Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/157

 1878] Suppression of the Rebellion. 137 by Bantu an official termed the special magistrate of Tamacha was retained with greatly increased power, whose duties were to preserve order by means of a strong force of police and to decide all civil cases, including all connected with the marriage customs, according to Bantu law. The author of these volumes, who filled this office at a critical time, can testify that it was anything but a sinecure. Galekaland, that is the territory taken from Kreli between the Kei and Bashee rivers, from Fingoland and Idutywa to the sea, was divided into two districts, termed thereafter Willowvale and Kentani. This was conquered territory, not yet annexed to the colony, but which was regarded and treated as a colonial dependency. The " loyal Gaikas," that is, those under the leadership of Fini, son of Tyali, Kona, son of Makoma, the old counsellor Tyala, and many of those belonging to the clan of the recently deceased chief Anta, who had separated from their relatives under Sandile when he went into rebellion, had ground assigned to them in the district of Kentani. Many of them were very reluctant to remove, and questioned the justice of the measure. Tyala said he preferred to die, and borne down with grief for the loss of his chief and his clan, the old man actually did die the day before the removal took place. Ten acres of arable land were assigned under individual tenure to each head of a familj^ with grazing rights over an extensive commonage. This was known to be much more than necessary, as the district was one of the most fertile in South Africa, but the government was desirous of treating these people with the greatest liberahty.* Four blocks of land, each twenty thousand there were twelve and a third acres of ground to each individual, but much of it was fit only for pasture. In the chief magistracy of Tembuland there were seventeen and two-fifths, but the population in many parts was scanty. In the chief magistracy of Griqualand East where there were large areas almost uninhabited, the average was
 * When the first census was taken in Pondoland it was found that