SIR GEORGE GREY'S KAFFRARIAN POLICY.

Daily Southern Cross, Volume XVI, Issue 1207, 21 January 1859, Page 4

SIR GEORGE GREY'S KAFFRARIAN POLICY.

An important letter from Sir George Grey to Col. Maclean, illustrative of hit KaftVarian policy, pub* lished in the • King William's T6wn Gawstte,' has sperial reference to the plan recently announced of allocating 200 farms in British Kaffrnria to venters from th« eaatern and western provinces of the Cape colony. His Excellency at the outset nay :— " Th« line of polity 1 have aimed at has been s6 to intersperse, among each other, the European and natire populations of this country, that neither of them might remain nn object of dread or apprehension to tht other, but that they might become mutually beneficial to one another. From what has taken, place in various parts ot the colony no doubt can exist that such relations may be established between Europeans and the coloured population of South Africa; that from their union, a society of the ttt'ist harmonious elements ma'£ be'formed, in'"which the two ra.ces living together in a' state of happiness aid contentmont, forming loyaf subjects, and a prodactive and wt-11 organised society in which crime is remarkably infrequent, and life and property aecure." He then describes the means adoptetlby him, to that end. the military priste and villages, the extensive roads and other public works, the industrial •institutions^ and. native' constabulary, all of ■which he provided for; He next refers to the immigration frpro Britain, which' be proposed seriuring, bat which the home government disallowed ; and the system of, German immigration, which had been also disapproved by tier' Majesty's ministers. He tien proceeds : -" A p&rt of my original design Was t« mix up with the population newly incoming from Europe a considerable number of settlers, whose experience in the country, and whose knowledge of its climate, its sc-il, its productions, and the character of its native inhabitants, would have been of great ti« to the newly-arrived emigrants. The disallowance, However, of both the plans I had formed for the introduction of emigrants trom Europe leaves me now no resource but to obtain, if possible, from the Cape colony, a much larger proportion of European settlers for Eaffraria than I had originally intended ; for it is impossible to keep such vast districts of fertile lands bare of inhabitants. If this -were attempted, they would either, become irregularly occupied at the caprice of individuals, by a -j))pulatibn'of dangerous character, uhder no control, and who would hereafter entail enormous evils on the colony, or great expense must be incurred in maintaining a moreable force constantly watching that they more not so occupied, and turning out intruders ; and as the country was devoid of inhabitants, and consequently, of production and commerce, theie would be no means of raising a revenue to pny the heavy cost of such a force. The enclosed -regulation* will sufficiently explain how I intended that aettlers should be introduced from the Cape Colony into Kaffruria. Blocks of farms must be laid on for these settlers, with as little delay as practicable, upon each side of the road leading from East London to King William's Town. Sufficient land must be left around the German villages for their extension, and to meet the just wants of the present and future inhabitants ot those villages, whose town and suburban property will be greatly enhanced in Talue, fiom the country round them being occupied by a skilled agricultural and pastoral population." Toward* the close 1 Sir George adds—" In taking so much care for the interests of the settlers, it is proftnsed to introduce in the part of Kaffraria to which I have alluded; the welfare cf the native inhabitants of the country must, at the same time, not be overlooked. At present it may be said that no natives are to be found in that tract of country. . But when the country is in part occupied by European farmers, who will afford work and supply the means of existence to its former inhabitants, it is probable that many of them who are now in the colony may ultimately return there, and the discipline and training they have here undergone as labourers will render them useful to the European inhabitants of Eaffraria. It will therefore be requisite for the European settlers to reserve sufficient tracts for the future wants of the former inhabitants of the district who are likely to return there, selecting the localities with a view to the safety of the European population, to the tastes and habits of the Kaffirs, and with a view to their location in villages under the existing system."