Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Hempel

German Settler in British Kaffraria - East London District, South Africa

Christian (Aged 37) and his wife Wilhelmine (aged 39) who in the immigration records was described as a "peasant" left Hamburg, Germany on the ship "Wilhelmsburg" under the command of Captain C H Muller and accompanied by the ships doctor Carl Paul, on 19 October 1858.

A total of 563 people from 121 families embarked on the voyage during which 64 children and 1 woman died. They reached their destination port of East London in British Kaffraria on 13 January 1859 and were settled near Braunschweig in the King Williamstown district of the Eastern Cape.

"For Men Must Work" by E.L.G.Schell quoted in the book "Germans in Kaffraria 1858-1958" Page 57 J F Schwar & B E Pape

"For Men must Work" by E.L.G. Schnell about the German Settlers

"In the German States, “Auswanderung” gained strength until the founding of the German Empire, as the following figures show: 1831-40 - 150,000 per annum 1851-60 - 952,000 per annum 1841-50 - 435,000 1861-70 - 822,000 with a total of approximately five million for the period 1820 to 1890.

"For the majority of Germans, too, the United States was the goal, actually of 90% of the immigrants into the U.S.A, during the years 1830-90 approximately 30% were of German origin. “Other North and South American States also received a considerable number during the latter half of the century. Relatively few sought a new home in Australasia and South Africa, though during 1828 to 1890, 60,000 Germans settled in Australia and only a few thousand in South Africa.

"The reasons for the insignificant proportion of German migration to the southern British possessions - the Cape, the Australian Colonies and New Zealand are not difficult to find. These were less known and hence suspect. Emigrants feared the climate and “feared the 'Kaffirs’ of -the Cape”. As the British colonies were less developed, intending immigrants saw less opportunity of immediate employment on arrival and preferred the older American States where livelihood could readily be obtained until such time as the settlers could embark on independent ventures: But probably the most important reason was the very practical one that the cost of the passage to America was appreciably lower. Many who had enough to be independent of state-aided schemes, not often avail¬able for foreigners, preferred the goal to which they could buy a passage. Hence this continual stream to the West from the German States”

"It was this mass movement, together with the specific needs of the Cape, which gave birth to the idea of sending agriculturiststo South Africa.

"The possibility, indeed the recognition of the need, of such a measure probably originated with the Rev. F. Demmler, a German professor at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. He was obviously interested in the special problem of the German Legion and revealed a clear perception of what would happen at the Cape. Likewise, he was au fait with the emigration movement from Germany. He first raised the matter in a letter to Lord Panmure in November 1856, and suggested that a portion of the stream of German Emigrants to North America might well be diverted to the Cape. He urged the necessity of sending immigrants in the following words:

"Your Lordship will, perhaps, concur in the opinion that the Military Colonization would be more efficient and complete, if backed and supported by a large body of free settlers. May I mention further to express my firm conviction, that without such a support being provided from the very first, the settlement of that portion of the German Legion which left England a few days ago, must necessarily end in 'signal failure. Most of the men who are going without any trade, and without any means besides the daily 6d for three years, any sort of remunerative traffic is therefore altogether out of the question, as far as it is to be carried on between themselves; and yet as by their conditions they are confined to certain localities, no other way of earning their livelihood is open to them. Add to this, that there are very many among them who, having never handled a spade in their life, would have everything to learn before their land can be of any use to them, and who is to teach them in a community composed of such promiscuous elements as the German Legion at the Cape is made of? The consequence of such a state of things, if not remedied in time, could not but be very sad, and even dangerous; the idlers and scamps will soon flock together and who can then answer for it, that the colony shall not have to defend itself against men who were to have been its defenders.

"How correct were his forecasts: "Hence he advised immediate action, and, as an effective remedy, suggested that a body of German emigrants, drawn from every class and representative of every occupation, should be sent to the Cape. "He considered that no difficulty would be experienced in effecting this. Every year 150,000 emigrants left Germany - 80,000, he said, from Bremen, 30,000 from Hamburg and the rest from Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Le Havre. The only problem, therefore, was how to divert a portion of this continuous stream to the Cape.

