134 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION E, 



occasion, but rather a communism that is inherent, part of 

 the very fabric of the tribal ors^anisation, because it is the normal 

 expression of their psycholo^i^ical make-up. 



But this is just what is to be expected, when we remember 

 the precise oro^anisation of native life in other respects, for, 

 as a matter of fact, this communism, as we shall see, runs 

 through the whole of the laws and customs and thoughts. 

 and even the religion, of the people. 



Thus the law in all its .great detail is handed down from 

 generation to generation by men who pride themselves in 

 mastering it. When the trial is proceeding there is perfect 

 freedom of speech, so that at any time anyone may intervene to 

 prevent any departure from ancient custom. But the com- 

 munistic conception of the whole system is seen in the fact 

 that the accused is, ipso facto, guilty unless he can prove his 

 innocence. The head of the family, and the family in native 

 life includes the households of sons, grandsons, sons-in-law, and 

 others, is responsible for the conduct of all the subordinates. 

 The whole village, indeed, has collective responsibility for all 

 the residents, and the clan for the various villages. Every man 

 is his brother's keeper in the eyes of the law% and consequently 

 in the interests of the community each individual acquaints 

 himself with all that is afoot in the neighbourhood. It is this 

 great ]M-inciple of collective responsibility upon which the spoor 

 law is fotmded. In tracing stolen cattle, if the spoor led to 

 a particular kraal, the owner was compelled to trace it else- 

 where, or accept the responsibility ! Moreover, the particular 

 case is not in any sense argued on its merits. The law is 

 really a conglomeration of precedents handed down, and the 

 whole discussion is to determine what is the custom, and whether 

 or not the accused was guilty of infringing the custom on the 

 point at issue. Ho'w far this is from our conception of 

 law, and of justice, will be at once realised, and reveals the utter 

 inapplicability of Colonial Law to the tribal native in his tribal 

 condition, for there is a fundamental dilYerence between trials 

 according to the communistic law and methods and the collective 

 responsibility of native life and the individualistic law and 

 highly technical procedure and individual responsibility of the 

 Colonial Courts. 



A moment's reflection will reveal the possibilities of great 

 and frequent injustices, which are inevitable when we attempt 

 to jtidge the communistically-minded native by the standards 

 of oiu- individualistic law — a point of view to which we shall 

 need to revert at a later stage of this enquiry, for undoubtedly 

 the seething unrest in certain quarters is largely the product 

 of the misunderstandings ranging over a long period, and con- 

 nected with oin- le^al processes, which inevitably mystify the 

 native mind, and lead to not a little injustice. Probably, if we 

 realised how great those injustices seem to be, ami actually 



