further enters into a detailed statement of the circumstances which impelled him to the course he had taken, of placing the " extract " at the disposal of Sir Henry Young. These reasons are, to me, by no means conclusive. The provisions of the ordinance which he sought to have amended are applicable to any division of the colony ; it was, therefore, quite competent for Mr. Menzies to have placed this document in my hands, without infringing the instructions he cites from Lord Stanley. This step Mr. Menzies, from motives best known to himself, did not take ; and when I came to a clear knowledge of what had passed, I certainly saw cause to feel surprise and disap- pointment at his resuscitating, as it were, the objections he had made four years before ; and that, too, at a time when the re-agitation of the subject could not but embarrass me, and when its obvious tendency was to give a handle to a party then bent on the popular agitation of a question which the Secretary of State had recommended to be considered in a very different manner. I had closed the discussion on this road bill question by my Government Notice of the 4th August ; and it was, I think, the duty of Mr. Menzies to have consulted me whether, even in his capacity of a private gentleman, it would then be advisable to revive the subject, or to interfere with the existing road adminis- tration, of which I had publicly and officially expressed my cordial approval. a In his letter I observe that Mr. Menzies' repeats the object he had in view in placing the " extract " in the Lieutenant-Governor's hands, and in his account of the conversation with Sir Henry Young, he likewise states that he pointed out to His Honour, that it was perfectly lawful for the Board to appropriate the road rates of any division temporarily to the construction of roads in another division, provided the total amount assessed was ultimately expended in the division in which the rates were levied (the legality of which Sir Henry had denied in the discussion closed by my notice of the 4th of August), but that it would be unlawful to levy more in any division than would be eventually expended on its roads. He also remarks, that with a view to relieve the Central Board from this difficulty, he placed the " extract " in the Lieutenant-Governor's hands, in the hope that it would lead to the revision and amendment of the obnoxious clauses. It does not appear, however, from Mr. Menzies' explanation, that he had supplied the Lieutenant-Governor with his plan of amendment ; on the contrary, his note, which accompanied the "extract" the following morning, does not allude to the subject, but permits Sir Henry Young to make any use of the " extract " he may think proper. Sir Henry Young immediately replied that he was about to transmit the " extract" to me, in corroboration of the views he had 89 previously urged as to the illegality of appropriating any rate on the construction of any road not in the division in which such rate was levied, — a position which Mr. Menzies avers be had told the Lieutenant-Governor, the evening before, was untenable. In this position Mr. Menzies allows the matter to remain, without a line to Sir Henry in reply, though he must have seen that such a use of the " extract" would not only frustrate the object he professed, but would place the Lieutenant-Governor in a false position, and at the same time make him (Mr. Menzies) the medium of re-agitating a question on which I had bestowed much consideration, and which 1 had finally laid at rest, — at least till times of greater leisure. I am unwillingly compelled to feel that these facts do not bear out Mr. Menzies' Ime of explanation, and defence of his conduct towards me as the head of the Government. Touching the lengthened statements into which Mr, Menzies has entered, to show that in certain divisions, such as Colesberg, the Central Board has already levied more than it can expend, it appears to me unnecessary to enlarge on the matter. The whole rates levied in that division amount only to £1002. The area of the division is double that of the largest county in England. To my mind this one fact disposes of the question. It is unaccountable, however, that Mr. Justice Menzies, believing the Board to act illegally, should have suffered them, for a space of four years, to be exposed to such a liability, without communicating with them on the subject, and it is equally so that Sir Henry Young, after the conversation with Mr. Menzies, should not have brought the subject in that light under my notice ; but instead of doing so, he, on the strength of the "extract," reiterated his opinion that the illegal proceedings of the Board were of a perfectly different kind. I have now toiled through the whole subject. In these notes I have endeavoured, as much as possible, to exclude irrelevant matter, whilst I have studied to omit nothing that could throw light upon it. I may conclude by saying, that ] shall be pert'ectly ready to modify, or even recal, my comments on .Vlr. Menzies' conduct, should the truth require it, — that 1 have striven throughout my review of the ca&e to guard against any bent or bias, and that 1 cannot see that I have done the least injustice to any one, either in ex- pressing myself as I did in my minute, or in laying ihe aflair before the Secretary of State. Indeed, on reference to Sir Henry Young's letter to me of the 6th of October, handing up the " extract," it will be seen that I had no alternative as to the adoption of the latter step, since that gentleman respectfully requests that it may be added to the other road papers; and had I hesitated or declined to do so, 1 would have tacitly admitted that I was in previous error. HENRY POTTINGER. MINUTK. King William's Town, 2nd January, 1848. I have under my careful consideration Mr. Justice Menzies' letter of the 22d December, 1847, accompanied by a memorandum from Mr, Montagu, of the 2.3rd December, 1847. 1. It was decided some years ago, in the House of Lords, when the Marquis Wellesley was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, that there could be no private commu- nications upon official subjects. I. I have observed through a long series of years in public life, that contro- Tcrsy arises first from conversations, then private notes, and ends in official dis- putes, — each adducmg arguments in support of the controversy, rather than in direct support of the point at issue. A regularly official procedure invariably facilitates public business, and is usually definite. 90 3. I deeply regret to see the time of two of the most able men in this colony occupied in controversy, —both being actuated by precisely the same principles, — that of a zealous discharge of their duty ; men whose candour and generosity — whose sense of right and obligations of justice, are such as not to permit any deliberate intention of violating the integrity on which they both desire to act. 4. This correspondence involves the despatches of my predecessor. Sir Henry Pottinger ; I can, therefore, only recommend his opinion and wish, as he is on the spot, to be taken, for it would be most gratifying to me that the matter should be terminated by cancelling the printed correspondence from pages 115 to ]28 inclusive In the event, however, of this not being done, this minute will be published also. 5. I cannot conceive a more unfortunate state of things in any Government, than that when the high official officers of it do not act together in harmony and unanimity. It is a general principle, upon which the scale of individual merit must be decided. 6. In all changes of system, and however we may differ in opinion, warmth of expression, or passing judgment upon each other's abilities, need not be resort- ed to. Experience shews that a steady perseverance in any just cause, renders hasty expressions unnecessary, for time will develop the merit of any system, and official records of opinions will preclude the possibility of misconceiving each other's views, or of the imputation of a mis-statement of conceived facts. 7. It is obvious what the law defines should be the rule ; if the law be in error its remedy can be effected. 8. I again repeat I should gladly see this correspondence cancelled, as I have previously recommended, and which I venture to hope ; having the highest opinion of the zeal, ability, and rectitude of feeling of the parties involved in this lengthened controversy. 9. This document to be recorded in the Colonial Office by Mr. Montagu, and also for his information, and this, the original, to be transmitted to Mr. Menzies. Both these gentlemen are assured any mutual arrangement to the purport of this minute, will meet my approbation, to save further reference, distant as I now am. H, G. SMITH. Received and recorded at the Colonial Office, Cape Town, 8th January, 1848, 3 o'clock, p.m. Delivered by me to the Right Hon'ble Sir Henry Pottinger on the 9th, and returned by him to me on the 11th, acquainting me that he has written to His Ex cellency Sir Harry Smith, to inform him that, in his opinion, the printed corre spondence from pages 115 to 128 cannot be cancelled. Transmitted to Mr. Justice Menzies, the 11th of January, 1848. (Signed) JOHN MONTAGU. A true copy. — John Montagu. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 10th May, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., G.C.B., Governor and Commander-in-Chief. Sir, — I have the honour of forwarding to Your Excellency a copy of an address from the inhabitants of this district, presented to me on the 5th instant, and also a copy of my reply. 91 In the framing of that reply, my object was to further Your Excellency's desire of turning the attention of the public to the restoration of peaceful and industrious pursuits, and to the policy of combining together to promote the in- ternal improvement of the eastern districts 1 hope, therefore, that the documents in question will be satisfactory to Your Excellency. Having, however, already derived, even from my short residence here, a very strong impression that the existing form of government is not so conducive to that early and extensive improvement of the country which is so obviously and so greatly needed, I think it due to myself, and to the people under my charge, thus early to record my opinion, and to convey it most respectfully to Your Excellency, that the pecuniary means of maintaining additional institutions of religion, justice, and police, and the promotion of necessary public works, would be yielded not only more amply and cheerfully than at present, but to an extent commensurate with the public revenue and expenditure of any other colony of equal population to that of these districts, provided the raising and appropriating of public funds be established on a system of local representation and local taxation, as popular as that which is conceded to Her Majesty's other colonies. The remoteness of the present metropolis of the whole colony, the geographi- cal features of the country intervening between its western and eastern limits, and the present, and probable future, almost exclusively English character of the intelligent and enterprising portion of the eastern population, render a change in the existing constitution of this Government expedient and necessary. Nothing less than such a change as I have, from a sense of duty and from the conviction of my humble judgment, now suggested, will give the necessary stimulus to the people of these districts liberally to contribute, and wisely to apply, local taxation to local improvements. They have at present no direct interest in, and therefore no sympathy with, a government so remote and locally circumscribed as that at Cape Town. Every requisite similarity of laws between the eastern and western provinces of South Africa could be attained by the correspondence of the respective local governments, and by the veto on local legislation or its occasional amendment, which is at present, and ought to continue to be, the undoubted prerogative of Her Majesty. It would be more feasible in the lapse of future ages, and after social and physical improvements had been extensively established and long enjoyed, to bring about an useful amalgamation of the government of the eastern and western provinces, than it is to do so in the present infant state of society, among a people so territorially distributed as the inhabitants of these two divisions of the Cape of Good Hope. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. ADDRESS. Graham's Town, 4th May, 1847. His Honour Sir H. E. F. Young, Lieutenant-Governor. Sir, — We, the undersigned, landholders, merchants, traders, and others, inhabitants of Graham's Town, avail ourselves of Your Honour's arrival to express our great satisfaction at the appointment of an officer of such tried experience and ability to the important office of Lieutenant-Governor of this province ; and, in anticipating for the eastern districts of the colony a steady course of prosperity under Your Honour's administration, we found our hopes upon the past official career of Your Honour in a distant colony, marked as that career has been by ir a 92 high integrity as a servant of her iriost gracious Majesty, and a just deference to the rights of the colonists. When, in the order of a wise providence, the illustrious individual now at the head of this Government shall have accomplished the high and important duties of his mission to this frontier, and shall have secured to this long distracted province security from those cruel and harassing aggressions to which it has so long been subjected, then we feel sure that in Your Honour he will leave an officer who will steadily and firmly carry out those plans, upon the efficient working of which will depend the future well-being of the loyal inhabitants of this province, as well as the prosperity of the colony at large We beg to assure Your Honour that it is our most earnest desire to uphold Your Honour's Government, and to assist in carrying out such measures as may be devised for promoting the internal improvement of this province. Signed by and on behalf of a public meeting of residents of Graham's Town, CHARLES MAYNARD, Chairman of the Meeting. REPLY. 5th May, 1847. Gentlemen, — I thank you for the congratulatory address with which you have so kindly greeted my arrival and assumption, in conformity with Her Majes- ty's gracious appointment, of the charge of the separate and distinct government of these eastern provinces of South Africa. 1 trust that you will not hold me to be the less sensible of your attention to myself individually, for giving in my present reply the greatest prominence to those portions of your address in which you have adverted to topics connected with the public service. The subjugation of the Kafirs, — the precautions to be adopted against their future incursions, — the measures to be devised to promote their civilization, — are great and arduous tasks entrusted to authority, experience, skill, and competency far higher than I possess. Mine will be the humbler duty of zealously carrying into execution so much of the details of the above objects as the Right Honourable the High Commissioner shall be pleased hereafter to delegate to me. Greater, however, than any profit to be gained from neighbouring tribes in war or in peace ; better than the acqui- sition of territory or the extension of traffic in Kafirland, is the solid present advantage of developing the internal resources of our already wide-spread colony, and of advancing the intellectual and moral progress of its inhabitants. The making of roads and bridges wherever their construction or improvement is required ; the preservation and new formation of reservoirs ; the boring of artesian wells ; the estabHshment of irrigation ; the extension of agriculture ; the export of wool in greater quantity and of better quality ; the improvement of our fisheries ; the scientific and minute survey of our rivers and coast ; the greater safety and convenience of our bays and roadsteads ; above all, the general diffusion of Christian faith. Christian charity, and sound learning ; the consequent mainte- nance of that high standard of morality, intellect, and industry which ought to characterise British colonists; are all of them objects of such paramount impor- tance, that they should be strenuously and cordially compassed by every means in our power- It is, therefore, with the most lively satisfaction, that I receive and reciprocate your assurance of support to my government, which desires to further these aims. They are essential elements of that internal improvement of this province to which you very properly promise your assistance. In conclusion, gentlemen, be assured that I respectfully estimate at its very high and just value the spirit of good-will and cordial co-operation which has prompted your present address. H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. 93 ■ -M ■*■ vn- r*fjrti*r'-!' Camp at Fort Peddie, May 15, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry E. F. Young, Kt., Lieutenant-Governor Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Honour's letter of the 10th instant, enclosing a copy of an address presented to you by the inhabi- tants of Graham's Town, and also one of your reply, — likewise offering your opinions on the momentous questions of the future form of government most likely to promote tiie development of the resources, and to ensure the prosperity, of the eastern province of this vast and magnificent (by nature) colony. The questions involved in a consideration of Your Honour's opinions had at- tracted my attention since the day I landed at Cape Town, — and even previously; but overwhelmed as I have been with other more immediately pressing (though not more important, perhaps,) matters, I have not been able to devote the time and thought to that consideration which its magnitude and importance demand. I am not therefore, at this instant, prepared to reply to Your Honour's letter so distinctly as I feel it to be my duty to do ; but I shall now write to Cape Town to obtain copies of all the numerous despatches to and from Her Majesty's govern- ment, which have passed on this subject, and as soon as I can receive them I pro- pose to visit Graham's Town for a short time, to personally confer with Your Ho- nour, before I write to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, submitting the result of our joint deliberations. 1 have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 17th May, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart, G.CB. Sir, — I have respectfully to move your Excellency to direct that the annua) estimates of the expenditure to be incurred for the service of the ensuing year be not closed, until I shall have had an opportunity of submitting an estimate of the expenditure required in the eastern districts, on which subject I have directed the Civil Commissioners to communicate with me without delay. I have, however, in the meanwhile to request Your Excellency's attention to a few points connected with the expenditure in the eastern districts for the ensuing year, respecting which there is already an agreement of opinion on the part, both of Her Majesty's Secretary of State, and of the Legislative Council of the colony. I allude to provision being made at Fort Beaufort and at Bathurst for the estab- lishment of resident magistracies. I also beg leave to move Your Excellency to cause provision to be made in the public estimate for the establishment of a Registrar of Deeds' office, and also of a Surveyor-General's office. The establishment of these offices in the eastern district is greatly needed, and universally desired by the inhabitants, who are much inconvenienced by the delays and expenses consequent on a resort to Cape Town for the transaction of the business appropriate to th«se departments. The salaries in the Registrar of Deeds' office at Cape Town amount £920 per annum. I have reason to think that one third of this amount would suffice for the like office in the eastern districts, and would contribute to augment the public revenue by the increase of business which would follow from its establishment. The department of Surveyor-General and Civil Engineer at Cape Town, is supported by salaries to the extent of about £2,545. I have reason to believe that perhaps one third of this amount would suffice for the department in the H eastern districts, aud I feel it to be due to the wants and wishes of the people under my charge, to submit that provision to the above extent should be placed on the public estimate, either in the shape of new items, or by an appropriation of an equivalent portion of the moneys at present voted for these establishments at Cape Town, to the remuneration of oflBcers of those departments, to be resident in the eastern districts. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Camp at Fort Peddie, May 19, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry Young, Kt., Lieutenant- Governor. Sin, — I have had the honour to receive Your Honour's letter of the 17th in- stant, conveying to me your opinion on various topics connected with the future government of the eastern province of this colony. My letter of the 14th will have apprised you that I have taken measures to give effect to your recommendation regarding a resident magistrate at port Beau- fort ; and I will now request the advice of the hon'ble the Executive Council, as to the same step being adopted at Bathurst. With regard to the other measures you suggest, they can, I conceive, only be carried out with the previous express sanction of H. M. Government, as the expense will not only be considerable, but they seem to me to be almost tantamount to a final separation of the western nnd eastern districts, and they must, therefore, be fully and carefully considered, and talked over, before they are recommended. My letter of the 15th instant will have informed you of my intention of visiting Graham's Town, as soon as I can receive from the archives at Cape Town the various despatches bearing on your letter to me of the lOthmstant, and I shall then be enabled to confer with you, and to decide what we shall jointly recommend to the Secretary of State. In the mean time, I shall send your letter and this reply to the Hon'ble the Secretary to Governtnent, to obtain the opinion on it of the hon'ble members of the Executive Council, and also to procure any documents that may assist our deliberations. HENRY POTTINGER. MINUTE. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 5th June, 1847. In obedience to the instructions of the Right Honourable the Governor, to the members of his Executive Council, we have the honour to submit to His Ex- cellency the result of our deliberations on the despatches of His Honour the Lieu- tenant-Governor, dated the 10th and 17th May respectively. 1. In his despatch of the 17thof May, His Honour moves the Governor " to cause provision to be made for the establishment of a Registrar of Deeds' office, and of a Surveyor-General's office for the eastern province," estimating the ex- pense of each at one third that now incurred for the existing departments in Cape Town, that is £] ,155 per annum, in the aggregate. 2. In regard to the necessity of a Deeds' Registry in the eastern province, on account of the delays and expenses at present experienced by its landowners, and consequent on a resort to Cape Town, for the transaction of business with that department, we take leave to observe that in consequence of the arrangements introduced by the ordinance, No. 14, 1844, " For the better regulation of the office of Registrar of Deeds," the business of registry and transfer is now com- mitted to professional conveyancers, paid by fees, whose interest it must be to r 95 bring each act of registry and conveyance to maturity with the least delay. We do not think, therefore, that any increased convenience would be thereby con- ferred on the inhabitants of the eastern province, either in respect to delay or ex- pense, at all commensurate with the amount of expenditure which His Honour proposes should be incurred, and which we cannot but regard as a low estimate. 3. On this head we would further remark that as the expense of con- veyancing, so far as professional fees are concerned, would be the same, whether effected at Graham's Town or Cape Town, the only additional expense must arise from the postage incurred in the transmission of documents, which at the present reduced rates is too inconsiderable to require notice, and is not affected by distance. 4. As to delay, we entirely concur with His Honour, that the purchaser of landed property, so far as public departments are concerned, should be put in possession of his title as soon after the deed of sale permits as possible. But from the information we have obtained, we are led to believe that the principal cause of delay is not the distance at which the transfer has now to be effected, or the tardiness with which the conveyancer performs this duty, but the difficulty he experiences in procuring from parties the requisite documents and inforana- tion, an evil which cannot be remedied by the establishment of an additional Deeds' Registry ; and we would also observe that the establishment of a separate office in the Eastern Province will not preclude the necessity of occasional reference to the original office, to search for, and trace out, titles and liens on lands, by which as much delay, if not more, will be occasioned as now occurs in transacting the whole business in Cape Town. 5. Indeed, we are of opinion that, in order to preserve the efficiency of that system of registration long established in this colony, and which is probably as simple and as perfect as any system of registration can be, it would be absolutely necessary to make provision by forwarding transcripts from the office in Graham's Town to that in Cape Town, and vice versa, to enable parties consulting either of these offices to obtain all the information recorded in the other. 6. The transactions of debtor and creditor in regard to all parts of this colony are so much intermixed, that serious inconvenience would arise from depriving capitalists, or others, at either end of the colony, of the means of un- erringly ascertaining the position of all the fixed property in the colony, in regard to titles and incumbrances. 7. In respect to the Surveyor-General's department, we cannot but acknowledge that great delay, expense, and inconvenience have been experienced by landed proprietors throughout the colony, but more especially in the eastern province, in procuring titles to their respective grants ; but while we regret it, we cannot but regard it as a natural consequence of the practice which has ever obtained in this colony until a very late date, of granting the crown lands on a previous inspection for the purpose of determining the amount of quitrent, instead of selling them on surveys and title deeds previously completed. To this may be added the ignorance and incompetency of former land surveyors, which, in numerous cases have compelled the Government, since the department was remodelled by the present Surveyor-General, to have recourse to very extensive re-measurements. 8. The first undersigned believes from his frequent communications with Lieut. -Colonel Michell, the Surveyor-General, that delays and difficulties have also arisen, and in some instances still exist, to the issue of titles in the eastern province, which are quite beyond the control of his department, and are attribut- able to local irregularities, for which he cannot be responsible. A reference on this point will be made to Lieut,-Colonel Michell (who is absent on duty at Cape L'Agulhas), and his reply will be forwarded to His Excellency. 9. In regard, however, to the disposal of crown lands, in future no such inconvenience or delay as we have adverted to can arise under the existing regu- lations for the disposal of crown lands, and as the survey of lands is not effected 96 by any officer belonging to the Surveyor-General's department, but by sworn land surveyors, paid for their services by a fixed tarift", of whom at this moment there are not more than two or three in the eastern province, we are of opinion that the establishment of an additional Surveyor-Generals department in that province would not materially contribute to expedite the issue of the title deeds now in arrear ; and, for the reason given, such an office would be quite useless when these arrears have been brought up. 10. We conceive that the clearing off of arrears would be more readily, and less expensively effected, by securing constant employment to an additional number of sworn surveyors in that province for some definite period, that would make it worth their while to proceed thither. P'or, as additional draftsmen can be easily procured in Cape Town, according as the increase of business in the Sur- veyor-General's office finds them employment, no delay need arise in the issue of the titles farther than the actual surveys of the several grants necessarily impose. 11. In the remarks which we have now submitted for the consideration of His Excellency, we have confined ourselves to the question whether the establish- ment of a separate Deeds' Ifegistry and a separate Surveyor-General's depart- ment would confer advantages on the inhabitants of the eastern province, com- mensurate to the additional expenditure which must thereby be incurred. But there are other considerations connected with this subject, and pressed on our minds, to which we beg to draw His Excellency's attention. The importance of additional magistracies to both provinces, the extension of the means of religious and secular instruction, and the necessity of an enlarged expenditure from our future relations to the border tribes, irrespective of whatever charge the British Treasury may undertake for this service, are matters which we believe to engage much of His Excellency's attention and anxious consideration. They must necessarily impose a very considerable amftunt of annual expenditure on the public revenue, from the very fact thai in this colony, for some time to come, the magistracy must be stipendiary. Religious and secular instruction provided for, chiefly, and in some districts entirely, by the Government, while the expense of maintaining our future relations with the border tribes is accom- panied with no compensating return to the colonial revenue. From such con- siderations we feel it our duty to advise His Excelltncy to reserve every means at his disposal for the enlaigement of the colonial magistracy, the extension of religious and secular instruction, and the adequate maintenance of such relations with the border tribes, as may appear to him best calculated to secure the per- manent good and advancement of the colony. 12. In his despatch dated the 10th May, His Honour records his opinion that the existing form of government in the eastein province is not so conducive to an early and extensive improvement of the country as a separate government would be, based on the principle of local representation and local taxation : under which he believes ample means would be willingly supplied for the niaintenance of additional institutions of religion, justice, and police, and for the promotion of necessary public works. The necessity for thus passing from a subordinate to a separate and inde- pendent government. His Honour grounds upon the following considerations . — The remoteness of the present metropolis of the whole colony, the geographical features of the country intervening between its eastern and western limits, and the English character which marks the intelligent and enterprising portion of the population of the eastern province. 13. Before entering on the discussion of His Honour's opinion, so strongly expressed, in favour of a separate Government, we deem it expedient to remark on the grounds on which he rests the necessity for such a change. As to the remoteness ot the present metropolis of the colony from the eastern province, and its tendency to foster what are generally termed the evils of a " centralised Government," we beg to observe that the seat of a supreme Govern- Hicnt is generally iound to be that which the industrial economy of the country 97 and its niitural capabilities have niaHe the chief resort of trade and capital, without regard to geographical position, and that if the alleged evils of centralization are feit in districts remote from the seat of Government, the remedy will not be found, especially in this colony, in dividing the country into two distinct and independent colonies, with separate Governments, but in the extension of municipal govern- ment, not only to the towns, but to the civil or fiscal divisions; thereby relieving the general Government from the unsatisfactory application of its energies and resources to the administration of affairs purely local, and properly the subject of local management. 14. But His Honour's principal reason for the proposed separation, we per- ceive, is, the almost "exclusively English character of the intelligent and enterprising portion of the eastern population," and their willingness, on the condition of enjoying a provincial legislation, to provide amply for the maintenance of its Government. On this head we beg to submit to His Excellency the following statistical statement respecting the nature and extent of the population of the eastern province, and the amount of its fixed property, compared with that of the western, which we believe to l)e the best exponent of the relative pressure of public burdens in the maintenance of the Government of a colony wholly agricultural and pastoral in its charticter. 15. From the official returns in the office of the first undersigned, and from an analysis, in the correctness of which he has every confidence, the present population of the eastern province is, in round numbers, 58,000, — of which about one third reside in towns and villages, and two thirds are engaged in agricultural and pastoral pursuits. This statement, of course, refers only to inhabitants being British subjects, and not to labourers and shepherds occasionally employed from among the border tribes. Classifying this population under the distinctive heads — Europeans of English descent, Europeans of Dutch origin, and persons of colour, being British subjects, it is found that the relative proportions of the three classes are as 3, 5, and 7, respectively, — that is ] English, or of English descent, \ Dutch, and nearly ^ persons of colour. 16~. In regard to fixed property, the return, on which the present road tax is levied, and in the accuracy of which, from the right of appeal provided by law, we place every reliance, shows the aggregate value of fixed property throughout the colony to be £5,822,390. 0{ this amount, £1,809,045 is in the eastern province : a sum less by nearly £100,000 than the value of the Jixed property belonging to one district of the western province, namely, the Cape division. The proportion of the fixed property in the western and eastern provinces is as 9 to 4, approximately, and to cultivated land as 4 to 1. 17. In regard to the distribution of the fixed pro|)erty of the eastern province among the three classes referred to, no statement can be made with that degree of precision which would warrant us in bringing it under His Excellency's notice. This, however, may be remarked, that, with the exception of the settlers of the Kat River, little if any fixed property, strictly speaking, is in the hands of the coloured people, the majority of whom cannot even be classed as resident inhabi- tants ; and as to the fixed property of the eastern province, the proportion shared between the English and Dutch settlers is in a ratio more favourable to the latter class than that exhibited in the population return. With these remarks on the degree of importance which we think should be attached to His Honours reasons for a separate government, we now proceed to the consideration of that important question. IS. From the expressions which have dropped in the course of this session from Lord Grey in the House of Lords, relative to the future government of the colonies, as also from his Lordship's instructions to His Excellency on his appointment to this colony as Governor and High Commissioner, we are induced to base the following remarks on His Honour's proposition for a separate Government, ou the assumption that whatever other changes may be decided on by Her Majesty's Government, this will be one, namely, that the inhabitants will in future be 98 represented in the legislative as well as the municipal institutions of the colony. Under this assumption the question which presents itself for consideration, is, — whether the interests of the colony, as a whole, and viewed in its future relations to the border tribes, will be best promoted by having a supreme Government as hitherto, with one representative assembly, and a subordinate Government in the eastern province, or two separate Governments, each having its own provincial assembly. 19. With regard to the latter proposition, namely separate Governments for each of the provinces, we are of opinion that, however desirable provincial legis- lation may be for many and obvious reasons, yet, that interests of tlie highest importance, and common to both provinces, are in danger of being compromised by such a system of government, unless there be some controlling power provided, adequate to secure uniformity both in the legislation and administration of the two provinces, and to guard against the creation of conflicting interests in their financial and commercial relations. 20. From certain passages in His Honour's despatch, we are led to believe that, in arriving at the opinion he has formed respecting the future government of the eastern province, the same difficulty has presented itself to his mind which we have felt. 21. To obviate this. His Honour proposes that a correspondence be maintained between the local Government, and a veto reserved for Her Majesty on all local legislation, as at present. Now, in the propriety or efficiency of such an arrange- ment, we hesitate to concur. Its tendency to degenerate into unseemly controversy, without any practical issue, in all cases of disputed policy, is at once obvious and significant, whilst the consequent necessity for a resort to the Crown to decide between the conflicting opinions of two popular assemblies, by the exercise of its veto in all such cases, is open to objections on many and grave considerations. For these reasons, we are under a conviction that the proposition of two separate Governments, with provincial legislatures, imposes on this colony, as it seems to have done on New Zealand, the necessity of a third power, in the shape of a general or colonial assembly, as a guardian of those high interests common to both provinces, to whicii we have already directed His Excellency's attention. 22. We will now consider His Honour's proposition in a financial point of view. Separate legislation implies, by consequence, a separate exchequer, and, to a considerable extent, a duplicate of existing departments. Whether the Supreme Court of the colony will continue to be a court of first instance to the eastern province, or whether that duty will devolve on a recorder, we will not stop to inquire ; but will take for granted, that if the eastern province continue under its jurisdiction in any form, the revenue of the eastern province will have to bear a part of the expenses of that institution, proportionate to the advantages it receives. All other departments of the civil Government of the colon}', in order to be under the control of the provincial legislature, must be placed under distinct heads, with their several clerical establishments, and paid for from the provincial revenue. 23. Controlled by a representative assembly, who will command the revenue, it is evident that the executive government of the western districts will have no power to render pecuniary aid to that of the eastern, in the maintenance of depart- ments which, at this end of the colony, will be regarded by the great body of the people as uncalled for and superfluous. Nor will it be easy to induce such an assembly to vote away money for the future government or control of the Kafir tribes, which, should they be brought under colonial rule, they will naturally regard as a portion of the eastern province. In the absence of an estimate from His Honour, or figures in any form, to show the probable revenue and expendi- ture of the eastern province under a separate Government, these considerations have pressed themselves on our attention, when viewing the financial bearing of this important question. And though we give full credit to the willingness of that portion of the eastern population that most desire and is best fitted for self- government, to tax themselves for the support of their own institutions, yet, from ■our knowledge of the financial resources of both provinces, we give it as our 99 deliberate opinion, that the eastern province cannot at present afford to maintain a separate Government/ In proof of which, we beg to submit, for His Excellency's information, the following statement of the revenue and expenditure of the two provinces, for the years 1846, 1847, and 1848. 1846. 24. Actual revenue for 1846, collected in western province, £150,708. Do. in eastern province, 43,445. Actual expenditure in 1846, expended for the general Gov- ernment, and common to both provinces, 125,080. Expended for local departments, &c., in the western province, 35,152. Expended for the departments, &c., in the eastern province, 28,628. 1847—1848. Estimated revenue for 184i7 and 1848. 1847. 1848. To be collected in the western province, .... £119,116 £131,137. To be collected in the eastern province, ... 40,507 39,210. Estimated expenditure for 1847 and 1848. To be expended for the general Government, and common to both provinces, 65,969 71,741. To be expended for local departments in the western province, 56,749 61,066. To be expended for local departments in the eastern province, 39,135 43,108. And here we may remark that the eastern province, being principally a pastoral country, it has, like all pastoral countries, risen rapidly into wealth, but the prosperity of such a country, where an extension of territory is impracticable, although speedily attained, soon touches its limit, and then remainsnearly stationary. The staple article of export from the eastern province is wool, and as its value depends upon the English market, and its quantity cannot be increased beyond the capabilities of the land for bearing stock, it is not probable, seeing that the land in this colony will not bear a heavy stock, that the wealth, and with it the public revenue, of the eastern province will greatly advance beyond what it will attain after the flocks of African breed have been supplanted by wool-bearing sheep. 25. But in the discussion of this question another consideration arises, which we think it our duty to submit to His Excellency. For years past the advance- ment of the colony, by the prosecution of necessary public works, was wholly in abeyance on account of a paper debt of a quarter of a million sterling, which the Imperial Government insisted on being liquidated, before the colonial revenue should be appropriated to the construction of roads and bridges, the improvement of harbours, or any other public work on which the development of the natural resources of the colony depended. This debt has been wholly liquidated recently, andthe surplus revenue of the colony can be, and is, extensively and advantageously applied to the promotion of such public works, as have been alluded to, and to the extension at the same time of all institutions tending to the better administration of justice — the improvement of all classes of the people, and' the social advance- ment of its border tribes. Should, however, the measure be adopted of a separate government for each of the provinces, although a small surplus may continue to accrue from the revenue of the western province, that of the eastern will fall short of the expenditure which it would have to meet for its establishments on the most economical scale ; and thus its public works be kept in abeyance. We have felt it to be our duty to submit these points, as connected with this subject, to the consideration of His Excellency the Right Hon'ble the Governor. J. MONTAGU, H. RIVERS, W. PORTER, W. FIELI). . , ,^. ; p 9 100 r,;o'.,; ,. ..; i.-iAli.i hi^,,ui i 1,. , ,«•> '. „.