"At the time, war clouds were already gathering in the United States, though still desirous of emigrating, large numbers of emigrants were somewhat hesitant and would be only to ready to go elsewhere, if they could obtain passage at a reasonable rate. To effect this, he suggested that the Government should charter transports for them, as had been done in the case of the troops. But there would be these important differences: first, the emigrant would pay for his own passage, the emigrant would have to provide his own implements for washing, eating and drinking, and also his own bedding. In this way, he thought, the price of the passage to the Cape should be nearly the same as that charged for transporting emigrants to America, namely 6/7/- Pounds, that is, exclusive of the cost of agency. This price was remunerative to the German ship owner.

"In addition, he suggested that Captain Baron von Gerber, who had had some experience as an emigration agent, should be retained in England to aid him in putting his suggestions into practice; Captain von Gerber could proceed to Germany to make the necessary arrangements, so that as soon as the views of the Colony were known, they could proceed with the scheme. An agency could be opened in London to collect the emigrants, who would, of course, have to pay their passage money before going on board; in this way he thought that the scheme could be carried out without entailing any expense, either to the Imperial or Colonial Governments.

"The Secretary for War sent this letter to Mr. Zabouchere, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, with a request for his opinion, and though not definitely stating himself in favour of the plan, at least he did not convey the idea that he was against it; in fact, he was prepared to set aside Captain von Gerber for this work, and made the suggestion that he might proceed to the Cape to consult the Governor on the proposed scheme. Labouchere, however, was not so optimistic, and before commenting on the scheme, took the precaution of laying it before the Emigration Commissioners. These, accustomed to dealing with such matters, immediately spotted the weaknesses of Demmler's scheme, and first of all pointed out that the whole plan rested on the assumption that- the emigrants would have some capital. But information showed, they said, that the great bulk of the Immigrants depended on daily toil - and these were just the men who would go to the Cape - which would merely enhance the financial difficulties of the Government. Moreover, it was extremely unlikely that men with capital would be prepared to settle on the border of the Cape Colony, where they were continually exposed to the incursions of the Kaffirs (sic) and stood in danger of losing all they had.

"Another difficulty was that the British Victualling Regulations, presumably stricter than the Continental, would raise the price of the passage to between 9 Pounds and 10 Pounds, thus appreciably more than the price of the passage to North America. These factors induced Labouchere to think that there would be serious difficulties in the way and, in any case, he thought It would be premature to take any steps for the purpose until there shall have been time to receive some account of the welfare of the military settlers who are now proceeding to the Colony.

"Meanwhile, Sir George Grey, to whom these papers had been submitted, left no stone unturned in his endeavour to procure more immigrants; on the 23rd March 1857, he reported, that a sum of 1831 Pounds had been realized by the sale of Crown lands in British Kaffraria and that another sale would probably bring in another amount of 3000 Pounds. Money obtained in this way, he suggested should be utilized to introduce immigrants into British Kaffraria as in this way alone the Kaffir question could be satisfactorily settled. Two days later, Sir George Grey wrote again, this time answering the dispatch which submitted Professor Demmler's scheme for his consideration. He commenced by complaining of the paucity of females for the German Military Settlers, and pointed out that the absence of wives would have a disastrous effect on the whole community, as it would be impossible to detain them at the villages as ordinary settlers. The only temporary expedient was to retain the G.M.S. as soldiers under arms on full pay, but, as this was too; expensive a measure, no better plan could be adopted than sending out to the Cape from Germany a thousand heads of families with their wives and children: They would be granted building lots in villages and an acre of land in the vicinity thereof; this might be done anywhere in South Africa, but would probably be at the villages already settled by the G.M.S. Every requisite for the reception of the Germans already existed; the German villages were for the most part settled and the plan of military colonization was so far working out satisfactorily, and would continue to do so, if these German Immigrants were sent out. If not, he said, great additional expense must be incurred, and it is very doubtful whether the whole plan may not ultimately fail in attaining many of the objects it was hoped would-be gained from it.

"General Stutterheim, too, was very keen on this scheme and thought that it would be beneficial to the Colony and to Great Britain; it would give an additional impulse to the progress of civilization of the former and enrich and increase the commerce of both.

"The German emigrants, he continued, being generally of steady and industrious habits, will be found peculiarly fitted to develop, by perseverance, the various profitable agricultural resources of which the country is capable. Finally, Stutterheim recommended as suitable agents for carrying out the work Messrs. Godeffroy and Son of Hamburg and Albert Varrentrapp of Frankfurt-on-the-Main.

