TOPIC:

Masson was a very important man in the Colony of Natal - as the Surveyor General his medal was issued off the roll of dignatories signed by no less a personage than the then Prime Minister of Natal, Geo. Sutton. Medals like these are one-of-a-kind and highly sought after and I consider myself fortunate to be the custodian of this one.

John Leslie Masson, M.A.

Surveyor General of the Colony of Natal

- Queens South Africa Medal to J.L. Masson, Esq., Surveyor General

John Masson’s early years were to give us no hint of the great things held in store for his future. He was of reasonably affluent origins, born to Alexander Masson, a farmer of some 37 acres and his wife Jean (she went by the name of Jane and was born a Leslie), in Kintore a small village some 13 miles outside of Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire on 13 December 1844.




Masson and the SGO staff - he is the chap in the middle of the front row

The 1851 Scotland census shows no sign of a 7 year old John, perhaps he demonstrated early promise and was sent off to school, but his family were very much in evidence with his 53 year old father joined by his 42 year old mother in the family home together with siblings Margaret (8 ), James (6), Alexander (2) and baby George (7 months) completing the numbers in the farmhouse at Harthills.
Tragedy was to strike the small family at some point hereafter with the death of Masson’s father. The 1861 Scotland census confirms that his mother Jane, at the age of 53, was now the head of the household and that she continued to farm the land her husband had worked to the point where the farm was somewhat larger than before being now 45 acres and requiring the employment of 1 man. Older brother Alexander (19) together with Margaret (18) and James (12) were still present and accounted for but a welcome addition to the family was the return of John who was back, one can presume, from school and, despite being only 16 years old, already a Pupil Teacher.

Moving on to 1871 it becomes apparent that John, who attended Aberdeen University, had qualified in his chosen field and was now on the lookout for a permanent post. This came in the unlikely form of the Reverend Newnham, the Founder and first Rector of Hilton College, a private boy’s school in the Colony of Natal. According to “Delayed Action” the memoirs of that great Natalian Sir Duncan Mackenzie,

“Mr Newnham had got three first class teachers out from home, Masson first master, McPherson second and May third. They were all very nice men, but the first (Masson) had a fault of spinning too many yarns, the second was as nice a man as I know.

None of them could ride, when they arrived, so they all bought horses, and one day Mr McPherson decided to go for a ride, put his foot in the stirrup, the horse started walking, he gave a jump and landed on his back the other side of the horse. Mr Masson and I were the only ones present and when we saw he was not hurt, we burst out laughing.

Mr Masson bought another fine horse when he was up country in the holidays, but he let it run and it got a bit fat, so he said to me one day that I could ride it to post if I liked. I said alright Sir, then he changed his mind and said no, it would kill me.

Once Mr Masson came up to Lion’s Bush to spend a week or so of his holidays and we all went out for a ride, we went galloping about like fun; but Mr Masson was very frightened however when we got back to Hilton, he told the other masters all kinds of yarns, one was that he and I jumped the Lion’s River, that I had gone at it full gallop and that he could not hold his horse and therefore jumped it also. (pages 13/14)

Another anecdote wherein Masson featured related to exams where,

“Mr Russell came up to examine us, and set some very difficult mathematical questions for the first class, which consisted of only four boys. ...the others had only answered one or two and were stuck for the rest, when Mr Masson came up and helped them to answer them. I said “Sir, I thought it was not allowed to receive any assistance.” Mr Masson replied, “Oh never mind Archie, I’ll show you one if you like. “No thank you Sir, if I cannot do them myself, I will leave them alone.”

Masson, despite being a master at a school found time for romance and married, at Binchester Grange near Pietermaritzburg, Dorothy Bowness on 28 December 1876. Dorothy was the daughter of George Todd Bowness a direct descendant of an 1820 Settler. Interestingly one of the witnesses to the nuptials was John Stalker, a master at Maritzburg College and the author of the first history of the Natal Carbineers.

Masson, newly married, now severed ties with Hilton College and, for a while, with Natal and betook himself inland to the Orange Free State where on 22 November his first child, Dora, was born. Dora was baptised on 26 December 1877, strangely enough, in the Dutch Reform Church. Son George came along on 7 November 1878 and was baptised, likewise, in the same church on 7 December 1878. How long the family stayed in the Free State and what they were doing there is unkown.

