Field Cornet.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 20, 18 October 1907, Page 10

Field Cornet.

THE OLD ORDER IN THE TRANSVAAL. Tho old order returne'th, and the Government of tho Transvaal, writes a Johannesburg correspondent of the Pill Mall Gazetto) are slowly but surely introducing thoir own pre-war ' ideas, which were abolished "when the British annexation took placo during tho war... To understand what the reintroductfon of fiold cornets means ono must go back to the pre-war days, whon the field cornet was.a;man of groat .importance in the , country ; districts. He was an autocrat in many ways, but as the appointment was made by the vote of the people he was, as was only to be expected, a man of strong political feeling, who was bound to deal more, leniently with his own supporters than with his oponents.. To tho native his word was law, and tales are told of casos in which justice'was'a secondary consideration, when a native, dared to question tho right of tho farmer, .to inflict corporal punishmont without the "case'going into court. ■ ; Ever since tho ,war the back-veld Boor has been longing for a return of tho good old days, when ho was ablo to deal with the natives, v on his farm in. his . own way, and when' there wcro;no S.A.C.' to see that tho native got justice. Immediately after the elections it was ovident that a strong effort would bo mado to re-establish the system, and in, order to strengthen the hands of the Government the Hot yolk members at onco started to' present petitions to tho House. During the months of Juno and July no fewer than fifty-seven such, petitions wcro presented signed by 3877 votors. The recstablishmerit of "the vcldcornet" sounds the death-knell' pf tho much-abused S.A.C., .and the Government arc,. I am informed, now, making arrangements to attach tile remnants of the force stationed in the small towns to the Trtinsvaal Torn Police, which is stationed in Pretoria and on tho Rand.

It is difficult to define the exact duties of : a field-cornet —ho has the power of an assistant magistrate, and is also the chief police officer of the district; ho is the assistant district registrar of births and deaths, is responsible for the carrying out of the Stock and Cattlo (Diseases) Acts, the repair and maintenance of public roads—in fact, is a I'ooh-liah. Dy his return the resident justices of tho peace, forty-fivQ in number, will ceaso to oxist officially. Thirteen of this number are sub-inspectors of tho S.A.C., while twenty-more bear English or Scotch names. If field-cornets are to bo appointed by popular vote these moh liavo no chance whatever of receiving tho appointments.