1922 Encyclopædia Britannica/Rhodesia
Rhodesia (see 23.259).—The three divisions of which this territory had consisted were reduced in 1911 to two by the amalgamation of North-Eastern and North-Western Rhodesia, thenceforward known as Northern Rhodesia simply. The Zambezi is the line of division between Southern and Northern Rhodesia, and whereas geographically and in its political developments Southern Rhodesia is part of South Africa, Northern Rhodesia belongs geographically to Central Africa, it is not “a white man’s country” and its political future is not necessarily the same as that of Southern Rhodesia. The administration of the two regions was kept distinct, and in the present article this distinction is preserved wherever necessary. In 1921 Rhodesia was still governed by the British South Africa (Chartered) Co., but measures were in progress to terminate its rule.
Inhabitants.—At the census of May 3 1921 the white inhabitants of Southern Rhodesia numbered 33,621,[1] compared with 23,606 in 1911 and 12,596 in 1904. In 1921 males numbered 18,987 and females 14,634. The increase per cent, in the male pop. in the 10 years was 21.87, that of the female pop. 82.23. The natives in 1921 numbered 845,593, compared with 744,559 in 1911 and 591,493 in 1904. Asiatics in 1921 numbered 1,250 and the coloured pop. 1,997. Salisbury and Bulawayo, the chief towns, had in 1921 a white pop. of 5,654 and 6,830 respectively. Gwelo (white pop. 1,148) and Umtali (white pop. 1,874) were made municipalities in 1914, and Gatooma was made a municipality in 1917. All these places have most of the amenities of European towns.
In Northern Rhodesia the white in 1911 numbered about 1,500, and in May 1921 3,585, of whom 2,223 were males and 1,326 females. A considerable proportion of the white residents are officials and missionaries and their families. The native pop. in 1920 was estimated at 928,000.
Communication.—Little was done during 1910–21 to extend communication in Rhodesia itself, but from Sakania on the Rhodesian-Belgian Congo frontier the railway was continued through Katanga with the result that the valuable mineral output of that region was carried over the Rhodesian lines. The completion of the line from Zeerust (Transvaal) to Mafeking (Cape province) shortened the distance between Rhodesian stations and Johannesburg by 250 miles and enabled Durban to compete for the Rhodesian trade. On the completion in 1913 of the line through the northern Transvaal to the Limpopo at Messina, proposals were made to bridge the gap left—some 130 m.—between the Union railways and the West Nicholson branch of the Rhodesian system. As the bridging of the gap would place Lourenço Marques as closely in touch with Bulawayo as is Beira (its existing port), there was much opposition from interested parties to the building of the line and construction had not begun in 1921. Among other projects the most important was the so-called Sinoia-Kafue cut-off, to give Salisbury and Beira a much shorter line to Northern Rhodesia and Katanga. The line in 1921 had been built as far as Sinoia only. In south-eastern Rhodesia the branch line from Gwelo had been extended to Victoria.
There was a good deal of road-making, the largest piece of work being the cutting of a road—400 m. long—through the bush from Broken Hill to Lake Tanganyika. This was done for military reasons during the campaign in German East Africa. In 1919 aerodromes were made at Bulawayo and other stations on the Cairo-Cape route.
For the year ended Sept. 30 1919 the report of the Rhodesian Railways Ltd. showed that the gross revenue was £1,058,000; expenditure £568,000 and net earnings £490,000. For the year ended Sept. 30 1910 the corresponding figures were £789,990, £362,000 and £427,000 respectively. The gross revenue of the Beira-Salisbury and Kalomo-Broken Hill sections of the Mashonaland Railway Co. for 1918–9 was £647,000; expenditure £367,000 and net earnings £280,000, compared with £502,000, £184,000 and £317,000 respectively in the year ended Sept. 30 1910.
Agriculture.—At the end of 1919 the area under crops, excluding vegetable gardens and land cultivated by the natives for their own benefit, in Southern Rhodesia was 215,276 ac.,of which 177,470 ac. were under maize. In 1911 the area under crops was 132,105 acres. The production of wheat increased in Mashonaland, the quantity produced in 1919 (13,432 bags) being double the amount of the output five years previously. Tobacco became one of the principal crops, the production of leaf in 1919–20 being about 2,500,000 pounds. Cotton-growing had not got beyond the experimental stage in 1921. The citrus industry made headway and considerable quantities of oranges, etc., are now exported. Over 6,000 boxes were shipped to the United Kingdom in 1920.
