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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/8667-0.txt b/8667-0.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..19e3c21 --- /dev/null +++ b/8667-0.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10521 @@ +Project Gutenberg’s Cetywayo and his White Neighbours, by H. Rider Haggard + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cetywayo and his White Neighbours + Remarks on Recent Events in Zululand, Natal, and the Transvaal + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: April 27, 2006 [EBook #8667] +Last Updated: September 23, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny + + + + + +CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + +OR, REMARKS ON RECENT EVENTS IN ZULULAND, NATAL, AND THE TRANSVAAL. + + +By H. Rider Haggard + + +First Published 1882. + + + + PREPARER’S NOTE + + This text was prepared from an 1882 edition published by + Trubner & Co., Ludgate Hill, London. + + + +“I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating in +this way, for a change of Government in England may give them again +the old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance of English +politics than such an idea. I tell you there is no Government--Whig +or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical--who would dare, under any +circumstances, to give back this country (the Transvaal). They would not +dare, because the English people would not allow them.”--(_Extract +from Speech of Sir Garnet Wolseley, delivered at a Public Banquet in +Pretoria, on the 17th December 1879._) + +“There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding (from +the Transvaal); it was impossible to say what calamities such a step +as receding might not cause. . . . For such a risk he could not make +himself responsible. . . . Difficulties with the Zulu and the frontier +tribes would again arise, and looking as they must to South Africa as +a whole, the Government, after a careful consideration of the +question, came to the conclusion that we could not relinquish the +Transvaal.”--(_Extract from Speech of Lord Kimberley in the House of +Lords, 24th May 1880. H. P. D., vol. cclii., p. 208._) + + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +The writer on Colonial Affairs is naturally, to some extent, discouraged +by the knowledge that the subject is an unattractive one to a large +proportion of the reading public. It is difficult to get up anything +beyond a transient interest in the affairs of our Colonial dependencies; +indeed, I believe that the mind of the British public was more +profoundly moved by the exodus of Jumbo, than it would be were one of +them to become the scene of some startling catastrophe. This is the +more curious, inasmuch as, putting aside all sentimental considerations, +which indeed seem to be out of harmony with the age we live in: the +trade done, even with such comparatively insignificant colonies as our +South African possessions, amounts to a value of many millions of pounds +sterling per annum. Now, as the preachers of the new gospel that hails +from Birmingham and Northampton have frequently told us, trade is +the life-blood of England, and must be fostered at any price. It is +therefore surprising that, looking on them in the light of a commercial +speculation, in which aspect (saith the preacher) they are alone +worthy of notice, a keener interest is not taken in the well-being and +development of the Colonies. We have only to reflect to see how great +are the advantages that the Mother Country derives from the possession +of her Colonial Empire; including, as they do, a home for her surplus +children, a vast and varied market for her productions, and a wealth of +old-fashioned loyalty and deep attachment to the Old Country--“home,” + as it is always called--which, even if it is out of date, might prove +useful on emergency. It seems therefore, almost a pity that some Right +Honourable Gentlemen and their followers should adopt the tone they do +with reference to the Colonies. After all, there is an odd shuffling of +the cards going on now in England; and great as she is, her future looks +by no means sunny. Events in these latter days develop themselves very +quickly; and though the idea may, at the present moment, seem absurd, +surely it is possible that, what between the rapid spread of Radical +ideas, the enmity of Ireland, the importation of foreign produce, and +the competition of foreign trade, to say nothing of all the unforeseen +accidents and risks of the future, the Englishmen of, say, two +generations hence, may not find their country in her present proud +position. Perhaps, and stranger things have happened in the history of +the world, she may by that time be under the protection of those very +Colonies for which their forefathers had such small affection. + +The position of South Africa with reference to the Mother Country +is somewhat different to that of her sister Colonies, in that she is +regarded, not so much with apathy tinged with dislike, as with downright +disgust. This feeling has its foundation in the many troubles and +expenses in which this country has been recently involved, through local +complications in the Cape, Zululand, and the Transvaal: and indeed is +little to be wondered at. But, whilst a large portion of the press has +united with a powerful party of politicians in directing a continuous +stream of abuse on to the heads of the white inhabitants of South +Africa, whom they do not scruple to accuse of having created the recent +disturbances in order to reap a money profit from them: it does not +appear to have struck anybody that the real root of this crop of +troubles might, after all, be growing nearer home. The truth of the +matter is, that native and other problems in South Africa have, till +quite lately, been left to take their chance, and solve themselves as +best they might; except when they have, in a casual manner, been made +the _corpus vile_ of some political experiment. It was during this long +period of inaction, when each difficulty--such as the native question in +Natal--was staved off to be dealt with by the next Government, that the +seed was sown of which we are at present reaping the fruit. In addition +to this, matters have recently been complicated by the elevation of +South African affairs to the dignity of an English party question. +Thus, the Transvaal Annexation was made use of as a war-cry in the +last general election, a Boer rebellion was thereby encouraged, which +resulted in a complete reversal of our previous policy. + +Now, if there is any country dependent on England that requires the +application to the conduct of its affairs of a firm, considered, and +consistent policy, that country is South Africa. Boers and Natives are +quite incapable of realising the political necessities of any of +our parties, or of understanding why their true interests should be +sacrificed in order to minister to those necessities. It is our wavering +and uncertain policy, as applied to peoples, who look upon every +hesitating step as a sign of fear and failing dominion, that, in +conjunction with previous postponement and neglect, has really caused +our troubles in South Africa. For so long as the affairs of that +country are influenced by amateurs and sentimentalists, who have no real +interest in it, and whose knowledge of its circumstances and conditions +of life is gleaned from a few blue-books, superficially got up to enable +the reader to indite theoretical articles to the “Nineteenth Century,” + or deliver inaccurate speeches in the House of Commons--for so long will +those troubles continue. + +If I may venture to make a suggestion, the affairs of South Africa +should be controlled by a Board or Council, like that which formerly +governed India, composed of moderate members of both parties, with an +admixture of men possessing practical knowledge of the country. I do not +know if any such arrangement would be possible under our constitution, +but the present system of government, by which the control of savage +races fluctuates in obedience of every variation of English party +politics, is most mischievous in its results. + +The public, however, is somewhat tired of South Africa, and the reader +may, perhaps, wonder why he should be troubled with more literature on +the subject. I can assure him that these pages are not written in order +to give me an opportunity of airing my individual experiences or ideas. +Their object is shortly--(1.) To give a true history of the events +attendant on the Annexation of the Transvaal, which act has so +frequently been assigned to the most unworthy motives, and has never +yet been fairly described by any one who was in a position to know +the facts; (2.) To throw as much publicity as possible on the present +disgraceful state of Zululand, resulting from our recent settlement in +that country; (3.) To show all interested in the Kafir races what has +been the character of our recent surrender in the Transvaal, and what +its effect will be on our abandoned native subjects living in that +country. + +It may, perhaps, seem an odd statement, considering that I have lived +in various parts of South Africa for about six years, and have, perhaps, +enjoyed exceptional advantage in forming my opinions, when I say that my +chief fear in publishing the present volume, is lest my knowledge of my +subject in all its bearings should not be really equal to the task. It +is, I know, the fashion to treat South African difficulties as being +simple of solution. Thus it only took Sir Garnet Wolseley a few weeks +to understand the whole position of Zulu affairs, and to execute his +memorable settlement of that country: whilst eminent writers appear to +be able, in scampering from Durban _via_ Kimberley to Cape Town in a +post-cart, to form decided opinions upon every important question +in South Africa. The power of thus rapidly assimilating intricate +knowledge, and of seeing straight through a wall whilst ordinary +individuals are still criticising the bricks, is no doubt one of the +peculiar privileges of genius--which is, perhaps fortunately for South +Africa--rare. To the common run of mind, however, the difficulty of +forming a sound and accurate judgment on the interlacing problems that +disclose themselves to the student of the politics of South-Eastern +Africa, is exceedingly great and the work of years. + +But although it is by no means perfect, I think that my knowledge of +these problems and of their imminent issues is sufficiently intimate +to justify me in making a prophecy--namely, that unless the native and +other questions of South-Eastern Africa are treated with more honest +intelligence, and on a more settled plan than it has hitherto been +thought necessary to apply to them, the British taxpayer will find that +he has _by no means_ heard the last of that country and its wars. + +There is one more point to which, although it hardly comes within the +scope of this volume, I have made some allusion, and which I venture to +suggest deserves the consideration of thinking Englishmen. I refer to +the question of the desirability of allowing the Dutch in South Africa, +who are already numerically the strongest, to continue to advance with +such rapid strides towards political supremacy. That the object of +this party is to reduce Englishmen and English ideas to a subordinate +position in the State, if not actually to rid itself of our rule and +establish a republic, there is no manner of doubt. Indeed, there exists +a powerful organisation, the Africander Bond, which has its headquarters +in the Cape, and openly devotes its energies to forwarding these ends, +by offering a sturdy opposition to the introduction of English emigrants +and the use of the English language, whilst striving in every way to +excite class prejudices and embitter the already strained relations +between Englishman and Boer. In considering this question, it is as well +not to lose sight of the fact that the Dutch are as a body, at heart +hostile to our rule, chiefly because they cannot tolerate our lenient +behaviour to the native races. Should they by any chance cease to be the +subjects of England, they will, I believe, become her open enemies. This +of itself would be comparatively unimportant, were it not for the fact +that, in the event of the blocking of the Suez Canal, it would be, to +say the least, inconvenient that the Cape should be in the hands of a +hostile population. + +In conclusion, I wish to state that this book is not written for any +party purpose. I have tried to describe a state of affairs which has for +the most part come under my own observation, and events in which I have +been interested, and at times engaged. That the naked truths of such +a business as the Transvaal surrender, or of the present condition of +Zululand, are unpleasant reading for an Englishman, there is no doubt; +but, so far as these pages are concerned, they owe none of their +ugliness to undue colouring or political bias. + +Windham Club, St. James’ Square, June 1882. + + + + + +CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + + + + +CETYWAYO AND THE ZULU SETTLEMENT + + +_Claims of affairs of Zululand to attention--Proposed visit of +Cetywayo to England--Chaka--His method of government--His death-- +Dingaan--Panda--Battle of the Tugela--John Dunn--Nomination of +Cetywayo--His coronation--His lady advocates--Their attacks on +officials--Was Cetywayo bloodthirsty?--Cause of the Zulu war--Zulu +military system--States of feeling amongst the Zulus previous to +the war--Cetywayo’s position--His enemies--His intentions on the +Transvaal--Their frustration by Sir T. Shepstone--Cetywayo’s interview +with Mr. Fynney--His opinion of the Boers--The annexation in connection +with the Zulu war--The Natal colonists and the Zulu war--Sir Bartle +Frere--The Zulu war--Cetywayo’s half-heartedness--Sir Garnet Wolseley’s +settlement--Careless selection of chiefs--The Sitimela plot--Chief +John Dunn--Appointment of Mr. Osborn as British Resident--His difficult +position--Folly and cruelty of our settlement--Disappointment of +the Zulus--Object and result of settlement--Slaughter in +Zululand--Cetywayo’s son--Necessity of proper settlement of +Zululand--Should Cetywayo be restored?_ + +Zululand and the Zulu settlement still continue to receive some +attention from the home public, partly because those responsible for the +conduct of affairs are not quite at ease about it, and partly because of +the agitation in this country for the restoration of Cetywayo. + +There is no doubt that the present state of affairs in Zululand is a +subject worthy of close consideration, not only by those officially +connected with them, but by the public at large. Nobody, either at +home or in the colonies, wishes to see another Zulu war, or anything +approaching to it. Unless, however, the affairs of Zululand receive a +little more attention, and are superintended with a little more humanity +and intelligence than they are at present, the public will sooner or +later be startled by some fresh catastrophe. Then will follow the usual +outcry, and the disturbance will be attributed to every cause under the +sun except the right one--want of common precautions. + +The Zulu question is a very large one, and I only propose discussing +so much of it as necessary to the proper consideration of the proposed +restoration of Cetywayo to his throne. + +The king is now coming to England,[*] where he will doubtless make +a very good impression, since his appearance is dignified, and +his manners, as is common among Zulus of high rank, are those of +a gentleman. It is probable that his visit will lead to a popular +agitation in his favour, and very possibly to an attempt on the part +of the English Government to reinstate him in his kingdom. Already Lady +Florence Dixie waves his banner, and informs the public through the +columns of the newspapers how good, how big, and how beautiful he is, +and “F. W. G. X.” describes in enthusiastic terms his pearl-like teeth. +But as there are interests involved in the question of his reinstatement +which are, I think, more important than Cetywayo’s personal proportions +of mind or body, and as the results of such a step would necessarily be +very marked and far-reaching, it is as well to try and understand the +matter in all its bearing before anything is done. + + [*] Since the above was written the Government have at the + last moment decided to postpone Cetywayo’s visit to this + country, chiefly on account of the political capital which + was being made out of the event by agitators in Zululand. + The project of bringing the king to England does not, + however, appear to have been abandoned. + +There has been a great deal of special pleading about Cetywayo. Some +writers, swayed by sentiment, and that spirit of partisanship that the +sight of royalty in distress always excites, whitewash him in such a +persistent manner that their readers are left under the impression that +the ex-king is a model of injured innocence and virtue. Others again, +for political reasons, paint him very black, and predict that +his restoration would result in the destruction, or at the least, +disorganisation, of our South African empire. The truth in this, as in +the majority of political controversies, lies somewhere between these +two extremes, though it is difficult to say exactly where. + +To understand the position of Cetywayo both with reference to his +subjects and the English Government, it will be necessary to touch, +though briefly, on the history of Zululand since it became a nation, and +also on the principal events of the ex-king’s reign. + +Chaka, Cetywayo’s great uncle, was the first Zulu king, and doubtless +one of the most remarkable men that has ever filled a throne since the +days of the Pharaohs. When he came to his chieftainship, about 1813, the +Zulu people consisted of a single small tribe; when his throne became +vacant in 1828, their name had become a living terror, and they were +the greatest Black power in South Africa. The invincible armies of this +African Attila had swept north and south, east and west, had slaughtered +more than a million human beings, and added vast tracts of country to +his dominions. Wherever his warriors went, the blood of men, women, and +children was poured out without stay or stint; indeed he reigned like a +visible Death, the presiding genius of a saturnalia of slaughter. + +His methods of government and warfare were peculiar and somewhat +drastic, but most effective. As he conquered a tribe, he enrolled its +remnants in his army, so that they might in their turn help to conquer +others. He armed his regiments with the short stabbing assegai, instead +of the throwing assegai which they had been accustomed to use, and kept +them subject to an iron discipline. If a man was observed to show the +slightest hesitation about coming to close quarters with the enemy, +he was executed as soon as the fight was over. If a regiment had the +misfortune to be defeated, whether by its own fault or not, it would on +its return to headquarters find that a goodly proportion of the wives +and children belonging to it had been beaten to death by Chaka’s orders, +and that he was waiting their arrival to complete his vengeance by +dashing out their brains. The result was, that though Chaka’s armies +were occasionally annihilated, they were rarely defeated, and they never +ran away. I will not enter in the history of his numerous cruelties, and +indeed they are not edifying. Amongst other things, like Nero, he killed +his own mother, and then caused several persons to be executed because +they did not show sufficient sorrow at her death. + +At length, in 1828, he too suffered the fate he had meted out to so +many, and was killed by his brothers, Dingaan and Umhlangan, by the +hands of one Umbopa. He was murdered in his hut, and as his life passed +out of him he is reported to have addressed these words to his brothers, +who were watching his end: “What! do you stab me, my brothers, dogs of +mine own house, whom I have fed? You hope to be kings; but though you do +kill me, think not that your line shall reign for long. I tell you that +I hear the sound of the feet of the great white people, and that this +land shall be trodden by them.” He then expired, but his last words have +always been looked upon as a prophecy by the Zulus, and indeed they have +been partly fulfilled. + +Having in his turn killed Umhlangan, his brother by blood and in crime, +Dingaan took possession of the throne. He was less pronounced than +Chaka in his foreign policy, though he seems to have kept up the family +reputation as regards domestic affairs. It was he who, influenced, +perhaps, by Chaka’s dying prophecy about white men, massacred Retief, +the Boer leader, and his fifty followers, in the most treacherous +manner, and then falling on the emigrant Boers in Natal, murdered men, +women, and children to the number of nearly six hundred. There seems, +however, to have been but little love lost between any of the sons of +Usengangacona (the father of Chaka, Dingaan, Umhlangan, and Panda), +for in due course Panda, his brother, conspired with the Boers against +Dingaan, and overthrew him with their assistance. Dingaan fled, and was +shortly afterwards murdered in Swaziland, and Panda ascended the throne +in 1840. + +Panda was a man of different character to the remainder of his race, and +seems to have been well content to reign in peace, only killing enough +people to keep up his authority. Two of his sons, Umbelazi and Cetywayo, +of whom Umbelazi was the elder and Panda’s favourite, began, as their +father grew old, to quarrel about the succession to the crown. On the +question being referred to Panda, he is reported to have remarked that +when two young cocks quarrelled the best thing they could do was to +fight it out. Acting on this hint, each prince collected his forces, +Panda sending down one of his favourite regiments to help Umbelazi. The +fight took place in 1856 on the banks of the Tugela. A friend of the +writer, happening to be on the Natal side of the river the day before +the battle, and knowing it was going to take place, swam his horse +across in the darkness, taking his chance of the alligators, and hid in +some bush on a hillock commanding the battlefield. It was a hazardous +proceeding, but the sight repaid the risk, though he describes it as +very awful, more especially when the regiment of veterans sent by Panda +joined in the fray. It came up at the charge, between two and three +thousand strong, and was met near his hiding-place by one of Cetywayo’s +young regiments. The noise of the clash of their shields was like the +roar of the sea, but the old regiment, after a struggle in which men +fell thick and fast, annihilated the other, and passed on with thinned +ranks. Another of Cetywayo’s regiments took the place of the one that +had been destroyed, and this time the combat was fierce and long, till +victory again declared for the veterans’ spears. But they had brought it +dear, and were in no position to continue their charge; so the leaders +of that brave battalion formed its remnants into a ring, and, like the +Scotch at Flodden-- + + “The stubborn spearmen still made good + The dark, impenetrable wood; + Each stepping where his comrade stood + The instant that he fell,” + +till there were none left to fall. The ground around them was piled with +dead. + +But this gallant charge availed Umbelazi but little, and by degrees +Cetywayo’s forces pressed his men back to the banks of the Tugela, and +finally into it. Thousands fell upon the field and thousands perished in +the river. When my friend swam back that night, he had nothing to +fear from the alligators: they were too well fed. Umbelazi died on the +battlefield of a broken heart, at least it is said that no wound could +be found on his person. He probably expired in a fit brought on by +anxiety of mind and fatigue. A curious story is told of Cetywayo with +reference to his brother’s death. After the battle was over a Zulu +from one of his own regiments presented himself before him with many +salutations, saying, “O prince! now canst thou sleep in peace, for +Umbelazi is dead.” “How knowest thou that he is dead?” said Cetywayo. +“Because I slew him with my own hand,” replied the Zulu. “Thou dog!” + said the prince, “thou hast dared to lift thy hand against the blood +royal, and now thou makest it a matter of boasting. Wast thou not +afraid? By Chaka’s head thou shalt have thy reward. Lead him away.” And +the Zulu, who was but lying after all, having possessed himself of +the bracelets off the dead prince’s body, was instantly executed. The +probability is that Cetywayo acted thus more from motives of policy than +from affection to his brother, whom indeed he hoped to destroy. It did +not do to make too light of the death of an important prince: Umbelazi’s +fate to-day might be Cetywayo’s fate to-morrow. This story bears a +really remarkable resemblance to that of the young man who slew Saul, +the Lord’s anointed, and suffered death on account thereof at the hands +of David. + +This battle is also memorable as being the occasion of the first public +appearance of Mr. John Dunn, now the most important chief in Zululand, +and, be it understood, the unknown quantity in all future transactions +in that country. At that time Dunn was a retainer of Umbelazi’s, and +fought on his side in the Tugela battle. After the fight, however, +he went over to Cetywayo and became his man. From that time till the +outbreak of the Zulu war he remained in Zululand as adviser to Cetywayo, +agent for the Natal Government, and purveyor of firearms to the nation +at large. As soon as Cetywayo got into trouble with the Imperial +Government, Dunn, like a prudent man, deserted him and came over to +us. In reward Sir Garnet Wolseley advanced him to the most important +chieftainship in Zululand, which he hopes to make a stepping-stone to +the vacant throne. His advice was largely followed by Sir Garnet in +the bestowal of the other chieftainships, and was naturally not quite +disinterested. He has already publicly announced his intention of +resisting the return of the king, his old master, by force of arms, +should the Government attempt to reinstate him. + +A period of sixteen years elapsed before Cetywayo reaped the fruits of +the battle of the Tugela by succeeding to the throne on the death of his +father, Panda, the only Zulu monarch who has as yet come to his end by +natural causes. + +In 1861, however, Cetywayo was, at the instance of the Natal Government, +formally nominated heir to the throne by Mr. Shepstone, it being +thought better that a fixed succession should be established with the +concurrence of the Natal Government than that matters should be left +to take their chance on Panda’s death. Mr. Shepstone accomplished his +mission successfully, though at great personal risk. For some unknown +reason, Cetywayo, who was blown up with pride, was at first adverse +to being thus nominated, and came down to the royal kraal with three +thousand armed followers, meaning, it would see, to kill Mr. Shepstone, +whom he had never before met. Panda, the old king, had an inkling of +what was to happen, but was powerless to control his son, so he confined +himself to addressing the assembled multitude in what I have heard Sir +Theophilus Shepstone say was the most eloquent and touching speech he +ever listened to, the subject being the duties of hospitality. He did +not at the time know how nearly the speech concerned him, or that its +object was to preserve his life. This, however, soon became manifest +when, exception being taken to some breech of etiquette by one of his +servants, he was surrounded by a mob of shouting savages, whose evident +object was to put an end to him and those with him. For two hours he +remained sitting there, expecting that every moment would be his +last, but showing not the slightest emotion, till at length he got an +opportunity of speaking, when he rose and said, “I know that you mean to +kill me; it is an easy thing to do; but I tell you Zulus, that for every +drop of my blood that falls to the ground, a hundred men will come +out of the sea yonder, from the country of which Natal is one of the +cattle-kraals, and will bitterly avenge me.” As he spoke he turned +and pointed towards the ocean, and so intense was the excitement that +animated it, that the whole great multitude turned with him and stared +towards the horizon, as though they expected to see the long lines of +avengers creeping across the plains. Silence followed his speech; his +imperturbability and his well-timed address had saved his life. From +that day his name was a power in the land.[*] + + [*] A very good description of this scene was published in + the _London Quarterly Review_ in 1878. The following is an + extract: + + “In the centre of those infuriated savages he (Mr. + Shepstone) sat for more than two hours outwardly calm, + giving confidence to his solitary European companion by his + own quietness, only once saying, ‘Why, Jem, you’re afraid,’ + and imposing restraint on his native attendants. Then, when + they had shouted, as Cetywayo himself said in our hearing, + ‘till their throats were so sore that they could shout no + more,’ they departed. But Sompseu (Mr. Shepstone) had + conquered. Cetywayo, in describing the scene to us and our + companion on a visit to him a short time afterwards, said, + ‘Sompseu is a great man: no man but he could have come + through that day alive.’ Similar testimony we have had from + some of the Zulu assailants, from the native attendants, and + the companion above mentioned. Next morning Cetywayo humbly + begged an interview, which was not granted but on terms of + unqualified submission. From that day Cetywayo has submitted + to British control in the measure in which it has been + exercised, and has been profuse in his expressions of + respect and submission to Mr. T. Shepstone; but in his + heart, as occasional acts and speeches show, he writhes + under the restraint, and bitterly hates the man who imposed + it.” + +It was on this occasion that a curious incident occurred which +afterwards became of importance. Among the Zulus there exists a certain +salute, “Bayete,” which it is the peculiar and exclusive privilege of +Zulu royalty to receive. The word means, or is supposed to mean, “Let +us bring tribute.” On Mr. Shepstone’s visit the point was raised by the +Zulu lawyers as to what salute he should receive. It was not consistent +with their ideas that the nominator of their future king should be +greeted with any salute inferior to the Bayete, and this, as plain Mr. +Shepstone, it was impossible to give him. The difficulty was obvious, +but the Zulu mind proved equal to it. He was solemnly announced to be +a Zulu king, and to stand in the place of the great founder of their +nation, Chaka. Who was so fit to proclaim the successor to the throne +as the great predecessor of the prince proclaimed? To us this seems a +strange, not to say ludicrous, way of settling a difficulty, but there +was nothing in it repugnant to Zulu ideas. Odd as it was, it invested +Mr. Shepstone with all the attributes of a Zulu king, such as the power +to make laws, order executions, &c., and those attributes in the eyes of +Zulus he still retains. + +In 1873 messengers came down from Zululand to the Natal Government, +bringing with them the “king’s head,” that is, a complimentary present +of oxen, announcing the death of Panda. “The nation,” they said, “was +wandering; it wanders and wanders, and wanders again;” the spirit of +the king had departed from them; his words had ceased, and “none +but children were left.” The message ended with a request that Mr. +Shepstone, as Cetywayo’s “father,” should come and instal him on the +throne. A month or two afterwards there came another message, again +requesting his attendance; and on the request being refused by the +Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, there came a third message, to which the +Natal Government returned a favourable answer. + +Accordingly Mr. Shepstone proceeded to Zululand, and on the 3rd +September 1873 proclaimed Cetywayo king with all due pomp and ceremony. +It was on this occasion that, in the presence of, and with the +enthusiastic assent of, both king and people, Mr. Shepstone, “standing +in the place of Cetywayo’s father, and so representing the nation,” + enunciated the four following articles, with a view to putting an end to +the continual slaughter that darkens the history of Zululand:-- + +1. That the indiscriminate shedding of blood shall cease in the land. + +2. That no Zulu shall be condemned without open trial, and the public +examination of witnesses for and against, and that he shall have a right +to appeal to the king. + +3. That no Zulu’s life shall be taken without the previous knowledge and +consent of the king, after such trial has taken place, and the right of +appeal has been allowed to be exercised. + +4. That for minor crimes the loss of property, all or a portion, shall +be substituted for the punishment of death. + +Nobody will deny that these were admirable regulations, and that they +were received as such at the time by the Zulu king and people. But there +is no doubt that their ready acceptance by the king was a sacrifice to +his desire to please “his father Sompseu” (Mr. Shepstone) and the Natal +Government, with both of which he was particularly anxious to be on +good terms. He has never adhered to these coronation regulations, or +promises, as they have been called, and the probability is that he +never intended to adhere to them. However this may be, I must say that +personally I have been unable to share the views of those who see in +the breach of these so-called promises a justification of the Zulu war. +After all, what do they amount to, and what guarantee was there for +their fulfilment? They merely represent a very laudable attempt on the +part of the Natal Government to keep a restraining hand on Zulu cruelty, +and to draw the bonds of friendship as tight as the idiosyncrasies of +a savage state would allow. The Government of Natal had no right to +dictate the terms to a Zulu king on which he was to hold his throne. The +Zulu nation was an independent nation, and had never been conquered or +annexed by Natal. If the Government of that colony was able by friendly +negotiation to put a stop to Zulu slaughter, it was a matter for +congratulation on humanitarian grounds; but it is difficult to follow +the argument that because it was not able, or was only partially able, +to do so, therefore England was justified in making war on the Zulus. +On the other hand, it is perfectly ludicrous to observe the way in which +Cetywayo’s advocates overshoot the mark in arguing this and similar +points; especially his lady advocates, whose writings upon these +subjects bear about the same resemblance to the truth that the speech to +the jury by the counsel for the defence in a hopeless murder case does +to the summing up of the judge. Having demonstrated that the engagements +entered into by Cetywayo meant nothing, they will proceed to show that, +even if they did, cold-blooded murder, when perpetrated by a black +paragon like Cetywayo, does not amount to a great offence. In the mouths +of these gentle apologists for slaughter, massacre masquerades under the +name of “executions,” and is excused on the plea of being, “after all,” + only the enforcement of “an old custom.” Again, the employment of +such phrases, in a solemn answer to a remonstrance from the +Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, as “I do kill; but do not consider that +I have done anything yet in the way of killing. . . . I have not yet +begun; I have yet to kill,” are shown to mean nothing at all, and to be +“nothing more than the mere irritation of the moment.”[*] Perhaps those +of Cetywayo’s subjects who suffered on account of this mere momentary +irritation took a more serious view of it. It is but fair to the +particular authority from whom I quote (Miss Colenso’s “History of the +Zulu War,” pp. 230-231) to state that she considers this reply from +the “usually courteous and respectful king” as “no doubt petulant and +wanting in due respect.” Considering that the message in question (which +can be read in the footnote) was a point-blank defiance of Sir Henry +Bulwer, admitting that there had been slaughter, but that it was nothing +compared to what was coming, most people will not think Miss Colenso’s +description of it too strong. + + [*] The following is the text of the message:-- + + “Did I ever tell Mr. Shepstone I would not kill? Did he tell + the white people that I made such an arrangement? Because if + he did he has deceived them. I do kill; but do not consider + that I have done anything yet in the way of killing. Why do + the white people start at nothing? I have not yet begun; I + have yet to kill; it is the custom of our nation, and I + shall not depart from it. Why does the Governor of Natal + speak to me about my laws? Do I go to Natal and dictate to + him about his laws? I shall not agree to any laws or rules + from Natal, and by doing so throw the large kraal which I + govern into the water. My people will not listen unless they + are killed; and while wishing to be friends with the + English, I do not agree to give my people over to be + governed by laws sent to me by them. Have I not asked the + English to allow me to wash my spears since the death of my + father ‘Umpandi,’ and they have kept playing with me all + this time, treating me like a child? Go back and tell the + English that I shall now act on my own account, and if they + wish me to agree to their laws, I shall leave and become a + wanderer; but before I go it will be seen, as I shall not go + without having acted. Go back and tell the white men this, + and let them hear it well. The Governor of Natal and I are + equal; he is Governor of Natal, and I am Governor here.” + +To admit that the Zulu king has the right to kill as many of his +subjects as he chooses, so long as they will tolerate being killed, is +one thing, but it is certainly surprising to find educated Europeans +adopting a line of defence of these proceedings on his behalf that +amounts to a virtual expression of approval, or at least of easy +toleration. Has philanthropy a deadening effect on the moral sense, that +the people who constitute themselves champions for the unfortunate Zulu +king and the oppressed Boers cannot get on to their hobbies without +becoming blind to the difference between right and wrong? Really an +examination of the utterances of these champions of oppressed innocence +would almost lead one to that conclusion. On the one hand they suppress +and explain away facts, and on the other supply their want of argument +by reckless accusations and vicious attacks on the probity of such +of their fellow-Englishmen, especially if in office, as have had the +misfortune to pursue a course of action or to express opinions not +pleasing to them or their proteges. For instance, an innocent and +unenlightened reader of the very interesting work from which I have just +quoted probably lays it down with the conviction that both Sir Bartle +Frere and Sir Theophilus Shepstone are very wicked men and full of bad +motives, and will wonder how a civilised Government could employ such +monsters of bloodthirsty duplicity. As he proceeds he will also find +that there is not much to be said for the characters of either Sir +Garnet Wolseley or Lord Chelmsford; whilst as regards such small fry as +Mr. John Shepstone, the present Secretary of Native Affairs in Natal, +after passing through Miss Colenso’s mill their reputations come out +literally in rags and tatters. He will be shocked to find that not only +did one and all of these gentlemen make gross errors of judgment, but, +trusted and distinguished servants of their country as they are, they +were one and all actuated by dark personal motives that will not bear +examination. + +Heaven help the members of the Shepstone family when they fall into the +hands of the gentler but more enthusiastic sex, for Miss Colenso is not +their only foe. In a recent publication called a “Defence of Zululand +and its Kings,” Lady Florence Dixie gibbets Mr. Henrique Shepstone, and +points him out to be execrated by a Cetywayo-worshipping public, because +the ex-king is to be sent to England in his charge; when, according to +Lady Dixie, he will certainly be scoundrel enough to misinterpret all +that Cetywayo says for his own ends, and will thereby inflict a +“cruel wrong” upon him, and render his visit to England “perfectly +meaningless.” Perhaps it has never occurred to Lady Dixie that this is a +very serious charge to bring against an honourable man, whose reputation +is probably as dear to him as the advancement of Cetywayo’s cause is to +her. It is all very well to be enthusiastic, but ladies should remember +that there are other people in the world to be considered beside +Cetywayo. + +As regards the question of Cetywayo’s bloodthirstiness, which is so +strenuously denied by his apologists, I cannot say that a careful +study of the blue books bearing on the subject brings me to the same +conclusion. It is true that there is not much information on the point, +for the obvious reason that the history of slaughters in Zululand in the +vast majority of cases only reached Natal in the form of rumours, +which nobody thought it worth while to report. There were no newspaper +correspondents in Zululand. There is not, however, any doubt that +Cetywayo was in the habit of killing large numbers of people; indeed it +was a matter of the commonest notoriety; nor, as will be seen from the +message I have transcribed, did he himself deny it, when, being angry, +he spoke the truth. At the same time that this message was sent, we +find Mr. Osborn, then resident magistrate at Newcastle in Natal, who is +certainly not given to exaggeration, writing to the Secretary for Native +Affairs thus:--“From all I have been able to learn, Cetywayo’s conduct +has been, and continues to be, disgraceful. He is putting people to +death in a shameful manner, especially girls. The dead bodies are +placed by his order in the principal paths, especially where the paths +intersect each other (cross roads). A few of the parents of the young +people so killed buried the bodies, and thus brought Cetywayo’s wrath +on themselves, resulting not only on their own death, but destruction +of the whole family. . . . It is really terrible that such horrible +savagery could take place on our own borders. . . . Uhamu reproved +Cetywayo the other day, reminded him of his promises to Mr. Shepstone, +and begged him to spare the people. This advice, as could be expected, +was not relished.” + +Again, Mr. Fynney, in his report of his visit to Zululand in 1877, +states that though the king and his “indunas” (councillors) denied that +men were killed without trial, the people told a very different +tale. Thus he says, “In every instance, where I had so far gained the +confidence of the Zulus as to cause them to speak freely, was I assured +of the truthfulness of the statement that the king, Cetywayo, caused his +people to be put to death in great numbers; and when I remarked that of +course he did so after a fair and proper trial, in some cases my remark +was greeted with a suppressed laugh or a smile. Some remarked, ‘Yes, +a trial of bullets;’ others, ‘Yes, we get a trial, but that means +surrounding the kraal at daybreak and shooting us down like cattle.’ +One asked me what the Government in Natal intended doing, or what was +thought in Natal about the killing, saying, ‘It was not in the night +that Sompseu spoke, but in the sunshine; the king was not alone, but his +people were around him, and the ears of all Zululand heard these words, +and the hearts of all Zulus were joyful, and in gladness they lifted up +their hands saying: The mouth of our white father has spoken good words; +he has cautioned his child in the presence of his people, and a good sun +has risen this day over Zululand! How is it now? Has the king listened? +Does he hold fast those words? No! not one. The promises he made are +all broken. What does Sompseu say to this? You should dine at my kraal +yonder for a few days, and see the izizi (cattle and other property of +people who have been killed) pass, and you would then see with your own +eyes how a case is tried.’” Farther on Mr. Fynney says, “When a charge +is made against a Zulu, the question is generally asked, ‘Has he any +cattle?’ and if answered in the affirmative, there is little chance of +escape. Instances of killing occurred while I was in Zululand, and to +my knowledge no trial was allowed. An armed party was despatched on the +morning I left Ondine, and, as I was informed, to kill.” + +There is no reason to suppose that Mr. Fynney was in any way prejudiced +in making these remarks; on the contrary, he was simply carrying out +an official mission, and reporting for the general information of the +Governments of Natal and the Transvaal. It is, however, noticeable that +neither these nor similar passages are ever alluded to by Cetywayo’s +advocates, whose object seems to be rather to suppress the truth than to +put it fairly before the public, if by such suppression they think they +can advance the cause of the ex-king. + +The whole matter of Cetywayo’s private policy, however, appears to me +to be very much beside the question. Whether or no he slaughtered his +oppressed subjects in bygone years, which there is no doubt he did, is +not our affair, since we were not then, as we are now, responsible for +the good government of Zululand; and seeing the amount of slaughter +that goes on under our protectorate, it ill becomes us to rake up these +things against Cetywayo. What we have to consider is his foreign policy, +not the domestic details of his government.[*] + + [*] A gentleman, who has recently returned from travelling + in Zululand, relates the following story as nearly as + possible in the words in which it was told to him by a well- + known hunter in Zululand, Piet Hogg by name, now residing + near Dundee on the Zulu border. The story is a curious one + as illustrative of Zulu character, and scarcely represents + Cetywayo in as amiable a light as one might wish. Piet Hogg + and my informant were one day talking about the king when + the former said, “I was hunting and trading in Zululand, and + was at a military kraal occupied by Cetywayo, where I saw a + Basuto who had been engaged by the king to instruct his + people in building houses, that were to be _square_ instead + of circular (as are all Zulu buildings), for which his pay + was to be thirty head of cattle. The Basuto came to Cetywayo + in my presence, and said that the square buildings were + made; he now wished to have his thirty head of cattle and to + depart. Cetywayo having obtained what he required, began to + think the man overpaid, so said, ‘I have observed that you + like ---- (a Zulu woman belonging to the kraal); suppose you + take her instead of the thirty head of cattle.’ Now this was + a very bad bargain for the Basuto, as the woman was not + worth more, in Zulu estimation, than ten head of cattle; but + the Basuto, knowing with whom he had to deal, thought it + might be better to comply with the suggestion rather than + insist upon his rights, and asked to be allowed till the + next morning to consider the proposal. After he had been + dismissed on this understanding, Cetywayo sent for the + woman, and accused her of misconduct with the Basuto, the + punishment of which, if proved, would be death. She denied + this vehemently, with protestations and tears. He insisted, + but, looking up at a tree almost denuded of leaves which + grew close by, said, significantly, ‘Take care that not a + leaf remains on that tree by the morning.’ The woman + understood the metaphor, and in an hour or two, aided by + other strapping Zulu females, attacked the unfortunate + Basuto and killed him with clubs. But Cetywayo having thus, + like the monkey in the fable, employed a cat’s paw to do his + dirty work, began to think the Basuto’s untimely death might + have an ugly appearance in my eyes, so gave orders in my + presence that, as a punishment, six of the women who had + killed the Basuto should also be put to death. This was too + much for me, knowing as I did, all that had passed. I + reproached Cetywayo for his cruelty, and declared I would + leave Zululand without trading there, and without making him + the present he expected. I also said I should take care the + great English ‘Inkose’ (the Governor of Natal) should hear + of his conduct and the reason of my return. Cetywayo was + then on friendly terms with the English, and being impressed + by my threats, he reconsidered his orders, and spared the + lives of the women.” + +I do not propose to follow out all the details of the boundary dispute +between Cetywayo and the Transvaal, or to comment on the different +opinions held on the point by the various authorities, English and +Zulu. The question has been, for the moment, settled by the Transvaal +Convention, and is besides a most uninteresting one to the general +reader. + +Nor shall I enter into a discussion concerning the outrages on which +Sir Bartle Frere based his ultimatum previous to the Zulu war. They were +after all insignificant, although sufficient to serve as a _casus belli_ +to a statesman determined to fight. The Zulu war was, in the opinion of +Sir B. Frere, necessary in self-defence, which is the first principle of +existence. If it admits of justification, it is on the ground that the +Zulu army was a menace to the white population of South Africa, and that +it was therefore necessary to destroy it, lest at some future time it +should destroy the whites. It is ridiculous to say that the capture of +two Zulu women in Natal and their subsequent murder, or the expulsion on +political grounds of a few missionaries, justified us in breaking up a +kingdom and slaughtering ten thousand men. Sir Bartle Frere declared war +upon the Zulus because he was afraid, and had good reason to be +afraid, that if he did not, Cetywayo would before long sweep either +the Transvaal or Natal; whilst, on the other hand, the Zulus fought us +because our policy was too philanthropic to allow them to fight anybody +else. This statement may appear strange, but a little examination into +Zulu character and circumstances will, I think, show it to be correct. + +It must be remembered that for some years before Panda’s death the Zulus +had not been engaged in any foreign war. When Cetywayo ascended the +throne, it was the general hope and expectation of the army, and +therefore of the nation, that this period of inaction would come to an +end, and that the new king would inaugurate an active foreign policy. +They did not greatly care in what direction the activity developed +itself, provided it did develop. It must also be borne in mind that +every able-bodied man in the Zulu country was a member of a regiment, +even the lads being attached to regiments as carriers, and the women +being similarly enrolled, though they did not fight. The Zulu military +system was the universal-service system of Germany brought to an +absolute perfection, obtained by subordinating all the ties and duties +of civil life to military ends. Thus, for instance, marriage could not +be contracted at will, but only by the permission of the king, which was +generally delayed until a regiment was well advanced in years, when a +number of girls were handed over to it to take to wife. This regulation +came into force because it was found that men without home ties were +more ferocious and made better soldiers, and the result of these harsh +rules was that the Zulu warrior, living as he did under the shadow of a +savage discipline, for any breach of which there was but one punishment, +death, can hardly be said to have led a life of domestic comfort, such +as men of all times and nations have thought their common right. But +even a Zulu must have some object in life, some shrine at which to +worship, some mistress of his affections. Home he had none, religion he +had none, mistress he had none, but in their stead he had his career +as a warrior, and his hope of honour and riches to be gained by the +assegai. His home was on the war-track with his regiment, his religion +the fierce denunciation of the isanusi,[*] and his affections were fixed +on the sudden rush of battle, the red slaughter, and the spoils of +the slain. “War,” says Sir T. Shepstone, in a very remarkable despatch +written about a year before the outbreak of the Zulu war, “is the +universal cry among the soldiers, who are anxious to live up to their +traditions, . . . . and the idea is gaining ground among the people that +their nation has outlived the object of its existence.” Again he says, +“The engine (the Zulu military organisation) has not ceased to exist or +to generate its forces, although the reason or excuse for its existence +has died away: these forces have continued to accumulate and are daily +accumulating without safety-valve or outlet.” + + [*] _Witch-doctor._ These persons are largely employed in + Zululand to smell out witches who are supposed to have + bewitched others, and are of course very useful as political + agents. Any person denounced by them is at once executed. A + friend of the writer’s was once present at a political + smelling-out on a large scale, and describes it as a very + curious and unpleasant scene. The men, of whom there were + some thousands, were seated in a circle, as pale with terror + as Zulus can be. Within the circle were several witch + doctors; one of whom amidst his or her incantations would + now and again step forward and touch some unfortunate man + with a forked stick. The victim was instantly led away a few + paces and his neck twisted. The circle awaited each + denunciation in breathless expectation, for not a man among + them knew whose turn it might be next. On another occasion, + an unfortunate wretch who had been similarly condemned by an + isanusi rushed up to the same gentleman’s waggon and + besought shelter. He was hidden under some blankets, but + presently his pursuers arrived, and insisted upon his being + handed over. All possible resistance was made, until the + executioners announced that they would search the waggon and + kill him there. It was then covenanted that he should have a + start in the race for life. He was, however, overtaken and + killed. These instances will show how dark and terrible is + the Zulu superstition connected with witchcraft, and what a + formidable weapon it becomes in the hands of the king or + chief. + +Desirable as such a state of feeling may be in an army just leaving +for the battlefield, it is obvious that for some fifty thousand men, +comprising the whole manhood of the nation, to be continually on the +boil with sanguinary animosity against the human race in general, is an +awkward element to fit into the peaceable government of a state. + +Yet this was doubtless the state of affairs with which Cetywayo had +to contend during the latter years of his reign. He found himself +surrounded by a great army, in a high state of efficiency and warlike +preparation, proclaiming itself wearied with camp life, and clamouring +to be led against an enemy, that it might justify its traditions and +find employment for its spears. Often and often he must have been sorely +puzzled to find excuses wherewithal to put it off. Indeed his position +was both awkward and dangerous: on the one hand was Scylla in the shape +of the English Government, and on the other the stormy and uncertain +Charybdis of his clamouring regiments. Slowly the idea must have began +to dawn upon him that unless he found employment for the army, which, +besides being disgusted with his inactivity, was somewhat wearied with +his cruelties, for domestic slaughter had ceased to divert and had begun +to irritate: the army, or some enterprising members of it, might put it +beyond his power ever to find employment for it at all, and bring one of +his brothers to rule in his stead. + +And yet who was he to fight, if fight he must? There were three possible +enemies--1. The Swazis; 2. The Transvaal Boers; 3. The English. + +Although the English may have held a place on Cetywayo’s list as +possible foes, there is no ground for supposing that, until shortly +before the war, he had any wish to fight with us. Indeed, whereas their +hatred of the Boers was pronounced, and openly expressed, both the Zulu +king and people always professed great respect for Englishmen, and even +a certain amount of liking and regard. + +Therefore, when Cetywayo had to settle on an enemy to attack, it was not +the English that he chose, but the Swazis, whose territory adjoined his +own, lying along the borders of the Transvaal towards Delagoa Bay. The +Swazis are themselves Zulus, and Cetywayo claimed certain sovereign +rights over them, which, however, they refused to recognise. They are a +powerful tribe, and can turn out about 10,000 fighting men, quite enough +for Cetywayo’s young warriors to try their mettle on. Still the king +does not appear to have wished to undertake the war without first +obtaining the approval of the Natal Government, to whom he applied +several times for permission “to wash his spears,” saying that he was +but half a king until he had done so. The Natal Government, however, +invariably replied that he was on no account to do anything of the sort. +This shows the inconveniences of possessing a complimentary feudal hold +over a savage potentate, the shadow of power without the reality. The +Governor of Natal could not in decency sanction such a proceeding as a +war of extermination against the Swazis, but if it had occurred without +his sanction, the Swazis would have suffered no doubt, but the Zulu +spears would have been satisfactorily washed, and there would have been +no Zulu war. As it is, Englishmen have been killed instead of Swazis. + +Thwarted in his designs on the Swazis, Cetywayo next turned his +attention to the Transvaal Boers. The Zulus and the Boers had never been +good friends since the days of the massacre of Retief, and of late +years their mutual animosity had been greatly increased owing to +their quarrels about the boundary question previously alluded to. This +animosity reached blood-heat when the Boer Government, acting with the +arrogance it always displayed towards natives, began to lay its commands +upon Cetywayo about his relations with the Amaswazi, the alleged +trespassing on Boer territory, and other matters. The arrogance was +all the more offensive because it was impotent. The Boers were not in +a position to undertake the chastisement of the Zulus. But the king and +council of Zululand now determined to try conclusions with the Transvaal +on the first convenient opportunity, and this time without consulting +the Government of Natal. The opportunity soon occurred. Secocoeni, the +powerful chief of the Bapedi, one of the tribes whose territories border +on the Transvaal, came to a difference with the Boers over another +border question. There is good ground for supposing that Cetywayo +incited him to withstand the Boer demands; it is certain that during the +course of the war that followed he assisted him with advice, and more +substantially still, with Zulu volunteers. + +To be brief, the Secocoeni war resulted in the discomfiture of the +Transvaal forces. Another result of this struggle was to throw the whole +state into the most utter confusion, of which the Dutch burghers, always +glad of an opportunity to defy the law, took advantage to refuse to pay +taxes. National bankruptcy ensued, and confusion grew worse confounded. + +Cetywayo took note of all this, and saw that now was his opportunity to +attack. The Boers had suffered both in morale and prestige from their +defeat by Secocoeni, who was still in arms against them; whilst the +natives were proportionately elated by their success over the dreaded +white men. There was, he knew well, but little chance of a rapid +concentration to resist a sudden raid, especially when made by such a +powerful army, or rather chain of armies, as he could set in motion. +Everything favoured the undertaking; indeed, humanly speaking, it +is difficult to see what could have saved the greater part of the +population of the Transvaal from sudden extinction, if a kind Providence +had not just then put it into the head of Lord Carnarvon to send out +Sir T. Shepstone as Special Commissioner to their country. When Cetywayo +heard that his father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) was going up to the +Transvaal, he held his hand, sent out spies, and awaited the course +of events. The following incident will show with what interest he was +watching what took place. At the Vaal River a party of Boers met +the Special Commissioner and fired salutes to welcome him. It was +immediately reported to Cetywayo by his spies that the Boers had fired +over Sir T. Shepstone’s waggon. Shortly afterwards a message arrived at +Pretoria from Cetywayo to inquire into the truth of the story, coolly +announcing his intention of sweeping the Transvaal if it were true that +“his father” had been fired at. In a conversation with Mr. Fynney after +the Annexation Cetywayo alludes to his intentions in these words:-- + +“I heard that the Boers were not treating him (Sompseu) properly, and +that they intended to put him in a corner. If they had done so I should +not have waited for anything more. _Had but one shot been fired_, +I should have said, ‘What more do I wait for? they have touched my +father.’ I should have poured my men over the land, and I can tell you, +son of Mr. Fynney, the land would have burned with fire.” This will show +how eagerly Cetywayo was searching for an excuse to commence his attack +on the Transvaal. When the hope of finding a pretext in the supposed +firing at Sir T. Shepstone or any incident of a similar nature faded +away, he appears to have determined to carry out his plans without +any immediate pretext, and to make a _casus belli_ of his previous +differences with the Government of the Republic. Accordingly he massed +his impis (army corps) at different points along the Transvaal border, +where they awaited the signal to advance and sweep the country. +Information of Cetywayo’s doings and of his secret plans reached +Pretoria shortly before the Annexation, and confirmed the mind of the +Special Commissioner as to the absolute necessity of that measure to +save the citizens of the Republic from coming to a violent end, +and South Africa from being plunged into a native war of unexampled +magnitude. The day before the Annexation took place, when it was quite +certain that it would take place, a message was sent to Cetywayo by Sir +T. Shepstone telling him of what was about to happen, and telling +him too in the sternest and most straightforward language, that the +Transvaal had become the Queen’s land like Natal, and that he must no +more think of attacking it than he would of attacking Natal. Cetywayo +on receiving the message at once disbanded his armies and sent them +to their kraals. “Kabuna,” he said to the messenger, “my impis were +gathered; now at my father’s (Sir T. Shepstone’s) bidding I send them +back to their homes.” + +This fact, namely, that at the bidding of his old mentor Sir T. +Shepstone, Cetywayo abandoned his long-cherished plans, and his +undoubted opportunity of paying off old scores with the Boers in a most +effectual manner, and gave up a policy that had so many charms for him, +must be held by every unprejudiced man to speak volumes in his favour. +It must be remembered that it was not merely to oblige his “father +Sompseu” that he did this, but to meet the wishes of the English +Government, and the act shows how anxious he was to retain the +friendship and fall in with the views of that Government. Evidently +Cetywayo had no animosity against us in April 1877. + +In his interview with Mr. Fynney, Cetywayo speaks out quite frankly as +to what his intentions had been; he says, “I know all about the soldiers +being on their way up, but I would have asked Sompseu to allow the +soldiers to stand on one side for just a little while, only a little, +and see what my men could do. It would have been unnecessary for the +Queen’s people to trouble. My men were all ready, and how big must that +stone have been, with my father Sompseu digging at one side and myself +at the other, that would not have toppled over? Even though the size +of that mountain (pointing to a mountain range), we could put it on its +back. Again I say I am glad to know the Transvaal is English ground; +perhaps now there may be rest.” + +This and other passages show beyond all doubt from what an awful +catastrophe the Transvaal was saved by the Annexation. That Cetywayo +personally detested the Boers is made clear by his words to Mr. Fynney. +“‘The Boers,’ he says, ‘are a nation of liars; they are a bad people, +bad altogether. I do not want them near my people; they lie and claim +what is not theirs, and ill-use my people. Where is Thomas?’ (President +Burgers). I informed him that Mr. Burgers had left the Transvaal. ‘Then +let them pack up and follow Thomas,’ said he. ‘Let them go. The Queen +does not want such people as those about her land. What can the Queen +make of them or do with them? Their evil ways puzzled both Thomas and +Rudolph, Landdrost of Utrecht; they will not be quiet.’” + +It is very clear that if Cetywayo had been left to work his will, a +great many of the Boers would have found it necessary to “pack up and +follow Thomas,” whilst many more would have never needed to pack again. + +I am aware that attempts have been made to put another explanation on +Cetywayo’s warlike preparations against the Boers. It has been said that +the Zulu army was called up by Sir T. Shepstone to coerce the Transvaal. +It is satisfactory to be able, from intimate personal knowledge, to +give unqualified denial to that statement, which is a pure invention, as +indeed is easily proved by clear evidence, which I have entered into in +another part of this book. Cetywayo played for his own hand all along, +and received neither commands nor hints from the Special Commissioner to +get his army together. Indeed, when Sir T. Shepstone discovered what was +going on, he suffered great anxiety lest some catastrophe should +occur before he was in a position to prevent it. Nothing short of +the Annexation could have saved the Transvaal at that moment, and the +conduct of the Boers after the danger had been taken on to the +shoulders of the Imperial Government is a startling instance of national +ingratitude. + +Here again the Zulu king was brought face to face with the ubiquitous +British Government, and that too at a particularly aggravating moment. +He was about to commence his attack when he was met with a polite, +“Hands off; this is British territory.” No wonder that we find him in +despair renewing his prayer that Sompseu will allow him to make “one +little raid only, one small swoop,” and saying that “it is the custom +of our country, when a new king is placed over the nation, to wash +their spears, and it has been done in the case of all former kings of +Zululand. I am no king, but sit in a heap. I cannot be a king till I +have washed my assegais.” All of which is doubtless very savage and +very wrong, but such is the depravity of human nature, that there is +something taking about it for all that. + +It was at this period of the history of South Africa that many people +think we made our crowning mistake. We annexed the Transvaal, say they, +six months too soon. As things have turned out, it would have been wiser +to have left Zulus and Transvaal Boers to try conclusions, and done +our best to guard our own frontiers. There is no doubt that such a +consummation of affairs would have cleared the political atmosphere +wonderfully; the Zulus would have got enough fighting to last them some +time, and the remainder of the Boers would have entreated our protection +and become contented British subjects; there would have been no +Isandhlwana and no Majuba Hill. But to these I say who could foresee the +future, and who, in the then state of kindly feeling towards the Boers, +could wish to leave them, and all the English mixed up with them, to +undergo, unprepared as they were, the terrible experience of a Zulu +invasion? Besides, what guarantee was there that the slaughter would +stop in the Transvaal, or that the combat would not have developed into +a war of races throughout South Africa? Even looking at the matter in +the light of after events, it is difficult to regret that humanity +was on this occasion allowed to take precedence of a more cold-blooded +policy. If the opponents of the Annexation, or even the members of the +Transvaal Independence Committee, knew what a Zulu invasion meant, they +would scarcely have been so bitter about that act. + +From the time of the Annexation it was a mere matter of opinion as to +which direction the Zulu explosion would take. The safety-valves were +loaded whilst the pressure daily increased, and all acquainted with the +people knew that it must come sooner or later. + +Shortly after the Transvaal became British territory the old Zulu +boundary question came to the fore again and was made more complicated +than ever by Sir T. Shepstone, who had hitherto favoured the Zulu +claims, taking the Boer side of the controversy, after examination of +the locality and of persons acquainted with the details of the matter. +There was nothing wonderful in this change of opinion, though of course +it was attributed to various motives by advocates of the Zulu claims, +and there is no doubt that Cetywayo himself did not at all like it, and, +excited thereto by vexation and the outcry of his regiments, adopted +a very different and aggressive tone in his communications with the +English authorities. Indeed his irritation against the Boers and +everybody connected with them was very great. Probably if he had been +left alone he would in time have carried out his old programme, and +attacked the Transvaal. But, fortunately for the Transvaal, which, like +sailors and drunken men, always seems to have had a special Providence +taking care of it: at this juncture Sir Bartle Frere appeared upon the +scene, and after a few preliminaries and the presentation of a strong +ultimatum, which was quite impracticable so far as Cetywayo was +concerned, since it demanded what it was almost impossible for him to +concede--the disbandment of his army--invaded Zululand. + +It is generally supposed that the Natal colonists had a great deal to +do with making the Zulu war, but this is not the case. It is quite true +that they were rejoiced at the prospect of the break-up of Cetywayo’s +power, because they were very much afraid of him and of his “celibate +man-slaying machine,” which, under all the circumstances, is not +wonderful. But the war was a distinctly Imperial war, made by an +Imperial officer, without consultation with Colonial authorities, on +Imperial grounds, viz., because Cetywayo menaced Her Majesty’s power in +South Africa. Of course, if there had been no colonies there would have +been no war, but in that way only are they responsible for it. Natal, +however, has not grudged to pay 250,000 pounds towards its expenses, +which is a great deal more than it can afford, and, considering that the +foolish settlement made by Sir Garnet Wolseley is almost sure to involve +the colony in trouble, quite as much as should be asked. + +The fact of the matter was, that Sir Bartle Frere was a statesman who +had the courage of his convictions; he saw that a Zulu disturbance of +one kind or another was inevitable, so he boldly took the initiative. If +things had gone right with him, as he supposed they would, praise would +have been lavished on him by the Home authorities, and he would have +been made a peer, and perhaps Governor-General of India to boot; but he +reckoned without his Lord Chelmsford, and the element of success which +was necessary to gild his policy in the eyes of the home public was +conspicuous by its absence. As it was, no language was considered to +be too bad to apply to this “imperious proconsul” who had taken upon +himself to declare a war. If it is any consolation to him, he has at any +rate the gratitude of the South African Colonies, not so much for what +he has done, for that is being carefully nullified by the subsequent +action of the Home Government, but because, believing his policy to be +right, he had the boldness to carry it out at the risk of his official +reputation. Sir Bartle Frere took a larger view of the duties of the +governor of a great dependency than to constitute himself the flickering +shadow of the Secretary of State in Downing Street, who, knowing little +of the real interests of the colony, is himself only the reflection +of those that hold the balance of power, to whom the subject is one of +entire indifference, provided that there is nothing to pay. + +The details of the Zulu war are matters of melancholy history, which +it is useless to recapitulate here. With the exception of the affair at +Rorke’s Drift, there is nothing to be proud of in connection with it, +and a great deal to be ashamed of, more especially its final settlement. +There is, however, one point that I wish to submit to the consideration +of my readers, and that is, that Cetywayo was never thoroughly in +earnest about the war. If he had been in earnest, if he had been +determined to put out his full strength, he would certainly have swept +Natal from end to end after his victory at Isandhlwana. There was no +force to prevent his doing so: on the contrary, it is probable that if +he had advanced a strong army over the border, a great number of the +Natal natives would have declared in his favour through fear of his +vengeance, or at the least would have remained neutral. He had ample +time at his disposal to have executed the manoeuvre twice over before +the arrival of the reinforcements, of which the results must have been +very dreadful, and yet he never destroyed a single family. The reason he +has himself given for this conduct is that he did not wish to irritate +the white man; that he had not made the war, and was only anxious to +defend his country. + +When the fighting came to an end after the battle of Ulundi, there +were two apparent courses open to us to take. One was to take over +the country and rule it for the benefit of the Zulus, and the other to +enforce the demands in Sir Bartle Frere’s ultimatum, and, taking such +guarantees as circumstances would admit of, leave Cetywayo on the +throne. Instead of acting on either of these plans, however, Sir Garnet +Wolseley proceeded, in the face of an extraordinary consensus of adverse +opinion, which he treated with calm contempt, to execute what has proved +to be a very cruel settlement. Sir Garnet Wolseley has the reputation of +being an extremely able man, and it is only fair to him to suppose that +he was not the sole parent of this political monster, by which all the +blood and treasure expended on the Zulu war were made of no account, but +that it was partially dictated to him by authorities at home, who were +anxious to gratify English opinion, and partly ignorant, partly +careless of the consequences. At the same time, it is clear that he is +responsible for the details of the scheme, since immediately after the +capture of Cetywayo he writes a despatch about them which was considered +so important, that a member of his staff was sent to England in +charge of it. In this document he informs the Secretary of State that +Cetywayo’s rule was resolutely built up “without any of the ordinary and +lawful foundations of authority, and by the mere vigour and vitality of +an individual character.” It is difficult to understand what Sir Garnet +means in this passage. If the fact of being the rightful and generally +accepted occupant of the throne is not an “ordinary and lawful +foundation of authority,” what is? As regards Cetywayo having built up +his rule by the “mere vigour and vitality of an individual character,” + he is surely in error. Cetywayo’s position was not different to that +of his immediate predecessors. If Sir Garnet had applied the remark to +Chaka, the first king, to the vigour and vitality of whose individual +character Zululand owes its existence as a nation, it would have been +more appropriate. The despatch goes on to announce that he has made +up his mind to divide the country into thirteen portions, in order to +prevent the “possibility of any reunion of its inhabitants under one +rule,” and ends in these words: “I have laboured with the great aim of +establishing for Her Majesty’s subjects in South Africa, both white and +coloured, as well as for this spirited people against whom unhappily we +have been involved in war, the enduring foundations of peace, happiness +and prosperity.” The spirited people were no doubt vastly thankful, but +the white man, reading such a passage as this, and knowing the facts of +the case, will only recognise Sir Garnet Wolseley’s admirable talent for +ironical writing. + +Sir Garnet entered into an agreement with each of his kinglets, who, +amongst other things, promised that they would not make war without +the sanction of the British Government. He also issued a paper of +instructions to the gentleman who was first appointed British Resident +(who, by the way, very soon threw up his post in despair). From this +document we learn that all the ex-king’s brothers are to “be under +the eye of the chief John Dunn,” but it is chiefly remarkable for the +hostility it evinces to all missionary enterprise. The Resident is +instructed to “be careful to hold yourself entirely aloof from all +missionary or proselytising enterprises,” and that “grants of land +by former kings to missionaries cannot be recognised by the British +Government,” although Sir Garnet will allow missionaries to live in the +country if the chief of the district does not object. These instructions +created some adverse comment in England, with the result that, in +the supplementary instructions issued on the occasion of Mr. Osborn’s +appointment as Resident, they were somewhat modified. In the despatch +to the Secretary of State in which he announces the new appointment, Sir +Garnet says that Mr. Osborn is to be the “councillor, guide, and friend” + of the native chiefs, and that to his “moral influence” “we should +look I think for the spread of civilisation and the propagation of the +Gospel.” What a conglomeration of duties,--at once “prophet, priest, and +king!” Poor Mr. Osborn! + +Of the chiefs appointed under this unfortunate settlement, some were +so carelessly chosen that they have no authority whatsoever over +the districts to which they were appointed, their nominal subjects +preferring to remain under the leadership of their hereditary chief. +Several of Sir Garnet’s little kings cannot turn out an hundred men, +whilst the hereditary chief, who has no official authority, can bring up +three or four thousand. Thus, for instance, a territory was given to +a chief called Infaneulela. The retainers of this gentleman live in a +kraal of five or six huts on the battlefield of Ulundi. A chief called +Dilligane, to whom the district should have been given, is practically +head man of the district, and takes every possible opportunity of +defying the nominee chief, Infaneulela, who is not acknowledged by +the people. Another case is that of Umgitchwa, to whom a territory was +given. In this instance there are two brothers, Umgitchwa and Somhlolo, +born of different mothers. Umgitchwa is the elder, but Somhlolo is the +son of a daughter of the king, and therefore, according to Zulu custom, +entitled to succeed to the chieftainship. Somhlolo was disinherited by +Sir Garnet on account of his youth (he is about twenty-five and has many +wives). But an ancient custom is not to be thus abrogated by a stroke of +the pen, and Somhlolo is practically chief of the district. Fighting is +imminent between the two brothers. + +A third case is that of Hlubi, who, though being a good, well-meaning +man, is a Basuto, and being a foreigner, has no influence over the Zulus +under him. + +A fourth instance is that of Umlandela, an old and infirm Zulu, who was +made chief over a large proportion of the Umtetwa tribe on the coast of +Zululand. His appointment was a fatal mistake, and has already led to +much bloodshed under the following curious circumstances, which are not +without interest, as showing the intricacy of Zulu plots. + +The Umtetwas were in the days of Chaka a very powerful tribe, but +suffered the same fate at his hands as did every other that ventured to +cross spears with him. They were partially annihilated, and whilst some +of the survivors, of whom the Umtetwas in Zululand are the descendants, +were embodied in the Zulu regiments, others were scattered far and wide. +Branches of this important tribe exist as far off as the Cape Colony. +Dingiswayo, who was the chief of the Umtetwas when Chaka conquered the +tribe, fled after his defeat into Basutoland, and is supposed to have +died there. After the Zulu war Sir G. Wolseley divided the Umtetwa into +two districts, appointing an Umtetwa chief named Somkeli ruler over one, +and Umlandela over the other. + +Umlandela, being a Zulu and worn with age, has never had any authority +over his nominal subjects, and has been anxious to rid himself of the +danger and responsibility of his chieftainship by transferring it on to +the shoulders of Mr. John Dunn, whose territory adjoins his own, and +who would be, needless to say, nothing loth to avail himself of the +opportunity of increasing his taxable area. Whilst this intrigue was in +progress all Zululand was convulsed with the news of our defeat by the +Boers and the consequent surrender of the Transvaal. It was commonly +rumoured that our forces were utterly destroyed, and that the Boers were +now the dominant Power. Following on the heels of this intelligence was +a rumour to the effect that Cetywayo was coming back. These two reports, +both of which had a foundation of truth, had a very bad effect on the +vulgar mind in Zululand, and resulted in the setting in motion of a +variety of plots, of which the following was the most important. + +The Umtetwa tribe is among those who are not anxious for the return +of Cetywayo, but see in the present state of affairs an opportunity of +regaining the power they possessed before the days of Chaka. If they +were to have a king over Zululand they determined that it should be an +Umtetwa king, and Somkeli, one of the chiefs appointed by Sir Garnet, +was the man who aimed at the throne. He was not, however, anxious to put +out his hand at first further than he could draw it back, so he adopted +a very ingenious expedient. It will be remembered that the old Chief +Dingiswayo fled to Basutoland, where he is reported to have married. +It occurred to Somkeli that if he could produce a descendant or a +pseudo-descendant of Dingiswayo he would have no difficulty in beginning +operations by dispossessing Umlandela of his territory in favour of the +supposed lawful heir. In fact he wanted a cat to pull the chestnuts +out of the fire for him, who could easily be got rid of afterwards. +Accordingly one Sitimela was produced who is supposed to be an escaped +convict from Natal, who gave out that he was a grandson of Dingiswayo +by a Basuto woman, and a great medicine-man, able to kill everybody by a +glance of his eye. + +To this impostor adherents flocked from all parts of Zululand, and +Umlandela flying for his life into John Dunn’s territory, Sitimela +seized upon the chieftainship. The Resident thereupon ordered him to +appear before him, but he, as might be expected, refused to come. As it +was positively necessary to put an end to the plot by some means, since +its further development would have endangered and perhaps destroyed the +weak-knee’d Zulu settlement, Mr. Osborn determined to proceed to the +scene of action. Mahomet would not go to the mountain, so the mountain +had to go to Mahomet. On arrival he pitched his tents half way between +the camps of Sitimela and John Dunn, who had Umlandela under his charge, +and summoned Somkeli, the author of the plot, to appear before him. Ten +days elapsed before the summons was obeyed. During this time, and indeed +until they finally escaped, the Resident and his companion could not +even venture to the spring, which was close at hand, to wash, for fear +of being assassinated. All day long they could see lines of armed +men swarming over the hills round them, and hear them yelling their +war-songs. At length Somkeli appeared, accompanied by over a thousand +armed warriors. He was ordered to withdraw his forces from Sitimela’s +army and go home. He went home, but did not withdraw his forces. The +next day Sitimela himself appeared before the Resident. He was ordered +to come with ten men: he came with two thousand all armed, wild with +excitement and “moutied” (medicined). To make this medicine they had +killed and pounded up a little cripple boy and several of Umlandela’s +wives. It afterwards transpired that the only reason Sitimela did not +then and there kill the Resident was that he (Mr. Osborn) had with him +several chiefs who were secretly favourable to Sitimela’s cause, and if +he had killed him he would, according to Zulu custom, have had to kill +them too. Mr. Osborn ordered Sitimela to disperse his forces or take +the consequences, and waited a few days for him to do so; but seeing no +signs of his compliance, he then ordered the neighbouring chiefs to fall +on him, and at length withdrew from his encampment,--none too soon. That +very night a party of Sitimela’s men came down to kill him, and finding +the tent in which he and his companions had slept standing, stabbed at +its supposed occupants through the canvas. + +Sitimela was defeated by the forces ordered out by the Resident with +a loss of about 500 men. It is, however, worthy of note, and shows how +widespread was the conspiracy, that out of all the thousands promised, +Mr. Osborn was only able to call out two thousand men. + +The appointment, however, that has occasioned the most criticism is that +of John Dunn, who got the Benjamin share of Zululand in preference to +his brother chiefs. The converting of an Englishman into a Zulu chief is +such a very odd proceeding that it is difficult to know what to think of +it. John Dunn is an ambitious man, and most probably has designs on the +throne; he is also a man who understands the value of money, of which +he makes a great deal out of his chieftainship. At the same time, it is +clear that, so far as it goes, his rule is better than that of the other +chiefs; he has a uniform tax fixed, and has even done something in the +way of starting schools and making roads. From all that I have been able +to gather, his popularity and influence with the Zulus are overrated, +though he has lived amongst them so many years, and taken so many of +their women to wife. His appointment was a hazardous experiment, and in +the long run is likely to prove a mischievous one, since any attempted +amendment of the settlement will be violently resisted by him on the +ground of vested interests. Also, if white men are set over Zulus at +all, they should be _gentlemen_ in the position of government officers, +not successful adventurers. + +Perhaps the only wise thing done in connection with the settlement was +the appointment of Mr. Osborn, C.M.G., as British Resident. It is not +easy to find a man fitted for that difficult and dangerous position, for +the proper filling of which many qualifications are required. Possessed +of an intimate knowledge of the Zulus, their language, and their mode of +thought and life, and being besides a very able and energetic officer, +Mr. Osborn would have saved the settlement from breaking down if anybody +could have saved it. As it is, by the exercise of ceaseless energy and +at great personal risk, he has preserved it from total collapse. Of the +dangers and anxieties to which he is exposed, the account I have given +of the Sitimela incident is a sufficient example. He is, in fact, +nothing but a shadow, for he has no force at his command to ensure +obedience to his decisions, or to prevent civil war; and in Zululand, +oddly enough, force is a remedy. Should one chief threaten the peace of +the country, he can only deal with him by calling on another chief for +aid, a position that is neither dignified nor right. What is worst of +all is that the Zulus are beginning to discover what a shadow he is, and +with this weakened position he has to pit his single brains against all +the thousand and one plots which are being woven throughout Zululand. +The whole country teems with plots. Mnyamane, the late Prime Minister, +and one of the ablest, and perhaps the most influential man in Zululand, +is plotting for the return of Cetywayo. Bishop Colenso, again, is as +usual working his own wires, and creating agitations to forward his +ends, whatever they may be at the moment. John Dunn, on the other hand, +is plotting to succeed Cetywayo, and so on _ad infinitum_. Such is the +state of affairs with which our unfortunate Resident has to contend. +Invested with large imaginary powers, he has in reality nothing but his +personal influence and his own wits to help him. He has no white man +to assist him, but living alone in a broken-down tent and some mud +huts built by his son’s hands (for the Government have never kept their +promise to put him up a house), in the midst of thousands of restless +and scheming savages, amidst plots against the peace and against his +authority, he has to do the best he can to carry out an impracticable +settlement, and to maintain the character of English justice and the +honour of the English name. Were Mr. Osborn to throw up his post or to +be assassinated, the authorities would find it difficult to keep the +whole settlement from collapsing like a card castle. + +Nobody who understood Zulu character and aspirations could ever have +executed such a settlement as Sir Garnet Wolseley’s, unless he did it +in obedience to some motive or instructions that it was not advisable +to publish. It is true that Sir Garnet’s experience of the Zulus was +extremely small, and that he put aside the advice of those who did know +them with that contempt with which he is wont to treat colonists and +their opinions. Sir Garnet Wolseley does not like colonial people, +possibly because they have signally failed to appreciate heaven-born +genius in his person, or his slap-dash drumhead sort of way of settling +the fate of countries, and are, indeed, so rude as to openly say, that, +in their opinion, he did more mischief in Africa in a few months, than +it would take an ordinary official a lifetime to accomplish. + +However this may be, stop his ears as much as he might, Sir Garnet +cannot have been entirely blind to the import of what he was doing, and +the only explanation of his action is that he entered on it more with +the idea of flattering and gratifying English public opinion, than of +doing his best for the Zulus or the white Colonists on their borders. A +great outcry had been raised at home, where, in common with most South +African affairs, the matter was not thoroughly understood, against the +supposed intended annexation of Zululand for the benefit of “greedy +colonists.” It was argued that colonists were anxious for the annexation +in order that they might get the land to speculate with, and doubtless +this was, in individual instances, true. I fully agree with those who +think that it would be unwise to throw open Zululand to the European +settler, not on account of the Zulus, who would benefit by the change, +but because the result would be a state of affairs similar to that in +Natal, where there are a few white men surrounded by an ever-growing +mass of Kafirs. But there is a vast difference between Annexation proper +and the Protectorate it was our duty to establish over the natives. Such +an arrangement would have presented few difficulties, and have brought +with it many advantages. White men could have been forbidden to settle +in the country. A small hut-tax, such as the Zulus would have cheerfully +paid, would have brought in forty or fifty thousand a year, an ample +sum to defray the expenses of the Resident and sub-Residents: the +maintenance of an adequate native force to keep order: and even the +execution of necessary public works. It is impossible to overrate the +advantages that must have resulted both to the Zulus and their white +neighbours from the adoption of this obvious plan, among them being +lasting peace and security to life and property; or to understand the +folly and cruelty that dictated the present arrangement, or rather +want of arrangement. Not for many years has England missed such an +opportunity of doing good, not only at no cost, but with positive +advantage to herself. Did we owe nothing to this people whose kingdom we +had broken up, and whom we had been shooting down by thousands? They +may well ask, as they do continually, what they have done that we should +treat them as we have and are doing? + +It cannot be too clearly understood, that, when the Zulus laid down +their arms they did so, hoping and believing that they would be taken +over by the English Government, which, having been fairly beaten by +it, they now looked on as their head or king, and be ruled like their +brethren in Natal. They expected to have to pay taxes and to have +white magistrates placed over them, and they or the bulk of them looked +forward to the change with pleasure. It must be remembered that when +once they have found their master, there exists no more law-abiding +people in the world than the Zulus, provided they are ruled firmly, and +above all justly. Believing that such a rule would fall to their lot +they surrendered when they did. How great, then, must their surprise +have been when they found, that without their wishes being consulted in +the matter, their own hereditary king was to be sent away, and thirteen +little kings set up in his place, with, strangest of all, a white man as +chief little king, whilst the British Government contented itself with +placing a Resident in the country, to watch the troubles that must +ensue. + +Such a settlement as this could only have one object and one result, +neither of which is at all creditable to the English people. The Zulus +were parcelled out among thirteen chiefs, in order that their strength +might be kept down by internecine war and mutual distrust and jealousy: +and, as though it were intended to render this result more certain, +territories were chucked about in the careless way I have described, +whilst central authority was abolished, and the vacant throne is dangled +before all eyes labelled “the prize of the strongest.” Of course +Sir Garnet’s paper agreements with the chiefs were for the most part +disregarded from the first. For instance, every chief has his army +and uses it too. In Zululand bloodshed is now a thing of every-day +occurrence, and the whole country is torn by fear, uncertainly, and +consequent want.[*] The settlement is bearing its legitimate fruit; some +thousands of Zulus have already been killed in direct consequence of it, +and more will doubtless follow. And this is the outcome of all the blood +and treasure spent over the Zulu war! Well, we have settled Zululand on +the most approved principles, and thank Heaven, British influence has +not been extended! + + [*] A severe famine is said to be imminent in Zululand. + +To show that I am not singular in my opinion as to the present state +of Zululand, I may be allowed to quote a few short extracts taken at +random, from half-a-dozen numbers of the “Natal Mercury.” Talking of +the Zulu settlement terms as dictated by Sir G. Wolseley, the leading +article of the issue 21st November 1881 says:--“It will at once +be apparent that these terms have in several cases been flagrantly +violated, especially as regards clauses of 2, 3, 4, and 6. This last +will assuredly be broken again and yet again, so long as the British +Resident occupies the position of an official mollusc. The chiefs +themselves perceive and admit the evils that must arise out of the +absence of any effective central authority. These evils are so obvious, +they were so generally recognised at the outset as being inherent in +the scheme, that we might almost suppose their occurrence had been +deliberately anticipated as a desired outcome of the settlement. The +morality of such a line of policy would be precisely on a par with that +which is involved in the proposal to reinstate Cetywayo as a means of +dealing with the Boers. The creation of thirteen kinglets in order that +they might destroy each other, is as humane and high-minded an effort +of statesmanship as would be the restoration of a banished king in order +that he might eat up a people to whom the same power has just given back +their independence. To the simple colonial mind such deep designs +of Machiavellian statecraft are as hateful as they are inhuman and +dishonest.” + +A correspondent of the “Mercury” in Zululand writes under date of 13th +October:-- + +“I send a line at the last moment to say that things are going from bad +to worse at railway speed. Up to the arrival of Sir Evelyn Wood, the +chiefs did not fully realise that they were really independent at all. +Now they do, and if I mistake not, like a beggar on horseback will ride +to the devil sharp. Oham has begun by killing a large number of the +Amagalusi people. My information is derived from native sources, and may +be somewhat exaggerated. It is that the killed at Isandhlwana were few +compared with those killed by Uhamu a few days ago. Usibebu also and +Undabuka are, I am told, on the point of coming to blows; and if they +do that it will be worse still, for Undabuka will find supporters +throughout the length and breadth of Zululand. Undabuka, the full +brother of the ex-king, is the protege of the Bishop of Natal. The +Bishop, I find, has again sent one of his agents (Amajuba by name) +calling for another deputation. The deputation is now on its way to +Natal, and that, I understand, against the express refusal of the +Resident to allow it.” In the issue of 14th November is published a +letter from Mr. Nunn, a gentleman well known in Zululand, from which, +as it is too long to quote in its entirety, I give a few +extracts:--“_Oham’s Camp, Oct.15._--The Zulus cannot comprehend the +Transvaal affair, and it has been industriously circulated among them +that the English have been beaten and forced to give back the Transvaal. +They do not understand gracious acts of restoration after we have been +beaten. Four times this year has Umnyamana called his army together and +menaced Oham, who has several times had to have parties of his followers +sleeping around his kraal in the hills adjacent, so as to give him +timely notice to fly. When Oham left his kraal for the purpose of +attending the meeting at Inslasatye, the same day the whole of the +Maquilisini Tribe came on to the hills adjacent to Oham’s kraal, the +‘Injamin,’ and threatened that district. This has been the case on two +or three former occasions, and simultaneously Umnyamana’s tribe and +Undabuka’s followers always flew to arms, thus threatening on all sides. +. . . Trading is and has been for months entirely suspended in this +district. The fields are unplanted, no ploughs or Kafir-picks at +work--all are in a state of excitement, not knowing the moment a +collision may take place. Hunger will stare many in the face next year, +and all the men yelling to their chiefs to be let loose and put an end +to this state of uncertainty.” + +Mr. Nunn encloses an account by an eye-witness of a battle which took +place on the 2d October 1881 between Oham’s army and the Maquilisini +Tribe. The following is an extract:--“On the 2nd there was a heavy mist, +and on moving forward the mounted party found themselves in the midst +of the enemy (the Maquilisini), and on hearing a cry to stab the horses, +they rode through them with no casualty (except one horse slightly +wounded with a bullet). The army, moving in a half circle, now became +generally engaged in a hand-to-hand fight, and our men were checked +and annoyed by a number of the enemy armed with guns, who were in a +stone-kraal and kept up a constant fire. Amatonga, now at the head of +the mounted party, charged and drove the enemy out of the kraal, from +which they three several times charged the enemy on the flank, assisted +by a small infantry party, and cut paths through their ranks. The fight, +which had now lasted nearly an hour, commenced to flag, and Oham’s army +making a sudden rush entirely routed the enemy, and the carnage lasted +to the Bevan river, the boundary of the Transvaal. No women or children +were killed, but out of an army of about 1500 of the enemy but few +escaped” (sic) . . . . “The men, as they were being killed, repeatedly +exclaimed, ‘We are dying through Umnyamana and Umlabaku.’” + +In the “Natal Mercury” of the 13th March occurs the following:-- + +“_Zulu Country._--As to the state of the country it is something we +cannot describe; everything is upside down, and the chiefs appointed by +the government are mere nobodies, and have not any power over their own +people. Even the Resident is in a false position, and seems perfectly +powerless to act either way. We had one row, just arriving at a kraal in +time to save it from being eaten up. Witchcraft and killing, one of the +pretences on which the English made war, are of every-day occurrence, +and fifty times worse than they were before the war. Oham and Tibysio +(?) keep their men continually in the field, consequently those +districts are at present in a state of famine.” + +Sir Garnet Wolseley executed the Zulu settlement on the 1st September +1879. The above extracts will suffice to show the state of the country +after it has been working for little more than two years. They will +also, I believe, suffice to convince any just and impartial mind that I +do not exaggerate when I say that it is an abomination and a disgrace +to England. The language may be strong, but when one hears of 1500 +unfortunates (nearly twice as many as we lost at Isandhlwana) being +slaughtered in a single intertribal broil, it is time to use strong +language. It is not as though this were an unexpected or an unavoidable +development of events, every man who knew the Zulus predicted the misery +that must result from such a settlement, but those who directed their +destinies turned a deaf ear to all warnings. They did not wish to hear. + +And now we are told that civil war is imminent between the Cetywayo or +anti-settlement party, and what I must, for want of a better name, call +the John Dunn party, or those who have acquired interests under the +settlement, and who for various reasons wish to see Cetywayo’s face no +more. If this occurs, and it will occur unless the Government makes up +its mind to do something before long, the slaughter, not only of men but +also of women and children, will be enormous; fugitives will pour into +Natal, followed perhaps by their pursuers, and for aught we know the war +may spread into our own dominions. We are a philanthropic people, very, +when Bulgarians are concerned, or when the subject is one that piques +the morbid curiosity, or is the rage of the moment, and the subject of +addresses from great and eloquent speakers. But we can sit still, and +let such massacres as these take place, when we have but to hold up our +hand to stop them. When occasionally the veil is lifted a little, and +the public hears of “fresh fighting in Zululand;” a question is asked +in the House; Mr. Courtney, as usual, has no information, but generally +discredits the report, and it is put aside as “probably not true.” I +am well aware that of the few who read these words, many will discredit +them, or say that they are written for some object, or for party +purposes. But it is not the case; they are written in the interest of +the truth, and in the somewhat faint hope that they may awaken a portion +of the public, however small, to a knowledge of our responsibilities +to the unfortunate Zulus. For try to get rid of it as we may, those +responsibilities rest upon our shoulders. When we conquered the Zulu +nation and sent away the Zulu king, we undertook, morally at any rate, +to provide for the future good government of the country; otherwise, the +Zulu war was unjust indeed. If we continue to fail, as we have hitherto, +to carry out our responsibilities as a humane and Christian nation ought +to do, our lapse from what is right will certainly recoil upon our own +heads, and, in the stern lessons of future troubles and disasters, we +shall learn that Providence with the nation, as with the individual, +makes a neglected duty its own avenger. We have sown the wind, let us be +careful lest we reap the whirlwind. + +It is very clear that things cannot remain in their present condition. +If they do, it is probable that the Resident will sooner or later +be assassinated; not from any personal motives, but as a political +necessity, and some second Chaka will rise up and found a new Zulu +dynasty, sweeping away our artificial chiefs and divisions like cobwebs. +This idea seems to have penetrated into Lord Kimberley’s official mind, +since in his despatch of instructions to Sir H. Bulwer, written in +February last, he says, “Probably if the chiefs are left to themselves +after a period more or less prolonged of war and anarchy, some man will +raise himself to the position of supreme chief.” The prospect of war and +anarchy in Zululand does not, however, trouble Lord Kimberley at all; in +fact, the whole despatch is typical to a degree of the Liberal Colonial +policy. Lord Kimberley admits that what little quiet the country has +enjoyed under the settlement, “was due to a mistaken belief on the part +of the Zulus that the British Government was ruling them, or would rule +them through the Resident.” He evidently clearly sees all the evils and +bloodshed that are resulting and that must result from the present +state of affairs; indeed he recapitulates them, and then ends up by even +refusing to allow such slight measures of relief as the appointment of +sub-Residents to be carried out, although begged for by the chiefs, on +the ground that it might extend British influence. Of the interests of +the Zulus himself he is quite careless. The whole despatch can be summed +up thus: “If you can find any method to improve the state of affairs +which will not subject us to the smallest cost, risk, or responsibility, +you can employ it; if not, let them fight it out.” Perhaps Lord +Kimberley may live (officially) long enough to find out that meanness +and selfishness do not always pay, and that it is not always desirable, +thus to sacrifice the respect, and crush the legitimate aspirations of a +generous people. + +Unless something is done before long, it is possible that John Dunn may +succeed after a bloody war in securing the throne; but this would not +prove a permanent arrangement, since he is now getting on in life and +has no son to carry on the dynasty. Another possibility, and one that is +not generally known, at any rate in this country, though it is perhaps +the most probable of all, is this. Cetywayo has left a son in Zululand, +who is being carefully educated under the care of Mnyamane, the late +King’s Prime Minister. The boy is now about 16 years of age, and is +reported to possess very good abilities, and is the trump card that +Mnyamane will play as soon as the time is ripe. This young man is the +hereditary heir to the Zulu crown, and it is more than probable that if +he is proclaimed king the vast majority of the nation will rally round +him and establish him firmly on his throne. There is little use in +keeping Cetywayo confined whilst his son is at large. The lad should +have been brought to England and educated, so that he might at some +future time have assisted in the civilisation of his country: as it is, +he is growing up in a bad school. + +And now I come to the root of the whole matter, the question whether +or no, under all these circumstances, it is right or desirable to +re-establish Cetywayo on the throne of Zululand. In considering this +question, I think that Cetywayo’s individuality ought to be out on one +side, however much we may sympathise with his position, as I confess I +do to some extent myself. After all, Cetywayo is only one man, whereas +the happiness, security, and perhaps the lives of many thousands are +involved in the issue of the question. In coming to any conclusion +in the matter it is necessary to keep in view the intentions of the +Government as regards our future connection with Zululand. If the +Government intends to do its duty and rule Zululand as it ought to be +ruled, by the appointment of proper magistrates, the establishment of an +adequate force, and the imposition of the necessary taxes; then it would +be the height of folly to permit Cetywayo to return, since his presence +would defeat the scheme. It must be remembered that there is as yet +nothing whatsoever to prevent this plan being carried out. It would be +welcomed with joy by the large majority of both Zulus and Colonists. It +would also solve the problem of the increase of the native population of +Natal, which is assuming the most alarming proportions, since Zululand, +being very much underpopulated, it would be easy, were that country once +quietly settled, to draft the majority of the Natal Zulus back into it. +This is undoubtedly the best course, and indeed the only right course; +but it does not at all follow that it will be taken, since governments +are unfortunately more concerned at the prospect of losing votes than +with the genuine interests of their dependencies. The proper settlement +of Zululand would not be popular amongst a large class in this country, +and therefore it is not likely to be carried out, however right and +necessary it may be. + +If nothing is going to be done, then it becomes a question whether or no +Cetywayo should be sent back. + +The large majority of the Natalians consider that his restoration would +be an act of suicidal folly, and their opinion is certainly entitled to +great weight, since they are after all the people principally +concerned. The issue of the experiment would be a matter of comparative +indifference to people living 7000 miles away, but is naturally regarded +with some anxiety by those who have their homes on the borders of +Zululand. It is very well to sympathise with savage royalty in distress, +but it must be borne in mind that there are others to be considered +besides the captive king. Many of the Zulus, for instance, are by +no means anxious to see him again, since they look forward with just +apprehension to the line of action he may take with those who have not +shown sufficient anxiety for his return, or have in other ways incurred +his resentment. One thing is clear, to send the king back to Zululand is +to restore the _status in quo_ as it was before the war. There can be +no half measures about it, no more worthless paper stipulations; a Zulu +king must either be allowed to rule in his own fashion or not at all. +The war would go for nothing, and would doubtless have to be fought over +again with one of Cetywayo’s successors. + +Also it must be remembered that it is one thing to talk of restoring +Cetywayo, and another to carry his restoration into effect. It would not +simply be a question of turning him down on the borders of Zululand, and +letting him find his own way back to his throne, for such a proceeding +would be the signal for the outbreak of civil war. It is not to be +supposed that John Dunn, and those whose interests are identical with +Dunn’s, would allow the ex-king to reseat himself on the throne without +a struggle; indeed the former has openly declared his intention of +resisting the attempt by force of arms if necessary. He is by no means +anxious to give up the 15,000 pounds a year his hut-tax brings in, and +all the contingent profits and advantages of his chieftainship. If we +wish to restore Cetywayo we must first depose Dunn; in fact, we must be +ready to support his restoration by force of arms. + +As regards Cetywayo himself, I cannot share the opinion of those who +think that he would be personally dangerous. He has learnt his lesson, +and would not be anxious to try conclusions with the English again; +indeed, I believe he would prove a staunch ally. But supposing him +re-established on the throne, how long would it be before a revolution, +or the hand of the assassin, to say nothing of the ordinary chances +of nature, put an end to him, and how do we know that his successor in +power would share his views? + +Cetywayo’s rule, bad as it was, was perhaps preferable to the reign of +terror that we have established, under the name of a settlement. But +that we can still remedy if we choose to do so, whereas, if we once +restore Cetywayo, all power over the Zulus passes out of our hands. + +We have many interests to consider in South Africa, all of which will be +more or less affected by our action in this matter. On the whole, I am +of opinion that the Government that replaces Cetywayo on the throne +of his fathers will undertake a very grave responsibility, and must be +prepared to deal with many resulting complications, not the least of +which will be the utter exasperation of the white inhabitants of Natal. + + + + +NATAL AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT + +_Natal--Causes of increase of the native population--Happy condition of +the Natal Zulus--Polygamy--Its results on population--The impossibility +of eradicating it--Relations between a Zulu and his wives--Connection +between polygamy and native law--Missionary work amongst the Zulus--Its +failure--Reasons of its failure--Early days of Natal--Growth of the +native question--Coming struggle between white and black over the +land question--Difficulty of civilising the Zulu--Natal as a black +settlement--The constitution of Natal--Request for responsible +government--Its refusal--The request renewed and granted--Terms and +reason of Lord Kimberley’s offer--Infatuation of responsible government +party in Natal--Systematic abuse of colonists in England--Colonial +speculators--Grievances against the Imperial Government--Sir Henry +Bulwer--Uncertain future of Natal--Its available force--Exterior +dangers--The defence question shirked by the “party of progress”-- +The confederation question--The difficulty of obtaining desirable +immigrants--The only real key to the Natal native question--Folly of +accepting self-government till it is solved._ + +Natal has an area of about 18,000 square miles, and its present +population is, roughly, 25,000 whites and 400,000 natives of the Zulu +race. When, in 1843, it first became a British colony, the number of +natives living within its borders was very small, and they were for the +most part wanderers, fragmentary remnants of the tribes that Chaka had +destroyed. I shall probably be under, rather than over the mark, if I +say, that the Zulu population of the colony has multiplied itself by ten +during the last thirty years. Two causes have combined to bring about +this extraordinary increase; firstly, wholesale immigration from the +surrounding territories; and secondly, the practice of polygamy. + +This immigration has been due to a great want of foresight, or want of +knowledge, on the part of the Home authorities, who have allowed it to +go on without check or hindrance till it has, in conjunction with its +twin evil polygamy, produced the state of affairs it is my object to +describe. Ever since its first establishment as a colony Natal has been +turned into a city of refuge for the native inhabitants of Zululand, the +Transvaal, Swaziland, and elsewhere. If news came to a Zulu chief that +his king purposed to eat him up, he at once fled across the Tugela with +his wives and followers and settled in Natal. If the Boers or Swazis +destroyed a tribe, the remnant found its way to Natal. + +That country, indeed, is to the South African native a modern Isles of +the Blest. Once across the border line, and, whatever his crime, he +is in a position to defy his worst enemy, and can rest secure in the +protection of the Home and local Governments, and of the enactments +specially passed to protect him and his privileges. The Government +allots him land, or if it does not he squats on private land: bringing +with him his own peculiar and barbarous customs. In all the world I do +not know a race more favoured by circumstances than the Natal Zulus. +They live on the produce of the fields that their wives cultivate, or +rather scratch, doing little or no work, and having no occasion to do +any. They are very rich, and their taxes are a mere trifle, fifteen +shillings per annum for each hut. They bear no share of the curse that +comes to all other men as a birthright; they need not labour. Protected +by a powerful Government, they do not fear attack from without, or +internal disorder. What all men desire, riches and women, are theirs in +abundance, and even their children, the objects of so much expense and +sore perplexity to civilised parents, are to them a source of wealth. +Their needs are few; a straw hut, corn for food, and the bright sun. +They are not even troubled with the thought of a future life, but, like +the animals, live through their healthy, happy days, and at last, in +extreme old age, meet a death which for them has no terrors, because it +simply means extinction. When compared to that of civilised races, or +even of their own brethren in the interior, their lot is indeed a happy +one. + +But the stream of immigration, continuous though it has been, would not +by itself have sufficed to bring up the native population to its present +enormous total, without the assistance of the polygamous customs of the +immigrants. + +I believe that inquirers have ascertained, that, as a general rule, the +practice of polygamy has not the effect of bringing about an abnormal +growth of population. However this may be elsewhere, in Natal, owing in +great measure to the healthy customs of the Zulu race,[*] the rate of +increase is unprecedented. Many writers and other authorities consider +polygamy as an institution, to be at once wicked and disgusting. As to +its morality, it is a point upon which it is difficult to express any +opinion, nor, indeed, does the question enter into the scope of what I +have to say; but it must be remembered that in the case of the Zulu his +whole law and existence is mixed up with the institution, and that it +is necessary to him to repair the gaps made in his ranks by war. Violent +anti-polygamists in this country always make a strong point of the +cruelty it is supposed to involve to the women, and talk about the +“violation of their holiest feelings.” As a matter of fact, sad as it +may appear, the Zulu women are much attached to the custom, nor would +they, as a general rule, consent to marry a man who only purposed taking +one wife. There are various reasons for this: for instance, the first +wife is a person of importance, and takes precedence of all the others, +a fact as much appreciated by the Zulu woman as by the London lady. +Again, the more wives there are, the more wealth it brings into the +family, since in the ordinary course of nature more wives mean more +female children, who, when they come to a marriageable age, mean in +their turn at least ten cows each (the Government price for a wife). The +amount thus obtained is placed to the credit of the estate of the mother +of the girl married, and for this reason all Zulu women are extremely +anxious to have children, especially female children. Finally, the +liking of Zulu women for the custom is bred in them. It has been going +on for countless generations, and it is probable that it will go on for +so long as the race endures. Nations do not change such habits unless +the change is forced on them, with the alternative of extermination. + + [*] As soon as a Zulu woman is discovered to be pregnant, + her husband ceases to cohabit with her, nor does he live + with her again until the child is weaned, eighteen months, + and sometimes two years, after its birth. + +Polygamy will never be eradicated by moral persuasion, because, even +if a native could be brought to think it wrong, which is in itself +impossible, its abolition would affect his interests irredeemably. A +Zulu’s wives are also his servants; they plough his land and husband his +grain, in addition to bearing his children. Had he but one wife most +of her time would be taken up with the latter occupation, and then the +mealie-planting and gathering would necessarily fall to the lot of +the husband, a state of affairs he would never consent to. Again, if +monogamy were established, girls would lose their value, and a great +source of wealth would be destroyed. It must, however, be understood +that Zulu girls are not exactly sold; the cows received by the parents +are by a legal fiction supposed to be a gift presented, not a price +paid. Should the wife subsequently run away, they are, I believe, +returnable. + +On these subjects, as is not to be wondered at when so many interests +are concerned, the Zulu law is a little intricate. The cleverest +counsel in the Temple could not give an opinion on such a case as the +following:-- + +A. has four wives and children by Nos. 1 and 3. On his death his +brother, B., a rich man, takes over his wives and property, and has +children by each of the four women. He has also children by other wives. +On his death, in extreme old age, how should the property be divided +amongst the descendants of the various marriages? + +It is clear that if such a case as this is to be dealt with at all +it must be under native law, and this is one of the great dangers of +polygamy. Once rooted in a state it necessitates a double system of +laws, since civilised law is quite unable to cope with the cases daily +arising from its practice. It is sometimes argued that the law employed +is a matter of indifference, provided that substantial justice is done, +according to the ideas of people concerned, and this is doubtless very +true if it is accepted as a fact that the Zulu population of Natal is +always to remain in its present condition of barbarism. To continue +to administer their law is to give it the sanction of the white man’s +authority, and every day that it is so administered makes it more +impossible to do away with it. I say “more impossible” advisedly, +because I believe its abrogation is already impossible. There is no +satisfactory way out of the difficulty, because it has its roots in, +and draws its existence from, the principle of polygamy, which I believe +will last while the people last. + +Some rely on the Missionary to effect this stupendous change, and turn a +polygamous people into monogamists. But it is a well-known fact that the +missionaries produce no more permanent effect on the Zulu mind than a +child does on the granite rock which he chips at with a chisel. How many +real Christians are there in Zululand and Natal, and of that select and +saintly band how many practise monogamy? But very few, and among those +few there is a large proportion of bad characters, men who have +adopted Christianity as a last resource. I mean no disrespect to the +missionaries, many of whom are good men, doing their best under the most +unpromising conditions, though some are simply traders and political +agitators. But the fact remains the same. Christianity makes no +appreciable progress amongst the Zulu natives, whilst, on the other +hand, no one having any experience in the country will, if he can avoid +it, have a so-called Christian Kafir in his house, because the term is +but too frequently synonymous with that of drunkard and thief. I do not +wish it to be understood that it is the fact of his Christianity that so +degrades the Zulu, because I do not think it has anything to do with it. +It is only that the novice, standing on the threshold of civilisation, +as a rule finds the vices of the white man more congenial than his +virtues. + +The Zulus are as difficult to convince of the truths of Christianity as +were the Jews, whom they so much resemble in their customs. They have a +natural disinclination to believe that which they cannot see, and, being +constitutionally very clever and casuistical, are prepared to argue each +individual point with an ability very trying to missionaries. It was one +of these Zulus, known as the Intelligent Zulu, but in reality no more +intelligent than his fellows, whose shrewd remarks first caused doubts +to arise in the mind of Bishop Colenso, and through him in those of +thousands of others. + +Another difficulty in the way of the Missionary is, that he is obliged +to insist on the putting away of surplus wives, and thus to place +himself out of court at the outset. It is quite conceivable that in the +opinion of wild and savage men, it is preferable to let the new teaching +alone, rather than to adopt it at the cost of such a radical change +in their domestic arrangements. As a case in point I may quote that of +Hlubi, the Basutu appointed chief of one of the divisions of Zululand, +by Sir G. Wolseley. Hlubi is at heart a Christian, and a good man, and +anxious to be baptized. The missionaries, however, refuse to baptize +him, because he has two wives. Hlubi therefore remains a heathen, +saying, not unnaturally, that he feels it would be impossible for him to +put away a woman with whom he has lived for so many years. + +Whilst polygamy endures Christianity will advance with but small +strides. It seems to me that we are beginning at the wrong end. We must +civilise first and Christianise afterwards. As well try to sow corn +among rocks and look to gather a full crop, as expect the words of +Grace and Divine love to bear fruit in the hearts of a people whose +forefathers have for countless generations been men of blood, whose +prized traditions are one long story of slaughter, and who, if they +are now at peace are, as it were, only gathering strength for a surer +spring. First, the soil must be prepared before the seed is sown. + +To do this there is but one way. Abolish native customs and laws, +especially polygamy, and bring our Zulu subjects within the pale of our +own law. Deprive them of their troops of servants in the shape of wives, +and thus force them to betake themselves to honest labour like the rest +of mankind. + +There is only one objection in the way of the realisation of this +scheme, which would, doubtless, bring about, in the course of a +generation, a much better state of things, and gather many thousand +converts into the fold of the Church; and that is, the opportunity has, +so far as Natal is concerned, been missed--the time has gone by when it +could have been carried out. To young countries, as to young men, there +come sometimes opportunities of controlling their future destinies +which, if not seized at the moment, pass away for ever, or only to +return after long and troubled years. Natal has had her chance, and it +has gone away from her, though through no fault of her own. If, when the +colony was first settled, the few natives who then lived there had +been forced to conform to the usages of civilised life or to quit its +borders; if refugees had been refused admission save on the same terms, +it would not occupy the very serious position it does at the present +moment. + +To understand the situation into which Natal has drifted with reference +to its native inhabitants, it is necessary to premise that that country +has hitherto had practically no control over its own affairs, more +especially as regards native legislation. + +In its early days it was a happy, quiet place, a favoured clime, where +the traveller or settler could find good shooting, cheap labour, +and cheap living. No enemy threatened its rest, and the natives were +respectful and peaceful in their behaviour. But it was in those days +that the native difficulty, that Upas tree that now overshadows and +poisons the whole land, took root; for slowly, from all parts, all +through that quiet time, by ones, by tens, by hundreds, refugees +were flowing in, and asking and receiving land to settle on from the +Government. + +It is not, however, to be supposed that the local officials did not +perceive the gathering danger, since it has again and again been pointed +out to different Secretaries of State, and again and again been +ignored by them, or put off for the consideration of their successors. +Hand-to-mouth legislation has always been the characteristic of our rule +in South Africa. On one occasion Sir Theophilus, then Mr. Shepstone, +went so far as to offer to personally draw off a large portion of the +native population, and settle them on some vacant territory bordering +on the Cape Colony, but the suggestion was not acceded to, for fear +lest the execution of the scheme should excite disturbances amongst the +natives of the Cape. Thus year after year has passed away--plan after +plan has been put aside,--and nothing has been done. + +In the colony a great deal of abuse is poured out on the head of Sir T. +Shepstone, to whom the present native situation is unjustly attributed +by a certain party of politicians. Sir T. Shepstone was for very many +years Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, but until he came to +England, shortly before the termination of his official career, he was +personally unknown to the Colonial Office, and had no influence there. +It was totally out of his power to control the policy of the Home +Government with reference to the Natal natives; he could only take +things as he found them, and make the best of such materials as came to +his hand. As he could not keep the natives out of the colony or prevent +polygamy, he did what he could towards making them loyal and contented +subjects. How well he succeeded, and with what consummate tact and +knowledge he must have exercised his authority, is shown by the fact +that in all these years there has been but one native disturbance, +namely that of Langalibalele, and by the further fact that the loyalty +of the Natal Zulus stood the strain of the Zulu war. Also, there never +has been, and probably never will be, another white man so universally +beloved and reverenced by the natives throughout the length and breadth +of South Africa. + +But Sir T. Shepstone’s influence for good will pass away, as all purely +personal influence must, and meanwhile, what is the situation? On +the one hand, there is a very slowly increasing, scattered, and mixed +population of about 25,000 whites, capable, at the outside, of putting a +force of 4000 men in the field. On the other, there is a warlike native +population, united by the ties of race and common interests, numbering +at the present moment between 400,000 and 500,000, and increasing by +leaps and bounds: capable of putting quite 80,000 warriors into the +field, and possessing, besides, numerous strongholds called locations. +At present these two rival populations live side by side in peace and +amity, though at heart neither loves the other. The two races are so +totally distinct that it is quite impossible for them to have much +community of feeling; they can never mingle; their ideas are different, +their objects are different, and in Natal their very law is different. +Kafirs respect and like individual Englishmen, but I doubt whether they +are particularly fond of us as a race, though they much prefer us to any +other white men, and are devoted to our rule, so long as it is necessary +to them. The average white man, on the other hand, detests the Kafir, +and looks on him as a lazy good-for-nothing, who ought to work for him +and will not work for him, whilst he is quite incapable of appreciating +his many good points. It is an odd trait about Zulus that only +gentlemen, in the true sense of the word, can win their regard, or get +anything out of them. + +It is obvious that, sooner or later, these two races must come into +contact, the question being how long the present calm will last. To this +question I will venture to suggest an answer,--I believe the right one. +It will last until the native gets so cramped for room that he has no +place left to settle on, except the white man’s lands. The white man +will then try to turn him off, whereupon the native will fall back on +the primary resource of killing him, and possessing himself of the land +by force. This plan, simultaneously carried out on a large scale, would +place the colony at the mercy of its native inhabitants. + +Nor is the time so very far distant when Englishmen and Zulus will stand +face to face over this land question. In the early days of the colony, +locations were established in the mountainous districts, because they +were comparatively worthless, and the natives were settled in them by +tribes. Of what goes on in these locations very little is known, except +that they are crowded, and that the inhabitants are as entirely wedded +to their savage customs as their forefathers were before them. As there +is no more room in the locations, many thousands of Kafirs have settled +upon private lands, sometimes with and sometimes without the leave +of the owners. But, for many reasons, this is a state of affairs that +cannot go on for ever. In a few years, the private lands will be filled +up, as well as the locations, and what then? + +Zulus are a people who require a very large quantity of land, since they +possess great numbers of cattle which must have grazing room. Also their +cultivation being of the most primitive order, and consisting as it does +of picking out the very richest patches of land, and cropping them till +they are exhausted, all ordinary land being rejected as too much trouble +to work, the possession, or the right of usor, of several hundred acres +is necessary to the support of a single family. Nor, if we may judge +from precedent, and its well-marked characteristics, is it to be +supposed that this race will at the pinch suit itself to circumstances, +take up less land, and work harder. Zulus would rather fight to the last +than discard a cherished and an ancient custom. Savages they are, +and savages they will remain, and in the struggle between them and +civilisation it is possible that they may be conquered, but I do not +believe that they will be converted. The Zulu Kafir is incompatible with +civilisation. + +It will be seen, from what I have said, that Natal might more properly +be called a Black settlement than an English colony. Looking at it from +the former point of view, it is a very interesting experiment. For the +first time probably since their race came into existence, Zulu natives +have got a chance given them of increasing and multiplying without being +periodically decimated by the accidents of war, whilst at the same time +enjoying the protection of a strong and a just government. It remains +to be seen what use they will make of their opportunity. That they will +avail themselves of it for the purposes of civilising themselves I do +not believe; but it seems to me possible that they will learn from +the white man the advantages of combination, and aim at developing +themselves into a powerful and united black nation. + +It is in the face of this state of things that Lord Kimberley now +proposes to grant responsible government to the white inhabitants of +Natal, should they be willing to accept it, providing that it is to +carry with it the responsibility of ruling the natives, and further, of +defending the colony from the attacks of its neighbours, whether white +or coloured. + +Natal has hitherto been ruled under a hybrid constitution, which, whilst +allowing the Legislative Assembly of the colony to pass laws, &c., +reserves all real authority to the Crown. There has, however, been +for some years past a growing agitation amongst a proportion of its +inhabitants, instituted with the object of inducing the Home Government +to concede practical independence to the colony, Her Majesty having +on several occasions been petitioned on the subject by the Legislative +Council. On the 13th February 