South Africa -- Description and travel; South Africa -- History -- 1836-1909; South Africa -- History -- To 1836
Since that time the Basutos have been a peculiarly flourishing people,
living under the chieftainship of a junior Moshesh, but undoubted
subjects of the Queen of England. Their territory is a part of the Cape
Colony, which they help to support by the taxes they pay. Their hut tax,
at the rate of 10s. a hut amounts to £4,000 a year. Why it should not
come to more I do not understand, as, according to the usual calculation
of four to a hut, there should be about 32,000 huts among them, which
would give £16,000. They also contribute £2,000 a year in other taxes.
In the year ended 30 June, 1876, they were governed, instructed, and
generally provided for at the rate of £7,644 15s. 1d. As their revenue
is hardly £5,000, this would shew a serious deficiency,--but they who do
the finance work for Basutoland have a very large balance in hand,
amounting, after the making up of all deficiencies at the date above
named, to £22,577 4s. These figures are taken from the last published
financial Report of the Cape of Good Hope. I need not tell an
experienced reader that no book or document is produced so
unintelligible to an uninitiated reader as an official financial report.
Why should Basutoland with a revenue of £5,000 a year have a Treasury
Balance of £22,577 4s.? Every clerk concerned in the getting up of that
report no doubt knows all about it. It is not perhaps intended that any
one else should understand it. I have said above that the Basutos are
governed and instructed. Alas, no! Under the general head of
expenditure, education is a conspicuous detail; but it is followed by no
figures. It seems to be admitted that something should be expended for
the teaching of the Basutos; but that the duty so acknowledged is not
performed.
CHAPTER XVI.
NAMAQUALAND.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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