Selected
correspondence (1902-1903)
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Edited by Arthur Davey For many years a Council
member of the Van Riebeeck Society, Arthur Davey
had published extensively on the South African war, including a study of the
British Pro-Boers. |
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Lawrence Richardson (c.1869-1953), a member of the Society
of Friends (Quakers), was involved in two fact-finding and humanitarian
missions to Soup kitchen, concentration camp, Winburg |
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Lady Littleton [sic], anxious to bring together
English and Dutch society, began with a children’s dance — which many Dutch
would feel wrong.
Dutch objection to menial work.
Travesties of history taught in Dutch schools
under old regime.
LB
26.10.1902 Pretoria
On Wednesday afternoon [22 October] we had half an hour’s talk with Lord
Milner at his office in Johannesburg. We were rather nervous beforehand but he
is a man who put one at ease at once. He talked very freely about the
repatriation work and the prospects of the country. We were able to lay before
him some of the complaints and misunderstandings we had come across and he
seemed glad to know of them....
As a result of this interview we got a letter to
the manager of the railways asking him to give us a free pass over the
Transvaal and O.R.C. railways; the manager said Lord Milner’s wish was law to
him and gave us passes at once.
Also we got an introduction to the private
secretary of Sir Arthur Lawley deputy-governor of the
Transvaal, which led to an interview with Mr
Duncan, the treasurer of the Transvaal who is head of the repatriation work in
this colony and gave us full information as to how the work is managed. Also we
have a letter from Sir Arthur Lawley asking
magistrates and camp superintendents to give us full facilities for seeing
things.
I am extremely glad to have thus got on the right
side of the officials and be able to go about freely. If we can for the time
forget politics, as we endeavour to do, I hope we
shall be able to keep on good terms with the officials and with the Dutch as
well. There is no doubt that the officials are doing their best towards the
rebuilding of the country and are doing a very great deal indeed. Nevertheless
the work of repatriation is so gigantic that it is not to be wondered at if
hitches and breakdowns occur.
The country has been swept bare, hardly a house
has its roof left, away from the railways, and most of the stock has been
destroyed. Reliable authority [Howard Pim] estimates
that the Boers have lost 5/6 of their
property or £25 000 000 value.
The railways are unable to bring all the stores
that are wanted and are seriously in arrears. The cattle transport is a still
more serious question; it is estimated that only 100 000 cattle are left in the
O.R.C. and 50 000 in the Transvaal; and these are in such poor condition that a
trek to an outlying district may take a fortnight where it ought to take a
week. Ploughing only be done by lending animals round
from one farm to another.
All sorts of dangers are ahead - rinderpest, horse sickness and other diseases; failure of
the mealie crop from too little rain or impassable
roads from too much rain.
Nevertheless the work of repatriation is going
forward and over half ~e people have gone back to their farms. Those that are
left in camp still are mostly bywoners ... and the
widows; these will be the most difficult question and there is a great danger
lest a pauper class should be formed - and S. Africa has as yet no poorhouses.
In going out of the camps the people are allowed
to take away their tent, bedstead,
cooking utensils etc. A memo. is kept of these but we understand they will not
be charged for them. They are also given a month’s rations free. A waggon and oxen are lent just to take them home. What else
they may need — ploughs, seeds, cattle for their own use, further supplies of
food, building materials etc. — these are supplied by the Repatriation Board
for the district, a strict account of everything they get being kept. On1y what
we should consider the very barest necessities are supplied thus; they will
live in the tent while getting the ground ploughed and sown and then set to
work to repair the house with sundried bricks (a good
material) and corrugated iron. They manage to make a start, where English people
~ou1d starve helplessly; on the other hand we hear that in Johannesburg the
Boer is helpless at finding work compared with the Englishman — they are
accustomed to a very different life.
The payment of compensation is a separate matter.
For receipts given by the British army, the military are responsible and these
are paid in full; we have not heard much about these military receipts, but I
don’t hunk they amount to much.
P.S. I learn that the military have paid out the bulk of their claims
amounting to £6oo 000. Reasonable proof of goods taken is accepted as well as
actual receipts.
The apportionment of the £3 000 000 has not yet been made. The local repatriation boards
examine and report on the claims for war damages, beyond the military
receipts; receipts given by the Boer army are accepted as evidence of losses.
When these claims have all been examined, the £3 000 000
will be allotted pro rata and will be paid after deducting the value of all
supplies and animals received from the repatriation boards; if the value
supplied to a farmer by the repatriation board exceeds his share of the £3 000 000, the balance stands as a loan free of interest for two
rears.