"Shortly after this, Sir George Grey, was approached by Mr. William Berg of Cape Town with a definite and concrete plan for introducing German immigrants to the Cape. He stated that the desire of the Governor and Parliament of the Cape to introduce immigrants into the Colony on a large and comprehensive scale had attracted "the attention of Messrs. J.C. Godeffroy and Son of Hamburg and that he had been requested by them to lay before him a definite proposal. This need not be set out in full as in effect it formed the basis for the contract eventually drawn up between the Governor and Messrs. Godeffroy and Son. All that need be noted at this stage is that Messrs. Godeffroy and Son were prepared to advance the necessary funds and agreed to reimbursement by Colonial Government debentures bearing interest at the rate of 6%, redeemable within ten years.

"While Grey was considering Berg's proposal, he received his first rebuff, namely a letter from the Colonial Secretary, Mr. Zabouchere, who, though agreeing with him that it was necessary to maintain a due proportion of females in every community, feared that the object could not be attained through the means contemplated at the time.

"He reckoned out the approximate cost of settling 1000 German families at the Cape. On the assumption that five constituted a family, it would mean at least 50,000 Pounds spent on sea passage. Agency fees and land transport might mean anything between 10 Pounds and 20 Pounds and dwellings for them at least 30,000 Pounds, which made the total cost about 100,000 Pounds. He felt assured that the Govenment would not feel justified in submitting to Parliament a proposal for the execution of such a scheme by means of so large an expenditure.

"On the other hand, he thought it almost foolish to launch a scheme for attracting settlers to the Cape if the State was not prepared to assist intending immigrants.’Probably no emigrants would come if they really understood that were to receive no public assistance’.

"Moreover, he could hardly see how this scheme would help matters; females would be of no use unless they were adults and single and if such were to be introduced in addition to the children, it would only cause fraud and trouble; it was more practicable to send single females from the British Isles. As it was difficult to procure suitable girls in England and Scotland, he had issued instructions to the Emigration Commissioners to collect a body of healthy, young, strong Irish women and send them to the Cape. As Grey had suggested, the cost of introducing these girls could be defrayed by the money realised from the sale of Crown Lands.

"For some months nothing is heard of the proposed schemes, save that the Irish girls landed at East London, ex the ship Lady Kennaway, and that attempts were made to place them in service, the majority in the Eastern Cape. Nevertheless, Grey had not been idle and evidently took time to consider very seriously the scheme proposed by Berg and to draw up conditions and regulations under which immigrants were to be introduced.

"Eventually, on the 19th August 1857, William Berg was informed that the Governor was prepared to enter into an agreement for the immediate introduction of German Immigrants into British Kaffraria. A draft of the proposed regulations and conditions, substantially the same as the final conditions, was submitted to Berg and arrangements were made for the cancellation of the debt incurred, Before this draft was finally signed, it was submitted to the Attorney-General, William Porter, for his comments. He suggested inter alia that the contract between the immigrants and Messrs. Godeffroy and Son should be made in the German language and should conform to the local law of Hamburg, printed forms-should be used, head of family and age of adult should be defined and, as it was to be expressly stipulated that parents were bound to pay or repay for their children, their names were to be specified.

"The final regulations were hereupon drafted and signed on the 24th August 1857, by the Colonial Secretary Rawson W. Rawson on behalf of the Government of British Kaffraria and High Commissioner.

"These two documents, then, the letter to William Berg and the ‘Regulations for the Introduction of German Immigrants to British Kaffraria’ formed the contract between Messrs. Godeffroy and Son and the Government of British Kaffraria. For purposes of study and description it may be divided into three sections: 1. The obligations of the Government. 2. The obligations of Messrs Godeffroy and Son. 3. The obligations of the immigrants

"1. THE GOVERNMENT undertook to pay 12 Pounds 10 shillings for every adult landed at East London, provided that he was approved of by Immigration Commissioners to be appointed by the Governor. When the immigrants introduced were members of families of the Legion, the bounty would be reduced to 12 Pounds. For children under ten years, the Government would pay half the bounty; For infants nothing would be paid. Payment was to take the form of debentures of the Government of British Kaffraria such debentures, of not less than 50 Pounds each, to bear interest, payable in London half-yearly or quarterly, if so required, at 6% per annum. These were to be redeemable in ten years at the latest, though the Government retained the right of reducing them earlier. The total cost of transport to which the Government limited itself was 50,000 Pounds. The Government would give to each head of a family a free grant of a building lot in a village and would assign to him agricultural lands, at the rate of 1 Pound per acre, to be paid subsequently. Married couples were to receive 20 acres of 'Good country land', single men 10 acres, and two acres were to be granted for every child above one year of age. Should any immigrant be dissatisfied with the land assigned to him, he would be free to decline it and could, within one year after his arrival, buy crown land at public auction, in which case credit would be given him to the extent of the privileges promised him. Furthermore, the Government undertook to convey the immigrants, their bag gage and effects, from the ship to their localities; custom duties for any personal baggage and effects, not intended for merchandise, would not be charged.

