"Several attempts were made by some of my free settlers to procure this secluded spot, which was brought into a high state of cultivation by Zwarts's industry, but I never would consent to his being deprived of it without full remuneration. I have submitted this statement to you, that it may appear as one convincing. proof of the inattention, on the part of official men, to the rights of humanity; and how must the difficulty be... increased to the exemplary missionaries in diffusing a knowledge and a love of the gospel, when its first. maxims are not attended to by those who are Christians by name? "I am, &c., (Signed) "WM. PARKER." 14 I It is obvious, from the above correspondence, that... ́ the colonial government is entitled to very little respect for its indulgence to poor Zwarts: for had it not been for the disinterested conduct, in this instance, of Mr... Parker, he would have been turned out of his farm, with all its improvements, without ceremony, and with--; out any compensation being made to him for his losses, The refusal of Mr. Parker to accept, of his farm, for ›› the reasons he assigned, was, in the first instance, treated with contempt; but the transaction had become public, and on its being seen that Zwarts had got friends, and that an account of his treatment, should he be ejected from his farm, was likely to reach England, it was left to remain in his possession. The manner in which lands have been granted to the missionary institutions, and the conduct of the colonial government towards these institutions, is one of the last points the government can appeal to, in proof of its dis VOL. II. S position to grant land to the Hottentots. Those institutions commenced at a period when the lands granted to them were of no importance to the colonists; and while, during a late period, several of them have been put down by the colonial government, and the lands on which they stood given to the colonists, the lands belonging to others of them have been curtailed, and attempts have been made to crush them entirely, and to alienate the remaining lands from the objects for which they were given, to grant them to the colonists. All the lands formerly belonging to the missionary institutions in the Bushman country are now occupied by boors. After the details which have been given in the present instance, and those which were previously related as connected with the attempts made by the colonial government upon the lands of the missionary institutions of Zuurbrak, Pacaltsdorp, Bethelsdorp, and Theopolis, and to which the reader can look back, I am satisfied that any further illustrations of this subject would be deemed superfluous. The cases here enumerated have been fully detailed, and the original documents have been laid before his Majesty's Commissioners and the Colonial Department at home. One thing only remains to be noticed here, that is, the apology Lord Charles Somerset offers for the small extent of the land said to have been given to the Hottentots. "It is to be observed," says his Lordship, " that it is the practice of Hottentots, when they are not on service, to repair to one of the Moravian, or other institutions; the applications for land, therefore, by this class are very rare.' In reply to this apology, a few remarks, in this place, will suffice. There is an omission in his Lordship's statement which should have been supplied. It should have been added, that it is the practice of Hottentots, when they are not in service, to repair to the Moravian or other religious institutions, when they are permitted so to do by the local authorities of the district. In the proclamations of the colonial government, in the official documents of the government at home, and in the statement now under consideration, the Hottentots are, indeed, represented as a free people, free labourers, and British subjects: but it will be seen by the preceding pages, that their real condition is that of the most abject and wretched slavery. The Hottentots not at a missionary station must be in the service of the colonists; the law does not allow them to be without contract to a master; and they are entirely at the disposal of the local authorities of the district in which they reside. By this regulation alone, they are virtually disqualified from either acquiring or holding land, on the same principle on which a slave cannot be his own master and a slave at the same time. 260 CHAPTER XIV. Official Return of Commandoes against the Bushmen-Compared with Commandant Nel's Confessions.-Humane pretences of the Colonial Government examined.-Letter to Rev. B. Shaw.Traffic in Bushman Children.-Pretences of the Colonists for tcontinuing this Traffic.-Comparative Humanity of the Dutch " and English Governments towards the Bushmen.—Real objects of Bushman Commandoes. WE come now to consider that part of the Parliamentary Return, which relates to the military expeditions against the Bushmen. The following is the official statement furnished by Lord Charles Somerset, in obedience to the orders of his Majesty's government, issued in consequence of the address of the House of Commons, of April 13, 1824, before mentioned. Note to Table on the opposite page :— "The registry of slaves throughout the colony is entrusted to a principal officer in Cape Town, assisted by agents in the country districts, in each of which a separate register is kept. These registers, although voluminous, are defective in form, and the removals of slaves have not been, in all instances, duly recorded. No description of the person of the slave is entered in the register, nor has it been customary to require the attendance of the slave at the office when he has been returned by the owner." Report of His Majesty's Commissioners of Inquiry, &c, &c. "Return of all Commandoes or Expeditions against the Bosjesmen which have taken place at the Cape of Good Hope since 1797; stating the number of Bosjesmen killed, wounded, and taken prisoners, stating also what had been done with the prisoners. Number of Bosjesmen District. Number of does. Killed. 14 45 Wounded. Taken Prisoners. 22 Remarks. 4 The Commandoes that proceeded against the Bosjesmen from this district were ordered out in consequence of the repeated depredations and murders committed by this marauding race of people. To repress this disposition on the part of the Bosjesmen, no other means could be rendered available than that of immediate pursuit and punishment. The expeditions mostly took place during the latter end of the last century, and it has not, therefore, been practicable to ascertain precisely the fate of those taken prisoners: some, however, it appears, escaped; and it is surmised that the remainder were released. Graaff-Reinet f [* See Note on op、 posite page.] 21 97 3 ing to the practice of the district, the prisoners were distributed among the inhabitants, and put out to service for a stated period. The greatest precaution, however, has been observed in the treatment of these uncivilized beings, and the proclamation, establishing the registry of slaves, will show that no attempts could be successful to include any of this class amongst those unfortunate persons*. The accompanying documents show the anxiety of the colonial government in this regard, and detail the system at present pursued, and the regulations established respecting them. Most of the prisoners taken on these expeditions have returned to their kraals, and the remainder are living with the farmers, on the same terms as their Hottentot servants. In cases where the perpetrators of murders could be discovered, they were tried by the colonial laws, and, if convicted, underwent the punishment their crimes demanded. (Signed,) Cape of Good Hope, 16th October, 1824.” 66 CHARLES HENRY SOMERSET." |