Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1899 American Edition.djvu/530

 186

THE BRITISH EMPIRE: — CAPE OF GOOD HOPE

Justice and Crime.

The highest Court of Judicature in the colony is the Supreme Court, which consists of a Chief Justice and eight puisne judges. The judges of the Supreme Court hold sessions in Cape Town, and Circuit Courts in the Western Districts ; the judges assigned to the Eastern Districts Court hold sessions in Grahamstown, and Circuit Courts in the Eastern and Northern Districts and the Transkeian Territories ; and the judges assigned to the High Courts hold sessions at Kimberley and Northern Districts. The Supreme Court has been constituted a Court of Appeal. Jurors in criminal cases maybe paid. There are numerous seats of magistracy and further periodical courts held by magistrates at outlying villages, as well as courts of special justices of the peace. Under certain conditions appeal may be made to the Queen in Council. The Roman-Dutch law forms the great bulk of the law of the colony, modified by colonial statute law.

In 1897 there were convicted before the special J. P. Courts, 1,598 prisoners ; before Magistrates' Courts, 54,734 ; before the Superior Courts, 796. The prisoners in gaol, December 31, 1897, were 2,704 males and 374 females. On December 31, 1897, the Cape Police Force numbered 1,911, the ]\Iunicipal and ordinary Police Force, 1,282 ; and the Gaol Establishment, 627.

Pauperism.

In the various charitable institutions in the colony at the end of 1897 there were 4,194 inmates. In 1897, 1,354 persons received indoor relief in the Colony proper, and an average of 721 monthly received outdoor relief. The number of non-paying in-patients of hospitals and asylums was 8,820 in 1897.

Finance.

The income and expenditure of the colony, the former including loans, the latter including expenditure under Act of Parliament, were as follows during each of the last five years (ending June 30) : —

Revenue.

Year ended June 30.

Taxation

Services rendered

Colonial Estate

Fines,

Stores

issued, &c.

Loans

Total

j

1893 1894 1895 1896 1897

£ 1,836,098 1,951,652 1,902,860 2,418,024 2,936,426

£

2,731,873 2,894,577 3,069,567 3,927,267 4,023,772

£

350,588 353,772 337,272 375,145 306,046

£

52,655

121,351

80,472

83,306

123,721

£

1,474,935

300,000

26,441

1

£' 1

6,446,149 5.621,352 5,416,612 6,803,802 7,389,960

Expenditure.

Year

ended

June 30.

1893 1894 1895 1 896 1897

Public Debt

£

1,213,204 1,551,932 1,244,740 1,213,803 1,255,231

Railways

£

1,474,163

i,5(..,2(ii

l,55-_',4 45 1,780,176 1,9-10,570

Defence

£

149,287 161,281 158,584 190,135 375,588

Police Civil Esta-

and Gaols

£

266,748 290,819 317,013 350,l(t;t 432,278

blishnient

£

132,347

135,557 140,448 14 9, 798 166,060

Under Loan Acts

£

1,066,627 526,465 236,423 709,079

1,785,468

Total, including otlier heads

£

5,734,503 5,823,449 5,388,157 6,360,404 8,6.37,^54

The estimated expenditure (under votes) for 1898-99 is put down at 6,6S2,088(!,