The Motion was further supported by Mr. Van Rensbnrg and
General Andries Cronje (who spoke in Dutch), on the ground that it would relieve the sufferings of the farmers, who, owing to the shortage of labour, were obliged to keep their wives and children at work in the fields ; by Sir Godfrey Lagden, Commissioner of Native Affairs ; by Mr. Duncan, the Colonial Secretary ; and, finally, by Sir Percy FitzPatrick, who declared that depopulatiOn, and perhaps starvation, would ensue if the present crisis were prolonged. He also protested against the charge of ill-treating the natives brought against the mine-owners, and denied the right of other parts of the Empire to interfere in the question. Ultimately Sir George Farrar's Motion was carried by 22 votes to 4, the minority being Messrs. Loveday, Raitt, Hull, and Bourke.
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