According to the Natal Civil List John Leslie Masson acted in the Surveyor General’s Office from 15 December 1881 it is therefore safe to assume that he was now back in Natal firmly ensconced in a new career, one which was to see him through to retirement. On 13 May 1882 he wrote from Pietermaritzburg to the Colonial Secretary as follows:

“Sir, I beg permission to undergo examination for a Certificate of Competency as Land Surveyor. I have the honour to be Sir, Your obedient servant, John Leslie Masson” This request was in turn forwarded to the then Surveyor General and Masson’s career left the starting blocks.

In 1887 the then Surveyor General (and later Prime Minister) Albert Hime wrote to Masson stating that, “I shall be glad if you will furnish me with a clear statement in writing shewing the duties you are required to perform” This was a strange request perhaps coming as it did from the head of the very same department. On 8 February of that year Masson responded as follows,

“My duties have not been defined – I have taken charge of the sale and leasing of Crown Lands; have received and – to the Surveyor General (Hime!) – accounted for the revenue of the department; have prepared and examined diagrams, and drafted deeds and other documents; have compiled plans; have furnished to Government revenual and land returns; have kept the accounts of the Trigonometrical survey, and made computations of certain portions of the triangulation.” This must have mollified Hime as the matter then rested there.

Masson was in an “acting” capacity for a very long time, until 31 December 1888 to be exact. It was on the very next day, 1 January 1889 that he was finally recognised for his efforts being appointed as first class clerk and chief clerk all at once. At around that time a recommendation was made that he be paid an annual salary of £225 “rising” to £300 from the 1st instant by annual increments of £12. As was the custom in those days the lucky recipient of a Government position had to furnish security and Masson wasn’t about to escape the net. Hime, now the Colonial Engineer, wrote to him on 9 January 1889 as follows,

“For your information – I do not think that you are responsible for the collection of any revenue although money is often paid to you by natives and others – Perhaps it would be well for you to furnish security to the extent of £300 – what do you say?”
To this Masson replied,

“During the past seven years there have been received by me public moneys amounting to £150 000 – if I am to be called upon to deposit a sum of money as security I certainly think that it should not exceed £300 – If however, the security is to be given in the form of a bond signed by two freeholders, the amount may be whatever is considered necessary.” After much toing and froing this was agreed to and Masson duly provided proof of the security asked for.

The next step in Masson’s rising career was his promotion to the post of Assistant Surveyor General, this came on 1 January 1890 followed on 16 January 1894, after 13 years of service, to the top job of Surveyor General on an annual salary of £625. Masson had reached the very apex of his career. He was now one of the Colony’s most influential civil servants, feted by the powerful landowners of his time and hobnobbing with the first citizens of Natal.

His tenure was not without controversy, a possible side effect of the job, and perhaps snippets of his personality now and again crept through. One example of this was a complaint received from a member of the public, a Mr. W. Evans who wrote to the Colonial Secretary on December 8th 1892 as follows,

“Sir

I wish to bring under your notice the following circumstances in connection with Mr Masson of the Surveyor General’s Department.
Some three months ago Mr Roland Meek of Lang’s Nek asked me to ascertain from the Surveyor General’s Department whether the Government were going to renew the grazing leases in the Newcastle division, and if so to renew his lease. I accordingly saw Mr Masson who told me that it was not the intention of the Government to renew the lease in question; at the same time he also mentioned something about a Mr Thomas, which I knew nothing about.

Shortly after this I met Mr Masson in the street, and he informed me that the Government had decided to renew the leases, I informed Mr Meek of this, and he sent me the money to renew his lease. I called at the office of the S.G.O. and asked Mr Hoffmann for a renewal of the lease Lang’s Nek and during the time, Mr Masson came up, and took the lease and receipt, in his hand, and saw Mr Hoffmann make out the lease in Mr Meek’s name.

To my astonishment today Mr Masson made certain accusations against me at the public table of the Plough Hotel, in the presence of a number of gentlemen well known in Pietermaritzburg, viz that I had obtained the renewal of Mr Meek’s lease by sharp practice, dirty tricks and a number of other charges.

I deny these accusations emphatically and was not aware that there had been any irregularity until today. Mr Masson has been occupying the seat next to me at the Plough Hotel ever since the lease was granted, and has not breathed a single word about it until today. If Mr Masson did not wish to renew this lease he should have had such wish registered in a businesslike manner in the book of the office or with the clerk whose duty it is to issue leases.

It is not surprising that Mr Masson should get mixed up in his official duties, for what little I have seen of him he seems to transact more business in the street, than he does in the office.