The Mazoe dam, which has an effective storage capacity in a normal season, after allowing for evaporation, of 4,000,000,000 gal., was completed in March 1920. This dam enables sufficient water to be stored for the irrigation of 6,000 ac. with 2½ ft. per annum.
Cattle-breeding in the decade 1911–21 became one of the leading industries of Rhodesia. By the importation of pedigree bulls the native breed was steadily improved. In 1919 29,510 head of cattle was exported by rail or on the hoof to the cold-storage works in the Union or to Portuguese East Africa and the Belgian Congo. By the end of 1919 the number of cattle owned by Europeans (673,431) exceeded the number belonging to the natives. In 1910 the total (European and native owned) was 371,000. The Liebig Co. acquired extensive ranching areas.
In Northern Rhodesia maize and tobacco are the principal crops; wheat was grown under irrigation. Experimental work in the cultivation of wheat and other cereals, fodder plants, fruit and forest trees, fibres and in the investigation of plant diseases was carried on at the Chilanga estate of the B. S. A. Company. Orange-growing was started and a small quantity of cotton grown in the Fort Jameson district adjoining Nyasaland. Large areas of wild rubber exist. Cattle ranching became popular, a good market being found in Katanga for slaughter beasts. Except for the settlement at Fort Jameson, the white residents are mostly concentrated along the railway line from the Victoria Falls to Katanga.
Mining.—Gold is now found in a large variety of formations, including quartz, schists, granite, sandstones, banded ironstones, conglomerates and dolorite.[2] The value of the output steadily increased from £2,566,000 in 1910 to £3,895,000 in 1916, when the yield in ounces was 930,356. The effects of the World War, increased working costs and labour difficulties then brought about a decline and the value of the output had fallen in 1919 to £2,499,000. In 1920 the value of the output went up to £3,056,000, though the yield measured by weight (552,497 oz.) was 40,725 oz. less than in 1919, the rise in value being due to the premiums obtained on sales of gold in 1920. The silver output reached its highest level (211,989 oz.) in 1917 and this was also the case with coal (584,954 tons) and copper (3,911 tons). The largest output of chrome iron ore (88,871 tons) was in 1916. After the end of the World War production was considerably reduced. Asbestos is becoming an important industry, the chief mines being in the Bulawayo and Victoria districts. The output rose from 55 tons in 1908 to 18,823 tons in 1920. Valuable mica deposits are being worked in the Sinoia district, the output in 1920 being 97 tons. Small shipments realized up to 6co per ton. Arsenic (1920, 437 tons) and tungsten (1920, 17 tons) are worked. The output and value of the principal minerals of Southern Rhodesia in 1920 were as follows:—Gold 552,497 oz. (£3,056,549); silver 158,982 oz. (£58,178); copper 3,109 tons (£333,111); chrome iron 60,269 tons (£245,378); coal 578,492 tons (£252,000); asbestos 18,823 tons (£459,572). The total value of mineral production in Southern Rhodesia up to the end of 1920 was £56,164,325.
Northern Rhodesia.—The chief mining centres in Northern Rhodesia are Broken Hill (lead and zinc) and Bwana Mkubwa, near the Congo border (copper). The mineral production in 1920 was as follows, the figures for 1916 being given in parentheses for purposes of comparison:—Gold 569 oz. (719 oz.), value £2,998 (£2,980) ; silver 5,583 oz. (8,777 oz), value £706 (£877); copper 145 tons (1,298 tons), value £7,601 (39,362); lead 16,345 tons (1,392 tons), value £335,000 (£25,121). Up to Dec. 31 1913 13,156 tons of zinc ore, valued at £84,577, had been produced. Mining for this ore then ceased. The total value of the mineral production of the northern territory to Dec. 31 1920 was £1,534,000.
Commerce.—Bacon-making, oil-crushing and soap-making, cheese-making and meat-canning, in addition to creameries and tobacco factories and flour-mills, are established. The following table shows the value of the imports and exports of Southern Rhodesia (exclusive of specie and goods reëxported) in 1910, 1915 and 1919.
| Imports | Exports | |
|---|---|---|
| 1910 | £2,786,000 | £2,812,000 |
| 1915 | 2,949,000 | 4,536,000 |
| 1919 | 4,500,000 | 4,432,000 |
In Northern Rhodesia the value of imports increased from £168,000 in 1911 to £424,000 in 1919. Exports in 1911 were valued at £107,000 and in 1919 at £452,000.
