Till 1825 the Cape had been governed despotically by the Governor, but in that year an executive council of six members, all Government officials, was appointed to advise the Governor in his legislation. In 1828 two colonists were introduced into this council in place of two official members. But in 1833 the Cape received a regular constitution as a Crown colony with a legislative council in which the unofficial element was fairly represented. In 1827 the English language had been substituted for Dutch in courts of law (an additional cause of dissatisfaction to the Boers); but the administration of justice in that year was greatly improved by the appointment of a supreme court with judges appointed directly by the Crown, while the lower courts were entirely remodelled, and civil commissioners and resident magistrates were appointed. In 1822 the number of Europeans settled in South Africa was about 60,000. In 1828, owing to the growing importance of the Albany settlement, Cape Colony was divided into two provinces, the western and the eastern; and the latter was for a time governed with some degree of independence. By 1824 Cape Colony had taken what is now the southern limit of the Orange Free State as its northern boundary. At this time there was a slave population in British South Africa of about 60,000, of whom less than half were Hottentots (who were rather serfs than slaves), and the remainder Malays introduced by the Dutch, and black negroes brought from Moçambique and from Angola. The British Government having abolished the slave trade in 1807, the further importation of slaves ceased; but there came into the colony a certain number of free negroes, who were rescued from the slave ships by cruisers, and landed in South Africa. In 1833 slavery was abolished. It was however enacted that, although the emancipation should come into effect on December 1st, 1834[143], complete freedom should not be given to the slaves till December 1st, 1838; further, that the Imperial Government should pay compensation to the extent of 1¼ million pounds. As this compensation was saddled with various deductions and drawbacks, the slave-owners—chiefly Dutchmen—did not get fair value for their slaves, and therefore had further cause for grumbling.