THE NATIVES OF NATAL IN RELATION TO THE 



LAND. 



Bv Maurice Smethurst Evans, C.M.G., F.Z.S. 



To a greater extent than any of the other races inhabiting 

 South Africa, the life of the Bantu people is boimd up with and 

 directly dependent upon the occupation of the land. This is quite 

 as true df Natal and Zuiuland as of any part of the Union. There 

 are probably about a quarter of a million native families living in 

 Natal, and out of this large number I do not suppose there are 

 more than a few hundred who do not raise the greater part of 

 their sustenance directly from the soil by the labour of their own 

 hands. It is true that from every kraal one or more of its 

 members go forth to work for the white man, but their earnings 

 are not usually spent in food, which is drawn direct from Mother 

 Earth by the labours of those who remain at home. In a sense 

 it may be said that these also are working for the white man, for 

 if the native had no such holding his present wages would hardly 

 support his family and pay his taxes. His earnings may be said 

 to be supplemental to his crops, or, if you prdfer it, his crops 

 supplement his earnings. Viewed thus, the umfaan who herds 

 the goats and the women and girls who hoe the gardens are also 

 working for the benefit of the European. 



Since the Native Land Act of 1913 passed through Parlia- 

 ment, the present position of the native on the land, and his 

 future thereon, have been much discussed ; and much more so in 

 Natal than elsewhere. It may therefore be of some value to give 

 a brief description of the position of the native in relation to the 

 land in that province, where his numbers, in proportion to 

 Europeans, are so much greater than in any other Province of 

 the Union. 



The past history and the present occupation of the land, 

 both by Europeans and natives, in the old G)lony of Natal is ?<o 

 different to what obtains in Zuiuland that I propose to deal with 

 these areas separately. It would be well, at tlie outset, to give a 

 short description of the topography of these two areas. Such 

 descriptions have been given in the past, but this one mav differ 

 somewhat, as it is primarily intended to elucidate racial and 

 economic occupation : south of the River Tugela. north of the 

 Umtam\iina, west olf the Indian Ocean, and east of the Drakens- 

 berg, is the original Colonv of Natal. For the purpose of this 

 paper the coast-line may be regarded as extending from the beach 

 to the inland limit of sugar cane cultivation, some 12 miles in 

 distance and i.ooo feet in height. It is by far the most valuable 

 agricultural area in Natal proper. The ownership is for the 

 greater part in the hands of Europeans, and the labour is done 

 mostly by Indians. On one part of the South Coast native 

 location lands overlap the sugar zone, and attempts 'have been 

 made to exchange this area for one less valuable for European 



