The State, however, does not undertake the work of mining, but grants, under certain conditions, that privilege to various classes in the community. The Government is authorised by law to proclaim a specified area to be public “diggings.” Thereupon, certain rights are reserved to the owner of the farm wherein the area is situated. These rights are in effect to select certain portions of the proclaimed area as mining “claims” belonging to the owner, and to mark off these portions. The remainder of the area is then open to appropriation by the public, the first comer having the first right. Shortly before the war of 1899, in consequence of scenes of disorder attending the marking off of these “claims” by the general public, steps were taken to introduce a system of assigning the mining areas by lot among the residents in each district.
The taxation of the mineral grounds was, and is, based on a dual system. The one is taxation, by means of levying a monthly due, called a “claim licence,” in the mere possession of a mining area, called a “claim,” whether or not the area is being developed. The other principle, superadded to the first, was that of taxing the profits of each mine. Before the war this latter tax amounted to five per cent.
In relation to gold mining, in one very important respect the Law of the Transvaal, like that of Cape Colony, is in striking opposition to the rules of civilised law all over the world. The famous I. D. B. (Illicit Diamond Buying) enactments passed to protect diamond mining in Kimberley have a parallel in the I. G. B. (Illicit Gold Buying) provisions of the Transvaal Law. It is incumbent on the possessor of rough diamonds to prove his innocence. Similarly, under the Gold Law of the Transvaal, “Any one who is found in possession of amalgam or unwrought gold, or uncut precious stones, and can give no proof that he obtained possession of the same in a lawful manner,” is punishable with fine and imprisonment. For a third offence, the amount of fine and imprisonment with hard labour is at the discretion of the Court, and forfeiture of the unwrought gold, or uncut precious stones, follows conviction.
It is true that in England, for instance, a similar exception is in force with reference to the possession of explosives, a measure intended to prevent Anarchist outrages. But the difference is very great between the two classes of cases. The manufacture and sale of explosives is not the staple industry of England, as the production of gold and diamonds is in South Africa. The chief occupation of the industrial population of England is not affected; the provision remains only one of some inconsiderable exceptions to the general rule, that every one is presumed innocent until he is proved guilty.
The law relating to natives, under which head are included all the coloured races, is equally strange to those familiar only with the Law of England. The so-called Pass Law provides that every native in districts or towns inhabited by Europeans—everywhere, in fact, except in the native villages—must be in possession of an official passport, showing he is registered in an official State registry. Other regulations limit the action of the native—the Curfew regulations, compelling Kaffirs in town districts to remain indoors after sunset. Municipal rules, prohibiting Kaffirs from walking on the footpath of the street, and special rules of the Criminal Law affect them. The lash is presented as the penalty for various offences. The death penalty is inflicted for Kaffir outrages on women of the European race. By the imposition of a Hut Tax, payable annually, the Kaffir is induced to labour; an occupation which, if left to himself, he prefers to leave to women.
The Law of Universal Military Service, applying to all Europeans who are burghers—a law of all the States of South Africa—furnishes another point of divergence from the Law of England. In the Transvaal all burghers over the age of sixteen and up to the age of sixty are under the military command of the elected Field Cornet of the district. In time of war the age begins at fourteen and has no fixed limit for ending. This, be it noted, is not a case of conscription; it is a levy en masse, taken as a normal condition of life. Burghers on commando are exempt from civil process, and are exempt from the obligation of paying claim licenses for the period they are on commando.
III.—RECENT BRITISH MODIFICATIONS
It is, of course, in the present stage of our information impossible to state fully the various modifications which have been introduced in the new Colonies since the British annexation two years ago.
Some changes worth noticing have, however, been published.
In Private Law, the chief change of which we have information appears to have been the abolition of the Orphan Chamber of Roman Dutch Law—a State department concerned with the administration of infants’ estates. The change, however, seems only to have been one of administration and title, the duties of the abolished Chamber being transferred to the Attorney-General’s Department.