\ (Jrahiim's Town, June 22, 1847. ' His Honour Sir Henry E. F. Young Kt., Lieutenant-Governor. Sir, — With reference to my lettei-s of the IStli, 19th, and 31st of last month, I have now the honour to forward, for Your Honour's perusal and information, a number of extracts and copies of despatches received from Cape Town, connected with the relative authority of the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of the colony, as regards the eastern provinces ; also two minutes drawn up by the Executive Council, in answer to reference which I had made to that honourable body, in consequence of your letters to me of the 10th, 17th, and 25th of May. These papers have been with me for the last three weeks, but it is only to-day that I have been able to spare time to look into them with the requisite attention. I have risen from a perusal of them with the conviction that the office and powers of Lieutenant-Governor, as at present constituted and conducted, are not only incompatible with an efficient discharge of his high functions, but that they are placed, partly by a want of clearness and a certain degree of contradiction in the original instructions, and partly by the practice that has unavoidably obtained owing to that indistinctness, on a footing that ought, I think, to be inquired into and explained as speedily as practicable, seeing that it has made the provision for a separate and distinct government in the eastern division of the colony a dead letter, mid lett the Lieutenant-Governor with merely nominal power. The anomalous position which the Lieutenant-Governor held, appears to me to be so clearly and candidly set forth in Sir Peregrine Maitland's despatch, No. 149, of the 21st of October, 1845 (which forms one of the series of documents now forwarded), that I feel that I can add nothing to his observations. The Lieutenant-Governor may be understood to be allowed the free and uncontrolled exercise of all patronage in the eastern districts, — he may submit his views as to the estimates before they are laid on the Council table, -^and he may recommend measures, which he considers to be calcuhited to promote the prosperit\' of the poitioii of the colony under his charge ; but so long as all these proceedings are not only subject to the control and revision of the Governor-in-Chief, but to be carried out on his responsibility, assisted by the Executive and Legislative Coun- cils (when their aid may be required to give effect to them), it is clear that the reality of a separate and distinct Government is at an end, and (as Sir Peregrine Maitland states) "this inefficiency of the inferior office seems to grow naturally out of its peculiar relation to the general government of the colony." I can quite enter into the feelings of the people of the eastern division, in their wish to have a share in their own government, like those of the western districts ; and that might, I conceive, to a certain extent, be provided for by an increase to the number of the members of both Councils, and some of them being selected from the eastern districts* But it seems far more than doubtful, whether any persons in this part of the colony could be found willing to devote their time and attention exclusively to that object ; and my personal observation and inquiries lead me to believe that any form of representative government that it might be resolved to try, would, at the outset, prove a failure from the same cause, combined with the additional, and, as I think, insurmountable difficulty, of getting the people to agree in electing and deputing representatives. Admitting that the preceding remarks are correct, the only other course that offers itself at this instant to my consideration, is that of the Lieutenant- Governor being placed with an Executive Council, and the other requisite establishments (to which your letters particularly refer) in the same position as the Governoi'-in-Chief. This would put the eastern districts in the same light to the central Government at Cape Town, as tlie subordinate presidencies of India bear to the supreme Government at Calcutta, which has alone the power of legislating ; and a nearer instance of which may be adduced in the present arrangement for the management of Natal ; but — allowing that all other obstacles and objections could be anticipated and removed — 1 am apprehensive that the expense would form a cogent barrier to such a plan. 101 I confess I do not attach much, if any, weight to the assurances of the population of the eastern districts, that they will be ready to pay the additional expense of a separate government,-— because my short experience has forced on me the conviction, that in no part of the world do local party feelings and prejudices prevail to a greater degree than in this colony ; and it would be altogether premature to recommend the adoption of such a scheme, on the information now before us. 1 see, however, that Mr. Gladstone, in his despatch No. 60, dated the 17th of April, 1846 (which is one of the series), directed my predecessor to institute certain inquiries, with the aid of the Executive Council; but as it is perfectly impossible that I can, at this moment, carry that instruction into effect, and as Your Honour, from being on the spot, will at least be able, without trouble, to ascertain the real objects of the petitioners in their memorials to the Queen, I beg to recommend that you should take an opportunity of consulting with the most influential and best informed of the petitioners, in order to ascertain their views to the extent pointed out in Mr. Gladstone's despatch. Those views, together with your own opinions on them, and, in fact, your general ideas on the whole question under discussion, I shall be glad to receive ; and I will transmit them, through the medium of the Secretary to Government (that he may lay them before the Honourable the Executive Council, for any further observations which the members may wish to offer), to the Right Honour- able tiie Secretary of State, for his consideration and commands, I think that it will be desirable to obtain the information above referred to in writing, both because it will probably be more satisfactory to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, and because it will prevent any future misunderstanding as to the wishes and meaning of the petitioners. I have, Sic, HENRY POTTINGER. Extract from Sir B. D'Uuban's Despatch to Lord Glenelg, No. 22, dated \5th March, 1837. Referring to my despatch of the 2nd December last, I have now the honour u,,. i. to transmit to your Lordship a series of copies of my correspondence with the jj^ 2 Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts of the colony, from his arrival to the end of the last year, in conformity with your Lordship's instructions of the 5th February, 1836. And here it appears necessary for me to draw your Lordship's attention to certain passages of these instructions, which, as compared with each other, and com- bined with the provisions of His Majesty's Letters Patent and Royal Warrant for instituting a Lieutenant-Government, and appointing a Lieutenant-Governor, in those districts, involve, as I think, an inconsistency not easy to be reconciled, rendering them, in that regard, practically inefficient. The Letters Patent, the Royal Warrant, and a passage of your Lordship's instructions above cited, vest in the Lieutenant-Governor, within his district, all the powers — without exception or limitation — previously exercised therein by the Governor and Commander in-Chief of the whole colony ; while, in a subse- quent passage of the instructions, the former is directed to obey the " lawful instructions " of the latter. Hence arises the question, — what instructions can the Governor lawfully give ? Or, what is the specific measure, or description, of lawful instructions to be given by him to the Lieutenant-Governor, who has been already vested with the fiill powers of "Governor and Commander-in-Chief" within the district of his separate jurisdiction? The Lieutenant-Governor is first made absolute, and independent of any other colonial authority, and then told to conform to the "lawful instructions" of one previously divested of all control over him! 102 I am free to acknowledge that I cannot reconcile these conflicting provisions, nor discover any essential purpose which they can be expected to effect ; unless it be to impose upon the Governor, a joint responsibility (at least) for measures over which he can exercise no real control, by giving him the shadow of an authority of which he is altogether without the substance. In such a relative position of the Governor with the Lieutenant-Governor, if it should happen that the latter is a person naturally disposed to resort to the for- mer, upon all occasions of moment, for opinion, or to receive it submissively, the difficulty, perhaps, might be diminished ; but even then, the result would be rather a voluntary following of suggestions, than an obedience to instructions. But if, as in the instance of the gentleman now holding the office of Lieut. -Governor (which your Lordship will see amply evinced in the annexed correspondence), it should be filled by an officer of great confidence in his own opinions, impatient of control or suggestion, and jealous, to a degree, of any interference with his au- thority, — then the imaginary power, thus ostensibly, but unsubstantially, given to the Governor of the colony is worse than useless, since the ineffectual attempt to use it can only tend to dissension between the respective executive authorities of the eastern and western divisions of the colony (the Governor being now vir- tually no more than the latter of these), and consequent prejudice to the interests of His Majesty's service. ith February 1836. The correspondence before your Lordship will serve to show that this, my view of the matter, is sufficiently borne out by recent experience. In another part of the instructions above cited, your Lordship has been pleased to vest in the Lieutenant-Governor an independent military power, which I cannot but view as constituting an anomalous interference with the legiti- mate duties of the General Officer, specially appointed by His Majesty to com- mand the forces in the colony, reducing the latter to the necessity (as it has in my case) of representing to the Commander-in-Chief of His Majesty's army, that he (the General Officer) cannot be justly held responsible for the mihtary dispo- sitions upon the frontier, made without his assent, and over which he has no con- trol. This embarrassing position has, as I think, been effected by your Lordship's instructions having applied the regulations, framed in 1824, for the small insular establishments of the West Indian Archipelago, to the Lieutenant-Government of the frontier districts of this colony ; and the relative circumstances of these, re- spectively, being essentially different, with all deference to your Lordship's better judgment, the regulations made for the one appear to me, essentially and prac- tically, inapplicable to the other. In the collision of authority thus created between the Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts and the General Officer specially appointed to command, and, consequently, responsible for the disposition of His Majesty's forces ta the whole colony, as in the anomalous points of civil government, adverted to in the former part of this despatch, existing between the Lieutenant-Governor and the Governor, the inconvenience to the service might alike be diminished, if the officer holding the civil Lieutenant-Government, not being himself a soldier, had, as might perhaps have been reasonably anticipated, evinced any disposition to submit, upon questions strictly military, to the professional opinions of the General Officer commanding the forces. But your Lordship will not fail to observe in the correspondence herewith before you, that, in the present instance, this is anything but the case ; and that the Lieutenant-Governor avowedly prefers his own judgment upon such questions to that of the General Officer commanding; which latter, although I am far from thinking it infallible, has, at least, the support of some practical experience. It has appeared to me very necessary (and, indeed, indispensable to your clear understanding of the accompanying correspondence) to bring under your Lordship's notice, the difficulties above described, in regard to the due arrange- ment and execution of the civil and military service of the colony, resulting from 103 the provisions iVniler which they are now to be carried on ; and having done so, I proceed to the proposed subject of this despatch, — the continuation, namely, of that of the 2d December last (as referred to in its commencement) ; and I should have done this earlier, but that I have waited in the hope of being enabled, at the No. 57. same time, to render it complete, by the addition of the treaties with the native tribes, which the Lieutenant-Governor had been instructed to prepare for my consideration in Council, and the subsequent pleasure of His Majesty's, in substitu- tion for those of the 17th September, 1835, which your Lordship had been pleased to disapprove. In this hope I have been disappointed, as your Lordship will be aware by my correspondence with the Lieutenant-Governor, of which copies form the enclosure No. 2, and by the last letter of which, of yesterday's date, it No 2. will be seen that the deliberations of the Council upon these treaties have been again, for a third time, suspended, and their conclusions thereon further deferred, owing to the incomplete state of the documents submitted by the Lieutenant- Governor, which have not yet afforded the information indispensable to a just decision in so important a matter. Meanwhile, the delay thus imposed upon the Council, will not, in fact, be of any moment, since the Lieutenant-Governor, somewhat prematurely as it would seem, had not only " framed and prepared" the treaties in question, for reference to the Governor in Council, as had been contemplated in my letter of the 13th October (and, as I think, according to the intention of the instructions of the 5th February, 1836), but had at once, and before they had undergone any such reference, concluded them with the different chiefs, on the 5th December, and had, immediately thereafter, proceeded to carry them into effect, by placing the Kafir tribes concerned in possession of all the country which he had thereby ceded to them. The provisional and intermediate ratification of the treaties by the Council, therefore, as far as it may affect the actual position of the parties, will be but an ex post facto decision, they having been already carried into full effect.. I will therefore no longer withhold this communication, reporting the pre- sent stage of these transactions, and transmitting my correspondence with the Lieutenant-Governor to the end of the last year. Upon all of this correspondence, with relation to the especial subject of this t its cost. Nor can I omit to remind your Lordship, that the revival of a particular agency for the working of the Kafir treaties, which I deliberately consider necessary, whatever Her Majesty may determine respecting the Lieutenant-Governorship, will add an item of expenditure of about £700 per annum to the expenses of our frontier policy. Thus far I have put your Lordship in possession of the opinion which I have formed from observation of the working of the Lieutenant-Governors office, an See EnciOTure: opinioo in which the members of my Executive Council ai^ree with me. It is right that 1 should also state, that in the discussion in the Legislative (council of the estimates for 1846, one of the iin-official members moved, and was supported by all the others, that the entire estimate for the Lieutenant-Governor's department should be omitted, and that the motion was not pressed, on the understanding that the subject was under the consideration of Her Majesty's Government. In fact, the general opinion of the public at both ends of the colony, as exhibited by the press, is to the effect that the office has failed, but the expression of the sentiment is marked by this difference, that, down here, its total abolition is demanded, but at the eastern end, its reconstitution in greater efficiency, — a difi'er- €nce which is, perhaps, to be accounted for by a natural reluctance to be deprived of the benefit of the local importance connected with the office. Qn the whole, I have the honour to state, that as I could not of my own mere motion have undertaken the responsibility of advising the abolition of the office, so neither, when called on by Her Majesty's Government for a report of my opinion on the whole subject, can I undertake the responsibility of recommending its continuance. I have, &c., P. MAITLAND. f 109 No. 190— Executive Government House, Cape of Good Hope, 27th December, 1845. The Right Honourable the Lord Stanley, Secretary of State. My Lord, — I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship the enclosed petition, addressed to the Queen in Council by certain inhabitants of the eastern province of thia colony, relative to the continuance of the office of Lieutenant- Governor of that province. I have already expressed to your Lordship my opinion of the efficiency of the office as at present constituted and empowered. I would now only point out, that what the petitioners ask for, is not a continuance of the office, such as it now is ; but an essential change in its constitution, by such an enlargement of its powers as to make it an independent Government. They urge that it is highly expedient that " the Lieutenant-Governor should be armed with enlarged powers, and that he should exercise a jurisdiction in all matters connected with the administration of the Government of his province, perfectly independent of control by the Governor at Cape Town ;" and again, that he should have " a separate and independent jurisdiction," and be invested with " independent and enlarged powers, enabling him to act on his own responsibility." Your Lordship will perceive how the tone of this petition bears out my state- ment, that while one end of the colony is for the abolition, and the other tor the continuance of the Lieutenant-Governorship of the eastern province, all join to condemn the office under its present constitution as inefficient, and not suited to the necessities of the province. As regards the conflicting opinions of the two portions of the colony, the question, in fact, lies between the division of the colony into two virtually separate and independent Governments, and the placing of the whole colony directly under the supreme Government, without the intervention of a Lieutenant-Governor in respect of any part of it. The appointment of a frontier commissioner, although it must have been well known to the petitioners, is not alluded to by them. The letter notifying the appointment and the instructions given to that officer, which I recently transmitted of is?De?emb^r''istIl for your Lordship's approbation, will make it, I think, appear to your Lordship, that, as relates to the security of the border, his agency will probably be far more efficient than that, of the Lieutenant-Governor could be, with the encumbrance of other duties occupying his attention. I have, &c.. P. MAITLAND. Enclosure to Despatch No. 130, 1846. To THE Queen's most excellent Majesty in Council. The humble petition of the undersigned, agriculturists, merchants, landholders, and other inhabitants of the district of Albany, in the eastern province of the Cape of Good Hope. •Humbly Sheweth, — Tiiat petitioners have seen with surprise, not unmingled with apprehension, a report of a discussion in the Legislative Council of this colony, on the subject of the abolition of the office of Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern province of this settlement, grounded on the inutility of that office in the promotion of the general interests of this portion of Your Majesty's dominions. \14 The petitioners deem it their duty to transmit to You^ IWajWty in 'Council this their protest to such contemplated innQVfttion. In doing so, they beg humbly to state, that 8,0 far back 03 the year ] 826, this settlement was visited by commis- sioners of inquiry, appointed by his late most graciou? Majesty, George IV, and who, after a careful examination of the circumstances of the province, and more especially of the relations existing between the colony and the Kafirs, and other native tribes on and beyond its eastern boundary, set forth distinctly in their report, dated September 6th, of the year aforementioned, that in their opinion, great public advantage would accrue, were " a chief magistrate appointed for the eastern province of this colony, uniting in his own hands and directing the ©ivil and military authority." Tffli That notwithstanding this strong and emphatic recommendation by those so \*dl qualified to give a sound opinion on (he subject, such appointment was not made, nor other precautionary measures taken, as then suggested ; and the result *8S, that in the year 1834 the eastern province was overrun by numerous hordes of natives from beyond the eastern boundary ; the whole country was laid waste by them ; many of Your Majesty's peaceful subjects were slain ; immense property in cattle and other farming stock was swept away or destroyed ; whilst this tide of invasion was not rolled back until an expenditure had been incurred of =£'300,000 qf public money, independently of the large amount of private property then wasted and destroyed. ' That after the occurrence of this fearful calamity, and the necessity for this large outlay of public money, it was deemed expedient to act upon the recom- mendation made ten years antecedently by the commissioners of inquiiy a Lieutenant-Governor for the eastern province of this colony was appointed by his kte most gracious Majesty ; an additional military force was stationed on this border, and such relations entered into with the Kafir tribes as it was hoped woul<^ secure the inhabitants against the recurrence of so great a disaster. That petitioners would bring under Your Majesty's notice that they are totally unrepresented in the Legislative Council of this colony ; that the seat of Government is more than 600 miles distant from the eastern boundary which separates the colony from the warlike and restless Kafir hordes, comprising a 'population of at least 400,000 souls, the male part of which are, from their infancy, trained to predatory habits and the use of arms; and that communication with Cape Town, the seat of Government, is at certain seasons both tedious and difficult i That petitioners are fully persuaded that the office of liieutenant-Governor cannot be abolished without manifest injury to the public service, and serious danger to the inhabitants of this exposed province. That petitioners are, moreover, of opinion that the causes which led to the appointment of a Lieutenant-Governor not only still exist, but that they exist in greatly increased force ; so that instead of abolishing the office, it is in their opinion highly expedient, as well on the score of economy as of public security, that the Lieutenant-Governor should be armed with enlarged powers, and that he should exercise a jurisdiction, in all matters connected with the administration of the Government of his province, perfectly independent of control by the Governor at Cape Town, who from his distance is constantly liable to erroneous impressions, and, as a consequence, to adopt measures at variance with the real merits of continually recurring exigencies, and inimical to the true interests of Your Majesty's subjects in this province. That it is admitted by all conversant with the public affairs of this colony, that the great difficulty in its right government is to be found in its relations to the numerous native tribes which are constantly pressing upon it from the eastward ; that these tribes are rapidly increasing in number ; are possessing themselves of more destructive weapons ; and are acquiring that kind of knowledge which will make them, as an enemy, far more formidable than heretofore ; — that it is therefore, in the opinion of Your Majesty's petitioners, of the utmost moment that a Lieutenant- Governor should be on the spot, prepared to deal with difficulties as they may Ill arise, and armed with authority to act promptly and d^cisivfely upon hi» owff reepondibility, without the delay which must necessarily be occasioned by reference to Cape Town for instructions from a superior officer; the consequences of such delay, on the last irruption of the Kafir hordes into the colony, having involved a loss of property and an expenditure of public money sufficient to defray the cost of the entire establishment of a Lieutenant-Governor for more than a century. That petitioners beg humbly to state their conviction to Your Majesty in Council, that besides the great importance of the relations with the native tribes, the easterh province of this colony has, — from the rapidly increasing value of its commerce ; the amount of its exports of raw produce to the parent country, and particularly of fine wool, the value of which this year will amount, it is calculated, to £100,000 sterling ; its large consumption of British manufactures; the greatly augmented amount of capital invested in buildings, machinery, stock, and improve- ments of various kinds ; together with the great extent of the province, the amount of its population, and the growing intelligence of the Community at large, — a just claim to the presence of an officer with a separate and independent jurisdic- tion, who shall be charged with the welfare of the settlement, and empowered to adopt those measures which, sanctioned by Your Majesty, may best conduce to its permanent prosperity, the extension of British interests, and the maintenance of the honour of Your Majesty's crown and government. That petitioners have deemed it expedient to append to this, their humble petition, for the information of Your Majesty in Council, and in support of their allegations, returns showing the aiftount of population of this province, its geo- graphical area, its annual exports of raw produce to th6 British rnarkets, and its yearly imports of British manufactured articles. Petitioners humbly trust that these returns, with the other allegations set forth, will indisputably show that they are entitled to that consideration which they now most earnestly pray may be shewn them, by conceding more liberal institutions than heretofore enjoyed by this province, and investing the Lieut.-Governor with independent and en- larged powers, enabling him to act upon his own responsibility, with that prompti- tude and decision which petitioners are persuaded will tend most effectually to uphold Your Majesty's government, — afford the best chance of security to all classes, — and advance most effectually the political, social, and commercial iu- lerests of this valuable portion of Your Majesty's dominions. And petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray. -•■( APPENDIX. Population of the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope, at the commence- ment of the year, 1845. NaiWe *f ttiWtridt. Arear in sqifafe MilM. WHITES. COLOURED. AIylEi4S. total l^bt>UlUiob. Male«. Finialrt. Males. fetatAeS. Albany Uitenhage Somereet Cradocl ..... . . . Graaff-Reinet . . . Colesberg 2408 8960 4000 3168 8000 11654 4406 2469 1638 1850 1898 2121 4320 2139 1536 1800 1897 2002 3329 3393 878 2085 1884 1692 3291 2998 878 1810 1954 1370 6500 m 2967 866 1613 21646 11113 7898 7595 8489 8998 38190 14383 13713 13361 12551 12032 65939 112 Statement of the Number and Tonnage of Vessels Inwards and Outwards at Port Elizabeth, Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope, for the year ending 5th January, 1845 : — Inwards. Outwahds. No. ofShipa. Tons. 47 10,935 45 7,819 No. of Ships. Direct 53 Tons. 11,967 7,659 19,626 Outwa Coastwise 45 Total Inwards . . 98 92 18,764 Value of Importations by the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope, for the year ending 5th January, 1845 : — Goods entered for Consumption ;£139,559 Do. do. Warehoused 9,624 Total value direct Importations ;E149,183 Value of Exports from the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope, for the year ending 5th January^ 1845 : — Colonial. Not Colonial, Total. Direct 106,618 4,498 111,116 Coastwise 27,775 3,481 31,256 Total £134,393 £7,979 £142,372 Comparative Value of the Exports of Staple Produce from the Eastern and Western Divisions of the Cape of Good Hope, for the year ending 5th January, 1 845 : — Eastern Province. Western Province. Value. Value. Wool £76,809 Wine £55,424 Hides 20,331 Wool 36,698 Hides 7,560 Total i97,140 Total £99,682 No. 3. — Executive. Government House, Cape of Good Hope, 2d January, 1846. The Right Honourable the Lord Stanley, Secretary of State. My Lord,- I have the honour to transmit to your Lordship the enclosed petition, addressed to Her Majesty in Council, by the Uitenhage and Albany Agri- cultural Association, praying that the office of Lieutenant-Governor of the east- ern districts of this colony may not be discontinued, but may be invested with larger powers, and rendered independent of the Supreme Government of the colony. I must repeat the remark which I lately made, when transmitting a similar petition from the inhabitants of the frontier, that tlie petitioners, although per- fectly aware of the appointment of the Agent-General and Frontier Commissioner, who has already entered on his duties, have taken no notice of this strengthening of our present frontier policy, but make statements as if, in the event of the re- moval of the Lieutenant-Governor, no compensation would be otherwise made for the absence of bis authority. II have, &c., '- P. MAITLAND. 113 To THE Queen's most Excellent Majesty in CouNcit.''" ~' The humble Petition of the Uitenhage and Albany Agricultural Association, Sheweth, That this association view with feelings of surprise and regret tlie efforts of the Legislative Assembly at Cape Town, to abolish the office of Lieutenant- Governor of the eastern province of this colony. The office having been instituted nine years ago, for the express purpose of administering more effectually the government of so large a section of this colony, this association can discover no just ground for the contemplated abolition. It appears that the objects for which the appointment was originally made continue in operation, — that during the abovementioned period the limits of the colony on the north and uorth-east have been considerably extended, and our relations with various native tribes have become more complicated, than when the office was first created. That with an increase of British population, the trade and resources of the frontier districts have been more largely developed, and the amount of British capital invested in fixed and moveable property in the said districts has been, at the lowest calcula- tions, trebled within the same period. This association beg respectfully to state their conviction, that peace with the various Kafir and other tribes, situated on the north and north-east borders, is of paramount importance to the farmer and the trader. In adverting to peace, they cannot recognise in their present equivocal relation with some of the Kafir tribes, the marks and conditions of a sure and peaceful state ; and they entertain the opinion, founded upon dear-bought experience, that peace with the Kafir tribes can only be maintained by a vigilant and energetic government, prompt to acquire a knowledge of the character and resources of each chief, and prepared to act upon that knowledge, whenever a clear and justifiable cause of intervention shall arise. In a period like the present, when the parent country is in the enjoyment of profound peace, it is impossible for this association to be unmindful of the vicissi- tudes to which the condition of the most favoured states is liable. With a very long line of coast assailable on many points, it may be permitted to this association, with deference to suggest, that such a season of peace as the present may be beneficially employed in strengthening the hands of the government of this eastern province, to meet any emergency of a domestic or external nature ; and for the more effectually carrying out this object, this association, far from desiring any rt'duction or limitation of the powers at present vested in the Lieut.- Governor of this province, do cordially unite to recommend the appointment of such an additional number of functionaries, in connexion with a responsible and independent head, as will impart to this government that degree of vigour, stability, and efficiency, which will in some degree compensate the inhabitants of the eastern province for the want of a representative government ; assist to establish and consolidate Her Majesty's new acquisition of territory situated in the more remote parts of the colony; and to uphold the credit of the British nation. Anythmg short of tiiis, the association believes will justly lead to dissatisfaction on the part of the frontier inhabitants, whilst the tendency of the proposition to lessen the power of the Lieutenant Governor of these provinces, will be to cause weakness in every department of the Goverment of this Colony, and create a feeling of insecurity and want of confidence in the wisdom and integrity of the colonial authorities. And your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray. Signed, in behalf of the members of the abovenamed association, CHAS. J. FAIR, Chairman. Sidbury, Cape of Good Hope, 19th December, 1845. 114 No. 14. Downing-street, 13th January, 1846. Sir Peregrine Maitland, &c. &c. &c. ' Sir, — I have to acknowledge ',the receipt of your despatch No. 149, of the 24th October, addressed to my predecessor, stating that you have apprised Colonel Hare that the necessary arrangements would be made for relieving him, in the month of March next, from the duties of his office of Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope, and reporting your opinion in regard to the continuance of that office. It is not my intention at present to recommend the appointment of a successor to Colonel Hare, and my impression from the information before me is, that the office may properly be abolished. I have, &c. W. E. GLADSTONE. No. 60. Downing-street, 17th April, 1846. Sir Peregrine Maitland, &c, &c. &c. Sir, — I have received your despatches dated the 27th of December, 1845^ and the 2nd of January, 1846, numbered respectively 190, and 3, enclosing certain petitions addressed to the Queen in Council, respecting the continuance in office of Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern Districts of the Cape Colony. I have laid these petitions before the Queen, who was pleased to receive them very graciously. This, however, is not a subject on which Her Majesty can be advised to invoke the assistance and advice of Her Privy Council. In deliberating on the advice which it might be proper to tender to the Queen on the subject to which these petitions refer, I have been impeded by a deficiency of information, for which I have referred, without success, to your despatches and to their enclosures. First, the substitution of the office of Frontier Commissioner for the office of Lieutenant-Governor may be, to a great extent, a nominal change merely, and unattended with any important change in substance ; or, as I am inclined to beheve, the office may be as uew in its functions as in its designation. But to what precise extent there will be any subtraction from pre- existing authorities, and a consequent diminution of the resources for good and effisctive government, is a question to which I am unable to find any precise answer. Secondly, the petitioners allege that, in the local legislature as now consti- tuted, there is no person to represent the interests, to explain the wants and the wishes, or to protect the rights of the eastern districts. How far this statement is well founded, I do not know ; nor can I ascertain whether, if the evil really exists, it admits of any effectual remedy which would be consistent with the maintenance, in their present form, of the Central Government and Legislature at Cape Town. Thirdly, the petitioners demand various new establishments. But they do not explain the nature of them, nor have they frarr ed any estimate of the expense attendant on such an innovation. This is a subject on which it would seem ' necessary that you should call on them for explanations. Whenever Her Majesty's Government are in possession of them, we shall be far more competent, than at present, to approach and decide the main question. Finally, although it might not, perhaps, be expedient to accede to the requests of the petitioners in their present form, it would not therefore follow that no concession should be made. It would seem, at least, possible that some compromise might be found between the absolute centralization of all local government at Cape Town, and 116 the establishment of what would virtually be a separate colony, having the seat of Government at Graham's Town. Without undertaking to assert that such an arrangement could be made, I am at least unable to assert with confidence the impracticability of it. In short, the whole question seems to me to admit of, and to deserve, a much more copious inquiry than would appear to have been bestowed on it. You will apply to the Executive Coiincil for their aid, citing before them such witnesses from the eastern district, for their aid in conducting that inquiry, as can conve- niently attend, in support of the allegations and prayers of these petitions ; and you will in due time report to me the result, for Her Majesty's information. The petitioners should be informed that, pending these inquiries, the answer to their petition must be suspended. I have, &c., W. E. GLADSTONE, -i Extract of a Despatch from the Governor Sir P. Maitland, to the Secretary of State, No. 180, of the I6th October, 1846. i The Right Honourable the Earl Grey, Secretary of State. And as I find that the despatch of the 13th January contemplates no immediate appointment of a successor to Colonel Hare, the office remains vacant, and the business of the eastern districts is temporarily transferred to the Colonial Office in Cape Town. Mr. Gladstone's later despatch, No 60, 17th April, reached me some time back ; but, in the present posture of affairs, it is impossible for me to institute tlie inquiries and obtain the information therein desired. At present I can only say, that while I adhere to my opinion that the ordinary civil business of the eastern province can be conducted with as great facility in Cape Town as in Graham's Town, I am convinced that our border system, which is something superadded to the internal social system, requires the presence and personal superintendence of an active responsible officer, invested with consider- able powers, and able to give the greater part of his attention to it. I held that the Lieutenant-Governor was too much occupied with the business of his province, and made thereby too stationary at his seat of Govern- ment, to work out effectually our border system. On that account, I had recourse to the appointment of a Frontier Commissioner, to be solely occupied with affairs relating to the Kafir tribes ; and whose powers I should have proposed to increase materially, had the Lieutenant-Governorship been abolished, as then seemed probable. It might be worthy of consideration, whether in case Her Majesty's Govern- ment approves my plan of occupying a tract of country, outside our present border, with organised coloured settlements, the officer to conduct our border pohcy might not have a jurisdiction or government over this new territory assigned to him, with extensive powers of immediate action. I cannot, however, hold out to Her Majestj^'s Government the hope that such an appointment would at all satisfy the frontier inhabitants, who petitioned the Queen at the close of last year for the independence of the Lieutenant- Governor's office. Their declaration, I believe, is that they cannot be satisfied with less than a Government independent of the Government in Cape Town, or the translation to their end of the seat of the Government of the whole colony. On the propriety of separating the provinces, and forming two colonies, having Governments independent of each other, it is entirely for Her Majesty's Govern- ment to decide. But as to the other alternative, the removal of the seat of Government to the eastern end of the colony, because of the difficulties of our border policy, my opinion is, that it would be attended with no advantages suffi- 116 cient to compensate for the abandonment of a locality, which by nature, and the occupation of two centuries, has been constituted and confirmed the key and metropolis of the colony. 1 would resemble it to such a measure as the trans- ference of the Imperial Government and Legislature to Dublin, because of the peculiar difficulties besetting the administration of Irish affairs. The only other remark which I have at present to make, refers to the complamtofthe petitioners noticed by Mr. Gladstone, that they are not in any way represented in the Legislative Council. It is quite true that the unofficial members are now all residents of western districts. But I am aware of no other reason for this, than that no resident of the eastern province can find it consistent with his private interests to spend sufficient of his time in Cape Town for legis- lative purposes. To be called to the Council in Cape Town, I apprehend, is not what they want, but to have the Council brought to them, or to obtain an inde- pendent Council of their own. No. 1. — Legislative Council. Government House, Cape Town, 4th February, 1847. The Earl Grey. My Lord, — I have the honour to report to your Lordship, and to recom- mend for Her Majesty's gracious confirmation, the appointment by me of Mr. Thomas Butterworth Charles Bayley to be an unofficial member of the Legislative Council of this colony. In the 6th article of the royal instructions, with which I was honoured on leaving England, Mr. Henry Cloete, Lawrence's son, is named by Her Majesty to be one of the unofficial members ; but Mr. Cloete being absent from the Cape, and also holding office as Recorder of Natal, he cannot, for both these reasons, take his seat in the Council ; and I have therefore nominated Mr. Bayley to fill the vacancy. It is proper I should mention that Mr. Bayley has been officiating as a member of the Council since the 10th December, 1845, but that his appointment has not been confirmed by Her Majesty as stated in Mr. Gladstone's despatches, No. 59 and 60, of the l4th and 17th April, 1846. 1 have, nevertheless, deemed that it accorded with Her Majesty's pleasure that there should be five unofficial members of Council ; and I respectfully trust that the step I have taken, under that impression, will be approved. 1 find that the two despatches to which I refer have not been specifically answered ; but the objection to confirm Mr. Bayley's appointment appears to me to be virtually met by the enclosed extract from my predecessor's despatch. No. 180, of the 16th October last, and I may add that, so far as I am yet informed, I entirely concur in the tenor of that extract. This is, however, a question of such vital importance to the future administration of this colony, that 1 do not at this moment feel competent to oflTer a final opinion upon it. I have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. (CIRCULAR). Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 26th June, 1847. Sir, — In December, 1845, there was forwarded to Her Majesty in Council, a petition from the agriculturists, merchants, landowners, and other inhabitants of the district of Albany, praying that more liberal institutions should be conceded to the eastern districts; that enlarged powers and an independent jurisdiction in all matters connected with the administration of the districts should be conferred on the Lieutenant-Governor; and in January, 1846, there was also forwarded to 117 Her Majesty in Council, a petition of the Uitenhage and Albany Agricultural Association, recommending the appointment of such an additional number of functionaries, in connection with a responsible and independent head, as would impart to the Government of the eastern districts, the vigour, stability, and efficiency of which it stands in need With the concurrence of His Excellency the Right Honourable the Gover- nor, I take leave to address myself to you, in order to obtain such support of the allegations and prayers of these petitions as your local knowledge, experience, and stake in tlie eastern districts, qualify you to aiford. The Secretary of State, under date the 17th April, 1846, states that in deliberating on the advice which it might be proper to tender to the Queen on the subject to which these petitions refer, he has been impeded by a deficiency of information, and that it is not ascertained by any information transmitted from hence, whether, if the evil really exists, of an absence of representation in the local Legislature of the wants and wishes and rights of the eastern districts, that evil admits of any effectual remedy which would be consistent with the main- tenance of the central Government and Legislature at Cape Town. The Secretary of State further observes, that the petitioners demand various new establishments, but they do not explain the nature of them, nor have they framed any estimate of the expense attendant on such an innovation; and that whenever Her Majesty's Government are in possession of the requisite information, they will then be far more competent than at present to approach and decide the main question. The Secretary of State also adds, that it seems possible that some compromise might be found between the absolute centralization of all local government at Cape Town, and the establishment of what would virtually be a separate colony, having the seat of Government at Graham's Town ; and that, without undertaking to assert that such an arrangement could be made, he is at least unable to assert with confidence the impracticability of such a compromise. I feel it my duty to add for your information, that the following statement has been recently submitted to my notice, as constituting conclusive proof that the eastern province cannot at present aflbrd to maintain a separate Government, viz. : — Statement of the Revenue and Expenditure of the two Provinces for the years 1846. 1847, and 1848. 1846. Actual revenue for 1846, collected in the western province £150,708 Do. do. eastern province 43,445 Actual expenditure in 1846. For the general Government, and common to both provinces 125,080 Expended for local departments, &c., in the western province 35,152 Expended for local departments, &c , in the eastern province 28,628 1847 and 1848. Estimated Revenue for 1847 and 1848. To be collected in the western province .... £119,116 £131,137 To be collected in the eastern province .... 40,507 39,210 Estimated Expenditure for 1847 and 1848. For general Government, and common to both provinces £65,969 £71.741 Local departments in western province .... 56,749 61,066 Local departments in eastern province . . . 39,135 43,108 It has also been represented to me that the establishment in the eastern districts, of a Registrar of Deed's office, a Surveyor-General's office, and a Board for the care and maintenance of public main roads and bridges, are not necessary or expedient —the objects to be attained by such institutions being sufficiently provided for under the existing central Government at Cape Town. .,. .. ,_,.,., 118 Sir Andreas stoeken- For the purpose then of instituting that copious enquiry which the im- No°"3e cou'etfwarnl portance of the subject requires, I have written to invite the evidence of the other Wright,' Troiiip, .lou- influential and well-informed colonists of the eastern districts, whose names are Stokes, Meinyes, Pap- noted on the margin. I shall be prepared to receive your written report,, and Naude,^*" ''pretorhl!,' thcirs, either individually or collectively, as may best suit your mutual convenience ; southe:^Brooks,Gris- and I beg to add, that if for the purpose of preparing and maturing your report, vey, Vowe, Gilbert, it shall Seem to you expedient to meet and confer with each other, and with me, lie"" Rlet ^^Imsiey at Graham's Town, I shall be happy to do all in my power to facilitate the objects. Thompson, Joseph, You Will obliffc me by Understanding, that in selecting the names mentioned Pohl, Rice Smith, • ^, • ° , *' • . -^i ^u ■ U i j • i Hutchinson, Kirk- m the margin, my recent acquaintance with the province may have led me, mad- wood, Dr. A. Camp- vgrtently, to omit reference to others of the colonists and petitioners equally competent to benefit me by their evidence and counsel, and that if any such omission occurs to you, you will do me the favour to rectify it by assuring the parties of my willingness respectfully to receive, and attentively to weigh, any statement bearing on the subject, which they may be disposed to favour me with, in writing. I cannot, however, too plainly and firmly assure you, that ray participation in the discussion will be scrupulously limited to a conscientious balance of the evidence adduced, without any feeling of partizanship in favour of the independence of the eastern province Government, or any antagonism against the form of the existing central Government at Cape Town ; and this disposition of mind, which, ofiicial duty cogently enjoins on me, will, I trust, be equally cherished and acted on by you, from motives of enlightened patriotism. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. MEMORANDUM. Fort Peddie, May 14, 1847. The Honourable the Secretary to Government. I send a letter and its accompaniments from the Lieutenant-Governor, urging the necessity for the appointment of a resident magistrate at Fort Beaufort, in which opinion I most fully concur. The Kat River Settlement alone would require such an officer to be stationed near it. It is, at this instant, in a state bordering on rebellion, and of total disorganisation. I propose to appoint Captain Biddulph superintendent of it, as a temporary arrangement ; and with his assist- ance, and the extended powers proposed to be given to Mr. Borcherds, it may yet be turned to some account. Now, it is equally a burden and a disgrace to the colony. The people have been armed, without the least control being held over them. I request the Hon'ble the Attorney-General may be called on to give effect to the Lieutenant-Governor's suggestion, and that these papers may be returned to me as soon as the preliminary steps have been taken, in order that a despatch may be prepared for the Secretary of State. HENRY POTTINGER. