102 PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS SECTION E. 



Natives, who have always had a great respect for law, but recent 

 happenings in our courts of law, where cases between Europeans 

 and Natives are concerned, have shaken the Natives' belief in the 

 impartiality of the white man's justice. Those interested may see 

 several extraordinary cases referred to in an article in the 

 "Christian Express" for June, 1921. It seems only too evident 

 that the jury system cannot be relied upon in cases where 

 Europeans are accused of criminal offences against Natives and 

 vice versa. It has been suggested that trial by jury should be 

 abolished in such cases or that a special panel of jurymen should 

 be established, as is the case, I believe, in Rhodesia. 



Another difficulty experienced by Natives is the not infrequent 

 conflict between law and justice. To the Native mind it seems 

 strange that a man should escape the consequences of illegal action 

 merely through a legal quibble or the wiles of a clever lawyer. 



Even if the law was administered fairly it remains to . be 

 decided if the Roman-Dutch Law of the Europeans is adequate to 

 provide for justice among the much more primitive Bantu. In 

 Natal there is a special codification of Native law and custom called 

 the Natal Native Code, which determines legal proceedings among 

 all the Natives in Natal except those especially exempted : in the 

 Transkei the code is European, but the Magistrates are enjoined 

 to take cognisance of Native custom : in the Ciskei and in the 

 Transvaal and Free State the ordinary European law obtains. 



Regarding the administration of justice in the courts of the 

 Native chiefs and headmen complaints are not infrequent to the 

 effect that the procedure is too often directed to the enrichment 

 of the judge through court fees and fines for alleged contempt of 

 court, than to the impartial incidence of justice. 



If justice and law deserve the place which we have given to 

 them as foundations for the government of the Natives it follows 

 that we should spare no pains to improve the laws and legal pro- 

 ceedings relating to them. To do this we need the facts and not 

 merely the popular generalisations on such points as these : — 



1. A comparative study of the verdicts found and the 



sentences imposed in cases where Natives are charged 

 with offences against Europeans with similar cases 

 where Europeans are charged with offences against 

 Natives. 



2. In how many cases and for what offences have lashings 



been inflicted upon Natives ? Group the results by 

 Provinces and Judges. 



3. The case for a public defendant as well as a public 



prosecutor for Native cases, especially those Natives 

 arrested for breaches of the Borough bye-laws. 



4. The Native lawyer and his cases and clients. 



5. A study of a chief's or headman's court with steno- 



graphic reports of the proceedings and a statement 

 showing the number and nature of the fines and fees 

 paid. 