1880, Sir G. Wolseley, who was at the +time Governor of Natal, wrote what I can only call, a very intemperate +despatch to the Secretary of State, commenting on the prayer for +responsible government, which he strongly condemned. He also took +the opportunity to make a series of somewhat vicious attacks on the +colonists in general, whose object in asking for independence was, he +implied, to bring the black man in relations of “appropriate servitude +to his white superior.” It would appear, however, from words used by him +towards the end of his despatch, that the real reason of his violence +was, that he feared, that one of the first acts of the Natal Parliament +would be to put an end to his settlement in Zululand, which was and +is the laughing-stock of the colony. He was probably right in this +supposition. The various charges he brings against the colonists +are admirably and conclusively refuted in a minute adopted by the +Legislative Council of Natal, dated 20th December 1880. + +In a despatch, dated 15th March 1881, Lord Kimberley refuses to accede +to the request for the grant of Responsible Government. + +On the 28th of December, the Legislative Council again petitioned the +Crown on the subject, and forward to Lord Kimberley a report of a Select +committee appointed to consider the matter, in which the following words +occur:-- + +“Your committee hold that while the colony may well be held responsible +for its defence from such aggression as may be caused by the acts or +policy of a responsible government, it cannot justly be saddled with the +obligation to meet acts of aggression from bordering territories +that have arisen out of the circumstances or measures over which such +government have had no control; although, as a matter of fact, the brunt +of defence (must be borne?) in the first instance by the colonists. +The Council, therefore, neither exercises, nor desires to exercise, any +control over territories adjacent to or bordering on the colony; for the +preservation of its own internal peace and order the colony is prepared +to provide. The duty of protecting the colony from external foes, +whether by sea or land, devolves on the Empire as a whole, otherwise to +be a section of that Empire constitutes no real privilege.” + +To this report, somewhat to the surprise of the Natalians, Lord +Kimberley returned, in a despatch addressed to Sir H. Bulwer, on the +occasion of his departure to take up the Governorship of Natal, and +dated 2d February 1882, a most favourable reply. In fact, he is so +obliging as to far exceed the wishes of the Natalians, as expressed in +the passage just quoted, and to tell them that Her Majesty’s Government +is not only ready to give them responsible government, but that it +will expect them to defend their own frontiers, independently of any +assistance from the Imperial Government. He further informs them that +the Imperial troops will be withdrawn, and that the only responsibility +Her Majesty’s Government will retain with reference to the colony will +be that of its defence against aggression by foreign powers. + +This sudden change of face on the part of the Imperial Government, which +had up till now flatly refused to grant _any measure_ of self-government +to Natal, may at first seem rather odd, but on examination it will +be found to be quite in accordance with the recently developed South +African policy of Mr. Gladstone’s Government. There is little doubt +that it is an article of faith among the Liberal party that the less +the mother-country has to do with her colonies, and more especially +her South African colonies, the better. A grand step was made in +the direction of the abandonment of our South African Empire when we +surrendered the Transvaal to the Boers, and it is clear that if our +troops can be withdrawn from Natal and all responsibility for the safety +of that colony put an end to, the triumph of self-effacement will be +still more complete. But there is another and more immediate reason +for Lord Kimberley’s generous offer. He knows, no one better, that +the policy pursued in South Africa, both as regards the Transvaal and +Zululand, must produce its legitimate fruit--bloodshed--before very +long. He, or rather his Government, is consequently anxious to cut the +connection before anything of the sort occurs, when they will be able to +attribute the trouble, whatever it is, to the ill-advised action of the +Colonial Legislature. + +What is still more strange, however, is that the colonists, having +regard to the position they occupy with reference to the Kafirs that +surround them, to whom they bear the same relative proportion that the +oases do in the desert, or the islands of an archipelago to the ocean +that washes their shores, should wish for such a dangerous boon as that +of self-government, if indeed they really do wish it. When I lived in +Natal, I often heard the subject discussed, and watched the Legislative +Council pass its periodical resolutions about it, but I confess I always +looked on the matter as being more or less of a farce. There exists, +however, in Natal a knot of politicians who are doubtless desirous +of the change, partly because they think that it would be really +beneficial, and partly because they are possessed by a laudable ambition +to fill the high positions of Prime Minister, Treasurer, &c., in the +future Parliament. But these gentlemen for the most part live in towns, +where they are comparatively safe should a native rising occur. I have +not noticed the same enthusiasm for responsible government among those +Natalians who live up country in the neighbourhood of the locations. + +Still there does exist a considerable party who are in favour of the +change, a party that has recently sprung into existence. Many things +have occurred within the last few years to irritate and even exasperate +people in Natal with the Imperial Government, and generally with the +treatment that they have received at our hands. For instance, colonists +are proverbially sensitive, and it is therefore rather hard that every +newspaper correspondent or itinerant bookmaker who comes to their +shores, should at once proceed to print endless letters and books +abusing them without mercy. The fact of the matter is that these +gentlemen come, and put up at the hotels and pot-shops, where they meet +all the loafers and bad characters in the country, whom they take to be +specimens of the best class of colonists, whom they describe accordingly +as the “riddlings of society.” Into the quiet, respectable, and happy +homes that really give the tone to the colony they do not enter. + +It is also a favourite accusation to bring against the people of Natal +that they make the South African wars in order to make money out of +them. For instance, in a leading article of one of the principal English +journals, it was stated not long ago, that the murmurs of the colonists +at being forced to eat the bread of humiliation in the Transvaal +matter, arose from no patriotic feeling, but from sorrow at the early +termination of a war out of which they hoped to suck no small advantage. +This statement is quite untrue. + +No doubt a great deal of money has been made out of the wars by a few +colonial speculators, some of it, maybe, dishonestly; but this is not +an unusual occurrence in a foreign war. Was no money made dishonestly +by English speculators and contractors in the Crimean War? Cannot +Manchester boast manufacturers ready to supply our enemies,--for cash +payments,--with guns to shoot us with, or any other material of war? + +It is not to be supposed that because a few speculators made fortunes +out of the Commissariat that the whole colony participated in the spoils +of the various wars. On the contrary, the marjority of its inhabitants +have suffered very largely. Not only have they run considerable personal +risk, but since, and owing to, the Zulu and Boer wars the cost of living +has almost, if not quite doubled, which, needless to say, has not been +the case with their incomes. It is therefore particularly cruel that +Natal should be gibbeted as the abode of scoundrels of the worst sort, +men prepared to bring about bloodshed in order to profit by it. Sir +Garnet Wolseley, however, found in this report of colonial dishonesty +a convenient point of vantage from which to attack the colonists +generally, and in his despatch about responsible government we may be +sure he did not spare them. The Legislative Council thus comments on his +remarks: “To colonists a war means the spreading among them of distress, +alarm, and confusion, peril to life and property in outlying districts, +the arrest of progress, and general disorganisation. . . . The Council +regard with pain and indignation the uncalled-for and cruel stigma thus +cast upon the colonists by Sir Garnet Wolseley.” + +At first sight these accusations may not appear to have much to do with +the question of whether or no the colonists should accept responsible +government, but in reality they have, inasmuch as they create a +feeling of soreness that inclines the Natalians to get rid of Imperial +interference and the attendant criticism at any price. + +More substantial grievances against the English Government are the +present condition of the native problem, which the colonists justly +attribute to Imperial mismanagement, and that triumph of genius, Sir +Garnet Wolseley’s settlement in Zululand. They see these evils, which +they know were preventable, growing more formidable day by day, and they +imagine, or some of them do, that if they had free institutions it would +still be in their power to stop that growth. + +The whole question has now been referred to the colony, which is +to elect a fresh Legislative Assembly on the issue of responsible +government. The struggle between “the party of progress,” i.e., the +responsible government section, and the reactionists, or those who +are prepared to dispense with “freedom,” provided they can be sure of +safety, is being carried on keenly, and at present it is doubtful which +side will have a majority. I do not, however, believe that the majority +of any Council returned will consent to accept Lord Kimberley’s proposal +as it stands; to walk into a parlour in which the spider is so very +obvious, and to deliberately undertake the guardianship of all the +Imperial interests in South-Eastern Africa. If they do, they will, in my +opinion, deserve all they will get.[*] + + [*] Since this chapter was written the Natal constituencies + have, as I thought probable, declared against the acceptance + of Lord Kimberley’s offer in its present form, by returning + a majority of anti-responsible Government men. It is, + however, probable that the new Legislative Council will try + to re-open negotiations on a different, or, at any rate, a + modified basis. + +The Natalians are fortunate at the present crisis in having, by dint of +vigorous agitation against the appointment of Mr. Sendall, a gentleman +selected by Lord Kimberley to govern them, obtained the reappointment +of their former Governor, Sir Henry Bulwer. Sir Henry, during his +first tenure of office, lost credit with the South African colonists +on account of his lukewarmness with reference to the Zulu war, but the +course of events has gone far towards justifying his views. He is one +of the most hard-working and careful Governors that Natal has ever had, +and, perhaps, the most judicious. Of a temperate and a cautious mind, +he may be more safely trusted to pilot a country so surrounded with +difficulties and dangers as Natal is, than most men, and it is to be +hoped that the application to the questions of the day, of the strong +common sense that he possesses in such an eminent degree, may have a +cooling effect on the hot heads and excited imaginations of the “party +of progress.” + +In considering the pros and cons of the responsible government question, +it must be steadily kept in sight that Natal is not likely to be a +country with a peaceful future. To begin with, she has her native +inhabitants to deal with. To-day they number, say 450,000, fifteen or +twenty years hence they will number a million, or perhaps more. These +men are no longer the docile overgrown children they were twenty years +ago. The lessons of our performances in the Zulu and Boer wars, more +especially the latter, have not been lost upon them, and they +are beginning to think that the white man, instead of being the +unconquerable demigod they thought him, is somewhat of a humbug. +Pharaoh, we know, grew afraid of the Israelites; Natal, with a much +weaker power at command than that of Pharaoh, has got to cope with a +still more dangerous element, and one that cannot be induced to depart +into the wilderness. + +And after all what does the power of Natal amount to? Let us be liberal, +and say six thousand men, it is the outside. In the event of a native +rising, or any other serious war, I believe that of this number, at +least two thousand would make themselves scarce. There exists in all +colonies a floating element of individuals who have drifted there for +the purpose of making money, but who have no real affection for the +(temporary) country of their adoption. Their capital is, as a rule, +small and easily realised, and the very last thing that they would think +of doing, would be to engage in a deadly life or death struggle, on +behalf of a land that they only look on as a milch cow, out of which +their object is to draw as much as possible. On the contrary, they would +promptly seek another cow, leaving the old one to the tender mercies of +the butcher. + +Their defection would leave some 4000 men to cope with the difficulty, +whatever it was, of which number at least 1000 would be ineffective from +age and various other causes, whilst of the remainder, quite 1000 would +be obliged to remain where they were to protect women and children in +outlying districts. This would leave a total effective force of 2000 +men, or, deducting 500 for garrison purposes, of 1500 ready to take the +field. But it would take some time to collect, arm, and equip even this +number, and in the meanwhile, in the case of a sudden and preconcerted +native rising, half the inhabitants of the colony would be murdered in +detail. + +But Natalians have got other dangers to fear besides those arising from +the presence of this vast mass of barbarism in their midst. After +a period of anarchy a new king may possess himself of the throne of +Zululand, and it is even possible that he might, under circumstances +that will arise hereafter, lead his armies into Natal, and create +a difficulty with which the 1500 available white men would find it +difficult to cope. Or the Boers of the Orange Free State and Transvaal +may get tired of paying customs dues at Durban, and march 5000 men down +to take possession of the port! Perhaps Natal might provide herself with +an effective force by enrolling an army of 10,000 or 20,000 Kafirs, +but it seems to me that the proceeding would be both uncertain and +expensive, and, should the army take it into its head to mutiny, very +dangerous to boot. + +It is a noticeable fact that those who so ardently advocate the +acceptance of Lord Kimberley’s offer, in all their speeches, addresses, +and articles, almost entirely shirk this question of defence, which +is, after all, the root of the matter. I have formed my estimate of the +number of men forthcoming in time of danger, on the supposition that a +burgher law was in force in Natal, that is, that every man remaining in +the country should be obliged to take a part in its defence. But they +do not even hint at a burgher law--in fact, they repudiate the idea, +because they know that it would not be tolerated. The universal service +system is not the Natalian’s idea of happiness. They simply avoid the +question, calling it the “defence bugbear,” and assume that it will all +be arranged in some unforeseen way. + +The only suggestion that I have yet seen as regards the arrangements +for the future defence of the colony should it become independent, is +a somewhat ominous one, namely:--that Natal should enter into a close +alliance, offensive and defensive, with the Transvaal and the Orange +Free State. But, as the advocates of “freedom” would soon find, the +Orange Free State (for even if willing to help them, the Transvaal will +for some years have enough to do with its own affairs) will not come +forward for nothing. There would first have to be a few business +formalities with reference to the customs dues collected in Durban, on +goods passing through to the interior, which yield the bulk of the +Natal revenue: and possibly, some concessions to Boer public opinion as +regards the English mode of dealing with the Natal natives. I incline +to the opinion that in relying on the assistance of the Boers in time of +trouble the inhabitants of Natal would be leaning on a broken reed. They +are more likely to find them in arms against them than fighting on their +side. + +The party of progress also talks much about the prospects of +confederation with the Cape, if once they get responsible government. +Most people, however, will think that the fact of their being +independent, and therefore responsible for their own defence, will +hardly prove an inducement to the Cape to offer to share those +responsibilities. The only confederation possible to Natal as a +self-governing community will be a Boer confederation, to which it +may be admitted--on certain terms. Another cry is that the moment +responsible government is established immigrants will flow into the +country, and thus restore the balance of races. I take the liberty to +doubt the truth of this supposition. The intending emigrant from Europe +does not, it is true, understand the ins and outs of the Natal native +question, but he does now that it is a place where there are wars and +rumours of wars, and where he might possibly be killed, and the result +is that he wisely goes to some other colony, that has equal advantages +to offer and no Kafirs. To suppose that the emigrant would go to Natal +when he came to understand that it was an independent settlement of a +few white men, living in the midst of a mass of warlike Kafirs, when +Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, are all holding +out their arms to him, is to suppose him a bigger fool than he is. +At the best of times Natal is not likely to attract many desirable +emigrants: under a responsible government I do not believe that it will +attract any. + +It seems to me, that there is only one condition of affairs under +which it would be at all possible for the Natalians to assume the +responsibilities of self-government with any safety, and that is when +the great bulk of the native population has been removed back to whence +it came--Zululand. Causes of a diametrically opposite nature to +those that have been at work among the natives of Natal, have been in +operation amongst their brethren in Zululand. In Natal, peace, polygamy, +plenty and immigration have bred up an enormous native population. In +Zululand, war, private slaughter by the king’s order, and the severe +restrictions put upon marriage, have kept down the increase of the race; +also an enormous number of individuals have fled from the one country +into the other. I do not suppose that the population of Zululand +amounts, at the present moment, to much more than half that of Natal. + +In this state of affairs lies the only real key to the Natal native +difficulty. Let Zululand be converted into a black colony under +English control, and its present inhabitants be established in suitable +locations; then let all the natives of Natal, with the exception of +those who choose to become monogamists and be subject to civilised law, +be moved into Zululand, and also established in locations. There would +be plenty of room for them all. Of course there would be difficulties in +the way of the realisation of this scheme, but I do not think that they +would prove insuperable. It is probable, however, that it would require +a show of force before the Natal natives would consent to budge. Indeed, +it is absurd to suppose, that anything would induce them to leave +peaceful Natal, and plunge into the seething cauldron of bloodshed, +extortion, and political plots that we have cooked up in Zululand under +the name of a settlement. Proper provisions must first be made for +the government of the country, and security to life and property made +certain. Till this is done, no natives in their senses will return to +Zululand. + +Till this is done, too, or till some other plan is discovered by means +of which the native difficulty can be effectively dealt with, the +Natalians will indeed be foolish if they discard the protection of +England, and accept the fatal boon of self-government. If they do, their +future career may be brilliant; but I believe that it will be brief. + +It is no answer to urge that at present the natives seem quite quiet, +and that there is no indication of disturbance. + +History tells us that before the destruction of doomed Pompeii, +Vesuvius was very still; only day by day the dark cloud hanging over +the mountain’s summit grew denser and blacker. We know what happened to +Pompeii. + +I do not wish to suggest anything unpleasant, far from it; but +sometimes, I cannot help thinking, that it is perhaps a matter worth the +consideration of the Natalians, whether it might not be as well, instead +of talking about responsible government: to improve upon the example of +the inhabitants of Pompeii, and take to their ships _before_ the volcano +begins to work. + +It seems to me that there is an ugly cloud gathering on the political +horizon in Natal. + + + + +THE TRANSVAAL + + + +CHAPTER I + +ITS INHABITANTS, LAWS, AND CUSTOMS + +_Invasion by Mosilikatze--Arrival of the emigrant Boers--Establishment +of the South African republic--The Sand River convention--Growth of +the territory of the republic--The native tribes surrounding +it--Capabilities of the country--Its climate--Its inhabitants--The +Boers--Their peculiarities and mode of life--Their abhorrence of +settled government and payment of taxes--The Dutch patriotic party--Form +of government previous to the annexation--Courts of law--The commando +system--Revenue arrangements--Native races in the Transvaal._ + +The Transvaal is a country without a history. Its very existence +was hardly known of until about fifty years ago. Of its past we know +nothing. The generations who peopled its great plains have passed +utterly out of the memory and even the traditions of man, leaving no +monument to mark that they have existed, not even a tomb. + +During the reign of Chaka, 1813-1828, whose history has been sketched +in a previous chapter, one of his most famous generals, Mosilikatze, +surnamed the Lion, seceded from him with a large number of his soldiers, +and striking up in a north-westerly direction, settled in or about what +is now the Morico district of the Transvaal. The country through which +Mosilikatze passed was at that time thickly populated with natives +of the Basutu or Macatee race, whom the Zulus look upon with great +contempt. Mosilikatze expressed the feelings of his tribe in a practical +manner, by massacring every living soul of them that came within his +reach. That the numbers slaughtered were very great, the numerous ruins +of Basutu kraals all over the country testify. + +It was Chaka’s intention to follow up Mosilikatze and destroy him, +but he was himself assassinated before he could do so. Dingaan, his +successor, however, carried out his brother’s design, and despatched +a large force to punish him. This army, after marching over 300 miles, +burst upon Mosilikatze, drove him back with slaughter, and returned +home triumphant. The invasion is important, because the Zulus claim the +greater part of the Transvaal territory by virtue of it. + +About the time that Mosilikatze was conquered, 1835-1840, the +discontented Boers were leaving the Cape Colony exasperated at the +emancipation of the slaves by the Imperial authorities. First they made +their way to Natal, but being followed thither by the English flag they +travelled further inland over the Vaal River and founded the town +of Mooi River Dorp or Potchefstroom. Here they were joined by other +malcontents from the Orange Sovereignty, which, although afterwards +abandoned, was at that time a British possession. Acting upon + + The good old rule, the simple plan + Of let him take who has the power, + And let him keep who can, + +the Boers now proceeded to possess themselves of as much territory as +they wanted. Nor was this a difficult task. The country was, as I have +said, peopled by Macatees, who are a poor-spirited race as compared to +the Zulus, and had had what little courage they possessed crushed out of +them by the rough handling they had received at the hands of Mosilikatze +and Dingaan. The Boers, they argued, could not treat them worse than the +Zulus had done. Occasionally a Chief, bolder than the rest, would hold +out, and then such an example was made of him and his people that few +cared to follow in his footsteps. + +As soon as the Boers were fairly settled in their new home, they began +to think about setting up a Government. First they tried a system of +Commandants, with a Commandant-general, but this does not seem to have +answered. Next, those of their number who lived in Lydenburg district +(where the gold fields now are) set up a Republic, with a President and +Volksraad, or popular assembly. This example was followed by the other +white inhabitants of the country, who formed another Republic and +elected another President, with Pretoria for their capital. The two +republics were subsequently incorporated. + +In 1852 the Imperial authorities, having regard to the expense of +maintaining an effective government over an unwilling people in an +undeveloped and half-conquered country, concluded a convention with the +emigrant Boers “beyond the Vaal River.” The following were the principal +stipulations of this convention, drawn up between Major Hogg and +Mr. Owen, Her Majesty’s Assistant-Commissioners for the settling and +adjusting of the affairs of the eastern and north-eastern boundaries of +the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope on the one part, and a deputation +representative of the emigrant farmers north of the Vaal River on the +other. It was guaranteed “in the fullest manner on the part of the +British Government to the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal River the +right to manage their own affairs, and to govern themselves according +to their own laws, without any interference on the part of the +British Government, and that no encroachment shall be made by the said +Government on the territory beyond to the north of the Vaal River, with +the further assurance that the warmest wish of the British Government is +to promote peace, free trade, and friendly intercourse with the emigrant +farmers now inhabiting, or who hereafter may inhabit that country, it +being understood that this system of non-interference is binding on both +parties.” + +Next were disclaimed, on behalf of the British Government, “all +alliances whatever and with whomsoever of the coloured nations to the +north of the Vaal River.” + +It was also agreed “that no slavery is or shall be permitted or +practised in the country to the north of the Vaal River by the emigrant +farmers.” + +It was further agreed “that no objection shall be made by any British +authority against the emigrant Boers purchasing their supplies of +ammunition in any of the British colonies and possessions of South +Africa; it being mutually understood that all trade in ammunition with +the native tribes is prohibited both by the British Government and the +emigrant farmers on both sides of the Vaal River.” + +These were the terms of this famous convention, which is as slipshod in +its diction as it is vague in its meaning. What, for instance, is meant +by the territory to the north of the Vaal River? According to the letter +of the agreement, Messrs. Hogg and Owen ceded all the territory between +the Vaal and Egypt. This historical document was the Charta of the +new-born South African Republic. Under its provisions, the Boers, now +safe from interference on the part of the British, established their own +Government and promulgated their “Grond Wet,” or Constitution. + +The history of the Republic between 1852 and 1876 is not very +interesting, and is besides too wearisome to enter into here. It +consists of an oft-told tale of civil broils, attacks on native tribes, +and encroachment on native territories. Until shortly before the +Annexation, every burgher was, on coming of age, entitled to receive +from the Government 6000 acres of land. As these rights were in the +early days of the Republic frequently sold to speculators for such +trifles as a bottle of brandy or half a dozen of beer, and as the seller +still required his 6000 acres: for a Boer considers it beneath his +dignity to settle on less, it is obvious that it required a very large +country to satisfy all demands. To meet these demands, the territories +of the Republic had to be stretched like an elastic band, and they were +stretched accordingly,--at the expense of the natives. The stretching +process was an ingenious one, and is very well described in a minute +written by Mr. Osborn, the late Magistrate at Newcastle, dated 22d +September, 1876, in these words:-- + +“The Boers, as they have done in other cases and are still doing, +encroached by degrees on native territory, commencing by obtaining +permission to graze stock upon portions of it at certain seasons of the +year, followed by individual graziers obtaining from native headmen +a sort of right or license to squat upon certain defined portions, +ostensibly in order to keep other Boer squatters away from the same +land. These licenses, temporarily intended as friendly or neighbourly +acts by unauthorised headmen, after a few seasons of occupation by +the Boer, are construed by him as title, and his permanent occupation +ensues. Damage for trespass is levied by him from the very man from whom +he obtained the right to squat, to which the natives submit out of fear +of the matter reaching the ears of the paramount chief, who would in all +probability severely punish them for opening the door to encroachment +by the Boer. After a while, however, the matter comes to a crisis in +consequence of the incessant disputes between the Boers and the natives; +one or other of the disputants lays the case before the paramount chief, +who, when hearing both parties, is literally frightened with violence +and threats by the Boer into granting him the land. Upon this the usual +plan followed by the Boer is at once to collect a few neighbouring +Boers, including a field cornet, or even an acting provisional field +cornet, appointed by the field cornet or provisional cornet, the latter +to represent the Government, although without instructions authorising +him to act in the matter. A few cattle are collected among themselves, +which the party takes to the chief, and his signature is obtained to a +written document alienating to the Republican Boers a large slice of all +his territory. The contents of this document are, as far as I can make +out, never clearly or intelligibly explained to the chief who signs and +accepts of the cattle under the impression that it is all in settlement +of hire for the grazing licenses granted by his headmen. This, I have no +hesitation in saying, is the usual method by which the Boers obtain +what they call cessions to them of territories by native chiefs. In +Secocoeni’s case they allege that his father Sequati cedes to them the +whole of his territory (hundreds of square miles) for a hundred head of +cattle.” + +So rapidly did this progress go on that the little Republic to the +“North of the Vaal River,” had at the time of the Annexation grown into +a country of the size of France. Its boundaries had only been clearly +defined where they abutted on neighbouring White Communities, or on +the territories of great native powers, on which the Government had not +dared to infringe to any marked degree, such as those of Lo Bengula’s +people in the north. But wheresoever on the State’s borders there had +been no white Power to limit its advances, or where the native tribes +had found themselves too isolated or too weak to resist aggressions, +there the Republic had by degrees encroached and extended the shadow, if +not the substance, of its authority. + +The Transvaal has a boundary line of over 1,600 miles in circumference, +and of this a large portion is disputed by different native tribes. +Speaking generally, the territory lies between the 22 and 28 degrees of +South Latitude and the 25 and 32 degrees of East Longitude, or between +the Orange Free State, Natal and Griqualand West on the south, and the +Limpopo River on the north; and between the Lebombo mountains on the +east, and the Kalihari desert on the west. On the north of its territory +live three great tribes, the Makalaka, the Matabele (descendants of +the Zulus who deserted Chaka under Mosilikatze) and the Matyana. These +tribes are all warlike. On the west, following the line down to the +Diamond Field territory, are the Sicheli, the Bangoaketsi, the Baralong +and the Koranna tribes. Passing round by Griqualand West, the Free +State, and Natal, we reach Zululand on the south-east corner; then +come the Lebombo mountains on the east, separating the Transvaal from +Amatonga land, and from the so-called Portuguese possessions, which +are entirely in the hands of native tribes, most of them subject to the +great Zulu chief, Umzeila, who has his stronghold in the north-east. + +It will be observed that the country is almost surrounded by native +tribes. Besides these there are about one million native inhabitants +living within its borders. In one district alone, Zoutpansberg, it +is computed that there are 364,250 natives, as compared to about 750 +whites. + +If a beautiful and fertile country were alone necessary to make a state +and its inhabitants happy and prosperous, happiness and prosperity would +rain upon the Transvaal and the Dutch Boers. The capabilities of this +favoured land are vast and various. Within its borders are to be found +highlands and lowlands, vast stretches of rolling veldt like gigantic +sheep downs, hundreds of miles of swelling bushland, huge tracts of +mountainous country, and even little glades spotted with timber that +remind one of an English park. There is every possible variety of soil +and scenery. Some districts will grow all tropical produce, whilst +others are well suited for breeding sheep, cattle and horses. Most +of the districts will produce wheat and all other cereals in greater +perfection and abundance than any of the other South African colonies. +Two crops of cereals may be obtained from the soil every year, and +both the vine and tobacco are cultivated with great success. Coffee, +sugar-cane and cotton have been grown with profit in the northern parts +of the State. Also the undeveloped mineral wealth of the country is very +great. Its known minerals are gold, copper, lead, cobalt, iron, coal, +tin and plumbago: copper and iron having long been worked by the +natives. Altogether there is little doubt that the Transvaal is the +richest of all the South African states, and had it remained under +English rule it would, with the aid of English enterprise and capital, +have become a very wealthy and prosperous country. However there is +little chance of that now. + +Perhaps the greatest charm of the Transvaal lies in its climate, which +is among the best in the world, and in all the southern districts very +healthy. During the winter months, that is from April to October, little +or no rain falls, and the climate is cold and bracing. In summer it is +rather warm, but not overpoweringly hot, the thermometer at Pretoria +averaging from 65 to 73 degrees, and in the winter from 59 to 56 +degrees. The population of the Transvaal is estimated at about 40,000 +whites, mostly of Dutch origin, consisting of about thirty vast +families: and one million natives. There are several towns, the largest +of which are Pretoria and Potchefstroom. + +Such is the country that we annexed in 1877, and were drummed out of +in 1881. Now let us turn to its inhabitants. It has been the fashion to +talk of the Transvaal as though nobody but Boers lived in it. In reality +the inhabitants were divided into three classes: 1. Natives; 2. Boers; +3. English. I say were divided, because the English class can now hardly +be said to exist, the country having been made too hot to hold it, since +the war. The natives stand in the proportion of nearly twenty to one +to the whites. The Boers were in their turn much more numerous than the +English, but the latter owned nearly all the trading establishments in +the country, and also a very large amount of property. + +The Transvaal Boers have been very much praised up by members of the +Government in England, and others who are anxious to advance their +interests, as against English interests. Mr. Gladstone, indeed, can +hardly find words strong enough to express his admiration of their +leaders, those “able men,” since they inflicted a national humiliation +on us; and doubtless they are a people with many good points. That they +are not devoid of sagacity can be seen by the way they have dealt with +the English Government. + +The Boers are certainly a peculiar people, though they can hardly be +said to be “zealous of good works.” They are very religious, but their +religion takes it colour from the darkest portions of the Old Testament; +lessons of mercy and gentleness are not at all to their liking, and they +seldom care to read the Gospels. What they delight in are the stories of +wholesale butchery by the Israelites of old; and in their own position +they find a reproduction of that of the first settlers in the Holy Land. +Like them they think they are entrusted by the Almighty with the task +of exterminating the heathen native tribes around them, and are always +ready with a scriptural precedent for slaughter and robbery. The name of +the Divinity is continually on their lips, sometimes in connection with +very doubtful statements. They are divided into three sects, none of +which care much for the other two. These are the Doppers, who number +about half the population, the Orthodox Reform, and the Liberal Reform, +which is the least numerous. Of these three sects, the Doppers are +by far the most uncompromising and difficult to deal with. They much +resemble the puritans of Charles the First’s time, of the extreme +Hew-Agag-in-pieces stamp. + +It is difficult to agree with those who call the Boers cowards, an +accusation which the whole of their history belies. A Boer does not like +fighting if he can avoid it, because he sets a high value on his own +life; but if he is cornered, he will fight as well as anybody else. The +Boers fought well enough, in the late war, though that, it is true, is +no great criterion of courage, since they were throughout flushed with +victory, and, owing to the poor shooting of the British troop, in but +little personal danger. One very unpleasant characteristic they have, +and that is an absence of regard for the truth, especially where land +is concerned. Indeed the national characteristic is crystallised into +a proverb, “I am no slave to my word.” It has several times happened to +me, to see one set of highly respectable witnesses in a land case, go +into the box and swear distinctly that they saw a beacon placed on a +certain spot, whilst an equal number on the other side will swear that +they saw it placed a mile away. Filled as they are with a land hunger, +to which that of the Irish peasant is a weak and colourless sentiment, +there is little that they will not do to gratify their taste. It is +the subject of constant litigation amongst them, and it is by no means +uncommon for a Boer to spend several thousand pounds in lawsuits over a +piece of land not worth as many hundreds. + +Personally Boers are fine men, but as a rule ugly. Their women-folk are +good-looking in early life, but get very stout as they grow older. They, +in common with most of their sex, understand how to use their tongues; +indeed, it is said, that it was the women who caused the rising against +the English Government. None of the refinements of civilisation enter +into the life of an ordinary Boer. He lives in a way that would shock an +English labourer at twenty-five shillings the week, although he is very +probably worthy fifteen or twenty thousand pounds. His home is but too +frequently squalid and filthy to an extraordinary degree. He himself has +no education, and does not care that his children should receive any. +He lives by himself in the middle of a great plot of land, his nearest +neighbour being perhaps ten or twelve miles away, caring but little for +the news of the outside world, and nothing for its opinions, doing very +little work, but growing daily richer through the increase of his flocks +and herds. His expenses are almost nothing, and as he gets older, wealth +increases upon him. The events in his life consist of an occasional +trip on “commando,” against some native tribe, attending a few political +meetings, and the journeys he makes with his family to the nearest +town, some four times a year, in order to be present at “Nachtmaal” + or communion. Foreigners, especially Englishmen, he detests, but he is +kindly and hospitable to his own people. Living isolated as he does, +the lord of a little kingdom, he naturally comes to have a great idea of +himself, and a corresponding contempt for all the rest of mankind. Laws +and taxes are things distasteful to him, and he looks upon it as an +impertinence that any court should venture to call him to account for +his doings. He is rich and prosperous, and the cares of poverty, and all +the other troubles that fall to the lot of civilised men, do not affect +him. He has no romance in him, nor any of the higher feelings and +aspirations that are found in almost every other race; in short, +unlike the Zulu he despises, there is little of the gentleman in his +composition, though he is at times capable of acts of kindness and even +generosity. His happiness is to live alone in the great wilderness, with +his children, his men-servants and his maid-servants, his flocks and his +herds, the monarch of all he surveys. If civilisation presses him too +closely, his remedy is a simple one. He sells his farm, packs up his +goods and cash in his waggon, and starts for regions more congenially +wild. Such are some of the leading characteristics of that remarkable +product of South Africa, the Transvaal Boer, who resembles no other +white man in the world. + +Perhaps, however, the most striking of all his oddities is his +abhorrence of all government, more especially if that government be +carried out according to English principles. The Boers have always been +more or less in rebellion; they rebelled against the rule of the Company +when the Cape belonged to Holland, they rebelled against the English +Government in the Cape, they were always in a state of semi-rebellion +against their own government in the Transvaal, and now they have for +the second time, with the most complete success, rebelled against the +English Government. The fact of the matter is that the bulk of their +number hate all Governments, because Governments enforce law and order, +and they hate the English Government worst of all, because it enforces +law and order most of all. It is not liberty they long for, but +license. The “sturdy independence” of the Boer resolves itself into a +determination not to have his affairs interfered with by any superior +power whatsoever, and not to pay taxes if he can possibly avoid it. +But he has also a specific cause of complaint against the English +Government, which would alone cause him to do his utmost to get rid of +it, and that is its mode of dealing with natives, which is radically +opposite to his own. This is the secret of Boer patriotism. To +understand it, it must be remembered that the Englishman and the Boer +look at natives from a different point of view. The Englishman, though +he may not be very fond of him, at any rate regards the Kafir as a +fellow human being with feelings like his own. The average Boer does +not. He looks upon the “black creature” as having been delivered into +his hand by the “Lord” for his own purposes, that is, to shoot and +enslave. He must not be blamed too harshly for this, for, besides +being naturally of a somewhat hard disposition, hatred of the native +is hereditary, and is partly induced by the history of many a bloody +struggle. Also the native hates the Boer fully as much as the Boer hates +the native, though with better reason. Now native labour is a necessity +to the Boer, because he will not as a rule do hard manual labour +himself, and there must be some one to plant and garner the crops, and +herd the cattle. On the other hand, the natives are not anxious to serve +the Boers, which means little or no pay and plenty of thick stick, and +sometimes worse. The result of this state of affairs is that the Boer +often has to rely on forced labour to a very great extent. But this is a +thing that an English Government will not tolerate, and the consequence +is that under its rule he cannot get the labour that is necessary to +him. + +Then there is the tax question. If he lives under the English flag the +money has to be paid regularly, but under his own Government he pays or +not as he likes. It was this habit of his of refusing payment of taxes +that brought the Republic into difficulties in 1877, and that will ere +long bring it into trouble again. He cannot understand that cash is +necessary to carry on a Government, and looks upon a tax as though it +were so much money stolen from him. These things are the real springs of +the “sturdy independence” and the patriotism of the ordinary Transvaal +farmer. Doubtless, there are some who are really patriotic; for +instance, one of their leaders, Paul Kruger. But with the majority, +patriotism is only another word for unbounded license and forced labour. + +These remarks must not be taken to apply to the Cape Boers, who are a +superior class of men, since they, living under a settled and civilised +Government, have been steadily improving, whilst their cousins, +living every man for his own hand, have been deteriorating. The old +Voortrekkers, the fathers and grandfathers of the Transvaal Boer of +to-day, were, without doubt, a very fine set of men, and occasionally +you may in the Transvaal meet individuals of the same stamp whom it is a +pleasure to know. But these are generally men of a certain age with some +experience of the world; the younger men are very objectionable in their +manners. + +The real Dutch Patriotic party is not to be found in the Transvaal, but +in the Cape Colony. Their object, which, as affairs now are, is well +within the bounds of possibility, is by fair means or foul to swamp +the English element in South Africa, and to establish a great Dutch +Republic. It was this party, which consists of clever and well educated +men, who raised the outcry against the Transvaal Annexation, because it +meant an enormous extension of English influence, and who had the wit, +by means of their emissaries and newspapers, to work upon the feeling of +the ignorant Transvaal farmers until they persuaded them to rebel; and +finally, to avail themselves of the yearnings of English radicalism for +the disruption of the Empire and the minimisation of British authority, +to get the Annexation cancelled. All through this business the Boers +have more or less danced in obedience to strings pulled at Cape Town, +and it is now said that one of the chief wire-pullers, Mr. Hofmeyer, is +to be asked to become President of the Republic. These men are the real +patriots of South Africa, and very clever ones too, not the Transvaal +Boers, who vapour about their blood and their country and the accursed +Englishman to order, and are in reality influenced by very small +motives, such as the desire to avoid payment of taxes, or to hunt away +a neighbouring Englishman, whose civilisation and refinement are as +offensive as his farm is desirable. Such are the Dutch inhabitants of +the Transvaal. I will now give a short sketch of their institutions as +they were before the Annexation, and to which the community has reverted +since its recision, with, I believe, but few alterations. + +The form of government is republican, and to all intents and purposes, +manhood suffrage prevails, supreme power resting in the people. The +executive power of the State centres in a President elected by the +people to hold office for a term of five years, every voter having a +voice in his election. He is assisted in the execution of his duties by +an Executive Council, consisting of the State Secretary and such other +three members as are selected for that purpose by the legislative body, +the Volksraad. The State Secretary holds office for four years, and is +elected by the Volksraad. The members of the Executive all have seats in +the Volksraad, but have no votes. The Volksraad is the legislative body +of the State, and consists of forty-two members. The country is divided +into twelve electoral districts, each of which has the right to return +three members; the Gold Fields have also the right of electing two +members, and the four principal towns, one member each. There is +no power in the State competent to either prorogue or dissolve the +Volksraad except that body itself, so that an appeal to the country on +a given subject or policy is impossible without its concurrence. Members +are elected for four years, but half retire by rotation every two years, +the vacancies being filled by re-elections. Members must have been +voters for three years, and be not less than thirty years of age, must +belong to a Protestant Church, be resident in the country, and owners +of immovable property therein. A father and son cannot sit in the same +Raad, neither can seats be occupied by coloured persons, bastards, or +officials. + +For each electoral district there is a magistrate or Landdrost whose +duties are similar to those of a Civil Commissioner. These districts are +again subdivided into wards presided over by field cornets, who exercise +judicial powers in minor matters, and in times of war have considerable +authority. The Roman Dutch law is the common law of the country, as it +is of the colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal, and of the Orange +Free State. + +Prior to the Annexation justice was administered in a very primitive +fashion. First, there was the Landdrosts’ Court, from which an appeal +lay to a court consisting of the Landdrost and six councillors elected +by the public. This was a court of first instance as well as a court of +appeal. Then there was a Supreme Court, consisting of three Landdrosts +from three different districts, and a jury of twelve selected from the +burghers of the State. There was no appeal from this court, but cases +have sometimes been brought under the consideration of the Volksraad +as the supreme power. It is easy to imagine what the administration +of justice was like when the presidents of all the law courts in the +country were elected by the mob, not on account of their knowledge of +the law, but because they were popular. Suitors before the old Transvaal +courts found the law surprisingly uncertain. A High Court of Justice +was, however, established after the Annexation, and has been continued +by the Volksraad, but an agitation is being got up against it, and it +will possibly be abolished in favour of the old system. + +In such a community as that of the Transvaal Boers, the question of +public defence was evidently of the first importance. This is provided +for under what is known as the Commando system. The President, with the +concurrence of the Executive Council, has the right of declaring war, +and of calling up a Commando, in which the burghers are placed under +the field cornets and commandants. These last are chosen by the field +cornets for each district, and a Commandant-general is chosen by the +whole laager or force, but the President is the Commander-in-Chief of +the army. All the inhabitants of the state between sixteen and sixty, +with a few exceptions, are liable for service. Young men under +eighteen, and men over fifty, are only called out under circumstances +of emergency. Members of the Volksraad, officials, clergymen, and +school-teachers are exempt from personal service, unless martial law +is proclaimed, but must contribute an amount not exceeding 15 pounds +towards the expense of the war. All legal proceedings in civil cases are +suspended against persons on commando, no summonses can be made out, +and as soon as martial law is proclaimed no legal execution can be +prosecuted, the pounds are closed, and transfer dues payments are +suspended, until after thirty days from the recall of the proclamation +of martial law. Owners of land residing beyond the borders of the +Republic are also liable, in addition to the ordinary war tax, to +place a fit and proper substitute at the disposal of the Government, or +otherwise to pay a fine of 15 pounds. The first levy of the burghers +is, of men from eighteen to thirty-four years of age; the second, +thirty-four to fifty; and the third, from sixteen to eighteen, and +from fifty to sixty years. Every man is bound to provide himself with +clothing, a gun, and ammunition, and there must be enough waggons and +oxen found between them to suffice for their joint use. Of the booty +taken, one quarter goes to Government and the rest to the burghers. The +most disagreeable part of the commandeering system is, however, yet to +come; personal service is not all that the resident in the Transvaal +Republic has to endure. The right is vested in field cornets to +commandeer articles as well as individuals, and to call upon inhabitants +to furnish requisites for the commando. As may be imagined, it goes very +hard on these occasions with the property of any individual whom the +field cornet may not happen to like. + +Each ward is expected to turn out its contingent ready and equipped +for war, and this can only be done by seizing goods right and left. One +unfortunate will have to find a waggon, another to deliver his favourite +span of trek oxen, another his riding-horse, or some slaughter cattle, +and so on. Even when the officer making the levy is desirous of doing +his duty as fairly as he can, it is obvious that very great hardships +must be inflicted under such a system. Requisitions are made more with +regard to what is wanted, than with a view to an equitable distribution +of demands; and like the Jews in the time of the Crusades, he who +has got most must pay most, or take the consequences, which may be +unpleasant. Articles which are not perishable, such as waggons, are +supposed to be returned, but if they come back at all they are generally +worthless. + +In case of war, the native tribes living within the borders of the State +are also expected to furnish contingents, and it is on them that most of +the hard work of the campaign generally falls. They are put in the front +of the battle, and have to do the hand-to-hand fighting, which, however, +if of the Zulu race, they do not object to. + +The revenue of the State is so arranged that the burden of it should +fall as much as possible on the trading community and as little as +possible on the farmer. It is chiefly derived from licenses on trades, +professions, and callings, 30s. per annum quit-rent on farms, transfer +dues and stamps, auction dues, court fees, and contributions from such +native tribes as can be made to pay them. Since we have given up the +country, the Volksraad has put a very heavy tax on all imported goods, +hoping thereby to beguile the Boers into paying taxes without knowing +it, and at the same time strike a blow at the trading community, which +is English in its proclivities. The result has been to paralyse +what little trade there was left in the country, and to cause great +dissatisfaction amongst the farmers, who cannot understand why, now that +the English are gone, they should have to pay twice as much for their +sugar and coffee as they have been accustomed to do. + + +I will conclude this chapter with a few words about the natives, who +swarm in and around the Transvaal. They can be roughly divided into two +great races, the Amazulu and their offshoots, and the Macatee or Basutu +tribes. All those of Zulu blood, including the Swazies, Mapock’s Kafirs, +the Matabele, the Knobnodes, and others are very warlike in disposition, +and men of fine physique. The Basutus (who must not be confounded with +the Cape Basutus), however, differ from these tribes in every respect, +including their language, which is called Sisutu, the only mutual +feeling between the two races being their common detestation of the +Boers. They do not love war; in fact, they are timid and cowardly by +nature, and only fight when they are obliged to. Unlike the Zulus, they +are much addicted to the arts of peace, show considerable capacities +for civilisation, and are even willing to become Christians. There would +have been a far better field for the Missionary in the Transvaal than in +Zululand and Natal. Indeed, the most successful mission station I have +seen in Africa is near Middelburg, under the control of Mr. Merensky. +In person the Basutus are thin and weakly when compared to the stalwart +Zulu, and it is their consciousness of inferiority both to the white +men, and their black brethren, that, together with their natural +timidity, makes them submit as easily as they do to the yoke of the +Boer. + + + +CHAPTER II + +EVENTS PRECEDING THE ANNEXATION + +_Mr. Burgers elected president--His character and aspirations--His +pension from the English Government--His visit to England--The railway +loan--Relations of the republic with native tribes--The pass laws--Its +quarrel with Cetywayo--Confiscation of native territory by the Keate +award--Treaty with the Swazi king--The Secocoeni war--Capture of +Johannes’ stronghold by the Swazi allies--Attack on Secocoeni’s +mountain--Defeat and dispersion of the Boers--Elation of the +natives--Von Schlickmann’s volunteers--Cruelties perpetrated--Abel +Erasmus--Treatment of natives by Boers--Public meeting at Potchefstroom +in 1768--The slavery question--Some evidence on the subject--Pecuniary +position of the Transvaal prior to the annexation--Internal +troubles--Divisions amongst the Boers--Hopeless condition of the +country._ + +In or about the year 1872, the burghers of the Republic elected Mr. +Burgers their President. This remarkable man was a native of the Cape +Colony, and passed the first sixteen or seventeen years of his life, +he once informed me, on a farm herding sheep. He afterwards became +a clergyman noted for the eloquence of his preaching, but his ideas +proving too broad for his congregation, he resigned his cure, and in an +evil moment for himself took to politics. + +President Burgers was a man of striking presence and striking talents, +especially as regards his oratory, which was really of a very high +class, and would have commanded attention in our own House of Commons. +He possessed, however, a mind of that peculiarly volatile order, that is +sometimes met with in conjunction with great talents, and which seems to +be entirely without ballast. His intellect was of a balloon-like nature, +and as incapable of being steered. He was always soaring in the clouds, +and, as is natural to one in that elevated position, taking a very +different and more sanguine view of affairs to that which men of a more +lowly, and perhaps a more practical, turn of mind would do. + +But notwithstanding his fly-away ideas, President Burgers was +undoubtedly a true patriot, labouring night and day for the welfare of +the state of which he had to undertake the guidance: but his patriotism +was too exalted for his surroundings. He wished to elevate to the rank +of a nation a people who had not got the desire to be elevated; with +this view he contracted railway loans, made wars, minted gold, &c., and +then suddenly discovered that the country refused to support him. In +short, he was made of a very different clay to that of the people he had +to do with. He dreamt of a great Dutch Republic “with eight millions of +inhabitants,” doing a vast trade with the interior through the Delagoa +Bay Railway. They, on the other hand, cared nothing about republics or +railways, but fixed their affections on forced labour and getting rid of +the necessity of paying taxes--and so between them the Republic came +to grief. But it must be borne in mind that President Burgers was +throughout actuated by good motives; he did his best by a stubborn and +stiff-necked people; and if he failed, as fail he did, it was more their +fault than his. As regards the pension he received from the English +Government, which has so often been brought up against him, it was +after all no more than his due after five years of arduous work. If the +Republic had continued to exist, it is to be presumed that they would +have made some provision for their old President, more especially as +he seems to have exhausted his private means in paying the debts of +the country. Whatever may be said of some of the other officials of the +Republic, its President was, I believe, an honest man. + +In 1875, Mr. Burgers proceeded to Europe, having, he says in a +posthumous document recently published, been empowered by the Volksraad +“to carry out my plans for the development of the country, by opening up +a direct communication for it, free from the trammels of British ports +and influence.” According to this document, during his absence, two +powerful parties, viz., “the faction of unprincipled fortune-hunters, +rascals, and runaways on the one hand, and the faction of the extreme +orthodox party in a certain branch of the Dutch Reform Church on the +other, began to co-operate against the Government of the Republic and +me personally. . . . . . Ill as I was, and contrary to the advice of my +medical men, I proceeded to Europe, in the beginning of 1875, to carry +out my project, and no sooner was my back turned on the Transvaal, than +the conspiring elements began to act. The new coat of arms and flag +adopted in the Raad by an almost unanimous vote were abolished. The laws +for a free and secular education were tampered with, and my resistance +to a reckless inspection and disposal of Government lands, still +occupied by natives, was openly defied. The Raad, filled up to a large +extent with men of ill repute, who, under the cloak of progress and +favour to the Government view, obtained their seats, was too weak to +cope with the skill of the conspirators, and granted leave to the acting +President to carry out measures diametrically opposed to my policy. +_Native lands_ were inspected and given out to a few speculators, who +held large numbers of claims to lands which were destined for citizens, +and so a war was prepared for me, on my return from Europe, which I +could not avert.” This extract is interesting, as showing the state of +feeling existing between the President and his officers previous to the +outbreak of the Secocoeni war. It also shows how entirely he was out of +sympathy with the citizens, seeing that as soon as his back was turned, +they, with Mr. Joubert and Paul Kruger at their head, at once undid all +the little good he had done. + +When Mr. Burgers got to England, he found that city capitalists would +have nothing whatever to say to his railway scheme. In Holland, however, +he succeeded in getting 90,000 pounds of the 300,000 pounds he wished to +borrow at a high rate of interest, and by passing a bond on five hundred +government farms. This money was immediately invested in a railway +plant, which, when it arrived at Delagoa Bay, had to be mortgaged to +pay the freight on it, and that was the end of the Delagoa Bay railway +scheme, except that the 90,000 pounds is, I believe, still owing to the +confiding shareholders in Holland. + +On his return to the Transvaal the President was well received, and for +a month or so all went smoothly. But the relations of the Republic with +the surrounding native tribes had by this time become so bad that an +explosion was imminent somewhere. In the year 1874 the Volksraad raised +the price of passes under the iniquitous pass law, by which every native +travelling through the territory was made to pay from 1 pound to five +pounds. In case of non-payment the native was made subject to a fine of +from 1 pound to 10 pounds, and to a beating of from “ten to twenty-five +lashes.” He was also to go into service for three months, and have a +certificate thereof, for which he must pay five shillings; the avowed +object of the law being to obtain a supply of Kafir labour. This was +done in spite of the earnest protest of the President, who gave the Raad +distinctly to understand that by accepting this law they would, in point +of fact, annul treaties concluded with the chiefs on the south-western +borders. It was not clear, however, if this amended pass law ever came +into force. It is to be hoped it did not, for even under the old law +natives were shamefully treated by the Boers, who would pretend that +they were authorised by the Government to collect the tax; the result +being that the unfortunate Kafir was frequently obliged to pay twice +over. Natives had such a horror of the pass laws of the country, that +when travelling to the Diamond Fields to work they would frequently go +round some hundreds of miles rather than pass through the Transvaal. + +That the Volksraad should have thought it necessary to enact such a law +in order that the farmers should obtain a supply of Kafir labour in a +territory that had nearly a million of native inhabitants, who, unlike +the Zulus, are willing to work if only they meet with decent treatment, +is in itself an instructive commentary on the feelings existing between +the Boer master and Kafir servant. + +But besides the general quarrel with the Kafir race in its entirety, +which the Boers always have on hand, they had just then several +individual differences, in each of which there lurked the possibilities +of disturbance. + +To begin with, their relations with Cetywayo were by no means amicable. +During Mr. Burgers’ absence the Boer Government, then under the +leadership of P. J. Joubert, sent Cetywayo a very stern message--a +message that gives the reader the idea that Mr. Joubert was ready to +enforce it with ten thousand men. After making various statements and +demands with reference to the Amaswazi tribe, the disputed boundary +line, &c., it ends thus:-- + +“Although the Government of the South African Republic has never wished, +and does not now desire, that serious disaffection and animosities +should exist between you and them, yet it is not the less of the +greatest consequence and importance for you earnestly to weigh these +matters and risks, and to satisfy them; the more so, if you on your side +also wish that peace and friendship shall be maintained between you and +us.” + +The Secretary for Native Affairs for Natal comments on this message in +these words: “The tone of this message to Cetywayo is not very friendly, +it has the look of an ultimatum, and if the Government of the Transvaal +were in circumstances different to what it is, the message would +suggest an intention to coerce if the demands it conveys are not at once +complied with; but I am inclined to the opinion that no such intention +exists, and that the transmission of a copy of the message to the Natal +Government is intended as a notification that the Transvaal Government +has proclaimed the territory hitherto in dispute between it and the +Zulus to be Republican territory, and that the Republic intends to +occupy it.” + +In the territories marked out by a decision known as the Keate Award, +in which Lieutenant-Governor Keate of Natal, at the request of both +parties, laid down the boundary line between the Boers and certain +native tribes, the Boer Government