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Otfice, Court House, Graham's Town, 8th May, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., G.C.B. .' Sir, — I have the honour to report to your Excellency, that Mr. Borcherds, a salaried justice of the peace at Fort Beaufort, has very strongly represented to me, ny in an interview with him at this office, the usefulness to the public service, of conferring on him the jurisdiction of a resident magistrate in the extensive and populous district of Fort Beaufort, where, at present, he exercises the authority of a justice of the peace only. The statistical information which Mr. Borcherds, at my request, has trans- mitted to me in writing, and which is annexed to this letter, so entirely satisfies me of the necessity for the increased jurisdiction which he seeks, that could it be conferred on him by the existing law, under a commission, appointing him to exercise the duties of a resident magistrate, I should not hesitate a moment to issue such a commission. On reference, however, to Ordinance No. 33, anno 1827, I find that the districts in which it is lawful to appoint resident magistrates are limited and described, and that Fort Beaufort, the district of Mr. Borcherds, is not one of those districts in which the Legislature contemplated the appointment of a resident magistrate. I beg to suggest that the Attorney-General be instructed to prepare an amendment to this Ordinance, to the effect that it shall be lawful for the Governor or Lieutenant-Governor for the time being, from time to time, as the public service shall seem to him to require, to appoint a resident magistrate in any other place or district than the places or districts mentioned in Ordinance No. 33, anno 1827 ; and by proclamation to prescribe and fix the territorial limits within which such resident magistrate shall exercise the jurisdiction of his office ; provided, that no such resident magistrate shall be appointed to any other district or place than the districts or places mentioned in Ordinance No. 33, anno 1827, unless the said magistrate shall be a salaried justice of the peace, or that a remuneration for the performance of the duties of a resident magistrate shall have been other- wise previously sanctioned and provided for by the Legislature. This amendment would enable the public to take advantage of such offers as those of Mr. Borcherds, who, without increase to his present official salary, is willing to undertake additional duties. I have, &c., ' ' H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Fort Beaufort, 6th May, 1847. His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, &c., &c,, &c., Graham's Town. Sir, — In accordance with your request, I have the honour herewith to enclose a sketch of that part of the Albany district which is under my jurisdiction as justice of the peace, included within the boundary line marked m "lake," extending about 76 miles in length and 36 in breadth, the nearest or most south- erly point being 21 miles from the present seat of magistracy, Graham's Town. I also enclose copies of correspondence which has already passed on the subject of the necessity of a resident magistrate being appointed for this place, and a statement of the number of cases which have been brought before me since 1st January, 1847. Several cases of crime have occurred in the neutral ground, of which I could not legally take cognizance, in consequence of my having no commission under the Act of William IV, for the prevention of crimes beyond the boundaries of the colony, and which I have found necessary, in order to enable me effectually to co-operate with the Rev. Mr. Calderwood, in the execution of his duties as commissioner and magistrate for British Kafirland. Since the dates of the enclosed correspondence, I have been authorised to adjudicate in cases of drunkenness, but in other respects my jurisdiction has not been increased. I have, &c., M. BORCHERDS, J. P. 120 Statement showing the number of Cases brought before the Resident Justice of the Peace, at Fort Beaufort, from 1st January, 1847, to 5th May, 1847 : — Of Theft, 49 Sale of Arms to Kafirs, 1 Breach of Burgher Duty, 19 Prisoners of War, 6 Kafirs in the colony without passes, 33 Murder, 1 Drunkenness, 164 Breach of the peace, 12 Assault, 6 Indecency, 1 Military Desertion, 1 Culpable Homicide, 1 Total, 294 M. BORCHERDS, Justice of the Peace. Fort Beaufort, 6th May, 1847. Fort Beaufort, 28th November, 1844. The Honourable the Secretary to Government, Colonial Office, Cape Town. Sir, — In reply to your Circular of the 8th instant, I have the honour here- with to enclose a statement of all matters which I have had to attend to in my official capacity as justice of the peace at this place, during the three years end- ing 30th June, 1844. Besides the duties detailed in the said statement, I have had to attend, quar- terly, in six field-cornetcies of the Kat River settlement, to inspect 600 stand of government arms distributed amongst the inhabitants ; frequently to go out with military parties to scour the country, and apprehend native foreigners squatted in the colony without authority ; and, on various occasions to act for the Civil Com- missioner of the district. The charges borne by the public for my services, are, — a salary of £300 a year, horse allowance Is. per day, and I have a government house for a residence and oflSces. No clerk being allowed by government, I have kept one at my own expense, to assist me in copying documents. In order to increase the efficiency of my office, without throwing an addi- tional expense on the public, I have the honour to suggest that this place should be constituted a resident magistracy, and that a clerk should be appointed, who is to keep the records, and draw up the informations in criminal and police cases. I anticipate, that by this measure, a great saving would be effected to the public, for the amount of the clerk's salary will be amply covered by court fees, fines, &'c., and the expense of sending up prisoners for trial to Graham's Town in trifling cases will be avoided. The convenience to the public will also be very great, for the inhabitants will be able to recover small debts here, and they will not be deterred from giving in- formation of offences committed against them and their property, by the long journey they would have to take to Graham's Town, to give evidence against the culprits. I should also be empowered to enforce the Masters and Servants Ordinance. Ordinance No. 49. — For admission into the colony, under certain restric- tions, of persons belonging to the tribes beyond the frontier. 121 No. 1, 1838. — For the better observance of the Lord's Day. No. 7, 1834. — For regulating Trade in Gunpowder. No 23, 1826. — For facilitating Commerce with Kafirs, &c. No. 81, 1830. — For regulating Trade beyond the Boundaries. No" 12, 1836. — Laws relating to Medical Practitioners, Apothecaries, &c. No. 31, 1827. — Laws regarding Auctioneers. No 93. — As to the Sale of Wines and Spirits. No. 94.— Do. No. 66. —Law in cases of Ejectment. No. 79. — To prevent Riding and Driving furiously. No. 104. — As to registration of Wills, &c. No. 80. — Regulations as to Brewing. No. 90. — For suppression of Unlawful Meetings. The Proclamation of 16th July, 1806, and 23rd May, 1823.— To enforce the fines and penalties under the Mutiny Act, and Market and Municipal Regulations. To apprentice the children of destitute Native Foreigners, under the 8th sec- tion of Ordinance 49. To attest contracts of service and apprenticeship, under Her Majesty's Order in Council of 27th August, 1842. To grant passes to wagons crossing the boundary, under the 81st Ordinance. All which is, at present, beyond my power and jurisdiction. The proclamation of November 20, 1812, for the protection of government forests, should also be extended to this district, in which a great deal of forest is wantonly destroyed. I have, &c,, M. BORCHERDS, J. P. Statement of all matters which I have had to attend to in my official capacity as Resident Justice of the Peace at Fort Beaufort, during Three Years ending 30th June, 1844. Relating to the Criminal Busines of the Circuit Court. Relating to the Criminal Business of the Magistrate's Court. Miscellaneous Duties. u 4 -a 3 s o c < 6 4 £ O u o c 1 o 1 1 3 o o o X 3 c o QJ be a c 3 O g 5 1 3 O < 1 1> rs "o 5 X 1 -C 08 53 3 VI < 104 (0 O o O c o > cS 2 3 o i5 -3 « 3 3 a .■13 i 3 s a 3 Q 26 Qi U u a. 28 b£ 3 "5) be 3 g be s [3 » c d z; o « c -3 O bjt .H c 0) > g c 1 < .5 3 '3 > 3 4 2 -.3 ft 1 2 s > Ci 3 S cc CO n a; ft i u 39 c .0 CO 1 3 .C 'i ££■ ;2 s a S 3 u > § 1 a- 05 ti Q 7 3 .2 s 4> Oh k. a> 3 H 57 U9 3 1 £ 0. U (d be 'E bo CO >■ eg T3 < a « (0 ■J3 a 3 ft X ]H. *C H c g^ Cattle, Horsts, and other Property passed through my bauds, on account of Kafir Depredations. 7 1 258 1124 807 V B Total of Circuit Court Cases - . - - % Total of Magistrate's Court Cases - - . - 26C Total Miscellaneous Cases - - - 2295 1105 250 45 M. BORCHERDS, Resident Justice of the Peace at Fort Beaufort. Fort Beaufort, 28th November, 1844. 122 I ^L ^f-r Fort Beaufort, 30th April, 1845. To the Honourable the Secretary to Government, Colonial Office, Cape Town. Sir, — In reply to your circular of the 18th instant, I have the honour to state, for the information of the Committee of the Legislative Council : — 1 St. That a resident magistrate is much required in this district, and that the seat of magistracy should be Fort Beaufort, being in a central position, and next in importance, in a military and commercial point of view, to Graham's Town. Assuming the sub-district of Fort Beaufort to comprise the Koenap, Winter- berg, and Kat River field-cornetcies, it would extend from Fort Beaufort, as its centre, about 30 miles to the north and north-east, 30 miles to the west, and the same distance to the south. The number of inhabitants being as follows : — Fort Beaufort, 1,000 • Koenap Field-cornetcy, 1,075 Winterberg, 1,622 Kat River Settlements, 5,000 Total, 8,697 independently of upwards of 1,000 military men, with their families and followers, stationed at Fort Beaufort, Post Victoria, Botha's Post, Koenap Post, Howse's Post, Blinkwater Post, Mancazana Post, Tyumie, Fort Armstrong, Elands River, and Post Retief. I need hardly add that the several inconveniences arising from the distance at which Graham's Town, the present seat of magistracy, is situated, will be removed by this appointment, and the Government be spared a great deal of expense now necessarily incurred in summoning witnesses and removing prisoners in petty criminal cases, out of this sub-district to Grahams Town. 2nd. It is, &c. &c. M. BORCHERDS, Justice of the Peace. Camp at Fort Peddie, May 14, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry E. F. Young, Kt., Lieutenant-Governor. Sir, — I have had the honour to receive Your Honour's letter of the 8th instant, urging the advantage of extending the powers of a resident magistrate to Mr. Borcherds, the justice of the peace at Fort Beaufort. I most fully concur in your opinion, and have transmitted your letter and its accompaniments to Cape Town, with a view to effect being given to them. I have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. MINUTE. Graham's Town, July 1, 1847. Since my remarks upon, and note regarding, the estimates (revised) for 1848, were made and written, I have received the accompanying letter and documents from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, submitted by His Honour in obedience to one clause of the original instructions addressed by Lord Glenelg to Sir Andreas Stockenstrom. I have not time, nor is it necessary, for me to go into a minute examination of each item. Many of them are already provided for in the general estimate, and some may perhaps conveniently (or rather necessarily) be allowed to lie over ibr another year, or until some future period. I therefore leave the whole to be dealt with by the Hon'ble the Executive Council, with the general assurance that it is my anxious desire, as well as duty, to meet the Lieutenant-Governor's plans in this and every other matter connected with the eastern districts, when they 123 may not be found to be incompatible with the working of the system for the whole colony, as at present estabhshed. I have already evinced my full intention to institute the most unqualified inquiry into the various opinions and recommendations which have been offered and made by the Lieutenant-Governor since his arrival in the colony ; and the petitioners to the crown from the eastern districts will now have the amplest means of showing what their objects are ; but in affording them that opportunity it is superfluous for me to add, that I pledge myself to nothing at present, beyond an impartial inquiry into, and consideration of, their statements. I may conclude by saying, that without such an idea being expressly stated, 1 think I can see in the letter from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, an assumed principle, that the revenue arising from the eastern districts ought to be exclusively expended in them, or at least for what may be taken to be their particular benefit. If I am correct in this surmise, it is a principle which I cannot recognize, as the colony is at present constituted. So long as the central Government at Cape Town is held to be responsible for the acts of the Lieutenant- Governor (and which it now clearly is, to all intents and purposes), it must hold and exercise a discretionary power, as at present, in every thing. HENRY POTTINGER. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 28th June, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Baronet, G.C.B., &c. &c. &c. Sir, — I have the honour of submitting to Your Excellency, the estimates of revenue and expenditure received by me from the respective Civil Commissioners in the eastern districts, viz. : — OF REVENUE. Albany, £7,930 Somerset, 3,245 Cradock, 4,395 Colesberg, 3,259 GraafF-Reinet, 3,840 Uitenhage, 21,474 making a total estimate of revenue for the year 1848 of forty-four thousand one hundred and forty-three pounds. OF EXPENDITURE. Albany, £8,873 Somerset, 3,016 Cradock, 2,845 Colesberg 2,424 Graaff-Reinet 4,395 Uitenhage 6,8 19 Lieutenant-Governor, £1500 Secretary, 350 Clerk, 150 House rent, 300 Do. travelling, .... 50 Expenses, travelling 200 Office rent, 70 Do. keeper, 45 Stationery, 50 Repairs, residence and furniture, 50 — as at present 2,765 making a total estimate of expenditure of £31,137. In the estimate of expendi- ture, £850 for repairs to Graham's Town gaol and public buildings are included.. R 2 124 They have long been contemplated, and the greater part of the amount was pro- vided for on previous estimates, although it has hitherto continued unexpended, and consequently the gaol has remained in a daily increasing state of dilapidation. £800 are also included for a new gaol at Cradock ; the disgraceful and insecure condition of which is verbally reported to me by the Civil Commissioner of the district to have attracted the attention of Sir Peregrine Maitland, when last at Cradock, and to have occasioned the transmission of plans and estimates to Cape Town, where they remain without result. The estimates of the Civil Commissioner do not include the item of £400 ^jfe"r -^th JunTiw'' f°^ t^e repair of the gaol at Fort Beaufort ; nor £200 for the public buildings of that place, as described in Mr. Borcherds' letter, herewith forwarded, nor pro- vision for a Resident Magistrate at Fort Beaufort, and one at Bathurst. 1 estimate these last-named items as follows: £150 to the Resident Justice at Bathurst, £80 to his clerk, and £80 to a clerk at Beaufort, — £310. The deplorable condition of the Graham's Town Episcopal Church is familiar to your Excellency, and I trust that you will see in the accompanying papers from the Rev. Mr. Heavyside, sufficient grounds for recommending the Council to aid the voluntary contributions of the parishioners by a grant from the public treasury of £500, which will be the first charge against the public since the erection of the church in 1828. An Episcopalian clergyman having been appointed to Uitenhage. I would recommend that the item at present on the estimate, of d^ 125, be increased to £200, to put him on an equality, in point of salary, with other clergymen in the colony, and that an allowance of £40 house-rent be also granted. I enclose a letter, re- ceived smce the foregoing was written, from the Rev. Mr. Copeman, of Uitenhage. I would also recommend that one thousand pounds be granted in aid of voluntary subscriptions for the erection of a church at Uitenhage. The accompanying papers relative to a claim on the part of the minister at Sidbury, to an increase of £50 to his present salary of £200, may perhaps be satisfactorily adjusted by granting it to him as an allowance for house-rent. ' I have also to move, that £15 be granted to each of the Government schools at Graham's Town and Somerset, in aid of the purchase of maps, globes, and a small stock of books, applications for which are herewith enclosed, and are founded on the published Government regulations applicable to schools. I cannot at present recommend, as necessary, a grant of £115, applied for by the teacher of the Government school in Graham's Town, to procure philo- sophical apparatus for illustrating his lectures to the scholars. The claim as set forth in the accompanying representation from the School Commission at Bathurst, for an increase of salary to the schoolmaster, appears very reasonable, and I trust that it may be granted, and that his salary may in -■■ * future be made £80, exclusively of the £15 at present allowed for house-rent. I also enclose the report of the Graham's Town Library Association, and trust that a grant of £250 from the public treasury may be made, so as to relieve the institution from debt, and enable it to be sustained hereafter from voluntary subscriptions. I also beg to suggest that provision be made for the conveyance of the mail from Bathurst to Port Francis, which could be effected, as I learn from Mr. Cock, of that place, for about £10 or £12 per annum. In the district of Uitenhage the estimate of expenditure includes provision for a postmaster, whose duties are at present incongruously joined to those of the gaoler. In the other districts, except Albany and Port Elizabeth, the functions of postmaster are vested in the magistrates' clerks, who also perform, without remuneration, the responsible and troublesome duty of distributing and accounting for the .stamps. I beg to recommend that an allowance of £40 be paid to each clerk, for the duties of postmaster. I enclose a correspondence with the Rev Mr. Shaw, on an unsettled claim for the conveyance overland of the mail to Natal, and I would suggest that pro- vision be made for this expense out of the colonial treasury, in future. 12.5 I also beg to forward a correspondence with Capt. Lloyd, R.N., of Port Elizabeth, respecting- the cost of laying down moorings in Algoa Bay, and to move that this highly useful work be provided for by an item on the estimate of 1848 ; the reimbursement of which, and of such subsequent amount as might be found necessary, could be provided for, without dissatisfaction to the shipping interest, by a small tonnage duty on all vessels frequenting the bay. The expense of the Surveyor-General's Office, and Registrar of Deeds, in the eastern districts, as already reported on in my letter of the 17th May last, would amount to £1152. The salaries of the civil commissioners and resident magistrates are quite inadequate, in certain districts, to the decent maintenance of the officers, of which I had the honuur of bringing to your Excellency's notice a striking instance, in the case of the Colesberg district; and having heard from your Excellency that they are to be increased to £400, I have estimated those within the eastern Districts requiring augmentation, at that sum. I beg also to recommend that the salary of the resident magistrate at Port Elizabeth be also fixed at the same amount, reference being had to the nature and extent of his duties and expenses, as set forth in the accompanying letter from Captain Lloyd. I must, however, report to your Excellency that, in my opinion, it is extremely inconvenient to the public that the office of civil commissioner and resident magistrate should be united in one and the same person, and that it would be true economy, respect being had to the efficiency of the respective offices, if adequate provision were made for each separately. The receipt, payment, and custody of public money, and the system of account necessarily connected therewith, engross too much of the magistrate's time and attention, and compel him to be constantly resident in the chief town of his district. I feel convinced, that to render the services of a magistrate as extensively useful as the circumstances of our scattered population require, the magistrates should periodically itinerate from village to village, and adjudicate the complaints preferred. As, however, such an arrangement is not practicable, at all events this year, it is now mentioned only for the purpose of intimating my opinion of its expe- diency at a future time, should the revenues of the eastern districts be found, as I expect, adequate to meet such an increased charge. I subjoin a recapitulation of the items proposed to be added to the estimate of expenditure, as herein-before mentioned : — 1. Fort Beaufort Gaol £400 2. „ „ Public Buildings, 200 3. Resident Magistrates, Beaufort and Bathurst, and Clerks, 310 4. Graham's Town Church, 500 i Uitenhage Clergyman, 75 ,, House-rent, 40 6. UUenhage Church, 1000 7. Sidbury Clergyman, .... 50 8. Schools, Somerset and Graham's Town, 30 9. Schoolmaster at Bathurst, 20 10. Graham's Town Library, 250 1 1 . Bathurst to Port Frances' Mail, 12 12. Salaries to Postmasters, 200 13. Overland Mail to Natal, 40 14. Moorings at Algoa Bay, 3000 15. Surveyor General and Registrar of Deeds, Clerks, &c. . . 1152 16. Civil Commissioners, Colesberg, Cradock, and Somerset, 400 17. Magistrate at Port Elizabeth, 100 £7,779 [ 126 In the event of these additions being sanctioned, the revenue of the eastern district*, as estimated by the civil commissioners^ would still exceed the fore- going total amount of expenditure of d&38,916, by the sum of t'5,227. Of the £38,916 estimated expenditure, ^^7,000, viz.: for churches, gaols, public buildings, library, and moorings, will not be required to be provided for next year. I have reason to believe that if the Royal Order in Council of September, 1846, which regulates the Natal import revenue, were extended to the ports of the eastern districts, a further sum of i.'35,000 at least, would be available to the revenue of the eastern province, and be applicable, therefore, to such additional charges as the piiblic service of the eastern districts might render necessary. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG. MINUTE. Colonial Ojjice, July 14, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor, &c. &c. &c. ' In attention to His Excellency's minute of the 1st instant, referring to us (members of the Executive Council) the Lieutenant-Governor's letter of the 2Hth June, addressed to His Excellency, submitting the Estimates of Expenditure and Revenue for the Eastern Districts, for the service of the year 1 848, we have the honour to submit the following remarks :• ~ \ii.—Fort Beaufort Gaol, £400. The Governor having already provided, in his estimates for the whole colony, the sum of £4,000 for the gaols generally, from which the payment for Fort Beau- fort gaol can be taken, if it should be hereafter approved, there is no occasion for making further provision in the general estimates for this item. 2nd.— Public Buildings, Fort Beaufort, £200. This sum is applied for to improve and enlarge the building now used at Fort Beaufort as a hospital. In the year 1844, Her Majestj''s Government ap- proved of the discontinuance of salaried medical officers in the country districts, and ordered them to be paid for their attendance on such persons as might be considered objects of charity, by a tariff-rate, in proportion to the work performed ; and also approved of all insane persons and those who were permanently disqualified by chronic complaints, being removed to the General Infirmary at Robben Island, which has, in consequence, been placed on a most efficient tooting, and where every necessary and comfort are provided for its inmates. The object of these measures was to obviate the v(mv heavy expense of inefficient medical establishments and hospitals being scattered over the country ; and we fear that the request for this Fort Beaufort hospital is a revival of the system which has so lately been ordered to be abolished. In all the country districts there is, generally, one room m each gaol set apart as a hospital for the poor, and those requiring temporary medical relief; and in addition to this, the sick who need medical aid at the expense of the Govern- ment, are also attended at their own residences. As we perceive that two of the three persons for whom the resident magis- trate of Fort Beaufort proposes to provide better hospital accommodation are insane, we recommend that they be removed to the General Infirmary, which would seem to meet the present wants; without incurring so large an expenditure as £200, and departing from ;i system so lately adopted under directions from Her Majesty's Government. 127 3rd. — Resident Magistrates, Beaufort and Bathurst, and Clerks, £310. As already stated, His Excellency has made provision for eight additional resident magistrates, one of whom, we have reason to believe, he has decided on appointing to Bathurst. Provision has therefore been made for the whole of this request of His Honour, at an expense, namely : — resident magistrate, Bathurst, £250; a clerk, £100; and a clerk to resident magistrate at Fort Beaufort, £100: Total, £450. 4th. — Grahains Town Church, £500. We cannot recommend the Governor to accede to this request. — In the years 1844 and '5, the Government (after a lapse of very many years) gave a few money grants to churches of different denominations in the colony, in sums of £500 and under, the effect of which was to make such a rush on the colonial revenue from every part o( the colony, for similar aid for other churches, as to render it necessary to leject them all, and to lay down the following rules for the guidance of the Government, in proposing to the Legislature to appropriate an^ portion of the general revenue to church-building purposes. 1, that a proportion only of the expense of the building should be defrayed by the Government, and the remainder by subscription of those who would benefit by it; that proportion to be fixed in reference to the wealth or poverty of the inhabitants in the neighbourhood of the church. 2, that no aid should be afforded to any building which might be commenced, without the Government having first approved the locality, and satisfied itself of the necessity of affording support, and having also determined what that amount of support should be. If these rules be departed from in the case of Graham's Town church, — there are many other churches (whose claims have been refused) which cannot be excluded, from being stronger than, and prior to, the present application. 5th. — Uitenhage Clergyman, £75, House-rent, £40. About three years ago, the inhabitants of Uitenhage who belong to the English Episcopal Church petitioned the Government to appoint a minister of that denomination amongst them. The Secretary of State declined in that, as in several other cases, to make such an appointment, until he got a guarantee from the persons interested, that they would provide, for five years, a stipend of £100 a year to the minister, and then, but not till then, would the Government provide an equal amount for his support. The people of Uitenhage could not succeed in raising more than £75 a year, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel added thereto £25 a year, upon their learning that the Secretary of State would not sanction a higher expenditure than £100 from the colonial revenue, for the minister's salary, which he stipulated must be made up to £200 a year. Under these arrangements, and with a complete knowledge of them, the Rev Mr Copeland arrived in this colony in May last, with the appointment of minister of Uitenhage, and it will be seen by the accompanying documents from the civil commissioner of Uitenhage that the subscribers who guaranteed him £75 a year, intend to perform their part of the engagement. Under these circumstances, we cannot advise His Excellency to accede to His Honour's request on this subject. 6th.— Uitenhage Church, .=^]000. Until it is shown what description of church is to be erected, what will be the expense of it, and how much of that will be obtained by subscriptions towards the building, we cannot advise His Excellency to sanction the expenditure of any public money for that building ; but we are of opinion, that under the rules already adverted to in the case of the Graham's Town Church, the Uitenhage Church would be entitled to aid from the public revenue, so soon as satisfactory information can be obtained on the several points we have mentioned, and upon the wealth or poverty of the Protestant inhabitants there. 128 7th. — Sidbury Clergyman, £bO. His Honour conceives that the claim on the part of the minister of Sidbury, to an increase of £50 to his present salary of £200 may, perhaps, be satisfactorily adjusted by granting it to him as an allowance for houserent We are sorry to be obliged to differ from His Honour, but we conceive that Government can be no party to the claim. The facts are simply these, — the people of sidbury built a church, at their own expense, and applied to the Government for a minister, undertaking to pay him jPlOO a year stipend, on condition that Government would pay him a similar sum. To this the Secretary of State acceded, and the Rev. Mr. Thorpe, the present incumbent, was appointed. From causes which it is not necessary for us here to detail, the Government consented, about three years afterwards, with the approbation of the Secretary of State, to pay the entire salary of .£'200 a year, upon the understanding that the Sidbury subscribers would either build a house for Mr. Thorpe, or give him £50 a year, in lieu of it, and failing to do so, the minister would be removed to some other locality. The subscribers now refuse to pay the £50, but we do not see how that circumstance constitutes a claim upon the Government, nor" can we advise His Excellency to exceed from the colonial treasury the sum of £200 a year for the salary, &c., of that minister, which the Secretary of State, with great reluctance, was induced to sanction. 8th. — Schools, Somerset and Graham's Town, £30. His Honour proposes £15 for each school (per annum) in aid of the purchase of maps, globes, and a small stock of books. In the general estimate, under the head, School Establishment, it will be ^een that the sum of about £700 is provided for such articles and unforeseen contingencies, and which is always expended for such schools and for such purposes as the Superintendent General of Education, for the time being, may recommend to the Government, from time to time. For this reason we do not consider it necessary to make further provision in the estimates for this sum of £30, proposed by His Honour. 9th. — Schoolmaster at Bathurst, £20. For the reasons given by the Superintendent-General of Education in the annexed letter, we do not advise the Governor to make any alteration in his estimates to meet this request. 10th. — Graham's Town Library, £250. His Excellency's general estimate provided for this purpose £200 when it was first prepared, and we see no sufficient reason for advising him to increase it to the amount suggested by His Honour. \\t\\.— Bathurst to Port Frances Mail, £12. We recommend this item, and it has accordingly been inserted in His Excellency's general estimate. 12th. -Salaries to Postmasters, £200. The system of appointing the clerks in the offices of the civil commis- sioners and resident magistrates, to conduct the post office duties, was approved by Her Majesty's Government in 1846, and ought not, we think, to be interfered with. With one or two exceptions, these clerks all obtained an increase of salary, when the post office duty was assigned to them. Some of those whom His Honour recommends should receive an addition of £40 for doing this duty, have already received £40 for it ; and others £20. The salaries of all the clerks which were previously under £100 a year, were made up to that .sum, on having the post office duty triaisferred to them. Their salaries had ranged at between ^60 and £100. We do not advise the additional charge proposed by His Honour under this head. 129 I3th.— Overland Mail to Natal, £40. Altliough this might, properly speaking, be termed a mihtary expenditure, yet, circumstanced as this colony now is towards Natal, we see no objections to its being defrayed from colonial funds, from 1848, and we have therefore intro- duced it into His Excellency's general estimate. As it has heretofore been borne by the Commissariat, we think Mr. Shaw's account for 1845 and 1846, amount- ing to £96 10s., should be defrayed from that chest, no provision having been made for it from colonial funds. 14th. — Moorings at Algoa Bay, £3,000. We do not consider this a proper charge against the general revenue. It should be defrayed by a local wharfage, and a fund by that means might be raised for the improvement of the bay, in whatever manner might be deemed desirable. The wharfage in Table Bay amounts to nearly £6000 a year. It forms no part of the general revenue, but is kept distinct from it, and is applied for the improvement of the harbour, and for wharf purposes. 15th. — Surveyor-General, and Registrar of Deeds, Clerks, Sfc, £\\b2. The Governor having already decided that he will not introduce this expen- diture without a previous reference to Her Majesty's government, it is not necessary to provide for it in the estimates for 1848. 16th.— CiviZ Commissioners of Colesberg, Cradock, and Somerset, £400. His Excellency's general estimate provided for this expenditure when it was first prepared. 17th. — Magistrate at Port Elizabeth, £100. We cannot advise His Excellency to sanction this increase, or to provide for it in the estimates for 1848. As a general rule, the salaries of the resident magistrates have been fixed at an equal rate, although it must always have been obvious that some had more duty to perform than others. But none have more than can fairly be required of them in return for those salaries, the duties everywhere being light, as compared to many other situations with smaller salaries, under the government. If an increase should be made in Captain Lloyd's case, it cannot be refused in others. Any such augmentation of expenditure, while the urgent demands of many other parts of the colony for magisterial protection are unsatisfied, prevents us from recommending compliance with His Honour's request on this head. JOHN MONTAGU. HARRY RIVERS. W. PORTER. W. FIELD. Civil Commissioner's Office, Uitenhage Town, 8th May, 1847. The Honourable the Secretary to Government, Cape Town. Sir,— Having communicated to the committee of the Episcopal church at Uitenhage, your letter of the 14th ultimo, stating that the Rev. P. W. Copeman has been appointed to the Episcopal church at Uitenhage, and has recently arrived at Cape Town ; and having called upon the committee, in compliance with your letter, to enter into the bond proposed by them, for the due payment of the sum of £75, for five years, to be paid by them in part satisfaction of Mr. Cope- man's salary, — I have the honour to enclose a copy of a letter which I have received from the committee in reply. I have, &c., H. TENNANT, Civil Commissioner. 130 Uitenhage, 8th May, 1847. The Civil Commissioner for Uitenhage. Sir, — I have been requested by the Committee of Management of the EngHsh Episcopal church, to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 22d ult., and to state that the treasurer has been directed to pay into your hands the first quarter's subscription towards the salary of the clergyman, hoping within that period to have completed the necessary bond, and lodged the same in your office. I have, &c., GEO. M. BRUNETT, Honorary Secrea ry. Cape Town, 14th July, 1847. The Honourable the Secretary to Government. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of a memorial presented to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor by the Government teacher at Bathurst, praying for an increase of salary, or promotion to a more lucrative appointment ; together with a copy of a letter addressed to me on the same subject by the School Commission of Bathurst, — both of which you have referred to me for report. The memoriahst grounds his claim, either for promotion or increase of salary, on the consideration of his zealous discharge of the duties entrusted to him, which has met with the approbation of the school commission at Bathurst, and the Government teacher at Graham's Town. It must be equally gratifying to me, as to the respectable gentlemen to whose testimony Mr. Selwyn refers, to have to acknowledge his merits as a public teacher, and, consequently, there can be no wish on my part to detract from them in any manner. It is proper, however, that 1 should state, for the information of the Government, that during four of the six years of service referred to by Mr. Selwyn, he was not only being trained up in one of the principal Government schools to a professional acquaintance with the management of a large public school, but also instructed in those branches of a liberal education, which would fit him for a future appointment on the establishment, previous to which he would have to undergo a minute examination. And to satisfy the Government that the teacher at Bathurst has not been overlooked, or undue preference exercised in recommending for promotion in this department, I take leave to observe, that at this moment, and for some time past, the son of the Rev Mr. Edwards, of George, after having gone through the usual course in one of the Government schools, and then removed to a seminary in Eng- land, acts as an assistant in the school at George, on a salary of £40 per annum ; whilst my eldest son, after having completed a full course of study in the classical and scientific departments of the South African College, has served on the estab- lishment as long as Mr. Selwyn, at a salary less than Mr. Selwyn's by one-fifth, and without the privilege of charging fees, to which every teacher is entitled who gives instruction in the higher branches, either publicly or privately. In the letter of the School Commission, reference is made to the reduction of the teacher's salary at Bathurst, which was formerly £100. The reduction was effected in 1833, when the school establishment was under the superintendence of the Bible and School Commission. I am not informed of the circumstances which induced that body to recommend that reduction, but comparing the salaries then given to other teachers at more important stations, it would have appeared to me difficult, had I been in charge of the establishment, to have justified so marked an exception to the general scale. The Commission also refer, in support of the claim for an increase of salary, to the increasing demand for education that must necessarily arise, in the midst of a growing English population. Of this I am fully aware, and am anxious, so far as the means at my disposal will permit, to make adequate provision ; not, how- ever, by increasing the salary that has been attached to the Bathurst school station but by aiding the agricultural populaton of that parish in establishing 131 elementary schools in their own immediate vicinities. In proof of this, I beg to refer you to the schools at Clumber and Cuylerville, to each of which a fixed salary of £30 has been granted for the last three years ; and I am now prepared to re- commend the same allowance to the school at Southwell, situate in the same parish. In regard to the proposition, that the expense of living at the several stations should regulate the salaries to be allowed the teachers, I beg to remark that a graduated scale of salary, corresponding in amount to the importance and extent of charge, and without reference to the expense of living, was, after mature deliberation, adopted by the Government in 1839, as that which most accorded with the principles on which the new system was to be conducted ; and that, as vacancies occurred, those stations to which the higher salaries were attached, should be filled up from among those occupying less lucrative charges, who had proved the most deserving and successful. Any departure from this fundamental principle in the present system, I earnestly deprecate. And from the views I have hitherto held, of the impropriety of calling upon the Government to increase the expenditure of the school establish- ment, whose operations are necessarily limited to towns and villages, while the greater part of the agricultural population of the colony is left destitute of the means of instruction for their children, — I request I maybe relieved from the responsibihty of recommending an increase to the fixed salary attached to the Bathurst school statioii. I have, &c., J. ROSE INNES, Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government OflUce, Graham's Town, His Excellency the Right Hon'ble 29th July, 1847. Sir Henry Pottinger, Bt., G.C.B. Sir, — With reference to that part of the minute of the Executive Council) dated 14th instant, which I had the honour of receiving on the 24th instant, on the extimates of expenditure for the eastern districts, for the service of the year 1848, I beg to state to Your Excellency, in reference to the item for the Graham's Town church, which the Executive Council reject, that the Rev. Mr. Heavyside reports to me, that £629 10s. (jd. have been expended on the church in 1845, 1846, and 1847, without aid from the public treasury ; that with a small balance from pew-rents, after defraying the salaries of organist and sexton, and with further private subscriptions which he calculates on raising, £900 will have been expended by the congregation on the Graham's Town church. Under these circumstances, I trust that it will appear, that the Graham's Town church comes within the rules mentioned in the Council's minute of the 14th instant, as guiding the legislature in appropriating any portion of the general revenue to church purposes. No one more fully than myself admits the propriety of apportioning pecuniary aid from the public treasury to all the state-paid churches of the colony, relatively to the amount of assistance obtained from other sources by those churches respectively. On the other hand, I am impressed with a conviction that it is as useful to the public to mete out aid to churches, from the treasury, on the above principles (in the absence of land reserves or other endowments for churches;, as it is to sustain the magisterial and police institutions of the colony, from out of the general revenue ; and that a very profitable return is made to society at large when a considerable portion of the taxes is invested, in aid of other contributions, towards the decent maintenance of those edifices dedicated to public worship and religious instruction, the ministers of which are recipients of public pay. I have, &c., H. E. F,. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. > s 2 ■ ' 132 1o 1,i,v, MINUTE. ''^'^ Colonial Office, Cape Town, 9th August, 1847. To the Right Hon'ble the Governor. In conformity with the instructions of the Right Honourable the Governor we have attentively reconsidered the proposal of His Honour the Lieutenant- Governor, to grant a sum of £500 in aid of private subscriptions, for the purpose of repairing and improving the Episcopal church at Graham's Town. His Honour's letter to the Governor of the 29th ultimo, though contnining general views, which appear to us to be very just and proper, has failed to satisfy us that we should not be blameable, were we to advise the grant in question. We take it for granted that the edifice of the church stands much in need of repairs, and would be glad to see any mode in which it might be improved at the public expense, without entailing consequences of a kind so inconvenient as to render us unwilling to recommend any grant whatever. Situated as this colony is in regard to churches, we feel persuaded that to grant £500, or, indeed, any sum whatever, to Graham's Town, must inevitably precipitate upon the public treasury such a number of claimants, as to leave but two courses open, — either to grant so much money to church buildings, as to derange the whole finances of the colony, or, on the other hand, to incur the just reproach of doing for Graham's Town what will not be done for other places having stronger claims. We do not mean, for an instant, to dispute the correctness of His Honour's principles regarded in an abstract point of view. The expediency of any state contribution towards the religious instruction of the people is not now in question, for that expediency has, in this colony, been long recognised. Under such circumstances, no difference in principle exists between contributing to the edifice of the church and contributing to the minister's salary. And it is, moreover, readily conceded that, in principle, no line can well be drawn between preserving an old building and erecting a new one. The moment that support, in any shape, is tendered by the state, and accepted by the church, the extent of that support ceases to be a matter of principle, and becomes a matter of expediency. Considered in the latter point of view, such support may vary from a moderate allowance towards the minister's maintenance, to the providing, at the public expense, for all the ministrations of religion. In this colony, the line was for some time drawn at the point which separates the erection and preservation of the edifice from the support and maintenance of the minister ; and while we admit, that in the recent cases referred to in our former minute, the line has been somewhat altered, we are, at the same time, deliberately of opinion, that the new principle is one rather to be limited than extended. Whether separate congregations should, in a merely religious point of view, be required to aid the slate in providing for their own religious instruction, — even if the state possessed the means of dispensing with such aid, we need not discuss; it is enough to say that, in this colony, the state does not possess such means. The state can only do a part, and must leave a part to be done by the people. And with regard to the two essentials of public worship, a building and a minister, if both cannot be provided by the state, we are of opinion, that the state should supply the minister, and the congregation the building. It is not easy to conceive how a body of Christians, of any denomination, can be found sufficiently numerous to justify the state in granting them a minister, who cannot out of their own means provide a house to meet in. It may, indeed, be but a lowly house at first, but such as it is, it may serve every essential purpose, until increasing numbers enable the worshippers to provide a building of a supe- rior class. It is believed that the amount of the public revenue which it would be practicable to devote to religious purposes, would not be more than sufficient^ if, indeed, it would be sufficient, to grant salaries to the ministers of all the churches which will be built by private subscriptions. We are aware of the reasonr 133 ing which goes to prove that the pririciple of state support and the principle of voluntary contribution, where both must be combined, ought not, generally speaking, to be combined in the same places of worship, but that each of them should take upon itself the entire maintenance of different places of worship in different places. Towns, where the people are congregated, might seem to be places where religious instruction may be wholly left to the people themselves, whilst thinly scattered districts, if they are to receive religious instruction at all, must rely solely on the state, since they can neither erect a church nor pay a clergyman. The principle now referred to may be a very good rule for the guidance of private bounty. But aid from the public revenue is another thing, for, when that is concerned, those who contribute to it insist that they have a right to share in it ; and we believe that no general rule can, in this colony, be safely acted on, other than that of making the erection of a building and the association of a certain number of worshippers, conditions precedent to a grant of public aid, in the shape of an annual allowance to the clergyman. Extreme cases may be put of very thinly inhabited country districts, and very poor portions of a town ; and to meet extreme cases the general rule may be relaxed. We are, however, so impressed with the mischiefs which have attended the recent relaxation of the general rule, that we strongly deprecate any future departure from it, except in some case of the most obvious and urgent necessity. There are a number of churches of the colony ; for example, the new Dutch Reformed church in Cape Town, the Roman Catholic church in Cape Town, and the Dutch Reformed church at George, of which the claims cannot possibly be rejected, if any grant be made to Graham's Town. Indeed, we do not clearly see at what point the claims upon the public revenue are to stop, if a congrega- tion so numerous and respectable as that of the Episcopal church of Graham's Town is to receive aid in the repairs of the building. Such a step appears to us to be the more questionable, inasmuch as the church itself is stated, in the memo- rial addressed to His Honour, to have been originally erected at Government expense. The necessity of accurately ascertaining, and undeviatingly acting upon, some fixed principles in regard to Government aid, was, probably, not perceived, in 1828, when the church was built by public funds ; but still the fact that so much has been already granted to the congregation in question, induces us to con- sider, that to apply to it the principle which may now be viewed as fixed, cannot justly be deemed a hardship. JOHN MONTAGU. HARRY RIVERS. W. PORTER. W. FIELD. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House^ Graham's Town, 5th July, 1847. His Excellency the Right Hon'ble Sir Henry Pottinger, Bt., G.C.B. Sir, — With reference to my letter of this date, on the appointment of a re-- sident magistrate, &c., at Richmond, in the district of Graaff-Reinet, I have the honour of forwarding a letter subsequently received, on the necessity for erecting a gaol and public offices in the village, which I request may be forwarded at the^ same time to the Council at Cape Town. I have, &c., H, E- F.. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governori. -r ! 134 Civil Commissioner's Office, Graaif-Reinet, His Honour Sir H. E. F. Young, 2nd July, 1847. Lieutenant-Governor. Sir, — Having submitted to Your Honour the expediency of establishing a seat of magistracy at Richmond, I should at the same time propose the erection of buildings for offices and a gaol, the expense of which, at the lowest estimation, cannot be computed at less than £1000, which sum, therefore, I take leave to suggest, may be put on the estimate of expen diture for 1848, which I had the honour of transmitting to you on the 17th June. I likewise take leave to request that an allowance of £15 for two stoves, and of £5 for fuel, for the use of the offices here, may be made, and that this amount may likewise be put on the estimate. These are necessaries, which, though never asked for before, are indispensable. I have, &c., W. C. van RYNEVELD, Civil Commissioner. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 5th July, 1 847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., G.C.B. Sir, — I have the honour of forwarding to Your Excellency a letter and its enclosures, from the civil commissioner of Graaff-Reinet, on the necessity of appointing a resident magistrate, and clerk of the peace, and field-cornet, in the village of Richmond, half-way between Graaff-Reinet and Colesberg ; and I beg strongly to recommend the appointments in question. I have, &c,, H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant Governor. Civil Commissioner's Office, Graaff-Reinet, His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, &c., &c., &c., 1st July, 1847. Graham's Town. Sir, — I avail myself of the first opportunity to transmit to your Honour a No. 1,29th June, 1847- gQpy Qf^ |g,.jgpjjj^p^g^ No. 1, reccivcd by me from Dr. Fehrszen, one of the justices of the peace for this division, representing the necessity of a magistracy being established at the village of Richmond, and suggesting the immediate appointment of a field-cornet resident in that village. No. 2, 1st May, 1845. From the copy of a letter, marked No. 2, addressed by me to the Honourable the Secretary to Government, Your Honour will find that more than two years ago, 1 felt it my duty to make a similar representation ; and I had the satisfaction afterwards to see that it was unanimously recommended by the committee of Coun- cil on the judicial establishment, as well as by the Honourable Mr, Justice Menzies, in one of the tables annexed to his letter, in which he also proposed to make provision for a clerk of the peace, to reside on the spot. Since my letter to Government above referred to, the village has greatly increased, as well in population as in the number of buildings, and the new church completed at an expense of £4000 ; and when it is considered that all this has been accomplished by the inhabitants, without any assistance from the Govern- ment, except that of paying the salary of the minister. Your Honor will not conTt sider it unreasonable, that they look forward to the Government to provide for the preservation of the peace and good order in the place. I may add, that the necessity for the appointment of a magistrate has become urgent, as I have been informed, that since two parties have taken out licences to deal in liquor at Richmond, the greatest irregularities are committed, and the 135 more respectable of the inhabitants are not free from being molested in the public streets. With regard to the appointment of a field-cornet, to reside in the village, the suggestion of Dr. Fehrszen is, under present circumstances, no doubt proper and necessary ; but in the event of a police being provided, I should think the present field-cornet, who resides twelve miles from the village, could continue in his office, and perform the duties of his whole ward, which includes the village of Richmond. This, however, is an arrangement which, I submit, should be left till after the appointment of the new magistrate ; but should I be informed by Your Honour that there is no immediate prospect of such an appointment, I shall then be prepared to submit my opinion on the subject. I have, &c., W. C. VAN RYNEVELD, Civil Commissioner. Graaff-Reinet, 29th June, 1847. To the Civil Commissioner of Graaflf-Reinet. Sir, — Having, the week before last, been called to the village of Richmond in my professional capacity, I had no sooner arrived there, than I was called upon to exercise my authority as a justice of the peace, in a case of a most unprovoked assault committed on a gentleman in the public street. And my principal object in writing to you on the subject, is to represent the absolute necessity of a field- cornet being appointed, to reside in the village. In the absence of such an officer, I was obliged to issue a summons where I would have been justified in granting a warrant of apprehension ; fortunately, the accused obeyed the summons ; but after I had determined to commit him for trial, I found there was no authority on the spot to whom I could give him in custody or charge, to be conveyed to Graaff- Reinet ; and had I not, towards the close of the evening, been relieved from the difficulty in which I found myself thus placed, by two parties coming forward as bail for him, I should have had no other alternative than to discharge a person whom I was in duty bound to commit. I need not point out to you the evil consequences that would have resulted from such a proceeding, in a place where there is neither police nor a prison, and where, from the great distance of the nearest seat of magistracy, outrages both on person and property are passed by, and are thus committed with impunity ; indeed, in the matter in which I was thus called upon to interfere, the injured party subsequently requested the case not be prosecuted, to avoid the expense and inconvenience of having to travel as a witness 84 miles to Graaff-Reinet. It is true that there is a justice of the peace resident in the village ; but with the limited powers of that officer, this gentleman also has to contend with the difficulty of having no gaol or police, and besides receiving no salary from Government, he has to attend to his private interests, which frequently calls him away from the place for weeks together. Under these circumstances, the inhabitants are anxiously looking out for the appointment of a resident magistrate ; and in consequence of the recommendation of the committee of Council on the Judicial Establishment, based, no doubt, on the trade, extent, and population of the village, they are sanguine, that Richmond will be one of the first places to which such an officer will be appointed. But, as I stated before, my immediate object in making this representation to you, is to suggest the appointment of a field-cornet, resident in the village, and I mention that Mr. Christoffel Verrauelen is generally considered a fit person, and is willing to undertake the office. I have no objection of your forwarding this letter to the Government, should you feel inclined to do so. I have, &c., OLOFF FEHRSZEN, M.D., Justice of the Peace, Graaff-Reinet. 136 Resident Magistrate's Office, GraafF-Reinet, 1st May, 1845. The Honourable the Chief Secretary to Government, &c., &c., &c. Colonial Office, Cape Town. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your circular letter of the 18th ultimo, relative to the appointment of additional magistrates throughout the colony, &c., &c. In reply to the first query, I beg to state that, in my opinion, the appointment of additional magistrates throughout the colony is absolutely required. There can be no doubt but that at present, from the great distance at which the greater number of inhabitants reside from the seat of magistracy, offences are passed over, which, from being thus committed with impunity, lead to the commission of greater crimes. A village has lately been established in this district, called Richmond, the distance of which from here is not less than 84 miles, and where 30 houses have already been built. There is a provisional church ; a large new church building is in the course of erection, and a clergyman appointed by Government on the spot ; the population of the village is 230 at present, and is daily increasing ; and of the great number of surrounding places, there is every prospect that Richmond will become a place of importance. That the want of magisterial authority must be seriously felt at such a place can easily be conceived, and, indeed, has been frequently represented to me by the field-cornet of that ward ; and when it is considered, that a paternal magis- trate on the spot would do more good, by his advice and example, than by the force of authority and coercion, I am confident that whatever number of additional magistrates may be appointed, Richmond will not be left without one. There are two other wards in this district, where it would be advisable to have magistrates appointed ; the first is the ward of Voor Sneeuwberg, which borders upon the Cradock and Colesberg districts, and the other is the ward of Camdeboo, which borders upon the Beaufort district. I am not prepared, at this moment, to point out the particular places on which these magistrates should reside ; but this may be afterwards fixed, should it be determined to provide magistrates for these wards respectively. My knowledge of the colony is not so much as to answer the second query with any degree of certainty, but I should conceive that magistrates would be required at Fort Beaufort and Bathurst, in the district of Albany, at Lange Kloof, between George and Uitenhage, at Swartberg and Victoria, in the district of Beaufort, and at Grootfontein, in the district of Colesberg ; the latter place, I must however observe, is private property, and this same observation will also apply to Voor Sneeuwberg and Camdeboo, in these districts, where there is no land at the disposal of Government fit to reside upon. I have, &c., W. C. VAN RYNEVELD, Resident Magistrate. MEMORANDUM. July 9, 1847. I send these two letters from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor regarding a resident magistrate, gaol, &c., at Richmond, that they may be laid before the Hon'ble the Executive Council, for their information and opinion. HENRY POTTINGER. 137 •i^q^ MINUTE. Colonial Office, July 19, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor. In obedience to the directions of the Right Honourable the Governor, we, the the members of the Executive Council, have considered the two accompanying letters from the Lieutenant-Governor, both dated the 5th instant, which have reference to the necessity of appointing a resident magistrate, a clerk of the peace, and a field-cornet, in the village of Richmond, in the district of Graaff-Reinet, and also for erecting a gaol and public offices in that village. The provision which His Excellency has lately made in the estimates of expenditure for the year 1848, for appointing eight additional resident magis- trates within the colony, will enable him, if he should think proper, to comply with His Honour's request, to appoint a resident magistrate at the village of Richmond ; and as it is probable that three of the new appointments will be made in the eastern districts, — and as Richmond was one of the places recommended m 1845 by the committee of the Legislative Council, for a new seat of magistracy, — we advise His Excellency to accede to His Honour's request. We do not advise the appointment of a clerk of the peace for Richmond, as under the arrangements about to be made in regard to those functionaries, and announced in His Excellency's finance minute to the Legislative Council of the 3rd instant, such an officer will be unnecessary, nor do we advise the appointment of a field-cornet in that village, because it will be unnecessary, seeing that the chief constable and police force, which would be appointed simultaneously with a resident magistrate, would render the appointment of a field-cornet useless. With regard to the erection of a gaol, we would suggest, that the same course be pursued, in reference to it, and the public offices also applied for by His Honour, as was lately proposed in a memorandum addressed to His Excel- lency by the Secretary to Government, respecting the gaol required for Fort Beaufort, namely, that they be erected by contract, upon payment of a stipulated rent for 25 years, if practicable, in preference to any other mode. JOHN MONTAGU.: ' HARRY RIVERS. WM. PORTER. W. FIELD. MEMORANDUM. July 29, 1847. If the expense of doing so would be trifling, I am disposed to think it might be desirable to have these papers printed, to accompany the estimates to the Secretary of State. I beg the Hon'ble the Secretary to Government will take the advice of the Hon'ble Members of the Executive Council on this point. They would tend to prove the readiness of my colleagties and myself to do all in our power to meet the views and wishes of His Honour, and of the memorialists of the eastern districts. They will also show the demands on the colonial treasury, present and prospective, and in that light may do good. HENRY POTTINGER. MEMORANDUM. 16th August, 1847. In explanation of this series of correspondence, it is as well that I should premise that, on Sir Henry Young's first arrival on the frontier, he came to Fort Peddie to pay me a visit, and thei'efore a good deal of our early official comma- 138 nication was verbal, as occasionally alluded to in these papers. This explanation will also account for some of the Lieutenant-Governor's letters being dated before his proclamation assuming charge of his Government. These papers will show — 1st. — That Mr. Hudson, junr., was transferred to be civil commissioner and resident magistrate at Somerset on the 3rd of May. 2nd. That Mr. Huntley was appointed clerk to the secretary of the Lieut.- Governor on the 8th of May. 3rd. — That Mr. Dyason, junr., was appointed to succeed Mr. Huntley as clerk to the resident magistrate of Port Elizabeth on the 8th of May. 4th. — That no secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor was appointed perma- nently to the Lieutenant-Governor till the 1st of July. Mr. Saunders, of the Ordnance department, did the duty, but was not gazetted, as the militaiy nuihorities objected to his transfer. Sir Henry Young was very anxious to get an engineer officer, either civil or military, as his secretary, but could not succeed, and there- fore he nominated Mr. J. C. Chase to that office, on the 1st of July. Mr. Saunders having officiated as secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor from the 28th of April to the 30th of June, has been allowed by me to draw the salary assigned to that appointment for the period. HENRY POTTINGER. N.B. — The Lieutenant-Governor's proclamation and circular, on assuming charge of his Government, reached me with a private note of the same date (28th of April, 1847). H. P. Eastern Districts, Cape of Good Hope. PROCLAMATION By His Honour Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Knight, Lieutenant-Governor, and Commander-in-Chief, in and over the Eastern Districts of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope. Whereas Her Majesty has been graciously pleased to appoint me, Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Knight, to be Lieutenant-Governor in and over the distinct and separate Government of the eastern districts of this colony ; and has author- ised and required me to exercise and perform, within the said districts, all and singular the powers and authorities which are contained in Her Majesty's Com- mission to the Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Cape of Good Hope, subject always to the contingency of the said Governor and Commander-in-Chief, in a specified manner, reviving his power and authority over the said districts, and assuming the Government thereof; and subject also to certain other provisions relating to the legislative and judicial establishments of the said colony ; — I do, therefore, hereby issue this my proclamation, making known that the customary oaths of office having been by me duly taken and subscribed, the distinct and separate government of the said districts hath devolved to, and been assumed by, me. And, in Her Majesty's name, I do hereby strictly charge and command all officers, civil and military, and all other inhabitants of the said eastern districts, to obey me as Lieutenant-Governor, exercising the aforesaid powers and authorities accordingly. GOD SAVE THE QUEEN ! Given under my Hand and Seal at the Court House at Graham's Town, in Albany, one of the Eastern Districts of the Cape of Good Hope, this 28th day of April, 1847, and in the eleventh year of Her Majesty's reign. H. E, F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. 139 GOVERNMENT NOTICES. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 28th April, 184.7. All notices appearing in the newspaper styled the GrahairHs Town Journal, and bearing my signature, or that of my secretary, are to be received as being intended for the more prompt information and guidance of all persons holding local civil offices of trust or emolument in the eastern districts, and more espe- cially of those civil officers to whom such notices may specially refer. H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Government Oflace, Graham's Town, 28th April, 1847. With reference to the following extract from Her Majesty's instructions to the Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts, namely, " All public officers, whether civil or military, within the eastern districts, will correspond officially with the Lieutenant-Governor only, and will obey his lawful instructions ; " Sir Henry E. F. Young requests that no official communication may be addressed to him, as Lieutenant-Governor, by any military or civil functionary, except through the medium, wherever practicable, of the immediately superior officer of such functionary, whether civil or military. Official communications from civil or military officers to the Lieutenant-Gover- nor, must have reference to the public service of the eastern districts exclusively. The Lieutenant-Governor will apply to His Excellency the Right Honour- able the Governor, Commander-in-chief, and High Commissioner, for such instruc- tions as he may require for his guidance, and to all His Excellency's lawful- instructions, whether solicited or not, the Lieutenant-Governor will yield implicit obedience. H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. CIRCULAR. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 28th April, 1847. To the Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate of Sir, — I enclose for your information and guidance, copies of a proclamation and of Government notices, which have been issued by me on assuming the distinct and separate Government of the eastern districts of the Cape of Good Hope. You will be good enough to cause them to be made extensively and generally known throughout the limits of your official jurisdiction or charge. I am very desirous that the most frank and unreserved communication should exist between us in reference to the official transactions of your office, and I assure you of my sincere intention to uphold, by all the means in my power, the efficiency and respectability of your official position, and of my wish to receive in return from you, a zealous co-operation in that studious promotion of the public service, which is the paramount duty of our respective offices and the tenure by which they are held. At the very commencement of my administration — whilst I have no personal acquaintance with you— and in this form of a circular letter (which being addressed to all civil commissioners and resident magistrates, cannot be construed as being individually directed to the admonition of any individual officer), I think it expedient to advert to one or two cardinal regulations of the public service, which, if constantly borne in mind and honestly acted up to, cannot but redound to the X 2 140 ^ honour of your office, to the credit of the local Government, and to the benefit of the public, whose servants we all in common are, each in his deprce and order. The first is, that claims, payable out of the public treasury, should he as sparingly incurred, as economically regulated, as severely scrutinised, as if they were to be defrayed out of the most limited resources, personal means, or private purse, of any unofficial individual. 2ndly. That no official person shall have any interest, direct or indirect, in the accounts against the public treasury, to which his certificate nmy be attached, or in which his official intervention in any manner or way has been invoked, or has been rendered necessary. I have received the most express assurances of support from the Right Hon- ourable Sir Henry Pottinger, my immediate superior, in the fixed determimition to maintain and vindicate, in the foregoing respects, the efficiency and purity of all classes and ranks of the civil officers of the local government of the eastern districts, and that any necessary and proper degree of severity, even to the removal from office, which it may become incumbent on me to exercise towards public servants, in these respects, will receive his countenance and approbation. You will decline to sanction any claim being incurred against the local gov- ernment of a pecuniary nature, without my express sanction being previously obtained in writing; and in submitting such claim or proposed claim to my notice, for allowance, you will not fail distinctly to report whether or not there be on the public estimates of moneys to be appropriated to public purposes, any item or provision out of which the said claim may lawfully be paid. You will, on every practicable occasion, resort to public and open compe- tition, and to express written contracts, in regard to all pecuniary transactions, payable out of the public treasury. You will, in your correspondence with me or my secretary, avoid mixing up or including in one and the same communication, distinct and separate matters of business ; but assign each topic to a different and distinct written statement ; as, for example, revenue and finance in a letter unconnected with police, religion, education, or public works ; and each of these last-named, and other similarly distinct subjects, are to be set forth in separate official letters. I shall be happy to advise with you, and to assist to the utmost of my power, in the extension of religion and education in your district, and in the furtherance of all local improvements, moral or physical; and I shall esteem it a great advan- tage to be at all times favoured with any suggestion on these points wliicb it may occur to you or others to make. In conclusion, I rely on your acceptance of my present instructions, in the cordial spirit of respect and esteem for your official character and person ; and of zeal and anxiety for the good of the public service, which have induced me thus early to issue them. I trust, also, that you will give me an early opportunity of having the advantage of a personal intercourse with you, provided your public duties at present will admit of your absence for a day from your district. I have, &c., H. E F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Fort Peddle, SGth April, 1847. The Right Honourable the Governor, &c. &c. &c. Sir, — The house formerly occupied by the Lieutenant-Governor of the east- ern districts, as his official residence, at a rent of £300, having been for some time past unappropriated for that purpose, and being at present, otherwise disposed of by its proprietor, I have to solicit Your Excellency's sanction to my obtaining at Graham's Town, some other suitable official residence, at a rent not exceeding the cusiomary rate, and causing the same, at the public expense, to be decently furnished, in terms of the existing colonial regulations. 141 I shall feel obliged by Your Excellency's early decision on this application, as T am at present subjected to the inconvenience and expense of defraying the cost of my lodging at an hotel, and cannot, with prudence, make other arrange- ments until I shall receive the honour of your instructions. I have, &c., H. E. F, YOUNG. Camp at Fort Peddie, April 27, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry E. F. Young, Kt. Sir, — In acknowledging the receipt of your Honour's' letter of yesterday's date, I have the honour to convey to you my sanction to your providing yourself with an official residence at Graham's Town, and furnishing the same in the manner and on the terms you propose. I have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. Fort Peddie, 26th April, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., G.C.B. Sir, — Concurring as I do with Your Excellency, as verbally expressed to me, in the very great probability that Mr. H. Hudson, jr., has received from the Right Honourable the Secretary of State a nomination to the office of Secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor, under a misapprehension of the intentions of the then local authorities, I have, nevertheless, in consideration of his present expec- tations and alleged claims, no alternative but respectfully to move Your Excellency to approve of my authorising him to act in the above capacity, until the pleasure of the Secretary of State shall be further taken on the subject. It is, however, satisfactory to me to know that Your Excellency coincides with me in opinion, that Mr. H. Hudson, jr., is both in respect to his past services and his local connexions, not the most eligible person to fill that office, if he can be otherwise suitably provided for. To remedy, as far as possible the incon- venience to the public service which may result in a colony such as the eastern districts, from the Messrs. Hudson, father and son, filling important offices in the same immediate locality, I submit that the clerk to the Lieutenant-Governor's Secretary, on the present salary of £150, should be styled Assistant Secretary, and that, under this designation, the latter office be offered to Lieutenant Owen, of the Royal Engineers. In the event of Mr. Hudson, jr., not retaining permanently the office of Secretary to the Lieutenant-Governor, and that Lieutenant Owen should be found, on trial, well qualified to promote the interests of the public civil service, I should be happy to advise his promotion to the vacancy which may hereafter be occasioned by Mr. Hudson's ceasing to hold the office of secretary, by transfer to some other appointment. I have therefore to request that Your Excellency will be pleased to obtain the sanction of the Lieutenant-General commanding the forces to the employment of Lieutenant Owen, of the Royal Engineers, or of some other officer of that corps, in the civil service of the Lieutenant-Governor, in the manner here proposed. I am not aware that the performance of this particular service would interfere with any military duties that might be assigned to him in Graham's Town ; but at all events an Engineer officer, either detached from his ordinary military duties, or holding the office of assistant secretary jointly with his professional occupations, is likely to render essential service to the general interests of Her Majesty's subjects in this colony, which stands in need of so much internal improvement. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNQ, 142 •>->'-*tifH*^ Camp Fort Peddie, 27th April, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry Edward F. Young, Kt,, Lieutenant-Governor, &c. &c. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Honour's letter of yesterday's date, regarding the appointment of your secretary and clerk. I have most carefully and impartially considered the papers laid before me on those points, and the only opinion I can arrive at is, that Mr. Hudson, junior, was not entitled, by the usages of the service, — looking to his rank and standing, — to expect to be nominated permanently to the situation of Secretaiy to the Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts. As, however, that gentleman has been so appointed under the authority of Her Majesty's warrant, it only remains for us to render implicit obedience to the Queen's gracious commands, by allowing him to resume his appointment, accom- panied by an intimation that the matter is still to be considered as open to a reference to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State. You are already aware that Mr. Hudson, senior, has submitted a memorial to the Secretary of State, praying on certain grounds to be transferred from the civil commissionership of Albany to that of Uitenhage, and that that memorial has been forwarded to me for report. I will now send the case to you to investi- gate, and should there hereafter appear good grounds for our joint recommenda- tion of a compliance with the prayer of the memorial, it will, I think, remove one very strong objection to Mr. Hudson, junior's, continuance in office as your secretary. I shall submit to the Lieutenant-General commanding, &c.. your wish to have the services of Lieutenant Owen of the Engineers placed at your disposal as assistant secretary, to which designation, instead of that of clerk, no objection occurs to me ; but I apprehend that, in the existing great demand for officers of that branch of Her Majesty's service in this colony, it will not be in the Lieutenant-General's power to accede to your request. Besides which, I do not believe that any combination of civil and military functions such as you suggest would be admissible by the regulations of the service. I 1I&V6 &c. HENRY POTTINGER. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 3rd May, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Baronet, G.C.B,, &c. &c. &c. Sir, — I have the honour to report to Your Excellency, that in pursuance of your authority to me, the office of civil commissioner and resident magistrate of Somerset, vacant by the transfer of the services of Mr. E. M. Cole to the office of commissioner, &c., at Shiloh, has been offered to and accepted by Mr. H. Hudson, junior. Annexed are copies of my letters to that gentleman, of his reply, and of the government notice to be issued thereupon, and I have to request that report of this change of office may be made to the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, for his Lordship's approval. I hope at an early date to be enabled to report the completion of the arrange- ments respecting the appointment of the Lieutenant-Governor's secretary and clerk, in regard to which appointments I have already had the honour of obtain- ing your Excellency's concurrence. I have; &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Uff^M, Camp, Fort Peddie, May 5, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry Young, &c. &c. &c. Sir — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of Your Honour's letter of the 3rd instant, and to convey to you my concurrence and sanction to the arrangement for transferring Mr. Hudson, junior, to the office of civil commissioner at Somerset. I return the documents which accompanied your letter, and will defer addressing the Secretary of State until I know your arrangements regard- ing your secretary, .^c. I have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 12th May, 1847. His Excellency the Right Hon'ble Sir Henry Pottinger, Bt., G.C.B. Sir, — Having already received Your Excellency's approval of my nomi- nation of Mr. C. H. Huntly to be clerk to the secretary to the Lieutenant- Governor, that gentleman has been duly gazetted to the office ; an office which he filled during the administration of my predecessor. General Hare, and which he relinquished whilst the appointment of Lieutenant-Governor was in abeyance, and served in the situation of clerk to the resident magistrate of Port Elizabeth. This lastnamed office has consequently become vacant, by the return of Mr. Huntly to his former post in the Lieutenant-Governor's department ; and for it, viz., the clerkship to the magistrate at Port Elizabeth, I have respectfully to submit the name of Mr. Dyason. junior. Captain Lloyd, the resident magistrate at Port Elizabeth, is desirous that his own son, Mr. Lloyd, junior, should succeed Mr. Huntly. On public grounds, however, I cannot advise a compliance, in this instance, with Captain Lloyd's wishes. I believe Mr. Dyason, junior, to be eligible for the office, and he has the advantage of being unbiassed by local connexions at Port Elizabeth. His father is the respectable resident justice at Bathurst, — an office very much underpaid at the present salary of £100 per annum. Mr. Dyason, senior, has been very many years in the public service, and from my own shght personal acquaintance, and the reports of others better quali- fied to judge, I deem him to be an intelligent and deserving officer. He has a family of 12 children. Under all these circumstances, I beg respectfully to move Your Excellency, that Mr. Dyason, junior, be appointed clerk to the resident magistrate at Port Elizabeth, vice Huntly. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Camp, Fort Peddie, May 17, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry Young, Knight, Lieutenant-Governor. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Honour's letter of the 12th instant, proposing Mr. Dyason, junior, as clerk to the resident magis- trate of Port Elizabeth, vice Huntly, removed to be clerk to your secretary, and beg to express my concurrence in your proposal. I have, &.C., . n^ HENRY POTTINGER. 144 No. 45. — Political. Camp, Fort Peddie, May 1, 1847. The Right Honourable the Earl Grey, Secretary of State. My Lord, — I have the honour to forward for Your Lordship's information, a copy of a letter which I have this day written to the Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts of this colony, referring to Your Lordship's despatch to my address, No. 35, of the 1 5th of February last. The result of Sir Henry Young's investigation will hereafter be submitted, together with any modification of the opinion I now express, that may happen to become requisite. 1 nave &c HENRY POTTINGER. Camp, Fort Peddie, May i, 1847. To His Honour Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Knight, Lieutenant Governor, &c., &c. Sir, — I have the honour to forward to Your Honour a copy of a despatch. No. 35, of the 15th of February last, from the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, to my address, calling on me to investigate and report on certain allega- tions set forth by the Rev. Wm. Elliott, as to unjust and arbitrary steps taken by the municipal officers of Uitenhage, against Fmgoes and other natives, who were directed by your predecessor to be allowed to locate at that place. Lord Grey's despatch is accompanied by a large accumulation of correspon- dence and documents, which have been sent to me from the Government archives at Cape Town, and I likewise transmit, as bearing immediately on the question, a private note, with a memorandum and other papers, which I received from the Rev. Mr. Elliott, before I left England. I have read this large mass of papers with all the attention I could command amidst my other laborious duties. I cannot discover that any reply was given by my predecessor to Mr. Elliott's memorial up to the 15th of July, 1845, No. 10 of one of series of the papers ; but there is ample proof that no pains were spared in inquiring into the statements it contains. And I may add, without the most remote idea of influencing your Honour's judgment, that 1 have risen from the perusal of the whole, with the impression that every fitting consideration has been shown towards the native classes, consistently with the general interests and public good of the town of Uitenhage. The calamitousevents of the war, which have spread such desolation and misery over a large portion of the eastern districts of the colony, will, I fear, be found, when you come to look into these matters, to have caused great and lamentable changes in the condition as well as habits of the Fingoes ; and, indeed, of all the other native tribes throughout the eastern end of the colony, by drawing their ideas and feelings from peaceful pursuits to those of rapine and war, and by further introducing amongst them an almost universal notion that Government is prepared to support permanently, not only themselves, but their families, on the terms of their simply affording the military service to the state. To a certain extent, perhaps, at one period of the war, this notion was a natural one, as every man who could be called forth, seems to have been demanded for the defence of the colony ; but it obviously should have ceased with the extreme emergency ; and that, 1 apprehend, has not been the case. From the returns which have been partially sent in, in obedience to the Government notices of the 3d and 10th of last month, I can already see that there are immense bodies of Fingoes employed in levies, &c. (at least, nominally so), who ought to be occu- pied in agriculture, and who, I cannot perceive, are now rendering themselves 145 useful, whilst they are neglecting their lands and labour at this important season of tilling and sowing. I have been, and am taking steps to remedy this evil as generally as may be possible ; and I think it desirable to draw your Honour's attention to it, as you will most likely discover, at the very outset of your investigations, the truth of the remarks I make, and the consequent urgency for speedy and final reform. I have, &c., HENRY POTTING ER. No. 35. Downing- street, 15th February, 1847. The Right Hon'ble Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart. Sir, — I avail myself of the approaching departure from this country of Mr. Young, to assume the office of Lieutenant-Governor of the eastern districts of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, to convey to you the following instructions, respecting the present condition and the future treatment of some of the native inhabitants of those districts. In the month of Nov. last, the Rev. Wm. Elliott, a missionary in the employ- ment of the London Missionary Society, laid before me a memorandum, of which I enclose a copy, representing the injustice inflicted by the municipal corporation of Uitenhage on the Fingoes, and on other of the natives living in the iinsnediate vicinity of that place. Mr. Elliott also placed in my hands a memorial, which, on the 15th July, 1845, was addressed by himself to your predecessor, on the same subject. I enclose a copy of that memorial, though you will probably find the original among the records of your Government. Yet, as no communi- cation respecting it appears to have reached this office, it may possibly have escaped Sir P. Maitland's attention. The general result of Mr. Elliott's statements is, that before the establishment of the municipality of Uitenhage, the Fingoes were settled by Sir Benjamin D'Urban on crown lands in that vicinity, — that they continued for some years in the undisturbed enjoyment of those lands, — that their conduct while resident there was habitually marked by diligence and propriety, — that they erected on the lands many dwellings, and cultivated several small parcels of ground, and depastured there a few head of cattle, — and that these proceedings were expressly sanctioned by the local Government. But, when the municipality of Uitenhage was established, the condition of these people underwent (as Mr. Elliott represents the case) a material change for the worse. Some of them were turned out of their lands, others were permitted to remain on them, but on terras so vexatious as to be, in the result, equivalent to an actual ejectment. They were thus compelled to abandon their dwellings and their growing crops, and to become vagrants in the bush, or wherever else they could find a place of refuge. / Such is Mr. Elliott's understanding and statement of the facts. I trust that his information may prove to have been either erroneous or defective. The silence of Sir P. Maitland might seem to justify the belief that, on inquiry, he had either discovered the complaint to be unfounded, or had been unable to atford effectual and complete redress. I cannot, however, satisfy myself with these mere surmises, however reason- able they may appear. I must request from yourself a full report as to the real facts of the case, and . of any measures which may have been taken by Sir P. Maitland on his receipt of Mr. Elliott's memorial of July, 1845. I am desirous to know, in as much detail as may be practicable, how far the grievances represented by Mr. EUiott were found, on inquiry, to exist, — how far they are still existing, — and what is the actual condition of the Fingoes in question, and of the other natives who are said to have partaken of the same hardships. 146 If I should proceed on the supposition that Mr. Elliott's information is accu- rate, it would first seem to follow that the municipality of Uitenhage are in possession of a large tract of crown land, not required for the objects of their incorporation. Such lands, in the immediate vicinity of the town, as it may be necessary to occupy to ensure the good order and cleanliness of the place, or the health, comfort, and security of the inhabitants, may very properly be placed under their management. But there would seem to be no sufficient reason for assigning to this, or to any other of the colonial municipalities, any crown lands not required for those purposes. The territorial possessions of any such body ought to be carefully restricted within the limits I have mentioned, and the law should pre- cisely define the extent and the limits of them. If, however, the lands in question are not lawfully vested in the municipality of Uitenhage, and if they have made an illegal use of their powers in the ejectment of the natives settled in their neighbourhood, you will cause the necessary measures to be immediately taken for the reinstatement of those persons in their rights. Or, if the result of your inquiry shall be to show that the ejectment was well-founded in point of law, and that the municipality have made an unjust use of powers strictly and technically lawful, you will consider how far it may be right that the law should abridge those powers, and should take effectual security against the repetition of any such abuse of them. But if, on the other hand, the result of your inquiry shoud be to show that the ejectments in question were not only lawful, but also reasonable and just, you will then consider whether compensation cannot be made to the sufferers, by the assignment to them of crown lands, for their maintenance in the nearest practicable vicinity to those of which they have been dispossessed. Mr. Elliott believes that there is abundance of such land available for that purpose in that neighbourhood. I do not overlook or undervalue the benefit which might be derived from the removal of these people to a greater distance, and from their migration to the eastern frontier of the colony. As settlers, they might be of the greatest advan- tage to the colony at large. But it is an advantage to be obtained only by their free and spontaneous migration. Even if it were not unjust, it would be unrea- sonable and dangerous to eftect settlements on the eastern frontier by expelling unoffending men from homes created by their own industry, and with the express sanction of the Government under which they live. To whatever extent the Fingoes or other native tribes may be spontaneously and freely disposed to migrate to the frontier, and to take up their residence there, it is a measure to which too much encouragement cannot be given. You are well acquainted with the principle on which the village communities of India are organized ; and on a similar principle it might perhaps become practicable to establish similar settlements of Fingoes and other native inhabitants on the terri- tories which are hereafter to separate the colony from the Kafir territory. The terms upon which land should be assigned to the inhabitants of such frontier villages would require to be carefully considered, and I am of opinion that it would be highly desirable (for the reasons I have stated in former despatches) that the land so held should be subject to a moderate tax or rent, which might probably afford the means of raising either the whole or some considerable part of the funds required to defray the expense of schools, of missions, and of the administration of the law in petty cases among them. If at the commencement of such settlements it should be found difficult to obtain from them money payments, the practice so universal in the earlier ages of the world, and still prevailing in many countries, of deriving a revenue from land by requiring the payment in kind of a tithe of the gross produce of the soil, might, , I think, be adopted with advantage. It is true that in a more advanced state of society, when capital comes to be invested in permanent improvements, such a mode of imposing a charge upon land is in the highest degree burthensome and oppressive ; but experience proves that such a system has from the earliest ages been found well adapted to the wants and habits of men in the first stages of civi- 147 lization. I should see, therefore, no objection to the .adoption of such a system, provided the occupier of the soil were invested with the right of paying, in lieu of tithe, some small fixed amount of money, whenever he should find it his interest to do so. Any such money payment should be in the form of a low acreable, charge, without reference to the quality of the land. The villages themselves might be made strongholds for the protection, not only of the actual inhabitants, but of the adjacent country. The establishment of such communities might be made sub- servient to the extension of Christianity, through the agency of the schools and missionaries, and of civilization, by the occasional, but regular, employment, both of the schoolmaster and the missionary, in teaching many of the arts of social life. Among those arts, there are none which would apparently be of more value at the Cape of Good Hope than all those connected with improved agriculture, and more especially that of irrigation. There is hardly any region of the earth in which the benefit of artificial irrigation would be greater, nor where the facility for constructing tanks is believed to be more considerable. The steep gullies everywhere intersecting the long mountain ranges, must afford many opportuni- ties for forming reservoirs of water, by throwing dams across their mouths, and the heavy rains which are at present carried off in useless or dangerous torrents, might, as it should seem, be collected with great facility in such places, as the means of fertilizing, in the drier season, the whole of the lower country. The inhabitants of the villages I contemplate might thus, in many ways, be rendered eminently useful members of the colony. They might be of yet further advantage, partly as supplying recruits to any black regiments which might be established and quartered in their vicinity, and partly as forming the nucleus of a native frontier militia, who might be well relied on for the defence of their own homes, and for arresting any future invasions of the Kafir tribes. I limit myself to this brief indication of the uses to which such communities might apparently be turned, for I am well aware that on such a subject, it is impossible at this distance to make any useful advance beyond the general prin- ciple, and that all subordinate details must be filled up within the colony itself by the experience, the local knowledge, and the practical skill of the colonial govern- ment and legislature. To that legislature, however, it seems to me that one other suggestion ought to be made, in connexion with any plan of settling the frontier through voluntary emigrants from the interior. Such emigfants might not un- naturally, betake themselves to the rearing of sheep and cattle, according to the ancient and general habits of the colonists. But it is on every account desirable that their energies should be rather directed to agriculture ; and as the cattle and sheep form the great temptation to the invasion of our terri- tory, and is thus the cause of a large part of the expense of defending it, I think it would be at once equitable and politic to impose on cattle and sheep, depastured in the eastern districts, a rate or tax according to their numbers. I believe that no insuperable diflficulty would arise in the apportionment and collection of such an impost. If so imposed, it would, at the same time, afford an addition to the revenue, applicable to the improvement and protection of the proposed villages, and also somewhat discourage the employment of labour and capital in a manner which, in the peculiar circumstances of these districts, must be far less favourable than the cultivation of the soil to the advancement of civilization, and to the safety and prosperity of the colony. I have, &c., GREY. Uitenhage, 15th July, 1845. To His Excellency Sir P. Maitland. The memorial of W. Elliott, missionary, humbly sheweth : — That for many years past, a considerable number of Fingoes, Basutos, Hottentots, and late u 2 148 apprentices, forming a large portion of the most valuable class of labourers, have been allowed by the local authorities to locate themselves on Government lands in the neighbourhood of the town of Uitenhage. That on the recent formation of the municipality, these persons were virtually withdrawn from the protection of the magistrates in regard to the enjoyment of the privileges which had been accorded them by the local authorities, by the commissioners of the municipality being invested with uncontrolled power over the town commonage, a power of which they have manifested a determination to avail themselves, by repeatedly attempting to eject the abovementioned persons of colour from their locations on the town commonage. That in consequence of the procedures of the commissioners, a very con- siderable number of valuable labourers, together with their families, have left the village to seek a refuge beyond the frontiers. That notwithstanding the intentions of the colonial Government, indicated by a letter from the Secretary, Mr. Montagu, bearing date November 15, 1844, in which it is expressly declared that the abovementioned persons ought not to be removed, and that " they ought not to have any fresh conditions imposed upon their locations, because, as the muni- cipality received the land with these people upon it, they have no right to disturb them," these persons are still exposed to those annoying interferences which cause them all to feel uncertainty as to their position ; and many of them contemplate the abandonment of a village where they find themselves under the unmitigated control of the class of society immediately above them, and beyond the shield of the colonial Government. That the nature of the interference complained of is illustrated by the following case. In October, 1843, four Basutos, of irreproachable character, well known industry, and prosperous circnnistances, were cast into prison by the clerk of the commissioners on an absurd charge of vagrancy, in accommodation to a friend, to whom the location of these persons was a desideratum. The prisoners were discharged on the clerk of the peace finding no ground of prose- cution. Two of these persons are now ordered by the commissioners, from a similar motive, to quit their locations, and abandon or destroy the house they have erected at their own expense, and occupied many years. Your memorialist is persuaded that the colonial Government could never have anticipated such a gross abuse of the extensive powers with which it has invested the municipality ; and, urged by the entreaties of a great number of worthy and industrious families who feel themselves exposed to crushing oppression, humbly prays that Your Excellency will be pleased to sanction and enforce some arrangement, by which such of the Hottentots and late apprentices as have erected houses and cultivated gardens on the town commonage, by the sanction of the local authorities, should have the opportunity of purchasing, on such easy conditions as would be within reach of their limited means, the little plots of ground which they have occupied many years ; and that Your Excellency would be pleased to adopt such measures as Your Excellency's wisdom will suggest, for protecting the Fingoes and Basutos in the undisturbed enjoyment of those privileges which have been allowed them by the colonial Government. And your memorialist, as in duty bound, will ever pray. W. ELLIOTT, Missionary of the London Society. At the close of the Kafir war in 1835, some thousand Fingoes, who had been driven by their enemies into KafFraria Proper, and had fallen into a state of vassalage to the Kafir chief Hintza, were rescued from bondage by the British troops, and located in the frontier provinces of the colony of the Cape of Good Hope, by His Excellency the Governor, Sir B. D'Urban, with the twofold design of providing a refiige for these oppressed foreigners, and supplying the colonists with a valuable body of free labourers. 