Page:George McCall Theal, History of South Africa from 1873 to 1884, Volume 1 (1919).djvu/62

 42 History of the Cape Colony. [1875 Thereafter the district of Kokstad was provided with a magistrate, so as to leave the head of the territory free to attend to more important matters than adjudicating in petty cases. Mr. George W. Hawthorn was appointed, and assumed duty on the 1st of January 1879. To this period the government had been acting in Griqualand East without any other authority from parhament than the allowance of the excess of expense incurred over revenue received. In 1873 the honourable Charles Brownlee, then secretary for native affairs, in a report upon his arrangement of terms of peace between Kreli and Gangelizwe, recommended the extension of colonial authority over the country ceded by Faku. This report was submitted to parliament, and a committee of the house of assembly was appointed to consider it, but did not conclude its labours before parliament was prorogued. In 1875 the subject was brought by the ministry before parUament, and a resolution was adopted by both houses declaring that it was " expedient that the country situated between the Umtata and the Umzimkulu, com- monly known as Nomansland, should be annexed to this colony, and that the government take such preliminary steps as may place it in a position to effect such annexa- tion." On the 30th of June in this year the governor in his prorogation speech announced that her Majesty's con- currence in the annexation of Nomansland had already been officially notified to him. In June 1876 letters patent were issued at Westminster, empowering the governor to proclaim the territory annexed to the Cape Colony, after the legislature had passed the requisite act. In 1877 an annexation act was passed by the Cape parliament, and on the 17th of September 1879 the measure was completed by the issue of the governor's proclamation, to have force from the first of the following month. The seven districts comprised in the chief magistracy of Griqualand East thus became part of the Cape