carried it with a yet higher +hand, insomuch as the natives of those districts, being comparatively +unwarlike, were less likely to resist. + +On the 18th August 1875, Acting President Joubert issued a proclamation +by which a line was laid down far to the southward of that marked out by +Mr. Keate, and consequently included more territory within the elastic +boundaries of the Republic. A Government notice of the same date invites +all claiming lands now declared to belong to the Republic, to send in +their claims to be settled by a land commission. + +On the 6th March 1876, another chief in the same neighbourhood +(Montsoia) writes to the Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West in these +terms:-- + +“My Friend,--I wish to acquaint you with the doings of some people +connected with the Boers. A man-servant of mine has been severely +injured in the head by one of the Boers’ servants, which has proved +fatal. Another of my people has been cruelly treated by a Boer tying a +rein about his neck, and then mounting his horse and dragging him about +the place. My brother Molema, who is the bearer of this, will give you +full particulars.” + +Molema explains the assaults thus: “The assaulted man is not dead; his +skull was fractured. The assault was committed by a Boer named Wessels +Badenhorst, who shamefully ill-treated the man, beat him till he +fainted, and, on his revival, fastened a rim around his neck, and +made him run to the homestead by the side of his (Badenhorst’s) horse +cantering. At the homestead he tied him to the waggon-wheel, and flogged +him again till Mrs. Badenhorst stopped her husband.” + +Though it will be seen that the Boers were on good terms neither with +the Zulus nor the Keate Award natives, they still had one Kafir ally, +namely, Umbandeni, the Amaswazi king. This alliance was concluded +under circumstances so peculiar that they are worthy of a brief +recapitulation. It appears that in the winter of the year 1875 Mr. +Rudolph, the Landdrost of Utrecht, went to Swazieland, and, imitating +the example of the Natal Government with Cetywayo, crowned Umbandeni +king, on behalf of the Boer Government. He further made a treaty of +alliance with him, and promised him a commando to help him in case +of his being attacked by the Zulus. Now comes the curious part of the +story. On the 18th May 1876, a message came from this same Umbandeni to +Sir H. Bulwer, of which the following is an extract:--“We are sent by +our king to thank the Government of Natal for the information sent to +him last winter by that Government, and conveyed by Mr. Rudolph, of the +intended attack on his people by the Zulus. We are further instructed by +the king to thank the Natal Government for the influence it used to +stop the intended raid, and for instructing a Boer commando to go to +his country to render him assistance in case of need; and further +for appointing Mr. Randolph at the head of the commando to place him +(Umbandeni) as king over the Amaswazi, and to make a treaty with him and +his people on behalf of the Natal Government. . . . . . The Transvaal +Government has asked Umbandeni to acknowledge himself a subject of the +Republic, but he has distinctly refused to do so.” In a minute written +on this subject, the Secretary for Native Affairs for Natal says, “No +explanation or assurance was sufficient to convince them (Umbandeni’s +messengers) that they had on that occasion made themselves subjects +of the South African Republic; they declared it was not their wish or +intention to do so, and that they would refuse to acknowledge a position +into which they had been unwittingly betrayed.” I must conclude this +episode by quoting the last paragraph of Sir H. Bulwer’s covering +despatch, because it concerns larger issues than the supposed treaty: +“It will not be necessary that I should at present add any remarks to +those contained in the minute for the Secretary for Native Affairs, but +I would observe that the situation arising out of the relations of the +Government of the South African Republic with the neighbouring states is +so complicated, and presents so many elements of confusion and of danger +to the peace of this portion of South Africa, that I trust some way +may be found to an early settlement of questions that ought not, in my +opinion, to be left alone, as so many have been left, to take the chance +of the future.” + +And now I come to the last and most imminent native difficulty that at +the time faced the Republic. On the borders of Lydenburg district there +lived a powerful chief named Secocoeni. Between this chief and the +Transvaal Government difficulties arose in the beginning of 1876 on the +usual subject--land. The Boers declared that they had bought the land +from the Swazies, who had conquered portions of the country, and +that the Swazies offered to make it “clean from brambles,” i.e., kill +everybody living on it; but that they (the Boers) said that they were +to let them be, that they might be their servants. The Basutus, on the +other hand, said that no such sale ever took place, and, even if it did +take place, it was invalid, because the Swazies were not in occupation +of the land, and therefore could not sell it. It was a Christian Kafir +called Johannes, a brother of Secocoeni, who was the immediate cause +of the war. This Johannes used to live at a place called Botsobelo, +the mission-station of Mr. Merensky, but moved to a stronghold on the +Spekboom river, in the disputed territory. The Boers sent to him to come +back, but he refused, and warned the Boers off his land. Secocoeni was +then appealed to, but declared that the land belonged to his tribe, and +would be occupied by Johannes. He also told the Boers “that he did not +wish to fight, but that he was quite ready to do so if they preferred +it.” Thereupon the Transvaal Government declared war, although it does +not appear that the natives committed any outrage or acts of hostility +before the declaration. As regards the Boers’ right to Secocoeni’s +country, Sir H. Barkly sums up the question thus, in a despatch +addressed to President Burgers, dated 28th Nov. 1876:--“On the whole, it +seems perfectly clear, and I feel bound to repeat it, that Sikukuni +was neither _de jure_ or _de facto_ a subject of the Republic when your +Honour declared war against him in June last.” As soon as war had been +declared, the clumsy commando system was set working, and about +2500 white men collected; the Swazies also were applied to to send a +contingent, which they did, being only too glad of the opportunity of +slaughter. + +At first all went well, and the President, who accompanied the commando +in person, succeeded in reducing a mountain stronghold, which, in his +high-flown way, he called a “glorious victory” over a “Kafir Gibraltar.” + +On the 14th July another engagement took place, when the Boers and +Swazies attacked Johannes’ stronghold. The place was taken with +circumstances of great barbarity by the Swazies, for when the signal +was given to advance the Boers did not move. Nearly all the women were +killed, and the brains of the children were dashed out against the +stones; in one instance, before the captive mother’s face. Johannes was +badly wounded, and died two days afterwards. When he was dying he said +to his brother, “I am going to die. I am thankful I do not die by the +hands of these cowardly Boers, but by the hand of a black and courageous +nation like myself . . .” He then took leave of his people, told his +brother to read the Bible, and expired. The Swazies were so infuriated +at the cowardice displayed by the Boers on this occasion that they +returned home in great dudgeon. + +On the 2nd of August Secocoeni’s mountain, which is a very strong +fortification, was attacked in two columns, or rather an attempt was +made to attack it, for when it came to the pinch only about forty men, +mostly English and Germans, would advance. Thereupon the whole commando +retreated with great haste, the greater part of it going straight home. +In vain the President entreated them to shoot him rather than desert +him; they had had enough of Secocoeni and his stronghold, and home they +went. The President then retreated with what few men he had left to +Steelport, where he built a fort, and from thence returned to Pretoria. +The news of the collapse of the commando was received throughout the +Transvaal, and indeed the whole of South Africa, with the greatest +dismay. For the first time in the history of that country the white man +had been completely worsted by a native tribe, and that tribe wretched +Basutus, people whom the Zulus call their “dogs.” It was glad tidings to +every native from the Zambesi to the Cape, who learnt thereby that +the white man was not so invincible as he used to be. Meanwhile the +inhabitants of Lydenburg were filled with alarm, and again and again +petitioned the Governors of the Cape and Natal for assistance. Their +fears were, however, to a great extent groundless, for, with the +exception of occasional cattle-lifting, Secocoeni did not follow up his +victory. + +On the 4th September the President opened the special sitting of the +Volksraad, and presented to that body a scheme for the establishment of +a border force to take the place of the commando system, announcing that +he had appointed a certain Captain Von Schlickmann to command it. He +also requested the Raad to make some provision for the expenses of the +expedition, which they had omitted to do in their former sitting. + +Captain Von Schlickmann determined to carry on the war upon a different +system. He got together a band of very rough characters on the Diamond +Fields, and occupied the fort built by the President, from whence he +would sally out from time to time and destroy kraals. He seems, if +we may believe the reports in the blue books and the stories of +eye-witnesses, to have carried on his proceedings in a somewhat savage +way. The following is an extract from a private letter written by one of +his volunteers:-- + +“About daylight we came across four Kafirs. Saw them first, and charged +in front of them to cut off their retreat. Saw they were women, and +called out not to fire. In spite of that, one of the poor things got her +head blown off (a d----d shame). . . . Afterwards two women and a baby +were brought to the camp prisoners. The same night they were taken out +by our Kafirs and murdered in cold blood by the order of ----. Mr. ---- +and myself strongly protested against it, but without avail. I never +heard such a cowardly piece of business in my life. No good will come +of it, you may depend. . . . ---- says he would cut all the women and +children’s throats he catches. Told him distinctly he was a d----d +coward.” + +Schlickmann was, however, a mild-mannered man when compared to a certain +Abel Erasmus, afterwards denounced at a public dinner by Sir Garnet +Wolseley as a “fiend in human form.” This gentleman, in the month of +October, attacked a friendly kraal of Kafirs. The incident is described +thus in a correspondent’s letter:-- + +“The people of the kraals, taken quite by surprise, fled when they saw +their foes, and most of them took shelter in the neighbouring bush. Two +or three men were distinctly seen in their flight from the kraal, and +one of them is known to have been wounded. According to my informant the +remainder were women and children, who were pursued into the bush, and +there, all shivering and shrieking, were put to death by the Boers’ +Kafirs, some being shot, but the majority stabbed with assegais. After +the massacre he counted thirteen women and three children, but he says +he did not see the body of a single man. Another Kafir said, pointing to +a place in the road where the stones were thickly strewn, ‘the bodies +of the women and children lay like these stones.’ The Boer before +mentioned, who has been stationed outside, has told one of his own +friends, whom he thought would not mention it, that the shrieks were +fearful to hear.” + +Several accounts of, or allusion to, this atrocity can be found in the +blue books, and I may add that it, in common with others of the same +stamp, was the talk of the country at the time. + +I do not relate these horrors out of any wish to rake up old stories to +the prejudice of the Boers, but because I am describing the state of +the country before the Annexation, in which they form an interesting and +important item. Also, it is as well that people in England should know +into what hands they have delivered over the native tribes who trusted +in their protection. What happened in 1876 is probably happening again +now, and will certainly happen again and again. The character of the +Transvaal Boer and his sentiments towards the native races have not +modified during the last five years, but, on the contrary, a large +amount of energy, which has been accumulating during the period of +British protection, will now be expended on their devoted heads. + +As regards the truth of these atrocities, the majority of them are +beyond the possibility of doubt; indeed, to the best of my knowledge, no +serious attempt has ever been made to refute such of them as have come +into public notice, except in a general way, for party purposes. As, +however, they may be doubted, I will quote the following extract from a +despatch written by Sir H. Barkly to Lord Carnarvon, dated 18th December +1876:-- + +“As Von Schlickmann has since fallen fighting bravely, it is not without +reluctance that I join in affixing this dark stain on his memory, but +truth compels me to add the following extract from a letter which I have +since received from one whose name (which I communicate to your Lordship +privately) forbids disbelief: ‘There is no longer the _slightest doubt_ +as to the murder of the two women and the child at Steelport by the +direct order of Schlickmann, and in the attack on the kraal near which +these women were captured (or some attack about that period) he ordered +his men to cut the throats of all the wounded! This is no mere report; +it is positively true.’” He concludes by expressing a hope that the +course of events will enable Her Majesty’s Government to take such steps +“as will terminate this wanton and useless bloodshed, and prevent +the recurrence of the _scenes of injustice, cruelty, and rapine which +abundant evidence is every day forthcoming to prove have rarely ceased +to disgrace the Republics beyond the Vaal ever since they first sprang +into existence._“[*] + + [*] The italics are my own.--Author. + +These are strong words, but none too strong for the facts of the case. +Injustice, cruelty, and rapine have always been the watchwords of the +Transvaal Boers. The stories of wholesale slaughter in the earlier +days of the Republic are very numerous. One of the best known of those +shocking occurrences took place in the Zoutpansberg war in 1865. On this +occasion a large number of Kafirs took refuge in caves, where the Boers +smoked them to death. Some years afterwards Dr. Wangeman, whose account +is, I believe, thoroughly reliable, describes the scene of their +operations in these words:-- + +“The roof of the first cave was black with smoke; the remains of the +logs which were burnt lay at the entrance. The floor was strewn with +hundreds of skulls and skeletons. In confused heaps lay karosses, +kerries, assegais, pots, spoons, snuff-boxes, and the bones of men, +giving one the impression that this was the grave of a whole people. +Some estimate the number of those who perished here from twenty to +thirty thousand. This is, I believe, too high. In the one chamber there +were from two hundred to three hundred skeletons; the other chambers I +did not visit.” + +In 1868 a public meeting was held at Potchefstroom to consider the war +then going on with the Zoutpansberg natives. According to the report of +the proceedings, the Rev. Mr. Ludorf said that “on a particular occasion +a number of native children, who were too young to be removed, had been +collected in a heap, covered with long grass, and burned alive. Other +atrocities had also been committed, but these were too horrible to +relate.” When called upon to produce his authority for this statement, +Mr. Ludorf named his authority “in a solemn declaration to the State +Attorney.” At this same meeting Mr. J. G. Steyn, who had been Landdrost +of Potchefstroom, said “there now was innocent blood on our hands which +had not yet been avenged, and the curse of God rested on the land in +consequence.” Mr. Rosalt remarked that “it was a singular circumstance +that in the different colonial Kafir wars, as also in the Basutu wars, +one did not hear of destitute children being found by the commandoes, +and asked how it was that every petty commando that took the field in +this Republic invariably found numbers of destitute children. He gave +it as his opinion that the present system of apprenticeship was an +essential cause of our frequent hostilities with the natives.” Mr. Jan +Talyard said, “Children were forcibly taken from their parents, and were +then called destitute and apprenticed.” Mr. Daniel Van Nooren was +heard to say, “If they had to clear the country, and could not have the +children they found, he would shoot them.” Mr. Field-Cornet Furstenburg +stated “that when he was at Zoutpansberg with his burghers, the chief +Katse-Kats was told to come down from the mountains; that he sent one of +his subordinates as a proof of amity; that whilst a delay of five days +was guaranteed by Commandant Paul Kruger, who was then in command, +orders were given at the same time to attack the natives at break of +day, which was accordingly done, but which resulted in total failure.” + Truly, this must have been an interesting meeting. + +Before leaving these unsavoury subjects, I must touch on the question of +slavery. It has been again and again denied, on behalf of the Transvaal +Boers, that slavery existed in the Republic. Now, this is, strictly +speaking, true; slavery did not exist, but apprenticeship did--the rose +was called by another name, that is all. The poor destitute children who +were picked up by kindhearted Boers, after the extermination of their +parents, were apprenticed to farmers till they came of age. It is a +remarkable fact that these children never attained their majority. You +might meet oldish men in the Transvaal who were not, according to their +masters’ reckoning, twenty-one years of age. The assertion that slavery +did not exist in the Transvaal is only made to hoodwink the English +public. I have known men who have owned slaves, and who have seen whole +waggon-loads of “black ivory,” as they were called, sold for about 15 +pounds a-piece. I have at this moment a tenant, Carolus by name, on some +land I own in Natal, now a well-to-do man, who was for many years--about +twenty, if I remember right--a Boer slave. During those years, he told +me, he worked from morning till night, and the only reward he received +was two calves. He finally escaped into Natal. + +If other evidence is needed it is not difficult to find, so I will quote +a little. On the 22d August 1876 we find Khama, king of the Bamangwato, +one of the most worthy chiefs in South Africa, sending a message to +“Victoria, the great Queen of the English people,” in these words:-- + +“I write to you, Sir Henry, in order that your Queen may preserve for me +my country, it being in her hands. The Boers are coming into it, and I +do not like them. Their actions are cruel among us black people. We are +like money, they sell us and our children. I ask Her Majesty to pity +me, and to hear that which I write quickly. I wish to hear upon what +conditions Her Majesty will receive me, and my country and my people, +under her protection. I am weary with fighting. I do not like war, and +I ask Her Majesty to give me peace. I am very much distressed that my +people are being destroyed by war, and I wish them to obtain peace. I +ask Her Majesty to defend me, as she defends all her people. There +are three things which distress me very much--war, selling people, +and drink. All these things I shall find in the Boers, and it is these +things which destroy people to make an end of them in the country. _The +custom of the Boers has always been to cause people to be sold, and +to-day they are still selling people._ Last year I saw them pass with +two waggons full of people whom they had bought at the river at Tanane” + (Lake Ngate). + +The Special Correspondence of the “Cape Argus,” a highly respectable +journal, writes thus on the 28th November 1876:--“The Boer from whom +this information was gleaned has furnished besides some facts which may +not be uninteresting, as a commentary on the repeated denials by Mr. +Burgers of the existence of slavery. During the last week slaves have +been offered for sale on his farm. The captives have been taken from +Secocoeni’s country by Mapoch’s people, and are being exchanged at the +rate of a child for a heifer. He also assures us that the whole of the +Highveld is bring replenished with Kafir children, whom the Boers have +been lately purchasing from the Swazies at the rate of a horse for a +child. I should like to see this man and his father as witnesses before +an Imperial Commission. He let fall one or two incidents of the past +which were brought to mind by the occurrences of the present. In 1864, +he says, ‘The Swazies accompanied the Boers against Males. The Boers did +nothing but stand by and witness the fearful massacre. The men and women +were also murdered. One poor woman sat clutching her baby of eight days +old. The Swazies stabbed her through the body, and when she found that +she could not live, she wrung the baby’s neck with her own hands to save +it from future misery. On the return of that Commando the children who +became too weary to continue the journey were killed on the road. The +survivors were sold as slaves to the farmers.’” + +The same gentleman writes in the issue of the 12th December +as follows:--“The whole world may know it, for it is true, and +investigation will only bring out the horrible details, that through the +whole course of this Republic’s existence it has acted in contravention +of the Sand River Treaty; and slavery has occurred not only here and +there in isolated cases, but as an unbroken practice, and has been +one of the peculiar institutions of the country, mixed up with all its +social and political life. It has been at the root of most of its wars. +It has been carried on regularly even in times of peace. It has been +characterised by all those circumstances which have so often roused +the British nation to an indignant protest, and to repeated efforts to +banish the slave trade from the world. The Boers have not only fallen +on unsuspecting kraals simply for the purpose of obtaining the women and +children and cattle, but they have carried on a traffic through natives +who have kidnapped the children of their weaker neighbours, and sold +them to the white man. Again, the Boers have sold and exchanged their +victims among themselves. Waggon-loads of slaves have been conveyed +from one end of the country to the other for sale, and that with the +cognisance of, and for the direct advantage of, the highest officials of +the land. The writer has himself seen in a town, situated in the south +of the Republic, the children who had been brought down from a remote +northern district. One fine morning, in walking through the streets, +he was struck with the number of little black strangers standing about +certain houses, and wondered where they could have come from. He learnt +a few hours later that they were part of loads which were disposed of +on the outskirts of the town the day before. The circumstances connected +with some of these kidnapping excursions are appalling, and the +barbarities practised by cruel masters upon some of these defenceless +creatures during the course of their servitude are scarcely less +horrible than those reported from Turkey. It is no disgrace in this +country for an official to ride a fine horse which was got for two Kafir +children, to procure whom the father and mother were shot. No reproach +is inherited by the mistress who, day after day, tied up her female +servant in an agonising posture, and had her beaten until there was no +sound part in her body, securing her in the stocks during the intervals +of torture. That man did not lose caste who tied up another woman and +had her thrashed until she brought forth at the whipping-post. These +are merely examples of thousands of cases which could be proved were +an Imperial Commission to sit, and could the wretched victims of a +prolonged oppression recover sufficiently from the dread of their old +tyrants to give a truthful report.” + +To come to some evidence more recently adduced. On the 9th May 1881, an +affidavit was sworn to by the Rev. John Thorne, curate of St. John the +Evangelist, Lydenburg, Transvaal, and presented to the Royal Commission +appointed to settle Transvaal affairs, in which he states:--“That I +was appointed to the charge of a congregation in Potchefstroom, about +thirteen years ago, when the Republic was under the presidency of Mr. +Pretorius.[*] I remember noticing one morning, as I walked through +the streets, a number of young natives, whom I knew to be strangers. +I inquired where they came from. I was told that they had just been +brought from Zoutpansberg. This was the locality from which slaves were +chiefly brought at that time, and were traded for under the name of +‘Black Ivory.’ One of these natives belonged to Mr. Munich, the State +Attorney. It was a matter of common remark at that time, that the +President of the Republic was himself one of the greatest dealers in +slaves.” In the fourth paragraph of the same affidavit Mr. Thorne says, +“That the Rev. Doctor Nachtigal, of the Berlin Missionary Society, was +the interpreter for Shatane’s people in the private office of Mr. Roth, +and, at the close of the interview, told me what had occurred. On my +expressing surprise, he went on to relate that he had information on +native matters which would surprise me more. He then produced the +copy of a register, kept in the landdrost’s office, of men, women, and +children, to the number of four hundred and eighty (480), who had been +disposed of by one Boer to another for a consideration. In one case an +ox was given in exchange, in another goats, in a third a blanket, and +so forth. Many of these natives he (Mr. Nachtigal) knew personally. The +copy was certified as true and correct by an official of the Republic, +and I would mention his name now, only that I am persuaded that it would +cost the man his life if his act became known to the Boers.” + + [*] One of the famous Triumvirate. + +On the 16th May 1881, a native, named Frederick Molepo, was examined by +the Royal Commission. The following are extracts from his examination:-- + +“(Sir E. Wood.) Are you a Christian?--Yes. + +“(Sir H. de Villiers.) How long were you a slave?--Half a year. + +“How do you know that you were a slave? Might you not have been an +apprentice?--No, I was not apprenticed. + +“How do you know?--They got me from my parents, and ill-treated me. + +“(Sir E. Wood.) How many times did you get the stick?--Every day. + +“(Sir H. de Villiers.) What did the Boers do with you when they caught +you?--They sold me. + +“How much did they sell you for?--One cow and a big pot.” + +On the 28th May 1881, amongst the other documents handed in for the +consideration of the Royal Commission, is the statement of a headman, +whose name it has been considered advisable to omit in the blue book for +fear the Boers should take vengeance on him. He says, “I say, that if +the English Government dies I shall die too; I would rather die than be +under the Boer Government. I am the man who helped to make bricks for +the church you see now standing in the square here (Pretoria), as a +slave without payment. As a representative of my people I am still +obedient to the English Government, and willing to obey all commands +from them, even to die for their cause in this country, rather than +submit to the Boers. + +“I was under Shambok, my chief, who fought the Boers formerly, but he +left us, and we were _put up to auction_ and sold among the Boers. I +want to state this myself to the Royal Commission in Newcastle. I was +bought by Fritz Botha and sold by Frederick Botha, who was then veld +cornet (justice of the peace) of the Boers.”[*] + + [*] I have taken the liberty to quote all these extracts + exactly as they stand in the original, instead of weaving + their substance into my narrative, in order that I may not + be accused, as so often happens to authors who write upon + this subject, of having presented a garbled version of the + truth. The original of every extract is to be found in blue + books presented to Parliament. I have thought it best to + confine myself to these, and avoid repeating stories of + cruelties and slavery, however well authenticated, that have + come to my knowledge privately, such stories being always + more or less open to suspicion. + +It would be easy to find more reports of the slave-trading practices of +the Boers, but as the above are fair samples it will not be necessary +to do so. My readers will be able from them to form some opinion as to +whether or not slavery or apprenticeship existed in the Transvaal. If +they come to the conclusion that it did, it must be borne in mind that +what existed in the past will certainly exist again in the future. +Natives are not now any fonder of working for Boers than they were a few +years back, and Boers must get labour somehow. If, on the other hand, +it did not exist, then the Boers are a grossly slandered people, and +all writers on the subject, from Livingstone down, have combined to take +away their character. + +Leaving native questions for the present, we must now return to the +general affairs of the country. When President Burgers opened the +special sitting of the Volksraad, on the 4th September, he appealed, +it will be remembered, to that body for pecuniary aid to liquidate the +expenses of the war. This appeal was responded to by the passing of a +war tax, under which every owner of a farm was to pay 10 pounds, the +owner of half a farm 5 pounds, and so on. The tax was not a very just +one, since it fell with equal weight on the rich man, who held twenty +farms, and the poor man, who held but one. Its justice or injustice was, +however, to a great extent immaterial, since the free and independent +burghers, including some of the members of the Volksraad who had imposed +it, promptly refused to pay it, or indeed, whilst they were about it, +any other tax. As the Treasury was already empty, and creditors were +pressing, this refusal was most ill-timed, and things began to look very +black indeed. Meanwhile, in addition to the ordinary expenditure, +and the interest payable on debts, money had to be found to pay Von +Schlickmann’s volunteers. As there was no cash in the country, this was +done by issuing Government promissory notes, known as “goodfors,” or +vulgarly as “good for nothings,” and by promising them all booty, and to +each man a farm of two thousand acres, lying east and north-east of the +Loolu mountains; in other words, in Secocoeni’s territory, which did not +belong to the Government to give away. The officials were the next +to suffer, and for six months before the Annexation these unfortunate +individuals lived as best they could, for they certainly got no salary, +except in the case of a postmaster, who was told to help himself to his +pay in stamps. The Government issued large numbers of bills, but the +banks refused to discount them, and in some cases the neighbouring +Colonies had to advance money to the Transvaal post-cart contractors, +who were carrying the mails, as a matter of charity. The Government even +mortgaged the great salt-pan near Pretoria for the paltry sum of 400 +pounds, whilst the leading officials of the Government were driven +to pledging their own private credit in order to obtain the smallest +article necessary to its continuance. In fact, to such a pass did things +come that when the country was annexed a single threepenny bit (which +had doubtless been overlooked) was found in the Treasury chest, together +with acknowledgments of debts to the extent of nearly 300,000 pounds. + +Nor was the refusal to pay taxes, which they were powerless to enforce, +the only difficulty with which the Government had to contend. Want of +money is as bad and painful a thing to a State as to an individual, but +there are perhaps worse things than want of money, one of which is to be +deserted by your own friends and household. This was the position of the +Government of the Republic; no sooner was it involved in overwhelming +difficulties than its own subjects commenced to bait it, more especially +the English portion of its subjects. They complained to the English +authorities about the commandeering of members of their family or goods; +they petitioned the British Government to interfere, and generally made +themselves as unpleasant as possible to the local Authorities. Such a +course of action was perhaps natural, but it can hardly be said to be +either quite logical or just. The Transvaal Government had never asked +them to come and live in the country, and if they did so, it must be +remembered that many of the agitators had accumulated property, to leave +which would mean ruin; and they saw that, unless something was done, its +value would be destroyed. + +Under the pressure of all these troubles the Boers themselves split up +into factions, as they are always ready to do. The Dopper party +declared that they had had enough progress, and proposed the extremely +conservative Paul Kruger as President, Burgers’ time having nearly +expired. Paul Kruger accepted the candidature, although he had +previously promised his support to Burgers, and distrust of each other +was added to the other difficulties of the Executive, the Transvaal +becoming a house very much divided against itself. Natives, Doppers, +Progressionists, Officials, English, were all pulling different ways, +and each striving for his own advantage. Anything more hopeless than +the position of the country on the 1st January 1877 it is impossible to +conceive. Enemies surrounded it; on every border there was the prospect +of a serious war. In the exchequer there was nothing but piles of +overdue bills. The President was helpless, and mistrustful of his +officers, and the officers were caballing against the President. All the +ordinary functions of Government had ceased, and trade was paralysed. +Now and then wild proposals were made to relieve the State of its +burdens, some of which partook of the nature of repudiation, but these +were the exception; the majority of the inhabitants, who would neither +fight nor pay taxes, sat still and awaited the catastrophe, utterly +careless of all consequences. + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE ANNEXATION + +_Anxiety of Lord Carnarvon--Despatch of Sir T. Shepstone as Special +Commissioner to the Transvaal--Sir T. Shepstone, his great experience +and ability--His progress to Pretoria and reception there--Feelings +excited by the arrival of the mission--The annexation _not_ a foregone +conclusion--Charge brought against Sir T. Shepstone of having called up +the Zulu army to sweep the Transvaal--Its complete falsehood--Cetywayo’s +message to Sir T. Shepstone--Evidence on the matter summed up--General +desire of the natives for English rule--Habitual disregard of their +interests--Assembly of the Volksraad--Rejection of Lord Carnarvon’s +Confederation Bill and of President Burgers’ new constitution-- +President Burgers’ speeches to the Raad--His posthumous statement +--Communication to the Raad of Sir T. Shepstone’s intention to annex the +country--Despatch of Commission to inquire into the alleged peace with +Secocoeni--Its fraudulent character discovered--Progress of affairs +in the Transvaal--Paul Kruger and his party--Restlessness of +natives--Arrangements for the annexation--The annexation proclamation._ + +The state of affairs described in the previous chapter was one that +filled the Secretary of State for the Colonies with alarm. During his +tenure of office, Lord Carnarvon evidently had the permanent welfare +of South Africa much at heart, and he saw with apprehension that the +troubles that were brewing in the Transvaal were of a nature likely to +involve the Cape and Natal in a native war. Though there is a broad line +of demarcation between Dutch and English, it is not so broad but that +a victorious nation like the Zulus might cross it, and beginning by +fighting the Boer, might end by fighting the white man irrespective of +race. When the reader reflects how terrible would be the consequences of +a combination of native tribes against the Whites, and how easily such +a combination might at that time have been brought about in the first +flush of native successes, he will understand the anxiety with which all +thinking men watched the course of events in the Transvaal in 1876. + +At last they took such a serious turn that the Home Government saw that +some action must be taken if the catastrophe was to be averted, and +determined to despatch Sir Theophilus Shepstone as Special Commissioner +to the Transvaal, with powers, should it be necessary, to annex the +country to Her Majesty’s dominions, “in order to secure the peace and +safety of Our said colonies and of Our subjects elsewhere.” + +The terms of his Commission were unusually large, leaving a great deal +to his discretionary power. In choosing that officer for the execution +of a most difficult and delicate mission, the Government, doubtless, +made a very wise selection. Sir Theophilus Shepstone is a man of +remarkable tact and ability, combined with great openness and simplicity +of mind, and one whose name will always have a leading place in South +African history. During a long official lifetime he has had to do with +most of the native races in South Africa, and certainly knows them and +their ways better than any living man; whilst he is by them all regarded +with a peculiar and affectionate reverence. He is _par excellence_ their +great white chief and “father,” and a word from him, even now that he +has retired from active life, still carries more weight than the formal +remonstrances of any governor in South Africa. + +With the Boers he is almost equally well acquainted, having known many +of them personally for years. He possesses, moreover, the rare power of +winning the regard and affection, as well as the respect, of those about +him in such a marked degree that those who have served him once would +go far to serve him again. Sir T. Shepstone, however, has enemies like +other people, and is commonly reported among them to be a disciple of +Machiavelli, and to have his mind steeped in all the darker wiles of +Kafir policy. The Annexation of the Transvaal is by them attributed to +a successful and vigorous use of those arts that distinguished the +diplomacy of two centuries ago. Falsehood and bribery are supposed to +have been the great levers used to effect the change, together with +threats of extinction at the hands of a savage and unfriendly nation. + +That the Annexation was a triumph of mind over matter is quite true, but +whether or not that triumph was unworthily obtained, I will leave those +who read this short chronicle of the events connected with it to judge. +I saw it somewhat darkly remarked in a newspaper the other day that the +history of the Annexation had evidently yet to be written; and I fear +that the remark represents the feeling of most people about the +event; implying as it did, that it was carried out, by means certainly +mysterious, and presumably doubtful. I am afraid that those who think +thus will be disappointed in what I have to say about the matter, since +I know that the means employed to bring the Boers-- + +“Fracti bello, fatisque repulsi”-- + +under her Majesty’s authority were throughout as fair and honest as the +Annexation itself was, in my opinion, right and necessary. + +To return to Sir T. Shepstone. He undoubtedly had faults as a ruler, +one of the most prominent of which was that his natural mildness of +character would never allow him to act with severity even when severity +was necessary. The very criminals condemned to death ran a good chance +of reprieve when he had to sign their death-warrants. He had also +that worst of faults (so called), in one fitted by nature to become +great--want of ambition, a failing that in such a man marks him the +possessor of an even and a philosophic mind. It was no seeking of his +own that raised him out of obscurity, and when his work was done to +comparative obscurity he elected to return, though whether a man of his +ability and experience in South African affairs should, at the present +crisis, be allowed to remain there, is another question. + +On the 20th December 1876, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President Burgers, +informing him of his approaching visit to the Transvaal, to secure, if +possible, the adjustment of the existing troubles, and the adoption of +such measures as might be best calculated to prevent their recurrence in +the future. + +On his road to Pretoria, Sir Theophilus received a hearty welcome from +the Boer as well as the English inhabitants of the country. One of +these addresses to him says: “Be assured, high honourable Sir, that we +burghers, now assembled together, entertain the most friendly feeling +towards your Government, and that we shall agree with anything you may +do in conjunction with our Government for the progress of our State, the +strengthening against our native enemies, and for the general welfare of +all the inhabitants of the whole of South Africa. Welcome in Heidelberg, +and welcome in the Transvaal.” + +At Pretoria the reception of the Special Commissioner was positively +enthusiastic; the whole town came out to meet him, and the horses having +been taken out of the carriage, he was dragged in triumph through the +streets. In his reply to the address presented to him, Sir Theophilus +shadowed forth the objects of his mission in these words: “Recent events +in this country have shown to all thinking men the absolute necessity +for closer union and more oneness of purpose among the Christian +Governments of the southern portion of this Continent: the best +interests of the native races, no less than the peace and prosperity +of the white, imperatively demand it, and I rely upon you and upon your +Government to co-operate with me in endeavouring to achieve the great +and glorious end of inscribing on a general South African banner the +appropriate motto--‘Eendragt maakt magt’ (Unity makes strength).” + +A few days after his arrival a commission was appointed, consisting of +Messrs. Henderson and Osborn, on behalf of the Special Commissioner, and +Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen, on behalf of the Transvaal Government, to +discuss the state of the country. This commission came to nothing, and +was on both sides nothing more than a bit of by-play. + +The arrival of the mission was necessarily regarded with mixed feelings +by the inhabitants of the Transvaal. By one party it was eagerly +greeted, viz., the English section of the population, who devoutly +hoped that it had come to annex the country. With the exception of the +Hollander element, the officials also were glad of its arrival, and +secretly hoped that the country would be taken over, when there would be +more chance of their getting their arrear pay. The better educated Boers +also were for the most part satisfied that there was no hope for the +country unless England helped it in some way, though they did not like +having to accept the help. But the more bigoted and narrow-minded among +them were undoubtedly opposed to English interference, and under their +leader, Paul Kruger, who was at the time running for the President’s +chair, did their best to be rid of it. They found ready allies in the +Hollander clientele, with which Mr. Burgers had surrounded himself, +headed by the famous Dr. Jorissen, who was, like most of the rulers of +this singular State, an ex-clergyman, but now an Attorney-general, not +learned in the law. These men were for the most part entirely unfit for +the positions they held, and feared that in the event of the country +changing hands they might be ejected from them; and also, they did all +Englishmen the favour to regard them, with that particularly virulent +and general hatred which is a part of the secret creed of many +foreigners, more especially of such as are under our protection. As may +easily be imagined, what between all these different parties and the +presence of the Special Commissioner, there were certainly plenty of +intrigues going on in Pretoria during the first few months of 1877, +and the political excitement was very great. Nobody knew how far Sir T. +Shepstone was prepared to go, and everybody was afraid of putting out +his hand further than he could pull it back, and trying to make himself +comfortable on two stools at once. Members of the Volksraad and other +prominent individuals in the country who had during the day been +denouncing the Commissioner in no measured terms, and even proposing +that he and his staff should be shot as a warning to the English +Government, might be seen arriving at his house under cover of the +shades of evening, to have a little talk with him, and express the +earnest hope that it was his intention to annex the country as soon as +possible. It is necessary to assist at a peaceable annexation to learn +the depth of meanness human nature is capable of. + +In Pretoria, at any rate, the ladies were of great service to the cause +of the mission, since they were nearly all in favour of a change of +government, and, that being the case, they naturally soon brought their +husbands, brothers, and lovers to look at things from the same point +of view. It was a wise man who said that in any matter where it is +necessary to obtain the goodwill of a population you should win over the +women; that done, you need not trouble yourself about the men. + +Though the country was thus overflowing with political intrigues, +nothing of the kind went on in the Commissioner’s camp. It was not he +who made the plots to catch the Transvaalers; on the contrary, they made +the plots to catch him. For several months all that he did was to sit +still and let the rival passions work their way, fighting what the Zulus +afterwards called the “fight of sit down.” When anybody came to see him +he was very glad to meet them, pointed out the desperate condition of +the country, and asked them if they could suggest a remedy. And that was +about all he did do, beyond informing himself very carefully as to +all that was going on in the country, and the movements of the natives +within and outside its borders. There was no money spent on bribery, as +has been stated, though it is impossible to imagine a state of affairs +in which it would have been more easy to bribe, or in which it could +have been done with greater effect; unless indeed the promise that some +pension should be paid to President Burgers can be called a bribe, which +it was certainly never intended to be, but simply a guarantee that after +having spent all his private means on behalf of the State he should not +be left destitute. The statement that the Annexation was effected +under a threat that if the Government did not give its consent Sir T. +Shepstone would let loose the Zulus on the country is also a wicked and +malicious invention, but with this I shall deal more at length further +on. + +It must not, however, be understood that the Annexation was a foregone +conclusion, or that Sir T. Shepstone came up to the Transvaal with +the fixed intention of annexing the country without reference to its +position, merely with a view of extending British influence, or, as +has been absurdly stated, in order to benefit Natal. He had no fixed +purpose, whether it were necessary or no, of exercising the full powers +given to him by his commission; on the contrary, he was all along most +anxious to find some internal resources within the State by means of +which Annexation could be averted, and of this fact his various letters +and despatches give full proof. Thus, in his letter to President +Burgers, of the 9th April 1877, in which he announces his intention +of annexing the country, he says: “I have more than once assured your +Honour that if I could think of any plan by which the independence of +the State could be maintained by its own internal resources I would +most certainly not conceal that plan from you.” It is also incidentally +remarkably confirmed by a passage in Mr. Burgers’ posthumous defence, in +which he says: “Hence I met Shepstone alone in my house, and opened up +the subject of his mission. With a candour that astonished me, he avowed +that his purpose was to annex the country, as he had sufficient grounds +for it, unless I could so alter as to satisfy his Government. My plan of +a new constitution, modelled after that of America, of a standing police +force of two hundred mounted men, was then proposed. He promised to give +me time to call the Volksraad together, and to _abandon his design_ if +the Volksraad would adopt these measures, and the country be willing to +submit to them, and to carry them out.” Further on he says: “In justice +to Shepstone I must say that I would not consider an officer of my +Government to have acted faithfully if he had not done what Shepstone +did.” + +It has also been frequently alleged in England, and always seems to be +taken as the groundwork of argument in the matter of the Annexation, +that the Special Commissioner represented that the majority of the +inhabitants wished for the Annexation, and that it was sanctioned on +that ground. This statement shows the great ignorance that exists in +this country of South African affairs, an ignorance which in this case +has been carefully fostered by Mr. Gladstone’s Government for party +purposes, they having found it necessary to assume, in order to make +their position in the matter tenable, that Sir T. Shepstone and other +Officials had been guilty of misrepresentation. Unfortunately, the +Government and its supporters have been more intent upon making out +their case than upon ascertaining the truth of their statements. If they +had taken the trouble to refer to Sir T. Shepstone’s despatches, they +would have found that the ground on which the Transvaal was annexed was, +not because the majority of the inhabitants wished for it, but because +the State was drifting into anarchy, was bankrupt, and was about to be +destroyed by native tribes. They would further have found that Sir +T. Shepstone never represented that the majority of the Boers were in +favour of Annexation. What he did say was that most thinking men in the +country saw no other way out of the difficulty; but what proportion of +the Boers can be called “thinking men?” He also said, in the fifteenth +paragraph of his despatch to Lord Carnarvon of 6th March 1877, that +petitions signed by 2500 people, representing every class of the +community, out of a total adult population of 8000, had been presented +to the Government of the Republic, setting forth its difficulties and +dangers, and praying it “to treat with me for their amelioration or +removal.” He also stated, and with perfect truth, that many more would +have signed had it not been for the terrorism that was exercised, and +that all the towns and villages in the country desired the change, which +was a patent fact. + +This is the foundation on which the charge of misrepresentation is +built--a charge which has been manipulated so skilfully, and with such a +charming disregard for the truth, that the British public has been duped +into believing it. When it is examined into, it vanishes into thin air. + +But a darker charge has been brought against the Special Commissioner--a +charge affecting his honour as a gentleman and his character as a +Christian; and, strange to say, has gained a considerable credence, +especially amongst a certain party in England. I allude to the statement +that he called up the Zulu army with the intention of sweeping the +Transvaal if the Annexation was objected to. I may state, from my own +personal knowledge, that the report is a complete falsehood, and that +no such threat was ever made, either by Sir T. Shepstone or by anybody +connected with him, and I will briefly prove what I say. + +When the mission first arrived at Pretoria, a message came from Cetywayo +to the effect that he had heard that the Boers had fired at “Sompseu” + (Sir T. Shepstone), and announcing his intention of attacking the +Transvaal if “his father” was touched. About the middle of March +alarming rumours began to spread as to the intended action of Cetywayo +with reference to the Transvaal; but as Sir T. Shepstone did not think +that the king would be likely to make any hostile movement whilst he +was in the country, he took no steps in the matter. Neither did the +Transvaal Government ask his advice and assistance. Indeed, a remarkable +trait in the Boers is their supreme self-conceit, which makes them +believe that they are capable of subduing all the natives in Africa, +and of thrashing the whole British army if necessary. Unfortunately, the +recent course of events has tended to confirm them in their opinion +as regards their white enemies. To return: towards the second week in +April, or the week before the proclamation of annexation was issued, +things began to look very serious; indeed, rumours that could hardly be +discredited reached the Special Commissioner that the whole of the Zulu +army was collected in a chain of Impis or battalions, with the intention +of bursting into the Transvaal and sweeping the country. Knowing +how terrible would be the catastrophe if this were to happen, Sir T. +Shepstone was much alarmed about the matter, and at a meeting with the +Executive Council of the Transvaal Government he pointed out to them +the great danger in which the country was placed. This was done in the +presence of several officers of his Staff, and it was on this friendly +exposition of the state of affairs that the charge that he had +threatened the country with invasion by the Zulus was based. On the 11th +of April, or the day before the Annexation, a message was despatched +to Cetywayo, telling him of the reports that had reached Pretoria, +and stating that if they were true he must forthwith give up all +such intentions, as the Transvaal would at once be placed under the +sovereignty of Her Majesty, and that if he had assembled any armies +for purposes of aggression they must be disbanded at once. Sir T. +Shepstone’s message reached Zululand not a day too soon. Had the +Annexation of the Transvaal been delayed by a few weeks even--and this +is a point which I earnestly beg Englishmen to remember in connection +with that act--Cetywayo’s armies would have entered the Transvaal, +carrying death before them, and leaving a wilderness behind them. + +Cetywayo’s answer to the Special Commissioner’s message will +sufficiently show, to use Sir Theophilus’ own words in his despatch on +the subject, “the pinnacle of peril which the Republic and South Africa +generally had reached at the moment when the Annexation took place.” He +says, “I thank my Father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) for his message. I +am glad that he has sent it, because the Dutch have tired me out, and +I intended to fight them once and once only, and to drive them over +the Vaal. Kabana (name of messenger), you see my Impis (armies) are +gathered. It was to fight the Dutch I called them together; now I +will send them back to their homes. Is it well that two men +[‘amadoda-amabili’) should be made ‘iziula’ (fools)? In the reign of my +father Umpanda the Boers were constantly moving their boundary further +into my country. Since his death the same thing has been done. I had +therefore determined to end it once for all!” The message then goes on +to other matters, and ends with a request to be allowed to fight the +Amaswazi, because “they fight together and kill one another. This,” says +Cetywayo naively, “is wrong, and I want to chastise them for it.” + +This quotation will suffice to convince all reasonable men, putting +aside all other matters, from what imminent danger the Transvaal was +delivered by the much-abused Annexation. + +Some months after that event, however, it occurred to the ingenious +mind of some malicious individual in Natal that, properly used, much +political capital might be made out of this Zulu incident, and the story +that Cetywayo’s army had been called up by Sir Theophilus himself +to overawe, and, if necessary, subdue the Transvaal, was accordingly +invented and industriously circulated. Although Sir T. Shepstone at +once caused it to be authoritatively contradicted, such an astonishing +slander naturally took firm root, and on the 12th April 1879 we have Mr. +M. W. Pretorius, one of the Boer leaders, publicly stating at a meeting +of the farmers that “previous to the Annexation Sir T. Shepstone had +threatened the Transvaal with an attack from the Zulus as an argument +for advancing the Annexation.” Under such an imputation the Government +could no longer keep silence, and accordingly Sir Owen Lanyon, who was +then Administrator of the Transvaal, caused the matter to be officially +investigated, with these results, which are summed up by him in a letter +to Mr. Pretorius, dated 1st May 1879:-- + +1. The records of the Republican Executive Council contained no allusion +to any such statement. + +2. Two members of that Council filed statements in which they +unreservedly denied that Sir T. Shepstone used the words or threats +imputed to him. + +3. Two officers of Sir T. Shepstone’s staff, who were always present +with him at interviews with the Executive Council, filed statements to +the same effect. + +“I have no doubt,” adds Sir Owen Lanyon, “that the report has been +originated and circulated by some evil-disposed persons.” + +In addition to this evidence we have a letter written to the Colonial +Office by Sir T. Shepstone, dated London, August 12, 1879, in which +he points out that Mr. Pretorius was not even present at any of the +interviews with the Executive Council on which occasion he accuses him +of having made use of the threats. He further shows that the use of such +a threat on his part would have been the depth of folly, and “knowingly +to court the instant and ignominious failure of my mission,” because +the Boers were so persuaded of their own prowess that they could not be +convinced that they stood in any danger from native sources, and also +because “such play with such keen-edged tools as the excited passions of +savages are, and especially such savages as I knew the Zulus to be, is +not what an experience of forty-two years in managing them inclined me +to.” And yet, in the face of all this accumulated evidence, this report +continues to be believed, that is, by those who wished to believe it. + +Such are the accusations that have been brought against the manner +of the Annexation and the Officer who carried it out, and never were +accusations more groundless. Indeed both for party purposes, and from +personal animus, every means, fair or foul, has been used to discredit +it and all connected with it. To take a single instance, one author +(Miss Colenso, p. 134, “History of the Zulu War”) actually goes the +length of putting a portion of a speech made by President Burgers into +the mouth of Sir T. Shepstone, and then abusing him for his incredible +profanity. Surely this exceeds the limits of fair criticism. + +Before I go on to the actual history of the Annexation there is one +point I wish to submit to my reader. In England the change of Government +has always been talked of as though it only affected the forty thousand +white inhabitants of the country, whilst everybody seems to forget +that this same land had about a million human beings living on it, its +original owners, and only, unfortunately for themselves, possessing a +black skin, and therefore entitled to little consideration,--even at the +hands of the most philanthropic Government in the world. It never seems +to have occurred to those who have raised so much outcry on behalf of +the forty thousand Boers, to inquire what was thought of the matter by +the million natives. If they were to be allowed a voice in their own +disposal, the country was certainly annexed by the wish of a very large +majority of its inhabitants. It is true that Secocoeni, instigated +thereto by the Boers, afterwards continued the war against us, but, with +the exception of this one chief, the advent of our rule was hailed with +joy by every native in the Transvaal, and even he was glad of it at the +time. During our period of rule in the Transvaal the natives have had, +as they foresaw, more peace than at any time since the white man set +foot in the land. They have paid their taxes gladly, and there has been +no fighting among themselves; but since we have given up the country +we hear a very different tale. It is this million of men, women, and +children who, notwithstanding their black skins, live and feel, and have +intelligence as much as ourselves, who are the principal, because the +most numerous sufferers from Mr. Gladstone’s conjuring tricks, that can +turn a Sovereign into a Suzerain as airily as the professor of magic +brings a litter of guinea-pigs out of a top hat. It is our falsehood +and treachery to them whom we took over “for ever,” as we told them, and +whom we have now handed back to their natural enemies to be paid off for +their loyalty to the Englishman, that is the blackest stain in all this +black business, and that has destroyed our prestige, and caused us to be +looked on amongst them, for they do not hide their opinion, as “cowards +and liars.” + +But very little attention, however, seems to have been paid to native +views or claims at any time in the Transvaal; indeed they have all along +been treated as serfs of the soil, to be sold with it, if necessary, to +a new master. It is true that the Government, acting under pressure +from the Aborigines Protection Society, made, on the occasion of the +Surrender, a feeble effort to secure the independence of some of the +native tribes; but when the Boer leaders told them shortly that they +would have nothing of the sort, and that, if they were not careful, they +would reoccupy Laing’s Nek, the proposal was at once dropped, with many +assurances that no offence was intended. The worst of the matter is that +this treatment of our native subjects and allies will assuredly recoil +on the heads of future innocent Governments. + +Shortly after the appointment of the Joint-Commission alluded to at the +beginning of this chapter, President Burgers, who was now in possession +of the Special Commissioner’s intentions, should he be unable to carry +out reforms sufficiently drastic to satisfy the English Government, +thought it best to call together the Volksraad. In the meantime, it had +been announced that the “rebel” Secocoeni had sued for peace and signed +a treaty declaring himself a subject of the Republic. I shall have to +enter into the question of this treaty a little further on, so I will +at present only say that it was the first business laid before the Raad, +and, after some discussion, ratified. Next in order to the Secocoeni +peace came the question of Confederation, as laid down in Lord +Carnarvon’s Permissive Bill. This proposal was laid before them in an +earnest and eloquent speech by their President, who entreated them +to consider the dangerous position of the Republic, and to face their +difficulties like men. The question was referred to a committee, and +an adverse report being brought up, was rejected without further +consideration. It is just possible that intimidation had something to do +with the summary treatment of so important a matter, seeing that whilst +it was being argued a large mob of Boers, looking very formidable with +their sea-cow hide whips, watched every move of their representatives +through the windows of the Volksraad Hall. It was Mr. Chamberlain’s +caucus system in practical and visible operation. + +A few days after the rejection of the Confederation Bill, President +Burgers, who had frequently alluded to the desperate condition of the +Republic, and stated that either some radical reform must be effected +or the country must come under the British flag, laid before the Raad a +brand new constitution of a very remarkable nature, asserting that they +must either accept it or lose their independence. + +The first part of this strange document dealt with the people and their +rights, which remained much as they were before, with the exception that +the secrecy of all letters entrusted to the post was to be inviolable. +The recognition of this right is an amusing incident in the history of a +free Republic. Under following articles the Volksraad was entrusted with +the charge of the native inhabitants of the State, the provision for the +administration of justice, the conduct of education, the regulation of +money-bills, &c. It is in the fourth chapter, however, that we come +to the real gist of the Bill, which was the endowment of the State +President with the authority of a dictator. Mr. Burgers thought to save +the State by making himself an absolute monarch. He was to be elected +for a period of seven years instead of five years, and to be eligible +for re-election. In him was vested the power of making all appointments +without reference to the legislature. All laws were to be drawn up by +him, and he was to have the right of veto on Volksraad resolutions, +which body he could summon and dissolve at will. Finally, his Executive +Council was to consist of heads of departments appointed by himself, and +of one member of the Volksraad. The Volksraad treated this Bill in much +the same way as they had dealt with the Permissive Confederation Bill, +gave it a casual consideration, and threw it out. + +The President, meanwhile, was doing his best to convince the Raad of +the danger of the country; that the treasury was empty, whilst duns were +pressing, that enemies were threatening on every side, and, finally, +that Her Majesty’s Special Commissioner was encamped within a thousand +yards of them, watching their deliberations with some interest. He +showed them that it was impossible at once to scorn reform and reject +friendly offers, that it was doubtful if anything could save them, but +that if they took no steps they were certainly lost as a nation. The +“Fathers of the land,” however, declined to dance to the President’s +piping. Then he took a bolder line. He told them that a guilty nation +never can evade the judgment that follows its steps. He asked them +“conscientiously to advise the people not obstinately to refuse a union +with a powerful Government. He could not advise them to refuse such a +union. . . . He did not believe that a new constitution would save +them; for as little as the old constitution had brought them to ruin, so +little would a new constitution bring salvation. . . . If the citizens +of England had behaved towards the Crown as the burghers of this State +had behaved to their Government, England would never have stood so long +as she had.” He pointed out to them their hopeless financial position. +“To-day,” he said, “a bill for 1100 pounds was laid before me for +signature; but I would sooner have cut off my right hand than sign that +paper--(cheers)--for I have not the slightest ground to expect that, +when that bill becomes due, there will be a penny to pay it with.” + And finally, he exhorted them thus: “Let them make the best of the +situation, and get the best terms they possibly could; let them agree to +join their hands to those of their brethren in the south, and then from +the Cape to the Zambesi there would be one great people. Yes, there was +something grand in that, grander even than their idea of a Republic, +something which ministered to their national feeling--(cheers)--and +would this be so miserable? Yes, this would be miserable for those who +would not be under the law, for the rebel and the revolutionist, but +welfare and prosperity for the men of law and order.” + +These powerful words form a strong indictment against the Republic, +and from them there can be little doubt that President Burgers was +thoroughly convinced of the necessity and wisdom of the Annexation. It +is interesting to compare them, and many other utterances of his made at +this period, with the opinions he expresses in the posthumous document +recently published, in which he speaks somewhat jubilantly of the +lessons taught us on Laing’s Nek and Majuba by such “an inherently +weak people as the Boers,” and points to them as striking instances of +retribution. In this document he attributes the Annexation to the desire +to advance English supremacy in South Africa, and to lay hold of the way +to Central South Africa. It is, however, noticeable that he does not in +any way indicate how it could have been averted, and the State continue +to exist; and he seems all along to feel that his case is a weak one, +for in explaining, or attempting to explain, why he had never defended +himself from the charges brought against him in connection with the +Annexation, he says: “Had I not endured in silence, had I not borne +patiently all the accusations, but out of selfishness or fear told +the plain truth of the case, the Transvaal would never have had the +consideration it has now received from Great Britain. However unjust the +Annexation was, my self-justification would have _exposed the Boers to +such an extent_, and the state of the country in such a way, that it +would have deprived them both of the sympathy of the world and the +consideration of the English politicians.” In other words, “If I had +told the truth about things as I should have been obliged to do +to justify myself, there would have been no more outcry about the +Annexation, because the whole world, even the English Radicals, would +have recognised how necessary it was, and what a fearful state the +country was in.” + +But to let that pass, it is evident that President Burgers did not take +the same view of the Annexation in 1877 as he did in 1881, and indeed +his speeches to the Volksraad would read rather oddly printed in +parallel columns with his posthumous statement. The reader would be +forced to one of two conclusions, either on one of the two occasions he +is saying what he does not mean, or he must have changed his mind. As +I believe him to have been an honest man, I incline to the latter +supposition; nor do I consider it so very hard to account for, taking +into consideration his natural Dutch proclivities. In 1877 Burgers is +the despairing head of a State driving rapidly to ruin, if not to actual +extinction, when the strong hand of the English Government is held out +to him. What wonder that he accepts it gladly on behalf of his country, +which is by its help brought into a state of greater prosperity than +it has ever before known? In 1881 the wheel has gone round, and great +events have come about whilst he lies dying. The enemies of the Boers +have been destroyed, the powers of the Zulus and Secocoeni are no more; +the country has prospered under a healthy rule, and its finances have +been restored. More,--glad tidings have come from Mid-Lothian, to the +“rebel and the revolutionist,” whose hopes were flagging, and eloquent +words have been spoken by the new English Dictator that have aroused +a great rebellion. And, to crown all, English troops have suffered one +massacre and three defeats, and England sues for peace from the South +African peasant, heedless of honour or her broken word, so that the +prayer be granted. With such events before him, that dying man may well +have found cause to change his opinion. Doubtless the Annexation was +wrong, since England disowns her acts; and may not that dream about +the great South African Republic come true after all? Has not the +pre-eminence of the Englishman received a blow from which it can never +recover, and is not his control over Boers and natives irredeemably +weakened? And must he,--Burgers,--go down to posterity as a Dutchman who +tried to forward the interests of the English party? No, doubtless the +Annexation was wrong; but it has done good, for it has brought about the +downfall of the English: and we will end the argument in the very words +of his last public utterance, with which he ends his statement: “South +Africa gained more from this, and has made a larger step forward in the +march of freedom than most people can conceive.” + +Who shall say that he is wrong? the words of dying men are sometimes +prophetic! South Africa has made a great advance towards the “freedom” + of a Dutch Republic. + +This has been a digression, but I hope not an uninteresting one. To +return--on the 1st March, Sir T. Shepstone met the Executive Council, +and told them that in his opinion there was now but one remedy to be +adopted, and that was that the Transvaal should be united with English +Colonies of South Africa under one head, namely the Queen, saying at the +same time that the only thing now left to the Republic was to make the +best arrangements it could for the future benefit of its inhabitants, +and to submit to that which he saw to be, and every thinking man saw to +be, inevitable. So soon as this information was officially communicated +to the Raad, for a good proportion of its members were already +acquainted with it unofficially, it flew from a state of listless +indifference into vigorous and hasty action. The President was censured, +and a Committee was appointed to consider and report upon the situation, +which reported in favour of the adoption of Burgers’ new constitution. +Accordingly, the greatest part of this measure, which had been +contemptuously rejected a few days before, was adopted almost without +question, and Mr. Paul Kruger was appointed Vice-President. On the +following day, a very drastic treason law was passed, borrowed from the +Statute book of the Orange Free State, which made all public expression +of opinion, if adverse to the Government, or in any way supporting the +Annexation party, high treason. This done, the Assembly prorogued itself +until--October 1881. + +During and after the sitting of the Raad, rumours arose that the Chief +Secocoeni’s signature to the treaty of peace, ratified by that body, had +been obtained by misrepresentation. As ratified, this treaty consisted +of three articles, according to which Secocoeni consented, first to +become a subject of the Republic, and obey the laws of the country; +secondly, to agree to a certain restricted boundary line and, thirdly, +to pay 2000 head of cattle; which, considering he had captured quite +5000 head, was not exorbitant. + +Towards the end of February a written message was received from +Secocoeni by Sir T. Shepstone, dated after the signing of the supposed +treaty. The original, which was written in Sisutu, was a great +curiosity. The following is a correct translation:-- + + +“For Myn Heer Sheepstone,--I beg you, Chief, come help me, the Boers are +killing me, and I don’t know the reasons why they should be angry with +me; Chief, I beg you come with Myn Heer Merensky.