FOOTNOTES:

[15] I have obtained much help, for which I wish to make due acknowledgment, from the following works on South Africa, which I would commend to the inquirer on the subject:—

COMMERCIAL PROSPECTS

By WILLIAM EGLINGTON

Editor and Proprietor of “The British and South African Export Gazette”

It is somewhat of an anomaly that of the scores of books which have been published of late years in connection with South Africa, not one has contained any direct reference to its commerce. This is the more remarkable when it is remembered how little is known, outside the circle of those associated with the trade, of its actual extent and importance. It is true that here and there in the daily press statements, more or less accurate, from time to time appear as to its trend, and of late quite a number of technical journals, somewhat tardily, appear to have only just awakened to the fact that the huge demands made upon British industries by South Africa’s consumptive requirements are worthy of further investigation. But however admirable their intentions, the process of enlightening the public to which they set themselves would seem to have failed of its object, for the reason that, while each has done its best in its own particular groove, collectively they reveal nothing but what interests their own immediate circle of readers.

In view of the wide publicity given to South African affairs in recent times, the ignorance of the average man as to the remarkable expansion which has taken place in South African trade since the Majuba scuttle is not a little astonishing. He doubtless has a hazy idea that it runs well into millions, but there his knowledge ceases. He has had it dinned into his ears that British manufacturers have been asleep and sacrificed the trade to the greater activities of their rivals, and while he may deplore this fact, and bewail the decadence of our erstwhile commercial supremacy in oversea markets, there his interest ceases. It is with the view of enlightening a wider public as to the extent and scope of our present trade with South Africa, together with its future prospects, that this article has reference, and it will also serve to show, despite erroneous assertions to the contrary, that we have nothing to fear from foreign competition. However lax our manufacturers may have been in the past in allowing their rivals to secure so firm a footing in a market where, until a few years ago, they were supreme, after a perusal of the facts herein adduced it will be conceded that their present position is one from which it will be a matter of extreme difficulty to dislodge them.

Strange as it may appear, South African trade first began to show signs of expansion after the events which followed upon the retrocession of the Transvaal to the Boers in 1881. Until that year it was practically insignificant in its proportions and almost stationary in its volume, being mainly assisted by the activity shown in the diamond industry, gold not then having become a factor in quickening the commercial pulse. In the year named, the total imports into the country from all sources amounted to £11,140,027, of which the Cape Colony took, in round figures, all but two millions. After 1881, however, the imports steadily, if slowly, increased in bulk, which was due less to active developments in South Africa itself than to the gradual opening up of the country after the first Boer war. In 1891, in which year it may be said the fabulous wealth of the Witwatersrand first began to attract the attention of the civilised world, the value of the imports stood at £12,230,270, of which the Cape Colony took practically the same amount of goods as in 1881, while Natal had improved her position by taking about one-fourth of the total. After 1891 the imports increased with extraordinary rapidity in proportion as the gold industry made headway, until in 1901 they touched the high-water mark with £31,595,332, or practically three times what they stood at twenty years before.

In 1881, the quantity of goods imported from countries other than England was so insignificant as not to be worth including in the official returns, and so far as the United States was concerned absolutely no trade with South Africa was done at all, and but very little with the European Continent. In 1892, however, Germany and America began to pay greater attention to the possibilities of what then showed signs of becoming an exceedingly promising market, the share of the former country in that year being only £231,172, while that of the latter was £418,126. How successful they were in their efforts is seen by the fact that with each succeeding year the value of the goods entering South Africa from those countries grew by leaps and bounds, until in 1901 the German share had increased to £1,118,010, and that of the United States to £2,640,193. Neither of these amounts was, however, the highest point reached by either Germany or America, their record years being 1896 and 1898 respectively. It is unquestionable that had British manufacturers paid sufficient attention to the possibilities of the South African trade in the period from 1881-91, and had realised how rapidly the country was developing, thereby quickening them to action, the foreigner would not have got the hold upon its commerce which he now has, the combined share of all the countries competing with Great Britain amounting in 1901 to £4,590,681, or 14.9 per cent. of the total imports. Although the purely British share was as much as 65.6 per cent., the balance being made up by the shares of our Colonies and non-competing countries (i.e. goods imported from countries that Great Britain cannot supply), much remains to be done to retain even that percental share; but it is satisfactory to note that the lessons of the past have not been lost upon us, and that with the general awakening to the foreign menace there is every likelihood that we shall more than hold our own in the future, provided our manufacturers are not handicapped by the exactions of labour, the excessive cost of which, and the general disinclination of the Trades Unions to adopt modern labour-saving machinery, being the two principal factors in determining whether competition with other countries shall be effective or not.

CHURCH STREET EAST, PRETORIA
Photo by Barnett & Co., Johannesburg

It may not be without interest to put on record the values of the principal articles imported into South Africa in 1901 from all sources. They were as follow:—

Animals, Live£71,771
Articles of Food and Drink9,641,809
Articles of Personal Use6,120,903
Builders’ Materials1,245,609
Drugs and Chemicals437,610
Electrical Goods136,964
Explosives and Weapons119,379
Hardware, Cutlery, and Ironmongery1,276,041
Household Requisites1,969,724
Iron and Steel596,928
Leather and Manufactures394,525
Machinery, &c.859,685
Paper, Books, &c.689,216
Textile Manufactures2,104,245
Vehicles and Vehicular Material968,210
Other Articles1,943,465
Goods by Parcels Post520,265
Stores for Government2,498,983
Total£31,595,332

The purely British (i.e. the United Kingdom’s) share in this trade was as follows:

Animals, Living£29,306
Arms, Ammunition, &c.143,697
Articles of Food and Drink2,533,163
Articles of Personal Use3,528,907
Builders’ Materials, &c.175,078
Drugs and Chemicals423,190
Household Requisites1,600,763
Ironmongery and Hardware275,245
Leather and Manufactures1,762,438
Machinery, Millwork, &c.1,210,151
Metals and Manufactures1,762,438
Oils, other than Essential55,076
Paper and Stationery577,228
Textile Manufactures2,387,666
Vehicles and Parts635,153
Vessels (Ships and Boats)23,214
Wood and Timber108,034
Miscellaneous Articles965,655
Total£20,648,529

It is not without instruction to those who are unaware of the potential character of South Africa’s buying capacity, the reasons for which will be more clearly set forth later on, to compare the amount spent on the purchase of oversea goods by the white and black population with those of our other colonies and India:—

