DISORDERS IN NATAL

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28980, 22 August 1959, Page 13

DISORDERS IN NATAL

Baton Charge By Police

ESTCOURT (Eastern Natal), August 20. Police baton-charged a crowd of about 100 African women who had refused an order to disperse today on the third successive day of disturbances in the small village of Estcourt. Police armed with sten guns and supported by a Saracen armoured vehicle made several arrests, and were rounding up other suspects. .One white police sergeant was slightly hurt in the charge, which was made by about 50 white and non-white police. Notices of appeal were given today by 13 African women against their convictions in Umzinto Magistrate’s Court yesterday of malicious damage to property. Each was fined £2s— three months’ imprisonment. The women were found not guilty of destroying a cattledipping tank in the Umainto area on August 5. and of public violence. But they were convicted on an alternative charge of malicious damage to the tankestimated at £lOO. None of the women has paid the fine, and all are in custody. Van Ryneveld Resigns Clive van Ryneveld, the former South African cricket captain, and member of Parliament for East London North, announced today that he had resigned from the United (Opposition) Party. Earlier Mr van Ryneveld had publicly expressed regret at becoming associated with the party’s liberal . “dissenients” and had placed his resignation in the hands of the party leader (Sir de Villiers Graaf) who refused to accept it. Mr van Ryneveld was one of nine party Parliamentary representatives who broke away from the party last week after the party's congress in Bloemfontein The resignations of six were accepted. The immediate cause of the rift which has split the United Party into liberal and conservative factions was a resolution passed by the congress last week opposing the acquisition of more land by the Government for African semi-autonomous areas of “Bantustans.” The number of United Party Members of Parliament who have definitely resigned is eight