their families and paying their tax. The Medical Officer
of Health of East London in his last Annual Report speaks
of the large number of unmarried Native males who enter
the area looking for work.” Such men, failing at first in
their search for work, are yet not criminals. Still less are
those who have paid their tax and left the receipt at home.
The effect of both the Native Labour Regulation Act
(1911) and the Masters and Servants Acts is “ to import
penal consequences into what in common law is a purely
civil contract.” (Economic Commission’s Report, p. 39.)
Breach of contract is made a penal offence.
Breach of the Pass Law is another offence for which
many Natives are imprisoned.
Methods such as these of increasing the Native convict
population are open to criticism as being in themselves
oppressive. Now, however, that the Government is
advertising its readiness to supply convict labour to
farmers who cannot themselves attract voluntary labour,
the matter assumes a still more sinister aspect. It is
forced labour in a peculiarly disgraceful form.
The latest returns, (year 1928-29) show that in the twelve
months 43,937 Natives were brought before the Courts
for breaches of the Pass Laws, 59,912, for failure to pay
tax, 24,660 under the Masters and Servants Acts, and
18,731 under the Native Labour Regulations.
THE NATIVE VIEW.
The view of moderate Natives on this subject was well
expressed by Mr. Selope Thema (Reuter, Bloemfontein,
Dec. 6, 1929) “The European had the right to be in
South Africa, and had rendered the country signal service
in bringing the blessings of civilization, but what the
Natives objected to was that the Europeans exploited the
Natives and the wealth of the country, while the Native
was doomed to everlasting servility. . . While the Natives
were landless, vast tracts of the country were lying waste
and uncultivated. The farmers, said the speaker in
referring to the labour question, ran to the Government
for everything. When there was a drought they . . .
invoked the assistance of the Government. . . . When