White Population.Native Population.Total Population.British Exports to.
£
Australia3,577,000200,0003,777,00021,329,965
Canada5,170,000201,0005,371,0008,153,815
India275,000294,000,000294,295,00039,753,348
New Zealand767,00052,000819,0005,601,979
South Africa1,007,0003,000,0004,007,00020,326,006
Per Head White.Per Head Native.Per Head Total.
£s.d.£s.d.£s.d.
Australia51901061205130
Canada1116401121104
India1440 0029028
New Zealand7601071436160
South Africa20376156516

In other words, with the exception of India, where the European population is not numerous, each white inhabitant in South Africa spends vastly more in proportion to its population than any of our other Colonies, or exactly £20, 3s. 7d. per head as against £7, 6s. for Australia, the next highest, and £1, 11s. 6d. for Canada, the lowest, or, with black and white combined, £5, 1s. 6d. per head of the total population, as against 2s. 8d. for India, £1, 10s. 4d. for Canada, £5, 13s. for Australia, and £6, 16s. for New Zealand. A reference to the above table clearly shows what an important customer the South African native is for oversea goods, his annual purchases amounting to £6, 15s. 6d., which it will be seen is even more per head than that of the Australian white population. This latter assumption is, of course, purely deductive, but it is in the main fairly accurate.

Not only this, but it will surprise many to learn that of the total British exports to our Colonies and India, South Africa is our third best market. Moreover, in certain classes of goods, specified below, she is also far and away our most important customer. For instance, of the total exports from the United Kingdom to our Colonies and dependencies, there were shipped in 1901:—

Boots and Shoes.

ToSouth Africa£881,266
"Australia223,516
"India125,256
"New Zealand105,671

Of these South Africa took one-half of the total British exports.

Apparel and Slops.

ToSouth Africa£2,198,235
"Australia1,353,878
"New Zealand376,582
"Canada281,100
"India195,762

Of these South Africa took two-fifths of the total exports.

Haberdashery and Millinery.

ToAustralia£341,241
"South Africa310,372
"India142,341
"New Zealand137,080
"Canada125,401

Of these South Africa took one-fifth of the total exports.

Mining Machinery.

ToAustralia£129,704
"South Africa108,365
"India74,714
"New Zealand11,272

South Africa took one-fifth of the total mining machinery exports, but had 1901 been a normal year, the exports would unquestionably have exceeded those of all our other Colonies and India combined.

Agricultural Machinery (excluding Engines).

ToAustralia£30,829
"South Africa26,833
"New Zealand18,654
"India14,294

Manufactures of Steel, &c.

ToIndia£268,377
"South Africa108,187
"Australia57,990
"New Zealand20,189

Locomotives.

ToIndia£535,115
"Australia311,616
"South Africa281,158
"New Zealand38,712

Unenumerated Engines.

ToIndia£274,257
"Australia232,563
"South Africa128,786

Cast and Wrought Iron.

ToIndia£848,857
"Australia746,155
"South Africa599,018
"New Zealand202,451
"Canada53,212

Galvanized Sheets.

ToAustralia£730,952
"India586,023
"South Africa358,353
"New Zealand125,828
"Canada113,015

This brief digest will doubtless be sufficient to prove that South Africa, as a market, is to-day one of the best customers of the Motherland, and, as will be shown later, when dealing with the future outlook for Imperial trade with that country, bids fair to speedily overtop in her demands upon the United Kingdom and her Colonies and dependencies that of any single member of the Imperial family, India—of all our possessions at present our best customer—not even excepted. And what will readily be conceded is a satisfactory feature in our commercial relations with South Africa is the remarkable growth which has characterised the exports thither from British possessions and Protectorates other than the Mother Country itself, the total proportion in 1901 being £4,733,800, as against £4,590,681, the value of the combined trade with South Africa in that year of Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and the United States.

Why South Africa must, for many years to come, remain our best customer, ever increasing its demands upon our industries, is not difficult of comprehension to those who are acquainted with its circumstances. Although it is more than capable in proper hands and with the assistance of capital of being self-supporting, beyond its gold, diamonds, and coal, it produces little or nothing to speak of. It has one of the finest climates in the world; its soil is more than ordinarily fertile, and only requires water to yield a harvest more than sufficient for its consumptive needs, which could easily be obtained if the ample rainfall were properly conserved and irrigation resorted to on an intelligent principle. Incredible as it may seem, even the mealies or maize, which it could grow in sufficient quantity, without recourse to irrigation, to supply its own wants and leave a margin for export, are imported to the amount of something like £350,000 annually. Its iron deposits are probably unequalled elsewhere; its seas teem with fish, and its orchards and vineyards groan with the yield which nature lavishes with but little assistance from man. Yet on the shelves of every store throughout the country will be found imported canned fish and fruit, mainly from America; and while it is true that here and there jam factories are to be found, and the sugar cane grows almost wild in Natal, probably more than half a million yearly is disbursed on imported jams, confectionery, syrups, and the like. Tea likewise flourishes in Natal, but South Africa imports nearly £200,000 worth yearly; fresh and preserved vegetables, to its shame, are actually landed to the value of £80,000 annually, although, like most other foodstuffs, the soil grows them in luxuriant profusion; and of wine, despite the fact that the huge quantities made at the Cape, if properly treated according to European methods, would be unsurpassed in the world, the oversea product stands for nearly £300,000.

Moreover, as a cattle country many parts of South Africa are probably unrivalled, notwithstanding which both live and dead stock are freely imported, and while it could support millions of sheep it prefers the frozen mutton of New Zealand and the Argentine. Whoever is to blame for this state of things, which, happily, under the new regime and with the influx of population from European countries will gradually be altered, it is certain that, until the old order changes (and this will probably be a work of decades), South Africa must rely upon oversea goods for the maintenance of its growing population, as also for the means wherewith to extract its marvellous mineral wealth. According to Mr. W. Willcocks, C.M.G., if the irrigation schemes which are projected in the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies are ever carried into effect, they will add something like £200,000,000 to the value of the agricultural land, a consummation which, in its own interests as well as for our own industries, is devoutly to be wished. If it be true, as is repeatedly asserted by those most competent to judge, that South Africa’s vast mineral deposits have only been “scratched,” how much more does this remark apply to its agriculture, which, after all, is the staple wealth of all countries, and which has made the United States and Canada what they are to-day?