--I am Sikukuni.” + + +This message was accompanied by a letter from Mr. Merensky, a well-known +and successful missionary, who had been for many years resident in +Secocoeni’s country, in which he stated that he heard on very good +authority that Secocoeni had distinctly refused to agree to that article +of the treaty by which he became a subject of the State. He adds that he +cannot remain “silent while such tricks are played.” + +Upon this information, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President Burgers, +stating that “if the officer in whom you have placed confidence has +withheld any portion of the truth from you, especially so serious a +portion of it, he is guilty of a wrong towards you personally, as +well as towards the Government, because he has caused you to assume an +untenable position,” and suggesting that a joint commission should be +despatched to Secocoeni, to thoroughly sift the question in the interest +of all concerned. This suggestion was after some delay agreed to, and a +commission was appointed, consisting of Mr. Van Gorkom, a Hollander, +and Mr. Holtshausen, a member of the Executive Council, on behalf of the +Transvaal Government, and Mr. Osborn, R.M., and Captain Clarke, R.A., on +behalf of the Commissioner, whom I accompanied as Secretary. + +At Middelburg the native Gideon who acted as interpreter between +Commandant Ferreira, C.M.G. (the officer who negotiated the treaty on +behalf of the Boer Government), and Secocoeni was examined, and also two +natives, Petros and Jeremiah, who were with him, but did not actually +interpret. All these men persisted that Secocoeni had positively refused +to become a subject of the Republic, and only consented to sign the +treaty on the representations of Commandant Ferreira that it would only +be binding, as regards to the two articles about the cattle and the +boundary line. + +The Commission then proceeded to Secocoeni’s town, accompanied by a +fresh set of interpreters, and had a long interview with Secocoeni. The +chief’s Prime Minister or “mouth,” Makurupiji, speaking in his presence, +and on his behalf and making use of the pronoun “I” before all the +assembled headmen of the tribe, gave an account of the interview between +Commandant Ferreira in the presence of that gentleman, who accompanied +the commission and Secocoeni, in almost the same words as had been used +by the interpreters at Middelburg. He distinctly denied having consented +to become a subject of the Republic or to stand under the law, and added +that he feared he “had touched the feather to” (signed) things that +he did not know of in the treaty. Commandant Ferreira then put some +questions, but entirely failed to shake the evidence; on the contrary, +he admitted by his questions that Secocoeni had not consented to become +a subject of the Republic. Secocoeni had evidently signed the piece of +paper under the impression that he was acknowledging his liability to +pay 2000 head of cattle, and fixing a certain portion of his boundary +line, and on the distinct understanding that he was not to become a +subject of the State. + +Now it was the Secocoeni war that had brought the English Mission into +the country, and if it could be shown that the Secocoeni war had come +to a successful termination, it would go far towards helping the Mission +out again. To this end, it was necessary that the Chief should declare +himself a subject of the State, and thereby, by implication acknowledge +himself to have been a rebel, and admit his defeat. All that was +required was a signature, and that once obtained the treaty was +published and submitted to the Raad for confirmation, without a whisper +being heard of the conditions under which this ignorant Basutu was +induced to sign. Had no Commission visited Secocoeni, this treaty would +afterwards have been produced against him in its entirety. Altogether, +the history of the Secocoeni Peace Treaty does not reassure one as +to the genuineness of the treaties which the Boers are continually +producing, purporting to have been signed by native chiefs, and as +a general rule presenting the State with great tracts of country in +exchange for a horse or a few oxen. However fond the natives may be of +their Boer neighbours, such liberality can scarcely be genuine. On the +other hand, it is so easy to induce a savage to sign a paper, or even, +if he is reticent, to make a cross for him, and once made, as we all +know, _litera scripa manet_, and becomes title to the lands. + +During the Secocoeni investigation, affairs in the Transvaal were +steadily drifting towards anarchy. The air was filled with rumours; +now it was reported that an outbreak was imminent amongst the English +population at the Gold Fields, who had never forgotten Von Schlickmann’s +kind suggestion that they should be “subdued;” now it was said that +Cetywayo had crossed the border, and might shortly be expected at +Pretoria; now that a large body of Boers were on their road to shoot +the Special Commissioner, his twenty-five policemen and Englishmen +generally, and so on. + +Meanwhile, Paul Kruger and his party were not letting the grass grow +under their feet, but worked public feeling with great vigour, with the +double object of getting Paul made President and ridding themselves +of the English. Articles in his support were printed in the well-known +Dutch paper “Die Patriot,” published in the Cape Colony, which are so +typical of the Boers and of the only literature that has the slightest +influence over them, that I will quote a few extracts from one of them. + +After drawing a very vivid picture of the wretched condition of the +country as compared to what it was when the Kafirs had “a proper +respect” for the Boers, before Burgers came into power, the article +proceeds to give the cause of this state of affairs. “God’s word,” it +says, “gives us the solution. Look at Israel, while the people have a +godly king, everything is prosperous, but under a godless prince +the land retrogrades, and the whole of the people must suffer. +Read Leviticus, chapter 26, with attention, &c. In the day of the +Voortrekkers (pioneers), a handful of men chased a thousand Kafirs and +made them run; so also in the Free State War (Deut. xxxii. 30; Jos. +xxiii. 10; Lev. xxvi. 8). But mark, now when Burgers became President, +he knows no Sabbath, he rides through the land in and out of town on +Sunday, he knows not the church and God’s service (Lev. xxvi. 2-3) to +the scandal of pious people. And he formerly was a priest too. And what +is the consequence? No harvest (Lev. xxvi. 16), an army of 6,000 men +runs because one man falls (Lev. xxvi. 17, &c.) What is now the +remedy?” The remedy proves to be Paul Kruger, “because there is no other +candidate. Because our Lord clearly points him out to be the man, for +why is there no other candidate? Who arranged it this way?” Then follows +a rather odd argument in favour of Paul’s election, “Because he himself +(P. Kruger) acknowledges in his own reply that he is _incompetent_, but +that all his ability is from our Lord. Because he is a warrior. Because +he is a Boer.” Then Paul Kruger, the warrior and the Boer, is compared +to Joan of Arc, “a simple Boer girl who came from behind the sheep.” The +Burghers of Transvaal are exhorted to acknowledge the hand of the Lord, +and elect Paul Kruger, or look for still heavier punishment. (Lev. xxvi. +18 _et seq_.) Next the “Patriot” proceeds to give a bit of advice to +“our candidate, Paul Kruger.” He is to deliver the land from the Kafirs. +“The Lord has given you the heart of a warrior, arise and drive them,” a +bit of advice quite suited to his well-known character. But this chosen +vessel was not to get all the loaves and fishes; on the contrary, as +soon as he had fulfilled his mission of “driving” the Kafirs, he was to +hand over his office to a “good” president. The article ends thus: “If +the Lord wills to use you now to deliver this land from its enemies, and +a day of peace and prosperity arises again, and you see that you are not +exactly the statesman to further govern the Republic, then it will be +your greatest honour to say, ‘Citizens, I have delivered you from the +enemy, I am no statesman, but now you have peace and time to choose and +elect a _good_ President.’” + +An article such as the above is instructive reading as showing the low +calibre of the minds that are influenced by it. Yet such writings +and sermons have more power among the Boers than any other arguments, +appealing as they do to the fanaticism and vanity of their nature, which +causes them to believe that the Divinity is continually interfering on +their behalf at the cost of other people. It will be noticed that the +references given are all to the Old Testament, and nearly all refer to +acts of blood. + +These doctrines were not, however, at all acceptable to Burgers’ party, +or the more enlightened members of the community, and so bitter did the +struggle of rival opinions become that there is very little doubt that +had the country not been annexed, civil war would have been added to its +other calamities. Meanwhile the natives were from day to day becoming +more restless, and messengers were constantly arriving at the Special +Commissioner’s camp, begging that their tribe might be put under the +Queen, and stating that they would fight rather than submit any longer +to the Boers. + +At length on the 9th April, Sir T. Shepstone informed the Government +of the Republic that he was about to declare the Transvaal British +territory. He told them that he had considered and reconsidered his +determination, but that he could see no possible means within the State +by which it could free itself from the burdens that were sinking it +to destruction, adding that if he could have found such means he would +certainly not have hidden them from the Government. This intimation was +received in silence, though all the later proceedings with reference +to the Annexation were in reality carried out in concert with the +Authorities of the Republic. Thus on the 13th March the Government +submitted a paper of ten questions to Sir T. Shepstone as regards the +future condition of the Transvaal under English rule, whether the debts +of the State would be guaranteed, &c. To these questions replies were +given which were on the whole satisfactory to the Government. As these +replies formed the basis of the proclamation guarantees, it is not +necessary to enter into them. + +It was further arranged by the Republican Government that a formal +protest should be entered against the Annexation, which was accordingly +prepared and privately shown to the Special Commissioner. The annexation +proclamation was also shown to President Burgers, and a paragraph +eliminated at his suggestion. In fact, the Special Commissioner and the +President, together with most of his Executive, were quite at one as +regards the necessity of the proclamation being issued, their joint +endeavours being directed to the prevention of any disturbance, and to +secure a good reception for the change. + +At length, after three months of inquiry and negotiation, the +proclamation of annexation was on the 12th of April 1877 read by Mr. +Osborn, accompanied by some other gentlemen of Sir T. Shepstone’s staff. +It was an anxious moment for all concerned. To use the words of the +Special Commissioner in his despatch home on the subject, “Every effort +had been made during the previous fortnight by, it is said, educated +Hollanders, and who had but lately arrived in the country to rouse the +fanaticism of the Boers and induce them to offer ‘bloody’ resistance to +what it was known I intended to do. The Boers were appealed to in the +most inflammatory language by printed manifestoes and memorials; . . . +it was urged that I had but a small escort which could easily be +overpowered.” In a country so full of desperadoes and fanatical haters +of anything English, it was more than possible than though such an act +would have been condemned by the general sense of the country, a number +of men could easily be found who would think they were doing a righteous +act in greeting the “annexationists” with an ovation of bullets. I +do not mean that the anxiety was personal, because I do not think the +members of that small party set any higher value on their lives than +other people, but it was absolutely necessary for the success of the act +itself, and for the safety of the country, that not a single shot should +be fired. Had that happened it is probable that the whole country would +have been involved in confusion and bloodshed, the Zulus would have +broken in, and the Kafirs would have risen; in fact, to use Cetywayo’s +words, “the land would have burned with fire.” + +It will therefore be easily understood what an anxious hour that was +both for the Special Commissioner sitting up at Government House, and +for his Staff down on the Market Square, and how thankful they were +when the proclamation was received with hearty cheers by the crowd. Mr. +Burgers’ protest, which was read immediately afterwards, was received in +respectful silence. + +And thus the Transvaal Territory passed for a while into the great +family of the English Colonies. I believe that the greatest political +opponent of the act will bear tribute to the very remarkable ability +with which it was carried out. When the variety and number of the +various interests that had to be conciliated, the obstinate nature of +the individuals who had to be convinced, as well as the innate hatred of +the English name and ways which had to be overcome to carry out this +act successfully, are taken into consideration: together with a thousand +other matters, the neglect of any one of which would have sufficed to +make failure certain, it will be seen what tact and skill, and knowledge +of human nature were required to execute so difficult a task. It must be +remembered that no force was used, and that there never was any threat +of force. The few troops that were to enter the Transvaal were four +weeks’ march from Pretoria at the time. There was nothing whatsoever +to prevent the Boers putting a summary stop to the proceedings of the +Commissioner if they had thought fit. + +That Sir Theophilus played a bold and hazardous game nobody will deny, +but, like most players who combine boldness with coolness of head and +justice of cause, he won; and, without shedding a single drop of blood, +or even confiscating an acre of land, and at no cost, annexed a great +country, and averted a very serious war. That same country four years +later cost us a million of money, the loss of nearly a thousand men +killed and wounded, and the ruin of many more confiding thousands, to +surrender. It is true, however, that nobody can accuse the retrocession +of having been conducted with judgment or ability--very much the +contrary. + +There can be no more ample justification of the necessity of the issue +of the annexation proclamation than the proclamation itself-- + +First, it touches on the Sand River Convention of 1852, by which +independence was granted to the State, and shows that the “evident +objects and inciting motives” in granting such guarantee were to promote +peace, free-trade and friendly intercourse, in the hope and belief that +the Republic “would become a flourishing and self-sustaining State, a +source of strength and security to neighbouring European communities, +and a point from which Christianity and civilisation might rapidly +spread toward Central Africa.” It goes on to show how these hopes have +been disappointed, and how that “increasing weakness in the State itself +on the one side, and more than corresponding growth of real strength +and confidence among the native tribes on the other have produced their +natural and inevitable consequence . . . that after more or less of +irritating conflict with aboriginal tribes to the north, there commenced +about the year 1867 gradual abandonment to the natives in that direction +of territory, settled by burghers of the Transvaal in well-built towns +and villages and on granted farms.” + +It goes on to show that “this decay of power and ebb of authority in +the north, is being followed by similar processes in the south under +yet more dangerous circumstances. People of this State residing in +that direction have been compelled within the last three months, at the +bidding of native chiefs and at a moment’s notice, to leave their farms +and homes, their standing crops . . . all to be taken possession +of by natives, but that the Government is more powerless than ever +to vindicate its assumed rights or to resist the declension that is +threatening its existence.” It then recites how all the other colonies +and communities of South Africa have lost confidence in the State, +how it is in a condition of hopeless bankruptcy, and its commerce +annihilated whilst the inhabitants are divided into factions, and the +Government has fallen into “helpless paralysis.” How also the prospect +of the election of a new President, instead of being looked forward to +with hope, would, in the opinion of all parties, be the signal for civil +war, anarchy, and bloodshed. How that this state of things affords the +very strongest temptation to the great neighbouring native powers to +attack the country, a temptation that they were only too ready and +anxious to yield to, and that the State was in far too feeble a +condition to repel such attacks, from which it had hitherto only been +saved by the repeated representations of the Government of Natal. The +next paragraphs I will quote as they stand, for they sum up the reasons +for the Annexation. + +“That the Secocoeni war, which would have produced but little effect +on a healthy constitution, has not only proved suddenly fatal to the +resources and reputation of the Republic, but has shown itself to be a +culminating point in the history of South Africa, in that a Makatee +or Basutu tribe, unwarlike and of no account in Zulu estimation, +successfully withstood the strength of the State, and disclosed for the +first time to the native powers outside the Republic, from the Zambesi +to the Cape, the great change that had taken place in the relative +strength of the white and black races, that this disclosure at once +shook the prestige of the white man in South Africa, and placed +every European community in peril, that this common danger has caused +universal anxiety, has given to all concerned the right to investigate +its cause, and to protect themselves from its consequences, and has +imposed the duty upon those who have the power to shield enfeebled +civilisation from the encroachments of barbarism and inhumanity.” It +proceeds to point out that the Transvaal will be the first to suffer +from the results of its own policy, and that it is for every reason +perfectly impossible for Her Majesty’s Government to stand by and see a +friendly white State ravaged, knowing that its own possessions will be +the next to suffer. That H. M. Government, being persuaded that the only +means to prevent such a catastrophe would be by the annexation of the +country, and, knowing that this was the wish of a large proportion of +the inhabitants of the Transvaal, the step must be taken. Next follows +the formal annexation. + +Together with the proclamation, an address was issued by Sir T. +Shepstone to the burghers of the State, laying the facts before them +in a friendly manner, more suited to their mode of thought than it was +possible to do in a formal proclamation. This document, the issue +of which was one of those touches that ensured the success of the +Annexation, was a powerful summing up in colloquial language of the +arguments used in the proclamation strengthened by quotations from the +speeches of the President. It ends with these words: “It remains only +for me to beg of you to consider and weigh what I have said calmly and +without undue prejudice. Let not mere feeling or sentiment prevail over +your judgment. Accept what Her Majesty’s Government intends shall be, +and what you will soon find from experience, is a blessing not only to +you and your children, but to the whole of South Africa through you, and +I believe that I speak these words to you as a friend from my heart.” + +Two other proclamations were also issued, one notifying the assumption +of the office of Administrator of the Government by Sir T. Shepstone, +and the other repealing the war-tax, which was doubtless an unequal and +oppressive impost. + +I have in the preceding pages stated all the principal grounds of the +Annexation and briefly sketched the history of that event. In the next +chapter I propose to follow the fortunes of the Transvaal under British +Rule. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE TRANSVAAL UNDER BRITISH RULE + +_Reception of the annexation--Major Clarke and the Volunteers-- +Effect of the annexation on credit and commerce--Hoisting of the Union +Jack--Ratification of the annexation by Parliament--Messrs. Kruger and +Jorissen’s mission to England--Agitation against the annexation in the +Cape Colony--Sir T. Shepstone’s tour--Causes of the growth of discontent +among the Boers--Return of Messrs. Jorissen and Kruger--The Government +dispenses with their services--Despatch of a second deputation to +England--Outbreak of war with Secocoeni--Major Clarke, R.A.--The Gunn +of Gunn plot--Mission of Captain Paterson and Mr. Sergeaunt +to Matabeleland--Its melancholy termination--The Isandhlwana +disaster--Departure of Sir T. Shepstone for England--Another Boer +meeting--The Pretoria Horse--Advance of the Boers on Pretoria--Arrival +of Sir B. Frere at Pretoria and dispersion of the Boers--Arrival of Sir +Garnet Wolseley--His proclamation--The Secocoeni expedition--Proceedings +of the Boers--Mr. Pretorius--Mr. Gladstone’s Mid-Lothian speeches, their +effect--Sir G. Wolseley’s speech at Pretoria, its good results--Influx +of Englishmen and cessation of agitation--Financial position of the +country after three years of British rule--Letter of the Boer leaders to +Mr. Courtney._ + +The news of the Annexation was received all over the country with a sigh +of relief, and in many parts of it with great rejoicings. At the Gold +Fields, for instance, special thanksgiving services were held, and “God +save the Queen” was sung in church. Nowhere was there the slightest +disturbance, but, on the contrary, addresses of congratulation and +thanks literally poured in by every mail, many of them signed by Boers +who have since been conspicuous for their bitter opposition to English +rule. At first, there was some doubt as to what would be the course +taken under the circumstances by the volunteers enlisted by the late +Republic. Major Clarke, R.A., was sent to convey the news, and to take +command of them, unaccompanied save by his Kafir servant. On arrival at +the principal fort, he at once ordered the Republican flag to be hauled +down and the Union Jack run up, and his orders were promptly obeyed. A +few days afterwards some members of the force thought better of it, and +having made up their minds to kill him, came to the tent where he was +sitting to carry out their purpose. On learning their kind intentions, +Major Clarke fixed his eye-glass in his eye, and, after steadily glaring +at them through it for some time, said, “You are all drunk, go back +to your tents.” The volunteers, quite overcome by his coolness and +the fixity of his gaze, at once slipped off, and there was no further +trouble. About three weeks after the Annexation, the 1-13th Regiment +arrived at Pretoria, having been very well received all along the road +by the Boers, who came from miles round to hear the band play. Its entry +into Pretoria was quite a sight; the whole population turned out to meet +it; indeed the feeling of rejoicing and relief was so profound that when +the band began to play “God save the Queen” some of the women burst into +tears. + +Meanwhile the effect of the Annexation on the country was perfectly +magical. Credit and commerce were at once restored; the railway bonds +that were down to nothing in Holland rose with one bound to par, and +the value of landed property nearly doubled. Indeed it would have been +possible for any one, knowing what was going to happen, to have realised +large sums of money by buying land in the beginning of 1877, and selling +it shortly after the Annexation. + +On the 24th May, being Her Majesty’s birthday, all the native chiefs +who were anywhere within reach, were summoned to attend the first formal +hoisting of the English flag. The day was a general festival, and the +ceremony was attended by a large number of Boers and natives in addition +to all the English. At mid-day, amidst the cheers of the crowd, the +salute of artillery, and the strains of “God save the Queen,” the +Union Jack was run up a lofty flagstaff, and the Transvaal was formally +announced to be British soil. The flag was hoisted by Colonel Brooke, +R.E., and the present writer. Speaking for myself, I may say that it +was one of the proudest moments of my life. Could I have foreseen that +I should live to see that same flag, then hoisted with so much joyous +ceremony, within a few years shamefully and dishonourably hauled down +and buried,[*] I think it would have been the most miserable. + + [*] The English flag was during the signing of the + Convention at Pretoria formally buried by a large crowd of + Englishmen and loyal natives. + +The Annexation was as well received in England as it was in the +Transvaal. Lord Carnarvon wrote to Sir T. Shepstone to convey “the +Queen’s entire approval of your conduct since you received Her Majesty’s +commission, with a renewal of my own thanks on behalf of the Government +for the admirable prudence and discretion with which you have discharged +a great and unwonted responsibility.” It was also accepted by Parliament +with very few dissentient voices, since it was not till afterwards, when +the subject became useful as an electioneering howl, that the Liberal +party, headed by our “powerful popular minister,” discovered the deep +iniquity that had been perpetrated in South Africa. So satisfied were +the Transvaal Boers with the change that Messrs. Kruger, Jorissen, +and Bok, who formed the deputation to proceed to England and present +President Burgers’ formal protest against the Annexation, found great +difficulty in raising one-half of the necessary expenses--something +under one thousand pounds--towards the cost of the undertaking. The +thirst for independence cannot have been very great when all the wealthy +burghers in the Transvaal put together would not subscribe a thousand +pounds towards retaining it. Indeed, at this time the members of the +deputation themselves seem to have looked upon their undertaking +as being both doubtful and undesirable, since they informed Sir T. +Shepstone that they were going to Europe to discharge an obligation +which had been imposed upon them, and if the mission failed, they would +have done their duty. Mr. Kruger said that if they did fail, he would be +found to be as faithful a subject under the new form of government as he +had been under the old; and Dr. Jorissen admitted with equal frankness +that “the change was inevitable, and expressed his belief that the +cancellation of it would be calamitous.” + +Whilst the Annexation was thus well received in the country immediately +interested, a lively agitation was commenced in the Western Province of +the Cape Colony, a thousand miles away, with a view of inducing the +Home Government to repudiate Sir T. Shepstone’s act. The reason of this +movement was that the Cape Dutch party, caring little or nothing for +the real interests of the Transvaal, did care a great deal about their +scheme to turn all the white communities of South Africa into a +great Dutch Republic, to which they thought the Annexation would be a +deathblow. As I have said elsewhere, it must be borne in mind that the +strings of the anti-annexation agitation have all along been pulled in +the Western Province, whilst the Transvaal Boers have played the parts +of puppets. The instruments used by the leaders of the movement in +the Cape were, for the most part, the discontented and unprincipled +Hollander element, a newspaper of an extremely abusive nature called the +“Volkstem,” and another in Natal known as the “Natal Witness,” lately +edited by the notorious Aylward, which has an almost equally unenviable +reputation. + +On the arrival of Messrs. Jorissen and Kruger in England, they were +received with great civility by Lord Carnarvon, who was, however, +careful to explain to them that the Annexation was irrevocable. In this +decision they cheerfully acquiesced, assuring his lordship of their +determination to do all they could to induce the Boers to accept the +new state of things, and expressing their desire to be allowed to serve +under the new Government. + +Whilst these gentlemen were thus satisfactorily arranging matters with +Lord Carnarvon, Sir T. Shepstone was making a tour round the country +which resembled a triumphal progress more than anything else. He was +everywhere greeted with enthusiasm by all classes of the community, +Boers, English, and natives, and numerous addresses were presented to +him couched in the warmest language, not only by Englishmen but also by +Boers. + +It is very difficult to reconcile the enthusiasm of a great number +of the inhabitants of the Transvaal for English rule, and the quite +acquiescence of the remainder, at this time, with the decidedly +antagonistic attitude assumed later on. It appears to me, however, that +there are several reasons that go far towards accounting for it. The +Transvaal, when we annexed it, was in the position of a man with a knife +at his throat, who is suddenly rescued by some one stronger than he, on +certain conditions which at the time he gladly accepts, but afterwards, +when the danger is passed, wishes to repudiate. In the same way the +inhabitants of the South African Republic, were in the time of need very +thankful for our aid, but after a while, when the recollection of their +difficulties had grown faint, when their debts had been paid and their +enemies defeated, they began to think that they would like to get rid of +us again, and start fresh on their own account, with a clean sheet. What +fostered agitation more than anything else, however, was the perfect +impunity in which it was allowed to be carried on. Had only a little +firmness and decision been shown in the first instance there would +have been no further trouble. We might have been obliged to confiscate +half-a-dozen farms, and perhaps imprison as many free burghers for a +few months, and there it would have ended. Neither Boers or natives +understand our namby-pamby way of playing at government; they put it +down to fear. What they want, and what they expect, is to be governed +with a just but a firm hand. Thus when the Boers found that they could +agitate with impunity, they naturally enough continued to agitate. +Anybody who knows them will understand that it was very pleasant to them +to find themselves in possession of that delightful thing, a grievance, +and, instead of stopping quietly at home on their farms, to feel obliged +to proceed, full of importance and long words, to a distant meeting, +there to spout and listen to the spouting of others. It is so much +easier to talk politics than to sow mealies. Some attribute the +discontent among the Boers to the postponement of the carrying out +of the annexation proclamation promises with reference to the free +institutions to be granted to the country, but in my opinion it had +little or nothing to do with it. The Boers never understood the question +of responsible government, and never wanted that institution; what +they did want was to be free of all English control, and this they said +twenty times in the most outspoken language. I think there is little +doubt the causes I have indicated are the real sources of the agitation, +though there must be added to them their detestation of our mode of +dealing with natives, and of being forced to pay taxes regularly, and +also the ceaseless agitation of the Cape wire-pullers, through their +agents the Hollanders, and their organs in the press. + +On the return of Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen to the Transvaal, the +latter gentleman resumed his duties as Attorney-General, on which +occasion, if I remember aright, I myself had the honour of administering +to him the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty, that he afterwards kept +so well. The former reported the proceedings of the deputation to a +Boer meeting, when he took a very different tone to that in which he +addressed Lord Carnarvon, announcing that if there existed a majority of +the people in favour of independence, he still was Vice-President of the +country. + +Both these gentlemen remained for some time in the pay of the British +Government, Mr. Jorissen as Attorney-General, and Mr. Kruger as member +of the Executive Council. The Government, however, at length found it +desirable to dispense with their services, though on different +grounds. Mr. Jorissen had, like several other members of the Republican +Government, been a clergyman, and was quite unfit to hold the post of +Attorney-General in an important colony like the Transvaal, where legal +questions were constantly arising requiring all the attention of a +trained mind; and after he had on several occasions been publicly +admonished from the bench, the Government retired him on liberal terms. +Needless to say, his opposition to English rule then became very bitter. +Mr. Kruger’s appointment expired by law in November 1877, and the +Government did not think it advisable to re-employ him. The terms of his +letter of dismissal can be found on page 135 of Blue Book (c. 144), +and involving as they do a serious charge of misrepresentation in +money matters, are not very creditable to him. After this event he also +pursued the cause of independence with increased vigour. + +During the last months of 1877 and the first part of 1878 agitation +against British rule went on unchecked, and at last grew to alarming +proportions, so much so that Sir T. Shepstone, on his return from the +Zulu border in March 1878, where he had been for some months discussing +the vexed and dangerous question of the boundary line with the Zulus, +found it necessary to issue a stringent proclamation warning the +agitators that their proceedings and meetings were illegal, and would be +punished according to law. This document which was at the time vulgarly +known as the “Hold-your-jaw” proclamation, not being followed by action, +produced but little effect. + +On the 4th April 1878 another Boer meeting was convened, at which it was +decided to send a second deputation to England, to consist this time of +Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, with Mr. Bok as secretary. This deputation +proved as abortive as the first, Sir M. Hicks Beach assuring it, in a +letter dated 6th August 1878, that it is “impossible, for many reasons, +. . . . that the Queen’s sovereignty should now be withdrawn.” + +Whilst the Government was thus hampered by internal disaffection, it +had also many other difficulties on its hands. First, there was the Zulu +boundary question, which was constantly developing new dangers to the +country. Indeed, it was impossible to say what might happen in that +direction from one week to another. Nor were its relations with +Secocoeni satisfactory. It will be remembered that just before the +Annexation this chief had expressed his earnest wish to become a British +subject, and even paid over part of the fine demanded from him by the +Boer Government to the Civil Commissioner, Major Clarke. In March 1878, +however, his conduct towards the Government underwent a sudden +change, and he practically declared war. It afterwards appeared, from +Secocoeni’s own statement, that he was instigated to this step by +a Boer, Abel Erasmus by name--the same man who was concerned in the +atrocities in the first Secocoeni war--who constantly encouraged him to +continue the struggle. I do not propose to minutely follow the course of +this long war, which, commencing in the beginning of 1878, did not come +to an end till after the Zulu war: when Sir Garnet Wolseley attacked +Secocoeni’s stronghold with a large force of troops, volunteers, and +Swazi allies, and took it with great slaughter. The losses on our side +were not very heavy, so far as white men were concerned, but the Swazies +are reported to have lost 400 killed and 500 wounded. + +The struggle was, during the long period preceding the final attack, +carried on with great courage and ability by Major Clarke, R.A., C.M.G., +whose force, at the best of times, only consisted of 200 volunteers and +100 Zulus. With this small body of men he contrived, however, to keep +Secocoeni in check, and to take some important strongholds. It was +marked also by some striking acts of individual bravery, of which one, +performed by Major Clarke himself, whose reputation for cool courage and +presence of mind in danger is unsurpassed in South Africa, is worthy of +notice; and which, had public attention been more concentrated on the +Secocoeni war, would doubtless have won him the Victoria Cross. On one +occasion, on visiting one of the outlying forts, he found that a party +of hostile natives, who were coming down to the fort on the previous day +with a flag of truce, had been accidentally fired upon, and had at once +retreated. As his system in native warfare was always to try and inspire +his enemy with perfect faith in the honour of Englishmen, and their +contempt of all tricks and treachery even towards a foe, he was very +angry at this occurrence, and at once, unarmed and unattended save by +his native servant, rode up into the mountains to the kraal from which +the white flag party had come on the previous day, and apologised to +the Chief for what had happened. When I consider how very anxious +Secocoeni’s natives were to kill or capture Clarke, whom they held in +great dread, and how terrible the end of so great a captain would in +all probability have been had he taken alive by these masters of refined +torture, I confess that I think this act of gentlemanly courage is one +of the most astonishing things I ever heard of. When he rode up those +hills he must have known that he was probably going to meet his death at +the hands of justly incensed savages. When Secocoeni heard of what Major +Clarke had done he was so pleased that he shortly afterwards released +a volunteer whom he had taken prisoner, and who would otherwise, in all +probability, have been tortured to death. I must add that Major Clarke +himself never reported to or alluded to this incident, but an account of +it can be found in a despatch written by Sir O. Lanyon to the Secretary +of State, dated 2d February 1880. + +Concurrently with, though entirely distinct from, the political +agitation that was being carried on among the Boers having for object +the restoration of independence, a private agitation was set on foot +by a few disaffected persons against Sir T. Shepstone, with the view +of obtaining his removal from office in favour of a certain Colonel +Weatherley. The details of this impudent plot are so interesting, and +the plot itself so typical of the state of affairs with which Sir T. +Shepstone had to deal, that I will give a short account of it. + +After the Annexation had taken place, there were naturally enough a good +many individuals who found themselves disappointed in the results so far +as they personally were concerned; I mean that they did not get so much +out of it as they expected. Among these was a gentleman called Colonel +Weatherley, who had come to the Transvaal as manager of a gold-mining +company, but getting tired of that had taken a prominent part in +the Annexation, and who, being subsequently disappointed about an +appointment, became a bitter enemy of the Administrator. I may say at +once that Colonel Weatherley seems to me to have been throughout the +dupe of the other conspirators. + +The next personage was a good-looking desperado, who called himself +Captain Gunn of Gunn, and who was locally somewhat irreverently known as +the very Gunn of very Gunn. This gentleman, whose former career had been +of a most remarkable order, was, on the annexation of the country, found +in the public prison charged with having committed various offences, but +on Colonel Weatherley’s interesting himself strongly on his behalf, he +was eventually released without trial. On his release, he requested the +Administrator to publish a Government notice declaring him innocent of +the charges brought against him. This Sir T. Shepstone declined to do, +and so, to use his own words, in a despatch to the High Commissioner on +the subject, Captain Gunn of Gunn at once became “what in this country +is called a patriot.” + +The third person concerned was a lawyer, who had got into trouble on the +Diamond Fields, and who felt himself injured because the rules of the +High Court did not allow him to practise as an advocate. The quartet +was made up by Mr. Celliers, the editor of the patriotic organ, the +“Volkstem,” who, since he had lost the Government printing contract, +found that no language could be too strong to apply to the _personnel_ +of the Government, more especially its head. Of course, there was a lady +in it; what plot would be complete without? She was Mrs. Weatherley, +now, I believe, Mrs. Gunn of Gunn. These gentlemen began operations by +drawing up a long petition to Sir Bartle Frere as High Commissioner, +setting forth a string of supposed grievances, and winding up with a +request that the Administrator might be “promoted to some other +sphere of political usefulness.” This memorial was forwarded by the +“committee,” as they called themselves, to various parts of the country +for signature, but without the slightest success, the fact of the matter +being that it was not the Annexor but the Annexation that the Boers +objected to. + +At this stage in the proceedings Colonel Weatherley went to try and +forward the good cause with Sir Bartle Frere at the Cape. His letters to +Mrs. Weatherley from thence, afterwards put into Court in the celebrated +divorce case, contained many interesting accounts of his attempts in +that direction. I do not think, however, that he was cognisant of what +was being concocted by his allies in Pretoria, but being a very vain, +weak man, was easily deceived by them. With all his faults he was a +gentleman. As soon as he was gone a second petition was drawn up by the +“committee,” showing “the advisability of immediately suspending our +present Administrator, and temporarily appointing and recommending for +Her Majesty’s royal and favourable consideration an English gentleman of +high integrity and honour, in whom the country at large has respect and +confidence.” + +The English gentleman of high integrity and honour of course proves to +be Colonel Weatherley, whose appointment is, further on, “respectfully +but earnestly requested,” since he had “thoroughly gained the +affections, confidence, and respect of Boers, English, and other +Europeans in this country.” But whilst it is comparatively easy to write +petitions, there is sometimes a difficulty in getting people to sign +them, as proved to be the case with reference to the documents under +consideration. When the “committee” and the employes in the office of +the “Volkstem” had affixed their valuable signatures it was found to +be impossible to induce anybody else to follow their example. Now, a +petition with some half dozen signatures attached would not, it was +obvious, carry much weight with the Imperial Government, and no more +could be obtained. + +But really great minds rise superior to such difficulties, and so did +the “committee,” or some of them, or one of them. If they could not +get genuine signatures to their petitions, they could at any rate +manufacture them. This great idea once hit out, so vigorously was it +prosecuted that they, or some of them, or one of them, produced in a +very little while no less than 3883 signatures, of which sixteen were +proved to be genuine, five were doubtful, and all the rest fictitious. +But the gentleman, whoever he was, who was the working partner in the +scheme--and I may state, by way of parenthesis, that when Gunn of Gunn +was subsequently arrested, petitions in process of signature were found +under the mattress of his bed--calculated without his host. He either +did not know, or had forgotten, that on receipt of such documents by a +superior officer, they are at once sent to the officer accused to report +upon. This course was followed in the present case, and the petitions +were discovered to be gross impostures. The ingenuity exercised by their +author or authors was really very remarkable, for it must be remembered +that not one of the signatures was forged; they were all invented, and +had, of course, to be written in a great variety of hands. The plan +generally pursued was to put down the names of people living in the +country, with slight variations. Thus “De _V_illiers” became “De +_W_illiers,” and “Van Z_y_l” “Van Z_u_l.” I remember that my own name +appeared on one of the petitions with some slight alteration. Some of +the names were evidently meant to be facetious. Thus there was a “Jan +Verneuker,” which means “John the Cheat.” + +Of the persons directly or indirectly concerned in this rascally plot, +the unfortunate Colonel Weatherly subsequently apologised to Sir T. +Shepstone for his share in the agitation, and shortly afterwards died +fighting bravely on Kambula. Captain Gunn of Gunn and Mrs. Weatherley, +after having given rise to the most remarkable divorce case I ever +heard,--it took fourteen days to try--were, on the death of Colonel +Weatherley, united in the bonds of holy matrimony, and are, I believe, +still in Pretoria. The lawyer vanished I know not where, whilst Mr. +Celliers still continues to edit that admirably conducted journal the +“Volkstem;” nor, if I may judge from the report of a speech made by +him recently at a Boer festival, which, by the way, was graced by the +presence of our representative, Mr. Hudson, the British Resident: has +his right hand forgotten its cunning, or rather his tongue lost the use +of those peculiar and recherche epithets that used to adorn the columns +of the “Volkstem.” I see that he, on this occasion, denounced the +English element as being “poisonous and dangerous” to a State, and +stated, amidst loud cheers, that “he despised” it. Mr. Cellier’s lines +have fallen in pleasant places; in any other country he would long ago +have fallen a victim to the stern laws of libel. I recommend him to +the notice of enterprising Irish newspapers. Such is the freshness and +vigour of his style that I am confident he would make the fortune of any +Hibernian journal. + +Some little time after the Gunn of Gunn frauds a very sad incident +happened in connection with the Government of the Transvaal. Shortly +after the Annexation, the Home Government sent out Mr. Sergeaunt, +C.M.G., one of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, to report on the +financial condition of the country. He was accompanied, in an unofficial +capacity, amongst other gentlemen, by Captain Patterson and his son, +Mr. J Sergeaunt; and when he returned to England, these two gentlemen +remained behind to go on a shooting expedition. About this time Sir +Bartle Frere was anxious to send a friendly mission to Lo Bengula, +king of the Matabele, a branch of the Zulu tribe, living up towards +the Zambesi. This chief had been making himself unpleasant by causing +traders to be robbed, and it was thought desirable to establish friendly +relations with him, so it was suggested to Captain Patterson and Mr. +Sergeaunt that they should combine business with pleasure, and go on +a mission to Lo Bengula, an offer which they accepted, and shortly +afterwards started for Matabeleland with an interpreter and a few +servants. They reached their destination in safety; and having concluded +their business with the king, started on a visit to the Zambesi Falls +on foot, leaving the interpreter with the wagon. The falls were about +twelve days’ walk from the king’s kraal, and they were accompanied +thither by young Mr. Thomas, the son of the local missionary, two Kafir +servants, and twenty native bearers supplied by Lo Bengula. The next +thing that was heard of them was that they had all died through drinking +poisoned water, full details of the manner of their deaths being sent +down by Lo Bengula. + +In the first shock and confusion of such news it was not very +closely examined, at any rate by the friends of the dead men, but, on +reflection, there were several things about it that appeared strange. +For instance, it was well known that Captain Patterson had a habit, for +which indeed, we had often laughed at him, of, however thirsty he might +be, always having his water boiled when he was travelling, in order +to destroy impurities: and it seemed odd, that he should on this one +occasion, have neglected the precaution. Also, it was curious that the +majority of Lo Bengula’s bearers appeared to have escaped, whereas all +the others were, without exception, killed; nor even in that district is +it usual to find water so bad that it will kill with the rapidity it had +been supposed to do in this case, unless indeed it had been designedly +poisoned. These doubts of the poisoning-by-water-story resolved +themselves into certainty when the waggon returned in charge of the +interpreter, when, by putting two and two together, we were able to +piece out the real history of the diabolical murder of our poor friends +with considerable accuracy, a story which shows what bloodthirsty +wickedness a savage is capable of when he fancies his interests are +threatened. + +It appeared that, when Captain Patterson first interviewed Lo Bengula, +he was not at all well received by him. I must, by way of explanation, +state that there exists a Pretender to his throne, Kruman by name, who, +as far as I can make out, is the real heir to the kingdom. This man +had, for some cause or other, fled the country, and for a time acted as +gardener to Sir T. Shepstone in Natal. At the date of Messrs. Patterson +and Sergeaunt’s mission to Matabeleland he was living, I believe, in the +Transvaal. Captain Patterson, on finding himself so ill received by the +king, and not being sufficiently acquainted with the character of savage +chiefs, most unfortunately, either by accident or design, dropped some +hint in the course of conversation about this Kruman. From that moment, +Lo Bengula’s conduct towards the mission entirely changed, and, dropping +his former tone, he became profusely civil; and from that moment, too, +he doubtless determined to kill them, probably fearing that they might +forward some scheme to oust him and place Kruman, on whose claim a large +portion of his people looked favourably, on the throne. + +When their business was done, and Captain Patterson told the king that +they were anxious, before returning, to visit the Zambesi Falls, he +readily fell in with their wish, but, in the first instance, refused +permission to young Thomas, the son of the missionary, to accompany +them, only allowing him to do so on the urgent representation of +Captain Patterson. The reason for this was, no doubt, that he had +kindly feelings towards the lad, and did not wish to include him in the +slaughter. + +Captain Patterson was a man of extremely methodical habits, and, amongst +other things, was in the habit of making notes of all that he did. His +note-book had been taken off his body, and sent down to Pretoria with +the other things. In it we found entries of his preparations for the +trip, including the number and names of the bearers provided by Lo +Bengula. We also found the chronicle of the first three days’ journey, +and that of the morning of the fourth day, but there the record stopped. +The last entry was probably made a few minutes before he was killed; and +it is to be observed that there was no entry of the party having been +for several days without water, as stated by the messengers, and then +finding the poisoned water. + +This evidence by itself would not have amounted to much, but now comes +the curious part of the story, showing the truth of the old adage, +“Murder will out.” It appears that when the waggon was coming down to +Pretoria in charge of the interpreter, it was outspanned one day outside +the borders of Lo Bengula’s country, when some Kafirs--Bechuanas, I +think--came up, asked for some tobacco, and fell into conversation with +the driver, remarking that he had come up with a full waggon, and now he +went down with an empty one. The driver replied by lamenting the death +by poisoned water of his masters, whereupon one of the Kafirs told him +the following story:--He said that a brother of his was out hunting, a +little while back, in the desert for ostriches, with a party of other +Kafirs, when hearing shots fired some way off, they made for the spot, +thinking that white men were out shooting, and that they would be able +to beg meat. On reaching the spot, which was by a pool of water, they +saw the bodies of three white men lying on the ground, and also those of +a Hottentot and a Kafir, surrounded by an armed party of Kafirs. They +at once asked the Kafirs what they had been doing killing the white men, +and were told to be still, for it was by “order of the king.” They +then learned the whole story. It appeared that the white men had made a +mid-day halt by the water, when one of the bearers, who had gone to the +edge of the pool, suddenly shouted to them to come and look at a great +snake in the water. Captain Patterson ran up, and, as he leaned over the +edge, was instantly killed by a blow with an axe; the others were then +shot and assegaied. The Kafir further described the clothes that his +brother had seen on the bodies, and also some articles that had been +given to his party by the murderers, that left little doubt as to the +veracity of his story. And so ended the mission to Matabeleland. + +No public notice was taken of the matter, for the obvious reason that +it was impossible to get at Lo Bengula to punish him; nor would it have +been easy to come by legal evidence to disprove the ingenious story +of the poisoned water, since anybody trying to reach the spot of the +massacre would probably fall a victim to some similar accident before +he got back again. It is devoutly to be hoped that the punishment he +deserves will sooner or later overtake the author of this devilish and +wholesale murder. + +The beginning of 1879 was signalised by the commencement of operations +in Zululand and by the news of the terrible disaster at Isandhlwana, +which fell on Pretoria like a thunderclap. It was not, however, any +surprise to those who were acquainted with Zulu tactics and with the +plan of attack adopted by the English commanders. In fact, I know +that one solemn warning of what would certainly happen to him, if he +persisted in his plan of advance, was addressed to Lord Chelmsford, +through the officer in command at Pretoria, by a gentlemen whose +position and long experience of the Zulus and their mode of attack +should have carried some weight. If it ever reached him, he took, to the +best of my recollection, no notice of it whatever. + +But though some such disaster was daily expected by a few, the majority +of both soldiers and civilians never dreamed of anything of the sort, +the general idea being that the conquest of Cetywayo was a very easy +undertaking: and the shock produced by the news of Isandhlwana was +proportionally great, especially as it reached Pretoria in a much +exaggerated form. I shall never forget the appearance of the town that +morning; business was entirely suspended, and the streets were filled +with knots of men talking, with scared faces, as well they might: for +there was scarcely anybody but had lost a friend, and many thought that +their sons or brothers were among the dead on that bloody field. Among +others, Sir T. Shepstone lost one son, and thought for some time that he +had lost three. + +Shortly after this event Sir T. Shepstone went to England to confer with +the Secretary of State on various matters connected with the Transvaal, +carrying with him the affection and respect of all who knew him, not +excepting the majority of the malcontent Boers. He was succeeded by +Colonel, now Sir Owen Lanyon, who was appointed to administer the +Government during the absence of Sir T. Shepstone. + +By the Boers, however, the news of our disaster was received with great +and unconcealed rejoicing, or at least by the irreconcilable portion of +that people. England’s necessity was their opportunity, and one of which +they certainly meant to avail themselves. Accordingly, notices were sent +out summoning the burghers of the Transvaal to attend a mass meeting on +the 18th March, at a place about thirty miles from Pretoria. Emissaries +were also sent to native chiefs, to excite them to follow Cetywayo’s +example, and massacre all the English within reach, of whom a man called +Solomon Prinsloo was one of the most active. The natives, however, +notwithstanding the threats used towards them, one and all declined the +invitation. + +It must not be supposed that all the Boers who attended these meetings +did so of their own free will; on the contrary, a very large number came +under compulsion, since they found that the English authorities were +powerless to give them protection. The recalcitrants were threatened +with all sorts of pains and penalties if they did not attend, a +favourite menace being that they should be made “biltong” of when the +country was given back (i.e., be cut into strips and hung in the sun to +dry). Few, luckily for themselves, were brave enough to tempt fortune by +refusing to come, but those who did, have had to leave the country +since the war. Whatever were the means employed, the result was an armed +meeting of about 3000 Boers, who evidently meant mischief. + +Just about this time a corps had been raised in Pretoria, composed, for +the most part, of gentlemen, and known as the Pretoria Horse; for the +purpose of proceeding to the Zulu border, where cavalry, especially +cavalry acquainted with the country, was earnestly needed. In the +emergency of the times officials were allowed to join this corps, +a permission of which I availed myself, and was elected one of the +lieutenants.