149 For some years these strangers continued in the undisturbed enjoyment of the locations which had been accorded them by the local authorities ; considerable numbers of them engaged themselves in the service of the colonists as herds, labourers, or domestic servants, and others obtained their livelihood by supplying the inhabitants of the frontier towns and villages with milk and firewood, at a very reduced rate. They conducted themselves generally with great propriety, and the records of the local courts of justice bear testimony to the extreme paucity of cases of delinquency among them. A few years ago, municipal governments were established in several of the frontier towns and villages, with such power over the town lands, as seriously to interfere with the long enjoyed privileges of the Fingoes and other persons of colour, who had been suffered by the local authorities to erect buildings, cultivate little patches of ground, and depasture a few head of cattle on those lands. Soon after the establishment of these munici- palities it was perceived that the situation of the Fingoes, and other classes of the coloured population similarly circumstanced, was become exceedingly precarious. In some instances they received summary notice to quit their locations, on pain of having their property destroyed ; and in others the conditions of their remaining on the town lands were made so vexatious as to amount to a notice of ejectment. The industrial habits of these deserving people were constantly disturbed ; many families were obliged, notwithstanding the reiterated assurances of the colonial Government that they should not be disturbed, to abandon their dwellings and their unripe crops, and betake themselves as vagrants to the jungle, or wherever they could find a place of refuge, and the progress of civilization has become seriously impeded by that feeling of insecurity which universally obtains among the coloured inhabitants of the colony, who had fondly calculated on the con- tinuance of protection from the colonial Government, but who now find the shield of that Government withdrawn from them . The colonial Government has ample resources in disposable Government lands, for the satisfactory accommodation of those classes of the coloured popula- tion that are now thrown into the greatest embarrassment by the arrangement of the municipal authorities; and so far from such an accommodation being in any respect injurious to the interests of the colonists generally, those interests would be greatly promoted by it, inasmuch as it would secure the formation and improvement of an industrious peasantry. The very valuable services which the Fingoes, Hottentots, and other persons of colour have rendered to the colony during the present Kafir war will preclude any doubt as to their claims on the kind consideration of H. M. Government, or as to the policy of securing their willing and grateful services, as efficient auxiliaries to the colonial forces. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Grahkm's Town, 26th May, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart, G.C.B., &c., &c., &c. Sir, — I have had the honour to receive Your Excellency's despatch of the 1st instant, enclosing a copy of despatch No. 35, of the 15th February last, from the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, respecting the Fingoes of Uitenhage, and their treatment by the municipality of that place. I beg to state that the subject has been referred to the civil commissioner of Uitenhage, with whom I have recently personally conferred on the general actual condition of the Uitenhage Fingoes. and the propriety of adopting measures for effectually affording them, for the future, the utmost security in their locations, and also for enabling them to make greater advances towards civilization than have hitherto resulted from their residence within the colony. On the case of the Uitenhage Fingoes I shall make a special report, so soon as the civil commissioner of that district enables me to do so. 150 In the meanwhile I beg to advert to the condition of the Fingoes, in the neighbourhood of this town and Port Elizabeth, who, unlike the Uitenhage Fingoes as yet, have already come under my own personal observation, and whose cases are not, as far as I know, complicated by any disputes with the local civil authorities. I am aware that Your Excellency concurs in opinion with me, that these people throughout the colony, as a body, are in a most barbarous condition, exhibiting but in a very limited degree, and only in a few rare instances, any perceptible signs of having derived benefit from missionary exertions to promote their civilization. For my part, neither among the negroes of the West Indies, nor the aborigines of Guiana, have I ever witnessed so many human beings in so savage and disgraceful a state. The annexed copy of a letter to the resident magistrate at Port Elizabeth, immediately after being sworn into office, affords one instance of the extent of habitual callousness to the most ordinary decency, with which these people are at present imbued ; a toleration of which, I have reason to suppose, is terminated, so far as regards their personal appearance in that town, by my instructions to the magistrate. Precisely the same open and general indecency, hitherto prevailing at Port Elizabeth, is not witnessed at Graham's Town ; nevertheless, at a very short distance from the inhabited part of this town, in the adjacent Fingo villages, utter disregard of the most common decencies of life, as observed in other parts of the world, are frequently to be met with ; and on very creditable testimony, it is believed that degrading habits and customs only read of as existing in the most barbarous and remote parts of this continent, scarcely known to civilised men, are still rife in a very large proportion of the Fingo huts of Graham's Town. It is true, that as respects the small number of these people under missionary influence, and when actual attendants at chapel, decent and proper clothing is reported to me to be invariably required from, and is used by, them : but the influence of these civilized Fingoes has had no perceptible effect on that much larger number of their countrymen who are as yet uninstructed. Moreover, the improvement of those who are in some degree civilized, is retarded by the present tolerated barbarism of their neighbours in the same village. The fruits of the industry of the Fingoes are not exhibited in their external condition ; nor in the acquisition of any property, except cattle ; and the services of those Fingoes who are now embodied as native levies, in aid of the regular military force of the colony, although hitherto obtained by the pernicious system which Your Excellency repressed, of supporting their wives and children, in addition to the pay and rations of the men, would, I fear, have scarcely procured their enlistment, had not the temptation of participating in the booty of captured cattle presented itself to their minds as a probable further gain to be derived from military service. The most casual inspection of the huts, of all classes of Fingoes, is sufficient to show that, so far from cleanliness and decency being practicable in such abodes, they are only fit for, and can only be compared to, the dens of wild beasts, and exhibit no greater ingenuity of construction than the round mounds of ant-hills, with which the country harmlessly abounds. The low circular form of these huts, the filthy and fragile materials of which they are composed, the absence of all openings for air and light, except the soli- tary place of ingress, which is evidently framed not with a view so much to the health and convenience of the inmates, as for the purpose of placing in a crouch- ing and disadvantageous posture any hostile intruder about to enter the den, — dwellings such as these are evidently unfit for the use of men destined to be civilized. It is superfluous to add that, independently altogether of the common charity which prompts to the amelioration of the condition of these people, it is highly impolitic, and must, eventually, turn out dangerous, to retain hordes of savages in immediate contiguity to our town ; living witfiout improvement, without any gradual adoption of our manners and customs ; ignorant of our language, and holding converse with us through an interpreter ; without any progressive appre- ciation of all that is necessary to the comfort, convenience, and safety of social intercourse, and without the influence of those incitements to industry, which a sympathy with civilized wants must impart. Should greater success not in future attend our plans for their civilization, and for a more perfect amalgamation between these people and ourselves, than now exists, the natural increase of the present colonial population of the town, independently of any influx of emigrants, will inevitably, one day or other, incon- veniently press on the growing numbers of the neighbouring Fingoes, and the collision between the two races, thus severed from each other by dissimilar habits and customs, will prove quite as disastrous, if not more so, than any that has yet taken place between the present colonists and the comparatively distant Kafir tribes. In these views I do not presume to imagine that there is anything of novelty presented to Your Excellency's experienced judgment. My object in adverting to them is to obtain your sanction to the attempt to induce the Fingoes of this town to form themselves into communities, under proper rules and regula- tions, to be enforced with the aid of the sanction of law, and administered by their own head men ; by which the construction of their cottages, — the cleanliness of their villages,— the condition of their grounds by enclosures, — the dress of the villagers, — and the systematic instruction of their youth, — shall all be rendered more conformable to their own true and permanent interests, and the advantage of the European colonists, than is the case at present. I have consulted with the Wesleyan missionary, the Rev. Mr. Shaw, who is generally reported to have influence over the most intelligent of the Graham's Town Fingoes ; and he, concurring with my plans, has promised me his best aid in carrying them into practical execution. The great inducement however to the Fingoes to consent to my measures for approximating them nearer to the stations of civilized men, than they have as yet attained, will be to secure to them, by legal titles, the possession of their present locations ; and for this purpose I respectfully move Your Excellency to sanction a departure from the rule respecting the disposal of Crown land, which requires it to be disposed of at an upset price, in quantities not less than 100 acres. I propose issuing to each head of the family inhabiting a Fingo hut, a grant of two acres of land, on condition of erecting a cottage, in a prescribed manner, enclosing the ground and paying an annual tax of one pound sterling, to be for ever hereafter exclusively expended on the general improvement of the village in which his cottage is situate, and in the maintenance of the educational establishment to be formed in the village. I annex a census, which I have recently taken from the Graham's Town Fingoes. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Eastern Districts, Cape of Good Hope. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 29th April, 1847. Captain Lloyd, Resident Magistrate, Port Elizabeth. Sir, — In the municipal regulations of Graham's Town, number 43, I find the following salutary enactment : — " All native foreigners and other persons appearing in the public streets without being covered with such articles of clothing as decency requires, shall for each and every offence be liable to a fine not exceeding five shillings, and, in default of payment thereof, to imprisonment for not more than three days." 162 I exceedingly regret that there seems to be at Port Elizabeth, as yet, no authority, municipal or magisterial, which is exercised in that town, to suppress 4he public indecency referred to in the foregoing extract. Nevertheless, the offence punishable in this town by municipal regulations cannot but, from its nature, be an offence at common law, throughout every part of the colony, and, as such, cognizable by any justice in the ordinary commission of the peace. I have therefore to direct you to employ the police of your district in repress- ing the nuisance I witnessed at Port Elizabeth, of persons in open day following their ordinary occupations in a perfect state of nudity. To the uncivilized persons who thus exposed themselves, there ought not perhaps to be attached so much blame as to the police and magistracy of the district. The former may possibly not entertain the same opinions or feelings on the subject as are entertained by civilized people all over the rest of the world. Nevertheless, independently of any want of participation on their part in ihe notions of delicacy and decency which are common to us, I cannot but conclude, that if proper pains had been taken by the local authorities to induce the Fingoes to adopt our customs of dress, as serving the purpose, at least, of external signs of their being British subjects, and not averse from rising in the scale of civilization, the scandal of such apparently habitual and daily scenes of public indecency would have been long since removed from Port Elizabeth. By persuasion, explanation, and warning, you will be so good as to use all your official influence with the persons who have thus hitherto been tolerated in the practice of this offence, to induce them to discontinue it ; in like manner, you will attempt to enlist the public opinion of the respectable and intelligent members of the com- munity in favour of the discontinuance of employment to people thus unclothed ; but after a fair and reasonable experiment of these mild measures, you will not fail to exercise to the utmost whatever power and authority the existing laws may have conferred on you to prevent and punish this offence. If the existing laws are defective, be so good as to report in what respect they are so, and suggest the appropriate remedies; after which a decision will be arrived at whether fresh laws are needed, or new executive police and magisterial officers are necessary to the enforcement of the present regulations. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. A Return, showing the number of huts inhabited by the Fingoes in Graham's Town, and where situated, with the average number of men, women, and children ; taken in the month of May, 1847, by order of Lieutentant-Governor Sir Henry E. F. Young, by George Cyrus, Government Interpreter. Names of the Head Men of each Kraal. Where situated. No. of Huts. No. of Men. No. of Women. No. of Children Remarks. Sikunthla I West End of \ I the Town, ) 127 180 2C0 300 Mathoba Burying Ground, 72 80 80 160 The computation Batjwa Adam Beyond do. Do. 42 33 40 33 40 33 80 66 is supposed to be too low by three or Dinga Do. 17 17 17 34 four hundred. Umtoniswa Do. 17 17 17 34 Simba Do. 5 5 6 12 N'Galo Tatawe ( Opposite Fort I ( England j Settlers' Hill, 70 10 70 10 80 10 160 14 Total, 393 452 483 860 153 '" ' l*J!^ fTfI O^ Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, — June, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Baronet, Governor. Sir, — I have the honour of forwarding to Your Excellency, a copy of an address from the inhabitants of Fort Beaufort, and a copy of the reply which I returned. With reference to that part of the address which adverts to the uncivilised condition of the aborigines near the town of Fort Beaufort, and referring also to my letter to Vour Excellency on the 26th ultimo, respecting the Fingoes in the vicinity of Graham's Town and Port Elizabeth, and to the despatch of the Right Hon'ble the Secretary of State, No. 35, of the 15th February, 1847, on the condition and treatment of the native tribes near Uitenhage, I have the honour of forwarding a draft of the general regulations, which, in my opinion, might, with advantage, be promulgated, as being conducive to the eflFective supervision and the gradual improvement of the existing locations of natives within the eastern districts. Unless Your Excellency should see reason to the contrary, I propose com- municating the draft of these regulations to the municipality of Graham's Town, for such suggestions of addition or amendment as that body may be pleased to favour me with ; and thereafter to each of the other municipalities of the eastern districts. I propose making known the regulations thus revised, and my intention of promulgating them in the districts adjacent to their respective municipalities. The draft regulations were prepared by the Rev. Mr Shaw, Wesleyan minister, after communication of, and in accordance with, my views. I have reason to think that a large portion of the more intelligent Fingoes near Graham's Town are, to a certain extent, likely to be influenced by the advice of this highly respectable and experienced missionary, and by the assistance which he has kindly promised to render me, in introducing the regulations herewith forwarded. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Graham's Town, 16th June, 1847, His Honour Sir Henry E. F. Young, Kt., Lieutenant-Governor, &c. Sir,— In reply to Your Honour's letter, without date, but received yesterday, enclosing copies of an address from Fort Beaufort, and of your reply, and also a draft of general regulations for the location of native settlers, I beg to say that I highly approve of those regulations, and that I am not aware of there being any legal or other objection to their promulgation. On a subject, however, of such general and lasting importance as the future welfare and advancement of the eastern portion of the colony, I think it my duty to obtain the opinion of the Hon'ble the Executive Council, including that of the Hon'ble the Attorney-General, before I can finally authorise their being carried into effect. I shall, therefore, forward your original letter and enclosures to Cape Town with that view ; and should Your Honour decide on publishing them in the mean time, a period can be named for their coming into operation. I have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER.'- I«4 ADDRESS To His Honour Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Knight, Lieutenant-Governor and Commander-in-Chief, in and over the Eastern Districts of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope, &c. We, the undersigned, inhabitants of Fort Beaufort, beg leave to congratulate Your Honour on your appointment as Lieutenant-Governor, and hail your arrival among us as an event of the most vital importance. We feel anxious to bring to the notice of Your Honour the growing impor- tance of this place, containing a greater number of inhabitants, with a more considerable population contiguous, than some of the inland towns which are privileged with a resident civil commissioner and magistrate, besides a munici- pality; while we have only a resident justice of the peace, whose powers are so limited that we are compelled to proceed to the seat of magistracy in Graham s Town (a distance of forty-six miles) to recover a petty debt, or to give evidence in any criminal case. This is found to be a most serious inconvenience (an idea of which may be formed from the fact that about one hundred persons were subpoenaed from the town and neighbourhood to the last circuit court), and it tends to encourage crime, as many thefts are passed over unnoticed, to avoid the trouble and expense of bringing the offenders to justice ; and many unprincipled persons are by the same causes enabled to avoid the payment of small amounts. We therefore beg Your Honour will be pleased to make this place the seat of a resident magistrate. We feel it imperative upon us to bring to your notice that, for several yeare past, and to the present time, large numbers of natives (Fingoes and others) have been, and are, in the habit of settling themselves in different localities, in unre- strained indulgence of their heathenish customs and obscene practices, and affording a refuge for thieves and vagrants. We trust such measures will be adopted regarding them as will tend to the formation of habits of industry, and thus render them useful members of society. We beg further most respectfully to bring to the notice of Your Honour the subject of our town commonage. When the town was originally laid out, the commonage allotted was extensive and sufficient for a large community ; but in consequence of the arrangements entered into with the Kafir tribes, in the year 1836, a large portion was ceded to them, even a part of the measured erven, and subsequently locating a number of Hottentots along the Kat River, in the imme- diate vicinity of the town, we have been nearly deprived of the common lands. We beg the liberty here to state our conviction that the locating of these persons on the town lands was a most injudicious measure. By our peculiar position an extensive commonage is indispensable ; and we would adduce as an additional reason, that should ports be opened eastward of the Fish River, and the projected road to the Tarka be carried into effect, this town will become an important position in the transit to the north-east parts of the colony. As an opportunity now offers for the extension of the town lands, by the annexation of the portion of the ceded territory formerly included, we humbly pray that Your Honour will take this subject also into your most favourable consideiation. We have, &c., (Signed by most of the Inhabitants). REPLY. Government Office, Graham's Town, 4th June, 1847. To Messrs. W. R. Thompson and Franklin. Gentlemen, — I request that you will be so obliging as to convey to the inhabitants of Fort Beaufort my best thanks for the very obliging axldress of 156 congratulation on my appointment to the charge of the eastern districts, which you have been deputed to present to me. It affords me great gratification to announce that the extension of the powers of the office of justice of the peace at Beaufort to the jurisdiction of a resident magistrate, to the utility of which extension the address has adverted, engaged my attention at an early period after my arrival in the colony ; and that to procure the requisite enactment, I have already made successful application to His Excellency the Right Hon. the Governor, with whom is exclusively vested at present the powt-r of initiating in the Council at Cape Town the legislation on this subject, to which the inhabitants of Fort Beaufort have so long had the strongest claim on the grounds of public convenience, economy, and the due and speedy administration of justice. 1 beg that you will make known to the inhabitants of Fort Beaafort that I shall be happy to do all in my limited power to facilitate the establishment of their municipality. Such institutions, when administered with scrupulous regard for the legal or prescriptive rights of the poor and ignorant, as well as of the rich and intelligent, and when successful in the promotion of local improvement, cannot but accelerate and justify the formation of that more general and extensive system of representative government which is commended to our affections by the model, and to our reason by the successful experience, of the mother country. I trust that the care and attention of the municipality, when established at Fort Beaufort, to the comfort, cleanliness, convenience, and sanitary condition of its rising town, and by tlieir entire abstinence from all undue interference with .individual rights and liberties, will afford happy augury of the benefits to be derived from a more general and extensive form of a local government. My early consideration shall be given to the condition of the natives, Fingoes and others, at Beaufort, with a view to diffuse among them those indirect but strong im[)ulses to industry which are created by an acquaintance with and an appreciation of the comforts and conveniences of civilized life, which are com- patible vvith the same unrestrained disposal of their time and honest gains which is enjoyed by ourselves, and which is their unquestionable right, no less than our own. It will be a principal part of my study to the above end to secure to the Fingoes a legal title to whatever erven within the town, or land adjoining it, they have been authorised to occupy, and which they are now using as their homesteads. I believe it to be practicable to make such titles conditional on the payment of a tax, sufficient to provide for the expense of maintaining the institutions of police and education, which are necessary to the good order and civilization of the community. With respect to the increase of the town lands, so as to give a greater exten- sion of commonage for the depasturing of cattle and sheep, I would observe that whatever moderate quantity of land may be necessary to the health and comfort and security of the town, will, no doubt, be readily placed by Her Majesty's Government under the management of the future municipality. I cannot, how- ever, hold out the slightest prospect that any territorial possessions will be allow ed to the municipality beyond what are absolutely necessary for carefully defined and restricted town purposes. Whatever may be the regulations regarding the present or future depasturing of cattle on crown lands, they must of course apply to the Fingoes as equally as to the other classes of Her Majesty's subjects, whether in towns or in rural districts. Moreover, as cattle and sheep form the great temptation to the invasion of our territory, and thus become the cause of a large part of the expense of defending it, it seems equitable and politic to devise measures, by taxation or otherwise, having a tendency to discourage the employment of labour and capital to the rearing of flocks and herds, and to direct the public attention more to the cultiva- tion of the soil, as best conducive to the permanent safety and prosperity of the colony, which, within its present limits, is abundantly large for the exerci?^ pf aJi our energies, and the reward of our best industry and enterprise. X s 1S6 In conclusion, I request you will inform the subscribers of the address, that I hope, at an early period, to visit the town of Beaufort, and by personal inspection to satisfy myself further as to the wants and wishes of the inhabitants, to promote whose interests in a manner permanently useful to the whole community, will ever be my most anxious study. H. E. F. YOUNG. MINUTE. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 28th June, 1847. In compliance with the instructions of the Right Honourable the Governor, conveyed by his minute of the 16th June, 1847, the undersigned have read the draft of certain regulations proposed by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, for the better management and supervision of native locations in the eastern districts. We conceive that the plan and principles of those regulations are very judicious. The modifications, if any, which they will require, can be best deter- mined when His Honour shall have received the observations of the several municipalities to which he purposes to send copies, and invite remarks. We are aware of no impediments to the establishment of such regulations, — save such as may possibly arise out of the royal instructions, or the municipal ordinance, No. 9, 1836. But so far as the land necessary for the location belongs to the Crown, — the despatch of Lord Grey, No. 55, of the 15th February, 1847, may, we think, be considered as authorising, in this case, a departure from the course of public sale, as prescribed by the Governor's commission and instructions for the alienation of crown land ; and so far as ihe native locations could he settled upon the pasture lands of any municipality, the commissioners may be relieved by ordinance, from the fetter imposed by ordinance 9, 1836, section 39. Until the regulations shall be brought into that state in which they shall appear to His Honour to be fit for promulgation, it would be premature to consider whether they, or any of them, will demand the sanction of a legislative measure, or whether all they aim at may be accomplished simply by consent of parties and executive authority. JOHN MONTAGU. HARRY RIVERS. W. PORTER. W. FIELD. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Graham's Town, 16th August, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., G.C.B. Sir, — With reference to your Excellency's letter of the 1st May last, enclo- sing a copy of the despatch of the Right Honourable the Secretary of State, on the representation of the Rev Wm. Elliott, of the London Missionary Society, of the treatment of the Fingoes and other aboriginal tribes in the vicinity of Uiten- hage, by the municipality of that place, I have the honour of forwarding a copy of a letter, under date the 2 1st May last, from the resident magistrate and civil commissioner of Uitenhage ; and also of a communication which I subsequently addressed to that officer on the 21st ultimo, together with a printed draft of the proposed regulations for the locations of Fingoes and other natives within the eastern districts. 157 '•-' I have, as yet, received no further communication from the resident magis- trate at Uitenhage, but I have reason to believe, from other sources of informa- tion, that the proposed regulations for native villages will prove satisfactory, both to the Fingoes and to the municipality, and be the means of obviating, for the future, the uncertainty of the tenure by which the natives have occupied lands in the immediate neighbourhood of our towns. I have written to the resident magistrate of Uitenhage to remind him, that a report is required of the existence of any past or present grievance on the part of the Uitenhage Fingoes, and I hope, at no distant date, personally to inspect their condition, when making a tour through the eastern province, which has hitherto been postponed by reason of the unsettled state of our relations with the Kafir tribes. I have, &c., H. E F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor, Eastern Districts. Graham's Town, 21st May, 1847. His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, Graham's Town. Sir, — I have attentively perused the voluminous documents which Your Honour placed in my hands yesterday for report, generally upon the complain preferred by the Rev. William Elliott against the municipality of Uitenhage for oppressive conduct exercised by the municipality towards the Fingoes and other native foreigners in the immediate vicinity of the village. Without a full and minute enquiry into the several charges set forth by Mr. Elliott, it would be difficult to report satisfactorily as to the real facts of the case ; and the difficulty is enhanced on my part, from my brief occupation of office, having only been appointed to succeed the late civil commissioner about the latter end of last year. It would not, however, appear that the colonial government authorised the location of the Fingo and native foreigners on the commonage land of Uitenhage, but, on the contrary, directed them to be placed on the Tsietsie- karama. Some. were expressly permitted by the civil commissioner to locate themselves, and others were suffered to settle themselves unmolested, before the formation of a municipality. But the permission so granted would seem to militate against the instructions conveyed to the civil commissioner by the Lieutenant-Governor, on the 31st of August and 27th September, 1837. At the same time, it should be observed that the Fingoes, doubtless, looked to the permission of sufferance upon which they occupied the land, as emanating from the supreme government, and the error consisted, in the first instance, in permitting them to occupy land not sanctioned by the government ; but as this error did not originate, with themselves, it is equitable that such as were actually dispossessed should receive compensation by the assignment of crown lands for their maintenance. I am not, however, prepared, without reference to data, which I can only obtain at Uitenhage, to state what cases of ejectment, if any, took place. With reference to those Fingoes who had the permission of the commis- , sioners of this municipality, and to those who neither asked nor received permission to locate themselves, since the formation of the municipality, it is dear that they became amenable to the regulations of the municipality, as containing the con- ditions upon which they were permitted to occupy the lands ; and if the Fingoes or native foreigners either encroached upon the commonage land, or improperly diverted the course of the water, in the manner alleged by the commissioners, they, in common with all other residents, became liable to the penalties imposed, by law for a contravention of the municipal regulations. vi' / 158 -sr-rv -I cannot speak from my own knowledge of any cases of oppression exercised towards these people, previous to my arrival at Uitenhage (15th November, 1846), but I can confidently assure Your Honour that not one single complaitn of injustice inflicted on them by the municipality, has been lodged with me since that period, although various other cases in which they were interested have been brought before me from time to time for adjudication ; and as they seem to be sensible of their rights, I have no reason to believe that if any injustice had been inflicted on them, they would not have sought the remedy which the law affords. Their pursuits have been clearly explained by Mr. Elliott, and consist, chiefly, as he states, in the sale of milk and firewood, and many are employed as herds, labourers, or domestic servants. They are inoffensive people, and, I believe, generally deserving of the character which he has given them for good conduct and propriety. I must also bear my testimony to the statement made by Mr. Elliott, of their being superior in their habits to many of the same class in other places within the division, having a better sense of public decency, which they exhibit by being in general better clad, and being further advanced in civilization, many attending divine service and the school established for their instruction. ' H. TENNANT, Civil Commissioner. Graham's Town, July 21, 1847. The Civil Commissioner for Uitenhage. Sir, — With reference to your letter of the 21st May last, I beg that you will report fully on the complaints which I brought to your notice as having been preferred by the native Fingoes and others in the vicinity of Uitenhage, of the insecure and vexatious way in which they at present hold their tenure of occu- pancy of the land on which they have long been located, and that you will ascertain whether the adoption of the enclosed regulations, which I hope to intro- duce in other parts of the colony, will not be the means of improving their con- dition in future. 1 have &c. ' H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. GOVERNMENT NOTICE. Government Office, Court House, 7th July, 1847. The following rules and regulations, proposed to be applied to locations of Fingoes or other aboriginal tribes within the eastern districts, are hereby published, for such suggestions of addition or amendment as the respective municipalities may desire to offer to the Lieut. -Governor's consideration. H. E. F. YOUNa I. — Native Locations. 1 . The most suitable unoccupied sites that can be found, within one or two miles of the centre of the town or village will be selected for native locations — for the Fingoes, for the Bechuanas, and for the coloured people speaking the Dutch language, and comprising emancipated slaves, Mozambiques, and Hottentots. 2. The sites selected will be divided into building lots and garden lots, and regular rows or streets will be formed for the houses ; and the garden lots will be d» conveniently situated with reference to the houses, as the nature of the ground will allow, and the building and garden allotments will be numbered and registered, so aaio correspond with a ground plan. 159 II. — Probationary Native Settlers. 1. Any native, being a married man, who applies to the superintendent, and produces a recommendation from the resident magistrate, a minister of religion, or a commissioner of the municipality, will receive a certificate, signed by a superintendent, signifying that he is admitted a probationary settler ; the certifi- cate to state the number of the location which the individual is to occupy. This will be his authority for taking immediate possession. 2. The period of probation is to be two years from the date of the certificate : but in special and peculiar cases, it will be extended to three years, when the Lieut-Governor, on application by memorial, shall see cause for such extended indulgence. 3. Each probationary settler to be required to erect during the period of his probation, a substantial cottage, not less than 24 feet by 12 outside, and the walls not less than eight feet high, with a proper roof, covered with thatch or other materials. The building to be divided into two apartments, — one to be used as a kitchen, and the other as a sleeping room ; the kitchen to have a fire-place and chimney ; the garden lot to be enclosed with a substantial fence. 4. One or more cattle kraals or folds to be erected, of stone, on each of these locations, as soon as circumstances will allow, and under the direction of the superintendent. These cattle kraals to be for the common use of all the pro- bationary settlers or holders of grants, and to be erected and kept in repair by the registered inhabitants of the location. For this purpose, and for effecting general improvements from time to time on their location, in the benefits of which all will participate, the superintendent is to have the right to call upon each registered settler for one day's work in each calendar month, or, at the option of the settler, the average value in money of one day's work, to be expended on these works of common utility and benefit. III. — Legal Grants to approved Native Settlers. 1. As soon as the conditions of probation are complied with in any case, the superintendent to report to the Lieut. -Governor that the individual is entitled to a grant of the building and garden lot, whereupon the Lieut. -Governor will cause the legal grant to be made to the claimant, according to the usual forms in the Land Office of the colony. 2. The titles issued to the respective settlers who have complied with the probationary conditions will, however, contain the following provisos: — 1st. That the holder is subject to one day's labour, or its value in money, in aid of work of general utility on the location, when called upon by the proper authority ; and 2nd. That the property shall never be sold or transferred to any person of the European race, without the special sanction of the Lieut.-Governor. These two conditions are designed to provide against the improvidence which might other- wise cause the whole of the property to pass into the hands of parties not con- templated by the original grant, and thus in a few years defeat the whole measure, IV. — Management and Surveillance. 1. A head man, with the authority of constable or assistant field-cornet, is to be appointed from amongst the residents of each location. This person is to have charge of the cattle kraal, and be responsible to report to the superintendent any suspicious circumstances connected with the acquisition of cattle by the resi- dents; through him, also, the Government functionaries are at all times to communicate with the people of the location. 2nd. The head man, with such other natives of the location as may be chosen by the settlers themselves, to form the council (Heemraadenor Amapakati) of the location. By this council all petty affairs, affecting any of the registered settlers, may be decided accordino; to their usual native customs ; the head man and council to be held responsible that no immoral or oppressive practice shall be. enforced by them, even though the parties willinglv submit to it, and although it may have been an old custom of their tribe or nation. 160 y.—The Municipality. ■' %! ' ' 1. All registered or probationary settlers to have the same rights and privileges, as to grazing their cattle on the town lands, which are enjoyed by the householders ; and as soon as any native settler obtains the legal title to his pro- perty, he should be required to pay the town rates to the municipality, on a fair assessment, and in like manner as all other householders of the town. 2. The whole of the native locations may be included in a separate ward as a part of the municipality. 3. The commissioners of the municipality, or the resident magistrate, on their representation, is empowered to prevent the erection of native huts on any private property within the limits of the town. All natives living on private property, whether employed by the proprietor or not, to live in cottages of a decent and suitable character. 4. No natives, of whatever age or sex, are to be permitted to wander about in any part of the municipality in a state of nudity, or so partially clad in native costume, as to offend against decency ; and the resident magistrate is authorized and required to punish, by fine or otherwise, all persons found by the constables within the municipality offending against this regulation. In the case of children, the parents to be held responsible ; and where natives are found without sufficient clothing for purposes of decency, and are in the service of Europeans, their employers are to be dealt with according to law. VI. — Unregistered Katives. 1. All natives, of whatever class, at present squatting on the town lands, and who cannot produce a proper certificate, recommending them to be registered as probationary settlers, and who consequently remain unregistered, should be warned by the superintendent to leave their respective huts, one month being allowed in each case for the individual to obtain employment with some farmer, or other inhabitant, who will provide a residence for him on his own premises. 2. All probationary settlers, who fail to comply with the conditions of occu- pancy within two years, or three years, as the case may be, should also be warned off the town lands by the superintendent from time to time, as occasion may require, one month being allowed to them to procure themselves suitable occupa- tion and lodging elsewhere. VII. — Superintendents. 