Enough has probably been said of the South African trade of the past and present, although the subject is of such profound interest to the student that it deserves greater space than is possible within the scope of a single article. It is to the future that we have now to direct our attention, and it is in attempting to forecast the probable trend of the trade in the years to come that speculation becomes positively fascinating. In making this endeavour, it is well to bear in mind that assumption will be based upon such facts as are within our common knowledge, and therefore may be accepted as a reliable, although not infallible, guide as to what may safely be expected of South African commerce in the future. Setting aside for the moment the possibility of the soil being made to yield any greater abundance than is now the case, or that other than its existing insignificant industries will be promoted or developed, we will first of all confine our investigations to how far South Africa’s mineral wealth will beneficially affect trade pure and simple. Altogether, irrespective of the Cape, Natal, Rhodesia, and the Orange River Colony, the mining, exploration, and investment companies at present in existence in the Transvaal alone, or connected therewith, number something like 350, representing a capital of £250,000,000, or about what the war has cost us. Many attempts have been made by competent experts in the past to forecast what the several sections of the Witwatersrand only will yield in gold as interest on this huge sum before the mines at present in working or in process of being worked are exhausted, but few approximate with such exactitude the recent estimates of Messrs. Frederick H. Hatch and T. H. Leggett, both of whom are authorities whose views are entitled to the greatest respect. They have had many years’ practical experience of the Transvaal mines, and owing to the uniformity of the yield, tested at a depth of nearly 5000 feet, to which they limit themselves in their calculations, they are of opinion that the gold yet to be extracted from Randfontein on the west to Modderfontein on the east amounts to the almost incalculable total of £1,310,323,000, and that the life of this section is forty-two and a half years.

Now, as it is indisputable that South African trade is in the main practically dependent upon the country’s mineral wealth, it is not a matter of supreme difficulty to arrive at some definite conclusion as to what effect the extraction of this stupendous amount will have upon its consumptive requirements. Herein lies its supreme significance to manufacturers, and particularly to those who are our countrymen. The experts cited are of opinion that by June 1906 the annual output of gold from this section alone will amount to £30,000,000, which compares with £20,000,000, the estimated yield for 1899, had not the war intervened. According to figures taken from the reports issued by the Johannesburg Chamber of Mines, something like 75 per cent. of the yearly output of but seventy-four of the mining companies producing the £20,000,000 referred to has been spent in the past on machinery, stores, development, labour, &c., which would mean a local disbursement alone of £22,500,000 in 1906 to win the £30,000,000 estimated as the yield in that year by Messrs. Hatch and Leggett. But, according to Mr. A. R. Goldring, secretary to the Johannesburg Chamber of Mines, who bases his data upon information supplied by the leading Rand engineering experts, in 1907 no fewer than 17,000 head of stamps will be at work, being an increase of 11,000 on the number in operation just previous to the outbreak of the war. If the annual output of £20,000,000 involved the expenditure of £15,000,000 on stores, machinery, wages, &c., Mr. Goldring’s estimate of the number of stamps that will be at work in 1907 means the disbursement of the gigantic sum of £42,500,000 as the total contribution which the Rand gold industry alone will expend for the benefit of the merchants and manufacturers of the Mother Country and the world at large. If to this estimate be added the expenditure necessitated by the numerous diamond and copper mines and collieries in the Cape Colony, Orange River Colony, Natal, and the Transvaal, coupled with that of the Rhodesian gold mines and collieries, as well as the gold mines in districts other than the Witwatersrand, such as Barberton and Zoutpansberg, &c., a reasonable estimate should place the total disbursements of the entire mining industry in South Africa in, say, five years at £50,000,000 sterling, which, added to the normal requirements of the country apart from those of mining, would mean an annual outlay of at least £60,000,000 for the benefit of commerce.

It will be seen that no allowance is here made for possible developments in agriculture and kindred pursuits, which may not unreasonably be expected to ensue as the result of the fostering care of the administrations, under the Imperial Government, of the Transvaal and Orange River Colonies, although large disbursements might with perfect safety be placed to the credit of these and other industries which may safely be assumed to be promoted during the interval between the present and the year to which these estimates relate. That the Rand gold industry can never be checked again, short of another war, which is extremely improbable, is as certain as that the sun shines, and the same remark applies to the other mineral propositions. It is therefore well within the bounds of probability to predict that the total purchasing capacity of South Africa five years hence will be at least £60,000,000 sterling per annum (which is an exceedingly moderate computation in view of the fact that the estimated total in 1902 is £42,000,000), a sum which, assuming our other colonies and possessions do not advance in the same ratio, will make that country an easy first as Great Britain’s best market. If Messrs. Hatch and Leggett be correct in their surmise that the life of the Rand is forty-two and a half years—and in the main they are supported by other competent authorities—excluding altogether the possibility of other discoveries of precious metals and minerals in that long interval, and eliminating for the moment, what is improbable, that the remainder of the three hundred and fifty mining and exploration companies above referred to remain idle meantime, or that their number is not hugely increased, we arrive at a total expenditure of two thousand five hundred and fifty millions sterling as South Africa’s contribution to trade in the period in question. As it would be futile to dilate upon what this overwhelming sum means to British industries, it must be left to the imagination. It is worth thinking about nevertheless.

There is, however, always the pessimist to be considered in these matters. While no doubt he will content himself with the satisfactory outlook for British trade which is here unfolded, he may, in anticipation of time, begin to worry himself as to what will happen when the Rand is no more, and when its thousands of stamps are lying idle for the want of further quartz to crush. If one cared or dared to venture upon the hazardous ground of prophecy, one might easily foretell the possibility of other Rands being discovered meanwhile, with the practical certainty that a hundred years hence South Africa’s gold yield, instead of showing diminution, will largely exceed even present anticipations; and here it is justifiable to intrude the remark that every expert, without exception, who is connected with its gold industry, is unanimous in asserting that mining has hardly been begun, and that the future will exceed the expectations of even the most optimistically inclined. But, granted that the pessimist be correct that in fifty years the gold will cease to yield and the Rand be a barren, silent waste, is it quite safe to conclude that meanwhile the country has remained at a standstill except for its mining activities? Are the £200,000,000 sterling which Mr. W. Willcocks, C.M.G., the distinguished irrigation expert, asserts will add to the value of the country as agricultural land if irrigation be resorted to, to be counted as nothing; and is there not the remote possibility of South Africa taking its natural place among the world’s producers of other staples than gold? What of its vast coal and iron deposits, its saltpetre, its petroleum, and its countless other products which to-day are but waiting the advent of capital to bring into being, all of which, like its gold, have yet to astonish the world? Gold or no gold, the country must, as the years unfold, become a teeming hive of industry, the only approximation to which is that of the United States of America. South Africa, then, is no place for the pessimist, and the sooner that is understood, the greater the peace of mind of that misguided individual.

