Basutoland

Coordinates: 29°31′00″S 27°48′00″E / 29.5167°S 27.8000°E / -29.5167; 27.8000
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Colony of Basutoland
1884–1966
English (official)
  • Sesotho
    • GovernmentConstitutional monarchy
    Resident Commissioner(a.k.a governor) 
    • 1884–1894
    		Marshal Clarke
    • 1961–1966
    		Alexander Giles
    Moshoeshoe II
    History 
    • Established
    		18 March 1884
    • Disestablished
    		4 October 1966
    Area
    • Total
    		30,355 km2 (11,720 sq mi)
    Population
    • 1875
    		128,206
    • 1904
    		348,848[1]
    Currency
    Preceded by    		 Succeeded by
    Cape Colony
    Lesotho
    Today part ofLesotho

    Basutoland was a

    Resident Commissioners
    .

    It was divided into seven administrative districts: Berea, Leribe, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Mafeteng, Qacha's Nek and Quthing.

    Basutoland gained its independence from the

    Kingdom of Lesotho
    .

    History

    Background

    Between 1856 and 1868 the Basotho engaged in conflict with the

    Governor of Cape Colony:[2]

    I am giving myself and my country up to Her Majesty's Government under certain conditions which we may agree on between your Excellency and me.

    In July 1866, after referring to the former letter, the Chief said:[2]

    All those things I have given up into your hands the last year..., they are still yours. I still continue to be the humble servant of Her Majesty.

    Eventually, in January 1868, the Governor received a document dated 9 December 1867, signed by the Secretary of State for the Colonies, authorizing the annexation of Basutoland to the Colony of Natal (not to the Cape as Wodehouse had wished).[2] On 12 March 1868, a proclamation declared the Basotho to be British subjects and Basutoland to be British territory.[3] It was not in fact annexed to Natal, as Natal attempted unsuccessfully to condition its acceptance on Basotho land being made available for European settlement; so for some time Basutoland remained under the direct authority of Wodehouse as British High Commissioner for South Africa.[2]

    Postage stamp with a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, 1963

    Three years later, Basutoland was annexed to the Cape Colony by Act No. 12 of 1871 of the Parliament of the Cape of Good Hope, confirmed by an Order in Council of 3 November 1871.[2] The rule of the Cape Colony then proved unpopular with the people, leading to the Basuto Gun War of 1880–1881.

    By an Order in Council dated 2 February 1884, which came into force on 18 March 1884,

    High Commissioner.[2]

    As a crown colony

    Moshoeshoe had been succeeded as paramount chief by his son,

    Boer War in 1899, these same chiefs proclaimed loyalty to the British Crown. They remained passive throughout the War and the neutrality of the country was respected by both armies. One chief alone sought to take advantage of the situation by disloyal action, and his offence was met by a year's imprisonment.[5]

    In pursuance of the policy of encouraging the self-governing powers of the Basotho, a national council was instituted and held its first sitting in July 1903. In August 1905 the paramount chief Lerotholi died. In early life he had distinguished himself in the wars with the Boers, and in 1880 he took an active part in the revolt against the Cape government. Since 1884 he had been a loyal supporter of the imperial authorities, and carried a reputation for high diplomatic gifts. On the 19th of September following Lerotholi's death, the national council, with the concurrence of the imperial government, elected his son

    Letsie II as paramount chief. The completion in October 1905 of a railway connecting Maseru with the South African railway system proved a great boon to the community. During the Bambatha Rebellion in 1906 the Basotho remained perfectly quiet.[5]

    Government

    Executive branch

    Basutoland's Executive Council members were the resident commissioner, who presided, three ex-officio members and four council members from the Basutoland National Council, appointed by the resident commissioner, one by the Paramount Chief and three nominated by the Council itself, selected by secret ballot.

    Legislative branch

    The legislative council, known as the Basutoland National Council, consisted of a non-voting President appointed by the Resident Commissioner, four official members (ex officio), twenty-two Chiefs, forty elected members elected by District Councils, and fourteen nominated members appointed by the Resident Commissioner on the nomination of the Paramount Chief. The Resident Commissioner had the right to address the council.

