In the early 1950's the area of the eastern Cape Province adjoining the Transkei was the object of an intensive study known as the Border Regional Survey and five volumes have already been published. This work is a more detailed investigation of one aspect of the economy, namely the growth of manufacturing industry. Its importance lies in the fact that not only is the African population increasing rapidly, but that effective rehabilitation of peasant farming in the Transkei and Ciskei must necessarily displace large numbers from the land. Expansion of manufacturing industry would appear to be the most effective means of providing remunerative employment for these people. Moreover, the government has embarked upon a policy of encouraging the establishment of factories on the periphery of the Bantu areas, and the eastern Cape is an important area in this general scheme. It may well be the most crucial testing point of the whole policy of 'border industries', because with its large Transkeian hinterland it is the area most in need of expanding employment opportunities; but, at the same time, by reason of locational and other disabilities, it is the area in which industrial expansion may be most difficult to achieve.

Governments, naturally, pursue social and political as well as economic objectives. The degree to which economic and non-economic objectives harmonise with one another without government interference, however, obviously varies a good deal according to time and place. For instance in the nineteenth century, the priorities of British governments made possible a high degree of individual freedom in the economic sphere. This century, however, as Robbins suggests, has seen a great extension of state activity in the economic sphere, for both economic and non-economic reasons. This tendency, then, is not peculiar to South Africa, but the border industries policy, largely because of its ideological associations and the degree of intervention which it seems to imply, is a particularly controversial example. Chapter 1 para 2.

From Introduction: During the past three decades or more, the study of absenteeism in industry has been carried on in many different ways, by numerous investigators and in a wide range of industries. The purpose of such studies has varied; sometimes they have been stimulated by purely academic interest and have sought to investigate the relationship between absenteeism and various other measurable factors in the work situation such as age, race, sex, length of service and wage rates. Most studies, however, have been prompted by the urgent necessity to determine whether an absence problem existed within a specific factory, community or industry and to discover some effective means of dealing with it. Most studies have been empirical and pragmatic as has befitted their intentions. Inevitably, those who have conducted studies of the latter type have asked two questions (a) how do the absence rates emerging from this investigation compare with those from other studies and (b) are they 'normal' or 'abnormal'? In other words, does the data which has been gathered indicate the existence of an absence problem? The main purpose of this monograph is to demonstrate that the Gross Absence Rate is not an effective basis for the discovery of answers to either of these questions. It will seek, in other words, to demonstrate the truth of the following fundamental postulate: THE GROSS ABSENCE RATE IS NOT, IN ITSELF, A SUFFICIENT BASIS FOR THE COMPARISON OF THE ABSENCE BEHAVIOUR OF ONE GROUP OF WORKERS WITH THAT OF ANOTHER OR WITH A PRE-ESTABLISHED NORM, NOR IS IT AN ADEQUATE INDICATOR OF THE PRESENCE OR OTHERWISE OF AN ABSENCE PROBLEM AMONG ANY GIVEN GROUP OF WORKERS. Although this study will include some account of investigations into the relationship between absence rates and various socio-economic factors, it will do so primarily in order to seek support for the above postulate.

This thesis examines the urban social, economic and cultural history of a community under stress and in transition at the turn of the century. Two themes run through the study: how the residents responded to long-term challenges such as the decline of the town in relation to its nearest urban neighbour, the increasing significance of the black population of the town and district, and the end of the millennium; and secondly, the effects of the South African War on King William's Town society and how the residents perceived the various stresses it exerted on the town. Chapter 1, by way of introduction, provides a general overview of the history of King William's Town and of the current state of historical research on the town. It also examines historiographical strands reflected in this study, focusing on urban history, social history, local history and the new cultural history. The chapter ends with a brief note on sources and methodology. Chapter 2 sets the scene be examining the population of the town and district in relation to its eastern Cape neighbours. It briefly explores the settlement patterns in the town, and the social divisions and racial attitudes manifested by its inhabitants. The third chapter provides a study of the town's economy with particular emphasis on the mercantile sector, agriculture and manufacturing. The informal sector, domestic service and labour relations are also explored. Political processes in this period are dealt with in Chapter 4. The 1898 elections and the re-alignment of political allegiances, the outbreak of the war, the main political issues that emerged and the suppression of the Imvo Zabantsundu newspaper are discussed. Chapter 5 provides an examination of military aspects of the town and district during the war. The impact of the imperial garrison, the attitudes of the residents to the war and the imposition and effects of martial law are amongst the topics covered. The next chapter deals with municipal matters, with particular reference to the townspeople's attitudes to Borough status, public health and sanitation, municipal locations and residential segregation, and the various successes and failures of the Borough Council during the war. The seventh chapter focuses on crime, legislation and social control in the town. The number and type of criminal incidents during the period are analyzed, the various laws establishing the parameters of society and the manner in which these were applied are examined. Chapter 8 seeks to define the cultural contours of the town, looking at religion, the large number of different clubs and societies, sport and recreation. It explores the way in which cultural pursuits were both a reflection and a reinforcement of the social, political and economic order. The ninth and final chapter links the preceding themes with regard to the effects of the war on King William's Town society, with particular reference to the mentalité of the community as displayed in the attitudes of the residents to the various developments discussed in the body of the thesis.