COLONIAL REPORTS—ANNUAL. No. 1138. SWAZILAND. REPORT FOR 1921. (For Report for 1920-21 see No. 1102.) Library of Cor,: ¦ X Div. if Docs, : LONDON < PRINTED & PUBLISHED BY HIS MAJESTY'S STATIONERY OFFICE To be purchased through any Bookseller or directly from H.M. STATIONERY OFFICE at the following addresses: Imperial House, Kingsway, London, W.C.2, and 28 Abingdon Street, London, S.W.I; 87 Peter Street, Manchester; 1 St. Andrew's Crescent, Cardiff; or 28 Forth Street, Edinburgh. 1922. Prict 9d. Ntt. 2 colonial reports—annual. No. 1138. SWAZILAND. y ANNUAL GENERAL REPORT, 192L* I.—SITUATION AND AREA. Swaziland lies between the eastern slopes of the Drakensberg Mountains, which form the eastern border of the Transvaal, and the low-lying lands of northern Zululand and Portuguese East Africa. It is bounded on the north, west and south by the Transvaal, and on the east by the Portuguese territory and Tongaland, now part of the Natal Province, and is about the size of Wales, its area being 6,678 square miles. A little more than one-third of the territory is Native area and the remainder is owned by Europeans. Description. The territory is divided geographically into three longitudinal regions of roughly equal bieadth, running fro-ii north to south, and known locally as the high, middle, and low or bush veld. The high veld portion consists of mountains, part of the Drakensberg Range adjoining the Eastern Transvaal. These mountains rise in parts to an altitude of over 5,000 feet. The middle veld is about 2,000 feet lower, while the bush veld, bounded on the east by the Ubombo Mountains, has a height of from 300 to 1,000 feet, rising on the Ubombo Mountains to 1,500 feet. II.—HISTORY. The Swazis, in their ceremonies and customs, laws and super- stitions, are akin to the Zulu and other tribes of the south-eastern littoral. An important influence in the unity of the tribe is the presence of magic medicines or charms conferring the power to control the elements in so far as making rain is concerned. The pre-eminence of the Swazi Kings as rainmakers has been generally recognizer! by * In this Report Financial Statements are for the year ended Dint March, li!22. and all other details for the calendar year 1021. (mm) wt. ifMwion ft*) ¦¦11.11 Y*»<* **.f*/2 ¦ - I AMI WW i swaziland. 1921-22. 8 other tribes. While the King has nominal control of the rain medicine, he is not allowed to have its custody. The person who should have charge of the medicine is the King's mother, known as the Ndhlovukazi or Cow Elephant. The Swazis are known to the other native tribes as the Amang- wane, and their country as Kwa Ngwane. The reports of the early P tuguese on the Zambesi and the East Coast of Africa and the tradition of a northern origin, common to many of the tribes, point to a large Bantu migration from across the Zambesi to the southern lands. The migration took place towards the end of the sixteenth century. The genealogy of the Swazi Kings is traced back through twenty- one names to Umatalatala, who is most probably a legendary person. lTnder his son Mswazi I the Swazis are said to have migrated east- wards from south Tongaland to the country now forming part of southern Swaziland, their southern border being the Pongolo River. Towards the end of the eighteenth century the Swazis were ruled by Ndungunya. At this time the three largest tribes between the Tugela River and Delagoa Bay were the Mtctwa, Ndwandwe, and the Swazi. Soon after the death of Ndungunya a dispute arose between the Ndwandwe and the Swazis over some lands, and Sobhuza, who had succeeded Ndungunya, was forced by Zwide, the chief of the Ndwandwe Tribe, to flee with his people towards the north, eventually camping near his present site of Bremersdorp. Sobhuza commenced his conquest of the country by reducing the Nsukumbili, one of the aboriginal Sesuto-speaking clans then inhabiting Swaziland north of the Great Usutu River. After he had reduced several other clans the remainder came under his protection voluntarily and became incorporated into the tribe or retreated west or north. Sobhuza died in 1839, and was succeeded by his son Mswazi II. On his accession a systematic organization of the Swazi nation was put in hand, and regiments were formed mainly for protection from the Zulus, who had been consolidated by Shaka from the various tribes in Zululand. While Mswazi's relations with the Boers, with whom he had come in contact, were good, the Zulus under Mpande constituted a standing menace. Mswazi therefore decided to ask for the protection of the Queen of England, and sent a deputation to Mr. Theophilus Shepstone to seek the Queen's protection. Shepstone made repre- sentations to Mpande, who agreed to cease raiding the Swazis. The Swazis and Zulus have lived in amity from that time. In 1846 emigrant Boers occupied the I,ydenburg district, which was in the possession of the Bapedi and olher weak tribes. The Boers decided to purchase* the land from Mswazi, who, they con- sidered, had acquired it by conquest* Mswazi sold the territory for ime hundred breeding cattle. His rights to this area were 4 colonial reports—annual. probably nebulous, but