CO885-(18-19) — Page 397

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

Reference :-

C.O.885

19 PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE, LONDON

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

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Jurisdiction. There is a new Native Jurişliction Bill being passed for the colony, if it has not already been passed, defining and regularising the judicial and excentive powers of head chiefs and subordinate chiefs, and providing (Clause 4) that “ No jurisdiction, civil or criminal, shall be exercised by any native tribunal or authority, except under this ordinance."

native

In the colony and Protectorate of Lagos an ordinance of 1901 (No. 15), provides for the establishment by the Governor of Native Councils, viz.: (1) a Central Native Council which is advisory, the Governor being President, while there may be a native Vice-President (ii) Provincial and District Conngils to deal with all matters of internal administration or business

affecting the area over which it possesses anthority," and to be responsible for the preser- vation of peace and the administration of justice. "The person that is recognised by the Governor as the principal or ruling chief of the district or province shall be President of the Council for Such district or province." (iii) Town or village Councils to deal with the business and administrative affairs of the town or village to which the Conneil belongs.”

In this connexion there is a subject which deserves attention, and which I am raising on separate papers, viz.: whether we could not dò more than we do at present in the way of orders or distinctions for natives, I do not nie.in occasional presents but regular orders of merit, which would be valued as giving the government imprimatur on good service, and the fear of losing which would be an incentive to continuance of good conduct. I cannot say whether any thing and, if so, how much is being done in this direction. If the subject is worth pursuing, and it seems to me that it is, it might be considered by a small committee, on which some one of experience in India would be helpful.

As the Natal Commissioners say with regard to the desire of the natives to be enrolled in defence forces, and so far to be recognised as citizens. It is part of native character, and indeed of human nature generally, to look for a public reward for a public servi e” (p. 4).

Conversely, it is conceivable, though it would be very difficult, to devise means by which some special stigma should be affixed to special forms of crime or misconduct to which natives races are addicted, over and above the penalties of the law. Thieving in one form or another is a prevalent native vice. Among the West Indian negroes it takes the form of praedial larceny, largely stealing each other's garden produce. Of the South African natives the Report of the South African Native Affairs Commission states (p. 21) "Stock thieving is the besetting sin of the aboriginal natives, and against this

strong remedies are found requisite in every Colony.'

• 9585 07 Straits Honours.

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We have always been at our wits' end to devise a remedy for pracdial larceny in the West Indies,

as ordinary imprisonment does not seem to be much of a deterrent. In the West Indian Colonies, where the black man is as the white before the law, it is difficult to see what could

be done; but where the natives are under a more or less separate system, it is conceivable that some special civil disqualification, or bad mark of one kind or another, might attach to constant repetition of the crime by a tribe or by

a chief, over and above the punishments which the law prescribes. Possibly something of the kind of which I am ignorant may have been attempted already. But

(e) If the ultimate object is to place the natives eventually in the category of ordinary citizens, it is necessary, while making the best of the separate-presumably a tribal-system, to throw no obstacles in the

of transition to citizenship.

There seem to be two main points to notice under this head—

way

•

(a) the graduation of the citizenship itself;

(B) the training and facilities which can be given to enable native citizens to become citizens.

non-

same

(a) The ultimate goal being the standard for coloured and white, there can yet

A

be intermediate stages of citizenship, which will give the natives some standing and voice in the State but not equality with the white men. high property franchise of itself inevitably operates in favour of the whites, as is the case in the West Indies, but this is not palatable to democracy, and the New Zealand system of giving a fixed number of members to the native race is prima facie the best method of giving the natives representation without equality. Repre- sentation according to race is recommended in the Report of the South African Native Affairs Com- mission, pages 68-70, and in a most attenuated form by the Natal Commission, the majority of whom recommend (page 24) that "exempted" natives, ie., natives who have been tested and recognised as having outgrown the tribal system, should be allowed to vote for and elect not more than three members, not natives but Europeans, out of a list nominated by the Governor in Council, "They would be members for the Colony, and, although specially representing the exempted class, would be competent to express the views

of the whole body of educated natives."

The objection to this race representation is that what should be an intermediate stage will probably be taken to be a final one. The South African Commission would evidently regard it as a final oue.

"The Commission has the fullest confidence that once the franchise in respect of natives is placed upon a fair and permanent basis throughout South Africa, more attention will be

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