"2. MESSRS. GODEFFROY AND SON undertook to send out at least 2000 persons during the shipping season of 1858, if possible some even during 1857, and were to spread the shipments equally over the season. In the first instance, the undertaking had to be financed by them, they being repaid by government debentures; they were to be the only agents in Germany for the Government, as long as the conditions were adhered to. "They were to transport the immigrants from Hamburg and were to send with each ship a clergyman or teacher, whose passage would be paid by the Government. They were to victual the immigrants if required, for eight days after the ship had arrived at the Buffalo Mouth. Though it is not expressly stated in the Regulations, it may be assumed that Messrs. Godeffroy and Son were responsible for collecting the immigrants and that they were to, see to it, on their side, that the immigrants they accepted complied with the conditions laid down.

"3. Lastly, there were a number of conditions and obligations which had to be fulfilled by the IMMIGRANTS All emigrants were to be of respectable character and shall chiefly be persons who have been engaged in agricultural pursuits. They must be in good health and free from all bodily or mental defects at the time of embarkation. Several additional stipulations were made. The age of immigrants was not to exceed 45 years; widows, widowers, single women with illegitimate children, persons who had been inmates of any penal, reformatory, or pauper institution, or who had not been vaccinated or had not had smallpox, were to be rigidly excluded, nor were husbands allowed to emigrate, if unaccompanied by wives, or wives, if unaccompanied by husbands, unless the husband was already in British Kaffraria. Single women, half of whose passage was to be borne by the Government, had to be under the guardianship of relatives, mistresses or some other proper protection.

"One concession was made, however. Relatives or friends of soldiers of the G.M.S., who were otherwise excluded by the regulations, would be granted the bounty and other privileges, provided the sanction of the Governor was obtained, though it was stipulated that the Immigration Board should be satisfied of the fitness of these people as regards their character.

"To prevent misunderstanding on the point that the passage money was no more than an advance, it was required that every head of a family, or adult emigrant, should sign a contract before embarkation, by which he bound himself to pay such passage money. A concession was made only in the case of unmarried female members of families between the ages of 12 and 25.

"The emigrants were required to repay the first fifth of passage money and land bought, after the fourth year, and thereafter every year a fifth until the whole debt had been cancelled, though, of course, the immigrants were at liberty to repay sooner, if they wished to do so. Survey expenses and cost of titles were not to be charged for by the Government.

"William Berg, the local Agent for Messrs. Godeffroy and Son, accepted the conditions on the 25th August 1857, and promised to take the necessary steps for carrying out the contract without delay. Presumably he put the whole case before Messrs. Godeffroy and Son, for we have the reply of the head of the firm, Johann Caesar Godeffroy. His letter is interesting as well as important.

"In the first place, he pointed out that it would be impossible to do anything that year (1857). The season was too advanced; winter was approaching and they required more time to make the necessary preparations. Most important, however, was another aspect, 'We cannot send the sweeping, of the streets, but only good people of the labouring class in the interior, and these have their home to leave and to sell before they can go, and also to procure the necessary permission to emigrate from the respective governments, which is never granted with a great pleasure and in a hurry to emigrants of a respectable character'. However, Godeffroy assured Berg that no time would be lost.

"One of his suggestions is rather to the point. The age of parents was limited to those under 45; he thought that it should be "extended to 50, since parents of 50 were more likely to have grown up daughters than those of 45. ‘and for women we must look principally to the daughters of families, as it will be difficult to find near female relations in conformity with His Excellency's instructions', “Furthermore, he asked that if one of the parents died during the voyage, the bounty should be paid for the remaining members of the family, as, of course, it would be impossible to take them back to Europe. He again emphasized that every precaution would. be taken to secure the right sort of people. 'We will.- always furnish testimonials of the good conduct and behaviour of the emigrants from some local authority, which we suppose will answer the instructions of His Excellency. Generally speaking, the labouring class from the interior is a decent, quiet, sober and laborious set of people.

