Transvaal Natives.

Timaru Herald, Volume XIC, Issue 13450, 23 November 1907, Page 3 (Supplement)

Transvaal Natives.

Many extraordinary facts regarding the position, of the natives in the Transvaal are given in a.series of reports just issued; by. tha Transvaal • Land Owners' : .A*«oeia-.» t ion. - ' . . The reports are made by special commis--ii.ioheiv-> • sent out by the association. In. one the writer says.:— ' , It-" has become quite a common prictiee. for white men to plough land for natives. The latter pay the former so much per acre. ■■ - : "A decided advance.is noticeable among the natives as regards their method of cultivation . In former.years most pf their, land was tilled, by women, win) used the hoe,. practically. their only _ implement ■of agriculture, whereas at present it- is quite common to see the men. cultivating with ploughs 1 drawn by either oxen oV donkeys." 1 ■ Another of' the commissioners writes :; The rapid stridesu tlie natives are making towards civilisation and t-lie eagerness they display, in endeavouring to lenrn . to. .read: and wrHe have of late; become very marked- I regret: to - have to say it. but it'vap-nears: to me- that .the native; children, as regards education, are comparatively advancing more rapidly than the children of the poorer whites- in the outlying- dis-.; tricts." . ■ ■ ' .. . - " I find that- on most of the stadts visited- a large number of boys are • away-: at work. Tn fact, in some stadts'l found, only the women and old men*, . all the yoiinger m£n being away," Tvrites another commissioner.. " From conversation with the natives they all state their willingness to work, but, as formerly stated-in my report, not underground They altso strongly . objectto being recruited, as they, without -exception, all state that' they have been cheated by labour agents to an extent that they -prefer to go and look for work by theniselves. ( as then thev know exactly what ■ work they will lia-Ae to do, ,and; wliat the remuneration will be."- ' Dealing with the native hut- tax, the same writer says : " - note the Government no longer" charges ,a, native anything; more than £2extra; for the second! wife. ■ Bv- this I mean that" a natiye with, four wives pays the. saifse as a- native with two. Until recently, this, of course, was different.- He had 'to, pay: for every wife ab.hve one." "