"Half-dead but into action" Read the full letter
William Hay
William Hay (1845 - 1932) with his brother George was founder of the Cape Mercury, a newspaper based in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape. Hay edited the newspaper from its establishment in 1875 until 1885. He later became a Cape MP and represented Victoria East from 1892 to 1898. During this time he also wrote for local Cape newspapers including the Cape Register. Schreiner’s single extant letter to Hay dates from February 1897, in which she requests Hay to send her documentation from newspapers or parliamentary records relating to speeches given by Cecil Rhodes which illustrate his position on ‘native’ matters. Given that the letter was written shortly before the publication of Schreiner’s Trooper Peter Halket of Mashonaland (which she sent Hay an advance copy of with the letter, presumably for newspaper review), it seems likely that Schreiner wanted to arm herself with relevant evidence about Rhodes’s views of and treatment of ‘natives’ to defend herself against the uproar which she foresaw would follow the book’s publication.
For further information see:
.J. Human (1981) ‘Hay, William Sanders Ebenezer’ in (ed) C.J. Beyers Dictionary of South African Biography Vol IV Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council, pp. 222 - 233
Recipient Of
Cory Library, Rhodes University: The Cory Library, Grahamstown, is a rich resource for books and archival papers pertaining in particular to the history of th... Show/Hide Collection Letters
Olive Schreiner - Uncat:London, Feb 11 / 97, Dear Mr Hay, I am sending you a copy of my little story, which is to appear on the 17th of this month. P...
Mentioned In- Cory Library, Rhodes University: The Cory Library, Grahamstown, is a rich resource for books and archival papers pertaining in particular to the history of th... Show/Hide Collection Letters
- Olive Schreiner - Uncat:London, Feb 11 / 97, Dear Mr Hay, I am sending you a copy of my little story, which is to appear on the 17th of this month. P...
- Humanities Research Center, University of Texas at Austin: The HRC, Austin, is one of the world leading locations for archival papers pertaining to literary life and manuscripts across... Show/Hide Collection Letters
- HRC/OliveSchreinerUncatLetters/OS-TFisherUnwin/38:19 Russell Road, Kensington W., 12.2.97, Dear Mr Unwin,, “Peter Halket” (two copies) has just arrived. Mrs Schrei...