“As regards the position of teachers and preachers, he wanted additional information. These were generally married, and mostly poor, and he asked whether the Government would advance the bounty for them and require them to repay it, and whether they would enjoy the same privileges as regards land as other immigrants.

“Then too, he pointed out that the land allowed to parents for their children was, in his opinion, not enough, and he suggested that five acres should be granted for children over 14 and three acres for children over 10.

"He enclosed an advertisement from which it transpires that emigrants were required to pay 10 thalers, that is, about 30shillings, which were not agency fees, but were used to defray the expenses of sub-agents in the interior of Germany, printing, advertisements, medical certificates, fees for certificates granting permission to emigrate and for paying the cost of advertising in official papers the intention to emigrate - apparently a Government regulation to prevent absconding from debt,

“Lastly, Godeffroy enclosed a letter from one of his sub-agents, Dieseldorff, who had drawn his attention to certain accounts of South Africa published in newspapers. This could not be found, but it appears that four matters were brought to the notice of intending emigrants.

1, That they would be located in the vicinity of the Kaffirs; 2. That there was undue delay in surveying the grounds to be allocated to immigrants; 3. That they were obliged to build their homes according to a definite plan; 4. and that the climate was unsuitable.

"Correspondence from the Legionaries can here be perceived. These were, as has been seen, deliberately placed close to the Kaffirs in order to be an effective barrier against them. The immigrants were to be located in the same districts, but it was forgotten that they would have the protection of the Legion and, as these agents pointed out, 'the wild Kaffirs will, of course, become less molesting in the degree as emigration proceeds'.

"The second point is more serious, especially as it was based on "the fact that the Legionaries had experienced some delay before their lands were finally assigned to them. Naturally this was a matter of supreme importance for the immigrants as they would be dependent on their agricultural work from the time of their arrival.

The third point can probably be explained by the order given by General Stutterheim that the temporary huts built by the G.M.S. should be uniform. No restrictions whatsoever were placed on the design, etc., of the Immigrants houses, and it was certainly not the intention of the Government to curtail and restrict their activities.

"The fourth allegation is nonsense; no part of South Africa i s more suitable for immigrants than British Kaffraria both as regards salubrity and suitability of climate for farming. Probably the impression that climatic conditions were unsuitable was caused by some inveterate grouser in the legion.

"Nevertheless Messrs. Dieseldorff and Company took upon themselves to advise the following: (a) Adequate temporary accommodation on landing, since to transport all of them inland immediately was manifestly impossible; (b) Provisional title-deeds to guard against possible injustice; (c) Facilities for procuring corn and implements; (d) That it was preferable to take single respectable females than to insist on relatives.

Sir George Grey proved ready to meet the requests of Messrs. Godeffroy and Son, though he was silent about suggestions made by Messrs. Dieseldorff and Company. Bounty would be paid for widows or widowers, if the death occurred on the voyage or before embarkation, in which case Messrs. Godeffroy and Son were requested to require and supply due proof of the circumstances. The ordinary conditions applied to the families of teachers and preachers, to whom the privileges granted to other immigrants were also extended

"The Governor sanctioned the increased allowance of land to children and again stated that it was not the intention to charge interest on the debts contracted by the immigrants. In addition, he sanctioned the raising of the age limit from 45 to 50. Subsequently he even permitted the introduction of parents over 50 years of age, provided that they brought out with them at least three unmarried daughters between the ages of 13 and 25.

"The contract with William Berg, the agent for Messrs. Godeffroy and Son had been signed four months. Godeffroy's reply had also been received, but Grey had not yet informed the Imperial Government of the steps he had taken. All he had done was to express himself in favour of Demmler's plan, which Labouchere had shown himself to be against. The matter could be delayed no longer, and eventually on the 26th December 1857, he wrote to the Secretary of State for the Colonies to inform him of the scheme he had set afoot. First of all, he dilated on the state of the German Military Settlers and emphasized how difficult it was to keen them under effective control; then he gradually worked up to what he probably felt would be a bombshell - the news that he had concluded a contract to introduce a large number of German Immigrants. He put the matter very tactfully. The G.M.S., he said, had been located in villages whose sites were deliberately chosen with a view to the future defence of the country, but could hardly prove permanent settlements unless strengthened by a suitable civil population. It was therefore highly desirable, if not absolutely necessary, to embark on a course which would. ensure that they would become permanent and productive.