Revenue.—For the year ended March 31 1911 the revenue of Southern Rhodesia was £773,000 and expenditure £752,000. In 1918–9 the revenue amounted to £961,000 and the expenditure was £858,000. The chief items on the revenue side of the account were: customs duty £298,000; native tax £238,000; posts and telegraphs £100,000; stamps and licences £59,000; income-tax and excess-profits tax £60,000. For the year ending March 31 1920 the revenue was £1,031,000, the expenditure £1,061,000.
The revenue of Northern Rhodesia for the year ended March 31 1912 was £116,000, expenditure being £190,000. In 1919–20 the revenue was £169,000 and expenditure £260,000. Native tax produced (1918–9) £83,000 and customs duty £36,000.
Education.—In Southern Rhodesia in 1919 public expenditure on education was £125,000, the sum of £39,000 being received from fees. At the end of that year there were 77 public schools open, with 4,775 pupils. There are schools of domestic science at Bulawayo and Salisbury. There were 670 native schools, with 38,284 pupils, conducted by missionary bodies, receiving grants in aid.
In Northern Rhodesia in March 1920 European children attending Government schools numbered 222. The Administration established boarding-houses at three centres.
Native Affairs.—No radical change was made in the system of native administration in Southern Rhodesia during 1910–21. The office of Secretary of Native Affairs was filled by the administrator and in each district a commissioner was appointed to direct and protect the natives. The conduct of the white settlers and of the Chartered Co. towards the natives was the subject of strict scrutiny. Cases of grave injustice had occurred in the earlier history of the territory and in the period under review further charges were brought against the Company in connexion with the rearrangement of the reserves. Settlers complained that certain lands in native reserves were not being beneficially used by them; the natives made similar complaints. In 1914 a commission under the chairmanship of Mr. (afterward Sir) R. T. Coryndon, then resident commissioner of Swaziland, was appointed by the Colonial Office to inspect and report upon the reserves. The commission concluded its sittings at the end of 1915. It recommended that 5,610,595 ac. should be assigned as additional reserves or extensions to existing reserves, but that 6,673,055 ac. then included within the reserves were not required for that purpose. The total reserve area recommended was 19,428,691 ac., a net reduction of 1,062,460 acres. The Imperial Government decided to accept these recommendations in their entirety in 1917. There was, however, owing to war conditions, delay in adopting the commission’s recommendations and attacks were made on the Company’s native administration during the greater part of 1919. A Parliamentary White Paper issued in Feb. 1920 contained correspondence between the Aborigines’ Protection Society and the Colonial Office on the subject. The charges against the Company were replied to by Lord Buxton (then high commissioner) at Salisbury in Aug. 1919, and by Col. Amery (Under Secretary for the Colonies) in the House of Commons in March 1920. Col. Amery said:—“I believe this House can with confidence endorse the very high testimony of Lord Buxton to the native administration of Rhodesia and the attitude of the civil population generally towards the natives. It is a model, not only in Africa, but for any part of the world where you have the very difficult problem of the white settler living side by side with the native.” An Order in Council was passed giving sanction to the Coryndon commission’s recommendations. The changes it recommended were gradually carried out and gave rise to little friction. Lord Milner (then Colonial Secretary) set forth in an official despatch that the settlement reached was regarded as final, not only as to the present, but also the future requirements of the natives. To ensure them security of tenure the reserves were vested in the high commissioner for South Africa and would be inalienable save for certain limited purposes and only in exchange for other land.
In Aug. 1921 Prince Arthur of Connaught (the new high commissioner) visited Rhodesia and received a deputation of Matabele. He told them that the decision as to the reserves must stand and that their desire to have a son of Lobenguela recognized as paramount chief could not be granted. “You cannot go back,” said the Prince; “you must go forward.”
The general condition of the natives of Southern Rhodesia had distinctly improved between 1910 and 1920, and their value as an asset of the country became generally recognized. They were not only producers on their own account, but considerable purchasers of European goods. They paid an annual poll-tax of £1—the only levy made upon them by the administration. In 1911 several ordinances designed to secure better housing, feeding and medical supervision of native labourers outside the reserves came into effect. Steps were also taken to provide agricultural and industrial training, and to cope with cattle disease in the native reserves.
