The Municipality of East London was constituted on 22 April 1873 under Proclamation No 37 of 1873 in terms of Ordinance No 9 of 1836 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette No 4549, 29 April 1873).

In 1994 East London became part of the Eastern Cape Province. In 2000, East London became part of Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality, also consisting of King William's Town, Bhisho and Mdantsane and is the seat of the Metro.

The Municipality of Seymour was constituted on 14 August 1862 under provision of Proclamation No 50 of 1862 in terms of Ordinance No 9 of 1836.

In 1994 Seymour became part of the Eastern Cape Province. It forms part of the Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality, one of six local municipalities that falls under the Amathole District Municipality.

The Divisional Council of King William’s Town was established on 22 February 1866 under Ordinance No 2 of 1866 (British Kaffraria Government Gazette, 22 February 1866). The first meeting of the Council was held on 25 May 1866.

On 1 January 1975 the Divisional Council of King William’s Town was reconstituted together with the Divisional Councils of Komga, Stutterheim and East London to form the amalgamated Divisional Council of Kaffraria (Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette No 3796 dated 6 September 1974, Proclamation No 298 dated 30 Augustus 1974).

The Council of Supervisors, Bethelsdorp was created on 16 May 1878 in terms of Government Notice No 410 of 1878 under provision of Act No 12 of 1873 (Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette No 5803, 21 May 1878).

The Local Board of Bethelsdorp was constituted on 5 April 1922 under provision of Proclamation No 74 of 1922 in terms of Ordinance No 11 of 1921. The board was abolished on 16 May 1945 when the Local Area of Bethelsdorp was created under the jurisdiction of the Divisional Council of Port Elizabeth (Province of the Cape of Good Hope Official Gazette No 2166, 25 May 1945). For archives relating to the Local Area see inventory of the Secretary, Divisional Council, Port Elizabeth (No 3/14).

A magistrate’s court was established at Bathurst on 8 March 1848 (Government Gazette No 2206 dated 9 March 1848, Proclamation dated 8 March 1848). According to the documents, however, the Resident Magistrate was unofficially in office since February 1847.

As from 15 March 1870 the court was transferred to Port Alfred (Government Gazette No 4211 dated 15 March 1870, Proclamation No 13 dated 15 March 1870).

On 10 August 1904 a periodical court to be held by the Magistrate of Port Alfred was established at Bathurst (Government Gazette No 8676 dated 19 August 1904, Proclamation No 255 dated 10 August 1904) and again discontinued on 30 May 1905 (Government Gazette No 8758 dated 2 June 1905, Proclamation No 172 dated 30 May 1905). No records of this periodical court could be traced.

On 1 October 1928 the Magistrate of Port Alfred was also appointed as Native Commissioner (Government Gazette No 1734 dated 26 October 1928, Government Notice No 1865 dated 26 October 1928).

On 27 January 1882 jurisdiction to hear and decide upon divorce cases were conferred on the Chief Magistrate of the Transkei. On 6 November 1894 appeal courts were instituted for the Transkei and East Griqualand. The first-mentioned court was to be held by the Chief Magistrate of the Transkei and two Assessors, and the last by the Chief Magistrate of East Griqualand and two assessors. In 1923 the proclamation instituting the appeal courts of the Transkei and Griqualand East was repealed and a Native Appeal Court for the Transkeian Territories, to be held by the Chief Magistrate of the Transkei and two assessors, was established. As from 1 February 1925 the Chief Magistrate of the Transkei also ceased to have jurisdiction to hear and determine divorce cases, except in those cases which commenced before that date and which could not be concluded.

Article 13 of the Native Administration Act, 1927 (Act No 38 of 1927) empowered the Governor-General of the Union of South Africa to constitute one or more appeal courts for hearing appeals in any proceedings from courts of Native Commissioners. Article 17(2) of the same act stipulated that if an appeal court was established for the Transkeian Territories, it would replace the Native Territories Appeal Court constituted in 1923.

In terms of article 10 of the Native Administration Amendment Act, 1929, the Governor-General received the power to established divorce courts for blacks. The area of jurisdiction of such courts was to coincide with that of an appeal court established under the principal act of 1927.

Since 1930 the newly constituted appeal and divorce court was known as the Native Appeal and Divorce Court for the Transkeian Territories. From 1937 the name was changed to the Native Appeal and Divorce Court for the Cape and Orange Free State. Since 1948 the court was known as the Southern Native Appeal and Divorce Court and then as the Southern Appeal and Divorce Court.