I may add that I was only acting for Mr Meek as a friend and did not receive any consideration for my trouble. Which I think is more conclusive than I did not act under subterfuge in getting the lease renewed.”

Masson was asked to respond which he did as follows,

“The facts of this matter are these:-

Mr Meek had bought in 1882, the grazing lease of a farm near where Lang’s Nek tunnel now is, he never occupied the leasehold but sublet it without consent of the lessor, at a much higher rental, to one Thomas, a Railway Contractor, who had erected a dwelling house and other buildings upon the land.

On the expiration of Meek’s lease, Thomas, who was in occupation, applied for the land. On the issue of letters to persons whose leases had expired, Mr Meek was not in consequence of Thomas’ application, written to – He then demanded a written agreement from Thomas, to the effect that the latter would bid for the land when it came to be offered for sale.

Mr Evans as Meek’s agent called at this office, with the view of obtaining a renewal of Meek’s lease. I explained to him that as there was another applicant for the land who had erected buildings on it, the renewal was a matter which I could not grant without special authority. Two or three days subsequently Mr Evans wrote a letter asking for a renewal of Mr Ackerman’s lease, and, on the morning after the date of his letter, called, as I thought, to pay the rent on that lease; but instead paid the rent on the lease which had been held by Mr Meek.

Allusions had frequently been made by Mr Evans to the Crown Lands in Newcastle Division, and to what appeared to him the delay of the Government in dealing with these lands, and on the occasion of his pointedly remarking to me that Meek, at all events had got what he wanted, I replied that I replied that I considered it a piece of sharp practice. The words were perhaps used on an ill – chosen occasion; at all events Mr Evans lost his temper and spoke in a manner which he would not have done under ordinary circumstances, and, probably, without reflection, wrote the enclosed letter.”

The matter seems to have been put to rest as there was no further action taken by any of the parties concerned.

In 1898 Masson was both a member of the Civil Service Board and an Examiner of the Board. According to a Minute by the Prime Minister dated 17 August 1894, the C.S.B. had been appointed for the purposes of advising and assisting Ministers in matters that concern the regulation, control and discipline of the Service. This Board held tremendous sway and had some serious clout especially when looking at new candidates and applications for any posts where the Government, the biggest employer in the Colony, was concerned. By the time he tendered his resignation From the Board he was its Chairman.

October 1899 saw the dawn of the Anglo Boer War, a conflict between Boer and Brit which was to last for a weary three years until 31 May 1902. Masson now a healthy 56 years of age, was called upon to assist the Government of Natal in their war effort against the two Boer Republics. For his help he was awarded the Queens South Africa Medal. The medal roll off which his award was issued makes special reference to “Rendered special service with the preparation of plans for the building of defences” With his cartography skills he was also credited with any number of maps of the area which were used by the military.

The threat to Natal having diminished he went back to his normal occupation. On 13 June 1901 he wrote to the Principal Under Secretary asking that he be permitted to resign his appointment as a member of the Civil Service Board. The war over Masson was also instrumental in implementing Government policy around the land claims that developed in respect of Natal Boers who had thrown their lot in with the Boer Republics in their fight against the British. Heavy fines were levied against some of these chaps and, very often, as a result of being left destitute after the war was over with their crops and cattle gone, they were unable to pay the fines. Many opportunistic speculators stood by waiting to pick up the pieces and scoop up the farms of these poor unfortunates for a pittance. Masson played a pivotal role in ensuring that this didn’t happen and that fair play prevailed.

According to the Natal Civil List of 1909 John Masson took his Pension on Retirement on 16 August 1908. He went on his merry way with an annual gratuity of £420 – a sizeable amount for the times. He was only to enjoy his rest for a few years before passing away at Grey’s Hospital in Pietermaritzburg on 19 March 1913 at the age of 68 years and 3 months. He seems to have split his time between the Imperial Hotel and his son’s farm at Ennersdale outside Pietermaritzburg and was survived by his wife and three children, George, Theodore and Anna.

A very interesting and unusual medal Rory and thanks for sharing. May I ask where you managed to obtain it?

Hello David

It was in the possession of a fellow collector and sometime scribe on this Forum.

I paid dearly for it by swapping a few choice items in exchange.

Regards

Rory

Rory,

What an excellent QSA. The naming is wonderful. I haven't seen one name in that way before.

Fantastic piece of research Rory........

If I did not collect QSA's I would want to after reading some of your work.....

Mike