A magistrate’s court was established at King William’s Town in British Kaffraria on 1 September 1852 (GH23/21 General Despatches, 20 September 1852, pp 158 – 159). On 17 April 1866 British Kaffraria was annexed to the Cape Colony (Government Gazette Extraordinary No 3788 dated 17 April 1866, Proclamation No 30 dated 17 April 1866).
On 26 October 1928 the Magistrate of King William’s Town was also appointed as Native Commissioner and an Additional Native Commissioner appointed (Government Gazette No 1734 dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice No 1865, dated 26 October 1928). On 27 April 1929 criminal jurisdiction was conferred on the Additional Native Commissioner (Government Gazette No 1784 dated 30 May 1929, Proclamation No 118 dated 30 May 1929).
The establishment of the office of Resident Magistrate at East London commenced when Colonel GH MacKinnon, Chief Commissioner of British Kaffraria, was appointed Justice of the Peace for the Port of East London and the district thereof on 3 March 1848.
In a letter dated 9 March 1848 the Colonial Secretary, John Montagu, informed MacKinnon as to the reasons for making the appointment: “His Excellency’s chief object in appointing you to this office, is to enable you to try and adjudicate cases of infringement of (the Spirit and Wine) Ordinance …” The Colonial Secretary informed MacKinnon that he would exercise the same powers as if he had been appointed Resident Magistrate without the inconvenience of being tied down to certain fixed court days.
However, Colonel MacKinnon’s presence was continually required at Kin William’s Town and he accordingly requested that a resident Justice of the Peace be appointed for East London. MacKinnon’s request was sympathetically received and Major Smith, the officer commanding Fort Glamorgan, was appointed to the office. Major Smith’s tenure in office was of short duration, and on 20 November 1848 the Colonial Secretary informed Captain Edward Rooper that he had been appointed resident Justice of the Peace in the place of Major Smith who had left East London. On 1 January 1849 Rooper was appointed Resident Magistrate.
In 1856 the magistracy was included as part of the separate dependency of British Kaffraria. British Kaffraria had been declared a separate Dependency of the Crown on 23 December 1847. The port of East London, however, was annexed as part of the Cape Colony by proclamation dated 14 January 1848. The Port was only restored to British Kaffraria on 9 July 1859. There appears to be some doubt therefore as to validity of the inclusion of the East London Magistracy as part of British Kaffraria in 1856.
The East London Magistracy remained part of the independent Colony of British Kaffraria until March 1865 when the British Kaffraria Act was passed. In terms of this Act British Kaffraria was annexed to the Cape Colony.
In December 1865 M Jennings was appointed Civil Commissioner and Resident Magistrate for East London.