in 1855 he signed a document purporting to cede the actual territory over which he ruled to the Lydenburg Republic. Mswazi died in 1868 at the comparatively early age of ah Mjt forty-five years. He Has succeeded by Ludonga, who, however, did not reach maturity. Mbandini, another son of Mswazi, was proclaimed as King in 1875. In 1879 the aid of the Swazis was asked for by Sir*Evelyn Wood against the Bapedi Chief Sikukuni. Eight thousand Swazis, under their commander-in-chief, Mbovana, took the field with the British Captain, McLeod. They fought for a month lief ore the Bapedi were reduced. When Mr. Rudolph, as the representative of the South African Republic, attended the proclaiming of Mbandini as King in 1875 an agreement was drawn up and signed by Mbandini. This con firmed all earlier cessions, and in effect constituted Swaziland a Protectorate of the Republic. The position of Swaziland was subsequently regu- lated in the Convention of Pretoria (1881), which expressly stipulated the independence of Swaziland. This stipulation was reaffirmed in the Convention of London (1884), which replaced that of 1881. During the early eighties Mbandini granted numerous concessions. Every conceivable right was granted, not merely for land, minerals, grazing and timber, but a'so for all imaginable purposes, including exemption from taxes, concessions for railways, telegraphs, mining patents, collection of the King's revenue, trading, etc All unallotted lands and minerals also formed the subject of concessions. In 1886 Mbandini appointed a son of Sir Theophilus Shepstone as his resident adviser and agent. One of Mr. Shepstone's earliest acts was to call a meeting of concessionaires in May, 1887. The meeting decided to appoint from their numl>er twenty-five to form a committee to frame rules for the government of whiten. Another white committee was elected at the beginning of August, 1888, and Mbandini then granted a charter delegating to it judicial and fiscal powers of government, subject to his confirma- tion in so far as whites were concerned. By the year 1889 it was evident that considerable friction existed between the whites. The Republic itself desired the annexation of Swaziland, while the High Commissioner had become convinced that some *x>wer of intervention was necessary. Eventually the appointment of a Joint Commission was agreed to. The members of the Commission arrived it; Swaziland on 30th November, 1889, but the King had died in the previous month. On the death of Mbandini, his son Rhunu or Ngwane, then only about fourteen years of age, was selected to succeed. In 1890, under a Convention lietwem Her Majesty's Govern- ment and the South African Republic, a Provisional Government Committee with full powers to adjudicate in matters affecting whites swaziland. 1921-22. 5 and to frame laws for the governance of whites was, with the approval of the Chief Regent and Chiefs, set up. This Committee was composed of representatives of these two Powers and a repre- sentative of the Swazis. An Administration was formed and a Chief Court established. The Committee remained in office until, under a Convention entered into in 1894, the Republic assumed administrative control of the country. The Judges appointed to the Chief Court were Judge Kotze (President) and Judges Juta and Du Toit. Within a few months the Chief Court dealt with and confirmed the initial validity of most of the concessions granted. Judges Kotze and Juta then left the country, and the Court became a Court presided over by one Judge. Dual control did not prove a success, however, and further negotia- tions between the two Governments took place, resulting in another Convention, that of 1893, which gave the Republic the right to obtain from the Queen Regent of Swaziland an organic Proclamation ceding rights and powers of jurisdiction, protection and adminis- tration over Swaziland, without incorporation. The Swazi authorities refused to sign the organic Proclamation, and they sought and obtained permission to send a deputation to England to represent their case. The reply given to the deputation failed to alter the attitude of the Chiefs. Further negotiations then took place between the High Commissioner and President Kruger, and finally the last Convention entered into on the subject of Swaziland was signed in 1894. This embodied the conditions of the one of 1893, without, however, requiring the prior consent of the Swazis. Early in 1895 the Republic appointed Mr. J. C. Krogh as Special Commissioner with an Administrative Staff. General Botha, late Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, was for a tune stationed at Mbabane as Resident Justice of the Peace. Mr. Shepstone became Registrar of Doeds for Swaziland, stationed at Pretoria, and Mr. J. Smuts, I.S.O., was appointed Resident British Consul. Tip to 1894 little development by the white inhabitants had taken place. In practically all the concessions granted by the late Swazi King his own sovereignty and the rights of the natives had been reserved, but the question of what the rights of the natives were in relation to those of the concessionaires did not then arise in an acute form. In 1898 a protocol to the Convention of 1894 was signed. This provided for the trial by European Courts of offences of a serious nature and took away from the native authorities the power to inflict the death penalty. The effect of this was to convert the King of Swaziland into a Paramount Chief, subject, like his people, to the jurisdiction of the European Courts. Bhunu died in 1899, and the outbreak of war in October, 1899, resulted in the withdrawal of the Dutch Administration from Swaziland. 