As to the trend of the gigantic trade that is before South Africa, it has been incontestably shown that the proportion enjoyed by the Mother Country, and that of its colonies and possessions, is immeasurably in advance of that of all other nations combined, despite the ravings of the alarmists as to the alleged incursions of our rivals on what are pre-eminently our own domains. This fact must not, however, lull us into the false security of our peaceful slumbers of twenty, or even ten, years ago, when we had the field to ourselves, and which we might have retained even now but for our ignorance of its potentialities. The competition to be faced is a keen one; the trade is there and must remain there, in all human probability, for all time, in increasing quantity—for it can never retrograde; and only the alertness, the unceasing activity of those who are interested in retaining it, will preserve the major portion to our own industries. In endeavouring to show that the future outlook for South African trade is one which our manufacturers cannot possibly ignore, by reason of its incalculable vastness, it is reasonable to suppose that each member of the Imperial family, whether it be the Mother Country, its offsprings, or the humblest citizen of either, will strain every nerve to conserve to it the spoils for which such sacrifices in blood and treasure have been made, thus handing down to our children a heritage of wealth which is their right equally as it is our duty.

Photo: Russell. London.

Much might be written in confutation of the many alarmist reports as to the decadent condition into which British trade has fallen of late years, but, after all, is this worth while? Admitted that, inflated with our past prosperity, we have slumbered on undisturbed by the thought of what the to-morrow will bring, it would need greater imagination than the prospective garnering of the two thousand five hundred millions sterling which it has been shown is likely to fall into the lap of the world’s traders as the result of the future expansion of South Africa in less than fifty years, to suppose that our manufacturers have suddenly become bereft of their senses not to seize the most of their opportunities. It is easy to decry their enterprise, to compare their alleged shortcomings with the activities and the asserted “pushful” tendencies of their competitors—thus advertising the latter at their expense—but how much of foundation is there in such reports? The brief statistics with which this article is accompanied—and they have been confined to the narrowest possible limits—conclusively show that, so far as South African trade is concerned, British manufacturers are more than holding their own; and there cannot be the least doubt that they will continue to do so in the years of prosperity and expansion that are before the sub-continent, provided they are assisted by the ungrudging efforts of labour. This is a matter which need not be intruded here, but it is one upon which the maintenance of our supremacy in the world’s markets will depend, and it is one, too, which could be more profitably discussed by those whose apparent mission is to belittle everything that is British in favour of those who, in South Africa as elsewhere, are striving to wrest our commerce from us. As has been shown, the future outlook for trade in that country is of the brightest, and that we shall not prove equal to the task of maintaining our position there is a contemplation that does not come within the scope of probability.

THE FUTURE OF THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTABULARY

VIEWS OF MAJOR-GENERAL BADEN-POWELL

Believing that a short account of the origin and object of the force known as the South African Constabulary for the Orange River and Transvaal would be interesting to those anxious for the prosperity of the new Colonies, General Baden-Powell, the originator of the highly-practical scheme, was invited to contribute to this volume a brief resumé of his important work. The General in his reply said, “I am very sorry that it is quite impossible for me, under present pressure of work, to contribute an article;” but he kindly furnished an outline of his scheme, which serves to enlighten home-staying people regarding the importance of this irregular arm of the British service.

In brief the General writes:—

“I can only say of the South African Constabulary that it is not formed on lines exactly identical with any other Police Force, although in many respects similar to some.

“A Military Mounted Police is a bugbear to most administrators, as being an expensive luxury; but I think that it is rather like what a steam-engine is to a Boer farmer—once he knows how to apply it to the many uses of which it is capable, independent of what has been the practice of his predecessors—it will be found to be an economy in place of a luxury.

“I have schemed the South African Constabulary to that end, viz., as the machinery for performing many duties not hitherto included in the province of Police; and my one hope is that it may be found effective for the purpose.

“It is the best paid force of its kind, and by careful selection and elimination I expect it to be the best in quality.

“It numbers at present 10,000 whites and 1000 natives, but these numbers will be liable to alterations as the country progresses.

“It is divided into four separate self-contained Divisions carrying out the duties of District and Town Police in the Transvaal and Orange River Colony, together with their subordinate departments of Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, and many minor and temporary duties, such as medical, agricultural, and veterinary, postal and customs, sanitary, public works, &c. &c.

“With a good Reserve, as the Force will shortly have, of men settled in the country in civil situations, and with its married establishment of 600 families, the South African Constabulary will also take an important share in the development of the Colony, and will at the same time be in a position to supply a well-trained mounted force for military work should emergency arise.”

This force has been formed for the maintenance of order and public security in the Orange River Colony and the Transvaal, but is available for service in any part of British South Africa. It acts as a District Mounted Police in time of peace, and as a military force in time of war. At one period drafts of about 80 men per month were despatched from Great Britain and Ireland, but now, owing to the cessation of the war, recruiting is closed. From time to time new blood may yet be in demand. Candidates had to be good readers, writers, spellers, riders, and shots. Single men were preferred, and recommendations, particularly as to sobriety, had to be forthcoming. The term of engagement was for three years for those recruited in the British Isles, with the possibility, for non-commissioned officers and men, of re-engaging on increased pay. The term of service for men enlisted in South Africa (who had not been given a passage) was two years. Promotion by merit and commissions are obtainable from the ranks. The age of candidates is not under 20 nor over 35. The standard of height, without boots, is not over 6 ft. 2 ins. nor under 5 ft. 4 ins. The chest measurement, deflated, is not under 34 inches, and the weight, without clothes, is not over 13 stone 7 lbs. nor under 9 stone.

The following is the scale of pay:—

s.d.
Sergeant (Staff-Sergeant)100per diem.
Sergeant90"
Second Class Sergeant80"
Corporal76"
First Class Trooper70"
Second Class Trooper60"
Third Class Trooper50"

Pay commenced from date of attestation in South Africa.