Vaccination and medical examination of natives applying for domestic service was made compulsory and the Bulawayo municipality introduced by-laws providing for a standard of housing accommodation for native servants.
Sleeping sickness along the Congo border of Northern Rhodesia necessitated precautions being taken to prevent its southward extension. Some cases of the disease occurred in the Loangwa valley, but they appeared to be sporadic.
History.—The outstanding feature of the history of the territory in the period 1910–21 was the steady growth of political consciousness on the part of the white residents of Southern Rhodesia. The framers of the constitution of the Union of South Africa left open the door for the adhesion to it of Rhodesia. The ultimate joining of Rhodesia to the Union was taken for granted by most South Africans, but the actual formation of the Union in 1910 seemed to have a contrary effect. It appeared to give a distinct stimulus to the already nascent desire of the Southern Rhodesians for independent self-government. A distinct advance in that direction was made in May 1911, when, by Order in Council, the elected members were given a majority of the seats in the Legislative Council, provision being made for safeguarding the interests of the British South Africa Company.
The legal position at that time was that the British South Africa Co. exercised under its charter sovereign rights subject only to such control as was exercised by the Colonial Office through the high commissioner for South Africa and a Resident in Rhodesia. While the Company’s administrative expenditure was by this time slightly exceeded by the revenue, there was no means of making good the heavy losses incurred in opening up the country save by the sale of unalienated lands. Of their ownership of the land and of their rights of disposal the Company entertained no doubt and this fact had much influence upon the attitude of the directors. Sir Starr Jameson, on resigning towards the close of 1912 his leadership of the Unionist party in the South African Parliament, became president of the Chartered Co. and retained that position until his death in Nov. 1917.[3] The administrator in Southern Rhodesia was Sir William H. Milton, a man of great experience and tact in his dealings both with the white residents and the natives. After over 16 years’ service in the territory Sir W. H. Milton resigned in Oct. 1914 and was succeeded by Mr. (afterwards Sir) Drummond Chaplin. But while the administrator and his executive could do much to make the machinery of government work smoothly, there was no power, locally, to shape policy. Disputes arose between the Company and the settlers, who desired a still larger share in the administration. The controversy became acute in view of the fact that in Oct. 1914, under the terms upon which the charter was originally granted, the Crown would have the right to revise its terms with regard to administration. Sir Starr Jameson, Mr. Rochfort Maguire and other representatives of the Chartered Co. visited Rhodesia in 1913, when a further increase was announced in the numbers of elected members of the Legislative Council. As to the financial position the directors said that, as “the land and minerals belonged to the Company,” no debt in respect to past deficits would be placed on the country when the Company relinquished its administration. Mr. Maguire described the Company’s proposals as a means for bridging the period antecedent to self-government, the ideal towards which, he claimed, the Company was working. In accordance with the promise given, a redistribution ordinance was passed, the elected members being increased to 12, while the number nominated by the Company was fixed at six. At the general election in March 1914 1 of the 12 elected members returned were pledged to support the maintenance—for the time being—of the Company’s administration, but, the Council declared, its continuance should not affect the right “at any time” thereafter to the institution of self-government.
The Council in April 1914 definitely challenged the right of the Chartered Co. to the ownership of unalienated lands. The question had been raised in 1908, but was then allowed to drop. It was now recognized as essential that the matter should be settled before the political status of Rhodesia was altered. On behalf of the Rhodesians (i.e. the white settlers) it was claimed that the Chartered Co.’s power to deal with the land was only a delegated right granted by the Crown, and secondly, that if the Company had acquired ownership rights such rights were vested in it “as an administrative and public asset only”; that as a trading body the Company had no title to the land or its revenues. Consequently it was contended that, on the Company ceasing to exercise administrative rights, all unalienated lands should go as public domain to the Government which succeeded it. In July 1914 the claim of the Legislative Council was referred to the judicial committee of the Privy Council for adjudication.
In the meantime it was decided that the Crown should not exercise its right to vary the terms of the charter, which therefore, in virtue of the original provisions, would legally continue unaltered for ten years from Oct. 20 1914. The directors of the Company intimated, however, that they would offer no objection to the earlier establishment of responsible (i.e. self) government should it be deemed necessary and had the concurrence of the British Government. A supplemental charter giving effect to this agreement was issued on March 13 1915.
