146 Reflections of Adventures 







gave over valuable farms to natives to cultivate on 

 half shares, doing no work themselves, the con- 

 sequence will be that the native will become an 

 intelligent, energetic farmer, and the the Boer a 

 loafer. Under the Squatter's Law five householders 

 are of little or no use to furnish labour for the 

 landowner, and a difficulty is how to break up 

 families, when, owing to natural increase, they are 

 in excess of the five families allowed on one farm. 

 On the other hand, the locating (by large land 

 speculating companies) of hundreds of natives for 

 the purpose of Kaffir farming cannot be allowed, 

 but it is too big a question to be discussed at length 

 in these notes. Under the Union, the whole native 

 question will come under review, and the systems 

 obtaining in the various provinces will be brought 

 into line as to land tenure, the franchise and the 

 position of native women, should the franchise be 

 given to white women. 



During President Burgers' absence in Europe to 

 borrow money, General P. J. Joubert, acting 

 president, told me how he distrusted the Hollander 

 influence, which later led to trouble in South Africa. 

 Lord Carnarvon's scheme for Federal Union (as 

 propounded by Froude) was not accepted in the 

 Cape Colony; but Joubert was willing to meet 

 delegates at a central point Aliwal North to 

 discuss the question, and asked me if I would go 

 with him. I was willing, but nothing came of it. 

 Joubert was as genuine an Afrikander as ever Paul 

 Kruger was, but he had different ideas as to what 

 was best for his country, his distrust of the 

 Hollanders, and behind them the Germans, was 

 genuine, and he dreaded the hold they exercised 

 over Mr. Burgers and still more over Paul Kruger. 

 At the time of the Annexation, President Burgers at 



