CO885-(11-13) — Page 319

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Tz Ti

CO. 885

Reference :-

12 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

ALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE BE REPRODUCED PHOTOGRAPHIC- COPYRIGHT PHOTOGRAPH-NOT TO

No. 95.

(GRIQUALAND WEST.)

LAW OFFICERS and W. D. GRIFFITH, Esq., to COLONIAL OFFICE. MY LORD,

WE were honoured with your Lordship's commands, signified in Mr. Malcolm's

Temple, 24th May 1876. letter of the 2nd May instant, stating that he was directed by your Lordship to request that we, in conjunction with W. D. Griffith, Esquire, would take into consideration the following circumstances:-

In the beginning of the year 1871 that portion of South Africa which now forms the British province of Griqualand West was, as to a considerable portion of it, de facto under the jurisdiction and subject to the laws of the Dutch republic known as the Orange Free State, the territory of which State prior to the year 1854 had been under the Governor of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope.

That the land was to a great extent wild, inhabited only by a few wandering tribes of Bavages. A certain number of white settlers, however, had come into the country, and had obtained grants of farms.

That these grants may be classed under three heads :

64

1. Grants made by the President of the Orange Free State based upon original Requests" (as they are termed) from native chiefs, usually of vast extent and bounded by certain natural landmarks specified in an description of boundaries.

omschryoing" or

46

2. Grants made by a certain Major Warden, an officer of the British Government resident in the Orange Free State while that State was still a portion of the British dominions.

3. Original grants made by the President of the Orange Free State.

That it seemed, in respect of the first class of claims, the Orange Free State Govern- ment, adopting a policy of encouraging white men to supplant the natives as much as possible in the possession of land, recognised the validity of such grants however large; and

That "Warden" certificates were intended in all (save a few special) cases to give title to farms of 3,000 morgen (or 6,000 acres) each, the utmost extent to be allowed in exceptional cases being 4,500 morgen; and Mr. Ford (then Surveyor-General of the Sovereignty) had strict orders to cut down all farms to those limits.

was expressly granted by Major

That, among others, the farm called "Bultfontein " Warden as a 3,000 morgen farm, the actual extent of land subsequently taken possession of by the grantee being nearly 15,000 morgen.

That in the cases of what are termed in this classification

original presidential

grants "the grantees have almost invariably taken land greatly in excess of the limits specified in such grants.

That in the course of the year 1871 the province of Griqualand West was proclaimed British territory, and was constituted a British Colony.

That Sir H. Barkly, Her Majesty's High Commissioner, who proclaimed the annexa- Cape of tion of that territory, issued on the 27th October 1871 a proclamation (No. 72 of 1871), Good Hope, Confidential,

a copy of which would be found at page 55 of the accompanying paper relating to the No. 61. title of those occupiers of land who were in the province before the annexation.

That it would be observed that (inter alia) he therein proclaimed that Her Majesty had no intention to invalidate the title to the possession of any property in the territory bond fide acquired, and that he further proclaimed that all such existing titles of private persons would be duly respected and considered valid as would under the laws of the State or Government under which the said private persons had theretofore been living de facto had been considered valid by such State or Government.

That it was soon found that the numerous questions arising out of the conflicting claims to land within the province were beyond the powers of the ordinary courts to deal with, and it became necessary to appoint a special Land Court for their conside- ration, and that this was effected by the Law No. 3 of 1875, a copy of which was sent therewith.

▲ 12916.-94. 25.-19/84.