6 colonial rrports—annual. Soon after peace was signed Lord Milner sent Mr. Enraght- Moony as Special Commissioner to Swaziland. He wab accompanied by a small administrative staff, with a force of South African Constabulary. The first act of the new Commissioner was to disarm the Swazis. An Order in Council under the Foreign Jurisdiction Act was issued in June, 1908. This Order placed the administration of Swaziland directly under the Governor of the Transvaal, who was invested with extensive powers. The jurisdiction of the Paramount Chief and other Chiefs was confined to civil jurisdiction in purely native matters. The small amount of criminal jurisdiction remaining to them after the protocol of 1898 was now taken away. In the latter part of 1904 Lord Milner issued the Swaziland Administration Proclamation of 1904. This provided for the administration of the country, and dealt with the concessions question in its many aspects. The laws of the Transvaal in force at that date were applied to Swaziland mutatis mutandis. The Native Chiefs were to continue to exercise civil jurisdiction in purely native matters. A Commission was to be appointed to enquire into all concessions and to decide questions of boundary disputes, and, in fact, to regulate the rights of concessionaires and place them on such a bams as to prevent any conflict of rights in the future. Provision was made for the expropriation of monopoly and industrial concession* and for the survey of all surface and mineral rights, and for the raising of a loan to meet the necessary expendi- ture. A survey of all territorial and mineral concessions was at once begun, and the value of the monopoly concessions was enquired into, and expropriation took place. By the year 1908 the Com- mission had issued its decisions in regard to the other concessions, and surveys were completed accordingly. Provision was made for the grant of freehold title in respect of all land concessions for ninety-nine years and over, subject to the reservation of mineral rights and any servitudes existing. The rights of the natives were safeguarded under the Proclamation, which preserved to them the continued use and occupation of the land then in their possession and of all grazing or agricultural rights to which they wer1 then entitled; and the Commission was given power, subject to the approval of the Governor, to set apart portions of concessions for the soie and exclusive use and occupation of natives. Swaziland was, by Order-in-Council dated 1st December, 1906, removed from the control of the Governor of the Transvaal to that of the High Commissioner for South Africa, and a Proclamation was issued in March, 1907 (the Swaziland Administration Proclama- tion, 1907) providing for the appointment of a Resident Commissioner, a Government Secretary, Assistant Commissioners, and the establishment of a Police Force. While the Trans\aal Government ceased to have any control in Swaziland, the local administration has continued nevertheless to receive the advice and assistance of technical officers of the Agricultural, Mines, and other Departments of the Union. Deeds and survey services remain under swaziland, 1021-22. 7 the control of the relative Departments at Pretoria, and the Post- master-General of the Lnion conducts postal administration. Mr. F. Enraght-Moony was appointed as Resident Commissioner, and on his retirement, in ^,307, he was succeeded by Mr. Coryndon. Soon after the Swaziland Administration Proclamation, 1907, was issued Lord Selbornc issued a Proclamation, the Swaziland Con- cessions Partition Proclamation, 1907, which decided the principle on which the relative rights of concessionaires and natives on concessions was to be determined. From every land and grazing concession one-third was to be taken for the sole and exclusive use of the natives, the remaining two-thirds to be freed from native use and occupation. The Native Chiefs were hostile to the scheme, and sought and obtained permission to send a deputation to have an audience of His Majesty the King. They were unsuccessful in the object of their mission. Mr. George Gray was appointed to carry out the work of demarcating the native areas, and he performed this task without interference by the natives. Uy the year 1910, although diagrams of surveys had not yet been completed, every owner of land or mineral rights in Swaziland knew his exact standing and what constituted his property. One of the provisions of the settlement was that for a period of five years from 1st July, 1909, no natives then resident on private land could be compelled to move therefrom; and after the expiry of that