1. The present Government Interpreter, Mr. Geoi^e Cyrus, who is well acquainted with the native languages and customs, and has a personal knowledge of the native population now squatting within the limits of the municipality, will be appointed as superintendent of the native locations in Graham's Town, with an addition of £50 a year to his present salary, so as to put him on a level with the interpreters to the commissioners, recently appointed in Kafirland. 2. The superintendent should be required to keep a copy of the register of all locations, with an exact register of all natives admitted by him as probationary settlers, specifying their names, tribes, nations, age, number in family, and nature and number of live-stock at the time of registration, with the name of the individual who signed the certificate of recommendation on which the native was admitted in the register as a probationarj' settler. 3. The superintendent will also be required to furnish periodical reports to the Lieut-Governor of the progress of every probationary settler in complying with the regulations ; and generally on all subjects connected with these native locations, he is to be the medium of communication by all Government function- aries to the head man and people of the several locations. H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Graham's Town, June 4, 1847. 161 Court House, Grabam's Town, 4th September, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor, &c. &c. &c. Sir, — With reference to my letter to Your Excellency, dated 26th May last on the subject of the representations of .the Rev. Mr. Elliott, of ill-treatment o^ the Fingoes and other natives in the neighbourhood of Uitenhage, by the munici- pality of that town, — I have now the honour of forwarding letters from Mr. Tennant, the resident magistrate ; the Rev. Mr. Patterson, of the London Missionary Society ; Mr. Brunett, clerk of the peace ; and Mr Dobson, town clerk ; dated respectively the 7th, 26th, and 27th August ; and the 1st instant. From these documents. Your Excellency will no doubt derive further confir- mation of the impressions which you received from a perusal of the papers collected in Cape Town, and forwarded to me with Your Excellency's letter of the 1st May last, viz. : — "That every fitting consideration has been shown towards the native classes, consistently with the general interests and public good of the town of Uitenhage." As regards the future, Mr. Tennant and the Rev. Mr. Patterson are of opinion that the regulations for the locations of natives, within the eastern districts, published by me in the local Gazette, on the 7th July last, as intended hereafter to be applied to such locations, will be productive of security and advantage to all parties. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG. Uitenhage, 26th August, 1847. H. Tennant, Esq., Civil Commissioner, Uitenhage. Sir, — In reply to your letter of the 27th July last, respecting a memorial from the Rev. Wm. Elliott, to His Excellency Sir P. IVTaitland, complaining of the oppressive conduct exercised by the municipality of Uitenhage, towards the Fingoes and other native foreigners in the immediate vicinity of this village, I beg to state that although being almost an entire stranger, only lately come to reside here, I cannot from personal knowledge, venture either to corroborate or disprove the charges alluded to; yet, from all I have been able to learn, after careful inquiry of others, as well as from my own observation, I feel no hesitation in giving it as my opinion, that the statements put forth by Mr. Elliott, as repre- sented in your letter, are substantially correct, — that the individuals alluded to have' been unjustly and harshly oppressed, and have therefore had but too much reason to complain. The Fingoes and Basutus, who. I believe, are the principal parties concerned in these acts of oppression, are admitted by all who have any knowledge Of them to be a quiet, industrious, sober, and well-behaved people ; who, whatever may have been the ostensible reason for their ejectment from the lands they formerly occupied, have since been obliged to settle on grounds where they have no water available for the purposes of cultivation, and from which, I imagine, they are liable again to be ejected on the first slight pretence which may present itself. With these exceptions, however, I am not aware of any particular acts of oppression to which they have been since subjected, or of which they have now to complain. I feel happy in being able to state that I highly approve of His Honour the Lieutenant-CTOvernor's plan for locating persons of colour, as published in the- Graham's Town Journal of 17th July, and I cannot but express my conviction, ' that if the proposed regulations be carried out, as I hope they will, in the same liberal spirit in which they seem to have been framed, it will be at once the means 162 of remedying the evils already complained of, and improving, in future, the con- dition of the natives, while at the same time, it will afford every reason for thank- fulness, not only to themselves, but to all who take an interest in their welfare. Nevertheless, I very much fear, that if the arrangements alluded to are made liable to be modified, to any extent, by the municipal commissioners, or their agents, they will be altogether vitiated, and thus, in the end, prove a complete failure, so far as advancing the interests of the coloured population is concerned. I have, &c., THOS. PATTERSON. Office of the Clerk of the Peace, Uitenhage, 7th August, 1847. To H. Tennant, Esq., Civil Commissioner, Uitenhage. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th July, enclosing the copy of a memorial addressed by the Rev. William Elliott to Sir Peregrine Maitland, complaining of the oppressive conduct exercised by the municipality of Uitenhage towards the Fingoes and other native foreigners, in the vicinity of this village ; and agreeably to your request, that I should commu- nicate to you, for the information of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, in as much detail as practicable, how far the grievances represented by Mr. Elliott were found on inquiry to exist, and how far they are still existing, so far as they have come under my official observance and cognizance, — in reply I beg leave to state that the municipality of Uitenhage was established about the middle of the year 1841, at which time there were many Bechuanas, Basutus, and other coloured persons living on the town lands, on which they had from time to time established themselves, without having any particular locations assigned to them, or meeting with any obstruction on the part of the Government authorities ; they were likewise the proprietors or holders of large herds of cattle and goats, which they depastured on the town lands. When the municipal regulations were first framed, the number and description of cattle, horses, &c., permitted to be kept by each owner or hirer of lands, were limited in proportion to the capabilities and extent of the pasturage ; and in making this provision, no arrangement was made for similar purposes on behalf of the coloured and poorer classes, who, it was assumed, would enjoy this right through the sanction, or under the names, of their employers. In commencing the enforcement of the regulations, it was found that the scattered and indiscriminate manner in which the various locations in which coloured persons consisting of one or more families had fixed themselves, along the main water channel, and other parts of the town lands, according as choice or circumstances had induced the selection of a spot for the building of huts, rendered the concentration of these buildings or residences indispensable, as the inhabitants complained of the scarcity of grass from an excess of cattle, and the irregularity in the supply and distribution of water, which was often diverted from the maia channel, for the irrigation of gardens enclosed and cultivated by these people. Two portions of land were therefore fixed upon, for the future establishment and residence of such persons, who were also restricted to the keeping of a limited number of cattle, as it was alleged that the number kept were not only the property of resident individuals, but were many of them belonging to non- residents, who sent them for the benefit of a change of pasturage. The introduc- tion of these measures amongst a race of people, who, although living in and around the town, had never been controlled by local regulations, created discontent, and many, preferring the enjoyment of an unrestricted life, quitted the place. About this time, representations were made to the Lieutenant-Governor, who issued instructions, to the effect that the regulations were not to be enforced 163 against such natives as had been permitted to locate themselves previous to the establishment of the municipality ; but difficulties arose in carrying out the regulations, and disagreements occurred between the coloured people and the municipal authorities, arising more frequently from the vexatious interference of one of their late officers, than from any defect in the local rules. The acts of this officer were, however, always repudiated by the commissioners, collectively and individually. During the differences which had thus taken place, a long corres- pondence, I believe, passed between the Rev. Mr. Elliott, the municipal commis- sioners, and the Government, pending which, at the request of the late civil commissioner, I devoted much time in endeavouring to arrange matters between Mr. Elliott and the board, and for that purpose I framed a plan for conveniently locating the coloured and poorer classes of all denominations on two of the most convenient locations near the town, selecting for that purpose the places on which the greatest number of such individuals had settled, and proposing that each should pay for his plot, and the privilege of pasturage, a trifling ground rent, to be expended by the public in subdividing the land and marking out streets, and making drains for securing to each renter his regular and equal supply of water. The plan proposed, contemplated the erection of huts in rows, and at equal distances, so as to secure a due supply of water. The plan which I submitted to the commissioners (in whose office it is not at present to be found} was approved of both by them and by Mr. Elliott. With this view, the 13th section of the municipal regulations was framed, but owing to the refusal of the coloured classes to comply with the proposal above described, and inability of the municipality to enforce their obedience, the measures were not carried out, and no beneficial means for securing to them any advantage in the lands of the municipality have since been adopted. With respect to instances of oppression exercised, I cannot remember more than one, viz. : — the unjust and forcible imprisonment by the town clerk of some Bechuanas, who, having been for some years in the service of a butcher, had, during the period of their engagement, erected huts around his kraal, and on being discharged, were required to yield up their residences to their successors, which they refused to do. Upon their refusing, application was made to the town clerk, who, by way of enforcing his power, arrested and confined them as vagrants. On the circum- stance being reported to me, I immediately proceeded to the prison and discharged them. They had, I understood, been imprisoned about half an hour. These people are still residing here. The cases of vexatious interference were those of, repeatedly threatening to burn their huts, refusing them water for irrigation, and even debarring them from the use of such quantities as escaped through leakage from the main channel, towards their locations. I am unable to state the number of persons who removed on account of these proceedings, or whether there were many who did so. I have not for a long time had any references made to me by the municipality, regarding the coloured classes now residing in the town, or received any complaints on their part. I am therefore of opinion that such grievances do not exist at present. I have, &c., GEO. M. BRUNETT, Clerk of the Peace. Town Office, Uitenbage, 27th August, 1847. To H. Tennant, Esquire, ' > Civil Commissioner, Uitenhage. Sir, — In answer to your letter of the 27th July, I have the honour to inform you, that I am desired to inform you by the commissioners of this municipality, for the information of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, in answer to a memorial from the Rev, Mr. Elliott, especially as you request it to be in as much detail as possible. ;vni > ;- />;; .i^vi ■' ^' ■ '■■ ■ ■"■ - ' .' - T 2 164 Before entering into the merits of Mr. Elliott's memorial, the commissioners beg to call His Honour's attention to the 39th section of ordinance No. 9, 1836, which, to enforce regulations made for the care of the pasture lands, expressly provides " tliat the commissioners shall not suffer any other person to build upon, enclose, or cultivate the same." Between the formation of this municipality in 1841 and the year 1843, the then commissioners found there was a large number of the coloured classes, enjoying privileges in common with the landholders of the municipality, without bearing any portion of the expenditure. The cause which brought this matter to issue was the squatting of several families of Fingoes along the main water channel, and turning the water from its course to irrigate large plots of the town commons, which had been by them enclosed and cultivated. This and other trespasses on the commons showed the commissioners the necessity of framing some law, to place the coloured classes in general under local authority. This was the primary cause of the forming of the 13th and 14th sections of the municipal regulations of this town, a copy of which is annexed. The commissioners beg to remark that these regulations were not formed under any idea of oppressing the coloured clases, but for their ultimate benefit, and for the improvement of the town, as likewise from a principle of justice to the inhabitants generally ; and, feeling it was their bounden duty to protect the rights of the inhabitants; as likewise, considering that all classes, whether black or white,, were bound each to bear, in proportion, a moiety of that expenditure which is required to keep the whole of the water channels of the town in such a state that the public in general could have the benefit of the water with which the town is supplied. In answer to the charge in Mr. Elliott's memorial, that of the imprisonment of the four Basutus, that, the commissioners totally deny as an act of the board, and the gentlemen who at that time formed the board of commissioners are prepared to state that it was an act of the town clerk, done entirely on his own authority, without the sanction of the board, and contrary to law. The commissioners are not aware of any who were compelled to abandon their houses and growing crops ; as in instances where they have squatted themselves, and enclosed portions of the public streets, they have invariably been allowed to take off their crops before removal. With regard to the query how far the grievances complained of — " how far they still exist," the commissioners refer His Honour. to the accompanying return of the number of squatters' houses, and the number of cattle depastured by them on the commons. The accompanying return, allowing five to every Fingo hut, will give a population total of about 700 of the coloured classes living on the commons, free of rent, and at present under no restraint, as far as municipal laws are concerned. His Honour will observe by the accompanying return, that there are a number who have been located by the municipality under the regulations referred to, and the commissioners do not hesitate in saying, that had it not been for Mr. Elliott's interference, the greater portion of the coloured population here would have been located under those regulations, and have felt themselves perfectly satisfied ; in proof of which, there are daily applications made for ground ; but the commissioners feel delicate in giving out any more until His Honour's decision is made, with regard to his proposed regulations for the locating of the coloured classes. The commissioners further beg to observe that many of the squatters at present on the town commons do not belong to the poorer classes mentioned in the 13th section of the municipal regulations ; some of them have wagons and oxen, by which they earn an independent livelihood, and possessed of sufficient property to bear a fair proportion of the town's expenditure. In conclusion, the commissioners beg to remark that the system of squatting 165 has had a demoralizing eflfect upon the coloured population, inasmuch as from the facilitiesafforded to all the coloured classes to squat themselves on the town commons, make use of the public water, live free of rent or municipal taxation, they have had no inducements for industry, and the plot of ground cultivated by them has not been for the purpose of bettering their condition, but merely as giving them the opportunity of idling a few days occasionally at home, or having a few shillings extra to spend at the canteens. I have, &c., EDW. DOBSON, Town Clerk. Copy of \Ztk and Wth Sections of the Municipal Regulations for the Town of Uitcnhage. Section 13. — It shall be lawful for the commissioners to select two or more portions of land on the town commonage for the location of the poorer classes residing within the municipality (and not being proprietors of land). The portions selected shall be subdivided into plots of one sixteenth of an erf, with one or more frontages. These plots shall be selected with regard to their convenience, in respect not only to their present locations, but also as to distance from the town, together with the privileges of irrigation. The locations thus fixed upon shall be considered the only places where straw or mud huts shall be erected. These plots of ground, with a due proportion of water, will be let to persons employed within the municipality as daily labourers, servants, or otherwise, at a monthly rent of Is., to be paid to the commissioners in advance. The renters of the plots will be entitled to keep 3 head of cattle, or 10 sheep or goats, upon the town commonage. These persons shall enjoy all the privileges, and be subject to all the restraints, under the municipal regulations (except No. 16). Section 14.— All straw and mud huts (pondocks) already erected, and such as may hereafter be erected (unless the same is on ground pointed out by the com- missioners), shall be destroyed within one month after notice to that effect shall have been given by the commissioners under a penalty of 5s. for each week the same shall be permitted to stand after the expiration of the time fixed for its removal by the commissioners. 166 9 bo a <4_ o t 9 0) -a •^^ c -♦J ■fe a o S S o & o H w ■♦J a o O 'o a H . 0) 'W 01 JS ■ a a '3 S S ^ o.-- ■" ►. ti 3 o « g t3 ^-' c,, ^^,Q B O S T3 S i^ $ -rJ V. * ° B »" ga^^l'i* o B H 03 5^ >%« B,B C^a'S-S -a Ph S .2 ^ S O) o B -^ B^ a • a • • o • • B rQ _, '"SB 05 : •«> ^^ =2=2 tS I ^ £"►5 5 o a I cc I OQ i ^ O 1 pq 167 S3 . ^ o^ o ' ^ «2 ' « "> § « ^ g E 03 00 ^ . S* 5^ g m B C- OS ;_ B 0) m - fi a ^ — 1-5 g^oT-^ S ^J ^<) • • I . • • a ; •1 1 • '2 I^ * JS • •S a • • o ,-B s fe* a o o o to ■ - '^^'g 5 oj C t- « O TS O ^ B 2 B c4 o CO B ^^^ ^^ § 2 a> ^►^lHcj •c S's S 09 B 3 B - rt B 3 S O O o t ^ CS Cd . B' . •I • ^ S "> e 168 : s , r" '•-a • a c o £• c • 33 ; 2 1- -*-> o fe ^ r c « tM (A u ^ d O J= d a> a T ■*J be o Labo Carri Labo ^ 3 o J3 o s . o 'i g a. o O "? o- h" ;z: -«) ;?; ;?: H u o > o SI '^'tj t- Hi S * 382* Their property consists of cattle and goats, amounting ta about 800, both; included. The locations are principally situated east and west of the Zwartkop's River» and close to the banks of that river. All have not the means of irrigating their grounds, but depend upon the periodical rains. The land is, however, fertile, and many have gardens under cultivation. At the location occupied by the freed slaves and Hottentots, I find that, in consequence of the encroachments they had made, the town clerk threatened to have the occupants removed, and to burn their cottages, but that the threat was never carried into execution, and that the occupants remained there notwith- • This is the population according to Mr. Bird's report ; the population has, however, linee cosndnabl; increased. — See return of the municipal commissioners, annexed. ; 174 standing, and are still there, having remained unmolested, ever since Mr. Higginson's removal, wrhich took place in the year 1845. At the Kaba, which is occupied by Fingoes, Kafirs, and Hottentots, I ascertained that three Kafirs, who had squatted on the banks of the watercourse, had had their reed huts pulled down by orders of the town clerk, and three other reed huts, which had been constructed on the road side, had also been pulled down by his orders. Another hut, of a similar description, is stated to have been pulled down by the town clerk himself, but I could not ascertatn its precise situation ; and one hut, which was unoccupied at the time, was burnt down by order of the town clerk. These acts have been described to me by the occupants, and the persons who witnessed them, and cannot, therefore, be denied ; but after the disclaimer on the part of the municipal commissioners, I consider them to have been the unauthorised acts of the town clerk. I am disposed to exculpate the municipal commissioners from any participation in these proceedings, and to consider them to have been unsanctioned by the authority of that board. I consider it injudicious, however, to permit the establishment of any of the coloured classes along the banks of the watercourse. With every wish to promote their advancement and prosperity, still the health and comfort of the inhabitants require also to be regarded. His Honour will be sensible of the force of this observation, when I explain that the channel, or course which conveys the water to the town, is uncovered, and that the inhabitants serve themselves from the open channel as the water flows past their doors. At this present moment, a few of the coloured classes are located alongside the source of the water, and deriving their supplies in the first instance. It cannot be otherwise but that the water becomes liable to be loaded with impurities, which may be calculated to aifect, in some degree, the health of the inhabitants. The corpse of a female Hottentot, in the last stage of the venereal disease, having been recently found by the clerk of the peace in that quarter, I deemed it my duty to bring the matter to the notice of the municipal commissioners, in order that some more appropriate spot might be selected for the location of this small party. I should add, that by the 42d section of the provisions of the ordinance No. 9, of 1836, the municipal commissioners are authorised to remove and abate all nuisances within the municipality which may tend to injure the health, destroy the comfort, or affect the rights of the inhabitants at large ; and, if need be, to proceed at law against any person so committing any such nuisance, for the abatement thereof. The same section requires them to cause all watercourses, drains, roads, &c., within the municipality, to be kept clean, and free from dirt or rubbish. Beyond the instances which I have referred to, I have not found, upon inquiry, that the Fingoas were interfered with. The cases alluded to originated, it is stated, with the town clerk, unauthorised by the municipal commissioners. I coincide with Mr. Elliott and Mr. Patterson as to the harmless an inoffensive character of these people. Many have been baptised, and they regularly attend divine service, and the school established for their instruction. They derive their livelihood as herdsmen, carriers, or labourers, and from the sale of milk and fuel. They are, in general, well clad, and exhibit a better appearance than the native tribes who are located in other towns. They seem perfectly contented, and satisfied with their present condition, and suffer no molestation or interference whatever, enjoying the same degree of liberty and independence as any other of Her Majesty's subjects. Their concentration, however, in the manner, and under the regulations, proposed by His Honour in the Government notice of the 7th July last, for the future location of the coloured classes, would be eminently calculated to improve their condition. I have, &c,, H. TENNANT, Civil Commissioner. 175 Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 31st May, 1847. His Excellency the Rio;ht Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Baronet, G.C.B. Sir, — Observing in the newspapers an official notice respecting the rationing of labourers to be employed at Cape Agulhas, in the western districts, I conclude that this is an indication of a commencement of the incalculably valuable work of the erection of a light-house at that place ; and as it is generally supposed that Her Majesty's government sanctioned, at the same time, the erection of a light- house at Cape ReceiiTe, in the eastern districts, I am induced to hope that Your Excellency may be enabled to afford me information respecting this latter project, which, both in local and general utility, is not transcended, even by the vast importance of the Agulhas light-house. Moreover, as the Agulhas light-house is, I believe, to be a work locally executed, I apprehend that it will unavoidably engross the time and attention of the department of the Surveyor-General and Colonial Civil Engineer, so as entirely to preclude any simultaneous proceedings in regard to the light-house at Cape Receiffe. Under this impression I venture to represent to Your Excellency that the most economical, efficient, convenient, and expeditious way would be to procure an iron light-house for Cape Receiffe from England. Mr. Alexander Gordon, of 22, Hudges street, Whitehall, London, a member of the institute of civil engineers, has been employed with success to procure iron light-houses for various colonies. I quote from the Nautical Magazine of 1846, published by Simpkin and Marshall, through which magazine only I have any knowledge of Mr. Gordon, —that by his means the Jamaica light-house was completely erected and lighted in England, taken to pieces, and packed, and put on board in the Thames, at an expense of £3000 ; and that some courses of Bramley stone, cut and shipped, to be used as a foundation to prevent the filtration upwards of salt water through the coral rock, to the injury of the iron, cost £300 more. The light-house at Gibb's Hill, Bermuda, was constructed for the Ordnance department at a cost, including lantern and apparatus, of £6150. The light-house at Point de Galle, in Ceylon, 93|- feet high, when erected and lighted, cost £2350 ; and for 25|^ feet lower, could have been erected for £1800. The light-house at Singapore has been estimated for at £3000, — to be 100 feet high, 18 feet diameter at the base, 10 feet at the top, of wrought iron, to be erected and tried in England, and delivered at Singapore, for the said sum of £3000. I trust that Your Excellency will pardon my intrusion on the foregoing particulars of the iron light-houses of other colonies, since they may serve to direct attention to a method of procuring for the eastern districts, at the earliest date and on the most favourable terms, the long coveted and immense boon of a light-house at Cape Receife. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Fort Peddie, June 2, 1847. His Honour Sir Henry E. F. Young, Kt.j Lieutenant-Governor, &c. Sir, — I have the ho'.:our to acknowledge the receipt of Your Honour's letter of the 31st of last month, on the subject of light-houses. 176 I possess no information, however small, on that subject, nor has it been alluded to in any despatch received from the Secretary of State since my arrival in this colony. T hear, by report, that the Surveyor-General w^as sent to England last year on duty by my predecessor, and that the object of his mission partly referred to the proposed breakwater in Table Bay, and partly to having light-houses placed on Capes Receife and Agulhas ; but what was done on the latter question I have never heard, nor had I seen or been told of the notice to which Your Honour's letter refers, until it came to hand. I shall now write to Cape Town for explanation, and will let Your Honour know the result ; but I cannot, as at present informed, take any public steps in the matter. I have, &c., HENRY POTTINGER. MEMORANDUM. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 21st June, 1847. The Right Hon'ble the Governor. With reference to the letter from His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of the 31st May last on the subject of the erection of an iron light-house, at Cape Receife, I beg to submit the following observations. On the 22nd July, 1844, by despatch No. 70, Sir P. Maitland submitted, for the approval of the Secretary of State, the amount voted by the Legislative Council towards the erection of the proposed light-houses at Cape L'Agnlhas and Cape Receife, and requested the sanction of Her Majesty's Government to commence those works. Lord Stanley, by despatch No. 166, of 31st January, 1846, stated that Her Majesty's Government were of opinion that recourse might, in the erection of those buildings, be advantageously had to the use of iron, instead of masonry ; and His Lordship requested a report might be made as to the means which might exist for landing the iron castings in the vicinity of the proposed sites for the buildings. Sir P. Maitland by despatch No 101, of the 31st July, 1845, transmitted the report of the civil engineer on the subject of landing the iron castings, suggesting at the same time whether iron habitations were desirable in this climate, on account of the intensity of the heat in the summer mouths. By despatch No. 104, of the 27th June, 1846, Mr. Gladstone informed Sir P. Maitland with reference to the proposed substitution of iron for masonry in the building of the light-houses, that it had been ascertained that, in consequence of the price of iron, and of the expenses of freight, and the difficulties which would attend the landing of the iron work, and erection of the building, no saving of expense would result from the adoption of this material, and he therefore author- ised the construction of these buildings in masonwork, and directed specifications and plans of the lanterns to be transmitted to him, that they might be procured and sent out to the colony. During Colonel Mitchell's visit to England last year, he proceeded (as will be seen from the enclosed copy of a letter from him, under date the 20th May, 1847) by direction of Earl Grey, to Paris, to give instructions to Monsieur Le Paute for the preparation of the apparatus for lighting these buildings. The light at L'Agulhas will be a fixed light, and that at Cape Receife revolving, both of the highest power. Colonel Mitchell, on his return to this colony in April last, informed me that the apparatus for the light at L'Agulhas was on a more simple plan than the one proposed for Receife, and that it would consequently take much less time in its construction. He stated that he expected it out here, in about two months from that time, and as the maker of it had represented the expediency of such expensive apparatus being fixed with as little delay as possible after its arrival, or otherwise it might receive damage, Colonel 177 Mitchell was anxious to get the tower at L'Agulhas ready for its reception, and for these reasons commenced that work immediately. But even if the lights for both these buildings could have been completed at the same time, Colonel Mitchell could only have undertaken one work at a time, as he could not have obtained two sufficiently competent foremen to direct the two buildings. After much difficulty, and at a very considerable expense, he has obtained the services of u foreman builder, and who now is superintending the construction of the light-house at L'Agulhas. Colonel Mitchell hopes that the light-house will be finished in six months" time, and he will then immediately commence that to be erected at Receife, in order that the building may be ready to receive the apparatus for lighting it, as soon as it has arrived from Paris ; but he believes it will not be here for some months. The building at Receife will probably also take about six months in its erection. I take this opportunity of submitting for the Governor's perusal the corres- pondence which has passed between His Excellency Rear Admiral Dacres and myself respecting the L'Agulhas light-house. JOHN MONTAGU. (; Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Graham's Town, 30th July, 1847, His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., G.C.B. Sir,— I have the honour of representing to Your Excellency that in one of the papers recently forwarded to me, in connection with the inquiry now in progress into the precise views and objects of the petitioners to the Crown for a separate Government for this province, I have remarked the following statement, respecting the establishment of a municipality at Port Elizabeth, viz. : — " Many months ago the resolutions and other requisite papers were forwarded to the Secretary to Government from this town, in order to obtain a municipality in Port Elizabeth, and a reply was given, that during the absence of the Governor on the frontier, no meeting could lake place of the Executive Council, without which no such measure could be introduced in the Legislative Council, — and the contemplated improvements remain therefore adjourned sine die." [• It is not necessary at present to trouble Your Excellency with the document* from Port Elizabeth from which the foregoing passage is extracted, as it will hereafter accompany the report which Your Excellency's letter of the 23rd June last requires from me in regard to the views of the inhabitants on the future government of the eastern province ; but as the establishment of the Port Elizabeth municipality is not necessarily connected with the more general question to be inquired into, I have thought it right to bring that point separately to Your Excellency's notice, in order to its being disposed of as soon as the state of the public business shall enable the Legislative Council to give its attention to tbe subject. I have, &c., H. E. R YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. MEMORANDUM. 5th August, 1847. I repeat that I cannot understand this letter, or at least the quotation from Port Elizabeth. The Executive Council now meets twice every week. What I required was, either a copy of the reply from Cape Town containing the above 178 quotation, or the date of it, and also of the application. It seems of no use to send a paper to Cape Town which contains a statement that I know positively to be erroneous ; I mean as to the Executive Council not sitting during my absence on the frontier. HENRY POTTINGER. Port Elizabeth Municipality. — Documents wanted, now sent. H. E. F. Y. Port Elizabeth, 4th August, 1847. To His Honour Sir Henry E. F. Young, Lieutenant-Governor. Sir, — We have the honour to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 30th July; and in reply we beg leave to forward herewith a copy of the letter from the Secretary to Government to the resident magistrate of the place, having reference to the establishment of a municipality in Port Elizabeth. We have, &c., W. SMITH, W. FLEMING, W. M. HARRIES, C. ANDREWS, JOHN E. BLACK. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 19th February, 1847. The Resident Magistrate, Port Elizabeth. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 13th instant, enclosing a copy of municipal regulations approved of at a public meeting held at Port Elizabeth on the 8th inst., and with reference thereto, I beg to inform you, that as regulations of this description must be taken into considera- tion by the Executive Council, and as that body cannot assemble without the presence of the Right Honourable the Governor, it will be necessary to wait until His Excellency shall have returned from the frontier ; but as soon as he has, the documents you forwarded will be submitted to him in council. I have, &c., JOHN MONTAGU. For Cape Town. 7th August, 1847. I beg that this subject may be referred to the Honourable the Executive Council. I perceive the reply was written a few days after I left Cape Town, when my early return was anticipated, but as that is not likely to take place for sometime yet, I know of nothing that should retard the arrangement alluded to in the Lieut. -Governor's letter. If there is any cause, I should be glad to be informed. HENRY POTTINGER. The Right Hon'ble the Governor. We, the members of the Executive Council, have the honour of drawing the Right Hon'ble the Governor's attention to the following remarks, in consequence of His Excellency's reference (dated the 7th instant), endorsed on the enclosure to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor's letter of the 30th ultimo, respecting the 3T9 establishment of a municipality at Port Elizabeth, the consideration of which has been deferred, as appears from the Colonial Secretary's letter of the 19th February on that subject. By Ordinance No. 9, of 1 836, for the creation of municipal boards, it is enacted that "the regulations adopted" at such meeting shall forthwith be trans- mitted to the Governor of the colony for the time being, for the approval, amend- ment, or disallowance thereof of the said Governor, hy and with the advice of the Executive Council. Since the enactment of the above ordinance in 1839, all municipal regula- section lo. tions have been considered by the Executive Council in the presence of the Governor. Being matters which may at any time be brought into question in courts of law, great circumspection in regard to their formal sanction has been deemed necessary. And as the Executive Council is created by the royal instructions, qnd must be governed by their language, it has been considered that the Executive Council is, by that instrument, contemplated as meeting and consulting with the Governor in person, in the same manner as the Queen, as we believe, is always present in the Privy Council, when passing orders which require her to act by and with their advice. His Excellency will recollect that, before his departure from Cape Town in February, a number of applications for municipal regulations were considered by him in Council, and disposed of. These had accrued since the month of April, ■^• 1846, when Sir P. Maitland went to the frontier, and during his absence they remained in the hands of the Clerk of the Councils, and were not disposed of until His Excellency met the executive body in Council. Since that time, other applications have been forwarded to the Colonial Office for the establishment of, or alteration of existing regulations in, municipalities (one of which is from the municipal commissioners of this town) ; and they are at present — in the usual course- in the possession of the Clerk of the Councils, awaiting consideration in the manner required by the ordinance. If, however, the wants of any municipalities should be pressing, and further inquiry into the law should not remove the difficulty which has always hitherto been apprehended, an ordinance might be introduced, making some temporary provision in regard to municipal regulations. As advisers to the Governor upon matters not of strictly legal character, the Executive Council can meet at any time and place, and act as advisers upon any subject required of them, although the Governor is not present ; for in these cases a substantial compliance with the royal instructions, and not a formal and ultimate adherence, is all that seems to be required. .lOHN MONTAGU. HARRY RIVERS. WM. PORTER. W. FIELD. MEMORANDUM. Graham's Town, August 19, 1847. I forward, for the information of His Honour the Lieut. -Governor, the explanation of the Honourable the Executive Council, as to the cause of the delay that has hitherto occurred in taking the application of the inhabitants of Port Elizabeth for a municipality into consideration. As the period of my return to Cape Town is altogether uncertain, and it appears that public inconvenience and delay are likely to occur in this and other instances, from my absence, I intend to propose that a temporary ordinance shall be submitted to the Honourable the Legislative Council, authorising such matters to be disposed of without my P'"^^^"^*'* HENRY POTTINGER. 2 A 2 180 Port Elizabeth Municipality. 20tb August, 1847. With memorandum, on which the Honourable the Secretary to Government is requested to take steps. HENRY POTTINGER. Colonial Office, 30th August, 1847. Transmitted to the Honourable the Attorney-General, who will be pleased to prepare a draft ordinance, in accordance with the desire of the Right Honourable the Governor, with as little delay as possible. By order, JOHN MONTAGU. 13th September, 1847. Upon farther consideration of the subject referred to in the memorandum of the Executive Council, I am led to the conclusion that an ordinance is not necessary. There can be no doubt that the practice has always been as stated by the members ; but it strikes me that no legal difficulty will be consequent upon a change. The Executive Council, under the royal instructions, is a distinct body, of which His Excellency the Governor is not a member. The advisers, — the Council, — are different from the advised, — the Governor. Nor does there appear to be any necessity that the advice must be asked or given face to face, although the phraseology of the royal instructions certainly seems to contemplate that common and convenient mode of consultation. I think, however, that it rests with the Governor to determine, according to circumstances, how he will require the assistance of his Council. If neither absence nor ill-health presents an obstacle, he will probably meet the members in person. But when bed-ridden or distant, he may, I conceive, desire, in writing, to have the advice, in writing, of his Executive Council. And so long as the Right Honourable the Governor shall be detained on the frontier, 1 respectfully recommend that all municipal regulations be, by him, specially referred for the advice of the Council, which may, in my opinion, embody the advice in a written form. WILLIAM PORTER. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 13th October, 1847. The Secretary to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 20th July last, forwarding a communication from the town clerk at Graaff-Reinet, giving cover to certain amended and additional regulations proposed to be adopted by the municipality ol that place ; and with reference thereto, I am, by the desire of the Right Honourable the Governor, to acquaint you, for the information of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, that the amendments and additions referred to will be proclaimed in to-morrows Gazette. I am, however, at the same time to explain to His Honour, through you, that the delay which has occurred in the publication of these and other municipal regulations, and in the consideration of the municipal regulations for Port Elizabeth, enclosed in another letter to you from this office, of this date, has arisen from its having been deemed necessary, in the first instance, that the Governor should be present when applications for such regulations, received here during His Excellency's absence from Cape Town, are considered and disposed of in the Executive Council ; but this impediment has lately been removed in consequence of the Attorney-General having come to the conclusion, in an opinion given by him on the subject, that the members of the Executive Council can consider applications for municipal and market regulations, and advise upon them, without His Excellency's being actually present. I have, &c., JOHN MONTAGU. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 1st July, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottingeh, Bart., G.C.B. Sir, — I have the honour of forwarding to Your Excellency a copy of a memorial of Mr. Joseph Cawood, praying for a grant of land on the sea-coast, between the Kowie and Fish Rivers, on the Kleine Mond stream. This locality may very probably become of importance as a place of shipment ; and with reference to the regulations for the sale of crown lands, under date the 15th May, 1844, the land applied for by Mr. Cawood, in addition to being disposed of in freehold and by public auction, ought to be subject to a higher upset price than 2s. per acre. I would submit to Your Excellency the propriety of employing a competent land-surveyor, on the part of the Government, to survey all Government land having a sea frontage in the neighbourhood, and to lay it out in building lots, with proper reserves for commonage and the sites of public buildings and wharfs, and to report generally on the value of the site. Mr. Cawood might then become a competitor for so many of the allotments as would suit his purposes. Under the impression that the Kleine Mond river is likely to be of public convenience, I hope it may be found possible for the Surveyor-General's department at Cape Town to report on Mr. Ca wood's application at an early date. 1 cannot, however, omit stating that, as far back as the year 1834, ninety or one hundred farms are reported to me to have been surveyed in this district, and to have been occupied since that date without the occupants obtaining their grants, and consequently without the payment to Government of an annual rent of £300 or £400. The settlers in many other parts of the eastern districts are placed in similar circumstances of insecurity to themselves and of detriment to the public treasury ; but at present I have alluded to the Bathurst field-cornetcy, as that in which the land now applied for by Mr. Cawood is situate. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. To His Honour Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Lieutenant- Governor of the Eastern Districts of the Cape of Good Hope, &c., &c., &c. The Memorial of Joseph Cawood, of Graham's Town, Respectfully showeth. That memorialist being now the contractor, for the fourth year, for the supply of Her Majesty's troops with provisions, &c., ventures to solicit Your Honour's consideration to a request that Your Honour would be pleased to recommend a grant of land to be made to him on the coast between the Kowie and Fish River, and known as the Kleine Mond stream, for the purposes and reasons hereinafter stated. ifS2 "■■'■' 1. Memorialist, having to obtain large supplies of meal, &c., by sea, from the Cape and other districts, was induced to seek for some convenient place for landing such supplies near Graham's Town, so as to avoid the great delay and heavy cost for transport from Port Elizabeth to Graham's Town, and from thence to the various military stations; and believing that a safe landing could be effected near the Kleine Mond as aforesaid, your memorialist had a cargo sent, and which was safely landed, — and by which success in an undertaking of such vital importance to this part of the colony, and particularly at the present time, memorialist is induced to persevere ; and other vessels have already sailed, and may be hourly expected at the port alluded to. 2. That memorialist was necessarily compelled to go to some considerable outlay, — as well as respects the cost of buoys, warps, &c., as to the erecting store houses, — one having been already built and another in progress, and which has been done on what is termed the free, or Government land, and which runs from the termination of the place known as " Boukies " to the beach, — but, of course, under the present circumstances of having .no certain right on the land, such buildings have only been constructed for temporary purposes. 