Meanwhile the outbreak of the World War for a time forced the constitutional question into the background. But the war itself had an important bearing on the political question. The party which desired the indefinite continuance of Chartered Co. rule had nearly disappeared, but an influential party had advocated, as the alternative to self-government, joining the Union of South Africa. This party lost ground as Rhodesians saw what was happening in the Union. The growth of separatist and republican sentiment among the Dutch population, evidenced by the increasing support gained by Gen. Hertzog and particularly the rebellion of 1914, inevitably influenced the political orientation of the almost solid British population of Rhodesia. Disinclination to be swallowed up in the Union and dislike of the introduction of bi-lingualism—a necessary result of Rhodesia becoming a province of the Union—were strongly reinforced by real if perhaps exaggerated fears as to the strength of the Dutch nationalist movement. It was possibly due in part to these developments that a proposal put forward by the Company in 1915 for the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia secured (in 1917) a majority in the Legislative Council, though it was not proceeded with.
After an exhaustive inquiry the judicial committee of the Privy Council gave its decision as to the ownership of unalienated lands on July 29 1918. It had had before it not only the claims of the Crown and of the Chartered Co. but those of the natives, whose case was put forward without much evidence that it was being pressed by the natives themselves. The judicial committee reported in favour of the Crown. While, however, it decided that the Company could not claim ownership of unalienated land in Southern Rhodesia, it held that it was entitled to be reimbursed for expenses and outlays of administration in current or past years, and that while it continued to administer Southern Rhodesia it was entitled to apply the proceeds of any sale of land towards the reduction of such expenditure. The Company’s exclusive rights to all minerals in the country were confirmed and grants or sales of land made by it were finally legalized.
The next step was to ascertain the amount which would be due to the Company in accordance with the judicial committee’s report should the administration of Southern Rhodesia by the Company cease. At the request of the Chartered Co. a royal commission, of which Lord Cave was chairman, was appointed in July 1919 to ascertain the amount which would have been due to it for its administrative expenses if its governing powers had ceased on March 31 1918. The claim filed by the Company was in round figures for £8,000,000 plus interest on the accumulated deficits. The Cave commission took evidence in Rhodesia and its award was issued in Jan. 1920. The commission rejected the Company’s claim for interest and fixed the amount due to the Company at £4,435,000, subject to deductions (i) in respect of the value of lands appropriated by the Company for commercial purposes, and (2) the proceeds or value of lands and rights alienated by the Company for considerations other than cash, but plus the value of the public works which might be taken over by its administrative successor, estimated at £830,000.
In the interval the campaign for the grant of self-government had been renewed vigorously in Southern Rhodesia. In view of a coming general election the Legislative Council in May 1919 passed a resolution asking the Colonial office publicly to state what proof of fitness “financially and in other respects” would be considered sufficient to justify the grant of responsible government. Lord Milner (then Colonial Secretary) replied in Aug. that he could not regard the territory in its then stage of development as equal to the financial burden of responsible government, and as there appeared to be no great desire for the inclusion of the territory in the Union he advised that matters should be left as they were until the situation became clearer. This reply caused a good deal of dissatisfaction amongst the advocates of responsible government in Rhodesia. The strength of the movement was shown at the general election in May 1920, when the responsible government party secured 12 of the 13 elective seats in the Legislative Council. The I3th member advocated representative government, a half-measure which Lord Milner had considered impracticable.[4] Owing to the successes gained by the Dutch Nationalists at the general election in the Union a few months earlier, opinion in Rhodesia, which, in view of the discouraging attitude of the Colonial Office towards responsible government, had tended to consider more favourably entry into the Union, swung round completely.
The new Legislative Council, at its first meeting in May 1920, passed a resolution praying the Imperial Government to establish responsible government and affirming that—
“The record of the people of Southern Rhodesia establishes that they are capable of fulfilling in the interests of all the inhabitants thereof, irrespective of race, the duties of self-government, and are equally as able to bear the responsibility thereof as other peoples of the Empire to whom the rights of self-government have been granted in the past.”