Pay, as well as promotion, is largely in accordance with a man’s efficiency and behaviour, troopers being divided into three classes, and non-commissioned officers into four, for this purpose. Promotion from one class to another among troopers depends on their qualifying in Constabulary duties, musketry, signalling, language, and other tests, and on their continuing efficient in these subjects. Men of all grades entered at the lowest pay of their grade. Men selected in Great Britain and Ireland joined as third-class troopers. Promotion in the non-commissioned officers’ ranks will generally only be granted to those who qualify in colloquial Dutch. Men desirous of marrying while in the South African Constabulary need to obtain the sanction of the Officer Commanding Division to their doing so, they are then entitled to an allowance to cover lodging and other expenses, such as rations, fuel, light, &c., at the consolidated rate of 3s. a day. On completion of the first three years’ service a man may, if approved by the Officer Commanding Division, re-engage for a further term of two years, at 3d. a day extra. On completion of his five years he may re-engage for further service by the year, if the Officer Commanding Division approves, at 6d. a day for every additional year, until the total increase of pay for re-engagement shall have reached 2s. per diem. Rations, horse, forage, clothing, equipment, arms, quarters, and medical attendance are supplied free. In exceptional circumstances, where rations cannot be supplied, a ration allowance will be made of 2s. per diem.

A non-commissioned officer or man may be discharged at any time by order of the Officer Commanding Division with or without gratuity. Discharge may be purchased, with consent of Officer Commanding Division, for £20 during first year, £15 during second year, and £10 during third year.

Any Non-commissioned Officer or Trooper may, with the approval of his Commanding Officer, be transferred to the Reserve, provided that there is a vacancy for him, at the end of his first engagement (three years), or if he re-engages, at the end of any period of re-engagement, up to the completion of five years from his first entry into the service. Every man transferred to the Reserve is required to remain in it and have his permanent residence in the Orange River Colony or the Transvaal, unless discharged, up to the end of seven years from the date of his first entry into the service. A man wishing to purchase his discharge from the Reserve may do so on payment of £12 at any period of his service in the Reserve. He will receive while in the Reserve pay at the rate of £1 per month. He will be liable to be called out annually for not more than ten consecutive days for training, and shall also be liable to be called out for active service at any time by the proclamation of the administrator, governor, or other person exercising for the time being supreme authority in the Transvaal or Orange River Colony, declaring the existence of a state of war, or of such serious menace to the peace as to render mobilisation necessary. While on training or on active service he will receive full pay at the same rate which he was enjoying when transferred to the Reserve. In addition to their pay, Reservists, if they desire to settle on the land, will receive special consideration in any Government-aided scheme of settlement.

Proposals are at present under consideration, whereby suitable settlers may be assisted to acquire land, and be aided at starting by Government advances, the purchase price and capital advanced being repayable on easy terms. If any plan of this kind is found to be practicable, a certain number of farms annually will be offered in the first instance to members of the South African Constabulary, who, having borne a good character, may be desirous of being transferred to the Reserve with a view to actually settling on the land as farmers. Similar privileges will, if the opportunity offers, be extended to Non-commissioned Officers and men who may quit the South African Constabulary after five or more years’ continuous service, bearing a good character.

Any man having served at least five years continuously in the South African Constabulary (not including Reserve service) with a good character will be entitled, on retiring, to a gratuity of one month’s pay for every year of service. Men on the Reserve may, with approval of Officer Commanding Division, be taken on to full pay again at any time for a term of two years at 3d. a day extra pay.

Where a number of men joined from one place they were squadded together as far as possible in the South African Constabulary. Leave of absence will where possible be granted to all ranks for one month in each year, cumulative, on full pay, special conditions ruling shooting leave, and leave to England or out of South Africa. After four years without leave six months on full pay will be granted.

Candidates were given a free passage in a transport to South Africa, and a free railway voucher from their place of residence to the port of embarkation. They were liable to further medical examination on arrival at the place of attestation. Any candidate found unsuitable was given a free passage back to England, provided that he was not rejected for any misrepresentation, misconduct, or serious fault of his own. After five years’ total service a free third-class passage home will be granted to men recruited in the United Kingdom.

The full strength of the Constabulary will in future be six thousand men: the four thousand enrolled for the war contingency will shortly be disbanded.

These particulars serve to show the nature of the new Force, and give some idea of its value in preserving the future peace of the King’s new dominions.

APPENDIX
MR. CHAMBERLAIN AND THE BOER GENERALS

Soon after the conclusion of the war Generals Botha, De Wet, and Delarey, in the hope of making favourable arrangements with the Government on behalf of their fellow-countrymen, sailed for England. They were greeted by the British people with unusual cordiality, not because of any sympathy with the Republics they came to represent, but because it is a characteristic of the British people to honour brave men, even when they are defeated foes. General Botha was received by Mr. Chamberlain, and the Boer future was discussed. A few days later the public was startled to read in the daily journals the following manifesto entitled, “Appeal of the Boer Generals to the Civilised World.”

“It is still fresh in the memory of the world how the Boers, after a terrible struggle lasting more than two and a half years, were at last obliged to accept through their representatives at Vereeniging the terms of peace submitted to them by the Government of King Edward VII. At the same time the representatives commissioned us to proceed to England in order, in the first place, to appeal to the new Government to allay the immense distress everywhere devastating the new colonies. If we did not succeed we were to appeal to the humanity of the civilised world for charitable contributions. As we have not succeeded up to the present in inducing the British Government to grant further assistance to our people in their indescribable distress, it only remains for us to address ourselves to the peoples of Europe and America.

“During the critical days through which we have passed it was sweet for us and ours to receive constant marks of sympathy from all countries. The financial and other assistance given to our women and children in the concentration camps, and to the prisoners of war in all parts of the earth contributed infinitely to mitigate the lot of those poor sufferers, and we take advantage of this opportunity to express in the name of the people of the late Republics our fervent thanks to all those who have charitably assisted us in the past. The small Boer nation can never forget the help it received in its dark hours of suffering.

“The people of the Republics were ready to sacrifice everything for their independence, and now the struggle is over and our people are completely ruined. Though we have not had the opportunity of drawing up an exact inventory of the destruction done, we have the conviction, based on personal experience, that at least thirty thousand houses on Boer farms and a number of villages were burnt or destroyed by the British during the war. Our homes with their furniture were burned or destroyed, our orchards were ruined, all our agricultural implements broken, our mills were destroyed, every living animal was carried off or killed. Nothing, alas, remained to us. The country is laid waste. The war demanded many victims, and the land was bathed in tears. Our orphans and widows have been abandoned. Besides, it is needless to recall the fact how much will be needed in the future for the education of the children of the Burghers, who are in great distress.