In 1854 a committee which was elected from the members of the Cape House of Assemble to investigate the necessity of increasing the number of magistracies in the Colony, recommended inter alia the founding of a magistracy at Aliwal North, a village which at that time fell under the jurisdiction of the resident magistrate of Albert.

On 27 July 1855 the Cape of Good Hope Government Gazette reported that the magistracy in question had been constituted and established.

The boundaries of the new district were as follows: “From that point where the Stormberg Spruit joins the Orange River, along the said Spruit to the Brandkops Spruit, thence along the latter to the farm of B de Klerk thence in a South-Easterly direction past the farms Braamfontein, P H Hemmings; Damfontein, G Heuse; Tiger Hoek, G Strydoms; Patriotsklip, J Kleinhans; Zuutbron, J Olivier; Telemachus, J van Biljoens; Vogelfontein, L van der Waltz; Witkops, Jasper Venters; Du Plessiskraal, P Wagenaars; the farms of C Botha, N Els, B Buys, and L J Pretorius, to Joubertskop, in the Stormbergen the boundary of Albert; thence along the Colonial Boundary to the source of the Fees, and down that stream to the Orange River, the Boundary between Albert and the Free State. The whole of the places above named belonged to Aliwal North”.

Several factors influenced the jurisdiction of the Resident Magistrate and Civil Commissioner, later the Magistrate of Aliwal North. The most important of these are the following:

(1) Special Justice of the Peace and Periodical Court, Jamestown
The year 1876 marked the establishment of a court of Special Justice of the Peace at Jamestown in the district of Aliwal North. Henceforth certain types of criminal cases were to be dealt with by the newly appointed Special Justice of the Peace which meant, in effect, a diminution of the criminal jurisdiction of the Resident Magistrate of Aliwal North. Proclamation no. 3 of 11 January 1883 announced the establishment of an additional court to that of the Special Justice of the Peace, namely a Periodical Court to be held by the Resident Magistrate of Aliwal North at Jamestown. The two courts which operated at Jamestown were abolished on the upgrading of the post of Special Justice of the Peace to that of an Assistant Magistrate as from 1 September 1952.

(2) Periodical Court, Lady Grey
From 18 October 1877 to 20 May 1886 a Periodical Court was held by the Resident Magistrate of Aliwal North at Lady Grey. From 1917 to 1927 Lady Grey was a sub-district of Aliwal North. The sub-district was abolished on 27 May 1927 and the district of Lady Grey created.

(3) Magisterial Division, Herschel
The Herschel Magisterial Division came into being as from 1 April 1873 in the Wittebergen Native Reserve. The Wittebergen Native Reserve was founded in 1850 and originally fell under the jurisdiction of the Resident Magistrate of Albert. With the establishment of the magistracy at Aliwal North the supervision over the Reserve went over to the newly created magistracy, a situation which was completely altered with the creation of the Herschel Magisterial Division.

Functions of the Resident Magistrate and Civil Commissioner:
The Magistrate of Aliwal North followed the magisterial system of the Cape Colony which had been laid down in Act no. 20 of 1856. He possessed criminal and civil jurisdiction and performed miscellaneous quasi- and non-judicial functions. The magisterial jurisdiction was amended by various subsequent statutes, both of the Cape Colony and of Union.

Grahamstown developed into the main centre of the Eastern Province when the 1820 Settlers and some Boer families settled there.

On 15 September 1820 a court of Deputy Landdrost and Heemraden, under the control of the court of Landdrost and Heemraden at Uitenhage, was established for the better administration of justice in the new developed area.

In October 1820 it was, however, decided to establish a permanent seat of magistry in the district of Albany. The chief seat was situated in the town of Bathurst. The court of Heemraden consisted of the Heemrade resident within the limits of the sub-drostdy of Grahamstown.

The magistrate also acted as chairman of the matrimonial and liquor licensing courts.

On 2 March 1880 a resident magistrate was appointed for the district of Aberdeen with the seat of magistracy at Aberdeen.

With this appointment, the periodical court held at Aberdeen by the resident magistrate of Graaff-Reinet, established on 27 December 1860, was abolished.

The magistrate also acted as chairman of the licensing and police courts and as deputy administrator of martial law.