The Grahamstown Customs' Act

The Grahamstown Customs' Act

Publications & Reports

Bleek criticises the Cape Colony Governor, Sir Philip Edmond Wodehouse, for his delayed and now problematic seizure of the CSS Tuscaloosa (now a stolen Confederate cruiser) upon its return to Simon's Bay in 1864. It was previously the Union's federal bark Conrad. Wodehouse is unaware of its new affiliation, which results in a geopolitical blunder for the Home Government to diffuse. The Tuscaloosa incident typifies Wodehouse's standard misconstruction of orders from the Imperial Government, characteristic of his unsuitability for his high office. Bleek then considers telegram irregularities and interception as the only justification for a Custom's Bill that is so economically disruptive and unjust as to impose new volatile and unclear rates of duty that infringe the rights of individuals. He also questions the legality of Grahamstown's shadow parliament.

Printed newsprint glued on paper

05/05/1864

Two cut out columns of newsprint text, positioned vertically parallel, pasted onto a plus-sized A4 unlined sheet with visible warping. "The Grahams Town Customs' Act" is subsequently handwritten onto the mount/paper backing.