period no native could remain on private land except by agreement with the owner thereof. Machinery was subsequently provided in Proclamation No. 24 of 1913 for the removal of natives from concessions after the period of five years had elapsed. This took place in 1914, and there was no large movement of natives from concessions. Those who desired to move did so voluntarily, and the remainder made terms with the concessionaires and remained on their farms. In no instance was it necessary forcibly to eject any native family from a concession. In 1912 a Special Court was established in place of the Resident Commissioner's Court, with an Advocate of the Provincial Division of the Transvaal as President. The other members of the Court- consist of the Resident Commissioner, the Deputy Resident Com missioner, and the Assistant Commissioners of the various districts. The Court holds sessions twice a yvar. All cases are dealt with by three members sitting without a jury. This Court has jurisdiction in civil and criminal cases. When the Court is not in session the Resident Commissioner or Deputy Resident Commissioner, as a member of the Special Court, is competent to review the criminal proceedings of the Courts of Assistant Commissioner and to exercise the civil jurisdiction of the Special Court in all motions and appli- cations and in all actions for provisional sentence. Death sentences can be carried out only upon the special warrant of the High Com- missioner. There is a right of appeal to the Privy Council against 8 colonial reports—annual* any final judgment of the Special Court when the matter in dispute is of the value of £500 or upwards* In 1917 Sir Robert Coryndon was succeeded as Resident Commissioner by Mr* de S. M. G. Honey, C.M*G. During the Great War Swaziland contributed in personnel 47 officers and 93 other ranks, while 14 decorations were awarded in the various theatres of war to men from the territory. The Swazis were represented by a small contingent of 67 men who were attached to the Native Labour Contingent in Flanders. Generous responses were made to appeals for War Relief Funds, and a total amount of £6,735 was collected and distributed. The Chief Regent and Chiefs raised a fund on their own initiative as a contribution to the expenses of the War. A total of <£3,000 was subscribed by them, and was, by His Majesty's Command devoted to the purchase of two aeroplanes for the Royal Air Force. In 1921 the establishment was approved of an Advisory Council to advise the Administration in purely European matters. A Council of nine members was elected, five for the southern portion of Swaziland and four for the northern portion. The Council held its first session in October, 1921. In 1921 the Chief Regent, Lahotsibeni, handed over her duties to her grandson Sobhuza, who was duly installed as Paramount Chief. The Chief Regent Lad a long term of office since the death of her husband Mbandini in 1889 and, later, of her son Bhunu. She was a wise Chief and did valuable work for her people and country. Her relations with the Administration were always of a friendly nature. The Paramount Chief is 22 years of age. He was educated at Zombode and Lovedale. III.—GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. On May the 3rd a census of population, agriculture and live stock was taken* The European population was 1,239 males, 966 females, total 2,205 persons, representing an increase of 103*6 per cent, since the 1911 census. The native Bantu popula- tion was 52,761 males, 57,534 females, total 110,295 persons, representing an increase of 5*34 per cent, since the 1911 census. Of this total 5,990 natives were recorded as being absent at labour centres outside Swaziland. Coloured and other races other than Bantu had increased from 143 to 308 over the same period. During the year there were 88 European emigrants and 123 European immigrants, the latter being permanent settlers. The general health of the territory has, on the whole, been fairly good. Amongst the natives smallpox, in epidemic form, broke out, but, with systematic vaccination, the disease did not spread to an alarming extent and there were few deaths. The Europeans were not affected. Malarial fever was milder than usual, due largely to the natives realizing more and more the SWAZILAND, 1921-22. 9 value of quinine, which is distributed amongst them. Scabies and syphili* continue to be prevalent amongst the native popula- tion, chiefly on account of the conditions of life in their kraals. The arrest of the latter disease is somewhat hampered by the high cost of the latest forms of treatment, but with the co-operation of the police in notifying cases, everything is done that is possible. At the only hospital in the country, at Mbabane, where a gift of £500 from the Red Cross Society enabled the erection of a new building of three wards for Europeans, 177 cases were admitted. There were two deaths. 4,209 out-patients were treated. Two townships, of about 200 erven each, were laid out in the Hlatikulu district, at Illatikulu and at Dwaleni. Natives desiring to enter into contracts as labourers on mines in the Union continued to t