ABSTRACT
An essay on this subjeƸt should properly start with an up-to-date statistical description. Unfortunately, the exclusion of “ non-Europeans ” from the 1931 census through mistaken economy has prevented us from obtaining important data. It is estimated that there is to-day a total population of “ natives ” (which is the usual name for the Bantu peoples) in the Union of South Africa of something between five and five and a half millions. Of these, between one and a half and two millions may be regarded as adult males of working age. Natives certainly form more than two-thirds of the total population, the proportion being highest in Natal, where it may be roughly estimated at 80 per cent, 1 and lowest in the Cape, where it may be roughly judged to be 60 per cent. 2 The natives are, however, by no means evenly distributed over the country. They are most noticeably concentrated in certain clearly marked distriƸts in the east of the Union. In the Union as a whole there must be well over half a million natives dwelling in mining compounds and urban areas, and well over one and a half millions living on European farms. The rest are in the “ reserves ” or “ native territories ”, names applied to areas in native occupation or to “ scheduled areas ”, that is areas in which (with certain exceptions) Europeans may not own or hire land and outside of which natives are (except in the Cape) debarred from purchasing or hiring it (except from other natives). The chief regions are the Transkeian territories (Cape), consisting of the Transkei, Pondoland, Tembuland, and East Griqualand, in which 15,000 square miles are “scheduled areas”; Zululand (Natal), in which 6,000 square miles are “ scheduled ” ; Ciskei (Cape), made up of several regions covering about 3,000 square miles in native occupation, in which the important distriƸts of Glen Grey, Herschel, and the Kingwilliamstown area are included; several scattered regions in the Transvaal, covering about 3,800 “ scheduled ” square miles, the most important being the Rustenburg and Lydenburg distriƸts; and several scattered regions in Natal covering about 3,800 “ scheduled ” square miles. 1 The source of labour supply extends beyond the area of the Union. A changing personnel of over 100,000 natives from external regions is normally working in the Union, principally in the mines. Mozambique and the ProteƸtorate of Basutoland provide most, the ProteƸtorates of Swaziland and Bechuanaland contributing a small proportion. The three native ProteƸtorates have an aggregate native population of about 800,000. Northern and Southern Rhodesia and other parts of British South Africa to the north also possess Bantu populations whose existence has a close relevance to the Union’s affairs, although they do not direƸtly affeƸt her labour supply.