3 That memorialist, in prefering this application for a grant of land, does so with the view of endeavouring to establish a permanent sea-port of that which he has so far succeeded on, and denominated as " Port Jessie ;" and trusts the Government will appreciate the very great advantages which will be derivable from the success of such an undertaking, the spot being only about 40 miles from Graham's Town, whereas from Port Elizabeth is nearly 100, and the road in many places rugged and bad, — that from " Port Jessie " being nearly level, and all tolerably good, in addition to which there are no rivers to impede the transit from thence to Graham's Town and many other stations ; in addition to which it is near the military depot of Cawood's Post and Fort Dacres. Thus by great facility and an immense saving of expense for transport, the Government would reap advantages in the cost of supplies being considerably reduced. 4. That the proposed grant sought for would not interfere with any private rights, there being a public road the whole way down to the beach ; nor would it be at all detrimental to the Government, should it at any future period be deemed essential to make it a Government port, there being abundance of land for all such purposes. Under the foregoing statement, memorialist solicits that Your Honour would be pleased to recommend his being granted two erfs of the land just above high -water mark, on the beach near that stream of the Kleine Mond nearest to the Kowie, for the erection of stores ; and also one erf actually on the beach, where high water flows, and on which memorialist would have to incur the expense of raising, so as to build thereon boat houses, &c., requisite for the various purposes at a sea-port. And your raemoriahst will ever pray, &c. &c. &c. JOSEPH CA WOOD. Graham's Town, 28th June, 1847. MEMORANDUM. July 3, 1847. Mr. Cawood applied to me lately for a grant of a mile of the beach, in the position pointed out in the present application, and I beg His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor will be so good as to call on Mr. Cawood to attach to this memorial copies of his former one to me, and of my reply, in order that the whole question may be submitied, as proposed by His Honour, to the Executive Council at Cape Town ; without whose advice and opinion I am not prepared to come to a decision on the matter. HENRY POTTINGER. 183 To the Right Hon'ble Sir Henry Pottinger*' - "■ '^^ Her Majesty's High Commissioner, &(5. &c, &c. The humble memorial of Joseph Cawood, provision contractor for the forces, Respectfully showeth, That memorialist finds it exceedingly difficult to provide transport for supplies, and is of opinion that a landing could be effected on the part of the coast near the Kleine Montjes River, there being a small bay or indentation of the land, preferable to Waterloo Bay as to anchorage and safety. That considerable expense would attend the procuring surf boats, anchors, warps, and erecting stores, which expense ought not to be incurred by an indivi- dual having but one year's contract ; therefore memorialist humbly prays that a lease be given him for eleven years of one mile of the beach, provided memorialist finds it practicable to carry into effect his object of landing supplies on this spot. And memorialist, as in duty bound, will ever pray. Graham's Town, April 13, 1847. Camp, Fort Peddie, 22nd April, 1847. Mr. Cawood, Provision Contractor, Graham's Town, Sir, — I am directed by Her Majesty's High Commissioner to acknowledge the receipt of your memorial, dated the 13th instant, and to inform you that, looking to the instructions of Her Majesty's Government, it is not iu Hisi Excellency's power to accede to the proposal you make therein. I remain, &;c., RICHARD WOOSNAM. Colonial Office, 17th July, 1847. Referred to the Surveyor-General for report, as speedily as practicable. By order, JOHN MONTAGU. REPORT. Surveyor-General's Office, 19th July, 1847. As I conceive the only point on which the Surveyor-General's opinion (with reference to these papers) is required, is on the " tracing out " allotments for a township, on the spot applied for by Mr. Cawood, — I beg respectfully to observe that an officer of this department will proceed to the frontier in a short time, and I beg to submit that so important a duty as the planning of a town should be left to that officer to execute, when he will be able to fix the amount of " upset price " it will be expedient to put the lots up for public sale. Should it, however, be necessary to lay out these allotments at once, I beg to request that we be authorised to issue the necessary instructions to a sworn surveyor. M. H, ROBINSON, A.S.G. 184 MEMORANDUM. ' ~ 24th July, 1847. I send this reply for the information of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, and beg it may be returned. It may be, perhaps, as well for His Honour to apprise Mr, Cawood, and all others concerned, that a surveyor will be sent forthwith to lay out the proposed town, fix upset prices, &c. &c. HENRY POTTINGER. For Cape Town. 24th July, 1847. Returned, to be acted on. — H. P. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 7th June, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henry Pottinger, Bart., G.C.B. Sir, — I have to request that the enclosed copies of a letter and diagram, this day received from Mr. C. T. Bird, Government land surveyor, respecting an error in the measurement of the town of Fort Beaufort, may be submitted to the department of the Surveyor-General in Cape Town, for the purpose of reporting whether the error in question may not be rectified in the manner suggested by Mr. Bird. Mr. Bird is of opinion that at present no opposition would be offered to the correction of the error ; and as it appears to be one committed by a public department, and may eventually give rise to very intricate litigation, both between individuals, and between them and the Government, it is very desirable that the attention of the Surveyor-General should be directed to the case, before it become complicated by disputes and conflicting claims. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Spitskop House, Albany, 2nd June, 1847. Sir H. E. F. Young, Lieutenant-Governor, &c., Eastern Province. Sir, — In compliance with Your Honour's command, I proceed to state the error which, I regret to say, I detected in the measurement of the town of Fort Beaufort. I was called upon, in my private practice as a surveyor, to determine the points a, b, c, © {vide diagram), that the proprietors might be able to proceed with building, division for sale, &c. &c. I therefore commenced from the point d, the stone indicating the angle of the property on which stands the Wesleyan chapel, and measuring sixty feet (the breadth of Henrietta-street) ; on a line produced to a small stone carefully cased with other stones, the comer of the Engineer's erf, I placed a pin at the point a. Then turning, on a subsequent day, at a right angle from d, and measuring 90 feet (the breadth of Campbell-street), I caused a small hole to be chiselled in the pavement stone, to indicate the point b ; this line I could not produce to c. 185 in consequence of a lot of building material preventing the passage. I therefore determined to take up the parallel line of the parade, and commencing at a, I measured 90 feet exactly, putting on a stone said to be the S.W. angle of the parade-ground (e). A flag being placed at /, a stone untouched, because defended by the prickly pear fence of the magistrate's garden, I measured towards f, but at 450 feet from e (the length of the diagrams in the lower block of build- ing allotments, then in my possession), I found no sign of the N.W. angle of the parade, and I therefore measured up to the point f, and found I had nearly 10 feet to spare over and above the true length. Obtaining subsequently the diagram of erf No. 32, D'Urban-street, I found that six out of the ten feet had been redeemed, by the surveyor making the length of erven on the upper block of erven 456 feet, — but nearly 4 feet still remained in error. If therefore the point g, the N.W. angle of the parade-ground must be estab- lished by measuring 90 feet from the point of /towards a, we shall, by protract- ing that line, cut nearly four feet from the face of Campbell-street, which being closely built upon will injure much valuable property ; but if I am permitted to establish the face of D' Urban-street by perpendiculars drawn on Campbell-street as a base, I can satisfy everybody, causing only a slight eye-sore in D'Urban street, by throwing the spare ground into the street; — and I have concurrent proofs, too lengthy to be introduced into this statement, that such face of D'Urban- street would be the true one. As I propose to return to Fort Beaufort in about a month, I have the honour to request Your Honour's definite instructions as to which of these courses to pursue. As to the discrepancy of the diagrams in the block of erven between the parade ground and church-street (456 feet) and the lower block of erven between Church-street and Graham's Town -street, I am at a loss to account for it. For having measured both sides of Church-street, it appears to me that the lower block might also have been described as 456 feet, instead of 450 only. As a reference I would point out that the diagram of erf No. 32, D'Urban- street, is figured 38 roods; and the diagram of erf No. 22, D' Urban street, is figured at .37-6 roods. I have, &c., C T. BIRD, Government Land Surveyor, Late Captain 55th Regiment. Colonial Oflice, 1 7th June, 1847 Referred to the Surveyor-General, for report By order, JOHN MONTAGU. '" REPORT. Surveyor-General's Office, June 19 1847. It has long been the Surveyor-General's practice to object (for obvious reasons) to take one surveyor's word to the prejudice of another. Mr. Bird must know this well; and I am sure it is only the knowledge of Mr. Rex's absence (the gentleman who made the survey of Fort Beaufort) that has caused him to make known the error (if it is onej to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, instead of referring it to Mr. Rex. If Mr. Rex had been in the colony I should have had no difficulty in determining the question, as I should have desired him % B 186 to re-examine his work, and correct it, if necessary ;but his absence obliges me to recommend that this department be authorised to desire another surveyor to check the work, and, if found incorrect, to alter the boundaries of the adjacent streets, as we may find it necessary to direct, in order to prevent encroachments on private property. M. R. ROBINSON, A.S.G. 28th June, 1847. The necessary instructions to be issued from the Surveyor-General's depart- ment to have the survey examined and tested. HENRY POTTINGER. Colonial Office, Cape Town, 5th July, 1847. Returned to the Surveyor-General with the view to his acting herein as directed by the Right Honourable the Governor, in his note upon these papers. dated 28th ult. By order, JOHN MONTAGU. Cape of Good Hope, Eastern Districts. Government Office, Court House, Graham's Town, 26th July, 1847. His Excellency the Right Honourable Sir Henhy Pottinger, Bt., G.C.B. Sir, — In the official Gazette, published in Cape Town, on the 8th instant, appears a notice of the intention of Government to sell, on the 4th September next, various extensive tracts of land in the eastern districts. I have no doubt that all local references which were necessary, were made previously to ray appointment to office ; but, on perusing the notice, I caused search to be made here respecting these lands, and have only discovered a trace of that small parcel which is proposed to be sold in Graham's Town, and which was applied for in July, 1845, and referred for report to the Surveyor-General in the same month, as per document annexed. I have to-day received a letter, dated the 22nd instant, from the civil com- missioner of Somerset, in regard to certain of the lands which are within his district, and form part of the Cowie Forest. The enclosures to his letter consist, 1 st, of a rough sketch of the Cowie Forest, divided into eight lots, with prices affixed to each, according to his estimate of their relative extent and value, amounting in the aggregate to 3,000 morgen and £2,800 respectively. 2nd. A letter from Mr. W. Ainslie, dated 10th July, 1847, to the civil commissioner of Somerset, enclosing a memorial to the Lieutenant-Governor, dated the 3rd instant, with a diagram showing the variances between the surveys of Messrs. Azerond and Chiappini, land surveyors, to the effect that lots 5, 6, and 8 are not in correspondence with each other, and that, consequently, no sales of these lots should be effected at present. The memorial of Mr. Ainslie, above mentioned, states that Mr. Chiappini charged him as being possessed of 4,795 morgens of land, whilst his grant specified 3,799 morgens, and the land surveyors Messrs. Brown and Grieve found that his tract comprised only 3,340 morgens. The diagram of Mr. Brown was forwarded to the Surveyor- General by the memorialist, who prayed that the mistakes might be rectified, but he states that he received no reply. The .Tiemorialist alleges that the matter may be adjusted without encroaching on the 187 land of his neighbours, provided the adjustment lake place previously to the alienation by Government of any more of the Cowie Forest. 3rd. A letter, dated 20th July, 1847, from Field-cornet Aldrich, recommend- ing a re-survey of the division of Somerset, and referring to the case of the Blaauw Krans Farm, respecting which the Secretary to Government gave a reply, under date 14th November, 184-6. 4th. Another letter, dated 21st July, 1847, from Mr. Aldrich, stating that lot 52, advertised for sale by Government on 4th September next, is a lot already sold by Government to Mr. McGregor, and is numbered 5 on the diagram of the Cov(fie Forest, and that lot No. 51, also proposed to be sold on the 4th September next, was applied for in March, 1845, by Mr. G. J. Erasmus, and is lot No. 4 on the farm diagram. Mr. Aldrich asks, for the above reasons, that lots 51 and 52 (or 4 and 5) be not sold. By a separate letter from the civil commissioner of Somerset, I find that Mr. H. Kuys, Acting 2nd Assistant Surveyor-General at Cape Town, directs the civil commissioner to receive £124 9s. for lot No. 4 from Mr. Erasmus, and to remit the amount to him ; and in answer to the commissioner's reference of this direction to me, I have instructed him to retain this amount in his divisional public chest, and to credit it in his cash account. The civil commissioner urges that a proper survey of the whole of the division of Somerset is essential, to determine with accuracy what is and what is not Government land, and suggests that until this be effected it is not desirable for the Government to sell any more land. I beg to enclose all the papers in original, that they may be referred, if Your Excellency pleases, for report to the Surveyor-General, and thereafter be returned for record in this office. I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. ' Memorial of Charles Watson, dated Wth July, 1845, to His Honour the Lieutenaut- Governor, Stating that he is desirous of purchasing a certain piece of Government land adjoining his premises in Graham's Town, according to the conditions and regula- tions published in the Government Gazette, dated 24th May, 1840. Referred to the civil commissioner for report on the 24th July, 1845. REPORT. I do not see any objection to the alienation of the piece of land applied for ; but if there should be any doubt as to the sale of it affecting the triangular piece referred to by the Surveyor-General, this piece might be either added to the other, and so put up for sale in one diagram, or the whole divided into two lots, as might be considered most advantageous. Mr. Watson would be glad to become a purchaser in either case. M. WEST, Civil Commissioner for Albany, j Referred to the Surveyor-General for report, 24th July, 1844. 2 B 2 188 .t-roii-f Civil Commissioner's (Jffice, Somerset, 22nd July, 1847, The Secretary to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, Graham's Town. Sir, — With reference to my letter of this day, with regard to a lot of the Cowie Forest, I have the honour to transmit, for His Honour the Lieut. -Governor s information and consideration, a letter to my address from Mr William Ainslie, enclosing a memorial with respect to the incorrectness of the diagram attached to his title deed of Spring Grove, and requesting a re-survey of his farm. I annex, in order the better to explain the matter, a rough sketch of the Cowie Forest, also a letter from Mr. Aldrich, the field-cornet of Baviaan's River, stating that lot No. 5, again to be exposed for sale on the 4th September next, has been already sold. Mr Ainslie considers that his boundary line passes through, and includes in his grant, the southern part of lots Nos. 5 (already sold) 6 and 8. it would not be safe to dispose of the lots Nos. 6 and 8, until Mr. Ainslie's farm be re-surveyed, unless His Honour should be of opinion that any proved deficiency in Mr. Ainslie's grant might be made up from Government land adjoining it, and to which I believe Mr. Ainslie would not object, his wish being to possess only the full extent of land mentioned in his title deed This is one of the cases brought to my notice when at the Cowie last month, and which induced me to suggest that crown lands should not be disposed of, before a proper survey be commenced of the whole of this division, which alone would remove the doubts as to which is and which is not Government land. Many proprietors of farms, I have reason to believe, occupy and use more land than they are entitled to ; and a general survey would be to the interest of Gov- ernment, as well as give satisfaction to the inhabitants. This is a matter which must be grappled with sooner or later ; and my object in mentioning it, is to put His Honour in possession of information. 1 enclose also, fur His Honour's information, copy of a letter this morning received from Field-cornet Aldrich with regard to another case, in which surveyors have been employed to ascertain the boundaries of land measured by the late Surveyor Azerond. I have, &c., H. HUDSON, Jr., Civil Commissioner. Spring Grove, 10th July, 1847. To H. Hudson, Esquire. Sir,- Per Mr. Aldrich I forward the memorial addressed to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor. 1 hope the style imd contents will be approved by you ; have also sent copy of the lines of two diagrams, on the same scale and sheet ; neglected nothing that I could think of to make the matter as clear as possible. Mr. William Brown, surveyor, is able to furnish further information, if wanted. i • i ■ The lines of the old diagram touch on No. 5, also on No. 6, and uiclude two-thirds of No. 8 ; so I hope that no more sales of these allotments will be effected. I wish to make the farm as correct and complete as possible, and intend to purchase, if necessary, from Government. 1 remain, &c , -ft-i .^lifuii WILLIAM AINSLIE. im To His Fionour Sir Henry Edward Fox Young, Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope. The Memorial of William Ainslie, residing at Spring Grove, Eastern Cowie, district of Somerset, showeth : — Memorialist having purchased this farm, Spring Grove, in the year 1837, on taking possession, found that there were various opinions concerning the boundaries of the farm. In the year 1843, Land-surveyor Chiappini came to measure off the Government forest, lying on the northern side of the farm, which is now exposed for sale. Donald Devenish, eldest son of the grantee, now residing at Beaufort, (West) happened to be in this part of the country at that time, who stated he was vv ith the first surveyor, Azerond, when the farm was surveyed for the grantee. Memorialist took the opportunity, and requested Chiappini to survey the farm, according as he, Donald Devenish, pointed out. Chiappini delivered a diagram accordingly, charging memorialist with the measurement of 4795morgen of land, the grant being only 3799 morgen. Memorialist suspecting some mistake on the part of Chiappini, submitted the diagram to the inspection of Mr. W. Brown, also of Mr. Grieve, both Government land surveyors, who found that it only contained 3340 morgen. Memorialist then sent a memorial to Government, praying that before any of the forest lands were sold_, a re survey should be made of the farm, stating his opinion that a portion of the land exposed for sale came within the lines of his diagram. Answer was returned, signed by Mr. Hertzog, stating that no part of the forest wa« ever inten After an alternative consideration of Earl Bathurst's letter of the 20th July, 1819, the printed memorandum annexed thereto, and some other communications, from His Majesty's Government of that date, it appears to me that neither the Imperial nor the Colonial Government entered into any engagement with, or incurred any responsibility to, any other class of settlers than the heads of parties. Finding that the same view is taken by the Surveyor- General, and having reason to think that the 2nd Assistant Surveyor-General has altered a contrary opinion (founded upon the only evidence within his reach, but which has turned 201 out to be inaccurate), and now coincides in the correctness of limiting the enga *^^^ '^' ^^^' ^^^^ purposc of preparing and maturing your report, it shall Fleming, Chase, Fair', seem to you expedient to meet and confer with each other, and with me, at Thomp'so'n, Joseph! Graham's Towu, I shall be happy to do all in my power to fiacilitate the objects of Pohl, Rice Smith, „,,„i. „ ~,„,.4;„^ Hutchinson, Kirk- s»cli a meeting. wood, Dr. A. Camp- You will oblige me by understanding, that in selectins; the names mentioned bell, Jarvis, M. B. . . ° •' . ^ • i i • i i j Shaw, Blaine, s. Hart- m the margin, my recent acquaintance with the province may have led me T^cred!H»die^"^^^' inadvertently to omit reference to others of the colonists and petitioners equally 215 competent to benefit me by tlieir evidence and counsel, and that if any such omission occurs to you, you will do me the favour to rectify it by assuring the parties of my willingness respectfully to receive and attentively to weigh any statement bearing on the subject which they may be disposed to favour me with in writing. I cannot, however, too plainly and firmly assure you that my participation in the discussion will be scrupulously limited to a conscientious balance of the evidence adduced, without any feelingofpartizanship in favour of the independence of the eastern province government, or any antagonism against the tbrm of the existing central government at Cape Town ; and that this disposition of miud, which official duty cogently enjoins on me, will, I trust, be equally cherished and acted on by you from motives of enlightened patriotism. ■ I have, &c., H. E. F. YOUNG, Lieutenant-Governor. Uitenhage, July 2, 1847. To Sir H. E. F. Young, Lieutenant-Governor of the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope. Sir, — I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your (circular) letter of the 26th ult., and will proceed to submit my sentiments upon the several topics it embraces in the order in which they occur. In common with, I believe, the whole of the iuhabitants of the eastern province, I regard it as an evil that the seat of Government should be placed, not merely in the other province, but at its extreme end. I do not believe that a government at a distance of six or seven hundred miles does, or possibly can, understand and appreciate our wants and wishes as correctly as a government on the spot would do. And then it should be borne in mind, that although iu some respects the interests of the several portions of the colony are identical, yet, in many supposable cases the interests of one locality may be iu a considerable degree opposed to those of another, or others. Take, for instance, the construc- tion of public works. If good roads are made or safe harbours formed in one part of a colony, the consequence will be to draw into one channel much of the traffic that flowed before through many smaller ones, and to enrich one portion of the colony at the expense of others less favoured. If they, too, have to contribute their quota to the fund from which such improvements are made, they will consider themselves as having additional cause of complaint. And, speaking hypothetically, it is scarcely consistent with a knowledge of human nature to suppose that a government, constituted like our legislature, residing permanently on the same spot, and that situated with regard to the rest of the colony, as Cape Town is, the members of which mix more or less in the society of their neighbour- hood, can altogether escape being infected with its local prejudices and predilections. They are likely to come under the influence of a bias, not the less powerful because unsuspected by themselves, and under a temptation to attach a greater relative importance than is due to the province they inhabit, as compared with the other, which is remote, and with regard to which they are necessarily less perfectly informed. Believing, as I do, that it would be of the greatest possible advantage to this province to be erected into a separate colony, with its own legislature, I lament my inability to show that the state of its resources enables it at present to support the necessary additional expenses that must be incurred. If this should be done by any of the other gentlemen your Honour has addressed upon this occasion, no one will rejoice at it more than I shall do. An inspection of the amount of the exports and imports of the province for the last ten years will show that, until the occurrence of the Kafir war, it had been advancing rapidly in prosperity, and gives promise that any obstacle, arising from an insuflicient revenue, to its- 216 enjoyment of a separate government, legislative as well as executive, will, in a very few years, cease to exist. Meanwhile, I submit that it would strongly impress the minds of the inhabitants of the province with the favourable intentions of the Imperial Government towards them, and reconcile them to the delay (if needful), if it were explicitly announced that this boon will be conceded to them as soon as the state of the revenue will allow of it. I do not believe that the addition of a member or two from the eastern province to the Council in Cape Town would be attended with any important results. I beg entirely to dissent from the opinion that the establishment in the eastern districts of a Registrar of Deeds' office, a Surveyor-General's office, and a board for the maintenance of public roads and bridges, is not necessary or expedient. If an inhabitant of the eastern province purchases a farm, he has in the ordinary course of business to appoint an agent in the province, who has his paid agent in Cape Town. The affair seems to me needlessly complicated at present, and delay, inconvenience, and expense are occasioned, which might, in part at least, be avoided if the registration took place in Graham's Town. In the latter case, the intervention of an agent would in many instances be dispensed with, and more than one would, I apprehend, in no case be needed. I have no doubt that this change would be highly popular; as would also the establishment of a Surveyor-General's office, by which, probably, the public business in that department would be considerably expedited. With respect to a board for the care and maintenance of public main roads and bridges in the eastern province, I think that also highly desirable. The landowners of the province have now for some years paid annually a road rate of a penny in the pound for the construction and improvement of roads and the building of bridges. A large majority of them, however, are obliged to turn to the newspapers for a knowledge of what has been effected. The main road from the principal port of the province to its metropolis is for the most part a mere wagon track — in some places almost impassable in wet weather. Bridges are not yet thrown over the rivers ; and one of them (Sunday's River), when swollen by heavy rains, opposes, sometimes for a week together, or longer, an effectual barrier to the progress of the numerous wagons detained on its banks. I think the appointment of a board in and for this province alone would lead to the expendi- ture of the road rates where they would be most beneficially laid out, so as in a higher degree to promote the prosperity of the province than has hitherto been the case. I have, &c., F. O. HUTCHINSON. Baviaan's River, Somerset District, 9th July, 1847. To His Honour Sir H. E. F. Young, Lieut.-Governor of the Eastern Province of the Cape of Good Hope. Sir, — Respectfully availing myself of the invitation contained in your circular, dated 26th June, I will preface the few remarks I may venture to submit for Your Honour's perusal, by stating that I am one of the settlers who came to this colony in the year 1820 ; since which I have resided partly in Cape Town, Graham's Town, and for upwards of the last ten years on my present farm, engaged in sheep-farming. My stake in the colony is a farm of nearly seven thousand acres, a flock of sheep, which the present war has reduced from upwards of 4,000 to something under 3,000 ; that I am a married man, and have six children. In reference to the important question alluded lo in the leading paragraph of Your Honour's circular, I am of opinion that the chief advantage expected by the petitioners to be derived by "enlarged powers and an independent jurisdic- tion, in all matters connected with the administration of the eastern districts. 217 being conferred on the Lieut. -Governor," was that, in the then unsettled state of the frontier, in consequence of the continual depredations of the Kafirs, and the increasing hostile attitude which the petitioners conceived they could observe the Kafirs were assuming, had the chief authoi-ity on the frontier been empowered and expected to act on his own responsibility, and wholly independent of any necessity of ref(!rring to the Central Government in Cape Town how to act, in case of any emergency arising for prompt and vigorous measures being adopted, anri which emergency the long experience and knowledge of the Kafir character possessed by many of the petitioners led them to believe was last approaching, the calamity of a Kafir invasion never would have occurred. The possession of such powers by the chief authority on the frontier was thought likely to be far more available, either to avert an approaching danger, as also for adopting such measures as might render an evil, when no longer avoidable, less injurious in its effects ; and that such an idea was reasonable I have no doubt Your Honour will admit, when contrasted with the alternative, that the time neces- sary to travel over 1200 miles must elapse before tlie steps to be taken could be known, or being taken, could be considered irrevocable In addition, the impres- sion is universal in the minds of all who have had any experience in observing the effects on the minds of the Kafirs of the working of the system heretofore in operation, that no authority which the Kafirs consider to be of a deputed character is regarded with that deference which they pay to the one from whose decision they consider there is no appeal- Plausible reasons for this might be assigned, but I deem it sufficient to state that there can be no doubt of the fact. The war having, how- ever, taken place with its attendant evils— to the Home Government, serious, from the immense expense entailed, and to the frontier colonists, partially ruinous — whether, under the most favourable settlement that can be anticipated, and under the direction of Her Majesty's High Commissioner that it will be as favourable as human wisdom, supported by ample powers, can be expected to effect, 1, as an individual, feel satisfied of; — whether, I say, the arguments hitherto advanced in favour of such a change in tlie government of the eastern districts being made, will not receive very great additional strength, public sentiment on the frontier, I have no doubt, will be unanimous upon. And I here beg to express my confi- dence, that should Her Majesty's High Commissioner and Your Honour deem such a change expedient, and recommend to Her Majesty's Government such change being made, I have no fear, notwithstanding the financial difficulty at present existing, as exhibited in the statement of revenue and expenditure of the eastern province, but that, should Her Majesty's Government accede to such recommendation, the means for carrying out the same will be provided for on equitable principles of enlightened justice. With respect to the additional number of functionaries petitioned for, the only inconvenience that I have felt, and which in my case arises more from the distance I live from the seat of magistracy, than from any want of time or inclination on the part of the only constituted authority at present in the district to attend to matters brought to his notice ; but residing myself 30 miles from the court of the resident magistrate, and many persons at a much greater distance, the consequence is, that unless offences are of a highly criminal nature, they are generally passed over, to a gradual declension of character in our servants; as from the constant impunity they experience under misbehaviour and for petty offences, they are yearly becoming more disobedient and dishonest. This, I con- ceive, is not asserting anything more unfavourable of the class we are obliged to employ than would be applicable to any other description of persons, virtually released from the wholesome restraints of the law Our losses in stock in the course of the year by vagrants are enormous. This is an evil, also, that the inhabitants who live at a long distance from the magistrate's court are exposed to, and have no means in their power to check ; but which the establishment of a periodical, if not a permanent, court of justice, sitting within reach, so that a complainant might be enabled to go to the court and return to his home the same 2 F 218 day, would, I think, go a great way to remedy. The creation of an additional magistrate for each district would, doubtless, be necessary, armed with powers fully equal to those possessed by the resident magistrate at least. The want of constables in the country parts is also much felt, for the purpose of apprehemling offenders, and conveying them to jail. The expenses for providing such additional security to farmers and others must of course be expected to be borne by tliose who derive the benefit, and who, in the result, would be considerable gainers, if their present losses should be thereby diminished. The impediment the Secretary of State experiences from deficiency of information on the representation question is a difficulty I trust others, better qualified to do so than myself, will endeavour to remove. On the general question, however, I trust I may be excused in remarking, that should a case occur wh( rein the interests of the two provinces might clash, the non-official members of Council ,all having a stake in the western and none in the eastern province, I may, without disrespect, entertain a fear that a bias miglit operate to the disadvantage of the eastern province. With respect to the question as to whether " a Registrar of Deeds' office, a" Surveyor-General's office, and a board for the care and maintenance of the public main roads and bridges, be necessary in the eastern province ?" I can vouch ■for the fact that much confusion exists, arising from the seeming inaccuracy in the diagrams of several farms in this neighbourhood, and which is a constant source of irritation between the proprietors ; and which state of thincrs is not likely to terminate without the assistance of a competent officer of the Sur- veyor-General's office being appointed to adjust the disputes between the parties. That a permanent Surveyor-General's office on the frontier is necessary, is a question I am not competent to offer an opinion upon. That some efficient board connected with the road establishment is necessary is a general opinion, in order to ensure a fair appropriation of the funds collected in the eastern districts to their proper object, and which, it is thought, has not hitherto been the case — that is, as to the locality on which the said funds have been expended. There is one other topic which, although not alluded to in Your Honour's 'circular, I will take the liberty of offering a remark on. I mean the ordinance now before the Council for amending the pound and trespass laws, and which ordinance, I beg to state, is, in my humble judgment, calculated to amend a state of things that has long needed the interference of the legislature, and that with the principle of which, as also with its details, with one or two exceptions, which might be altered without interfering with the principle, I cordially agree. I have ventured to express my opinion on the subject, it being an ordinance that more particularly concerns landed proprietors, — deeming it possible Your Honour might wish to know the feeling entertained by the farmers with regard to it. In conclusion, I bag to say that I have been induced to respond to the invitation contained in Your Honour's circular, more from a desire to mark the sense I entertain of the liberal and candid tone in which Your Honour has condescended to address the colonists, than from any idea that I can have afforded anything new or valuable in ray remarks. I have, &c., G. R STOKES. Graham's Town, 9th July, 1847. To His Honour Lieutenant-Governor Sir H. E. F. Young, &c. &c. &c. Sir, — I have the pleasure to enclose for Your Honour's information a copy i, of the proceedings of the public meeting held this day by your permission, at the Court House ; and remain, &c., CHARLES MAYNARD, Chairman. 219 Copy of Resolutions passed at a Public Meeting, held at Grahams Town on the 9th July, 1847. Proposed by Mr. W. Wright, seconded by Mr- W. Ogilvie, supported by Mr. fl. Godlonton, and carried unanimously — That His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, having issued a circular, addressed to several inhabitants of the eastern districts, calling their attention to petitions which the frontier inha')itants have addressed to the imperial government for the establishment of more liberal institutions, and of a separate and distinct government ; and requiring from them the necessary statistical information, in order to show how far they are able to support such government; and it appearing to this meeting that the enquiry thus made involves subjects of vital importance to the interests of the eastern province, they consider it necessary that immediate measures should be taken to furnish the information which His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor has thus required. Proposed by Mr. G. Jarvis, seconded by Dr. J. Atherstone, and supported by Mr. B. Hadley,— That, in the opinion of this meeting, it is highly desirable that the eastern districts be constituted a separate and distinct government, irrespective of Kafirland ; but that, in order to obtain such statistical and other information as may be necessary to show the expediency of such a measure, it is desirable a committee of thirteen gentlemen be elected — the object of such committee being to receive and collate such information as may be obtained, and to prepare a report thereon, to be submitted to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, for the information of Her Majesty's government. Proposed by Mr. T. H. Bowker, seconded by Mr. Rice Smith, and supported by Mr. T. Nelson — That the best thanks of this meeting are due and be presented to His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor, for the opportunity now given to the inhabitants of the eastern districts for an expression of their opinion upon so important a subject. Proposed by Mr. J. Temlett, and seconded by Mr. L. H. Meurant — That this meeting now proceed to elect by ballot a committee of thirteen gentlemen, in terms of the foregoing resolution, and that Messrs, J. Walker and T. Nelson be requested to act as scrutineers. Moved by Mr. T. King, and seconded by Mr. That Mr. C. Maynard be requested to vacate the chair, and that Mr. G. Jarvis be requested to take it. Moved by Captain Lungley, and seconded by Mr. Meurant — That the thanks of this meeting be given to C Maynard, Esq., the chairman, for his great attention to the business of the meeting. The scrutineers returned the following names as having been duly elected as a committee : — C. Maynard, G. Jarvis, W. R Thompson, B. Hadley, H. B. Rutherfoord, J. Walker, P. W. Lucas, H. Blaine, R. Godlonton, W. Wright, L. H. Meurant, W. Ogilvie, Dr. J. Atherstone. Proceedings at the Public Meeting held at Grahams Town, 9th July, 1847, on the subject of separate and independent government (Extracted from the Graham's Town Journal, July 17, 1847.) Mr W. Wright, on being called on to move the first resolution, s{)oke as follows :- Mr. Chairman- The great importance of the subject which calls us together, makes me almost shrink from the task of moving the first resolution ; but still I feel tlie importance of the subject demands that I should take some part in the proceedings, and more particularly as I have a great stake in the frontier districts. I have a large interest in landed property, and a still higher one in a large and rising family. I may be accused of egotism, but having stated that I have a large interest in landed property, I beg leave to add that that interest extends to upwards of 60,000 acres of land, besides considerable property in .i^iouses ir Graham's Town, and other towns in the eastern districts, acquired by 2 F 2 220 hard labour and industry. This stake gives me, I feel, an influence to a certain extent, but it also entails upon me a responsibility as to how I use it for the interest of a numerous family, whose future destiny I consider is in a great measure depending upon the part I take with you this day, in either promotinij; or retarding the work in which we are engaged. Sorry should I be were any sinister motive of my own, or anything that might seem to tend to my own advanl ige onl}', to lead me to use the influence which property gives me to the injury of those I must leave behind me. But so fur from this being the case, you will allow me to say that it is this weight of responsibility resting upon me, and upon us all, which induces me to come forward to avail myself of the opportunity presented to us by u liberal and enlightened Government, of showing that we have the means and are able and willing to take the management of our own affairs under a distinct and separate Government. I am, and always have been, a liver of liberal institutions and political independence, and for many years I have had no other view tiian that we ought to have the management of our own affairs. I told them in Cape Town many years ago, that we were perfectly independent of them. We have several public institutions now amongst us, which I venture to say are as well managed as any at the west end of the colony ; — and why not ? People that know how to earn, know best how to spend what they work hard for. Now, I maintain that it is impossible, and 1 would like to know if there is anybody that will undertake to show, that the eastern districts, or any other place situated in the same way, can ever rise to any degree of eminence, while governed, as it is, with the Imperial Government at 6000, and the local Government at 600 miles from the people whose affairs they manage ? Our case, however, resolves itself into mere matter of calculation, and for my part I am not afraid of the issue. I am persuaded that the statistical accounts, which will be made out by this and the other districts will clearly show that we are well able to manage our own affairs, and maintain a distinct and separate Government, — wishing it, however to be understood, that in moving the first resolution, I do so with the conviction that the eastern province will have nothing to do with Kafirland, whose aff'airs ought not, in my opinion, to be involved with those of the colony, but to be made a subject of distinct and separate arrangement by the British Government. Mr. GoDLONTON remarked, in supporting the first resolution : — That it had often fallen to him to assemble with and address his fellow-colonists in public meeting, but on no previous occasion had he presented himself before them under so deep a conviction of the importance of the occasion as that on which they were then convened. He hailed that occasion with more than ordinary satisfaction, inas- umch as it involved, and would bring to issue, questions connected with those great constitutional privileges, which he, as an Anglo-Saxon, had ever cherished as his birthright ; and he had yet to learn that a removal from one part of the empire to another vitiated that right, or in any manner destroyed his fair and legitimate claim to those benefits, political and civil, which were the common property of every British subject. The causes which had originated that meeting had been stated to them in the " circular " that had been read by the chairman. The case was simply this, — they had asked for free and independent institutions — for distinct and separate government — and the Colonial Minister had so far acceded to their prayers as to appoint a Lieutenant-Governor to administer their aff'airs ; at the same time holding out a hope that everything asked for would be granted, with, however, this reasonable proviso — that they would show they were prepared efficiently to discharge those duties which must, by the proposed arrangement as a matter of course, devolve upon them. He would not for a moment suppose that there were any present so poor in spirit as to shirk from that responsibility — who, having asked for certain concessions, would, when they were offered, refuse with childish waywardness to accept of them. Holding these views, he anticipa- ted that perfect unanimity of feeling in that meeting, which would convince all of the earnestness with which they entertained the questions proposed to them, as well as the determination with which thev were resolved to embrace the oppor- tunity now presonted of placing the affairs of that province upon such a basis as should conduce to the growing prosperity and future security of all concerned. In the circular of the Lieutenant-Governor which had been read to them, a reference was made to a petition to the Queen in Council from the inhabitants of that town and district in December, 1845. A. copy of that petition he held in his hand, and as many might probably have forgotten the precise terms of that document, it would not be irreleviint to read a clause or two of it. for the purpose of refreshing their memories. It ran thus : — That petitioners beg humbly to state their conviction to Your Majesty in Council, that besides the great importance of the relations with the native tribes, the eastern province of this colony has— from the rapidly increasing value of its commerce, the amount of its ox{)orts of raw produce to the parent country, and particularly of fine wool, the value of which this year will amount, it is calculated, to ^100,000 sterling ; its large consumption of British manufactures; the greatly augmented amouut of capital invested in buildings, machinery, stock, and improvements of various kinds; together with the great extent of the province, the amount of its population, and the growing intelligence of the community at large — a just claim to the presence of an officer with a SEPARATE AND INDEPE.XDKNT JURISDICTION, who shall be charged with the welfare of the settlement, and empowered to adopt those measures which, sanctioned by Your Majesty, may best conduce to its permanent prosperity, the extension of British interests, and the maintenance of the honour of Your Majesty's crown and government That petitioners have deemed it expeJient to append to this their humble petition, for the information of Your Majesty in Council, and in support of their allegations, returns showing the amount of population of this province, its geographical area, its annual exports of raw produce to the British markets, and its yearly imports of British manutactured articles. Petitioners humbly trust that these returns, with the other allegations set forth, will indisputably show that they are entitled to that consideration which they now most earnestly pray may be shown them, by conceding more liberal institutions than heretofore enjoyed by this province, and