NA'nVK F.DUCATIOX I X rill-. IKA .\ S K I'.l . 45 [ 



which to ir.aintaiii industrial and nati\-(.' schools. The system once 

 cstahlishtHl. it needed hut an .Vet of rarlianient to hring these 

 aided ahori^ines' schools under the jurisdiction of the Education 

 Department of the Cape Colony alongside the previously recog;- 

 nised mission schools. The distinction, however, hetvveen mis- 

 sion schools and ahorigines' schools perj^etuated in the .\ct ^f 

 1865 ctMitinues e\en unto our own da\-. In that year there were 

 no less than i i .737 pu])ils on the roll of the mission and 

 aborig-ine.-" schools; in other w; rds, there were three times as 

 many children in mission schools than in all the white schools 

 put together, and of these more than one-half were coloured, 

 so that Xative Education was still in its infancy. At first the 

 main difficulty in the way of Native Education was that of lan- 

 guage. It must be remembered, and appreciated, that the first 

 missionaries came upon a new and unknown language, and their 

 first work was to become familiar with the customary pronun- 

 ciation and usage of words, and to fix upon an alphabet which 

 would give adequate expression to the strange sounds. It is .1 

 fact that many " clicks " were either missed or purposely ignored 

 in the j^rocess, and so have been, and are being, lost to the lan- 

 guage. Perhaps the differences in nationality of the early mis- 

 sionaries, and the impossibility of communication with each 

 other, is responsible for the orthographical differences in our 

 various South African native languages. But it is significant 

 that the various attempts to secure a uniform orthography have 

 not accomplished much, and at this late date probably no change 

 of importance will occur. The fixing of the alphabet was the 

 first ste]:) in reducing the native language to writing — and with- 

 out a written language teaching could not be undertaken. Mr. 

 Bennie has i^ut it on record that 



On the 17th December, 1823, we got our press in order ; on the ISth the 

 alphabet was set up ; and yesterday we threw off Fifty Copies. 



Thus was laid the foundation of Native Education at Ncera 

 on the lyth day of December, 1823. The following year Love- 

 dale was established at Ncera. Until 1865 aborigines' schools 

 were unrecognised, but from that date the Education Depart- 

 ment has controlled Native Education, making certain conditions 

 on which (iovernment aid would be available, and yet tacitly 

 recognising the position of the Missionary Superintendent, 

 thankfully accejjting his willing service, and interfering as little 

 as ])ossible with him. 



111. riiii S\sTiiM OF Native Education. 



I. Till-: MISSIONARY SUPERINTENDENT. 



The Missionary Superintendent occupies a position as yet 

 undefined. The Department has little control over him. for his 

 services are given gratuitously. He is the independent agent of 

 the Missionary Society. The whole local control of the schools 

 is under his su])erintendence, and as many schools are usually 

 under one man. he has much tf> do to keej) them well staff'ed. 