"He pointed out that the Secretary for War evidently felt this too, felt that a free emigration from Germany should follow the settlement of the British German legion and had actually directed that a a German officer should be retained in England for this purpose, When the Imperial Government had referred the matter to his (Grey's) consideration, he had reported so strongly in favour of the scheme that he never doubted but that it would be carried out, '(I) made all my arrangements accordingly, and it was not until I had the honour of receiving your despatch ...., that I was undeceived in this respect'.

"To introduce a large British population into these German Locations was, he felt convinced, a very questionable policy since for several years at least there could be hardly any sympathy between two races differing widely in language, customs and habits. It was never his intention to exclude British settlers from British Kaffraria - he would introduce considerable numbers. Far more advisable would be to settle, at the military villages, a number of German agriculturists who with the soldiers ‘would together constitute a society of harmonious elements, which might readily attain to a great degree of prosperity'.

"In such a society no necessary element was absent; there was a landed gentry consisting of the officers; trade and industry would be in the hands of the military settlers; clergymen would attend to the spiritual needs of the people, and the whole structure would rest upon the firm foundation of an agricultural community.

"The difficulty which faced him, however, was the procuring of the necessary funds, and until recently he had seen. no possibility of surmounting such a difficulty. Fortunately at this juncture, he had received a letter from Messrs. Godeffroy and Son of Hamburg, in which a practicable scheme for carrying out such a measure, without expense to the Government, was propounded. Hereupon he explained the scheme, the details of which are already familiar to us. The Government would be no loser; admittedly it had to pay interest to the amount of 3000 Pounds annually, but he was confident that this would be met by increased revenue and the general improvement of the economic life of British Kaffraria and the Colony,

"Finally he concluded, 'It is only necessary for me to add that the rapid augmentation which will take place in the European population under the proposed scheme will in a few years put British Kaffraria in such a condition, that it will cease to be a cause of anxiety land expense to Great Britain ... '.

"By this time Lord Stanley had replaced Labouchere as Secretary .or the Colonies. After recapitulating the previous correspondence on the subject of German immigration, he first of all disposed of Grey's contention that he had made his arrangements before he was undeceived by Labouchere's despatch on the subject. He pointed out that this letter, acknowledged by Grey on the 22nd August, had reached the Cape on the 27th July 1857 - that is, approximately a month before he had concluded the arrangement for introducing German immigrants. Hence, it could hardly be said that he had embarked upon the scheme before he became aware of the views of the Secretary of State; on the contrary, after he had be apprised that Labouchere considered the scheme impracticable, he had, without authority, concluded the agreement for carrying it into effect, and it was not until four months had elapsed that he had written to inform him of what had been done.

"But there were other points equally important. Admittedly, the Secretary for War had shown himself in favour of the plan proposed by Demmler, namely a plan for attempting to divert some portion of the annual, unassisted German immigration to the Cape, a plan which entailed no public expenditure, and hence very different from the scheme now adopted by Grey. If Grey thought that the Government would be put to no additional expenditure, when the passages and land had been paid for, he was under a misapprehension,.Transport .of the immigrants their families and their baggage from East London to the place of settlement, the cost of building lots in the village, survey expenses, the passages of clergymen and teachers, and the aid given by the state to single females would total to a considerable sum of money, which could hardly be borne by the Government of British Kaffraria; even then this territory had an annual deficit 40,000 Pounds borne by the yearly grant of the Imperial Parliament. Thus, in so far as the scheme involved the Imperial Government, nothing could be done without its authority.

“Then, too, Lord Stanley thought that the scheme was hardly likely to fulfill its primary purpose, namely provide wives for the Legionaries, 'for', he said, 'the scarcity of wives for the German Legion is hardly to be cured by sending out a number of married couples from Germany, accompanied by (young) children ..'. “Because of all these considerations, then, the English Government felt that it could not act otherwise than adhere to the ruling of the former Secretary for the Colonies, Mr. Labouchere. Hence, stated Lord Stanley, he had apprised Messrs. Godeffroy of Hamburg that the immigration had to be discontinued.

