Having shown greater tendency to protect the racist interests of Rhodesian white settlers and their potential kith and kin immigrants to Southern Rhodesia, the Land Commission’s general recommendation was astounding, though not unexpected, writes Dr Felix Muchemwa in his book The Struggle For Land in Zimbabwe (1890 – 2010) that The Patriot is serialising.

European evidence before the Morris Carter Land Commission
OF the 234 Europeans who gave evidence to the Land Commission, only 10 were totally opposed to the principle of segregation on land (Palmer, 1977: p.180), and this was not surprising since 95 percent of the European population had come from South Africa. (Hodder-Williams, p.46)
The Rhodesia Agricultural Union, representing the majority of land property owners in Southern Rhodesia, submitted most of the evidence on behalf of the white settlers and this was well-summarised by the Land Commission in its report when it stated that:
“The farmer considers that his stock and produce will be endangered by the proximity of Native Land Holders whose less progressive and careless methods will spread disease among his crops and cattle; in many cases he suspects the honesty of the native and fears that his crops and implements will be stolen; and he objects from social reasons to the native as a neighbour; moreover, he has no doubt that his land will depreciate in value if a native buys a neighbouring farm. (Land Commission Report, p.8)
In its report, the Land Commission therefore concluded that:
“Although in the aggregatem, the amount of land purchased by natives for some years to come may not be considerable, yet such purchases would be scattered throughout the country and would create an increasing feeling of insecurity among the white inhabitants of the country and might seriously retard the influx of settlers who would be unwilling to come to a district where, after they had expanded capital in making a home among people of their own race, they might at any time be confronted with neighbours of the other race; as proximity (will) be felt to be more objectionable.” (Land Commission Report p.8)
Ironies of white settler evidence before the Morris Carter Land Commission
In keeping with that conclusion, the commission purported to be acting to avoid a racial catastrophe on land when it proceeded to recommend that:
“Until the native has advanced very much further on the paths of civilisation, it is better that the points of contact in this respect between the two races should be reduced.” (Land Commission Report p.3)
In this instance, the points of contact between the two races were on ‘locations’ in white settler-farms, towns and mines as well as ‘unalienated crown lands.’
The recommendation therefore hinged the success of the Land Commission on the total physical eviction of Africans from those points of contact, that is, ‘locations’ and unalienated ‘crown lands’.
In essence, the recommendation meant that no Africans would be allowed to reside in European areas and no white settler-farm would be allowed to remain marooned in the middle of a native reserve. (Land Commission Report, p.34)
Africans living on ‘crown lands’ and Africans living on ‘private locations’
It was, therefore, Africans living on ‘crown lands’ and Africans living on ‘private locations’ on European settler-farms, mines and towns who were targeted and precipitated the formation of the Morris Carter Land Commission of 1925.
These had to be physically evicted as per Land Commission recommendations. (Land Commission Report)
Matabeleland
In Matabeleland, there were, by 1925, more than 81 395 Africans living on ‘locations’ on white settler-farms.
Together with 15 315 Africans in the ‘locations’ of towns and mines, they made up a total population of 96 705 Africans living in the newly created ‘European area’ where no Africans should reside.
There were a further 55 537 (Africans) living in the European area of ‘crown lands’, thus bringing the total number of Ndebele people to be summarily and physically evicted from the ‘European area’ to 152 245 or 57 percent of a total Ndebele population of 265 920 people. (Land Commission 1925 Report p.55)
Mashonaland
In Mashonaland, there were 69 255 Shona people living on ‘locations’ on white settler-farms and another 9 561 living in the ‘locations’ of towns and mines, bringing to 78 716 the total number of Shona people to be physically and summarily evicted from the newly created ‘European Areas’.
In addition, there were 66 551 more Shona people still living on unalienated ‘crown lands’, so that altogether, out of a total Shona population of 548 027, it was 145 267 or 27 percent who faced imminent physical eviction. (Land Commission Report, p.55)
African population estimates: 1925
Having shown greater tendency to protect the racist interests of Rhodesian white settlers and their potential kith and kin immigrants to Southern Rhodesia, the Land Commission’s general recommendation was astounding, though not unexpected:
The policy which we recommend is on one hand to leave existing European interests (31 033 030 acres or 12 413 212 hectares of European settler-freehold farmland) as far as possible undisturbed and to make available for acquisition by Europeans all possible land in what are predominantly white areas of unalienated crown lands (43 000 000 acres or 17 200 000 hectares) while, on the other hand, providing suitable land for private acquisition by natives in or near to the districts in which they are at present residing (crown lands adjacent to native reserves) in sufficient quantity to satisfy their present and their future needs. …these native areas should, wherever possible, adjoin the existing native reserves, so as to form with them Compact Native Areas. (Land Commission Report, p12)
In essence, what the Land Commission recommended was the total adoption of the South African Glen Grey Act of 1892, and the Land Act of 1913, almost verbatim; a process which not only guaranteed, for the European settler, the highly fertile agricultural regions one, two, three and four of the Zimbabwe highveld, but also forever guaranteed African labour to the white settler-farms and mines in Southern Rhodesia.