The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-11-20
NEW MORNING MONDAY NOVEMBER

A After a great deal of palaver and nego- tihtions in 1884 the petition was agreed
 to, and the country then became sep
 arate colony under an Imperial Resident
 Commissioner. This form of govern
 ment has been retained ever since.
 The present paramount chief, Letho-
 rotodi, (pronounced Loritori,) is loyal
 subject of the great White Queen but
 the same cannot be said of his numerous
 relatives, who are constantly on the warpath, and cause unceasing internal
 trouble about tribal trivialities
 | Sir Godfrey Lagden, K c. M. G., the present Resident Commissioner is an excellent ruler--the gloved mail fist is
 his type. A man of great tact and dis cernment, to which must be added pluck, astuteness, and presence of mind.
 These qualifications have more than
 once averted a serious embroglio of the whole nation; in fact, too much praise
 can hardly be meted out to him and the small band of officials who so ably car-
 ry out his instructions
 The chiefs themselves abjudicate upon
 natives cases, but a quorum of the
 governing magistrates is the appsal
 court, and it Is here that all European
 versus native disputes are settled.
 The native population of Basutoland
 numbers considerably over a quarter
 of million. Indeed, so crowded has the country become of late years that many native families are forced to live in the Orange Free State-under certain strict conditions, of course--where they are useful to farmers and other employ CTS of labor.
 There is no love lost between Boer and Basuto. This is not to be wondered at, seeing the brutality and contempt | which the former has always shown | toward the nigger. A Boer is naturally | not persona grata in Basutoland; his I life would most certainly be in constant l danger were he to attempt to settle there; whereas, on the other hand, | Britisher may come and go at pleasure, and dwell in perfect amity among the natives.
 In 1896, after the surrender of Jame- son, 1t would not have required much to set alight the flame of rebellion in and very critical period ensued both for the Commissioner and the Orange Free State. Many residents in the latter country at the time were commanded to stand by, at twenty-four hours notice, for an advance to the bor- der against the natives, an invasion be- ing hourly feared. The Boers them selves were in a pitiable state of terror. It is to be hoped that the Basutos may 1 continue to remain neutral, as it will be i 3 costly job, not unmixed with blood shed, to put them in their place again
 The climate of Basutoland Is delight ful-a perfect paradise to live in The 1 average mean temperature in day time { s 72 degrees but in the Winter the nights are often bitterly cold. The scenery Is magnificent, the Malutis, a I of the Drakensberg range ( of mountains, in Natal presenting z scenes unrivalled even in Switzerland. I The mineral wealth Is great. There are l 'ich seams of gold running for miles through the mountains. Diamonds are .lso said to be plentiful and indications 'f iron and coal are apparent i
 The Basutos are very, intelligent; in- z lustrious, and warlike; the men, as a I 'ule, are finely formed, muscular fel- ( ows. considerably above the medium t eight, splendid riders and fearless { The women are also well l ormed, graceful in their movements I md walk; in color the pigment is very | lark, more so than most of the Kahr c rlbes; the features are negroid in type, = hough not too pronounced in fiatness. |
 The original laws and customs are t oncident with the Mosaic code; this : will sound strange, but it is nevertheless perfectly trua. The domestic, moral, md general native laws are identical with those propounded by Moses to the hildren of Israel The language, called 'esuto, is soft and sbilant, Many have I kened it to French and Italian Witch- raft, sorcery, and superstition of all orts are rampant No chief would ever hink of doing. anything important ] without the aid of a doctor Some ssart- Ing cases of second sight among this lass have been noted by Europeans, hough of course good deal of chican- ry is prevalent among them. Never
 l