“Grey was not the man to take such a rebuff. lying down and without delay defended the course he had taken. He commenced his reply stating that he had never pleaded as an excuse that he had made all his arrangements for introducing the German immigrants to the Cape before he had been informed by Labouchere on the 5th June 1857, that the Queen's Government was against the measure; he admitted having concluded the contract after receiving that despatch.

"To justify his procedure he reviewed the position. He emphasized that in the first instance, he had believed the German Legion would be accompanied by a due proportion of females and had made all his arrangements upon this supposition. When he found that he was mistaken in this belief, he still thought that upon his recommendation of Demmler's suggestion, it would be accepted, and that a number: of young women would be sent out with an immigration of German families supplementary to that of the Legion. In this belief, he had carried out his arrangements. The benefits of settling the Legion, he was convinced, would be lost unless females were introduced to the Cape.

“Continuing, he denied having acted against the decision of the Imperial Government, which was that it would not bear the cost of a German migration to the Cape. To this decision he had adhered. The immigrants themselves were to pay the cost of the plan he was carrying out. In fact, he thought that he was aiding Her Majesty's Government over a serious difficulty; the Colony had been promised that the German Legion would be accompanied by a large body of females. This pledge had never been fulfilled, and, in consequence, 'serious evils had threatened the Colony’. He had seen a chance of retrieving this misfortune at no expense to Great Britain - and hence he had acted as he had done.

"’It was a question', he said, 'of providing with wives about 1800 male settlers .... I can affirm from long personal observation that German families make excellent settlers'. Their introduction had 'become necessary, and certainly less objectionable than to have taken a large number of British girls and thrown them into the country in such a manner that they must have married foreigners, differing in every way from them. "In the meantime, Lord Stanley had carried out his intention and had informed Messrs Godeffroy and Son that the English Government was disallowing the scheme sanctioned by Grey, and that no immigrants were to be sent to the Cape.

"This intelligence sent Godeffroy to England, where he interviewed Lord Stanley and pointed out that matters had advanced to such and extent that the complete cancellation was quite impossible. In full reliance on the agreement concluded with Sir George Grey as High Commissioner of British Kaffraria, Messrs. Godeffroy and Son had signed contracts for procuring and transmitting to the Cape 4000 adults; some had actually been despatched, ships had been retained for others, contracts had been made for provisions, advertisements had been broadcast all over Germany and agents had been appointed everywhere. He pointed out that his firm was legally liable for any damage proved to have been suffered by any individual, and that unless they could satisfy all equitable claims, the good name and prestige of the firm would suffer considerably.

"After enquiry and discussion, Stanley eventually yielded, though only partially; moved by the desire to minimize the loss which would have to be incurred, he allowed such transactions as were too advanced to be cancelled to be completed; but he ruled that no more than 1600 statute adults should be sent to the Cape. In addition, Messrs. Godeffroy and Son were paid an indemnity of 5000 Pounds to cover all expenses and to indemnify them for the -loss incurred by the abandonment of the contract.

"This amount was agreed to only after prolonged discussion; it was only with the greatest reluctance that Lord Stanley assented to its payment, but he felt that it would be preferable to continuing with a scheme which was bound to involve the sponsors in a large and indefinite expenditure; such expenditure would be proportionate to the number of immigrants introduced to the Cape and would prove a severe drain on the future revenue of the Colony.

"The Lords Commissioners of the Treasury concurred in this scheme; hence it was finally decided that only 1600 adults were to be transmitted to the Cape during the course of 1858 and Messrs. Godeffroy and Son would bear, without further claim on the Government, all charges and losses which arose out of the reduction of the number of immigrants.

"With this, the arrangements for the immigration had been completed and no subsequent modifications of importance were made. Nevertheless the correspondence did not come to an immediate close. Grey had, as has been noted, already written explaining his actions and giving the reasons for the course he had adopted: By this time Lord Stanley had had to make way for Lord Lytton, who succeeded him as Secretary of State for the Colonies. Lord Lytton was prepared to accept Grey's explanation and said, ‘There can, of course, be no doubt that the meaning of the passage was such as you now have explained'. But, on the other hand, he pointed that it was after having received a disallowance of the project of civil immigration from Germany, that he (the Governor) -had embarked on the present scheme on his own authority. Beyond saying this, he was not prepared to re-open the argument, as everything had been finally settled and no advantage could be gained by continuing with the discussion, "Still, Grey was not yet quite satisfied, and in his last despatch on the matter said, 'Had the systematic plan of British immigration to Kaffraria, which was recommended, been adopted , our difficulties with regard to Kaffraria would by this time have disappeared'. A constantly increasing population and production, he pointed out, would rapidly put it into a position to defray its own expenses and even contribute towards its own defences. Admittedly, Grey spoke here of immigration generally, but the whole tenor of the despatch, in which he recapitulates the previous correspondence on German immigration, indicates only too well that he included German immigration and that he still regretted that the scheme for populating British Kaffraria should have been disallowed by the Imperial Government, and that the Germans who had come out should ever after bear the stigma of being unwanted.