“We address ourselves to the world, with the prayer to help us by charitable contributions for our widows and orphans, for the maimed and other needy ones, and for the satisfactory education of our children. We allude to the terrible results of the war in order to bring to the knowledge of the world our urgent needs, by no means to inflame people’s minds. The sword is now sheathed, and all differences are silent in presence of such great misery. The ruin caused by the war is indescribable, so that the small amount which Great Britain is to give us, in accordance with the terms of surrender, even were it multiplied tenfold, would be wholly insufficient even to cover the war losses alone. The widows, orphans, maimed, needy, and children, on whose behalf alone we appeal, will receive little of this sum, and in most cases nothing.

“All contributions will be assigned to a fund to be called ‘General Fund of Help for the Boers,’ which will be devoted solely to supplying the wants of those for whom we are collecting, and to provide for their future. We solicit the hearty co-operation of the committees existing in the various countries of Europe and in America. We are now on the point of visiting these countries in succession with the object of establishing a satisfactory organisation.

“Botha.
“De Wet.
“Delarey.”

The lamentable representations of this manifesto naturally caused a profound impression—and the effect of them was not removed till late in the year when Mr. Chamberlain’s correspondence in relation to the matter was published. This correspondence merits more than superficial study by those truly interested in the pacification of the new Colonies, for the evil done by the pronouncements of the Boer “appeal” will live after them, while the good effected by the tardy publication of the Colonial Secretary’s refutation will probably be interred in the official mausoleum. To this end the opening despatch from Mr. Chamberlain to General Louis Botha, dated Downing Street, the 6th of November, is here appended:—

“Since the interview which you had with me at this office on the 5th of September an ‘Appeal of the Boer Generals to the Civilised World’ has been issued, many of the statements in which have, according to Press reports, been repeated and enlarged on in the speeches delivered by yourself and General Delarey and General De Wet during your tour on the Continent.

“The appeal, I regret to say, appears to me to convey an incorrect and exaggerated impression of the circumstances to which it refers, and though I have no desire at this time to enter into controversy, I cannot allow it to pass altogether in silence.

“In the first place I am at a loss to understand why the appeal should open with a statement that you have not up to the present succeeded in inducing the British Government to grant further assistance to your people. It is not, indeed, the intention of his Majesty’s Government to ask Parliament to authorise any addition to the free grant of £3,000,000—a grant which is itself without any precedent in the history of the world—but the promise of further assistance by way of loan on very easy terms, as provided by Article 10 of the Terms of Surrender, has never been withdrawn; and I think you will agree, on again consulting the record of our conversation, that there is nothing in the language which I then used which indicates any intention on the part of his Majesty’s Government to withdraw it.

“Further, the expenditure on the Burgher camps which, since the conclusion of peace, have to a great extent been transformed into organisations for enabling the people to return to their homes, and the cost of which has been about £200,000 a month, is being borne by his Majesty’s Government, and constitutes in effect a very considerable addition to the free grant.

“The cost of the camps since their establishment has exceeded £3,000,000, and there is no room for reasonable doubt that they have been the means of preserving the lives of thousands of women and children, and of providing the latter with a better education than they ever had the opportunity of enjoying before.

“I observe that in an article signed by you in this month’s Contemporary Review you make it a complaint that the concentration camps are still being maintained.

“It must be self-evident that, on the score of expense alone, it is the interest of his Majesty’s Government to abolish these camps at the earliest possible moment, and it is only in the cause of humanity that they continue to maintain this costly organisation.

“If they were to accept the inferences to be drawn from your statement they would turn out into the veldt thousands of men, women, and children whom it has been impossible to return to their farms immediately on the termination of the war, owing to the absence of sufficient transport and the scarcity of stock.

“They have, however, already provided for the return of large numbers of the population of the camps which had been reduced from 116,000 at end of May to about 34,000 in the last week of October.

“I observe that you are reported in the Press to have suggested in a speech at Paris that the British military authorities deliberately used the sufferings of women and children to induce their relatives in the field to lay down their arms, and in the resolution passed at Vereeniging on the 31st of May the sufferings of the women and children were given as a reason for surrender.

“No one deplores more than the British Government the high mortality in the camps during the epidemic of measles and pneumonia, but nothing was spared that money or science could afford to reduce it, and for the last six months the average total death-rate in the camps has been about 21 per 1000 per annum, a rate which must be much lower than any which obtained before the war in normal conditions.

“It is, therefore, clear from the statistics that at the actual time of the surrender there could have been no cause for anxiety as to the condition of the women and children then in the British camps; and in confirmation of this view I may remind you that neither at the time of your conferences with Lord Kitchener in February 1901 nor in the discussions which preceded the acceptance of the Terms of Surrender was any request made for special provision for widows and orphans.

“On the contrary, the request made on both these occasions was that the sums offered as a free grant by the British Government should be applied to the payment of notes and receipts for goods requisitioned by the Boer commandoes, in many cases from persons of considerable means. To this proposal his Majesty’s Government objected, and while willing that these notes and receipts should be accepted as evidence of war losses, they stipulated that the grant should be applied for the benefit of the destitute, or, in the words of the Terms of Surrender, ‘for the purpose of assisting the restoration of the people to their homes and supplying those who, owing to war losses, are unable to provide themselves with food, shelter, and the necessary amount of seed, stock, implements, &c., indispensable to the resumption of their normal occupation.’ As at present advised, I believe that the sum allotted will be amply sufficient for the purpose; but, should more be required, there is one source from which a substantial addition may be fairly expected.

“His Majesty’s Government are aware that large sums were remitted from the Transvaal to Europe during the war to be expended in the interests of the South African Republic.

“They have no desire to question the expenditure of this money so far as it was legitimately devoted to the purposes for which it was intended, but they cannot doubt that a large balance still remains which would properly come to them as the successors of the late South African Republic, and which they would be prepared to add to the fund provided for the relief of the distressed burghers and their families. I venture to think that in this matter your wishes will coincide with mine, and that you will give me any assistance in your power to discover the persons to whom the money was entrusted, and to obtain from them a statement of account showing the expenditure and the amount of the balance which remains over.

“I may add, with regard to the camps, that the reference in the manifesto to the pecuniary assistance furnished by foreign sympathisers appears to rest on a misconception. It consisted in the Transvaal of 2646 bales and packages, chiefly containing clothing and miscellaneous stores, which were brought up from the coast at military expense, and in the sum of £562, 2s. 2d. received and distributed through the Burgher Relief Fund. I have not yet received exact information as to the money contributions to the camps in Orange River Colony, but it was on a similar scale, and provides no ground whatever for an unfavourable contrast with British liberality.

