242 THE NATIVES OK XATAL IN RELATION TO THE LAND. 



think lie can compete successfully with Europeans in a European 

 area, much less be a menace to European occupation on such 

 areas. I speak, of course, of Natal only. 



I have now treated of the position oif the native on the 

 various classes of land in Natal ; it remains to say a few words 

 on his position in Zuiuland. The large num'bers of natives on 

 private land in Natal are not found in Zuiuland. Prac- 

 tically the whole native population lives either in the 

 reserves or Crown lands demarcated by the Saunders Com- 

 mission of 1902-04, so that the involved questions of tenancy, 

 rent, and labour complications do not arise. A large number 

 of male Zulus turn out to work, proceeding to Natal and the 

 Transvaal, or getting work on the sugar estates of the Zuiuland 

 coasts, and these bring the new and disturbing ideas, bred by 

 contact with the white man's civilization, to the old environment; 

 but on the whole, social liife and the use and occti])ation of the 

 land is not much changed in Zuiuland among the natives. Except- 

 ing in one or two areas in which the missionaries have encouraged 

 better methods, the agriculture to-day is as in former days. But 

 in proportion to the population land is more plentiful in Zulu- 

 land than in Natal, and the evidence of worn-out fields is not 

 present. In Northern Zuiuland the natives belong to the Tonga 

 branch of the 'Bantu, and here the people grow a greater variety 

 of cro])s than further south, and are, on the whole, better agri- 

 culturists. But what was said of Natal applies to the whole of 

 Zuiuland ; also there are no surplus crops grown by the people ; 

 nothing is sent to market or exported from the land tilled by 

 the natives of Zuiuland. 



I have now reviewed the present position of the native as 

 occupant and cultivator of the soil, and the position cannot be 

 considered satisfactory. It is over 60 years since Europeans 

 first settled on the land of this Province. At first, and for some 

 vears, their cultivation was not much in advance of the Bantu, 

 but year by year they improved, until now the gap between the 

 two races in this respect is enormous. Excepting in isolated 

 cases, which certainly give ground for hope, the native has not 

 advanced, and it is probable that on the whole he has retrograded. 

 This is a question of serious national importance, for it means 

 that millions of acres are not fully utilised, and human life is 

 not sustained as it might be. I know that according to native 

 ideas the locations are already full, and at many meetings of 

 natives I have attended the cry went up that they were over- 

 crowded, but there is no doubt that if properly organised, utilised, 

 and cultivated, they would carry a much larger population. To 

 ascertain the reasons for this backwardness among these people 

 would be a most valuable and interesting subject for scientific 

 enquiry. Meantime, pending such an enquiry, I will venture 

 to give a few thoughts on the subject, tentative conclusions I have 

 arrived at from my own observations and discussions with many 

 who are familiar with native life. And first I would say that it 

 is not lack of capacity, either physical or mental. It is true, as 