"Looking back on the dispute between Governor and Colonial Secretary, we have, of course, to aid us our knowledge of subsequent events. A few comments, may therefore help to clarify assertions made in what was in many ways an inconclusive argument.

“The first noteworthy point is that Grey undoubtedly failed to keep his superiors informed of his action. During the period of the negotiations, no word about them was transmitted to -London; Immediately after the signing of the contract, nothing was said. Full four months elapsed before Grey informed the Colonial Office. Was the delay due to indolence on the part of Grey? Was it lack of interest? Was it that he felt that this matter was really not the concern of the British Government? None of these explanations is satisfactory. The most adequate answer is that Grey anticipated what precisely did happen, namely that the British Government would disallow his scheme. Hence he delayed sufficiently long to be able to present the Colonial Office with a fait accompli. It was an expedient fraught with danger for Grey. Probably only two factors saved him from greater official displeasure - his undoubted value as a colonial administrator, and changes in the British Cabinet. As events have shown, however, it was a move justified by results; Grey successfully effected this immigration.

"Whether Grey's contention - that the problem of the wifeless German Legion would be solved by the introduction of families - is correct cannot be proved by what actually happened later, The problem of the Legion was solved, or better removed, in an altogether different and unexpected way; the adventurers, the malcontents and the failures as colonizers were sent to another trouble-zone, India, and did not return to the Cape. But with all his far- sightedness, Grey was not a prophet. He was confronted with a difficulty and it behoved him to initiate measures which would at least mitigate the serious consequences he anticipated from having a large,. compact body of unmarried men in the sparsely populated. border region.

"The introduction of single females of British extraction, as Grey rightly pointed out, had much against it; to collect and send to the Cape shiploads of German girls was, for obvious reasons, neither easy nor desirable. The alternatives left to Grey were to disband the Legion, which was manifestly impossible, or to introduce German families. That only a few of the Legionaries married. the daughters of the German Immigrants is no argument against the wisdom and expedience of Grey's scheme. Only a few unmarried Legionaries were left in British Kaf fraria sufficiently long to be able to make contacts and marry these girls. More significant is that it was a scheme which appeared to offer a solution, possibly the only sufficiently practicable one to warrant its undertaking. Right therefore appears to be on the side of Grey, especially when it is remembered that he and the Colonial Governments could justifiably be incensed that the British Government had sent these men unaccompanied by wives, when they had given the Colonial authorities to understand that most of them would be married.

“When, however, Grey calculated that this scheme would involve the authorities in no expenditure except the payment of interest he was greatly mistaken. Even on the assumption that the Germans would liquidate the whole of the debt contracted by them for passage and land, there were inevitably other expenses, These were correctly listed by Labouchere, and to them must be added general administrative expenses. As will be shown later, the cost of settling the German Immigrants cannot be computed, but there is no doubt that even although they mostly paid their debts, the Government was still involved in considerable expenditure. Admittedly it was insignificant when compared with the other immigration schemes of the time, but it was sufficient to show that Grey erred when he thought that such a vast undertaking could be carried out without calls on the national exchequer in some form.

"Finally, this dispute illustrates the constitutional difficulties inherent in the system of colonial administration then prevailing at the Cape. This aspect need only be mentioned; to discuss it would take us too far from the subject of this work".

[Quoted from “For Men Must Work” by E.L.G. Schnell writing about the German Settlers to the Cape of Good Hope]

Christian is buried in the cemetery at Macleantown, Cape Province, South Africa (S32 47 39.4 E27 45 13.5).

LDS microfilm 1926307, item 2, #43: At the time of the birth of his unnamed daughter (6 June 1895) he was a farmer, residing at farm no. 163, near Macleantown, District of East London.

Don McArthur 7 February 2007: Added the middle-name "Wilhelm", provided date & place of death (Farm 163, East London) and confirmed that he was a farmer.