: APE COLONY AND SOUTH AFRICA. 



109 



Africa Company in Matabeleland : .Major Sir John 

 Christopher Wllloughby, \vlio had served in the 

 Matabele war and had received leave to continue 

 in the British South Africa Company's service for 

 two years further, frmn May 2<>. 1S!)5. in order that 

 he might organize the volunteer forces in British 

 South Africa : Col. Henry Frederick White, who 

 was magistrate for the Salisbury district; Major 

 Robert \Vhitc. who was magistrate fur the terri- 

 tories of .Montsioa and Ikaning: Col. Raleigh Grey, 

 who had been commandant of the Bechuanaland 

 border police: and Major C. J. Coventry, who had 

 served in the Matabele war and acted as magistrate 

 for the Bechnanaland protectorate. At the con- 

 clusion of a trial lasting seven days all the defend- 

 ants were found guilty on July 22. and were sen- 

 tenced by the Chief" Justice. Lord Russell, of 

 Killowen, Dr. Jameson to fifteen. Sir John Wil- 

 loughby to ten, Major Robert White to seven, and 

 Col. Grey, Col. Henry White, and Major Coventry 

 to five months' imprisonment without hard labor. 

 Major Coventry, who suffered from a severe wound 

 received in the" battle of Krugersdorp, was released 

 after a few weeks. Later, the Government allevi- 

 ated the punishment of Dr. Jameson and his fellow- 

 prisoners, ordering that they should be treated as 

 first-class misdemeanants. 



The Volksraad. The Volksraad adjourned near 

 the end of 1895 until early in January. 1896. The 

 Raad met in January, and decided, at the request 

 of the President and the Executive Council, not to 

 proceed with the session, but to separate until the 

 ordinary session in May. 



The specific reform measures promised by the 

 President before the outbreak were submitted to 

 the Volksraad when it met in May. The bill for a 

 Johannesburg municipal government established a 

 Stado Raad or municipal council, whose chairman 

 is appointed by the President, while the members 

 are elected by enfranchised burghers and other per- 

 sons possessing fixed property of the value of 200 

 or paying a yearly rental of half that amount. The 

 municipality will deal with the economic arrange- 

 ments of the town and make regulations in the in- 

 terest of public safety, morality, and health, and 

 will decide all matters respecting the sale and ex- 

 change of town property, the maintenance of streets, 

 etc. The Government has the right of vetoing any 

 alteration in the regulations. 



The revenue of the town is derived from taxes on 

 stands, private vehicles, theater licenses, etc. An 

 education bill for the gold fields makes the use of 

 either Dutch or English optional as a medium of 

 instnuction in the public schools up to the final 

 standard, in which examinations are conducted in 

 both languages. The -Government took active 

 measures to insure a plentiful supply of labor in 

 the gold fields. Other new laws created a depart- 

 ment of agriculture, established a model farm and 

 schools for artisans, regulated native marriages, 

 amended the acts regulating the licenses of hired 

 laborers, forbade excavations endangering railways, 

 provided for boiler inspection, established standard 

 weights and measures, regulated the leasing of 

 public lands, and defined undermining rights. A 

 new press law provided for the punishment of per- 

 sons guilty of libel, slander, or instigation to a punish- 

 able offense through the press. The draft law, pub- 

 lished soon after the disturbances, empowered the 

 President to suppress foreign publications that in 

 his opinion are dangerous to peace and order. A 

 later enactment requires all newspaper articles of a 

 political or personal nature to bear the full name 

 and address of the writer. An old law disqualify- 

 ing Roman Catholics from being appointed officials 

 of the Republic was rescinded. The mine owners 

 were disappointed in a decision of the Volksraad, 



which decreed that the mining rights in the dump- 

 ing grounds next tut he mines should be sold to the 

 highest bidder and the proceeds divided between 

 the owner of the land and the state. A bill was 

 pa-sed in September, providing for the expulsion 

 from the Republic, of any alien deemed dangerous. 

 to public peace and order. A bill totally prohibit- 

 ing the sale of liquor to blacks from Jan. 1. Is97. 

 was passed by a two-third majority of the First 

 Vnlksraad in compliance with the wishes of the 

 miners of the Rand, who employ 47.000 natives. A 

 convention was made with Portugal permitting the 

 importation of native laborers under contract from 

 Portuguese Africa, with provisions for the super- 

 vision of Transvaal officials charged with guarding 

 their interests. A scheme for supplying the Rand 

 with unlimited water was approved, the Govern- 

 ment guaranteeing the interest of the bonds and 

 paying a subvention of 20.000 a year. A reduc- 

 tion of native wages in the mines went into force on 

 Oct. 1. The high price of food and the outbreak of 

 the rinderpest operated to depress the mining and 

 commercial interests of the Transvaal after they 

 had begun to recover from the shock of the political 

 disturbances. 



British South Africa. Matabeleland and Ma- 

 shonajand. lying north of the South African Repub- 

 lic, were declared to be within the sphere of British 

 influence in 1888, and on Oct. 29. 1889, the British 

 South Africa Company obtained a royal charter 

 granting powers of administration over these terri- 

 tories and others for the purpose of carrying out its 

 objects, which were to encourage immigration and 

 colonization, to promote trade and commerce, to 

 develop and work mineral and other concessions, 

 and to extend northward the railroad and telegraph 

 systems of Cape Colony and Bechuanaland. By 

 the Anglo-German agreement of 1890 and the 

 Anglo-Portuguese agreement of 1891 the sphere of 

 British influence was acknowledged to embrace all 

 territories from the Transvaal border up to the 

 southern boundary of the Congo Free State, lying 

 between the eastern boundaries of the German pos- 

 sessions in Southwest Africa, 20 ; and 21 of east 

 longitude, and the Portuguese possessions on the 

 east coast, which have 30 30' of east longitude for 

 their extreme western limits. The company was 

 authorized to undertake the administration and de- 

 velopment of the whole region, north and south of 

 the Zambesi, except the Nyassaland protectorate. 

 The total area of this British sphere of influence, 

 known as Zambesia or Rhodesia, and divided by 

 the Zambesi river into Northern and Southern 

 Zambesia, or British Central Africa and British 

 South Africa, is estimated at 750.000 square miles. 

 This company has devoted its attention chiefly to 

 the development of the gold fields of Mashonaland, 

 estimated to have an area of 5.250 square miles, 

 and. since the subjugation and occupation of Mata- 

 beleland in 1893, the extensive gold ledges of that 

 country also. A railroad from Kimberley. through 

 Bechuanaland to Vryburg. 126 miles, was built, 

 and. after this section was transferred to the Cape 

 Government, an extension to Mafeking. 100 miles, 

 was completed in November. 1894. and preparations 

 were made for carrying it through to Gaberones 

 and Palapye. Another railroad has been built, 

 through Portuguese territory and Mashonaland, 

 from Beira. on the east coast, and it has been 

 opened as far as Chimoio, 118 miles. The capital 

 of the British South Africa Company, originally 

 1.000.000. has been increased to 1:2.500,000. The 

 telegraph has been extended by the company from 

 Mafeking to Salisbury, snti miles, and thence to the 

 coast and northward to the Zambesi. The total 

 length in the beginning of 1896 was 1.354 miles. 

 For the support of the natives in the company's 