“On the general question of your appeal for help for the widows and orphans, the maimed and the needy, and for assistance in the education of the children, I desire to say that the Colonial Government is making itself entirely responsible for the maintenance of all destitute orphans, including their food, clothing, supervision, and education. Large orphanages are already in existence at Irene in the Transvaal, and Brandfort and Springfontein in the Orange River Colony; and suitable provision is also being made for widows.

“The Government have been, and are, making themselves responsible for the education of the children. In the last year of the war £100,000 was spent on education in the Transvaal, and £32,500 in the Orange River Colony. At the date of the signing of peace the number of children in Government schools in the Transvaal was 28,000, and in the Orange River Colony 14,500. As a contrast to these figures it may be mentioned that under the late Governments the total number of children being educated never exceeded 15,000 and 9000, in the South African Republic and Orange Free State respectively.

“With regard to your statements as to the desolation caused by the war, I would point out that it was inevitable that much damage should be caused in consequence of the prolongation of hostilities long after there had ceased to be any reasonable doubt as to the issue of the war. Though the principal centres, such as Bloemfontein, Kroonstad, Winburg, Heilbron, Harrismith, Bethlehem, Ficksburg, Ladybrand, Thaba N’chu, Bethulie, Fauresmith, Jagersfontein, Koffyfontein, Boshof, in the Orange River Colony, and Johannesburg, Pretoria, Potchefstroom, Klerksdorp, Heidelberg, Standerton, Middelburg, Lydenburg, Pietersburg, Nylstroom, Lichtenburg, Zeerust, Rustenburg, in the Transvaal, are practically untouched, it is no doubt the case that a large number of farmhouses and buildings have been damaged or destroyed by one or other of the belligerents or by natives. The value of such buildings in South Africa is, however, in most instances not very great, and the pecuniary loss is probably more than compensated by the increased value of the land. The heaviest loss, and that temporarily pressing most hardly on the people is, no doubt, the loss of their stock; but the statement that every living animal was taken away or killed is a great exaggeration. A recent census taken in the Orange River Colony shows that, excluding animals belonging to the military and Repatriation Department, there are now in the colony over 120,000 head of cattle, 700,000 sheep and goats, and 27,000 horses. Similar figures for the Transvaal are not yet available, but the local government is spending very large sums to supply stock in both colonies. The Repatriation Department in the Transvaal is using 36,000 animals for transport alone. It has already issued some 20,000 head of stock to the farmers, and is in a position to issue another 35,000 by December 1. Assistance is being given in the Orange River Colony on a like scale, and ploughs and implements are being supplied as far as it is possible. So far, indeed, from being a desert the country will, if rain is abundant, be extensively cultivated at the end of the year; and it is the earnest hope of his Majesty’s Government that the strenuous efforts now being made by the local governments, seconded by the co-operation of the people themselves, will result in bringing back a degree of prosperity in no way inferior to that existing before the war.”

This despatch satisfactorily disposed of many vexed questions, and comfortable corroboration of the statements made therein is to be found within the pages of General De Wet’s account of the “Three Years’ War.” There, though the General complains of the hardships endured by women and children, he can offer no suggestion as to how these sufferings might have been averted. On May 16 General Botha is reported to have said:—

“Throughout this war the presence of the women has caused me anxiety and much distress. At first I managed to get them into the townships, but later on this became impossible because the English refused to receive them. I then conceived the idea of getting a few of our burghers to surrender and sending the women in with them.”

On the 29th of May, General De Wet, speaking in favour of continuing the war, said:—

“I am asked what I mean to do with the women and children. That is a very difficult question to answer. We must have faith. I think also we might meet the emergency in this way. A part of the men should be told off to lay down their arms for the sake of the women, and then they could take the women with them to the English in the towns.”

Later, General Botha said:—

“When the war began we had plenty of provisions, and a commando could remain weeks in one spot without the local supply running out. Our families, too, were then well provided for. But now all is changed. One is only too thankful nowadays to know that our wives are under English protection. The question of our women folk is one of our greatest difficulties. What are we to do with them? One man answers that some of the burghers should surrender themselves to the English and take the women with them.”

It is gratifying to note how the horrible charges of barbarity, brought by persons ignorant of the real state of affairs in South Africa at the time of the war, are disposed of by this one sentence from the mouth of General Botha, “One is only too thankful nowadays to know that our wives are under English protection.” We owe General De Wet some gratitude for his book, bitter as it is, since he makes evident that a main reason for the surrender of May 31 was to ensure the safety of the women who were not in the concentration camps, and whom they feared could not be placed in those positions of security. It is plain that if the Boers could have charged the British Government with the protection of those women they would have held out for some time longer. In discussing the question of the destruction done, we have only again to turn to General De Wet’s history to discover how necessary was the burning of certain farms which, worked by Kaffirs under the direction of the women, were provision bases of the Boers; and how imperative too was the shooting of horses, since, to quote the General himself, the Boer is only half a man without his horse. Indeed, though De Wet complains of the methods of the British in carrying on the war, his own narration of his exploits—the wrecking of trains, the destruction of railways, the burnings of the veldt, and the stripping of prisoners—offers the “best explanation yet published of the necessity for the measures of which he complains.”

To return to General Botha. In reply to Mr. Chamberlain he wrote from Horrex’s Hotel, Norfolk Street, Strand, on the 12th of November, stating:—

“... That there were some misunderstandings as to the reasons which led to the appeal to the world on behalf of their fellow-countrymen, which he wished to try to remove. In the first place, however, he sincerely shared Mr. Chamberlain’s desire to avoid controversy, the more so as there were some assurances in the Colonial Secretary’s recent speech—which he (General Botha) was privileged to hear—of a kind to gratify all who had the fortunes of his destitute fellow-countrymen at heart. He wished also to say that he and his colleagues welcomed Mr. Chamberlain’s decision to visit South Africa, and his determination to see the condition of their country with his own eyes, and form a first-hand judgment on its needs.”

Dealing then with the “misunderstandings” which he wished to remove, General Botha wrote:—

“We made no secret in accepting the Terms of Surrender that the compensation or assistance therein promised would be totally inadequate to enable the Burghers of the late Republics who remained in the field or were in the prisons and concentration camps to make a fair start in life again. On the contrary it was made clear by us that in the absence of further help from the British Government we would have at once to appeal to the charity of the civilised world for further help for the widows and orphans of our Burghers, and for those who had been rendered unfit for work by wounds or sickness during the war....