    The Commissioner had authority to make laws by Proclamation on certain subjects, such as external affairs, defence and the public service. These matters were excluded from the powers of the National Council, but the Commissioner was required to lay a draft of any Proclamation before the council and to consider their observations. The Constitution made special provision regarding particular objections made by the council.

    Paramount Chief

    There was a College of Chiefs of Basutoland whose function related to matters pertaining to the offices of the Paramount Chief, Chief and Headman. Their decisions and recommendations were submitted for acceptance to the Paramount Chief. They were subject to review by the High Court.

    The Constitution vested a number of functions in the Paramount Chief. In exercising these, he was required in most cases to consult either with the Executive Council or with the Resident Commissioner, a Council member of the Executive and a member of the Basotho Nation appointed by himself.

    Land in Basutoland was vested by the Constitution in the Paramount Chief in trust for the Basotho Nation, subject to lawfully acquired rights.

    Demographics

    Considering the extensive area of uninhabitable mountain land it contained, the territory supported a mediocre population. The inhabitants increased from 128,206 in 1875, to 348,848 in 1904. Women outnumbered men by about 20,000, which was, however, about the number of adult men away from the country at any given period. The majority lived in the district between the

    Barolong and other natives. The White inhabitants in 1904 numbered 895. Maseru, the seat of government, had in 1904 a population of about 1,000 including some 100 Europeans.[5]

    Districts

    British Resident Commissioners

    Incumbent Tenure Notes
    Took office Left office
    Sir
    Marshal James Clarke
    		 18 March 1884 18 September 1894 Afterwards Resident Commissioner in Zululand, 1894
    Godfrey Yeatman Lagden
    		 18 September 1894 1895
    Sir
    Herbert Cecil Sloley
    		 1895
    Godfrey Yeatman Lagden
    		 1895 1901
    Sir
    Herbert Cecil Sloley
    		 1902 1903
    James MacGregor 1913
    Sir
    Herbert Cecil Sloley
    		 1913 1916
    Robert Thorne Coryndon
    		 1916 1917 Afterwards
    Governor of Uganda
    , 1918
    Sir Edward Charles Frederick Garraway 1917 Apr 1926
    John Christian Ramsay Sturrock
    		 Apr 1926 Mar 1935
    Sir Edmund Charles Smith Richards Mar 1935 Aug 1942 Afterwards
    Governor of Nyasaland
    , 1942
    Sir
    Charles Noble Arden-Clarke
    		 Aug 1942 Nov 1946 Afterwards Governor of Sarawak, 1946
    Aubrey Denzil Forsyth-Thompson Nov 1946 24 October 1951
    Edwin Porter Arrowsmith
    		 24 October 1951 Sep 1956
    Alan Geoffrey Tunstal Chaplin Sep 1956 1961
    Alexander Falconer Giles
    		 1961 30 April 1965

    Chief Justices

    The Chief Justice was the Chief Justice of the

    Swaziland).[6]
    From 1951 the Chief Justices were:

    Incumbent Tenure Notes
    Took office Left office
    Walter Harragin 1951 1952
    Harold Curwen Willan 1952 1956
    Herbert Charles Fahie Cox
    		 1957 1960
    Peter Watkin-Williams 1961 1966

    References

    1. HMSO
      . 1906. p. 160.
    2. ^ a b c d e f g h Roberts-Wray, Sir Kenneth (1966). Commonwealth and Colonial Law. London: F.A. Praeger. p. 830.
    3. ^ Tylden, G. (1950). The Rise of the Basuto. Juta. p. 107.
    4. ^ S.R.O. & S.I. Rev. III, 79
    5. ^
      Hillier, Alfred Peter (1911). "Basutoland". Encyclopædia Britannica
      . Vol. 3 (11th ed.). pp. 503–506.
    6. ^ "Bechuanaland Colonial Administrators c.1884-c.1965". Retrieved 27 February 2016.

     This article incorporates text from a publication now in the

    Hillier, Alfred Peter (1911). "Basutoland". Encyclopædia Britannica
    . Vol. 3 (11th ed.). pp. 503–506.

    External links

    29°31′00″S 27°48′00″E / 29.5167°S 27.8000°E / -29.5167; 27.8000

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