12395.
No. 173.
(SOUTH AFRICA.)
LAW OFFICERS TO COLONIAL OFFICE.
Royal Courts of Justice,
T ། ༅། ‛│ ;
| PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
19
C.O. 885
Reference :-
14 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
LONDON.
PRINTED FOR HER MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE, BY DARLING & SON, LTD., 1-8, Great Sг. Thomas APOSTLE, E,C.
1KUS.
SIR,
We were honoured with your commands, signified in Mr. Graham's letter
June 2, 1898. of the 14th ultimo, stating that he was directed by you to transmit to us a despatch (marked A.) from the High Commissioner for South Africa, in which he asked to be H.C.14Dec. informed as to the mining and other rights of property claimed by the British South '97. Africa Company in the Bechuanaland Protectorate.
That the rights of the Company which were in question, and as to which our opinion was desired, were said to be derived from pledges given by your predecessors, Lord Knutsford and Lord Ripon, relating to the development of the Protectorate.
That the views of the Company were set forth in a memorandum (of which Mr. Graham was to enclose a copy marked B.), whilst the pledges on which their claim was based were contained in a despatch from Lord Knutsford to Sir H. Loch, dated the 14th of November, 1889, enclosing and commenting on the Charter of the Company, and more particularly in Lord Ripon's despatch to Sir H. Loch of the 20th December, 1892. setting out the conditions on which the British South Africa Company might construct or procure the construction of an extension of the Bechuanaland Railway through the Protectorate. That those despatches would be found printed at pp. 224-6 of Blue Book C. 5918, and pp. 26–31 of Blue Book C. 7154 respectively.
That it would be seen on reference to the last-mentioned despatch that Lord Ripon undertook that, in consideration of the British South Africa Company constructing the railway, or procuring it to be constructed, and contributing a Bechuanaland Government would not recognise concessions from native chief's of later subsidy thereto, the date than the Charter, and the Government officials would use their best endeavours to assist the Company to obtain land and mineral concessions not already made the subject of recognised concessions to others, on condition that the Company obtained them within reasonable time, used due diligence in seeking them, offered reasonable inducements to the chiefs to grant them, and that they used due diligence in developing them, and reserved for the Government such land in urban areas as might be required for certain public purposes.
That in 1893 Commnissioners were appointed to examine all claims to concessions said to have been granted by chiefs in the Protectorate, and as a result of their report very few concessions received the recognition of the Secretary of State, without which they were not valid, according to the law of the Protectorate. That many claims were rejected because of intrinsic defects, but in some cases where the concession was unobjectionable in itself. but of date subsequent to the Charter, decision was deferred in order to enable the British South Africa Company to reimburse the claimants their actual expenses, as proposed in paragraph 9-VI. of Lord Ripon's despatch of 20th December, 1892.
That the British South Africa Company at the same time, on the invitation of the Secretary of State, agreed as a matter of policy in their own interests to make annual allowances to certain chiefs who had suffered loss by the disallowance of cotiressions. That the Company did not, however, immediately themselves take steps obtain, further concessions from the chiefs, as it was understood that the principal chiets were not at that time favourably disposed towards the Company.
That these results of the report of the Concession Commissioners were arrived at in December, 1894, and January, 1895, at which time a transfer of the Adu.istration of the Protectorate to the British South Africa Company appeared to have becu in routemplation.
That meanwhile a contract, of which a copy was enclosed, had, on the 3rd August, 1894. been entered into between the Bechuanaland Government, the British South Africa Company, and a company called the Bechuanaland Railway Company, but understood to be promoted and financed by the British South Africa Company, for the extension of the railway through the Protectorate. That by clauses 32-31 of this contract the Bechuanaland Government undertook to pay a subsidy eventually amounting to £20,000 per annum to the Railway Company, whilst the British South Africa Company under- took to pay a subsidy of half the amount of the Government subsidy. That under other clauses the Bechuanaland Government were granted privileges in respect of free carriage
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