“It was only from your speech of November 5th that we learnt that the grant was intended entirely for all who are destitute, or who cannot make a fresh start in life without help. We always understood that the £3,000,000 were to be given in partial compensation for war losses, and that that was also understood by Lord Milner is clear from his despatch of June 11th (published in Blue Book, Cd. 1163, page 141), in which he expresses his intention of distributing it pro rata to those who can prove losses through the war.

“It therefore appeared to us that the free grant made no general provision for widows, orphans, and the destitute except in so far as they could prove war losses, and we distinctly gathered from your remarks that you could do no more for them. Under these circumstances we issued our appeal. We were, I need not say, highly gratified to learn from your recent speech that the Government would undertake a fuller responsibility for those needing their help, and particularly for the information that if more money than has been voted should be needed, the loan would be increased accordingly. We feel sure that it will ultimately be found that the £3,000,000 already assigned will by no means suffice to meet what is required as a free gift. Meanwhile, the needs of the sufferers are pressing, and we are glad to think that the sums which, through the generosity of the public, we have been able to collect, will to some extent minister to them without any delay, while they will also supplement what is being done by the Government.

“In regard to the loan, the provision lately made and the promise that the amount would be augmented if necessary came as a great relief after the months of waiting and suspense, when we were continually being told of those who, from lack of timely assistance, were compelled to part with their property to meet the urgent wants of themselves and their families. Some further and more detailed information as to the terms and conditions under which loans will be obtainable would be gratefully welcomed by the people interested.

“With regard to your reference to the free grant of three millions as something ‘without any precedent in the history of the world,’ I wish to say nothing that can excite or prolong controversy. You must only allow me to remark that the whole circumstances are unprecedented; that the gift of £3,000,000 was one of the conditions upon which the burghers laid down their arms; and that our view is, that having taken the assets of our Governments, you may fairly be expected to meet their liabilities, not in part, but in full.

“In regard to the large sums of money alleged by you to remain unexpended in Europe out of sums remitted by the Transvaal to Europe during the war, I can only assure you that I have no knowledge of any such remittances, and should be surprised to find that any were made. There is no sum of money belonging to the late Government known to me over which I have any authority whatever. I can only say that should any such sums exist I personally should be very glad to see them devoted to the objects mentioned.”

Passing to the subject of the concentration camps, General Botha said it was not his intention in the references he had made to them to suggest that they ought to be broken up before the people could be brought back to their farms. He proceeded:—

“We recognise that towards the close of the war improvements were introduced into them, in consequence of which the death-rate fell to an ordinary figure; but we do not know on what grounds you asserted that a death-rate of 21 per 1000 was lower than that which obtained before the war in normal conditions, and we are not prepared to agree that that was the case. My remark at Paris about the sufferings of the women and children had reference more particularly to those remaining outside the camps, who had their dwellings, with the furniture, food, and all that they contained, burnt or destroyed by British troops; their herds killed or removed, and themselves left destitute on the veldt. These were certainly sufferings, and they did carry great weight with us, among other reasons, in inducing us to surrender.”

While admitting that the Government was making great efforts to carry on the work of education in the camps, General Botha said he could not help sharing with his colleagues many objections to the large orphanages which had been referred to. He also wished to point out with reference to the pecuniary and other assistance given to the Boers in their misfortunes by “foreign” sympathisers, that in cash and in kind they totalled a value more than a hundredfold what Mr. Chamberlain had been led to suppose. On the subject of the desolation caused by the war, General Botha continued:—

“You are about to proceed to South Africa yourself, and if—as I have no reason to doubt will be the case—you get some of our own people to go over the country of the late Republics with you, you will be able to judge for yourself whether the description of the ruin and desolation as given by myself and others of us was—nay, I might almost say, if it could be—exaggerated.... If your allusion to ‘one or other of the belligerents’ is meant to suggest that the destruction of houses was practised by us you have been misinformed. My orders were definite that no houses should be destroyed; I know of only four cases where the orders were contravened, and in those instances every endeavour was made to trace the perpetrators, and where known they were promptly punished.”

General Botha further stated that he had no definite information relative to the increase in the selling value of the land, but the figures quoted showed to any one who knew the country before the war the fearful loss which had taken place in cattle, sheep, and horses. He concluded:—

“I regret to have to dwell on these points, and have done so only to remove misunderstandings as to the grounds for our appeal for aid. I do not doubt your desire to restore peace and the elements of prosperity to our unhappy country, and I would wish that we might so far as possible avoid controversy as to the past, and address ourselves entirely to the necessities of the present.”

To this letter Mr. Chamberlain replied, on the 15th of November, as follows:—

“I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 12th of November, in reply to my comments on statements contained in the ‘Appeal of the Boer Generals to the Civilised World,’ and in their speeches on the Continent.

“I appreciate the spirit of the last paragraph of your letter, and share the wish which you express therein, and in view of my approaching visit to South Africa I will not prolong the present correspondence.

“I trust that during my tour I may gain much valuable information which will assist his Majesty’s Government in their efforts to restore peace and prosperity to the countries which have suffered by the war.”

On the 18th of November, General Botha wrote the following answer:—

“I have to thank you for your letter of 15th instant, and wish only to say, in reply, that I cordially join in the hope that your visit to South Africa may be a step towards that restoration of peace and prosperity to our desolate country, which I am sure that it is your desire to promote.”

The above map shows the position of the three Powers mainly concerned with the future of South Africa. The total mileage of German territory is said to be about 931,460 miles; that of Portuguese territory about 790,240 miles. The British possessions include the following:—

Sq. miles
Basutoland10,293
Bechuanaland213,000
Cape Colony221,311
Central African Protectorate42,217
East Africa1,000,000
Zanzibar Protectorate1,020
Natal29,200
Nigeria400,000
Orange River Colony48,326
Rhodesia, Southern144,000
Rhodesia, North-Eastern120,000
Somaliland68,000
Transvaal119,139
Swaziland8,500
Gold Coast40,000
Lagos28,910
Gambia4,500
Sierra Leone30,000
Total area2,528,416

These figures are taken from The Statesman’s Year Book for 1902. The areas of Barotseland, Adansi, and Ashanti are not included in the list, as the figures for these areas are not given.