Lord Milner, in a despatch dated Dec. 22 1920, again urged delay. “In principle” he favoured the Rhodesian demand and the Chartered Co. was willing, he said, to be relieved of its responsibilities, but, chiefly on the ground of finance, he proposed that the Company’s rule should continue till after the next general election, which in the ordinary course would be held early in 1923. If Rhodesia was then still in the same mind, responsible government could be brought into force not later than Oct. 1924. The elected members of the Legislative Council strongly traversed Lord Milner’s arguments and in the end the Colonial Office sought the advice of still another committee.
This committee, of which Lord Buxton, lately governor-general of the Union and high commissioner, was chairman, was appointed on March 7 1921. It acted with promptitude and reported on April 12 following. The electors having so recently expressed their views in favour of the abstract principle of self-government, no advantage would be gained (the committee stated) by another vote on the principle. It recommended therefore that a scheme for responsible government should be drawn up in detail and that by means of a referendum the opinion of the electors on such a definite scheme should be ascertained. If the electors accepted the scheme a proclamation or Order in Council should issue annexing Southern Rhodesia to the dominions of the British Crown and that annexation should be followed by letters patent setting up responsible government. The draft of the constitution, it was suggested, should be drawn up by the Colonial Office in consultation with the elected members of the Legislative Council. Two special provisions were proposed:—
(1) That with regard to the natives the existing authority and control by the high commissioner should be retained; and (2) that control of unalienated land should lie exercised through the high commissioner on the advice of a specially created land board. This unalienated land would be charged with the payment of the sums to which the Chartered Co. was entitled under the Cave award.
Many objections might be and were raised to the proposed manner of dealing with the land question, but the elected members of the Legislative Council, under the leadership of Sir Charles Coghlan, accepted the recommendations of the Buxton committee, and Rhodesian delegates were appointed to confer with the Colonial Office.
Meanwhile the general election in the Union in Feb. 1921 had resulted in the defeat of the Dutch Nationalists (though not in any diminution of their voting strength), and it was arranged that, before any irrevocable step was taken, the Rhodesian delegates should consult with Gen. Smuts, the Prime Minister of the Union, as to the alternative plan of Rhodesia becoming a province of the Union. The conference with Gen. Smuts was held at Cape Town in Sept. 1921, before the delegation left for England. It was made clear that if the Rhodesians had changed their minds and desired admission to the Union they would be welcomed, but that the Union would require the ownership of the unalienated lands.
The influenza epidemic of 1918 took a heavy toll of the natives of Rhodesia; the death-roll was estimated at fully 30,000.
A national tribute was paid to Sir Starr Jameson on May 22 1920, when his body, brought from England, where it had been temporarily interred, was given a last resting-place close to the grave of Cecil Rhodes at the World’s View in the Matoppo Hills. Survivors of the pioneers Jameson had led into Mashonaland in 1890 were present, and Matabele and Mashona indunas.
Rhodesia's Part in the World War.—The Rhodesian frontiers in 1914 touched German protectorates both on the west and east. The Caprivi “Finger” of German S.W. Africa came up to the Zambezi, west of the Victoria Falls. It was occupied by the Rhodesian forces with little difficulty. On the east a more serious situation was presented, as the Germans, in comparatively strong force, entered Rhodesian territory between Lakes Tanganyika and Nyasa. Aided by and giving aid to the troops of the Belgian Congo, Rhodesian volunteers and the British South Africa police rendered excellent service and held their own against the Germans. Subsequently Rhodesians played a notable part in Gen. Northey’s offensive. A small Matabele contingent took part in the fighting, and a combatant battalion was raised from the natives of Northern Rhodesia.
From the first the Rhodesians were not content with the defence of their own territory. A regiment (1st Rhodesian) was raised for service in the 1914 rebellion and in the campaign in S.W. Africa, and early in 1915 another regiment (2nd Rhodesian) was sent to British East Africa, where it gained a deservedly great reputation. Many Rhodesians also enlisted in the British army. Altogether 6,859 Rhodesians (Europeans) were on active service during the war, a number much more than half the adult male population. Rhodesian natives engaged as combatants in E. Africa numbered 2,721, and in addition there were 40,732 “first-line” carriers. Some 152,000 other carriers were engaged on war service in Northern Rhodesia alone.
In the last days of the war (Nov. 2 1918) Gen. von Lettow Vorbeck, with all that was left of the German forces, turning westwards from his pursuers, entered Northern Rhodesia and had reached the Chambezi near Kasama on the day the Armistice was signed in Europe. It was in Rhodesia, therefore, that the last act in the war was played, von Lettow surrendering to the magistrate at Kasama on Nov. 14.
