PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE
Reference :-
TTLE C.O. 885
ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH—NOT TO
20 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON
£1934
(No. 54.) MY LORD,
100
No. 156.
FIJI.
GOVERNOR IM THURN to THE EARL OF ELGIN.
(Received June 20, 1907.)
Government House, Suva, Fiji, May 8, 1907. I HAVE the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your Circular despatch of 28th February,* on the subject of the appointment and qualifications of veterinary officers and in regard to veterinary matters generally in Crown Colonies and Protec-
torates.
2. I fully concur in the proposal made in the tenth paragraph of your despatch, but there is only one veterinary surgeon in Fiji at present-Mr. W. J. Collins, who, as Your Lordship is aware, has only recently been appointed--and it is unlikely that in the near future there will be any vacancy here for veterinary officers.
22190
I have, &c.,
EVERARD IM THURN.
No. 157. SOUTH AFRICA.
HIGH COMMISSIONER THE EARL OF SELBORNE to THE EARL OF ELGIN.
(Received 22 June, 1907.) ·
(Bechuanaland Protectorate. No. 436.)
MY LORD,
High Commissioner's Office, Johannesburg,
June 3, 1907.
I HAVE the honour to enclose, for your information, a copy of the under- mentioned documents on the subject of the reported destruction of big game and smuggling on the Cape-Bechuanaland Protectorate border.
I have, &c.,
SCHEDULE OF ENCLOSURES.
SELBORNE,
High Commissioner.
1. Despatch, No. 180, from Governor, Cape. May 14th, 1907.
2. Despatch, No. 106, to Resident Commissioner, Mafeking. May 21st, 1907.
3. Despatch, No. 100, from Resident Commissioner, Mafeking. May 25th, 1907. 4. Despatch, No. 21, to Governor, Cape. June 1st, 1907.
(Cape. No. 180.)
MY LORD,
Enclosure 1 in No. 157.
Government House, Cape Town, May 14, 1907. I HAVE the honour to transmit to your Lordship, for your consideration, the document specified in the annexed schedule.
I have, &c.,
His Excellency
The Right Honourable
The Earl of Selborne, G.C.M.G.,
&c.,
&c.,
&c.
Date.
From Ministers, Minute No. 1 299, 14th Mag,
1907
WALTER HELY-HUTCHINSON.
Description of Document.
Destruction of royal game and smuggling in Bechuanaland the Districts adjoining the
Protectorate.
(No. 1/299.)
101
MINUTE.
Prime Minister's Office, Cape Town, May 14, 1907. In transmitting, for His Excellency the Governor's information, copy of a report dated the 8th instant, from the Commissioner, Cape Mounted Police, together with annexure relative to the destruction of royal game and smuggling in the Districts adjoining the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Ministers have the honour to request that His Excellency may be pleased to enquire if it can be arranged for the Protectorate Police to co-operate with the Cape Mounted Police stationed in the Gordonia, Kuruman, and Vryburg Districts in the manner suggested, with a view to checking the evil complained of.
(No. 22/07.)
C. P. CREWE.
Office of the Commissioner of Cape Mounted Police,
Cape Town, May 8, 1907. Destruction of Royal Game and Smuggling in Districts adjoining the Bechuanaland Protectorate.
SIR,
I HAVE the honour to forward herewith, for your information, the attached extract from a report by Major Halse, Cape Mounted Police, Upington, relative to the destruction of big game and smuggling in the Gordonia District, and to request that you will kindly communicate with the Protectorate authorities, enquiring whether it can be arranged for the Protectorate Police to co-operate with the Cape Mounted Police stationed in the Gordonia, Kuruman, and Vryburg Districts, with a view to checking the evil complained of.
The position as explained by Major Halse obtains also in the Kuruman and Vryburg Districts, and I feel sure much could be done to prevent illicit trading if co-operation could be arranged.
I have, &c.,
The Under Colonial Secretary,
Defence and Police Branch,
MACLEOD ROBINSON,
P.O. Box 6, Cape Town.
EXTRACT.
Commissioner Commanding
Cape Mounted Police.
With regard to the destruction of royal game and smuggling, I was informed when at Witdraai that a large number of gemsboks' horns and skins were disposed of by the natives in that part to traders and others, and ostrich feathers likewise, and while there was very little doubt that most of the animals from which these were obtained had been killed within the Cape Colony, yet the persons in whose posses- sion they were invariably stated that they had been obtained in the Protectorate, and as this could not be disproved, no steps could be taken by the police. I was informed that no restrictions exist in regard to the destruction of game in that territory. I am not sure whether this is correct, and shall, therefore, be glad to be advised on this point, and, if it is, I would respectfully suggest that similar restric tions to those in force within the Cape Colony be imposed in the Protectorate by Proclamation. Several cases of smuggling were also reported in that vicinity, and one trader had passed Witdraai, and was believed to be going into the Protectorate with liquor, &c. The police had been making inquiries in this case, but the indi- vidual referred to had not been traced.
I would, therefore, suggest that the Officer Commanding Cape Mounted Police at Rietfontein be authorised to place himself in communication with the police authorities of the Protectorate with a view to arranging a meeting of patrols occasionally, say, once every three months, at some point convenient to both parties. If this could be done, I feel sure it would have a good effect on the natives of those parts, and it would also enable us to obtain information as to the movements and transactions of unlicensed traders who are alleged to be there.
• No. 93.
SIR,
C
102
Enclosure 2 in No. 157.
(Bechuanaland Protectorate. No. 106.)
High Commissioner's Office, Johannesburg,
May 21, 1907.
I HAVE the honour to forward, for your observations, a copy of a despatch from the Governor of Cape Colony forwarding a Minute No. 180, 14th May, 1907.
from his Ministers inquiring whether it can be arranged for the Protectorate Police to co-operate with the Cape Mounted Police stationed in the Gordonia, Kuruman, and Vryburg Districts, with a view to the prevention of the destruction of big game and of smuggling in the districts adjoining the Protectorate.