investing the Lieutenant-Go venor with independent and enlarged powers, enabling him to act upon his own responsibility with that promptitude and decision, which petitioners are persuaded will tend most effectually to uphold Your Majesty's Government — afford the best chance of security to all classes^and advance most effectually the political, social, and commercial interests of this valuable portion of Your M ajesty's dominions. The addenda referred to in the extract he had just read, were tables, showing the population of the eastern province (65,633 souls) ; the shipping returns from Port Elizabeth for 1845, amounting to 19,626 tons inwards, and 18,754 outwards; the value o^ imports for that year £149,183, and of exports £142,372, —with a comparison of the staple produce exported from the two provinces during the same period. Here then was their request, and which he might be permitted to say was not a novel one, it being the mere reiteration of prayers which had in previous vears been importunately urged upon the attention of the Home Govern- ment. The British settlers who founded the district of Albany in 1820, came to the colony expecting to enjoy the full privileges of their fatherland ; and hence, as early as 1823 they complain, in a petition to the Home Government, of the disadvantages under which they laboured from having the Executive Council in Cape Town. The following year, namely, in 1824, the Commissioners of Inquiry appointed by the British crown came to that province — men of high character and of eminent abilities, — and after the most diligent and laborious research, the most searching inquiry into the circumstances of the colony, and its actual and probable resources, — after weighing every fact making for and against the questions brought under their consideration,— these gentleiuen at that early period recommended, as being essential both to the security and prosperity ofthe province, that separation which the parties concerned were now, after a lapse of more than twenty years, still labouring to obtain. In the report made by these eminent individuals, and which must be characterised as one of the most able and impor- tant state papers ever submitted to the British Government, were the following passages : — The early impression that we received of the embarrassment to which all measures both of executive and judicial authority were liable, from the great extent of territory that the colony includes, having been confirmed by longer experience and observation, we felt much satisfaction in learning that the measure which we had the honour to suggest of separating the government of tiie eastern and western portions of it, had received His Majesty's approbation. It was manifest, indeed, that a measure of this kind had become necessary, from the increased pressure of business 3?2 and correspondence with the remoter districts on the frontier, occasioned by the settlement of the English emigrants, the importance of applying some uniform and consistent principle to the intercourse of the colonists with the Kafirs and other tribes, of preventing their collision, and checking the desultory warfare that has prevailed along a considerable portion of the frontier. But the Commissioners of Inquiry not only remark that this separation of the two provinces had been approved by the Home Government, but they state unequi- vocally that the King had commanded the separation to be made. Thus they observe in their report : — His Majesty having been graciously pleased to direct that the civil government of the two provinces should be kept distinct and independent of each other, except on any extraordinary occasion, or in the event of any unforeseen emergency, we shall take an opportunity of suggesting such measures for carrying this arrangement into effect, as we have judged necessary for the due exercise of the separate authority in each province, commencing our observations with those that we conclude must be common to both. This, be it remembered, was the instruction given in 1824, since which period the province had been twice overwhelmed by an irruption of the Kafir tribes, and he put it to that meeting, and to every man of experience in the country, whether the probabilities were not, that if that separation had taken place, and the inhabitants had had that fair influence upon the measures of government to Avhich they were entitled, the British government would not have been saved from the expenditure of at least two millions of money, and the colonists from those calamities which, from such neglect, they have been called to suffer ? (Great applause.) The commissioners of inquiry propose an Executive CoMncW for the eastern province, in the following terms : — In the formation of the council for the eastern province, the means of selection are more limited ; but adhering to the same principle that has been adopted by Her Majestj''s government, to the formation of the council of the western province, by the appointment of the principal officers of the civil and military departments, and reserving the exercise of a full discretion in the choice of their successors, we should recommend that the number of membei-s should be four, the commandant of the frontier or officer next in command of the troops being included, if he should possess the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel, with three of the principal officers of the civil departments. Sensibly alive to the importance of maintaining the peace of the colony, " the Commissioners of Inquiry " make the following prudential suggestions : — From the injurious consequences that have attended the expensive wars in which the colonial government has engaged for the protection of the country from the Kafirs, we conceive that no offensive hostilities whatever should be allowed to take place along the frontier of the colony, without the concurrence of the Lieutenant-Governor, and of the majority of the council in the eastern province ; and that war should not be declared against any of the independent tribes, by which the resources of the colony at large might be necessai'ily called forth, without the concurrence of the Governor, and the majority of the council in the western province, upon a full report of the grounds upon which the Lieutenant-Governor may declare it, to be unavoidable. Here then they saw it was proposd that the great question of war should only be decided in the affirmative by a majority of the council in the Eastekn Province. But the Commissioners of Inquiry go still further than that, and with a view of still more effectually guarding the colony against foreign aggression, recommend strongly that the people should have a voice in the management of their own affairs. After the many opportunities afforded them of becoming acquainted with the inhabitants of the colony, after mixing freely with them, and learning their views upon every question of colonial polity then under discussion, they strongly urge upon the attention of the British Government the importance of conceding to the people a Representative Legislative Assembly. After passing a handsome and well-merited eulogy upon the Dutch African colonists, they thus speak of the English settler: — To the English part of the population, who have adopted the colony as their home, or to those who may repair to it hereafter, an institution so congenial to their feelings cannot fail to be acceptable. There are not many of them at present who, in point of permanent property, would be entitled to a seat in a Legislative Assembly, and still fewer who are competent, either from previous habit or education, to discharge the duties that belong to that station ; but if a sense of pei-sonal security, or the hope of a more perfect enjoyment of civil rights, be connected in their minds (which it assuredly is) with the freedom of discussion in a Legislative Assembly virtually appointed by themselves, we cannot doubt that such an institution, imperfect as it might ■ be,jW0)iJd make them more satisfied with their condition, and less clamorous for a change. ^3 Such were the recommendations made to the Hbme Oovernttten't hy thte Commis- sioners of Inquiry in 1824, and which were the natural deductions from the voluminous information laid before them, and after a careful examination of the circumstances of the country, and of the character of the people to whom the whole subject had primary reference. More thaa 20 years had since elapsed, and still those concessions were withheld, and to which, he repeated, might be attributed all the misfortunes which had since overtaken them. But he was aware that many persons took alarm at the bugbear of self-government, and were apt to attribute to it a degree of importance to which it was not entitled. It would be well to look at this term a little more closely, and then he thought all such apprehensions would speedily vanish. Communities were very much like large families. Now it was an every day occurrence, that a member of a family on reaching majority branched off, and commenced "a separate and independent" establishment. This was the natural progress of society, and the same principle was of equal applicability to communities as to families ; —hence the only questions at issue were, 1st. — Whether the parties were capable of discreetly managing their own affairs? and 2ndly. — Whether their means were sufficient to meet theii necessary expenditure ? Now he thought that he should be able to prove that both the inquiries might be decidedly answered in the affirmative. He was firmly of opinion, that the people of this province were fully as able to maintain their own institutions as the western districts. He thought this would be seen by a comparison of the exports of their staple articles of produce for the past year, and which stood as follows : — Exports of Staple Produce for 1846. Westehn Province. Eastern Province. Wine £50,:M5 Nil. Wool 59,688 £114,153 Hides 11,888 21,092 Skins 13,940 6,374 Total £135,561. £141,619 Thus showing that on the three staple exports of the eastern province, as contrasted with the /owr staple products of the western districts, th6fe was a balance in favour of the Joi^mer of upwards of £6,000, — and this too was the dark year of their calamity — a year in which they were called to struggle against the fearful inroads of the neighbouring barbarians. He need not touch upon imports, not from any fear of the results, but from a strong opinion that imports were not a safe criterion of the circumstances of a country. The all-important inquiries were, what did a country produce? what was the extent of its resources? what the character of its means? And he thought that when it could be shown that during the past year they had shipped to the parent country raw j)roduce, thus furnishing employment to the British operative, to the extent of £141,000 in only three articles, to say nothing of minor products, which might be indefinitely increased, it was a strong argument in their favour that they had arrived at such a state of maturity as would permit of their being entrusted with that control in the management of their own afi'airs to which they now so properly aspired. It was hardly possible that they could be any longer held in leading-strings by the Western province, and which might be deduced from the rate at which they were outstripping her in the race of improvement. Of this the single fact, that the increase on the exports of the past year, as compared with the preceding one, was, for the western districts £42,055, while for the eastern province it amounted to no less than £70,578, — showing a rate of progression unexampled in the history of this, or perhaps any other colony, — told more forcibly than any argument, and rendered remark unnecessary. But besides all this, they might add to their income, not merely the products exported by them, but their ' 224 large missionary outlay, and also the military expenditu,-e, and which, if there were an officer ofthe Commissariat present, lie would tell them was " pretty consider- able." Another mode of drawing a safe inference as to their ability to sustain a separate and independent government, was by a comparison with other colonies actually in the enjoyment of those rights which they vvere labouring to obtain. Looking to the West Indies, he found there twelve colonies, the average amount of the European population in which did not exceed 5,300, each of which had not only their own Governor, but also elective representative councils. Turning to Australia, he saw that the settlement of Western Australia (Swan River) had its Lieutenant-Governor and Legislative Council — though its revenue for the past year did not exceed £10,000, out of which j)rovision is made for its free schools, harbour establishments, &;c., while it is observed, that " in every branch of the administration, activity and efficiency seem to be superadded to economical arrangement. The management of the public ferries had under- gone revision," &c. Turning to South Australia, at present one of the most flourishing dependencies of the British Crown, he iound that its revenue for the present year was £"43,970; its expenditure £32,477*; added to which was a supplementary abstract, amounting to about i,'4,000 more. Out of that revenue this colony supported, in addition to its Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary, &c., its Judge, Surveyor-General, Deputy Surveyor General, and Colonial Engineer. It had its Executive and Legislative Councils, as well as supported a number of institutions to which at present this province had never aspired, — although he was prepared to show that, under good management, and with the right direction and due control of their own affairs, they were equally as well able to support them as the colony to which he made reference. In proof of this, he was happy in being able to submit to the meeting the estimated revenue and expenditure of the province for the ensuing year, and which he had been permitted to compile from official papers in the office ofthe Lieut.-Governor; and It afforded him as much pleasure to state, as the meeting would be to hear, that Sir Henry Young had been assiduously working to ascertain the real resources * The following is a summary of the estimated expenditure of South Australia here referred to : — Summary of Estimates of Expenditure for the year 1847. TheGovernor £1,500 Civil Establishments — 1. Governor £406 2. Councils ; 396 3. Colonial Secretary's Department.; 1914 4 Treasury 72.5 5. Audit 415 6. Customs 1639 7. CrownLands 670 8. Survey 2242 18 U 9. Public Works 1112 2 4} 10. PostOffice 1641 11. Harbour 1852 12. Colonial Storekeeper 200 13. Out-stations 1015 14. Police 9746 9 15. Medical 762 7 16. Lunatic Asylum 347 •' 25083 17 3i Judicial and Law Establishments — 17. Supreme Court 3704 18. Bench of Magistrates : ••• 150 19. Coroner ... . 180 " 20. Advocate General's Department 510 ■^ 4,544 21. Colonial Chaplain 360 22. Miscellaneous ItOO 0^ Total £32,477 17 U Among the details we find the following items. Where shall we find such provision made in this province ? — Miscellaneous. Maintenance for widows and orphans, and other destitute poor ^^m n n Unforeseen expenses '. ■'''" " 225 of the province; that he had called for returns from the several districts, of the probable revenue and expenditure of each for the next year, the result of that uujuiry being given in the memorandum before him, as follows: — J\stimated liecenue and Expenditure of the Eastern Districts for the ensuinff Year. Revenue. Expenditure. £8,873 3,016 2,845 2,424 4,395 6,819 2,765 Albany, . . £7,930 ^ome^set, . . > . • 3,245 Cradock, . . . . . 4,393 Colesherg, . . 3,259 GraafF-Reinet 3,840 Uitenhage, includ ing Port Elizabeth, . . 21,474 Lieut.-Goveruor's Depart. £44,143 £31,137 Thus leaving a balance of £13,000 m favour of the revenue, to be appropriated to any public work, or to meet any contingency which might arise, irrespective of the various items set forth in the returns made in the estimates thus furnished. He need not put it to the meeting, whether a community which had made such advances — whicli had so outstripped the elder districts— vvere able to expend their means so as best to promote their own advantage. It was upon record, and had been already referred to, that those who had assumed the control of their affairs, and who were so anxious to maintain that control, had utterly misunderstood them, and had so grossly mismanaged matters, that twice since the date of the report of the Commissioners of Inquiry had the frontier been laid waste, and calamities innumerable brought upon the whole settlement. Their great aim was to avoid such calamity in future ; the object before them was not so much one of speculation as of calculation ; it would hinge upon a question of pounds, shillings, and pence ; and hence, in the remarks he had offered them, his aim was not to make a speech, but to lay before them some data — a dry array of facts and figures — by which they might be enabled for themselves to arrive at sound conclusions on the mooted question He under- stood that it was intended at that meeting to appoint a committee, which should be empowered to examine the whole subject in all its bearings ; that committee would have an official character ; it would be armed with authority to call for information, and to examine such documents as might be necessary in the elucidation of every matter bearing upon the questions before them, and upon the result of such an investigation would a decision be ultimately founded. He for one had no fear for the issue. He felt confident of a favourable result ; for as an individual whose interests were inseparably bound up with the prosperity of the eastern province, it would be worse than folly — it would be madness, to advocate measures which he did not believe in his conscience would tend essentially to the future security and prosperity of the country at large. (^The speaker was heard throughout with great attention, and sat down amidst much applause.) Mr. Jar VIS, in moving the second resolution, said — The ground had been so well taken, and what had already been said on the subject they had met to discuss, had been so well expressed by the gentlemen who had preceded him, that little remained to be said on the resolution that he was about to propose. Indeed, that was not the time to make a speech. They had met merely to consider the propriety of instituting an inquiry, and if the result of that inquiry were favourable to the object which they had in view, he had no doubt that when the fitting time came, all that would be necessary to be said would be well said in furtherance of so very desirable an object as the independence of the eastern province The resolution embraced two points — first, that it is desirable that the eastern districts be constituted a separate government; and secondly, the necessity of appointing a committee, in order to obtain such information iis a a 226 appeared to be necessary under the circular of His Honour the Lieut.-Governor. Upon the first point, there could be but little doubt but that, if it were found upon inquiry to be practicable on the score of expense, there was every reason to believe it would tend much to the advancement and prosperity of the fi'ontier districts. He did not wish to reflect on any one, but it certainly did appear, that during many years past the affiairs of the frontier districts were not so well managed as they might have been. The fact seemed to be that legislators appeared to forget that we were making progress, and treated us in much the same way as we were treated twenty-five years ago — that is, in as far as allowing us to have a voice in controlling our own affairs. When he first arrived in Algoa Bay, he saw there only three small houses, and on his first arrival in Graham's Town, he found only eighteen small buildings. Then everything was looked for from Cape Town, and everything emanated from Cape Town. But since then, Port Elizabeth had risen to a port of some considerable eminence, and Albany had made rapid strides ; and yet legislators seemed to treat the frontier as if it had never stepped beyond the three small houses and the eighteen buildings! The returns of the exports and imports at Port Elizabeth showed a rapidly increasing trade, carried on with all the energy which has always marked the path of the British settlers. Yet where were the public institutions in return for the contributions to the public revenue ? And what was there in Albany in the way of government institutions to mark the advance that had been made by the settlers ? The real truth is, we all feel impressed with the idea that we do not get enough for our money. It might be, and no doubt it would be said, that we do not understand the art of government, and that we are not fit for it. It may be so, - we may undertake our own aflfairs and manuge them badly, and show ourselves to be very bungling legislators ; but it would be rather problematical whether or not, taking all things into consideration, we could manage matters much worse than they had been managed for us for the last five-and-twenty years! (Laughter and applause.) It had been said some years since, when municipalities were first talked of, that we could not manage our own affairs ; and when some gentlemen in the town first spoke of bridges and water-pipes, there were not wanting people who said " these fellows are mad ! " And yet it was an undeniable fact, that the municipality had done so well that at the beginning of the war, during the time of the drought, if it had not been for the municipality and their water-pipes, a large proportion of the town would have perished from disease, occasioned by the want of water. (Applause.) Look at the municipality, the banks, and other public institutions of the frontier, and can any one say that they are not managed well ? Look at the religious institutions of the frontier ; the benefits which they have afforded will tell their own tale. And yet it is to be said that the men who manage all these institutions, and manage them well, are not able to take a common sense view of the government of the eastern districts ! What has yet been done to our harbours, to our roads, to our other public institutions, in which we can trace a wisdom that we do not ourselves possess ? And what has there been done on the frontier to lead the inhabitants to conclude, that if the money is to be found, the ability will be want- ing ? There is one paragraph in the circular that calls for special attention ; — " It has also been represented to me that the establishment in the eastern districts of a Registrar of Deeds' office, a Surveyor-General's office, and a board for the care and maintenance of public main roads and bridges, are not necessary or expedient, — the objects to be attained by such institutions being sufficiently provided for under the existing central government at Cape Town." This paragraph was of much importance. There could be no doubt but that a Registrar of Deeds' office would be an incalculable benefit to the frontier districts ; and although the subject was one of considerable difficulty, and would require great consideration, yet there could be no doubt but that it could be accomplished. With respect to the Surveyor-General's office, that was a question of which the inhabitants of Albany knew very little. There was a tradition. 227 amongst them that such an officer as the Surveyor-General did exist, and tliat there was such a place as the Surveyor- General's office ; but that was all they knew on the subject. In the year 1821, he (Mr J.) saw the Surveyors Hope and Pettingal surveying one portion of the locations of the settlers, and Mr. Knobel surveying another. The talents of these gentlemen had never been questioned, and their sur\'eys had never been impeached ; and yet, from that day to this, the title deeds to the lands which they had surveyed had never been issued. And if the farmers of the Konap inquired for their titles, they were told that the surveys which were made by some surveyor who died fifteen years ago were defective, and therefore the title deeds could not be issued ; and this delay was a source of immense inconvenience to nearly all the settlers, and a great loss of revenue to the Government. Now these, and a number more facts that might be stated, all showed the necessity of a Surveyor-General (admitting such a person really to exist) at a little less distance from us than 600 miles. At all events, be the office where it might, it would be difficult to arrange matters worse than to be in such a state as not to be able to issue title deeds to lands that were surveyed a quarter of a century ago. Then as to' the roads -the wisdom of others had declared a part of the road from Port Elizabeth to Graham's Town to be a brauch road— a road on which there was unquestionably more valuable traffic than on any other road on the frontier, without any exception ; and the road through Howison's Poort had, for the last two years, been in such a state, that one part of it was .literally paved with broken yoktskeys ! This might appear a very common- place observation, but it would convey more to a practical man than a much more elaborate description would. The krantz, which had for two years been paved with yokeskeys and broken sticks, and which had occasioned a loss of thousands of pounds to the Government and the inhabitants, had been repaired in about two weeks at an expense of a few pounds ! And so it always would be, when local institutions were conducted by persons living at a distance. They were moved by the best intentions, but it was no reflection on any one to say that all local matters may be better managed by tlie inhabitants who can see and judge for themselves. These, and many other considerations which might be stated, led him to conclude that it was highly desirable that the eastern districts be constituted a separate and distinct government, — always distinctly understanding that in any change that might take place, such change was in no way to affect the supreme court of the colony as at present constituted. Let there be no change there, but let it remain to be, as it has been since it was first established, one of the best and noblest bulwarks of the colonists. The meeting would observe that in the resolution there was a reservation. The separate government was to be "irrespective of Kafirland." Under no circumstances, have anything to do with a place, which for the last five-and-twenty jears has been the curse and bane of the frontier. Let there be a government of the western province a government of the eastern province — but let Kafirland, or British Kaffraria, or . whatever else it may hereafter be called, be a separate and distinct government, under military law, or such other law as the Imperial Government may decide ; but let us have nothing to do with it. The absurdities and mistakes which had been committed with respect to that unhappy country showed the necessity for a change. [^Mr. Jarvis went at some length into this part of the subject, and concluded by sayings — If a wiser policy had been adopted twenty years ago, or if the enlightened policy of Sir Benjamin D Urban had been carried out, the result would have been a saving of thousands of lives and millions of treasure. (Much applause) The next question was the expense ; and therefore it would be desirable to appoint a committee to collect information on the subject to lay before His Honour the Li ut. -Governor. The whole question would turn upon the consideration of expense. If the revenue of the eastern districts would not meet the expenditure, then there was an end of the question at once ; but if, upon inquiry, it were found that the revenue of tlie districts would meet the expenditure of a separate government, then let every man in the districts exert i a 2 I 228 all his energies to bring about a change that could not but be productive of incalculabe benefit to the whole of the eastern province. At all events, we should have the satisfaction, and which no people can appreciate as Englishmen can, of having the management of our own aflairs. Before concluding this part o' the subject, there was another part of the circular to which he wished to direct the attention of the meeting. In the second paragraph. His Honour the Lieutenant- Governor was pleased to say, that he addressed himself to the inliabitants " with the concurrence of His Excellency the Right Honourable the Governor." Now, it was fair to assume that a man with the distinguished reputation of Sir Henry Pottinger would not countenance such an inquiry, without a view to some ulterior measures, if the result of the inquiry should be favourable to a change ; or that a man of the high official character of Sir Henry Young would put forth such a circular without an object. This consideration should stimulate the inhabitants to proceed with the inquiry, and endeavour to procure such information aswauld lead those who have the inclination to judge, whether or not they have the ability to propose a change ; for after all, it would turn upon a question of pounds, shillings, and pence. It reminded him of an old story of an old gentleman who had rather an extravagant son, who he fancied was going rather too fast, and knowing that it is the pace that kills, he thought it time to pull up : and he said to his son one evening — " Now, Tom, you are going too fast, it won't do : it is time you were settled. There "s your cousin Mary has got five hundred a year of her own money, and if you will marry her I will settle five hundred more upon you, and that will provide for you comfortably - what do you say ? " The youngster asked for the night to consider the question ; and when they met at breakfast, the old gentleman, full of the subject, said — " Well, Tom, have you been thinking of what I was saying to you ? " "Yes, sir, I have been thinking of it all night." " Well, what do you say, sir, — will you marry her? " " Sir, it won't do. It cant he done fur the money !" Now here was the whole question for the committee. Let it be thought over carefully, and if " it can't be done for the money, " why there is an end of the subject for the present ; but if it can be done for the money, then support those who are willing to help us, and show that we are willing and able to help ourselves. Before concluding, there was another point, which had really nothing to do with the business of the meeting, but while there were so many of the most influential inhabitants together, he (Mr. Jarvisy tiiought it a good opportunity to mention the subject. He alluded to some little anxiety which was evinced by many persons at the present state of uncertainty in which the aff"airs of the frontier appeared to be. For his part, he had no fear as to the result— he felt no uncertainty as to the end of the contest. It was not for a moment to be supposed that the distinguished individual at the head of affairs was doing nothing, or that he was labouring, as it was notorious he was doing, without a steady purpose of benefitting the frontier. As watchful as when he conducted an Indian negotiation, — as vigilant as when lie concluded the Chinese treaty, — ^just so vigilant, and just so watchful did he hold him to be at that moment ; and when the proper time for action should arrive, we might look forward with cheerful confidence to the results of his policy, which would, no doubt, place Albany in the position in which she ought to be placed — as the second district in importance in the colony Dr. J. Atherstone said, — I desire. Mr. Chairman, to second the resolution which has just been read. It has, however, been so ably commented upon by the mover, Mr. Jarvis, as to leave but little for further observation. As regards the question of our being able to maintain a separate and independent government, I liave good reasons for stating that abundant and conclusive proof is at hand, that the revenue of the eastern province is fully equal to its expenditure. But, if it were otherwise, if it could be shown that the revenue, as it now stands, is not adequate to support a separate government, it cannot be supposed that we should prefer a continuance of the evils we have so long and justly complained of, to the payment of such an amount of increased taxation as would make up whatever 229 amount of balance might be found against us. I had intended to have gone into this subject, and confirmed what I have now stated ; but it has been so well handled, so clearly elucidated, with a reference to figures, by Mr. Godlonton, as to render further remark quite unnecessary. Bear with me, however, for one moment, and allow me to bring' to your recollection a grave charge which has been brought against us as a community, — one which, I hope, will for ever be removed by our public proceedings on this all-important occasion. Gentlemen, it has been said that there is no stedfastness of purpose, no decision of character, no unanimity to be found in Graham's Town; that public meetings have been convened (sometimes on subjects when not a dissenting voice has been heard), committees appointed, and that there all further proceedings have been stayed I will not ask you for the cause of this ; but I do beg, and earnestly hope, that unanimity and stedfastness of purpose may characterise the proceedings of this day and the deliberations of the committee now to be appointed. Mr, B. Hadley, in supporting the second resolution, observed that — being one of those whose signatures were attached to the petitions to the Imperial Gov- ernment, referred to in the circular, he could not consent to give a silent vote on that occasion. So much had been said, and so well said, by the gentleman who had seconded the former resolution, that he found it difficult to hit upon a topic that had not been almost exhausted. There was, however, one view of the subject left open to him, which involved grave and important considerations, and which they ought not to flinch from discussing, though the conduct and character of the last two Governors, of the Lieut.-Governor, and of the Legislative Council, were deeply compromised. When he first saw the announcement of Sir Henry Young, that the Home authorities intended to make this province a separate and distinct government, he confessed he could scarcely believe what he read. " What !" said he, " can it be possible that we are to be emancipated from the thraldom and tyranny of the Legislative Council ? that we are to be no longer subject to the unjust treatment, the gross ignorance and misrepresentations of the leading members of that assembly ?" Thanks to a beneficent Providence and our own good exertions, the time is fast approaching when these evils will be matter of history only, — when we shall have the management of our own affairs in all matters appertaiiiing to this important province. Our voice has at length been heard in the Councils of our Sovereign, who, in compliance with our wishes, has sent us a Lieut.-Governor, whose appointment was opposed, let it never be forgotten, by the Legislative Council (and small thanks to them for the opposition), — an officer, who has the reputation of being a man of sense and spirit, of considerable colonial experience, of large and comprehensive views, and, moreover, with expi'ess instruc- tions to make this province " a separate and distinct government," should its ress Jos Simpson C. Andrews Bernard Dietz Alex. Wares H. von Rona Alfred Jarvis 233 l fc<«i ^h | > i < ii' <<'«^ Robeit Hart, Senior, Esquire, Justice of the Peace, having been called by the general voice, as father of the district, to the chair, opened the business by reading the civil commissioner's permission to hold the meeting, and by referring to the subject-matter contained in His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor's circular, dated the 26th June, 1847. Mr. Hart then said— Gentlemen, I have now been some fifty years in this colony, nearly the whole of which time has been spent on the frontiers — the greatest proportion of it in this place. My experience in general has been great, especially as regards frontier matters, and I can only tell you that it is my opinion that each year has made matters worse. A difficulty was always found, from the beginning, of aflairs on the frontiers, as regards a reference to Cape Town for orders and advice. This, of late'r years, has been more especially felt ; and, gentlemen, 1 think as we have shown we are able to manage our own more immediate affairs, that surely if we can manage them, it is time we were out of the leading-strings of persons who reside some 600 miles from us, without any local knowledge or interest in our affairs. I have not the least hesitation in stating, that had there been an efficient and vigorous government on the frontiers^ this calamitous Kafir inroad would not have taken place. I think it, therefore, time we had a separate, distinct, and responsible government for the eastern province. As regards the revenue, situated as we are, we can have but trifling information. This point the committees in Graham's Town and Port Elizabeth will be best able to grapple with, and indeed I cannot do bett er on his point than refer you to the report in the Eastern Province Herald, of the meeting in Port Elizabeth. RESOLUTIONS. Proposed by James Perkins, Esq., and seconded by Robert Pringle, Esq., — That this meeting has seen with great satisfaction a circular letter, addressed by His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor to several inhabitants of the eastern districts, directing their attention to the various petitions which have been sent to the home government, praying for the introduction of more liberal institutions, and a separate and distinct government for the eastern j)rovince. Proposed by W. D. Pringle, Esq., seconded by Robert Hart, Junior, Esq., and carried nem. con. — That this meeting is of opinion, founded on long and sad experience, that there is no hope of escaping a repetition of the calamitous Kafir inroads, which have, from time to time, desolated part of this fine province, except by making it a distinct and separate government, with an efficient and independent head, that could give vigour and stability to the government of the eastern districts, of which it stands so much in need. Proposed by G. E. Joseph, Esq , seconded by Dr. Cooper, and carried nem. con. — That this meeting deems it of vital importance for the general interests of this province that steps should be taken without delay to support the allegations contained in the petitions refen-ed to in His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor's circular, and to procure the required information as regards the income and expenditure ot the eastern districts, in order to show how far the inhabitants are capable of supporting free institutions and an independent government j, and that to carry out these desirable objects, a committee of five gentlemen be now appointed, to co-operate with the Graham's Town committee, who are engaged in prosecuting a similar inquiry. Proposed by P. C. Massyn, Esq., and seconded by Alfred Peacock, Esq. — That R. Hart, Senior, Esquire, J. Perkins, Esquire, Dr. Gill, D. W. Pringle, Esquire, and G. E. Joseph, Esquire, be appointed a committee, with power to add to their number, for the purpose of obtaining the information alluded to in the third resolution, and that all communications be addressed to them, under cover to James Perkins, Esq. — Carried nem. con. 2 M -i 268 Moved by G. F. Joseph, Esq.. seconded by W. II. Smith, Esq.— That Mr. Hart leave the chair, and Mr. Perkins, J. P., take it, and that the best thanko of this meeting be given to Mr. Hart for liis attention to the subject-matter of the meeting, and for his able conduct in the chair. Mr. G. E. Joseph spoke as follows : — Mr. Chairman and Gentlemen, — That there can be no doubt as to the necessity and expediency of our having a separate and distinct government for the eastern province, is obvious from the confusion mutter-s applicable thereto are in at present. Look at the despiitches of Governor Sir P. Maitland, and the despatches of the late Lieutenant-Governor Hare ; the most careless reader, at all acquainted with the matter, must observe the absurdities and contradictions — blowing hot and cold with the same breath, paying no attention to public opinion, or advice from parties that were able and in a situation to give it, and our petitions represented as exaggerations. I do really believe, that had the people bepn entrusted with their own affairs, and not been treated with that scandalous indifference by the Cape Town authorities and the Legislative Council (for it is impossible to forget the speeches of Messrs. Montagu and Porter on the subject of our " comfortable relations" with the Kafirs), the present disastroui Kafii- war never would have occurred. However, Mr. Chairman and gentlemen, I think we may express our confidence in the measures that our present Governor will adopt, in order to subdue the Kafirs, and establish the future security of the province on a satisfactory and lasting basis, agreeably to his words to Mr. Nel. As regards the financial data, I think we shall not be able to give much information. This will be, I have no doubt, fully embraced by the Graham's Town and Port Elizabeth committees, who have better opportunities of getting at information on this point; but as n^gards the expediency of establishing in the eastern districts a Registrar of Deeds' office, a Surveyor-General's office, and a board for the care and maintenance of public main roads, I think we may be able to give much information. In or about 1824, Messrs. Hayward and Marsh were sent up as commissioners to inquire into and adjust the allotments or locations of the settlers. What was the result of their mission ? — useless. Lately, Mr. Hertzog, and afterwards Mr. Bell, the A.ssistant Surveyor-General, were up here on the same business, and from all I can hear, have done little or nothing, — for I find parties complaining; and there appears as little chance of their getting their titles as ever. It is not to be supposed that parties will leave their homes for so long a period ; they are all anxiety to get back to Cape Town, and consequently, matters are only half looked into, and not given that attention required to bring them to a settlement. In 1824, or thereabout, the quitrent titles of the old loan places m Zwagers Hoek were made out, and sent to Somerset, shortly after the establishment of the new district, and as they had a clause inserted proliibiting slave labour on them, contra to the spirit of the agreement on which the parties had accepted them, as at that time the g(jvernment allowed slave labour generally, they were refused by the owners and sent back, the parties continuing to pay loan rents long afterwards. They were got up again from time to time. Diik Coetze's came last of all, and was got up for him with much difficulty ; and he, like the others was compelled to pay up the difference between loan and quitrent from the date of the grant, although not in possession of his title, which was lying in some pigeon-hole in the Colonial or Land Board office in Cape Town fifteen or sixteen years 1 merely mention these circumstances to show the difficulties these parties have had to contend with, and chiefly through being at such a distance from the Laud and Registrar offices. But the non-issue of the titles of the still ungrr.nted request places is a subject of much more importance, as the revenue that would be derived from these places has been for several years lost, — in some instances, I am informed, thirty years, and is at present lost, and will be for some time to come, u'lless some active movements are made. Considerable sums of money have also been lost, that would have been paid in the shape of transfer duty, had the titles been issued ; for we all know very well that these places are continually changing 269 owners, and lately at very high prices. It is now some twenty years since Mr. Azerond was struck off as a government land surveyor, when promises were made by the government to have his surveys resurveyed at the expense of government. What has been done in the matter ?— little or nothing. When Mr. Hertzog was lately up here, going over a part of these surveys of Azerond's, he must repeatedly have come into contact with the surveys of the late surveyor White, which it was known must be resurveyed ; yet they were not noticed, and he was permitted to go back to Cape Town, never to return. A fresh expense must be incurred to bring other persons, to go over nearly the same ground that Mr. Hertzog did, and to do the work which he might have done when on the spot. I have now told you that you have had for a short period flying visits of two Assistant Surveyors-General in the eastern districts, for the express purpose of putting matters to rights. What lias been the result ? — " Confusion worse confounded." It is my candid opinion (and I think I have as much right to give an opinion as most men, for I have had much experience from long residence, and am as much interested in the land question as most men in the eastern province) that unless we have a separate government, with a Registrar of Deeds" office, a Surveyor-General's office, a land board, and a road board, immediately under a resident and responsible government, we shall remain in the same confusion. Every farm should be resurveyed, and proper and correct titles given. The government would lose nothing by it ; in some instances a deficiency would have to be made up, but in most cases there would be found ground between the farms belonging to government, and which would, if sold, repay the government fully for the expense of the resurvey. Titles being issued to the ungranted request places, and the sale of government ground lying waste, would fully make up our revenue, so as to enable us to maintain a separate government. If we are not at present in a condition to do so, and which I fully believe we are, the expense of a survey is not so much as some people would endeavour to make you believe. Look at the survey of the district of Colesberg, done by the civil Commissioner of that district for his own edification, and for the purpose of making himself acquainted with his district. The sale of the maps of each district, if published, would almost repay the expense of surveys. Another great point : His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor signs all the grants in the eastern province, and why should he not have some control over the board that issues them? From the confusion everything is in, applicable to or belonging to the Eastern Districts, I say again, it is obvious that the central government at Cape Town caiin<^t sufficiently manage the affairs of the eastern province. I have heard it argued, that there is a difficulty, besides the expense, of causing a separate registry to be made out for the eastern districts. I will be bound to give any two ordinary clerks a set of books for each district, and in two months they wdl have u complete registry of every piece of ground that has been granted or sold, in each of the eastern districts, and as every surveyor has to hand in duplicate diagrams, it would only require to look out these, and hand them over to the registrar for the eastern province. To the eastern province there must be another district added, — there is no question about it, — and which will greatly increase the revenue. It is impossible, and contrary to the nature of things, that any government can, with any d(!gree of foresight, allow so fine a tract of country to remain in the po.-'session of parties who profess and consider that they belong to the colony — to be left as at present, without any government or control over them. I allude to the country on this side of the Orange River, between the Stormberg Spruits and the Wittebergen, and up to the mountain range that runs at the back of Kafirland. This will comprise a vast and important division. No aboriginal tribe now existent has any claim to it ; it has been for years past used by the farmers as a refuge in droughts or scarcity of pasture. When Sir Benjamin D' Urban took possession of part of Kafirland in the year 1835, this territory was included ; possession was taken, and memorials were sent to government, praying for spots eligible for farms ; and although again given up under the Glenelg or 27