[*] The corps was not, after all, allowed to go to Zululand +on account of the threatening aspect adopted by the Boers, against whom +it was retained for service. In my capacity as an officer of the corps I +was sent out with a small body of picked men, all good riders and light +weights, to keep up a constant communication between the Boer camp and +the Administrator, and found the work both interesting and exciting. My +head-quarters were at an inn about twenty-five miles from Pretoria, to +which our agents in the meeting used to come every evening and report +how matters were proceeding, whereupon, if the road was clear, +I despatched a letter to head-quarters; or, if I feared that the +messengers would be caught _en route_ by Boer patrols and searched, I +substituted different coloured ribbons according to what I wished to +convey. There was a relief hidden in the trees or rocks every six +miles, all day and most of the night, whose business it was to take the +despatch or ribbon and gallop on with it to the next station, in which +way we used to get the despatches into town in about an hour and a +quarter. + + [*] It is customary in South African volunteer forces to + allow the members to elect their own officers, provided the + men elected are such as the Government approves. This is + done, so that the corps may not afterwards be able to + declare that they have no confidence in their officers in + action, or to grumble at their treatment by them. + +On one or two occasions the Boers came to the inn and threatened to +shoot us, but as our orders were to do nothing unless our lives were +actually in danger, we took no notice. The officer who came out to +relieve me had not, however, been there more than a day or two before he +and all his troopers, were hunted back into Pretoria by a large mob of +armed Boers whom they only escaped by very hard riding. + +Meanwhile the Boers were by degrees drawing nearer and nearer to the +town, till at last they pitched their laagers within six miles, and +practically besieged it. All business was stopped, the houses were +loopholed and fortified, and advantageous positions were occupied by the +military and the various volunteer corps. The building, normally in +the occupation of the Government mules, fell to the lot of the Pretoria +Horse, and, though it was undoubtedly a post of honour, I honestly +declare that I have no wish to sleep for another month in a mule stable +that has not been cleaned out for several years. However, by sinking +a well, and erecting bastions and a staging for sharp-shooters, we +converted it into an excellent fortress, though it would not have been +of much use against artillery. Our patrols used to be out all night, +since we chiefly feared a night attack, and generally every preparation +was made to resist the onset that was hourly expected, and I believe +that it was that state of preparedness that alone prevented it. + +Whilst this meeting was going on, and when matters had come to a point +that seemed to render war inevitable, Sir B. Frere arrived at Pretoria +and had several interviews with the Boer leaders, at which they +persisted in demanding their independence, and nothing short of it. +After a great deal of talk the meeting finally broke up without any +actual appeal to arms, though it had, during its continuance, assumed +many of the rights of government, such as stopping post-carts and +individuals, and sending armed patrols about the country. The principal +reason of its break-up was that the Zulu war was now drawing to a close, +and the leaders saw that there would soon be plenty of troops available +to suppress any attempt at revolt, but they also saw to what lengths +they could go with impunity. They had for a period of nearly two months +been allowed to throw the whole country into confusion, to openly +violate the laws, and to intimidate and threaten Her Majesty’s loyal +subjects with war and death. The lesson was not lost on them; but they +postponed action till a more favourable opportunity offered. + +Sir Bartle Frere before his departure took an opportunity at a public +dinner given him at Potchefstroom of assuring the loyal inhabitants of +the country that the Transvaal would never be given back. + +Meanwhile a new Pharaoh had arisen in Egypt, in the shape of Sir G. +Wolseley, and on the 29th June 1879 we find him communicating the fact +to Sir O. Lanyon in very plain language, telling him that he disapproved +of his course of action with regard to Secocoeni, and that “in future +you will please take orders only from me.” + +As soon as Sir Garnet had completed his arrangements for the +pacification of Zululand, he proceeded to Pretoria, and having caused +himself to be sworn in as Governor, set vigorously to work. I must say +that in his dealings with the Transvaal he showed great judgment and a +keen appreciation of what the country needed, namely, strong government; +the fact of the matter being, I suppose, that being very popular with +the Home authorities he felt that he could more or less command their +support in what he did, a satisfaction not given to most governors, +who never know but that they may be thrown overboard in emergency, in +lighten the ship. + +One of his first acts was to issue a proclamation, stating that “Whereas +it appears that, notwithstanding repeated assurances of the contrary +given by Her Majesty’s representatives in this territory, uncertainty or +misapprehension exists amongst some of Her Majesty’s subjects as to +the intention of Her Majesty’s Government regarding the maintenance of +British rule and sovereignty over the territory of the Transvaal: +and whereas it is expedient that all grounds for such uncertainty or +misapprehension should be removed once and for all beyond doubt or +question: now therefore I do hereby proclaim and make known, in the +name and on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, that it is the will and +determination of Her Majesty’s Government that this Transvaal territory +shall be, _and shall continue to be for ever_, an integral portion of +Her Majesty’s dominions in South Africa.” + +Alas! Sir G. Wolseley’s estimate of the value of a solemn pledge thus +made in the name of Her Majesty, whose word has hitherto been held to be +sacred, differed greatly to that of Mr. Gladstone and his Government. + +Sir Garnet Wolseley’s operations against Secocoeni proved eminently +successful, and were the best arranged bit of native warfare that I have +yet heard of in South Africa. One blow was struck, and only one, but +that was crushing. Of course the secret of his success lay in the fact +that he had an abundance of force; but it was not ensured by that +alone, good management being very requisite in an affair of the sort, +especially where native allies have to be dealt with. The cost of the +expedition, not counting other Secocoeni war expenditure, amounted to +over 300,000 pounds, all of which is now lost to this country. + +Another step in the right direction undertaken by Sir Garnet was the +establishment of an Executive Council and also of a Legislative Council, +for the establishment of which Letters Patent were sent from Downing +Street in November 1880. + +Meanwhile the Boers, paying no attention to the latter proclamation, for +they guessed that it, like other proclamations in the Transvaal, would +be a mere _brutum fulmen_, had assembled for another mass meeting, at +which they went forward a step, and declared a Government which was to +treat with the English authorities. They had now learnt that they could +do what they liked with perfect impunity, provided they did not take +the extreme course of massacring the English. They had yet to learn that +they might even do that. At the termination of this meeting, a vote of +thanks was passed to “Mr. Leonard Courtney of London, and other members +of the British Parliament.” It was wise of the Boer leaders to cultivate +Mr. Courtney of London. As a result of this meeting, Pretorius, one of +the principal leaders, and Bok, the secretary, were arrested on a +charge of treason, and underwent a preliminary examination; but as the +Secretary of State, Sir M. Hicks Beach, looked rather timidly on the +proceeding, and the local authorities were doubtful of securing a +verdict, the prosecution was abandoned, and necessarily did more harm +than good, being looked upon as another proof of the impotence of the +Government. + +Shortly afterwards, Sir G. Wolseley changed his tactics, and, instead +of attempting to imprison Pretorius, offered him a seat on the Executive +Council, with a salary attached. This was a much more sensible way +of dealing with him, and he at once rose to the bait, stating his +willingness to join the Government after a while, but that he could +not publicly do so at the moment lest he should lose his influence with +those who were to be brought round through him. It does not, however, +appear that Mr. Pretorius ever did actually join the Executive, probably +because he found public opinion too strong to allow him to do so. + +In December 1879, a new light broke upon the Boers, for, in the previous +month Mr. Gladstone had been delivering his noted attack on the policy +of the Conservative Government. Those Mid-Lothian speeches did harm, it +is said, in many parts of the world; but I venture to think that they +have proved more mischievous in South Africa than anywhere else; at any +rate, they have borne fruit sooner. It is not to be supposed that Mr. +Gladstone really cared anything about the Transvaal or its independence +when he was denouncing the hideous outrage that had been perpetrated +by the Conservative Government in annexing it. On the contrary, as he +acquiesced in the Annexation at the time (when Lord Kimberley stated +that it was evidently unavoidable), and declined to rescind it when he +came into power, it is to be supposed that he really approved of it, or +at the least looked on it as a necessary evil. However this may be, any +stick will do to beat a dog with, and the Transvaal was a convenient +point on which to attack the Government. He probably neither knew +nor cared what effect his reckless words might have on ignorant Boers +thousands of miles away; and yet, humanly speaking, many a man would +have been alive and strong to-day, whose bones now whiten the African +Veldt, had those words never been spoken. Then, for the first time, +the Boers learnt that, if they played their cards properly and put +on sufficient pressure, they would, in the event of the Liberal party +coming to office, have little difficulty in coercing it as they wished. + +There was a fair chance at the time of the utterance of the Mid-Lothian +speeches that the agitation would, by degrees, die away; Sir G. Wolseley +had succeeded in winning over Pretorius, and the Boers in general +were sick of mass meetings. Indeed, a memorial was addressed to Sir G. +Wolseley by a number of Boers in the Potchefstroom district, protesting +against the maintenance of the movement against Her Majesty’s rule, +which, considering the great amount of intimidation exercised by the +malcontents, may be looked upon as a favourable sign. + +But when it slowly came to be understood among the Boers that a great +English Minister had openly espoused their cause, and that he would +perhaps soon be all-powerful, the moral gain to them was incalculable. +They could now go to the doubting ones and say,--we must be right about +the matter, because, putting our own feelings out of the question, +the great Gladstone says we are. We find the committee of the Boer +malcontents, at their meeting in March 1880, reading a letter to Mr. +Gladstone, “in which he was thanked for the great sympathy shown to +their fate,” and a hope expressed that, if he succeeded in getting +power, he would not forget them. In fact, a charming unanimity prevailed +between our great Minister and the Boer rebels, for their interests were +the same, the overthrow of the Conservative Government. If, however, +every leader of the Opposition were to intrigue, or countenance +intrigues with those who are seeking to undermine the authority of Her +Majesty, whether they be Boers or Irishmen, in order to help himself to +power, the country might suffer in the long run. + +But whatever feelings may have prompted Her Majesty’s opposition, the +Home Government, and their agent, Sir Garnet Wolseley, blew no uncertain +blast, if we may judge from their words and actions. Thus we find +Sir Garnet speaking as follows at a banquet given in his honour at +Pretoria:-- + +“I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating in +this way, for a change of Government in England may give them again +the old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance of English +politics than such an idea; I tell you that there is no Government, Whig +or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical, _who would dare under any +circumstances to give back this country_. They would not dare, because +the English people would not allow them. To give back the country, what +would it mean? To give it back to external danger, to the danger of +attack by hostile tribes on its frontier, and who, if the English +Government were removed for one day, would make themselves felt the +next. Not an official of Government paid for months; it would mean +national bankruptcy. No taxes being paid, the same thing recurring again +which had existed before would mean danger without, anarchy and civil +war within, every possible misery; the strangulation of trade, and the +destruction of property.” + +It is very amusing to read this passage by the light of after events. +On other occasions Sir Garnet Wolseley will probably not be quite so +confident as to the future when it is to be controlled by a Radical +Government. + +This explicit and straightforward statement of Sir Garnet’s produced +a great effect on the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal, which was +heightened by the publication of the following telegram from the +Secretary of State:--“You may fully confirm explicit statements made +from the time to time as to inability of Her Majesty’s Government to +entertain _any proposal_ for withdrawal of the Queen’s sovereignty.” + +On the faith of these declarations many Englishmen migrated to the +Transvaal and settled there, whilst those who were in the country now +invested all their means, being confident that they would not lose +their property through its being returned to the Boers. The excitement +produced by Mr. Gladstone’s speeches began to quiet down and be +forgotten for the time, arrear taxes were paid up by the malcontents, +and generally the aspect of affairs was such, in Sir Garnet Wolseley’s +opinion, as justified him in writing, in April 1880, to the Secretary of +State expressing his belief that the agitation was dying out.[*] Indeed, +so sanguine was he on that point that he is reported to have advised the +withdrawal of the cavalry regiment stationed in the territory, a piece +of economy that was one of the immediate causes of the revolt. + +The reader will remember the financial condition of the country at the +time of the Annexation, which was one of utter bankruptcy. After three +years of British rule, however, we find, notwithstanding the constant +agitation that had been kept up, that the total revenue receipts for +the first quarter of 1879 and 1880 amounted to 22,773 pounds, and 44,982 +pounds respectively. That is to say, that, during the last year of +British rule, the revenue of the country more than doubled itself, and +amounted to about 160,000 pounds a-year, taking the quarterly returns at +the low average of 40,000 pounds. It must, however, be remembered that +this sum would have been very largely increased in subsequent years, +most probably doubled. At any rate the revenue would have been amply +sufficient to make the province one of the most prosperous in South +Africa, and to have enabled it to shortly repay all debts due to the +British Government, and further to provide for its own defence. Trade +also, which in April 1877, was completely paralysed, had increased +enormously. So early as the middle of 1879, the Committee of the +Transvaal Chamber of Commerce pointed out, in a resolution adopted by +them, that the trade of the country had in two years, risen from almost +nothing to the considerable sum of two millions sterling per annum, and +that it was entirely in the hands of those favourable to British rule. +They also pointed out that more than half the land tax was paid by +Englishmen, or other Europeans adverse to Boer Government. Land, too, +had risen greatly in value, of which I can give the following instance. +About a year after the Annexation I, together with a friend, bought a +little property on the outskirts of Pretoria, which, with a cottage +we put up on it, cost some 300 pounds. Just before the rebellion we +fortunately determined to sell it, and had no difficulty in getting 650 +pounds for it. I do not believe that it would now fetch a fifty pound +note. + + [*] In Blue Book No. (C. 2866) of September 1881, which is + descriptive of various events connected with the Boer + rising, is published, as an appendix, a despatch from Sir + Garnet Wolseley, dated October 1879. This despatch declares + the writer’s opinion that the Boer discontent is on the + increase. Its publication thus--_apropos des bottes_--nearly + two years after it was written, is rather an amusing + incident. It certainly gives one the idea that Sir Garnet + Wolseley, fearing that his reputation for infallibility + might be attacked by scoffers for not having foreseen the + Boer rebellion, and perhaps uneasily conscious of other + despatches very different in tenor and subsequent in date: + and, mindful of the withdrawal of the cavalry regiment by + his advice, had caused it to be tacked on to the Blue Book + as a documentary “I told you so,” and a proof that, whoever + else was blinded, he foresaw. It contains, however, the + following remarkable passage:--“Even were it not impossible, + for many other reasons, to contemplate a withdrawal of our + authority from the Transvaal, the position of insecurity in + which we should leave this loyal and important section of + the community (the English inhabitants), by exposing them to + the certain retaliation of the Boers, would constitute, in + my opinion, an insuperable obstacle to retrocession. + Subjected to the same danger, moreover, would be those of + the Boers, whose superior intelligence and courageous + character has rendered them loyal to our Government.” + + As the Government took the trouble to publish the despatch, + it is a pity that they did not think fit to pay more + attention to its contents. + +I cannot conclude this chapter better than by drawing attention to a +charming specimen of the correspondence between the Boer leaders and +their friend Mr. Courtney. The letter in question, which is dated 26th +June, purports to be written by Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, but it is +obvious that it owes its origin to some member or members of the Dutch +party at the Cape, from whence, indeed, it is written. This is rendered +evident both by its general style, and also by the use of such terms +as “Satrap,” and by references to Napoleon III. and Cayenne, about whom +Messrs. Kruger and Joubert know no more than they do of Peru and the +Incas. + +After alluding to former letters, the writers blow a blast of triumph +over the downfall of the Conservative Government, and then make a savage +attack on the reputation of Sir Bartle Frere. The “stubborn Satrap” is +throughout described as a liar, and every bad motive imputed to him. +Really, the fact that Mr. Courtney should encourage such epistles as +this is enough to give colour to the boast made by some of the leading +Boers, after the war, that they had been encouraged to rebel by a member +of the British Government. + +At the end of this letter, and on the same page of the Blue Book, is +printed the telegram recalling Sir Bartle Frere, dated 1st August 1880. +It really reads as though the second document was consequent to the +first. One thing is very clear, the feelings of Her Majesty’s new +Government towards Sir Bartle Frere differed only in the method of their +expression, from those set forth by the Boer leaders in their letter +to Mr. Courtney, whilst their object, namely, to be rid of him, was +undoubtedly identical with that of the Dutch party in South Africa. + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BOER REBELLION + +_Accession of Mr. Gladstone to power--His letters to the Boer leaders +and the loyals--His refusal to rescind the annexation--The Boers +encouraged by prominent members of the Radical party--The Bezuidenhout +incident--Despatch of troops to Potchefstroom--Mass meeting of the 8th +December 1880--Appointment of the Triumvirate and declaration of +the republic--Despatch of Boer proclamation to Sir O. Lanyon--His +reply--Outbreak of hostilities at Potchefstroom--Defence of the +court-house by Major Clarke--The massacre of the detachment of the 94th +under Colonel Anstruther--Dr. Ward--The Boer rejoicings--The Transvaal +placed under martial law--Abandonment of their homes by the people +of Pretoria--Sir Owen Lanyon’s admirable defence organisation--Second +proclamation issued by the Boers--Its complete falsehood--Life at +Pretoria during the siege--Murders of natives by the Boers--Loyal +conduct of the native chiefs--Difficulty of preventing them from +attacking the Boers--Occupation of Lang’s Nek by the Boers--Sir George +Colley’s departure to Newcastle--The condition of that town--The attack +on Lang’s Nek--Its desperate nature--Effect of victory on the Boers--The +battle at the Ingogo--Our defeat--Sufferings of the wounded--Major +Essex--Advance of the Boers into Natal--Constant alarms--Expected attack +on Newcastle--Its unorganised and indefensible condition--Arrival of the +reinforcements and retreat of the Boers to the Nek--Despatch of General +Wood to bring up more reinforcements--Majuba Hill--Our disaster, and +death of Sir George Colley--Cause of our defeat--A Boer version of the +disaster--Sir George Colley’s tactics._ + +When the Liberal ministry became an accomplished fact instead of a happy +possibility, Mr. Gladstone did not find it convenient to adopt the line +of policy with reference to the Transvaal, that might have been expected +from his utterances whilst leader of the Opposition. On the contrary, he +declared in Parliament that the Annexation could not be cancelled, and +on the 8th June 1880 we find him, in answer to a Boer petition, written +with the object of inducing him to act up to the spirit of his words and +rescind the Annexation, writing thus:--“Looking to all circumstances, +both of the Transvaal and the rest of South Africa, and to the necessity +of preventing a renewal of disorders which might lead to disastrous +consequences, not only to the Transvaal, but to the whole of South +Africa, our judgment is, that the _Queen cannot be advised to relinquish +her sovereignty over the Transvaal;_ but, consistently with the +maintenance of that sovereignty, we desire that the white inhabitants of +the Transvaal should, without prejudice to the rest of the population, +enjoy the fullest liberty to manage their local affairs. We believe that +this liberty may be most easily and promptly conceded to the Transvaal +as a member of a South African confederation.” + +Unless words have lost their signification, this passage certainly means +that the Transvaal must remain a British colony, but that England will +be prepared to grant it responsible government, more especially if it +will consent to a confederation scheme. Mr. Gladstone, however, in a +communication dated 1st June 1881, and addressed to the unfortunate +Transvaal loyals, for whom he expresses “respect and sympathy,” + interprets his meaning thus: “It is stated, as I observe, that a promise +was given to me that the Transvaal should never be given back. There is +no mention of the terms or date of this promise. If the reference be +to my letter, of 8th June 1880, to Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, I do not +think the language of that letter justifies the description given. Nor +am I sure in what manner or to what degree the fullest liberty to manage +their local affairs, which I then said Her Majesty’s Government desired +to confer on the white population of the Transvaal, differs from the +settlement now about being made in its bearing on the interests of those +whom your Committee represents.” + +Such twisting of the meaning of words would, in a private person, be +called dishonest. It will also occur to most people that Mr. Gladstone +might have spared the deeply wronged and loyal subjects of Her Majesty +whom he was addressing, the taunt he levels at them in the second +paragraph I have quoted. If asked, he would no doubt say that he had not +the slightest intention of laughing at them; but when he deliberately +tells them that it makes no difference to their interests whether they +remain Her Majesty’s subjects under a responsible Government, or become +the servants of men who were but lately in arms against them and Her +Majesty’s authority, he is either mocking them, or offering an insult to +their understandings. + +By way of comment on his remarks, I may add that he had, in a letter +replying to a petition from these same loyal inhabitants, addressed +to him in May 1880, informed them that he had already told the Boer +representatives that the Annexation could not be rescinded. Although +Mr. Gladstone is undoubtedly the greatest living master of the art of +getting two distinct and opposite sets of meanings out of one set of +words, it would try even his ingenuity to make out, to the satisfaction +of an impartial mind, that he never gave any pledge about the retention +of the Transvaal. + +Indeed, it is from other considerations clear that he had no intention +of giving up the country to the Boers, whose cause he appears to have +taken up solely for electioneering purposes. Had he meant to do so, +he would have carried out his intention on succeeding to office, and, +indeed, as things have turned out, it is deeply to be regretted that he +did not; for, bad as such a step would have been, it would at any rate +have had a better appearance than our ultimate surrender after three +defeats. It would also have then been possible to secure the repayment +of some of the money owing to this country, and to provide for the +proper treatment of the natives, and the compensation of the loyal +inhabitants who could no longer live there: since it must naturally have +been easier to make terms with the Boers before they had defeated our +troops. + +On the other hand, we should have missed the grandest and most +soul-stirring display of radical theories, practically applied, that +has as yet lightened the darkness of this country. But although Mr. +Gladstone gave his official decision against returning the country, +there seems to be little doubt that communications on the subject were +kept up with the Boer leaders through some prominent members of the +Radical party, whom, it was said, went so far as to urge the Boers to +take up arms against us. When Mr. White came to this country on behalf +of the loyalists, after the surrender, he stated that this was so at a +public meeting, and said further that he had in his possession proofs of +his statements. He even went so far as to name the gentleman he accused, +and to challenge him to deny it. I have not been able to gather that Mr. +White’s statements were contradicted. + +However this may be, after a pause, agitation in the Transvaal suddenly +recommenced with redoubled vigour. It began through a man named +Bezuidenhout, who refused to pay his taxes. Thereupon a waggon was +seized in execution under the authority of the court and put up to +auction, but its sale was prevented by a crowd of rebel Boers, who +kicked the auctioneer off the waggon and dragged the vehicle away. This +was on the 11th November 1880. When this intelligence reached Pretoria, +Sir Owen Lanyon sent down a few companies of the 21st Regiment, under +the command of Major Thornhill, to support the Landdrost in arresting +the rioters, and appointed Captain Raaf, C.M.G., to act as special +messenger to the Landdrost’s Court at Potchefstroom, with authority +to enrol special constables to assist him to carry out the arrests. +On arrival at Potchefstroom Captain Raaf found that, without an armed +force, it was quite impossible to effect any arrest. On the 26th +November Sir Owen Lanyon, realising the gravity of the situation, +telegraphed to Sir George Colley, asking that the 58th Regiment should +be sent back to the Transvaal. Sir George replied that he could ill +spare it on account of “daily expected outbreak of Pondos and possible +appeal for help from Cape Colony,” and that the Government must be +supported by the loyal inhabitants. + +It will be seen that the Boers had, with some astuteness, chosen a very +favourable time to commence operations. The hands of the Cape Government +were full with the Basutu war, so no help could be expected from it. Sir +G. Wolseley had sent away the only cavalry regiment that remained in the +country, and lastly, Sir Owen Lanyon had quite recently allowed a body +of 300 trained volunteers, mostly, if not altogether, drawn from among +the loyalists, to be raised for service in the Basutu war, a serious +drain upon the resources of a country so sparsely populated as the +Transvaal. + +Meanwhile a mass meeting had been convened by the Boers for the 8th +January to consider Mr. Gladstone’s letter, but the Bezuidenhout +incident had the effect of putting forward the date of assembly by a +month, and it was announced that it would be held on the 8th December. +Subsequently the date was shifted to the 15th, and then back again +to the 8th. Every effort was made, by threats of future vengeance, to +secure the presence of as many burghers as possible; attempts were +also made to persuade the native chiefs to send representatives, and to +promise to join in an attack on the English. These entirely failed. The +meeting was held at a place called Paarde Kraal, and resulted in the +sudden declaration of the Republic and the appointment of the famous +triumvirate Kruger, Joubert, and Pretorius. It then moved into +Heidelberg, a little town about sixty miles from Pretoria, and on +the 16th December the Republic was formally proclaimed in a long +proclamation, containing a summary of the events of the few preceding +years, and declaring the arrangements the malcontents were willing to +make with the English authorities. The terms offered in this document +are almost identical with those finally accepted by Her Majesty’s +Government, with the exception that in the proclamation of the 16th +December the Boer leaders declare their willingness to enter into +confederation, and to guide their native policy by general rules adopted +in concurrence “with the Colonies and States of South Africa.” This was +a more liberal offer than that which we ultimately agreed to, but then +the circumstances had changed. + +This proclamation was forwarded to Sir Owen Lanyon with a covering +letter, in which the following words occur:--“We declare in the most +solemn manner that we have no desire to spill blood, and that from our +side we do not wish war. It lies in your hands to force us to appeal +to arms in self-defence. . . . . We expect your answer within twice +twenty-four hours.” + +I beg to direct particular attention to these paragraphs, as they have a +considerable interest in view of what followed. + +The letter and proclamation reached Government House, Pretoria, at +10.30 on the evening of Friday the 17th December. Sir Owen Lanyon’s +proclamation, written in reply, was handed to the messenger at noon on +Sunday, 19th December, or within about thirty-six hours of his arrival, +and could hardly have reached the rebel camp, sixty miles off, before +dawn the next day, the 20th December, on which day, at about one +o’clock, a detachment of the 94th was ambushed and destroyed on the +road between Middelburg and Pretoria, about eighty miles off, by a force +despatched from Heidelburg for that purpose some days before. On the +16th December, or the _same day_ on which the Triumvirate had despatched +the proclamation to Pretoria containing their terms, and expressing in +the most solemn manner that they had no desire to shed blood, a large +Boer force was attacking Potchefstroom. + +So much then for the sincerity of the professions of their desire to +avoid bloodshed. + +The proclamation sent by Sir O. Lanyon in reply recited in its preamble +the various acts of which the rebels had been guilty, including that +of having “wickedly sought to incite the said loyal native inhabitants +throughout the province to take up arms against Her Majesty’s +Government,” announced that matters had now been put into the hands of +the officer commanding Her Majesty’s troops, and promised pardon to all +who would disperse to their homes. + +It was at Potchefstroom, which town had all along been the nursery of +the rebellion, that actual hostilities first broke out. Potchefstroom as +a town is much more Boer in its sympathies than Pretoria, which is, +or rather was, almost purely English. Sir Owen Lanyon had, as stated +before, sent a small body of soldiers thither to support the civil +authorities, and had also appointed Major Clarke, C.M.G., an officer +of noted coolness and ability, to act as Special Commissioner for the +district. + +Major Clarke’s first step was to try, in conjunction with Captain Raaf, +to raise a corps of volunteers, in which he totally failed. Those of the +townsfolk who were not Boers at heart had too many business relations +with the surrounding farmers, and perhaps too little faith in the +stability of English rule after Mr. Gladstone’s utterances, to allow +them to indulge in patriotism. At the time of the outbreak, between +seventy and eighty thousand sterling was owing to firms in Potchefstroom +by neighbouring Boers, a sum amply sufficient to account for their +lukewarmness in the English cause. Subsequent events have shown that the +Potchefstroom shopkeepers were wise in their generation. + +On the 15th December a large number of Boers came into the town and took +possession of the printing-office in order to print the proclamation +already alluded to. Major Clarke made two attempts to enter the office +and see the leaders, but without success. + +On the 16th a Boer patrol fired on some of the mounted infantry, and the +fire was returned. These were the first shots fired during the war, and +they were fired by Boers. Orders were thereupon signalled to Clarke by +Lieutenant-Colonel Winsloe, 21st Regiment, now commanding at the fort +which he afterwards defended so gallantly, that he was to commence +firing. Clarke was in the Landdrost’s office on the Market Square with a +force of about twenty soldiers under Captain Falls and twenty civilians +under Captain Raaf, C.M.G., a position but ill-suited for defensive +purposes, from whence fire was accordingly opened, the Boers taking up +positions in the surrounding houses commanding the office. Shortly after +the commencement of the fighting, Captain Falls was shot dead whilst +talking to Major Clarke, the latter having a narrow escape, a bullet +grazing his head just above the ear. The fighting continued during +the 17th and till the morning of the 18th, when the Boers succeeded in +firing the roof, which was of thatch, by throwing fire-balls on to +it. Major Clarke then addressed the men, telling them that, though +personally he did not care about his own life, he did not see that +they could serve any useful purpose by being burned alive, so he should +surrender, which he did, with a loss of about six killed and wounded. +The camp meanwhile had repulsed with loss the attack made on it, and was +never again directly attacked. + +Whilst these events were in progress at Potchefstroom, a much more awful +tragedy was in preparation on the road between Middelburg and Pretoria. + +On the 23rd November Colonel Bellairs, at the request of Sir Owen +Lanyon, directed a concentration on Pretoria of most of the few soldiers +that there were in the territory, in view of the disturbed condition of +the country. In accordance with these orders, Colonel Anstruther +marched from Lydenburg, a town about 180 miles from Pretoria, on the 5th +December, with the headquarters and two companies of the 94th Regiment, +being a total of 264 men, three women, and two children, and the +disproportionately large train of thirty-four ox-waggons, or an +ox-waggon capable of carrying five thousand pounds’ weight to every +eight persons. And here I may remark that it is this enormous amount of +baggage, without which it appears to be impossible to move the smallest +body of men, that renders infantry regiments almost useless for service +in South Africa except for garrisoning purposes. Both Zulus and Boers +can get over the ground at thrice the pace possible to the unfortunate +soldier, and both races despise them accordingly. The Zulus call our +infantry “pack oxen.” In this particular instance, Colonel Anstruther’s +defeat, or rather, annihilation, is to a very great extent referable to +his enormous baggage train; since, in the first place, had he not lost +valuable days in collecting more waggons, he would have been safe in +Pretoria before danger arose. It must also be acknowledged that his +arrangements on the line of march were somewhat reckless, though it can +hardly be said that he was ignorant of his danger. Thus we find that +Colonel Bellairs wrote to Colonel Anstruther, warning him of the +probability of an attack, and impressing on him the necessity of keeping +a good look-out, the letter being received and acknowledged by the +latter on the 17th December. + +To this warning was added a still more impressive one, that came to +my knowledge privately. A gentleman well known to me received, on the +morning after the troops had passed through the town of Middelburg on +their way to Pretoria, a visit from an old Boer with whom he was on +friendly terms, who had purposely come to tell him that a large patrol +was out to ambush the troops on the Pretoria road. My informant having +convinced himself of the truth of the statement, at once rode after +the soldiers, and catching them up some distance from Middelburg, told +Colonel Anstruther what he had heard, imploring him, he said, with +all the energy he could command, to take better precautions against +surprise. The Colonel, however, laughed at his fears, and told him that +if the Boers came “he would frighten them away with the big drum.” + +At one o’clock on Sunday, the 20th December, the column was marching +along about a mile and a half from a place known as Bronker’s Spruit, +and thirty-eight miles from Pretoria, when suddenly a large number of +mounted Boers were seen in loose formation on the left side of the road. +The band was playing at the time, and the column was extended over more +than half a mile, the rear-guard being about a hundred yards behind +the last waggon. The band stopped playing on seeing the Boers, and the +troops halted, when a man was seen advancing with a white flag, whom +Colonel Anstruther went out to meet, accompanied by Conductor Egerton, +a civilian. They met about one hundred and fifty yards from the column, +and the man gave Colonel Anstruther a letter, which announced the +establishment of the South African Republic, stated that until they +heard Lanyon’s reply to their proclamation they did not know if they +were at war or not; that, consequently, they could not allow any +movements of troops which would be taken as a declaration of war. This +letter was signed by Joubert, one of the Triumvirate. Colonel Anstruther +replied that he was ordered to Pretoria, and to Pretoria he must go. + +Whilst this conference was going on, the Boers, of whom there were +quite five hundred, had gradually closed round the column, and took up +positions behind rocks and trees which afforded them excellent cover, +whilst the troops were on a bare plain, and before Colonel Anstruther +reached his men a murderous fire was poured in upon them from all sides. +The fire was hotly returned by the soldiers. Most of the officers were +struck down by the first volley, having, no doubt, been picked out by +the marksmen. The firing lasted about fifteen minutes, and at the end of +that time seven out of the nine officers were down killed and wounded; +an eighth (Captain Elliot), one of two who escaped untouched, being +reserved for an even more awful fate. The majority of the men were also +down, and had the hail of lead continued much longer it is clear that +nobody would have been left. Colonel Anstruther, who was lying badly +wounded in five places, seeing what a hopeless state affairs were in, +ordered the bugler to sound the cease firing, and surrendered. One of +the three officers who were not much hurt was, most providentially, Dr. +Ward, who had but a slight wound in the thigh; all the others, except +Captain Elliot and one lieutenant, were either killed or died from +the effects of their wounds. There were altogether 56 killed and 101 +wounded, including a woman, Mrs. Fox. Twenty more afterwards died of +their wounds. The Boer loss appears to have been very small. + +After the fight Conductor Egerton, with a sergeant, was allowed to walk +into Pretoria to obtain medical assistance, the Boers refusing to give +him a horse, or even to allow him to use his own. The Boer leader also +left Dr. Ward eighteen men and a few stores for the wounded, with which +he made shift as best he could. Nobody can read this gentleman’s report +without being much impressed with the way in which, though wounded +himself, he got through his terrible task of, without assistance, +attending to the wants of 101 sufferers. Beginning the task at two P.M., +it took him till six the next morning before he had seen the last man. +It is to be hoped that his services have met with some recognition. Dr. +Ward remained near the scene of the massacre with his wounded men till +the declaration of peace, when he brought them down to Maritzburg, +having experienced great difficulty in obtaining food for them during so +many weeks. + +This is a short account of what I must, with reluctance, call a most +cruel and carefully planned massacre. I may mention that a Zulu driver, +who was with the rear-guard, and escaped into Natal, stated that the +Boers shot all the wounded men who formed that body. His statement was +to a certain extent borne out by the evidence of one of the survivors, +who stated that all the bodies found in that part of the field (nearly +three-quarters of a mile away from the head of the column), had a bullet +hole through the head or breast in addition to their other wounds. + +The Administrator in the Transvaal in council thus comments on the +occurrence in an official minute:--“The surrounding and gradual hemming +in under a flag of truce of a force, and the selection of spots from +which to direct their fire, as in the case of the unprovoked attack by +the rebels upon Colonel Anstruther’s force, is a proceeding of which +very few like incidents can be mentioned in the annals of civilised +warfare.” + +The Boer leaders, however, were highly elated at their success, +and celebrated it in a proclamation of which the following is an +extract:--“Inexpressible is the gratitude of the burghers for this +blessing conferred on them. Thankful to the brave General F. Joubert and +his men who have upheld the honour of the Republic on the battlefield. +Bowed down in the dust before Almighty God, who had thus stood by them, +and, with a loss of over a hundred of the enemy, only allowed two of +ours to be killed.” + +In view of the circumstances of the treacherous hemming in and +destruction of this small body of unprepared men, most people would +think this language rather high-flown, not to say blasphemous. + +On the news of this disaster reaching Pretoria, Sir Owen Lanyon issued +a proclamation placing the country under martial law. As the town +was large, straggling, and incapable of defence, all the inhabitants, +amounting to over four thousand souls, were ordered up to camp, where +the best arrangements possible were made for their convenience. In these +quarters they remained for three months, driven from their comfortable +homes, and cheerfully enduring all the hardships, want, and discomforts +consequence on their position, whilst they waited in patience for the +appearance of that relieving column that never came. People in England +hardly understand what these men and women went through because they +chose to remain loyal. Let them suppose that all the inhabitants of an +ordinary English town, with the exception of the class known as poor +people, which can hardly be said to exist in a colony, were at an hour’s +notice ordered--all, the aged, and the sick, delicate women, and tiny +children--to leave their homes to the mercy of the enemy, and crowd up +in a little space under shelter of a fort, with nothing but canvas tents +or sheds to cover them from the fierce summer suns and rains, and the +coarsest rations to feed them; whilst the husbands and brothers were +daily engaged with a cunning and dangerous enemy, and sometimes brought +home wounded or dead. They will, then, have some idea of what was gone +through by the loyal people of Pretoria, in their weak confidence in the +good faith of the English Government. + +The arrangements made for the defence of the town were so ably and +energetically carried out by Sir Owen Lanyon, assisted by the military +officers, that no attack upon it was ever attempted. It seems to me that +the organisation that could provide for the penning up of four thousand +people for months, and carry it out without the occurrence of a single +unpleasantness or expression of discontent, must have had something +remarkable about it. Of course, it would have been impossible without +the most loyal co-operation on the part of those concerned. Indeed, +everybody in the town lent a helping hand; judges served out rations, +members of the Executive inspected nuisances, and so forth. There was +only one instance of “striking;” and then, of all people in the world, +it was the five civil doctors who, thinking it a favourable opportunity +to fleece the Government, combined to demand five guineas a-day each +for their services. I am glad to say that they did not succeed in their +attempt at extortion. + +On the 23d December, the Boer leaders issued a second proclamation in +reply to that of Sir O. Lanyon of the 18th, which is characterised by +an utter absence of regard for the truth, being, in fact, nothing but +a tissue of impudent falsehoods. It accuses Sir O. Lanyon of having +bombarded women and children, of arming natives against the Boers, +and of firing on the Boers without declaring war. Not one of these +accusations has any foundation in fact, as the Boers well knew; but +they also knew that Sir Owen, being shut up in Pretoria, was not in a +position to rebut their charges, which they hoped might, to some extent, +be believed, and create sympathy for them in other parts of the world. +This was the reason for the issue of the proclamation, which well +portrays the character of its framers. + +Life at Pretoria was varied by occasional sorties against the Boer +laagers, situated at different points in the neighbourhood, generally +about six or eight miles from the town. These expeditions were carried +out with considerable success, though with some loss, the heaviest +incurred being when the Boers, having treacherously hoisted the white +flag, opened a heavy fire on the Pretoria forces, as soon as they, +beguiled into confidence, emerged from their cover. In the course of the +war, one in every four of the Pretoria mounted volunteers was killed or +wounded. + +But perhaps the most serious of all the difficulties the Government had +to meet, was that of keeping the natives in check. As has before been +stated they were devotedly attached to our rule, and, during the three +years of its continuance, had undergone what was to them a strange +experience, they had neither been murdered, beaten, or enslaved. +Naturally they were in no hurry to return to the old order of things, in +which murder, flogging, and slavery were events of everyday occurrence. +Nor did the behaviour of the Boers on the outbreak of the war tend +to reconcile them to any such idea. Thus we find that the farmers had +pressed a number of natives from Waterberg into one of their laagers +(Zwart Koppies); two of them tried to run away, a Boer saw them and +shot them both. Again, on the 7th January a native reported to the +authorities at Pretoria that he and some others were returning from the +Diamond Fields driving some sheep. A Boer came and asked them to sell +the sheep. They refused, whereupon he went away, but returning with some +other Dutchmen fired on the Kafirs, killing one. + +On the 2d January information reached Pretoria that on the 26th December +some Boers fired on some natives who were resting outside Potchefstroom +and killed three; the rest fled, whereupon the Boers took the cattle +they had with them. + +On the 11th January some men, who had been sent from Pretoria with +despatches for Standerton, were taken prisoners. Whilst prisoners they +saw ten men returning from the Fields stopped by the Boers and ordered +to come to the laager. They refused and ran away, were fired on, five +being killed and one getting his arm broken. + +These are a few instances of the treatment meted out to the unfortunate +natives, taken at haphazard from the official reports. There are plenty +more of the same nature if anybody cares to read them. + +As soon as the news of the rising reached them, every chief of any +importance sent in to offer aid to Government, and many of them, +especially Montsoia, our old ally in the Keate Award district, took the +loyals of the neighbourhood under their protection. Several took charge +of Government property and cattle during the disturbances, and one +had four or five thousand pounds in gold, the product of a recently +collected tax given him to take care of by the Commissioner of his +district, who was afraid that the money would be seized by the Boers. +In every instance the property entrusted to their charge was returned +intact. The loyalty of all the native chiefs under very trying +circumstances (for the Boers were constantly attempting to cajole or +frighten them into joining them) is a remarkable proof of the great +affection of the Kafirs, more especially those of the Basutu tribes, +who love peace better than war, for the Queen’s rule. The Government of +Pretoria need only have spoken one word, to set an enormous number of +armed men in motion against the Boers, with the most serious results to +the latter. Any other Government in the world would, in its extremity, +have spoken that word, but, fortunately for the Boers, it is against +English principles to set black against white under any circumstances. + +Besides the main garrison at Pretoria there were forts defended by +soldiery and loyals at the following places:--Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, +Lydenburg, Marabastad, and Wakkerstroom, none of which were taken by the +Boers.[*] + + [*] Colonel Winsloe, however, being short of provisions, was + beguiled by the fraudulent representations and acts of the + Boer commander into surrendering the fort at Potchefstroom + during the armistice. + +One of the first acts of the Triumvirate was to despatch a large force +from Heidelberg with orders to advance into Natal Territory, and seize +the pass over the Drakensberg known as Lang’s Nek, so as to dispute the +advance of any relieving column. This movement was promptly executed, +and strong Boer troops patrolled Natal country almost up to Newcastle. + +The news of the outbreak, followed as it was by that of the Bronker’s +Spruit massacre, and Captain Elliot’s murder, created a great excitement +in Natal. All available soldiers were at once despatched up country, +together with a naval brigade, who, on arrival at Newcastle, brought up +the strength of the Imperial troops of all arms to about a thousand men. +On the 10th January Sir George Colley left Maritzburg to join the force +at Newcastle, but at this time nobody dreamt that he meant to attack the +Nek with such an insignificant column. It was known that the loyals +and troops who were shut up in the various towns in the Transvaal +had sufficient provisions to last for some months, and that there was +therefore nothing to necessitate a forlorn hope. Indeed the possibility +of Sir George Colley attempting to enter the Transvaal was not even +speculated upon until just before his advance, it being generally +considered as out of the question. + +The best illustration I can give of the feeling that existed about the +matter is to quote my own case. I had been so unfortunate as to land in +Natal with my wife and servants just as the Transvaal troubles began, +my intention being to proceed to a place I had near Newcastle. For some +weeks I remained in Maritzburg, but finding that the troops were to +concentrate on Newcastle, and being besides heartily wearied of the +great expense and discomfort of hotel life in that town, I determined +to go on up country, looking on it as being as safe as any place in the +Colony. Of course the possibility of Sir George attacking the Nek before +the arrival of the reinforcements did not enter into my calculations, as +I thought it a venture that no sensible man would undertake. On the day +of my start, however, there was a rumour about the town that the General +was going to attack the Boer position. Though I did not believe it, +I thought it as well to go and ask the Colonial Secretary, Colonel +Mitchell, privately, if there was any truth in it, adding that if +there was, as I had a pretty intimate knowledge of the Boers and their +shooting powers, and what the inevitable result of such a move would be, +I should certainly prefer, as I had ladies with me, to remain where I +was. Colonel Mitchell told me frankly that he knew no more about Sir +George’s plans than I did; but he added I might be sure that so able and +prudent a soldier would not do anything rash. His remark concurred with +my own opinion; so I started, and on arrival at Newcastle a week later +was met by the intelligence that Sir George had advanced that morning to +attack the Nek. To return was almost impossible, since both horses +and travellers were pretty nearly knocked up. Also, anybody who has +travelled with his family in summer-time over the awful track of +alternate slough and boulders between Maritzburg and Newcastle, known in +the Colony as a road, will understand, that at the time, the adventurous +voyagers would far rather risk being shot than face a return journey. + +The only thing to do under the circumstances was to await the course +of events, which were now about to develop themselves with startling +rapidity. The little town of Newcastle was at this time an odd sight, +and remained so all through the war. The hotels were crowded to +overflowing with refugees, and on every spare patch of land were erected +tents, mud huts, canvas houses, and every kind of covering that could +be utilised under the pressure of necessity, to house the many homeless +families who had succeeded in effecting their escape from the Transvaal, +many of whom were reduced to great straits. + +On the morning of the 28th January, anybody listening attentively in the +neighbourhood of Newcastle could hear the distant boom of heavy guns. We +were not kept long in suspense, for in the afternoon news arrived +that Sir George had attacked the Nek, and failed with heavy loss. +The excitement in the town was intense, for, in addition to other +considerations, the 58th Regiment, which had suffered most, had been +quartered there for some time, and both the officers and men were +personally known to the inhabitants. + +The story of the fight is well known, and needs little repetition, and a +sad story it is. The Boers, who at that time were some 2000 strong, were +posted and entrenched on steep hills, against which Sir George Colley +hurled a few hundred soldiers. It was a forlorn hope, but so gallant +was the charge, especially that of the mounted squadron led by Major +Bronlow, that at one time it nearly succeeded. But nothing could stand +under the withering fire from the Boer schanses, and as regards the foot +soldiers, they never had a chance. Colonel Deane tried to take them up +the hill with a rush, with the result that by the time they reached the +top, some of the men were actually sick from exhaustion, and none could +hold a rifle steady. There on the bare hill-top, they crouched and lay, +while the pitiless fire from redoubt and rock lashed them like hail, +till at last human nature could bear it no longer, and what was left of +them retired slowly down the slope. But for many, that gallant charge +was their last earthly action. As they charged they fell, and where they +fell they were afterwards buried. The casualties, killed and wounded, +amounted to 195, which, considering the small number of troops engaged +in the actual attack, is enormously heavy, and shows more plainly than +words can tell, the desperate nature of the undertaking. Amongst the +killed were Colonel Deane, Major Poole, Major Hingeston, and Lieutenant +Elwes. Major Essex was the only staff officer engaged who escaped, +the same officer who was one of the fortunate four who lived through +Isandhlwana. On this occasion his usual good fortune attended him, +for though his horse was killed and his helmet knocked off, he was not +touched. The Boer loss was very trivial. + +Sir George Colley, in his admirably lucid despatch about this occurrence +addressed to the Secretary of State for War, does not enter much into +the question as to the motives that prompted him to attack, simply +stating that his object was to relieve the besieged towns. He does not +appear to have taken into consideration, what was obvious to anybody who +knew the country and the Boers, that even if he had succeeded in forcing +the Nek, in itself almost an impossibility, he could never have operated +with any success in the Transvaal with so small a column, without +cavalry, and with an enormous train of waggons. He would have been +harassed day and night by the Boer skirmishers, his supplies cut off, +and his advance made practically impossible. Also the Nek would have +been re-occupied behind him, since he could not have detached sufficient +men to hold it, and in all probability Newcastle, his base of supplies, +would have fallen into the hands of the enemy. + +The moral effect of our defeat on the Boers was very great. Up to this +time there had been many secret doubts amongst a large section of them +as to what the upshot of an encounter with the troops might be; and with +this party, in the same way that defeat, or even the anxiety of waiting +to be attacked, would have turned the scale one way, victory turned it +the other. It gave them unbounded confidence in their own superiority, +and infused a spirit of cohesion and mutual reliance into their ranks +which had before been wanting. Waverers wavered no longer, but gave a +loyal adherence to the good cause, and, what was still more acceptable, +large numbers of volunteers,--whatever President Brand may say to the +contrary,--poured in from the Orange Free State. + +What Sir George Colley’s motive was in making so rash a move is, of +course, quite inexplicable to the outside observer. It was said at the +time in Natal that he was a man with a theory: namely, that small bodies +of men properly handled were as useful and as likely to obtain the +object in view as a large force. Whether or no this was so, I am not +prepared to say; but it is undoubtedly the case that very clever men +have sometimes very odd theories, and it may be that he was a striking +instance in point. + +For some days after the battle at Lang’s Nek affairs were quiet, and +it was hoped that they would remain so till the arrival of the +reinforcements, which were on their way out. The hope proved a vain +one. On the 7th February it was reported that the escort proceeding +from Newcastle to the General’s camp with the post, a distance of about +eighteen miles, had been fired on and forced to return. + +On the 8th, about mid-day, we were all startled by the sound of +fighting, proceeding apparently from a hill known as Scheins Hoogte, +about ten miles from Newcastle. It was not know that the General +contemplated any move, and everybody was entirely at a loss to know what +was going on, the general idea being, however, that the camp near Lang’s +Nek had been abandoned, and that Sir George was retiring on Newcastle. + +The firing grew hotter and hotter, till at last it was perfectly +continuous, the cannon evidently being discharged as quickly as they +could be loaded, whilst their dull booming was accompanied by the +unceasing crash and roll of the musketry. Towards three o’clock the +firing slackened, and we thought it was all over, one way or the other, +but about five o’clock it broke out again with increased vigour. At dusk +it finally ceased. About this time some Kafirs came to my house and told +us that an English force was hemmed in on a hill this side of the +Ingogo River, that they were fighting bravely, but that “their arms were +tired,” adding that they thought they would be all killed at night. + +Needless to say we spent that night with heavy hearts, expecting every +minute to hear the firing begin again, and ignorant of what fate had +befallen our poor soldiers on the hill. Morning put an end to our +suspense, and we then learnt that we had suffered what, under the +circumstances, amounted to a crushing defeat. It appears that Sir George +had moved out with a force of five companies of the 60th Regiment, two +guns, and a few mounted men, to, in his own words, “patrol the road, +and meet and escort some waggons expected from Newcastle.” As soon as +he passed the Ingogo he was surrounded by a body of Boers sent after him +from Lang’s Nek, on a small triangular plateau, and sharply assailed +on all sides. With a break of about two hours, from three to five, the +assault was kept up till nightfall, with very bad results so far as we +were concerned, seeing that out of a body of about 500 men, over 150 +were killed and wounded. The reinforcements sent for from the camp +apparently did not come into action. For some unexplained reason the +Boers did not follow up their attack that night, perhaps because they +did not think it possible that our troops could effect their escape back +to the camp, and considered that the next morning would be soon enough +to return and finish the business. The General, however, determined to +get back, and scratch teams of such mules, riding-horses, and oxen as +had lived through the day being harnessed to the guns, the dispirited +and exhausted survivors of the force managed to ford the Ingogo, now +swollen by rain which had fallen in the afternoon, poor Lieutenant +Wilkinson, the Adjutant of the 60th, losing his life in the operation, +and to struggle through the dense darkness back to camp. + +On the hill-top they had lately held, the dead lay thick. There, too, +exposed to the driving rain and bitter wind lay the wounded, many of +whom would be dead before the rising of the morrow’s sun. It must, +indeed, have been a sight never to be forgotten by those who saw it. The +night--I remember well--was cold and rainy, the great expanses of hill +and plain being sometimes lit by the broken gleams of an uncertain moon, +and sometimes plunged into intensest darkness by the passing of a heavy +cloud. Now and again flashes of lightning threw every crag and outline +into vivid relief, and the deep muttering of distant thunder made the +wild gloom more solemn. Then a gust of icy wind would come tearing down +the valleys to be followed by a pelting thunder shower--and thus the +night wore away. + +When one reflects what discomfort, and even danger, an ordinary healthy +person would suffer if left after a hard day’s work to lie all night in +the rain and wind on the top of a stony mountain, without food, or +even water to assuage his thirst, it becomes to some degree possible to +realise what the sufferings of our wounded after the battle of Ingogo +must have been. Those who survived were next day taken to the hospital +at Newcastle. + +What Sir George Colley’s real object was in exposing himself to the +attack has never transpired. It can hardly have been to clear the road, +as he says in his despatch, because the road was not held by the enemy, +but only visited occasionally by their patrols. The result of the battle +was to make the Boers, whose losses were trifling, more confident than +ever, and to greatly depress our soldiers. Sir George had now lost +between three and four hundred men, out of his column of little over +a thousand, which was thereby entirely crippled. Of his staff Officers +Major Essex now alone survived, his usual good fortune having carried +him safe through the battle of Ingogo. What makes his repeated escapes +the more remarkable is that he was generally to be found in the heaviest +firing. A man so fortunate as Major Essex ought to be rewarded for his +good fortune if for no other reason, though, if reports are true, +there would be no need to fall back on that to find grounds on which to +advance a soldier who has always borne himself so well. + +Another result of the Ingogo battle was that the Boers, knowing that we +had no force to cut them off, and always secure of a retreat into +the Free State, passed round Newcastle in Free State Territory, and +descended from fifteen hundred to two thousand strong into Natal for the +purpose of destroying the reinforcements which were now on their way up +under General Wood. This was on the 11th of February, and from that date +till the 18th, the upper districts of Natal were in the hands of the +enemy, who cut the telegraph wires, looted waggons, stole herds of +cattle and horses, and otherwise amused themselves at the expense of Her +Majesty’s subjects in Natal. + +It was a very anxious time for those who knew what Boers are capable of, +and had women and children to protect, and who were never sure if their +houses would be left standing over their heads from one day to another. + +Every night we were obliged to place out Kafirs as scouts to give us +timely warning of the approach of marauding parties, and to sleep with +loaded rifles close to our hands, and sometimes, when things looked very +black, in our clothes, with horses ready saddled in the stable. Nor were +our fears groundless, for one day a patrol of some five hundred Boers +encamped on the next place, which by the way belonged to a Dutchman, +and stole all the stock on it, the property of an Englishman. They also +intercepted a train of waggons, destroyed the contents, and burnt them. +Numerous were the false alarms it was our evil fortune to experience. +For instance, one night I was sitting in the drawing-room reading, about +eleven o’clock, with a door leading on to the verandah slightly ajar, +for the night was warm, when suddenly I heard myself called by name in +a muffled voice, and asked if the place was in the possession of the +Boers. Looking towards the door I saw a full-cocked revolver coming +round the corner, and on opening it in some alarm, I could indistinctly +discern a line of armed figures in a crouching attitude stretching along +the verandah into the garden beyond. It turned out to be a patrol of +the mounted police, who had received information that a large number of +Boers had seized the place and had come to ascertain the truth of the +report. As we gathered from them that the Boers were certainly near, we +did not pass a very comfortable night. + +Meanwhile, we were daily expecting to hear that the troops had been +attacked along the line of march, and knowing the nature of the country +and the many opportunities it affords for ambuscading and destroying one +of our straggling columns encumbered with innumerable waggons, we had +the worst fears for the result. At length a report reached us to the +effect that the reinforcements were expected on the morrow, and that +they were not going to cross the Ingagaan at the ordinary drift, which +was much commanded by hills, but at a lower drift on our own place, +about three miles from Newcastle, which was only slightly commanded. We +also heard that it was the intention of the Boers to attack them at this +point and to fall back on my house and the hills beyond. Accordingly, we +thought it about time to retreat, and securing a few valuables such as +plate, we made our way into the town, leaving the house and its contents +to take their chance. At Newcastle an attack was daily expected, if for +no other reason, to obtain possession of the stores collected there. + +The defences of the place were, however, in a wretched condition, +no proper outlook was kept, and there was an utter want of effective +organisation. The military element at the camp had enough to do to look +after itself, and did not concern itself with the safety of the town; +and the mounted police--a Colonial force paid by the Colony--had been +withdrawn from the little forts round Newcastle, as the General wanted +them for other purposes, and a message sent that the town must defend +its own forts. There were, it is true, a large number of able-bodied men +in the place who were willing to fight, but they had no organisation. +The very laager was not finished until the danger was past. + +Then there was a large party who were for surrendering the town to the +Boers, because if they fought it might afterwards injure their trade. +With this section of the population the feeling of patriotism was +strong, no doubt, but that of pocket was stronger. I am convinced that +the Boers would have found the capture of Newcastle an easy task, and I +confess that what I then saw did not inspire me with great hopes of the +safety of the Colony when it gets responsible government, and has to +depend for protection on burgher forces. Colonial volunteer forces are, +I think, as good troops as any in the world; but an unorganised colonial +mob, pulled this way and that by different sentiments and interests, +is as useless as any other mob, with the difference that it is more +impatient of control. + +For some unknown reason the Boer leaders providentially changed their +minds about attacking the reinforcements, and their men were withdrawn +to the Nek as swiftly and silently as they had been advanced, and on +the 