Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/46

26 especially favourable, though his estimate of the cost of the necessary works was high. At Port Natal he found that Mr. Milne's designs, according to which construction had been carried out from 1850 to 1856, were good, but that Captain Vetch's plans, which were afterwards adopted, were faulty. Upon these £200,000 had been thrown away. Sir John Coode's plans have since been carried out, both at Port Natal and at East London, with excellent results, the bars at both places have been removed so as to allow the largest vessels to enter, and safe harbours have thus been formed where ships can lie beside piers and discharge or load as if in a dock.

On the eastern frontier of the Cape Colony in 1876 there was a deep feeling of unrest, owing to the pre- valence of cattle thefts on an alarming scale by the Xosas and the insecurity of the farmers. At one time there was almost a panic, for the robbers had become so daring that a general collision was apprehended. Since 1857 there had been nothing to check the amazing natural increase of the Xosas, and they were now pushing their way into localities previously occupied by Europeans. The law gave them a great advantage. A European could not purchase or hire land occupied by them on communal tenure, or even the grants made to individuals by Sir George Grey in the district of King-Williamstown, the title-deeds of which contained a clause that they could not be transferred except to other Bantu without the consent of the government. The object in making those grants was to create a body of individual landholders who would serve as an example of prosperity to the other Bantu, and therefore consent to transfer to a European was never given. But it was perfectly free to a Xosa to hire or purchase land from