Northern Rhodesia.—The amalgamation of North-Eastern and North-Western Rhodesia was carried into effect on Aug. 17 1911, when Mr. (afterwards Sir) Lawrence Wallace was appointed administrator, a post he held for nearly ten years.[5] The defence of the territory, which had been shared with Nyasaland, had been taken over entirely by the Rhodesian authorities a short time before the amalgamation was carried through. The number of British settlers gradually increased and missionaries did valuable work in training the natives and introducing higher standards among them. The proposal of the Chartered Co. to amalgamate Northern and Southern Rhodesia has already been referred to; the project was dropped. The war, which deeply affected Northern Rhodesia, at first caused marked depression, which was removed by the military expenditure in 1916–7, while the building of the Katanga railway and the mining activity in Katanga brought about a revival. An elective, but purely advisory, council was established in July 1913.
The Chartered Co. was faced with much the same difficulties in Northern as in Southern Rhodesia, nor in the north did revenue meet administrative expenditure. Up to March 31 1919 the deficit was placed at over £1,250,000. As in Southern Rhodesia, the Company claimed the land and minerals and the repayment of administrative deficits, and, equally, the white settlers claimed a greater share in the government, notably control of finance. The consideration of these questions was remitted to the Buxton committee, which in its second report, dated April 29 1921, advised that the legality or otherwise of the Company’s claims should be settled by the Privy Council before the future status of Northern Rhodesia was decided. Meanwhile the immediate creation of a legislative council was recommended.
Barotseland (see 3.424). Barotseland, the S.W. part of Northern Rhodesia, continued to be a native reserve in which Europeans, other than the officials of the Chartered Co. and missionaries and traders approved by the paramount chief, were not allowed to settle. The paramount chief in the exercise of his authority is aided by a ngambella (prime minister) and a kotla (council); he has no jurisdiction over Europeans. Relations between the Barotse and the Company were satisfactory and missionary enterprise prospered. Distinct interest in education was shown; in 1912 there were 413 scholars at the Barotse national school, 251 being boarders. Lewanika (see 16.519), who had placed his country under British protection and who won and retained the reputation of an enlightened ruler, died in 1916. He was succeeded by his eldest son Yeta III. (formerly known as Litia). Lealui, the native capital, and Mongu, the residence of the chief British officials, are both on the Zambezi and seven miles distant from one another.
A list of parliamentary papers relating to Rhodesia is given in the Colonial Office List, published annually in London, and annual reports are issued by the British South Africa Company. See also C. Gouldsbury and H. Sheane, The Great Plateau of Northern Rhodesia (1911); A. Darter, The Pioneers of Mashonaland (1914); the Report of the Rhodesia Resources Committee (1921); H. Rolin, Les lois et l'administration de la Rhodésie (1913); J. H. Harris, The Chartered Millions (1920); and A. S. and G. G. Brown, The South and East African Year Book and Guide (annually).
In the preparation of this article the writer is indebted to G. H. Lepper, of the Trade Supplement to The Times.
- ↑ The figures for 1921 are the unaudited return.
- ↑ The Geological Survey of Southern Rhodesia showed that the majority of the productive gold-mines do not lie in the “schist belt,” as previously supposed, but occur in a peculiar granite mass, known as the Mont d’Or granite. Important chrome iron-ore deposits occur in a mass of serpentine and talc-schist, which is related to the Mont d’Or granite in structure and probably in origin. The two masses together, according to the Director of the Geological Survey, Mr. H. B. Maufe (formerly of the Geological Survey of the United Kingdom), constitute an important plutonic complex, which had remained unrecognized until then. The result of the mapping by the Survey was to give a view of the nature of the mineral field totally different from that generally held.
- ↑ After Sir Starr Jameson’s death Mr. Philip Lyttelton Gell acted as chairman of the board of directors and in Oct. 1920 was appointed president of the Company.
- ↑ The following is an analysis of the returns, one member being elected unopposed. Votes for responsible government 4,663; for representative government 420; for joining the Union of South Africa 814; for continuance of Chartered Co.’s rule 868; total poll (out of 11,098 electors) 6,765.
- ↑ On the retirement of Sir L. Wallace (1920), Sir D. Chaplin, the administrator of S. Rhodesia, took charge of N. Rhodesia also.