The chief of the departments of justice and police is called the State
Attorney.

In 1895, when Mr. Esselen was promoted to the post, he stipulated that
he should have full liberty of action. As chief detective officer he
appointed an officer belonging to the Cape Administration, Mr. Andrew
Trimble, who entered upon his duties with vigour and determination. The
gold thieves and receivers and the illicit canteen keepers who supplied
the natives with liquor were up in arms at once and appealed to
President Krüger. They represented Trimble as having served in the
English Army, and as being in receipt of a pension from the Cape
Government, further stating that his appointment was an insult to the
Boers, who had been thus judged unworthy to provide from among
themselves a Head of Police. Mr. Esselen, who stood his ground, was
dismissed and replaced by a Hollander, Dr. Coster. Mr. Trimble, chief of
the detective force, was replaced by a man who had previously been
dismissed, and has since been dismissed again.

As it was useless to depend upon the police for the arrest of thieves,
the directors and officials of the _City and Suburban Gold Mining
Company_ took upon themselves the risks and dangers of police work. They
caught two notorious characters, known thieves, with gold in their
possession. The thieves openly boasted that nothing would be done to
them; the next day, one was allowed to escape, the other, a notorious
criminal, was condemned to six months' imprisonment. Mr. Krüger regarded
this penalty as excessive, remitted three-fourths of the sentence, and
had him discharged unconditionally.

The police of Johannesburg, a town almost entirely inhabited by English,
do not speak English--an excellent method of ensuring order! They are