17th February the reinforcements marched into Newcastle to the very +great relief of the inhabitants, who had been equally anxious for their +own safety and that of the troops. Personally, I was never in my life +more pleased to see Her Majesty’s uniform; and we were equally rejoiced +on returning home to find that nothing had been injured. After this we +had quiet for a while. + +On the 21st February, we heard that two fresh regiments had been sent up +to the camp at Lang’s Nek, and that General Wood had been ordered down +country by Sir George Colley to bring up more reinforcements. This item +of news caused much surprise, as nobody could understand, why, now that +the road was clear, and that there was little chance of its being again +blocked, a General should be sent down to do work, which could, to all +appearance, have been equally well done by the Officers in command +of the reinforcing regiments, with the assistance of their transport +riders. It was, however, understood that an agreement had been entered +into between the two Generals, that no offensive operations should be +undertaken till Wood returned. + +With the exception of occasional scares, there was no further excitement +till Sunday the 27th February, when, whilst sitting on the verandah +after lunch, I thought I heard the sound of distant artillery. Others +present differed with me, thinking the sound was caused by thunder, but +as I adhered to my opinion, we determined to ride into town and see. +On arrival there, we found the place full of rumours, from which we +gathered that some fresh disaster had occurred: and that messages were +pouring down the wires from Mount Prospect camp. We then went on to +camp, thinking that we should learn more there, but they knew nothing +about it, several officers asking us what new “shave” we had got hold +of. A considerable number of troops had been marched from Newcastle that +morning to go to Mount Prospect, but when it was realised that something +had occurred, they were stopped, and marched back again. Bit by bit we +managed to gather the truth. At first we heard that our men had made a +most gallant resistance on the hill, mowing down the advancing enemy by +hundreds, till at last, their ammunition failing, they fought with +their bayonets, using stones and meat tins as missiles. I wish that our +subsequent information had been to the same effect. + +It appears that on the evening of the 26th, Sir George Colley, after +mess, suddenly gave orders for a force of a little over six hundred men, +consisting of detachments from no less than three different regiments, +the 58th, 60th, 92d, and the Naval Brigade, to be got ready for an +expedition, without revealing his plans to anybody, until late in the +afternoon: and then without more ado, marched them up to the top of +Majuba--a great square-topped mountain to the right of, and commanding +the Boer position at Lang’s Nek. The troops reached the top about three +in the morning, after a somewhat exhausting climb, and were stationed at +different points of the plateau in a scientific way. Whilst the darkness +lasted, they could, by the glittering of the watch-fires, trace from +this point of vantage the position of the Boer laagers that lay 2000 +yards beneath them, whilst the dawn of day revealed every detail of the +defensive works, and showed the country lying at their feet like a map. + +On arrival at the top, it was represented to the General that a rough +entrenchment should be thrown up, but he would not allow it to be done +on account of the men being wearied with their marching up. This was a +fatal mistake. Behind an entrenchment, however slight, one would think +that 600 English soldiers might have defied the whole Boer army, and +much more the 200 or 300 men by whom they were hunted down Majuba. It +appears that about 10.15 A.M. Colonel Steward and Major Fraser +again went to General Colley “to arrange to start the sailors on an +entrenchment” . . . “Finding the ground so exposed, the General did not +give orders to entrench.” + +As soon as the Boers found out that the hill was in the occupation of +the English, their first idea was to leave the Nek, and they began +to inspan with that object, but discovering that there were no guns +commanding them, they changed their mind, and set to work to storm the +hill instead. As far as I have been able to gather, the number of Boers +who took the mountain was about 300, or possibly 400; I do not think +there were more than that. The Boers themselves declare solemnly that +they were only 100 strong, but this I do not believe. They slowly +advanced up the hill till about 11.30, when the real attack began, +the Dutchmen coming on more rapidly and confidently, and shooting with +ever-increasing accuracy, as they found our fire quite ineffective. + +About a quarter to one, our men retreated to the last ridge, and General +Colley was shot through the head. After this, the retreat became a rout, +and the soldiers rushed pell-mell down the precipitous sides of the +hill, the Boers knocking them over by the score as they went, till they +were out of range. A few were also, I heard, killed by the shells from +the guns that were advanced from the camp to cover the retreat, but as +this does not appear in the reports, perhaps it is not true. Our loss +was about 200 killed and wounded, including Sir George Colley, Drs. +Landon and Cornish, and Commander Romilly, who was shot with an +explosive bullet, and died after some days’ suffering. When the wounded +Commander was being carried to a more sheltered spot, it was with great +difficulty that the Boers were prevented from massacring him as he lay, +they being under the impression that he was Sir Garnet Wolseley. As was +the case at Ingogo, the wounded were left on the battlefield all night +in very inclement weather, to which some of them succumbed. It is +worthy of note that after the fight was over, they were treated with +considerable kindness by the Boers. + +Not being a soldier, of course I cannot venture to give any military +reasons as to how it was, that what was after all a considerable force, +was so easily driven from a position of great natural strength; but +I think I may, without presumption, state my opinion was to the real +cause, which was the villanous shooting of the British soldier. Though +the troops did not, as was said at the time, run short of ammunition, +it is clear that they fired away a great many rounds at men who, in +storming the hill, must necessarily have exposed themselves more or +less, of whom they managed to hit--certainly not more than six or +seven,--which was the outside of the Boer casualties. From this it is +clear that they can neither judge distance nor hit a moving object, nor +did they probably know that when shooting down hill it is necessary to +aim low. Such shooting as the English soldier is capable of may be +very well when he has an army to aim at, but it is useless in guerilla +warfare against a foe skilled in the use of the rifle and the art of +taking shelter. + +A couple of months after the storming of Majuba, I, together with a +friend, had a conversation with a Boer, a volunteer from the Free State +in the late war, and one of the detachment that stormed Majuba, who gave +us a circumstantial account of the attack with the greatest willingness. +He said that when it was discovered that the English had possession +of the mountain, they thought that the game was up, but after a while +bolder counsels prevailed, and volunteers were called for to storm the +hill. Only seventy men could be found to perform the duty, of whom he +was one. They started up the mountain in fear and trembling, but soon +found that every shot passed over their heads, and went on with greater +boldness. Only three men, he declared, were hit on the Boer side; +one was killed, one was hit in the arm, and he himself was the third, +getting his face grazed by a bullet, of which he showed us the scar. He +stated that the first to reach the top ridge was a boy of twelve, and +that as soon as the troops saw them they fled, when, he said, he paid +them out for having nearly killed him, knocking them over one after +another “like bucks” as they ran down the hill, adding that it was +“alter lecker” (very nice). He asked us how many men we had lost during +the war, and when we told him about seven hundred killed and wounded, +laughed in our faces, saying he knew that our dead amounted to several +thousands. On our assuring him that this was not the case, he replied, +“Well, don’t let’s talk of it any more, because we are good friends now, +and if we go on you will lie, and I shall lie, and then we shall +get angry. The war is over now, and I don’t want to quarrel with the +English; if one of them takes off his hat to me I always acknowledge +it.” He did not mean any harm in talking thus; it is what Englishmen +have to put up with now in South Africa; the Boers have beaten us, and +act accordingly. + +This man also told us that the majority of the rifles they picked up +were sighted for 400 yards, whereas the latter part of the fighting had +been carried on within 200. + +Sir George Colley’s death was much lamented in the Colony, where he was +deservedly popular; indeed, anybody who had the honour of knowing that +kind-hearted gentleman, could not do otherwise than deeply regret his +untimely end. What his motive was in occupying Majuba in the way he did, +has never, so far as I am aware, transpired. The move, in itself, would +have been an excellent one, had it been made in force, or accompanied +by a direct attack on the Nek--but, as undertaken, seems to have been +objectless. There were, of course, many rumours as to the motives that +prompted his action, of which the most probable seems to be that, being +aware of what the Home Government intended to do with reference to the +Transvaal, he determined to strike a blow to try and establish British +Supremacy first, knowing how mischievous any apparent surrender would +be. Whatever his faults may have been as a General, he was a brave man, +and had the honour of his country much at heart. + +It was also said by soldiers who saw him the night the troops marched +up Majuba, that the General was “not himself,” and it was hinted that +continual anxiety and the chagrin of failure had told upon his mind. As +against this, however, must be set the fact that his telegrams to the +Secretary of State for War, the last of which he must have despatched +only about half-an-hour before he was shot, are cool and collected, +and written in the same unconcerned tone,--as though he were a +critical spectator of an interesting scene--that characterises all his +communications, more especially his despatches. They at any rate give no +evidence of shaken nerve or unduly excited brain, nor can I see that +any action of his with reference to the occupation of Majuba is out of +keeping with the details of his generalship upon other occasions. He was +always confident to rashness, and possessed by the idea that every +man in the ranks was full of as high a spirit, and as brave as he was +himself. Indeed most people will think, that so far from its being a +rasher action, the occupation of Majuba, bad generalship as it seems, +was a wiser move than either the attack on the Nek or the Ingogo fiasco. + +But at the best, all his movements are difficult to be understand by +a civilian, though they may, for ought we know, have been part of an +elaborate plan, perfected in accordance with the rules of military +science, of which, it is said, he was a great student. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE RETROCESSION OF THE TRANSVAAL + +_The Queen’s Speech--President Brand and Lord Kimberley--Sir Henry de +Villiers--Sir George Colley’s plan--Paul Kruger’s offer--Sir George +Colley’s remonstrance--Complimentary telegrams--Effect of Majuba on the +Boers and English Government--Collapse of the Government--Reasons of +the Surrender--Professional sentimentalists--The Transvaal Independence +Committee--Conclusion of the armistice--The preliminary peace--Reception +of the news in Natal--Newcastle after the declaration of peace--Exodus +of the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal--The value of property in +Pretoria--The Transvaal officials dismissed--The Royal Commission--Mode +of trial of persons accused of atrocities--Decision of the Commission +and its results--The severance of territory question--Arguments _pro_ +and _con_--Opinion of Sir E. Wood--Humility of the Commissioners and +its cause--Their decision on the Keate award question--The Montsoia +difficulty--The compensation and financial clauses of the report of the +Commission--The duties of the British Resident--Sir E. Wood’s dissent +from the report of the Commission--Signing of the Convention--Burial of +the Union Jack--The native side of the question--Interview between +the Commissioners and the native chiefs--Their opinion of the +surrender--Objections of the Boer Volksraad to the Convention--Mr. +Gladstone temporises--The ratification--Its insolent tone--Mr. +Hudson, the British Resident--The Boer festival--The results of +the Convention--The larger issue of the matter--Its effect on the +Transvaal--Its moral aspects--Its effect on the native mind._ + +When Parliament met in January 1881, the Government announced, through +the mediumship of the Queen’s Speech, that it was their intention to +vindicate Her Majesty’s authority in the Transvaal. I have already +briefly described the somewhat unfortunate attempts to gain this end by +force of arms: and I now propose to follow the course of the diplomatic +negotiations entered into by the Ministry with the same object. + +As soon as the hostilities in the Transvaal took a positive form, +causing great dismay among the Home authorities, whose paths, as we all +know, are the paths of peace--at any price; and whilst, in the first +confusion of calamity, they knew not where to turn, President Brand +stepped upon the scene in the character of “Our Mutual Friend,” and, by +the Government at any rate, was rapturously welcomed. + +This gentleman has for many years been at the head of the Government of +the Orange Free State, whose fortunes he had directed with considerable +ability. He is a man of natural talent and kind-hearted disposition, and +has the advancement of the Boer cause in South Africa much at heart. The +rising in the Transvaal was an event that gave him a great and threefold +opportunity: first, of interfering with the genuinely benevolent object +of checking bloodshed; secondly, of advancing the Dutch cause throughout +South Africa under the cloak of amiable neutrality, and striking a +dangerous blow at British supremacy over the Dutch and British prestige +with the natives; and, thirdly, of putting the English Government under +a lasting obligation to him. Of this opportunity he has availed himself +to the utmost in each particular. + +So soon as things began to look serious, Mr. Brand put himself into +active telegraphic communication with the various British authorities +with the view of preventing bloodshed by inducing the English Government +to accede to the Boer demands. He was also earnest in his declarations +that the Free State was not supporting the Transvaal; which, considering +that it was practically the insurgent base of supplies, where they had +retired their women, children, and cattle, and that it furnished them +with a large number of volunteers, was perhaps straining the truth. + +About this time also we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing to Mr. Brand +that “if _only_ the Transvaal Boers will desist from armed opposition to +the Queen’s authority,” he thinks some arrangement might be made. This +is the first indication made public of what was passing in the minds +of Her Majesty’s Government, on whom its radical supporters were now +beginning to put the screw, to induce or threaten them into submitting +to the Boer demands. + +Again, on the 11th January, the President telegraphed to Lord Kimberley +through the Orange Free State Consul in London, suggesting that Sir +H. de Villiers, the Chief Justice at the Cape, should be appointed a +Commissioner to go to the Transvaal to settle matters. Oddly enough, +about the same time the same proposition emanated from the Dutch party +in the Cape Colony, headed by Mr. Hofmeyer, a coincidence that inclines +one to the opinion that these friends of the Boers had some further +reason for thus urging Sir Henry de Villiers’ appointment as +Commissioner beyond his apparent fitness for the post, of which his +high reputation as a lawyer and in his private capacity was a sufficient +guarantee. + +The explanation is not hard to find, the fact being that, rightly or +wrongly, Sir Henry de Villiers, who is himself of Dutch descent, is +noted throughout South Africa for his sympathies with the Boer cause, +and both President Brand and the Dutch party in the Cape shrewdly +suspected, that, if the settling of differences were left to his +discretion, the Boers and their interests would receive very gentle +handling. The course of action adopted by him, when he became a member +of the Royal Commission, went far to support this view, for it will be +noticed in the Report of the Commissioners that in every single point he +appears to have taken the Boer side of the contention. Indeed so blind +was he to their faults, that he would not even admit that the horrible +Potchefstroom murders and atrocities, which are condemned both by Sir H. +Robinson and Sir Evelyn Wood in language as strong as the formal terms +of a report will allow, were acts contrary to the rules of civilised +warfare. If those acts had been perpetrated by Englishmen on Boers, or +even on natives, I venture to think Sir Henry de Villiers would have +looked at them in a very different light. + +In the same telegram in which President Brand recommends the appointment +of Sir Henry de Villiers, he states that the allegations made by the +Triumvirate in the proclamation in which they accused Sir Owen Lanyon +of committing various atrocities, deserve to be investigated, as they +maintain that the collision was commenced by the authorities. Nobody +knew better than Mr. Brand that any English official would be quite +incapable of the conduct ascribed to Sir Owen Lanyon, whilst, even +if the collision had been commenced by the authorities, which as it +happened it was not, they would under the circumstances have been amply +justified in so commencing it. This remark by President Brand in his +telegram was merely an attempt to throw an air of probability over a +series of slanderous falsehoods. + +Messages of this nature continued to pour along the wires from day +to day, but the tone of those from the Colonial Office grew gradually +humbler; thus we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing on the 8th February, +that if the Boers would desist from armed opposition all reasonable +guarantees would be given as to their treatment after submission, and +that a scheme would be framed for the “permanent friendly settlement of +difficulties.” It will be seen that the Government had already begun +to water the meaning of their declaration that they would vindicate Her +Majesty’s authority. No doubt Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Courtney, and their +followers, had given another turn to the Radical screw. + +It is, however, clear that at this time no idea of the real aims of the +Government had entered into the mind of Sir George Colley, since on the +7th February he telegraphed home a plan which he proposed to adopt on +entering the Transvaal, which included a suggestion that he should grant +a complete amnesty only to those Boers who would sign a declaration of +loyalty. + +In answer to this he was ordered to do nothing of the sort, but to +promise protection to everybody and refer everything home. + +Then came the battle of Ingogo, which checked for the time the flow of +telegrams, or rather varied their nature, for those despatched during +the next few days deal with the question of reinforcements. On the 13th +February, however, negotiations were reopened by Paul Kruger, one of +the Triumvirate, who offered, if all the troops were ordered to withdraw +from the Transvaal to give them a free passage through the Nek, to +disperse the Boers and to consent to the appointment of a Commission. + +The offer was jumped at by Lord Kimberley, who, without making reference +to the question of withdrawing the soldiers, offered, if only the Boers +would disperse, to appoint a Commission with extensive powers to develop +the “permanent friendly settlement” scheme. The telegram ends thus: +“Add, that if this proposal is accepted, you now are authorised to agree +to suspension of hostilities on our part.” This message was sent to +General Wood, because the Boers had stopped the communications with +Colley. On the 19th, Sir George Colley replies in these words, which +show his astonishment at the policy adopted by the Home Government, and +which, in the opinion of most people, redound to his credit-- + +“Latter part of your telegram to Wood not understood. There can be no +hostilities if no resistance is made, but am I to leave Lang’s Nek in +Natal territory in Boer occupation, and our garrisons isolated and short +of provisions, or occupy former and relieve latter?” Lord Kimberley +hastens to reply that the garrisons must be left free to provision +themselves, “but we do not mean that you should march to the relief of +garrisons or occupy Lang’s Nek, if an arrangement proceeds.” + +It will be seen that the definition of what vindication of Her Majesty’s +authority consisted grew broader and broader; it now included the right +of the Boers to continue to occupy their positions in the Colony of +Natal. + +Meanwhile the daily fire of complimentary messages was being kept up +between President Brand and Lord Kimberley, who alternatively gave +“sincere thanks to Lord Kimberley” and “fully appreciated the friendly +spirit” of President Brand, till on the 21st February the latter +telegraphs through Colley: “Hope of amicable settlement by negotiation, +but this will be greatly facilitated if somebody on spot and friendly +disposed to both, could by personal communication with both endeavour +to smooth difficulties. Offers his services to Her Majesty’s Government, +and Kruger and Pretorius and Joubert are willing.” Needless to say his +services were accepted. + +Presently, however, on 27th February, Sir George Colley made his last +move, and took possession of Majuba. His defeat and death had the effect +of causing another temporary check in the peace negotiations, whilst Sir +Frederick Roberts with ample reinforcements was despatched to Natal. +It had the further effect of increasing the haughtiness of the Boer +leaders, and infusing a corresponding spirit of pliability or generosity +into the negotiations of Her Majesty’s Government. + +Thus on 2d March, the Boers, through President Brand and Sir Evelyn +Wood, inform the Secretary of State for the Colonies, that they are +willing to negotiate, but decline to submit or cease opposition. Sir +Evelyn Wood, who evidently did not at all like the line of policy +adopted by the Government, telegraphed that he thought the best thing +to do would be for him to engage the Boers, and disperse them _vi et +armis_, without any guarantees, “considering the disasters we have +sustained,” and that he should, “if absolutely necessary,” be empowered +to promise life and property to the leaders, but that they should be +banished from the country. In answer to this telegram, Lord Kimberley +informs him that Her Majesty’s Government will amnesty _everybody_ +except those who have committed acts contrary to the rules of civilised +warfare, and that they will agree to anything, and appoint a Commission +to carry out the details, and “be ready for friendly communications with +_any persons_ appointed by the Boers.” + +Thus was Her Majesty’s authority finally re-established in the +Transvaal. + +It was not a very grand climax, nor the kind of arrangement to which +Englishmen are accustomed, but perhaps, considering the circumstances, +and the well-known predilections of those who made the settlement, it +was as much as could be expected. + +The action of the Government must not be considered, as though they were +unfettered in their judgment; it can never be supposed that they acted +as they did, because they thought such action right or even wise, +for that would be to set them down as men of a very low order of +intelligence, which they certainly are not. + +It is clear that no set of sensible men, who had after much +consideration given their decision that under all the circumstances, +the Transvaal must remain British territory, and who, on a revolt +subsequently breaking out in that territory, had declared that Her +Majesty’s rule must be upheld, would have, putting aside all +other circumstances, deliberately stultified themselves by almost +unconditionally, and of their own free will, abandoning the country, +and all Her Majesty’s subjects living in it. That would be to pay a +poor tribute to their understanding, since it is clear that if reasons +existed for retaining the Transvaal before the war, as they were +satisfied there did, those reasons would exist with still greater force +after a war had been undertaken and three crushing defeats sustained, +which if left unavenged must, as they knew, have a most disastrous +effect on our prestige throughout the South African continent. + +I prefer to believe that the Government was coerced into acting as +it did by Radical pressure, both from outside, and from its immediate +supporters in the House, and that it had to choose between making an +unconventional surrender in the Transvaal and losing the support of +a very powerful party. Under these circumstances it, being Liberal in +politics, naturally followed its instincts, and chose surrender. + +If such a policy was bad in itself, and necessarily mischievous in its +consequences, so much the worse for those who suffered by it; it was +clear that the Government could not be expected to lose votes in order +to forward the true interests of countries so far off as the South +African Colonies, which had had the misfortune to be made a party +question of, and must take the consequences. + +There is no doubt that the interest brought to bear on the Government +was very considerable, for not only had they to deal with their own +supporters, and with the shadowy caucus that was ready to let the lash +of its displeasure descend even on the august person of Mr. Gladstone, +should he show signs of letting slip so rich an opportunity for the +vindication of the holiest principles of advanced Radicalism, but +also with the hydra-headed crowd of visionaries and professional +sentimentalists who swarm in this country, and who are always ready +to take up any cause, from that of Jumbo, or of a murderer, to that of +oppressed peoples, such as the Bulgarians, or the Transvaal Boers. + +These gentlemen, burning with zeal, and filled with that confidence +which proverbially results from the hasty assimilation of imperfect +and erroneous information, found in the Transvaal question a great +opportunity of making a noise: and--as in a disturbed farmyard the bray +of the domestic donkey, ringing loud and clear among the utterances of +more intelligent animals, overwhelms and extinguishes them--so, and +with like effect, amongst the confused sound of various English +opinions about the Boer rising, rose the trumpet-note of the Transvaal +Independence Committee and its supporters. + +As we have seen, they did not sound in vain. + +On the 6th of March an armistice with the Boers had been entered into +by Sir Evelyn Wood, which was several times prolonged, up to the 21st +March, when Sir Evelyn Wood concluded a preliminary peace with the Boer +leaders, which, under certain conditions, guaranteed the restoration of +the country within six months, and left all other points to be decided +by a Royal Commission. + +The news of this peace was at first received in the Colony in the +silence of astonishment. Personally, I remember, I would not believe +that it was true. It seemed to us, who had been witnesses of what had +passed, and knew what it all meant, something so utterly incredible that +we thought there must be a mistake. + +If there had been any one redeeming circumstance about it, if the +English arms had gained a single decisive victory, it might have been +so, but it was hard for Englishmen, just at first, to understand that +not only had the Transvaal been to all appearance wrested from them by +force of arms, but that they were henceforth to be subject, as they well +knew would be the case, to the coarse insults of victorious Boers, and +the sarcasms of keener-witted Kafirs. + +People in England seem to fancy that when men go to the Colonies they +lose all sense of pride in their country, and think of nothing but their +own advantage. I do not think that this is the case, indeed, I believe +that, individual for individual, there exists a greater sense of +loyalty, and a deeper pride in their nationality, and in the proud name +of England, among Colonists, than among Englishmen proper. Certainly +the humiliation of the Transvaal surrender was more keenly felt in South +Africa than it was at home; but, perhaps, the impossibility of +imposing upon people in that country with the farrago of nonsense about +blood-guiltiness and national morality, which was made such adroit use +of at home, may have made the difference. + +I know that personally I would not have believed it possible that I +could feel any public event so keenly as I did this; indeed, I quickly +made up my mind that if the peace was confirmed, the neighbourhood +of the Transvaal would be no fit or comfortable residence for an +Englishman, and that I would, at any cost, leave the country,--which I +accordingly did. + +Newcastle was a curious sight the night after the peace was declared, +every hotel and bar was crowded with refugees, who were trying to +relieve their feelings, by cursing the name of Gladstone, with a vigour, +originality, and earnestness, that I have never heard equalled; and +declaring in ironical terms how proud they were to be citizens of +England--a country that always kept its word. Then they set to work +with many demonstrations of contempt to burn the effigy of the Right +Honourable Gentleman at the head of Her Majesty’s Government, an +example, by the way, that was followed throughout South Africa. + +Even Sir Evelyn Wood, who is very popular in the Colony, was hissed +as he walked through the town, and great surprise was expressed that +a soldier who came out expressly to fight the Boers, should consent +to become the medium of communication in such a dirty business. And, +indeed, there was some excuse for all this bitterness, for the news +meant ruin to very many. + +But if people in Natal and at the Cape received the news with +astonishment, how shall I describe its effect upon the unfortunate loyal +inhabitants in the Transvaal, on whom it burst like a thunderbolt? + +They did not say much however, and indeed, there was nothing to be said, +they simply began to pack up such things as they could carry with them, +and to leave the country, which they well knew would henceforth be +utterly untenable for Englishmen or English sympathisers. In a few weeks +they came pouring down through Newcastle by hundreds; it was the +most melancholy exodus that can be imagined. There were people of all +classes, officials, gentlefolk, work-people, and loyal Boers, but +they had a connecting link; they had all been loyal, and they were all +ruined. + +Most of these people had gone to the Transvaal since it became a British +Colony, and invested all they had in it, and now their capital was lost +and their labour rendered abortive; indeed, many of them whom one had +known as well to do in the Transvaal, came down to Natal hardly knowing +how they would feed their families next week. + +It must be understood that so soon as the Queen’s sovereignty was +withdrawn the value of landed and house property in the Transvaal went +down to nothing, and has remained there ever since. Thus a fair-sized +house in Pretoria brought in a rental varying from ten to twenty pounds +a month during British occupation, but after the declaration of peace, +owners of houses were glad to get people to live in them to keep them +from falling into ruin. Those who owned land or had invested money in +businesses suffered in the same way; their property remains, neither +profitable or saleable, and they themselves are precluded by their +nationality from living on it, the art of “Boycotting” not being +peculiar to Ireland. + +Nor were they the only sufferers, the officials, many of whom had taken +to the Government service as a permanent profession, in which they +expected to pass their lives, were suddenly dismissed, mostly with a +small gratuity, which would about suffice to pay their debts, and told +to find their living as best they could. It was indeed a case of _vae +victis_,--woe to the conquered loyalists.[*] + + [*] The following extract is clipped from a recent issue of + the “Transvaal Advertiser.” It describes the present + condition of Pretoria:-- + + “The streets grown over with rank vegetation, the water- + furrows uncleaned and unattended, emitting offensive and + unhealthy stenches, the houses showing evident signs of + dilapidation and decay, the side paths, in many places, + dangerous to pedestrians; in fact, everything the eye can + rest upon indicates the downfall which has overtaken this + once prosperous city. The visitor can, if he be so minded, + betake himself to the outskirts and suburbs, where he will + perceive the same sad evidences of neglect, public grounds + unattended, roads uncared for, mills and other public works + crumbling into ruin. These palpable signs of decay most + strongly impress him. A blight seems to have come over this + lately fair and prosperous town. Rapidly it is becoming a + ‘deserted village,’ a ‘city of the dead.’” + +The Commission appointed by Her Majesty’s Government consisted of Sir +Hercules Robinson, Sir Henry de Villiers, and Sir Evelyn Wood, President +Brand being also present in his capacity of friend of both parties, +and to their discretion were left the settlement of all outstanding +questions. Amongst these, were the mode of trial of those persons who +had been guilty of acts contrary to the rules of civilised warfare, the +question of severance of territory from the Transvaal on the Eastern +boundary, the settlement of the boundary in the Keate-Award districts, +the compensation for losses sustained during the war, the functions of +the British Resident, and other matters. Their place of meeting was at +Newcastle in Natal, and from thence they proceeded to Pretoria. + +The first question of importance that came before the Commission was +the mode of trial to be adopted in the cases of those persons accused +of acts contrary to the usages of civilised warfare, such as murder. +The Attorney-General for the Transvaal strongly advised that a special +Tribunal should be constituted to try these cases, principally because +“after a civil war in which all the inhabitants of a country, with very +few exceptions, have taken part, a jury of fair and impartial men, truly +unbiassed, will be very difficult to get together.” It is satisfactory +to know that the Commissioners gave this somewhat obvious fact “their +grave consideration,” which, according to their Report, resulted in +their determining to let the cases go before the ordinary court, and be +tried by a jury, because in referring them to a specially constituted +court which would have done equal justice without fear or favour, +“the British Government would have made for itself, among the Dutch +population of South Africa, a name for vindictive oppression, which no +generosity in other affairs could efface.” + +There is more in this determination of the Commissioners, or rather of +the majority of them--for Sir E. Wood, to his credit be it said, refused +to agree in their decision--than meets the eye, the fact of the matter +being that it was privately well known to them, that, though the Boer +leaders might be willing to allow a few of the murderers to undergo the +form of a trial, neither they nor the Boers themselves, meant to +permit the farce to go any further. Had the men been tried by a special +tribunal they would in all probability have been condemned to death, and +then would have come the awkward question of carrying out the sentence +on individuals whose deeds were looked on, if not with general approval, +at any rate without aversion by the great mass of their countrymen. In +short, it would probably have become necessary either to reprieve them +or to fight the Boers again, since it was very certain that they +would not have allowed them to be hung. Therefore the majority of +the Commissioners, finding themselves face to face with a dead wall, +determined to slip round it instead of boldly climbing it, by referring +the cases to the Transvaal High Court, cheerfully confident of what the +result must be. + +After all, the matter was, much cry about little wool, for of all the +crimes committed by the Boers--a list of some of which will be found in +the Appendix to this book--in only three cases were a proportion of the +perpetrators produced and put through the form of trial. Those three +were, the dastardly murder of Captain Elliot, who was shot by his Boer +escort while crossing the Vaal river on parole; the murder of a man +named Malcolm, who was kicked to death in his own house by Boers, who +afterwards put a bullet through his head to make the job “look better;” + and the murder of a doctor named Barber, who was shot by his escort on +the border of the Free State. A few of the men concerned in the first +two of these crimes were tried in Pretoria: and it was currently +reported at that time, that in order to make their acquittal certain +our Attorney-General received instructions not to exercise his right of +challenging jurors on behalf of the Crown. Whether or not this is true +I am not prepared to say, but I believe it is a fact that he did +not exercise that right, though the counsel of the prisoners availed +themselves of it freely, with the result that in Elliot’s case, the jury +was composed of eight Boers and one German, nine being the full South +African jury. The necessary result followed; in both cases the prisoners +were acquitted in the teeth of the evidence. Barber’s murderers were +tried in the Free State, and were, as might be expected, acquitted. + +Thus it will be seen that of all the perpetrators of murder and other +crimes during the course of the war not one was brought to justice. + +The offence for which their victims died was, in nearly every case, that +they had served, were serving, or were loyal to Her Majesty the Queen. +In no single case has England exacted retribution for the murder of +her servants and citizens; but nobody can read through the long list +of these dastardly slaughters without feeling that they will not go +unavenged. The innocent blood that has been shed on behalf of this +country, and the tears of children and widows now appeal to a higher +tribunal than that of Mr. Gladstone’s Government, and assuredly they +will not appeal in vain. + +The next point of importance dealt with by the Commission was the +question whether or no any territory should be severed from the +Transvaal, and kept under English rule for the benefit of the native +inhabitants. Lord Kimberley, acting under pressure put upon him by +members of the Aborigines Protection Society, instructed the Commission +to consider the advisability of severing the districts of Lydenburg and +Zoutpansberg, and also a strip of territory bordering on Zululand and +Swazieland from the Transvaal, so as to place the inhabitants of the +first two districts out of danger of maltreatment by the Boers, and to +interpose a buffer between Zulus, and Swazies, and Boer aggression, and +_vice versa_. + +The Boer leaders had, it must be remembered, acquiesced in the principle +of such a separation in the preliminary peace signed by Sir Evelyn Wood +and themselves. The majority of the Commission, however (Sir Evelyn Wood +dissenting), finally decided against the retention of either of these +districts, a decision which I think was a wise one, though I arrive +at that conclusion on very different grounds to those adopted by the +majority of the Commission. + +Personally, I cannot see that it is the duty of England to play +policeman to the whole world. To have retained these native districts +would have been to make ourselves responsible for their good government, +and to have guaranteed them against Boer encroachment, which I do not +think that we were called upon to do. It is surely not incumbent +upon us, having given up the Transvaal to the Boers, to undertake the +management of the most troublesome part of it, the Zulu border. Besides, +bad as the abandonment of the Transvaal is, I think that if it was to +be done at all, it was best to do it thoroughly, since to have kept some +natives under our protection, and to have handed over the rest to the +tender mercies of the Boers, would only be to render our injustice more +obvious, whilst weakening the power of the natives themselves to combine +in self-defence; since those under our protection would naturally have +little sympathy with their more unfortunate brethren--their interests +and circumstances being different. + +The Commission do not seem to have considered the question from these +points of view, but putting them on one side, there are many other +considerations connected with it, which are ably summed up in their +Report. Amongst these is the danger of disturbances commenced between +Zulus or Swazies and Boers, spreading into Natal, and the probability +of the fomenting of disturbances amongst the Zulus by Boers. The great +argument for the retention of some territory, if only as a symbol that +the English had not been driven out of the country, is, however, +set forth in the forty-sixth paragraph of the Report, which runs as +follows:--“The moral considerations that determine the actions of +civilised Governments are not easily understood by barbarians, in whose +eyes successful force is alone the sign of superiority, and it +appeared possible that the surrender by the British Crown of one of its +possessions to those who had been in arms against it, might be looked +upon by the natives in no other way than as a token of the defeat and +decay of the British Power, and that thus a serious shock might be given +to British authority in South Africa, and the capacity of Great Britain +to govern and direct the vast native population within and without her +South African dominions--a capacity resting largely on the renown of her +name--might be dangerously impaired.” + +These words coming from so unexpected a source do not, though couched +in such mild language, hide the startling importance of the question +discussed. On the contrary, they accurately and with double weight +convey the sense and gist of the most damning argument against the +policy of the retrocession of the Transvaal in its entirety; and +proceeding from their own carefully chosen commissioners, can hardly +have been pleasant reading to Lord Kimberley and his colleagues. + +The majority of the Commission then proceeds to set forth the arguments +advanced by the Boers against the retention of any territory, which +appear to have been chiefly of a sentimental character, since we are +informed that “the people, it seemed certain, would not have valued the +restoration of a mutilated country. Sentiment in a great measure had +led them to insurrection, and the force of such it was impossible to +disregard.” Sir E. Wood in his dissent, states, that he cannot even +agree with the premises of his colleagues’ argument, since he is +convinced that it was not sentiment that had led to the outbreak, but a +“general and rooted aversion to taxation.” If he had added, and a hatred +not only of English rule, but of all rule, he would have stated the +complete cause of the Transvaal rebellion. In the next paragraph of +the Report, however, we find the real cause of the pliability of the +Commission in the matter, which is the same that influenced them in +their decision about the mode of trial of the murderers and other +questions:--they feared that the people would appeal to arms if they +decided against their wishes. + +Discreditable and disgraceful as it may seem, nobody can read this +Report without plainly seeing that the Commissioners were, in treating +with the Boers on these points, in the position of ambassadors from a +beaten people getting the best terms they could. Of course, they well +knew that this was not the case, but whatever the Boer leaders may have +said, the Boers themselves did not know this, or even pretend to look at +the matter in any other light. When we asked for the country back, said +they, we did not get it; after we had three times defeated the English +we did get it; the logical conclusion from the facts being that we got +it because we defeated the English. This was their tone, and it is not +therefore surprising that whenever the Commission threatened to decide +anything against them, they, with a smile, let it know that if it did, +they would be under the painful necessity of re-occupying Lang’s Nek. +It was never necessary to repeat the threat, since the majority of the +Commission would thereupon speedily find a way to meet the views of the +Boer representatives. + +Sir Evelyn Wood, in his dissent, thus correctly sums up the matter:--“To +contend that the Royal Commission ought not to decide contrary to the +wishes of the Boers, because such decision might not be accepted, is +to deny to the Commission the very power of decision that it was agreed +should be left in its hands.” Exactly so. But it is evident that the +Commission knew its place, and so far from attempting to exercise any +“power of decision,” it was quite content with such concessions as +it could obtain by means of bargaining. Thus, as an additional reason +against the retention of any territory, it is urged that if this +territory was retained “the majority of your Commissioners . . . would +have found themselves in no favourable position for obtaining the +concurrence of the Boer leaders as to other matters.” In fact, Her +Majesty’s Commission appointed, or supposed to be appointed, to do +Her Majesty’s will and pleasure, shook in its shoes before men who had +lately been rebels in arms against Her authority, and humbly submitted +itself to their dicta. + +The majority of the Commission went on to express their opinion, that +by giving away about the retention of territory they would be able to +obtain better terms for the natives generally, and larger powers for the +British Resident. But, as Sir Evelyn Wood points out in his Report, they +did nothing of the sort, the terms of the agreement about the Resident +and other native matters being all consequent on and included in the +first agreement of peace. Besides, they seem to have overlooked the +fact that such concessions as they did obtain are only on paper, and +practically worthless, whilst all _bona fide_ advantages remained with +the Boers. + +The decision of the Commissioners in the question of the Keate Award, +which next came under their consideration, appears to have been a +judicious one, being founded on the very careful Report of Colonel +Moysey, R.E., who had been for many months collecting information on the +spot. The Keate Award Territory is a region lying to the south-west +of the Transvaal, and was, like many other districts in that country, +originally in the possession of natives, of the Baralong and Batlapin +tribes. Individual Boers having, however, _more suo_ taken possession +of tracts of land in the district, difficulties speedily arose +between their Government and the native chiefs, and in 1871 Mr. Keate, +Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, was by mutual consent called in to +arbitrate on the matter. His decision was entirely in favour of the +natives, and was accordingly promptly and characteristically repudiated +by the Boer Volksraad. From that time till the rebellion the question +remained unsettled, and was indeed a very thorny one to deal with. The +Commission, acting on the principle _in medio tutissimus ibis_, drew a +line through the midst of the disputed territory, or, in other words, +set aside Mr. Keate’s award and interpreted the dispute in favour of the +Boers. + +This decision was accepted by all parties at the time, but it has not +resulted in the maintenance of peace. The principal Chief, Montsoia, is +an old ally and staunch friend of the English, a fact which the Boers +were not able to forget or forgive, and they appear to have stirred +up rival Chiefs to attack him, and to have allowed volunteers from +the Transvaal to assist them. Montsoia has also enlisted some white +volunteers, and several fights have taken place, in which the loss of +life has been considerable. Whether or no the Transvaal Government +is directly concerned it is impossible to say, but from the fact that +cannon are said to have been used against Montsoia it would appear +that it is, since private individuals do not, as a rule, own Armstrong +guns.[*] + + [*] I beg to refer any reader interested in this matter to + the letter of “Transvaal” to the “Standard,” which I have + republished in the Appendix to this book. + +Amongst the questions remaining for the consideration of the +Commissioners was that of what compensation should be given for losses +during the war. Of course, the great bulk of the losses sustained +were of an indirect nature, resulting from the necessary and enormous +depreciation in the value of land and other property, consequent on the +retrocession. Into this matter the Home Government declined to enter, +thereby saving its pocket at the price of its honour, since it was upon +English guarantees that the country would remain a British possession, +that the majority of the unfortunate loyals invested their money in +it. It was, however, agreed by the Commission (Sir H. de Villiers +dissenting) that the Boers should be liable for compensation in +cases where loss had been sustained through commandeering seizure, +confiscation, destruction, or damage of property. The sums awarded under +these heads have already amounted to about 110,000 pounds, which sum has +been defrayed by the Imperial Government, the Boer authorities stating +that they were not in a position to pay it. + +In connection with this matter, I will pass to the Financial clauses of +the Report. When the country was annexed, the public debt amounted +to 301,727 pounds. Under British rule this debt was liquidated to +the extent of 150,000 pounds, but the total was brought up by a +Parliamentary grant, a loan from the Standard Bank, and sundries to +390,404 pounds, which represented the public debt of the Transvaal on +the 31st December 1880. This was further increased by moneys advanced by +the Standard Bank and English Exchequer during the war, and till the +8th August 1881, during which time the country yielded no revenue, to +457,393 pounds. To this must be added an estimated sum of 200,000 pounds +for compensation charges, pension allowances, &c., and a further sum of +383,000 pounds, the cost of the successful expedition against Secocoeni, +that of the unsuccessful one being left out of account, bringing up the +total public debt to over a million, of which about 800,000 pounds is +owing to this country. + +This sum, with the characteristic liberality that distinguished them in +their dealings with the Boers, but which was not so marked where loyals +were concerned, the Commissioners (Sir Evelyn Wood dissenting) reduced +by a stroke of the pen to 265,000 pounds, thus entirely remitting an +approximate sum of 500,000 pounds, or 600,000 pounds. To the sum of +265,000 pounds still owing, must be added say another 150,000 pounds +for sums lately advanced to pay the compensation claims, bringing up the +actual amount now owing to England to something under half a million, of +which I say with confidence she will never see a single 10,000 pounds. +As this contingency was not contemplated, or if contemplated, not +alluded to by the Royal Commission, provision was made for a sinking +fund, by means of which the debt, which is a second charge on the +revenues of the States, is to be extinguished in twenty-five years. + +It is a strange instance of the proverbial irony of fate, that whilst +the representatives of the Imperial Government were thus showering gifts +of hundreds of thousands of pounds upon men who had spurned the benefits +of Her Majesty’s rule, made war upon her forces, and murdered her +subjects, no such consideration was extended to those who had remained +loyal to her throne. Their claims for compensation were passed by +unheeded; and looking from the windows of the room in which they sat in +Newcastle, the members of the Commission might have seen them flocking +down from a country that could no longer be their home; those that +were rich among them made poor, and those that were poor reduced to +destitution. + +The only other point which it will be necessary for me to touch on in +connection with this Report is the duties of the British Resident and +his relations to the natives. He was to be invested as representative of +the Suzerain with functions for securing the execution of the terms +of peace as regards: (1.) The control of the foreign relations of the +State; (2.) The control of the frontier affairs of the State; and (3.) +The protection of the interests of the natives in the State. + +As regards the first of these points, it was arranged that the interests +of subjects of the Transvaal should be left in the hands of Her +Majesty’s representatives abroad. Since Boers are, of all people in the +world, the most stay-at-home, our ambassadors and consuls are not likely +to be troubled much on their account. With reference to the second +point, the Commission made stipulations that would be admirable if there +were any probability of their being acted up to. The Resident is +to report any encroachment on native territory by Boers to the High +Commissioner, and when the Resident and the Boer Government differ, +the decision of the Suzerain is to be final. This is a charming way of +settling difficulties, but the Commission forgets to specify how the +Suzerain’s decision is to be enforced. After what has happened, it can +hardly have relied on awe of the name of England to bring about the +desired obedience! + +But besides thus using his beneficent authority to prevent subjects of +the Transvaal from trespassing on their neighbour’s land, the Resident +is to exercise a general supervision over the interests of all the +natives in the country. Considering that they number about a million, +and are scattered over a territory larger than France, one would think +that this duty alone would have taken up the time of any ordinary +man; and, indeed, Sir Evelyn Wood was in favour of the appointment of +sub-residents to assist him. The majority of the Commission refused, +however, to listen to any such suggestion--believing, they said, “that +the least possible interference with the independent Government of the +State would be the wisest.” Quite so, but I suppose it never occurred +to them to ask the natives what their views of the matter were! The +Resident was also to be a member of a Native Location Committee, which +was at some future time, to provide land for natives to live on. + +In perusing this Report it is easy to follow with more or less accuracy +the individual bent of its framers. Sir Hercules Robinson figures +throughout as a man who has got a disagreeable business to carry out, +in obedience to instructions that admit of no trifling with, and who has +set himself to do the best he can for his country, and those who suffer +through his country’s policy, whilst obeying those instructions. He has +evidently choked down his feelings and opinions as an individual, and +turned himself into an official machine, merely registering in detail +the will of Lord Kimberley. With Sir Henry de Villiers the case is very +different, one feels throughout that the task is to him a congenial one, +and that the Boer cause has in him an excellent friend. Indeed, had he +been an advocate of their cause instead of a member of the Commission, +he could not have espoused their side on every occasion with greater +zeal. According to him they were always in the right, and in them he +could find no guile. Mr. Hofmeyer and President Brand exercised a wise +discretion from their own point of view, when they urged his appointment +as Special Commissioner. I now come to Sir Evelyn Wood, who was in the +position of an independent Englishman, neither prejudiced in favour +of the Boers, or the reverse, and on whom, as a military man, Lord +Kimberley would find it difficult to put the official screw. The results +of his happy position are obvious in the paper attached to the end of +the Report, and signed by him, in which he totally and entirely differs +from the majority of the Commission on every point of importance. Most +people will think that this very outspoke and forcible dissent deducts +somewhat from the value of the Report, and throws a shadow of doubt on +the wisdom of its provisions. + +The formal document of agreement between Her Majesty’s Government and +the Boer leaders, commonly known as the Convention, was signed by both +parties at Pretoria on the afternoon of the 3d August 1881, in the same +room in which, nearly four years before, the Annexation Proclamation was +signed by Sir T. Shepstone. + +Whilst this business was being transacted in Government House, a curious +ceremony was going on just outside, and within sight of the windows. +This was the ceremonious burial of the Union Jack, which was followed to +the grave by a crowd of about 2000 loyalists and native chiefs. On the +outside of the coffin was written the word “Resurgam,” and an eloquent +oration was delivered over the grave. Such demonstrations are, no +doubt, foolish enough, but they are not entirely without political +significance. + +But a more unpleasant duty awaited the Commissioners than that of +attaching their signatures to a document,--consisting of the necessity +of conveying Her Majesty’s decision as to the retrocession, to about a +hundred native Chiefs, until now Her Majesty’s subjects, who had been +gathered together to hear it. It must be borne in mind that the natives +had not been consulted as to the disposal of the country, although they +outnumber the white people in the proportion of twenty to one, and that, +beyond some worthless paper stipulations, nothing had been done for +their interests. + +Personally, I must plead guilty to what I know is by many, especially +by those who are attached to the Boer cause, considered as folly if not +worse, namely, a sufficient interest in the natives, and sympathy with +their sufferings to bring me to the conclusion, that in acting thus we +have inflicted a cruel injustice upon them. It seems to me, that as +they were the original owners of the soil, they were entitled to some +consideration in the question of its disposal, and consequently and +incidentally, of their own. I am aware that it is generally considered +that the white man has a right to the black man’s possessions and land, +and that it is his high and holy mission to exterminate the wretched +native and take his place. But with this conclusion I venture to differ. +So far as my own experience of natives has gone, I have found that in +all the essential qualities of mind and body, they very much resemble +white men, with the exception that they are, as a race, quicker-witted, +more honest, and braver, than the ordinary run of white men. Of them +might be aptly quoted the speech Shakespeare puts into Shylock’s mouth: +“Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, +affections, passions?” In the same way I ask, Has a native no feelings +or affections? does he not suffer when his parents are shot, or his +children stolen, or when he is driven a wanderer from his home? Does he +not know fear, feel pain, affection, hate and gratitude? Most certainly +he does; and this being so, I cannot believe that the Almighty, who +made both white and black, gave to the one race the right or mission of +exterminating, or even of robbing or maltreating the other, and calling +the process the advance of civilisation. It seems to me, that on only +one condition, if at all, have we the right to take the black man’s +land; and that is, that we provide them with an equal and a just +Government, and allow no maltreatment of them, either as individuals or +tribes: but, on the contrary, do our best to elevate them, and wean them +from savage customs. Otherwise, the practice is surely undefensible. + +I am aware, however, that with the exception of a small class, these +are sentiments which are not shared by the great majority of the public, +either at home or abroad. Indeed, it can be plainly seen how little +sympathy they command, from the fact that but scanty remonstrance +was raised at the treatment meted out to our native subjects in the +Transvaal, when they were, to the number of nearly a million, +handed over from the peace, justice, and security, that on the whole +characterise our rule, to a state of things, and possibilities of wrong +and suffering which I will not try to describe. + +To the chiefs thus assembled Sir Hercules Robinson, as President of the +Royal Commission, read a statement, and then retired, refusing to allow +them to speak in answer. The statement informed the natives that “Her +Majesty’s Government, with that sense of justice which befits a great +and powerful nation,” had returned the country to the Boers, “whose +representatives, Messrs. Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert, I now,” said +Sir Hercules, “have much pleasure in introducing to you.” If reports are +true, the native Chiefs had, many of them personally, and all of them by +reputation, already the advantage of a very intimate acquaintance with +all three of these gentlemen, so that an introduction was somewhat +superfluous. + +Sir Hercules went on to explain to them that locations would be allotted +to them at some future time; that a British Resident would be appointed, +whose especial charge they would be, but that they must bear in mind +that he was not the ruler of the country, but the Government, “subject +to Her Majesty’s suzerain rights.” Natives were, no doubt, expected to +know by intuition what suzerain rights are. The statement then goes on +to give them good advice as to the advantages of indulging in manual +labour when asked to do so by the Boers, and generally to show them how +bright and happy is the future that lies before them. Lest they should +be too elated by such good tidings, they are, however, reminded that it +will be necessary to retain the law relating to passes, which is, in +the hands of a people like the Boers, about as unjust a regulation as +a dominant race can invent for the oppression of a subject people, and +had, in the old days of the Republic, been productive of much hardship. +The statement winds up by assuring them that their “interests will never +be forgotten or neglected by Her Majesty’s Government.” Having read the +document the Commission hastily withdrew, and after their withdrawal +the Chiefs were “allowed” to state their opinions to the Secretary for +Native Affairs. + +In availing themselves of this permission, it is noticeable that no +allusion was made to all the advantages they were to reap under +the Convention, nor did they seem to attach much importance to the +appointment of the British Resident. On the contrary, all their +attention was given to the great fact that the country had been ceded +to the Boers, and that they were no longer the Queen’s subjects. We +are told, in Mr. Shepstone’s Report, that they “got very excited,” and +“asked whether it was thought that they had no feelings or hearts, that +they were thus treated as a stick or piece of tobacco, which could be +passed from hand to hand without question.” Umgombarie, a Zoutpansberg +Chief, said, “I am Umgombarie. I have fought with the Boers, and have +many wounds, and they know that what I say is true. . . . I will never +consent to place myself under their rule. I belong to the English +Government. I am not a man who eats with both sides of his jaw at once; +I only use one side. I am English, I have said.” Silamba said, “I belong +to the English. I will never return under the Boers. You see me, a man +of my rank and position, is it right that such as I should be seized +and laid on the ground and flogged, as has been done to me and other +chiefs?” + +Sinkanhla said: “We hear and yet do not hear, we cannot understand. We +are troubling you, Chief, by talking in this way; we hear the Chiefs say +that the Queen took the country because the people of the country wished +it, and again that the majority of the owners of the country did not +wish their rule, and that therefore the country was given back. We +should like to have the man pointed out from among us black people who +objects to the rule of the Queen. We are the real owners of the country; +we were here when the Boers came, and without asking leave, settled down +and treated us in every way badly. The English Government then came and +took the country; we have now had four years of rest and peaceful +and just rule. We have been called here to-day, and are told that the +country, our country, has been given to the Boers by the Queen. This is +a thing which surprises us. Did the country, then, belong to the Boers? +Did it not belong to our fathers and forefathers before us, long before +the Boers came here? We have heard that the Boers’ country is at the +Cape. If the Queen wishes to give them their land, why does she not give +them back the Cape?” + +I have quoted this speech at length, because, although made by a +despised native, it sets forth their case more powerfully and in happier +language than I can do. + +Umyethile said: “We have no heart for talking. I have returned to the +country from Sechelis, where I had to fly from Boer oppression. Our +hearts are black and heavy with grief to-day at the news told us, we are +in agony, our intestines are twisting and writhing inside of us, just as +you see a snake do when it is struck on the head. . . . We do not know +what has become of us, but we feel dead; it may be that the Lord may +change the nature of the Boers, and that we will not be treated like +dogs and beasts of burden as formerly, but we have no hope of such a +change, and we leave you with heavy hearts and great apprehension as +to the future.” In his Report, Mr. Shepstone (the Secretary for Native +Affairs) says: “One chief, Jan Sibilo, who has been, he informed me, +personally threatened with death by the Boers after the English leave, +could not restrain his feelings, but cried like a child.” + +I have nothing to add to these extracts, which are taken from many such +statements. They are the very words of the persons most concerned, and +will speak for themselves. + +The Convention was signed on the 3d August 1881, and was to be formally +ratified by a Volksraad or Parliament of the Burghers within three +months of that date, in default of which it was to fall to the ground +and become null and void. + +Anybody who has followed the course of affairs with reference to the +retrocession of the Transvaal, or who has even taken the trouble to read +through this brief history, will probably come to the conclusion that, +under all the circumstances, the Boers had got more than they could +reasonably expect. Not so, however, the Boers themselves. On the 28th +September the newly-elected Volksraad referred the Convention to a +General Committee to report on, and on the 30th September the Report +was presented. On the 3d October a telegram was despatched through +the British Resident to “His Excellency W. E. Gladstone,” in which the +Volksraad states that the Convention is not acceptable-- + +(1.) Because it is in conflict with the Sand River Treaty of 1852. + +(2.) Because it violates the peace agreement entered into with Sir +Evelyn Wood, in confidence of which the Boers laid down their arms. + +The Volksraad consequently declared that modifications were desirable, +and that certain articles _must_ be altered. + +To begin with, they declare that the “conduct of foreign relations does +not appertain to the Suzerain, only supervision,” and that the articles +bearing on these points must consequently be modified. They next attack +the native question, stating that “the Suzerain has not the right to +interfere with our Legislature,” and state that they cannot agree to +Article 3, which gives the Suzerain a right of veto on Legislation +connected with the natives, to Article 13, by virtue of which natives +are to be allowed to acquire land, and to the last part of Article +26, by which it is provided that whites of alien race living in the +Transvaal shall not be taxed in excess of the taxes imposed on Transvaal +citizens. + +They further declare that it is “infra dignitatem” for the President of +the Transvaal to be a member of a Commission. This refers to the Native +Location Commission, on which he is, in the terms of the Convention, +to sit, together with the British Resident, and a third person jointly +appointed. + +They next declare that the amount of the debt for which the Commission +has made them liable should be modified. Considering that England had +already made them a present of from 600,000 pounds to 800,000 pounds, +this is a most barefaced demand. Finally, they state that “Articles 15, +16, 26, and 27, are superfluous, and only calculated to wound our sense +of honour” (sic). + +Article 15 enacts that no slavery or apprenticeship shall be tolerated. + +Article 16 provides for religious toleration. + +Article 26 provides for the free movement, trading, and residence of all +persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of the +Transvaal. + +Article 27 gives to all the right of free access to the Courts of +Justice. + +Putting the “sense of honour” of the Transvaal Volksraad out of the +question, past experience has but too plainly proved that these Articles +are by no means superfluous. + +In reply to this message, Sir Hercules Robinson telegraphs to the +British Resident on the 21st October in the following words:-- + +“Having forwarded Volksraad Resolution of 15th to Earl of Kimberley, I +am desired to instruct you in reply to repeat to the Triumvirate +that Her Majesty’s Government cannot entertain any proposals for a +modification of the Convention _until after it has been ratified_, and +the necessity for further concession proved by experience.” + +I wish to draw particular attention to the last part of this message, +which is extremely typical of the line of policy adopted throughout +in the Transvaal business. The English Government dared not make any +further concession to the Boers, because they felt that they had already +strained the temper of the country almost to breaking in the matter. On +the other hand, they were afraid that if they did not do something, the +Boers would tear up the Convention, and they would find themselves face +to face with the old difficulty. Under these circumstances, they have +fallen back upon their temporising and un-English policy, which leaves +them a back-door to escape through, whatever turn things take. Should +the Boers now suddenly turn round and declare, which is extremely +probable, that they repudiate their debt to us, or that they are sick +of the presence of a British Resident, the Government will be able +to announce that “the necessity for further concession” has now been +“proved by experience,” and thus escape the difficulty. In short, this +telegram has deprived the Convention of whatever finality it may have +possessed, and made it, as a document, as worthless as it is as a +practical settlement. That this is the view taken of it by the Boers +themselves, is proved by the text of the Ratification which followed on +the receipt of this telegram. + +The tone of this document throughout is, in my opinion, considering from +whom it came, and against whom it is directed, very insolent. And it +amply confirms what I have previously said, that the Boers looked upon +themselves as a victorious people making terms with those they have +conquered. The Ratification leads off thus: “The Volksraad is not +satisfied with this Convention, and considers that the members of the +Triumvirate performed a fervent act of love for the Fatherland when +they upon their own responsibility signed such an unsatisfactory state +document.” This is damning with faint praise indeed. It then goes on to +recite the various points of object, stating that the answers from the +English Government proved that they were well founded. “The English +Government,” it says, “acknowledges indirectly by this answer (the +telegram of 21st October, quoted above) that the difficulties raised +by the Volksraad are neither fictitious nor unfounded, inasmuch _as it +desires from us the concession_ that we, the Volksraad, shall submit +it to a practical test.” It will be observed that English is here +represented as begging the favour of a trial of her conditions from the +Volksraad of the Transvaal Boers. The Ratification is in these words: +“Therefore it is that the Raad here unanimously resolves not to go into +further discussion of the Convention, _and maintaining all objections +to the Convention_ as made before the Royal Commission or stated in the +Raad, and for the purpose of showing to everybody that the love of peace +and unity inspires us, _for the time and provisionally_ submitting the +articles of the Convention to a practical test, _hereby complying with +the request of the English Government_ contained in the telegram of the +13th October 1881, proceeds to ratify the Convention.” + +It would have been interesting to have seen how such a Ratification as +this, which is no Ratification but an insult, would have been accepted +by Lord Beaconsfield. I think that within twenty-four hours of its +arrival in Downing Street, the Boer Volksraad would have received a +startling answer. But Lord Beaconsfield is dead, and by his successor it +was received with all due thankfulness and humility. His words, however, +on this subject still remain to us, and even his great rival might +have done well to listen to them. It was in the course of what was, I +believe, the last speech he made in the House of Lords, that speaking +about the Transvaal rising, he warned the Government that it was a very +dangerous thing to make peace with rebellious subjects in arms against +the authority of the Queen. The warning passed unheeded, and the peace +was made in the way I have described. + +As regards the Convention itself, it will be obvious to the reader that +the Boers have not any intention of acting up to its provisions, mild +as they are, if they can possibly avoid them, whilst, on the other hand, +there is no force at hand to punish their disregard or breach. It is all +very well to create a Resident with extensive powers; but how is he to +enforce his decisions? What is he to do if his awards are laughed at and +made a mockery of, as they are and will be? The position of Mr. Hudson +at Pretoria is even worse than that of Mr. Osborn in Zululand. For +instance, the Convention specifies in the first article that the +Transvaal is to be known as the Transvaal State. The Boer Government +have, however, thought fit to adopt the name of “South African Republic” + in all public documents. Mr. Hudson was accordingly directed to +remonstrate, which he did in a feeble way; his remonstrance was politely +acknowledged, but the country is still officially called the South +African Republic, the Convention and Mr. Hudson’s remonstrations +notwithstanding. Mr. Hudson, however, appears to be better suited to +the position than would have been the case had an Englishman, pure and +simple, been appointed, since it is evident that things that would +have struck the latter as insults to the Queen he represented, and his +country generally, are not so understood by him. In fact, he admirably +represents his official superiors in his capacity of swallowing rebuffs, +and when smitten on one cheek delightedly offering the other. + +Thus we find him attending a Boer meeting of thanksgiving for the +success that had waited on their arms and the recognition of their +independence, where most people will consider he was out of place. To +this meeting, thus graced by his presence, an address was presented by +a branch of the Africander Bond, a powerful institution, having for its +object the total uprootal of English rule and English customs in South +Africa, to which he must have listened with pleasure. In it he, in +common with other members of the meeting, is informed that “you took +up the sword and struck the Briton with such force” that “the Britons +through fear revived that sense of justice to which they could not be +brought by petitions,” and that the “day will soon come that we shall +enter with you on one arena for the entire independence of South +Africa,” i.e., independence from English rule. + +On the following day the Government gave a dinner, to which all those +who had done good service during the late hostilities were invited, the +British Resident being apparently the only Englishman asked. Amongst the +other celebrities present I notice the name of Buskes. This man, who +is an educated Hollander, was the moving spirit of the Potchefstroom +atrocities; indeed, so dark is his reputation that the Royal Commission +refused to transact business with him, or to admit him into their +presence. Mr. Hudson was not so particular. And now comes the most +extraordinary part of the episode. At the dinner it was necessary that +the health of Her Majesty as Suzerain should be proposed, and with +studied insolence this was done last of all the leading political +toasts, and immediately after that of the Triumvirate. Notwithstanding +this fact, and that the toast was couched by Mr. Joubert, who stated +that “he would not attempt to explain what a Suzerain was,” in what +appear to be semi-ironical terms, we find that Mr. Hudson “begged to +tender his thanks to the Honourable Mr. Joubert for the kind way in +which he proposed the toast.” + +It may please Mr. Hudson to see the name of the Queen thus +metaphorically dragged in triumph at the chariot wheels of the +Triumvirate, but it is satisfactory to know that the spectacle is not +appreciated in England: since, on a question in the House of Lords, by +the Earl of Carnarvon, who characterised it as a deliberate insult, Lord +Kimberley replied that the British Resident had been instructed that +in future he was not to attend public demonstrations unless he had +previously informed himself that the name of Her Majesty would be +treated with proper respect. Let us hope that this official reprimand +will have its effect, and that Mr. Hudson will learn therefrom that +there is such a thing as _trop de zele_--even in a good cause. + +The Convention is now a thing of the past, the appropriate rewards have +been lavishly distributed to its framers, and President Brand has at +last prevailed upon the Volksraad of the Orange Free State to allow him +to become a Knight Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George,--the +same prize looked forward to by our most distinguished public servants +at the close of the devotion of their life to the service of their +country. But its results are yet to come--though it would be difficult +to forecast the details of their development. One thing, however, is +clear: the signing of that document signalised an entirely new departure +in South African affairs, and brought us within a measurable distance +of the abandonment, for the present at any rate, of the supremacy of +English rule in South Africa. + +This is the larger issue of the matter, and it is already bearing fruit. +Emboldened by their success in the Transvaal, the Dutch party at the +Cape are demanding, and the demand is to be granted, that the Dutch +tongue be admitted _pari passu_ with English, as the official language +in the Law Courts and the House of Assembly. When a country thus +consents to use a foreign tongue equally with its own, it is a sure +sign that those who speak it are rising to power. But “the Party” + looks higher than this, and openly aims at throwing off English rule +altogether, and declaring South Africa a great Dutch republic. The +course of events is favourable to their aspiration. Responsible +Government is to be granted to Natal, which country not being strong +enough to stand alone in the face of the many dangers that surround her, +will be driven into the arms of the Dutch party to save herself from +destruction. It will be useless for her to look for help from England, +and any feelings of repugnance she may feel to Boer rule will soon be +choked by necessity, and a mutual interest. It is, however, possible +that some unforeseen event, such as the advent to power of a strong +Conservative Ministry, may check the tide that now sets so strongly in +favour of Dutch supremacy. + +It seems to me, however, to be a question worthy of the consideration +of those who at present direct the destinies of the Empire, whether it +would not be wise, as they have gone so far, to go a little further and +favour a scheme for the total abandonment of South Africa, retaining +only Table Bay. If they do not, it is now quite within the bounds of +sober possibility that they may one day have to face a fresh Transvaal +rebellion, only on a ten times larger scale, and might find it difficult +to retain even Table Bay. If, on the other hand, they do, I believe +that all the White States in South Africa will confederate of their own +free-will, under the pressure of the necessity for common action, and +the Dutch element being preponderant, at once set to work to exterminate +the natives on general principles, in much the same way, and from much +the same motives that a cook exterminates black beetles, because she +thinks them ugly, and to clear the kitchen. + +I need hardly say that such a policy is not one that commands my +sympathy, but Her Majesty’s Government having put their hand to the +plough, it is worth their while to consider it. It would at any rate +be in perfect accordance with their declared sentiments, and command an +enthusiastic support from their followers. + +As regards the smaller and more immediate issue of the retrocession, +namely, its effect on the Transvaal itself, it cannot be other than +evil. The act is, I believe, quite without precedent in our history, +and it is difficult to see, looking at it from those high grounds of +national morality assumed by the Government, what greater arguments +can be advanced in its favour, than could be found to support the +abandonment of,--let us say,--Ireland. Indeed a certain parallel +undoubtedly exists between the circumstances of the two countries. +Ireland was, like the Transvaal, annexed, though a long time ago, and +has continually agitated for its freedom. The Irish hate us, so did the +Boers. In Ireland, Englishmen are being shot, and England is running the +awful risk of bloodguiltiness, as it did in the Transvaal. In Ireland, +smouldering revolution is being fanned into flame by Mr. Gladstone’s +speeches and acts, as it was in the Transvaal. In Ireland, as in the +Transvaal, there exists a strong loyal class that receives insults +instead of support from the Government, and whose property, as was the +case there, is taken from them without compensation, to be flung as a +sop to stop the mouths of the Queen’s enemies. And so I might go on, +finding many such similarities of circumstances, but my parallel, like +most parallels, must break down at last. Thus--it mattered little to +England whether or no she let the Transvaal go, but to let Ireland go +would be more than even Mr. Gladstone dare attempt. + +Somehow, if you follow these things far enough, you always come +to vulgar first principles. The difference between the case of the +Transvaal and that of Ireland is a difference not of justice but of +cause, for both causes are equally unjust or just according as they +are viewed, but of mere common expediency. Judging from the elevated +standpoint of the national morality theory however, which, as we know, +soars above such truisms as the foolish statement that force is a +remedy, or that if you wish to retain your prestige you must not allow +defeats to pass unavenged, I cannot see why, if it was righteous to +abandon the Transvaal, it would not be equally righteous to abandon +Ireland! + +As for the Transvaal, that country is not to be congratulated on its +success, for it has destroyed all its hopes of permanent peace, has +ruined its trade and credit, and has driven away the most useful and +productive class in the community. The Boers, elated by their success in +arms, will be little likely to settle down to peaceable occupations, +and still less likely to pay their taxes, which, indeed, I hear they +are already refusing to do. They have learnt how easily even a powerful +Government can be upset, and the lesson is not likely to be forgotten, +for want of repetition to their own weak one. + +Already the Transvaal Government hardly knows which way to turn for +funds, and is, perhaps fortunately for itself, quite unable to borrow, +through want of credit. + +As regards the native question, I agree with Mr. H. Shepstone, who, +in his Report on this subject, says that he does not believe that the +natives will inaugurate any action against the Boers, so long as the +latter do not try to collect taxes, or otherwise interfere with them. +But if the Boer Government is to continue to exist, it will be bound +to raise taxes from the natives, since it cannot collect much from its +white subjects. The first general attempt of the sort will be the signal +for active resistance on the part of the natives, whom, if they act +without concert, the Boers will be able to crush in detail, though with +considerable loss. If, on the other hand, they should have happened, +during the last few years, to have learnt the advantages of combination, +as is quite possible, perhaps they will crush the Boers. + +The only thing that is at present certain about the matter is that there +will be bloodshed, and that before long. For instance, the Montsoia +difficulty in the Keate Award has in it the possibilities of a serious +war, and there are plenty such difficulties ready to spring into life +within and without the Transvaal. + +In all human probability it will take but a small lapse of time for +the Transvaal to find itself in the identical position from which we +relieved it by the Annexation. + +What course events will then take it is impossible to say. It may be +found desirable to re-annex the country, though, in my opinion, +that would be, after all that has passed, an unfortunate step; its +inhabitants may be cut up piecemeal by a combined movement of native +tribes, as they would have been, had they not been rescued by the +English Government in 1877, or it is possible that the Orange Free State +may consent to take the Transvaal under its wing: who can say? There is +only one thing that our recently abandoned possession can count on for +certain, and that is trouble, both from its white subjects, and the +natives, who hate the Boers with a bitter and a well-earned hatred. + +The whole question, can, so far as its moral aspect is concerned, be +summed up in a few words. + +Whether or no the Annexation was a necessity at the moment of its +execution,--which I certainly maintain it was--it received the +unreserved sanction of the Home Authorities, and the relations of +Sovereign and subject, with all the many and mutual obligations involved +in that connection, were established between the Queen of England and +every individual of the motley population of the Transvaal. Nor was this +change an empty form, for, to the largest proportion of that population, +this transfer of allegiance brought with it a priceless and a vital +boon. To them it meant--freedom and justice--for where, on any portion +of this globe over which the British ensign floats, does the law even +wink at cruelty or wrong? + +A few years passed away, and a small number of the Queen’s subjects in +the Transvaal rose in rebellion against Her authority, and inflicted +some reverses on Her arms. Thereupon, in spite of the reiterated pledges +given to the contrary--partly under stress of defeat, and partly +in obedience to the pressure of “advanced views”--the country was +abandoned, and the vast majority who had remained faithful to the Crown, +was handed to the cruel despotism of the minority who had rebelled +against it. + +Such an act of treachery to those to whom we were bound with double +chains--by the strong ties of a common citizenship, and by those claims +to England’s protection from violence and wrong which have hitherto +been wont to command it, even where there was no duty to fulfil, and +no authority to vindicate--stands--I believe--without parallel on our +records, and marks a new departure in our history. + +I cannot end these pages without expressing my admiration of the +extremely able way in which the Boers managed their revolt, when once +they felt that, having undertaken the thing, it was a question of +life and death with them. It shows that they have good stuff in them +somewhere, which, under the firm but just rule of Her Majesty, might +have been much developed, and it makes it the more sad that they should +have been led to throw off that rule, and have been allowed to do so by +an English Government. + +In conclusion, there is one point that I must touch on, and that is the +effect of the retrocession on the native mind, which I can only describe +as most disastrous. The danger alluded to in the Report of the Royal +Commission has been most amply realised, and the prevailing belief in +the steadfastness of our policy, and the inviolability of our plighted +word, which has hitherto been the great secret of our hold on the +Kafirs, has been rudely shaken. The motives that influenced, or are said +to have influenced, the Government in their act, are naturally quite +unintelligible to savages, however clever, who do believe that force +is a remedy, and who have seen the inhabitants of a country ruled by +England, defeat English soldiers and take possession of it, whilst those +who remained loyal to England were driven out of it. It will not be +wonderful if some of them, say the natives of Natal, deduce therefrom +conclusions unfavourable to loyalty, and evince a desire to try the same +experiment. + +It is, however, unprofitable to speculate on the future, which must be +left to unfold itself. + +The curtain is, so far as this country is concerned, down for the moment +on the South African stage; when it rises again, there is but too much +reason to fear that it will reveal a state of confusion, which, unless +it is more wisely and consistently dealt with in the future than it has +been in the past, may develop into chaos. + + + + +APPENDIX + + + +I + +THE POTCHEFSTROOM ATROCITIES, &C. + +There were more murders and acts of cruelty committed during the war +at Potchefstroom, where the behaviour of the Boers was throughout both +deceitful and savage, than at any other place. + +When the fighting commenced a number of ladies and children, the wives +and children of English residents, took refuge in the fort. Shortly +after it had been invested they applied to be allowed to return to their +homes in the town till the war was over. The request was refused by the +Boer commander, who said that as they had gone there, they might stop +and “perish” there. One poor lady, the wife of a gentleman well known in +the Transvaal, was badly wounded by having the point of a stake, which +had been cut in two by a bullet, driven into her side. She was at the +time in a state of pregnancy, and died some days afterwards in great +agony. Her little sister was shot through the throat, and several other +women and children suffered from bullet wounds, and fever arising from +their being obliged to live for months exposed to rain and heat, with +insufficient food. + +The moving spirit of all the Potchefstroom atrocities was a cruel wretch +of the name of Buskes, a well-educated man, who, as an advocate of the +High Court, had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. + +One deponent swears that he saw this Buskes wearing Captain Fall’s +diamond ring, which he had taken from Sergeant Ritchie, to whom it was +handed to be sent to England, and also that he had possessed himself +of the carriages and other goods belonging to prisoners taken by the +Boers.[*] Another deponent (whose name is omitted in the Blue Book for +precautionary reasons) swears, “That on the next night the patrol again +came to my house accompanied by one Buskes, who was secretary of the +Boer Committee, and again asked where my wife and daughter were. I +replied, in bed; and Buskes then said, ‘I must see for myself.’ I +refused to allow him, and he forced me, with a loaded gun held to my +breast, to open the curtains of the bed, when he pulled the bedclothes +half off my wife, and altogether off my daughter. I then told him if I +had a gun I would shoot him. He placed a loaded gun at my breast, when +my wife sprang out of bed and got between us.” + + [*] Buskes was afterwards forced to deliver up the ring. + +I remember hearing at the time that this Buskes (who is a good musician) +took one of his victims, who was on the way to execution, into the +chapel and played the “Dead March in Saul,” or some such piece, over him +on the organ. + +After the capture of the Court House a good many Englishmen fell into +the hands of the Boers. Most of these were sentenced to hard labour and +deprivation of “civil rights.” The sentence was enforced by making them +work in the trenches under a heavy fire from the fort. One poor fellow, +F. W. Finlay by name, got his head blown off by a shell from his own +friends in the fort, and several loyal Kafirs suffered the same fate. +After these events the remaining prisoners refused to return to the +trenches till they had been “tamed” by being thrashed with the butt end +of guns, and by threats of receiving twenty-five lashes each. + +But their fate, bad as it was, was not so awful as that suffered by Dr. +Woite and J. Van der Linden. + +Dr. Woite had attended the Boer meeting which was held before the +outbreak, and written a letter from thence to Major Clarke, in which he +had described the talk of the Boers as silly bluster. He was not a paid +spy. This letter was, unfortunately for him, found in Major Clarke’s +pocket-book, and because of it he was put through a form of trial, taken +out and shot dead, all on the same day. He left a wife and large family, +who afterwards found their way to Natal in a destitute condition. + +The case of Van der Linden is somewhat similar. He was one of Raaf’s +Volunteers, and as such had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. +In the execution of his duty he made a report to his commanding officer +about the Boer meeting, and which afterwards fell into the hands of the +Boers. On this he was put through the form of trial, and, though in +the service of the Queen, was found guilty of treason and condemned to +death. One of his judges, a little less stony-hearted than the rest, +pointed out that “when the prisoner committed the crime martial law had +not yet been proclaimed, nor the State,” but it availed him nothing. He +was taken out and shot. + +A Kafir named Carolus was also put through the form of trial and shot, +for no crime at all that I can discover. + +Ten unarmed Kafir drivers, who had been sent away from the fort, were +shot down in cold blood by a party of Boers. Several witnesses depose to +having seen their remains lying together close to Potchefstroom. + +Various other Kafirs were shot. None of the perpetrators of these crimes +were brought to justice. The Royal Commission comments on these acts as +follows:-- + +“In regard to the deaths of Woite, Van de Linden, and Carolus, the +Boer leaders do not deny the fact that those men had been executed, but +sought to justify it. The majority of your Commissioners felt bound to +record their opinion that the taking of the lives of these men was an +act contrary to the rules of civilised warfare. Sir H. de Villiers was +of opinion that the executions in these cases, having been ordered by +properly constituted Court Martial of the Boers’ forces after due trial, +did not fall under the cognisance of your Commissioners. + +“Upon the case of William Finlay the majority of your Commissioners felt +bound to record the opinion that the sacrifice of Finlay’s life, through +forced labour under fire in the trenches, was an act contrary to the +rules of civilised warfare. _Sir H. de Villiers did not feel justified +by the facts of the case in joining in this expression of opinion_ +(sic). As to the case of the Kafir Andries, your Commissioners decided +that, although the shooting of this man appeared to them, from the +information laid before them, to be not in accordance with the rules of +civilised warfare, under all the circumstances of the case, it was not +desirable to insist upon a prosecution. + +“The majority of your Commissioners, although feeling it a duty to +record emphatically their disapproval of the acts that resulted in +the deaths of Woite, Van der Linden, Finlay, and Carolus, yet found it +impossible to bring to justice the persons guilty of these acts.” + +It will be observed that Sir H. de Villiers does not express any +disapproval, emphatic or otherwise, of these wicked murders. + +But Potchefstroom did not enjoy a monopoly of murder. + +In December 1880, Captain Elliot, who was a survivor from the Bronker +Spruit massacre, and Captain Lambart, who had been taken prisoner by the +Boers whilst bringing remounts from the Free State, were released from +Heidelberg on parole on condition that they left the country. An escort +of two men brought them to a drift of the Vaal river, where they refused +to cross, because they could not get their cart through, the river being +in flood. The escort then returned to Heidelberg and reported that the +officers would not cross. A civil note was then sent back to Captains +Elliot and Lambart, signed by P. J. Joubert, telling them “to pass the +Vaal river immediately by the road that will be shown to you.” What +secret orders, if any, were sent with this letter has never transpired; +but I decline to believe that, either in this or in Barber’s case, the +Boer escort took upon themselves the responsibility of murdering their +prisoners, without authority of some kind for the deed. + +The men despatched from Heidelberg with the letter found Lambert and +Elliot wandering about and trying to find the way to Standerton. They +presented the letter, and took them towards a drift in the Vaal. Shortly +before they got there the prisoners noticed that their escort had been +reinforced. It would be interesting to know, if these extra men were not +sent to assist in the murder, how and why they turned up as they did and +joined themselves to the escort. The prisoners were taken to an old and +disused drift of the Vaal river and told to cross. It was now dark, and +the river was much swollen with rain; in fact, impassable for the cart +and horses. Captains Elliot and Lambart begged to be allowed to outspan +till the next morning, but were told that they must cross, which they +accordingly attempted to do. A few yards from the bank the cart stuck on +a rock, and whilst in this position the Boer escort poured a volley into +it. Poor Elliot was instantly killed, one bullet fracturing his skull, +another passing through the back, a third shattering the right thigh, +and a fourth breaking the left wrist. The cart was also riddled, but, +strange to say, Captain Lambert was untouched, and succeeded in swimming +to the further bank, the Boers firing at him whenever the flashes of +lightning revealed his whereabouts. After sticking some time in the mud +of the bank he managed to effect his escape, and next day reached the +house of an Englishman called Groom, living in the Free State, and from +thence made his way to Natal. + +Two of the murderers were put through a form of trial, after the +conclusion of peace, and acquitted. + +The case of the murder of Dr. Barber is of a somewhat similar character +to that of Elliot, except that there is in this case a curious piece of +indirect evidence that seems to connect the murder directly with Piet +Joubert, one of the Triumvirate. + +In the month of February 1881, two Englishmen came to the Boer laager +at Lang’s Nek to offer their services as doctors. Their names were Dr. +Barber, who was well known to the Boers, and his assistant, Mr. Walter +Dyas, and they came, not from Natal, but the Orange Free State. On +arrival at the Boer camp they were at first well received, but after +a little while seized, searched, and tied up all night to a disselboom +(pole of a waggon). Next morning they were told to mount their horses, +and started from the camp escorted by two men who were to take them over +the Free State line. + +When they reached the Free State line the Boers told them to get off +their horses, which they were ordered to bring back to the camp. They +did so, bade good-day to their escort, and started to walk on towards +their destination. When they had gone about forty yards Dyas heard the +report of a rifle, and Barber called out, “My God, I am shot!” and fell +dead. + +Dyas went down on his hands and knees and saw one of the escort +deliberately aim at him. He then jumped up, and ran dodging from right +to left, trying to avoid the bullet. Presently the man fired, and he +felt himself struck through the thigh. He fell with his face to the men, +and saw his would-be assassin put a fresh cartridge into his rifle and +aim at him. Turning his face to the ground he awaited his death, but the +bullet whizzed past his head. He then saw the men take the horses and go +away, thinking they had finished him. After waiting a while he managed +to get up, and struggled to a house not far off, where he was kindly +treated and remained till he recovered. + +Some time after this occurrence a Hottentot, named Allan Smith, made +a statement at Newcastle, from which it appears that he had been taken +prisoner by the Boers and made to work for them. One night he saw Barber +and Dyas tied to the disselboom, and overheard the following, which I +will give in his own words:-- + +“I went to a fire where some Boers were sitting; among them was +a low-sized man, moderately stout, with a dark-brown full beard, +apparently about thirty-five years of age. I do not know his name. _He +was telling his comrades that he had brought an order from Piet Joubert_ +to Viljoen, to take the two prisoners to the Free State line _and shoot +them there_. He said, in the course of conversation, ‘Piet Joubert het +gevraacht waarom was de mensche neet dood geschiet toen hulle bijde +eerste laager gekom het.’ [‘Piet Joubert asked why were the men not shot +when they came to the first laager.’) They then saw me at the fire, and +one of them said, ‘You must not talk before that fellow; he understands +what you say, and will tell everybody.’ + +“Next morning Viljoen told me to go away, and gave me a pass into the +Free State. He said (in Dutch), ‘you must not drive for any Englishmen +again. If we catch you doing so we will shoot you, and if you do not go +away quick, and we catch you hanging about when we bring the two men to +the line, we will shoot you too.’” + +Dyas, who escaped, made an affidavit with reference to this statement in +which he says, “I have read the foregoing affidavit of Allan Smith, +and I say that the person described in the third paragraph thereof as +bringing orders from Piet Joubert to Viljoen, corresponds with one of +the Boers who took Dr. Barber and myself to the Free State, and to the +best of my belief he is the man who shot Dr. Barber.” + +The actual murderers were put on their trial in the Free State, and, of +course, acquitted. In his examination at the trial, Allan Smith says, +“It was a young man who said that Joubert had given orders that Barber +had to be shot. . . . It was not at night, but in the morning early, +when the young man spoke about Piet Joubert’s order.” + +Most people will gather, from what I have quoted, that there exists a +certain connection between the dastardly murder of Dr. Barber (and the +attempted murder of Mr. Dyas), and Piet Joubert, one of that “able” + Triumvirate of which Mr. Gladstone speaks so highly. + +I shall only allude to one more murder, though more are reported to have +occurred, amongst them--that of Mr. Malcolm, who was kicked to death by +Boers,--and that is Mr. Green’s. + +Mr. Green was an English gold-digger, and was travelling along the main +road to his home at Spitzcop. The road passed close by the military camp +at Lydenburg, into which he was called. On coming out he went to a Boer +patrol with a flag of truce, and whilst talking to them was shot dead. +The Rev. J. Thorne, the English clergyman at Lydenburg, describes this +murder in an affidavit in the following words:-- + +“That I was the clergyman who got together a party of Englishmen and +brought down the body of Mr. Green who was murdered by the Boers and +buried it. I have ascertained the circumstances of the murder, which +were as follows:--Mr. Green was on his way to the gold-fields. As he was +passing the fort, he was called in by the officers, and sent out again +with a message to the Boer commandant. Immediately on leaving the camp, +he went to the Boer guard opposite with a flag of truce in his hand; +while parleying with the Boers, who proposed to make a prisoner of him, +he was shot through the head.” + +No prosecution was instituted in this case. Mr. Green left a wife and +children in a destitute condition. + + + +II + +PLEDGES GIVEN BY MR. GLADSTONE’S GOVERNMENT AS TO THE RETENTION OF THE +TRANSVAAL AS A BRITISH COLONY + +The following extracts from the speeches, despatches, and telegrams +of members of the present Government, with reference to the proposed +retrocession of the Transvaal, are not without interest:-- + +During the month of May 1880, Lord Kimberley despatched a telegram +to Sir Bartle Frere, in which the following words occur: “_Under +no circumstances can the Queen’s authority in the Transvaal be +relinquished._” + +In a despatch dated 20th May, and addressed to Sir Bartle Frere, Lord +Kimberley says, “That the sovereignty of the Queen in the Transvaal +could not be relinquished.” + +In a speech in the House of Lords on the 24th May 1880, Lord Kimberley +said:-- + +“There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding; it was +impossible to say what calamities such a step as receding might not +cause. We had, at the cost of much blood and treasure, restored peace, +and the effect of our now reversing our policy would be to leave the +province in a state of anarchy, and possibly to cause an internecine +war. For such a risk he could not make himself responsible. The number +of the natives in the Transvaal was estimated at about 800,000, and +that of the whites less than 50,0000. Difficulties with the Zulus and +frontier tribes would again arise, and, looking as they must to South +Africa as a whole, the Government, after a careful consideration of +the question, came to the conclusion _that we could not relinquish +the Transvaal_. Nothing could be more unfortunate than uncertainty in +respect to such a matter.” + +On the 8th June 1880, Mr. Gladstone, in reply to a Boer memorial, wrote +as follows:-- + +“It is undoubtedly a matter for much regret that it should, since the +Annexation, have appeared that so large a number of the population of +Dutch origin in the Transvaal are opposed to the annexation of that +territory, but it is impossible now to consider that question as if it +were presented for the first time. We have to do with a state of things +which has existed for a considerable period, during which _obligations +have been contracted, especially, though not exclusively, towards +the native population, which cannot be set aside_. Looking to all the +circumstances, both of the Transvaal and the rest of South Africa, and +to the necessity of preventing a renewal of disorders, which might lead +to disastrous consequences, not only to the Transvaal but to the whole +of South Africa, _our judgment is that the Queen cannot be advised to +relinquish the Transvaal_.” + +Her Majesty’s Speech, delivered in Parliament on the 6th January 1881, +contains the following words: “A rising in the Transvaal has recently +imposed upon me the duty of _vindicating my authority_.” + +These extracts are rather curious reading in face of the policy adopted +by the Government, after our troops had been defeated. + + + +III + +THE CASE OF INDABEZIMBI + +This is a case which came under my own notice. The complainant is now +a tenant of my own. When Indabezimbi appeared before Mr. Cochrane and +myself, his appearance fully bore out his description of the assault +made upon him. We did everything in our power to help him to recover his +son and his property, but without effect. The matter was fully reported +to Sir Hercules Robinson and Sir E. Wood, and a question was asked on +the subject in the House of Commons. I append Mr. Courtney’s answer. +This case, which is perfectly authentic, will prove instructive reading, +as showing the treatment the Kafir must expect at the hands of the Boer, +now that he is no longer protected by us. It must be remembered that the +vast majority of such incidents are never heard of. The Kafirs suffer, +and are still. The assault and robbery of Indabezimbi took place in +Natal territory. + + +Statement of Indabezimbi + +“I used to work on Mr. Robson’s son’s place, and on his death I went to +Meyer’s (in the Utrecht district of the Transvaal) about a year ago. I +took all my property with me. There lived on the farm old Isaac Meyer, +Solomon Meyer, who died during the war, young Isaac Meyer, Jan Meyer, +Martinus Meyer, also a man called Cornelius, a ‘bijwooner,’ who loved in +Solomon’s place after he died. + +“According to custom, I sent my son to work for old Isaac Meyer, as +I lived on his place. When the war began all the Meyer family moved +further into the Transvaal, my son going with them as herd. I went up +to Klip River with them as driver, where the river forms the boundary +between the Free State and Transvaal. I returned at once, leaving my son +with the Meyers. He was a small boy about twelve years of age. At the +termination of the war the Meyers sent for me to drive them down. I met +them a day’s journey this side of Klip River. I asked them where my son +was. Old Isaac Meyer told me he had sent him to look for horses; he did +not return; and another boy was sent who brought the horses. The horses +were found close by. No one went to look for my son. I asked old Isaac +Meyer for leave to go and offer a reward amongst the Kafirs for my son. +He refused, saying I must drive him home, and then he would give me a +pass to come back and look for him. On our arrival at the farm I and my +wife again applied to old Isaac Meyer to be allowed to go and see about +my son. He refused, saying I must first shear the sheep. I replied that +he well knew that I could not shear sheep. I said, ‘How can I work when +my heart is sore for my son?’ Meyer said again that I must wait awhile +as the rivers were full. I said how could that matter, seeing that both +in coming and going with the waggons we crossed no rivers? As he refused +me a pass, I started without one to seek my son. On arrival at Mavovo’s +kraal I met my brother, who told me that I must go no further, or the +Boers would shoot me. Having no pass I returned. On my return my wives +told me that the Meyers had come every morning to look for me with +guns to shoot me, telling them that ‘it was now no longer the days for +sjamboking (flogging with hide whips) the natives, but the days for +shooting them.’ On hearing this I collected my goods, and by morning +had everything on the Natal side of the Buffalo River--on Natal ground. +About mid-day Martinus Meyer overtook us by Degaza’s kraal and asked +me what I was doing on the Natal side of the river. I told him I was +leaving for Natal, because I found it altogether too hot for me in +the Transvaal. He said that if I came back he would make everything +comfortable. I refused. He then attacked me with a knobkerrie, and would +have killed me had not one of my wives, seeing that I was badly hurt, +knocked him down with a piece of iron. Martinus then mounted his +horse and galloped off. I then got on my horse and fled. My wives +hid themselves. In the afternoon there came to the waggon Jan Meyer, +Martinus Meyer, young Isaac Meyer, and the man called Cornelius. They +hunted all about for us with the object of shooting us, as they told +Degaza’s Kafirs. My wives then saw them inspan the waggon and take +everything away. I had a waggon, twelve oxen, four cows, and a mare, +also a box containing two hundred pounds in gold, a telescope, clothes, +and other things. My wives found the box broken on the ground and all +the contents gone. Forty sacks of grain belonging to me were also taken. +I was robbed of everything I had, with the exception of the horse I +escaped on. The waggon was one I hired from my brother (a relation); the +oxen were my own brother’s. Eighty pounds of the money I got from the +Standard Bank in Newcastle for oxen sold to the owner of the store on +the Ingagane Drift. The rest I had accumulated in fees from doctoring. I +am a doctor amongst my own people. I come now to ask you to allow me to +settle on your land as a refugee. + +“(Signed) Indabezimbi, his X mark. + +“This statement was made by Indabezimbi at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, +on the Seventeenth of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one, in the +presence of the undersigned witnesses. + +“(Signed) H. Rider Haggard. +A. H. D. Cochrane. +J. H. Gay Roberts. + +“N.B.--The outrage of which Indabezimbi has here given an account +occurred within a week of the present date, August 17th, 1881.” + + +Statement of the woman Nongena, Wife of Indabezimbi + +“My master’s name is Isaac Meyer; he lives in the Transvaal, south of +Utrecht. We have lived on the farm about a year. On the farm lived also +Jan Meyer, Martinus Meyer, and young Isaac Meyer, sons of old Isaac +Meyer. There was also another man on the farm, whose name I do not know. +When the waggon went up with the Meyers’ family to the centre of the +Transvaal, when the late war broke out, my husband drove old Isaac +Meyer’s waggon, and my son Ungazaan also went to drive on stock. After +my husband had driven the waggon to its destination in the Transvaal he +returned to the kraal, leaving his son Ungazaan with the Meyers. After +the war was over my husband was sent for by the Meyers to drive back +the waggons. On arrival of the Meyers at the farm I found my husband +had returned, but my son was left behind. I asked my master where my son +was; my master replied, ‘He did not know, he had sent to boy to bring up +horses, but he had not brought them.’ Another boy was sent who brought +the horses. He said he had not seen the boy Ungazaan since he left to +look for the horses, as they had left the place the morning after the +boy was missing. My husband asked for a pass to go back and look for +the boy; Meyer refused, and my husband went without one to look for +Ungazaan, my son. He returned without the boy, owing, he said, to the +want of a pass. My husband dared not go into the country without a pass. +During my husband’s absence, the three sons of old Isaac Meyer, namely, +Martinus, Jan, and Isaac, came every morning to search for my husband, +saying, ‘We will kill him, he leaves our work to go without our leave +for look for the boy.’ They came once with sjamboks, but afterwards with +guns, saying they would kill him if they found him. On hearing this my +husband said, ‘We cannot then stay here longer.’ He then went at once +and borrowed a waggon and twelve oxen, and during the night we packed +the waggon three times, and took three loads across the Buffalo River +to Degaza’s kraal, which is on Natal ground, forty sacks of grain, 200 +pounds in a box, with clothes and other things, also mats and skins, and +four head of cattle and a horse. All these things were at Degaza’s kraal +before sunrise the next morning. The Induna Kabane, at the magistrate’s +office at Newcastle, knows of the money, and from whence it came. All +the money is our money. + +“About mid-day on the day after the night we moved, Martinus came on +horseback to us at Degaza’s kraal, and I saw him beating my husband with +a kerrie; he hit him also in the mouth with his fist. He hit my husband +on the head with a kerrie; he beat my husband on the foot when he was +trying to creep away in a hut, and would have killed him had not one of +his wives named Camgagaan hit Martinus on the head with a piece of iron. +Martinus, on recovery, rode away; my husband also fled on a horse. + +“I with the other wives fled, and hid ourselves close by in the grass +and stones. Presently we saw from our own hiding-place three white men, +armed with guns, seeking for us. Their names were Martinus Meyer, Jan +Meyer, and Isaac Meyer, all three sons of old Isaac Meyer. They sought +us in vain. From our hiding-place we heard the waggon driven away; and +later, when we went back to Degaza’s kraal, they told us that the Meyers +had inspanned the waggon, and had returned with it to the Transvaal side +of the Buffalo River. The names of those who saw the Boers go away with +the waggon are Gangtovo, Capaches, Nomatonga, Nomamane, and others. +The Boers took away on the waggon that night all the last load we had +brought over from the Transvaal, together with all our clothes; and +some of the sacks first brought over were loaded up, all our cattle were +taken, and our box was broken, and the 200 pounds taken away. We found +the pieces of the box on the ground when we came from our hiding-place. +We then fled. The people at Degaza’s kraal told us that the Boers had +said that they would return, and take away that which they were forced +to leave behind when they took the first load. We have since heard from +Degaza that the Boers came back again and took what remained of our +property at Degaza’s kraal. Degaza saw the Boers take the things +himself. + +“This is all I know of the facts. The assaults and robbery took place, +as near as I can say, about fourteen days ago.” + +(Signed) Nongena, her X mark. + +Gagaoola, also wife of Indabezimbi, states:--“I have heard all that +Nongena has told you. Her words are true; I was present when the assault +and robbery took place.” + +(Signed) Gagaoola, her X mark. + +These statements were made to us at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, on the +Twenty-second of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one. + +A. H. D. Cochrane. + +H. Rider Haggard. + +(Signed) Ayah, her X mark, +Interpreter. + + +Indabezimbi + +“Mr. Alderman Fowler asked the Under Secretary of State for the +Colonies, whether the British Resident at Pretoria had brought under +the notice of the Transvaal Government the circumstances of an outrage +committed in August last, by a party of Boers, on the person and +property of a Kafir named Indabezimbi, who was at that time residing in +Natal; and whether any steps had been taken by the authorities of the +Transvaal either to institute a judicial inquiry into the matter, or to +surrender the offenders to the Government of Natal. + +“Mr. Courtney.--On the 13th of October the British Resident reported +that, according to promise, the Government has caused an investigation +to be made at Utrecht, and informed him that the result was somewhat +to invalidate the statement of Indabezimbi; but that the documents +connected with the investigation at Utrecht would speedily be forwarded +to him with a view to correspondence through him with the Natal +Government. No further communication has been received. It must be +observed that, in the absence of any extradition convention, a judicial +inquiry in this case is practically impossible, the outrage, whatever +it was, having been committed in Natal, and the offenders being in +the Transvaal. Her Majesty’s Government are taking active steps to +re-establish a system of extradition, in pursuance of Article 29, of the +Convention. The despatches on this subject will be given to Parliament +when the correspondence is completed.” + + + +IV + +A BOER ADVERTISEMENT + +It may be interesting to Englishmen to know what treatment is meted out +to such of their fellow-countrymen as have been bold enough, or forced +by necessity, to remain in the Transvaal since the retrocession. The +following is a translation of an advertisement recently published in the +“Volkstem,” a Transvaal paper, and is a fair sample of what “loyalists” + have to expect. + + +“WARNING + +“We, the undersigned Burghers of the Ward Aapies river, hereby warn all +loyal persons who have registered themselves with the British Resident, +that they are not to come into our houses, or into our farms, and still +less to offer to shake hands. They can greet us at a distance on the +road _like Kafirs_, and those who act contrary to this notice can expect +the result.” + + +Presumably “the result” that the Englishman who takes the liberty +to offer to shake hands with a Boer can expect, is to be beaten or +murdered. This notice is signed by the Justice of the Peace or “Veld +Cornet” of the district. Anybody who knows the estimation in which a +Kafir is held by the Boers will understand its peculiar insolence. + + + +V + +“TRANSVAAL’S” LETTER TO THE “STANDARD” + +The following letter appeared in the issue of the “Standard” of the 31st +May 1882, and is dated Pretoria, 27th April. It is signed “Transvaal,” + probably because the author, were he to put his name at the foot of so +candid a document, would find himself in much the same position as that +occupied at the present moment by an Irish landlord who has outraged the +susceptibilities of the Land League. He would be rigorously “boycotted,” + and might, in the event of any disturbance, be made into a target. The +Transvaal Boers are very sensitive to criticism, especially where their +native policy is concerned. I take the liberty to reprint the letter +here, partly because I feel sure that I will be forwarding the wishes +of the writer by assisting to give publicity to his facts, and partly +on account of the striking and recent confirmation it affords, on every +point, to my remarks on the same subject:-- + +“Sir,--In calling your attention to what is going on on the +south-western border of the Transvaal, I may possibly tell you of some +things which you may already have heard of, for in the present isolated +condition of the country, without telegraphs, and with a very imperfect +postal system, added to the jealousy of the Boer Government in keeping +their actions secret from the outside world, it is not only very +difficult to get at the truth of what is happening, but the people in +one portion of the country are in many cases totally ignorant of what is +going on in another. Nevertheless, I feel it incumbent on me to call +the attention of the English people, through your widely circulating +journal, to what has come under my observation with reference to the +disgraceful native war which is, and has been, raging on the south-west +border of this country. + +“During the late Boer war, you may be aware of the fact that a very +large number, if not all, of the natives, were strongly in favour of +the English Government, and only awaited the signal from it to rush upon +their old oppressors. But the natives, although forbidden by the English +Government from joining with them against the Boers (it is hardly +necessary to say that had it not been for this the war would have had a +very different ending), nevertheless afforded an asylum and protection +to the lives and property of refugee Englishmen and loyalists. Notable +among these natives was a Chief named Montsiou, whose tribe is situated +just outside the borders of the Transvaal to the south-west. This +Chief and his people received numbers of refugees who fled to them for +protection from the rapacity of the Boers, and watched over them and +their property throughout the war. For this offence the Boers swore to +be revenged on him, and hardly was the war finished when they commenced +commandeering in the Potchefstroom district, under the pretence of +protecting their borders, but with the ostensible purpose of inflicting +chastisement on this loyal Chief; and, the better to effect their +purpose, they allied themselves with a neighbouring Chief, who had some +old grudge against him, and, by promises of assistance and hopes of +plunder, induced him to commence a war, under cover of which they could +join, and thus effect the purpose they had in view. + +“The Chiefs whom the Boers had instigated to harass Montsiou got +the worst of it, and the action of the Boers, who were actively +commandeering in the Potchefstroom (district?), under Commandant Cronge, +was brought to the notice of the Royal Commission through complaints +made by loyal Boers, and resulted in an inquiry into the subject, which +showed that his opponent was the aggressor, and was acting under the +advice of and assistance from the Boers. The Royal Commission managed to +patch matters up, but no sooner were their labours over, and the country +fairly handed over to the Boers, than Moshete and Masouw, instigated by +the Boers, commenced again harassing Montsiou, with the avowed purpose +of bringing on a war, and so far succeeded as to oblige Montsiou to take +up arms in self-defence. + +“From that time forward the war has gone on increasing in dimensions, +until other Chiefs have been drawn into it, and the Boer volunteers +fighting against Montsiou and Monkoroane are almost equal in numbers to +the natives. The Boers, while doing all they can to crush Montsiou on +account of the protection he afforded loyalists during the late war +against the English Government, are careful not to do it in an official +way, because that might cause trouble with England, whereas, by +aiding and assisting it privately, they could do quite as much without +incurring responsibility. You may naturally ask how I know all this, and +what proofs I can advance in support of it. Some time after the Royal +Commission had left the country, and the war had commenced again, Piet +Joubert, who is Commandant-General, went down to the border with the +object of putting an end to the war. This, I presume, he did for the +sake of appearances, for it is well known that he entertains a strong +hatred against those natives who in any way showed a partiality for +British rule; and when it is remembered that Piet Joubert’s journey did +not result in a cessation of hostilities, but in an increase, and that +ever since his journey the war has increased in area and in numbers, +and that in no single instance has a Boer volunteer been prevented +from crossing the border, or ammunition for use against Montsiou been +stopped, the sincerity of his intentions may well be doubted. + +“Then, again, officers in the Boer Jagers went about Pretoria +endeavouring to obtain volunteers to fight against Montsiou, saying +that they were to have some months’ leave from the Government, and that +subscriptions would be raised to assist those men who had no private +means. This took place almost immediately after Piet Joubert’s return +from the border, and while he was in Pretoria, and the general opinion +was that he was at the bottom of it; but as it became rather more public +than was intended, the British Resident was obliged to take notice of +it, and the result was that the Boers, though in general treating the +British Resident with little consideration, thought it wisest to carry +on their operations in a more private manner, more especially as their +object could be attained quite as effectually in this way. + +“While the Boers are assisting Moshete and Masouw by every means in +their power, with the sole object of crushing Montsiou and Monkoroane, +another loyal Chief, the Colonial Government, no doubt under +instructions from home, are doing their best to prevent volunteers or +ammunition reaching them, and have already rested men in Kimberley, who +have been trying to raise volunteers to go to their assistance. + +“The result of this is, that the loyal Chiefs are suffering under +a double disadvantage; for while their enemies are receiving every +assistance, they are blockaded on all sides, and, through the action +of the English Government in preventing them obtaining assistance, are +rapidly falling a prey to the Boers. Those only who know anything of the +Boer method of warfare against natives will know what this means; and in +spite of the Boer Government doing all they can to keep things +secret, horrible tales of the cruelties perpetrated by them leak out +occasionally. + +“It seems to me a disgraceful thing, and a stain on the honour of +England, that these loyal Chiefs and their tribes should be robbed, +plundered, and shot down like dogs, simply because they afforded +protection to the lives and property of Englishmen during the late +war, and yet these things are going on and are being perpetrated on the +border of England’s Colonies. If England will not step in and insist on +the Boers putting a stop to this murderous war, then in God’s name +let her not prevent these poor natives from obtaining ammunition and +assistance to enable them to defend their country. They succoured our +countrymen, and if we cannot succour them, the least we can do is not to +interfere to prevent them from protecting themselves! + +“Of course, it suits the Boer Government to make out that they have +nothing to do with the war, and cannot prevent Boer Volunteers from +fighting these Chiefs; and so long as the English Government rests +satisfied with these answers, so long will this disgraceful state of +things go on. Let the English Government be firm, however, and insist +on the Boers taking no part in this war, and it will cease--a sure proof +that the Boer Government have the power to stop it if they have the +will. + +“Not only are the Boers wreaking vengeance upon Montsiou and Monkoroane, +but a friend of theirs, a Chief of the name of Kalafin, whose tribe is +situated in the Zeerust district, Transvaal, has been robbed by them of +everything he possessed. This Chief had English sympathies; and as he +presumed to build a wall round his town he gave the Boers the excuse +they wanted. He was ordered to take the wall down, which he did, at the +same time proving that he only built it to prevent his cattle straying +among the huts. He was then ordered to come to Pretoria, which he did +accordingly. He was then ordered to pay a fine of three thousand cattle, +which fine he paid. No sooner was this done than the Boers, bent on +his ruin, raised the fine to ten thousand head. The poor Chief in vain +pleaded his inability to pay. It was the old story of the wolf and the +lamb. Because he couldn’t pay, the Boers construed it into an act of +disobedience, and at once ordered their men to go in and take everything +he possessed. This tribe is small and weak, which the Boers well knew. +Eye-witnesses of what followed say it was a heartrending sight. The +women, with children in their arms, pleaded in vain to the Boers to +leave them something or they would starve, but the latter only jeered +at them. What these poor people will do God only knows, for the Boers +stripped them of every living thing they possessed, and with the +proceeds of this robbery the Boer Government intend to replenish their +coffers. + +“The British Resident, Mr. Hudson, it is believed, shuts his eyes to +many things. No doubt his is a difficult position to fill; and doubtless +he is aware that, if he reports everything to the English Government, +the Boers have it in their power to make his position anything but a +pleasant one. In any case, the English portion of the community here, +while admitting his good qualities socially, have little confidence in +him officially. + +“My object in writing this letter, however, is not so much to show what +a disgraceful state the Government is in, as to try and awaken sympathy +in the breasts of my countrymen for the cause of these loyal Chiefs. +While the Government are writing despatches to the British Resident, +these Chiefs and their people are being ruined past remedying.” + + + +VI + +A VISIT TO THE CHIEF SECOCOENI[*] + + [*] This paper was written just before the Annexation of the + Transvaal in 1877. + +Towards the end of March I had occasion to visit the Basuto chief +Secocoeni, in his native stronghold beyond the Loolu Berg, a range to +the north-east of Pretoria, about 250 miles away; and as this journey +was typical of travelling in the wilds of South Africa, an account of it +may prove interesting. + +It is perhaps necessary to explain, for the benefit of those who are not +acquainted with South African politics, that Secocoeni is the chieftain +who has been at war with the late Transvaal Republic, who drove back its +forces, capturing some 7000 head of cattle. It is from this raid that +the present state of affairs has arisen; so that this obscure chief, +with his 9000 warriors, has materially affected the future destinies of +South Africa. Negotiations of peace had been set on foot, and it was +in connection with these delicate matters that the journey was to be +undertaken. + +“Going to Secocoeni at this time of year! Ah!” said one gentleman. +“Well, look here. I sent five natives through that country in this same +month (March) last year; out of those five, three died of the fever, and +the other two just got through with their lives. I only tell you, you +know, that you may take precautions. This is a bad fever year.” However, +fever or no fever, we had to go. As it was necessary to travel rapidly, +we could only take four riding-horses, three for ourselves and the +fourth for a Zulu named “Lankiboy,” who also led a pack-horse, +and carried an enormous “knob-kerry,” or shillelagh, stuck in his +button-hole, as though it were a wedding-bouquet. + +Behind our saddles were fastened our saddle-bags, containing a change +of clothing, and in front we strapped a rug and a mackintosh. +Our commissariat consisted of four tins of potted ham, and our +medicine-chest of some quinine, Cockle’s pills, and a roll of +sticking-plaster, which, with a revolver and a hunting-knife or two, +completed our equipment. + +We knew little of our route save that our destination lay due east, so +due east we steered. After riding for about twenty miles, and crossing +the Mahaliesburg range, that stretches away north for hundreds of miles, +we came to a Boer’s house, where we off-saddled to feed our horses. It +must be understood that the Boers were the one certain difficulty, and +one of the possible dangers, to be encountered on our road, for at no +time are they are pleasant people to deal with, and just now they are +remarkably unpleasant towards Englishmen. + +For instance, at this first house, we managed to get some forage for our +horses, before our scowling host found out who we were, but not a bit +could we get to eat. “Have you no bread, myn Heer?” “We have no bread +to spare.” “Have you any eggs?” “We have no eggs.” “Can you let us +have some milk?” “Susan, have you got any milk to give these carles +(fellows)?” Finally, we succeeded in buying three cups of milk for a +shilling, “as a favour,” and that is all we got from sunrise to sunset. + +Riding, on empty stomachs, for another sixty miles over the plains, we +came to a Boer’s house where we had to sleep. Just before we reached the +door, I noticed what I have often seen since, some graves in a row, with +heaps of stones piled over them. It appears that these people do not +care about bring buried in consecrated ground, their only anxiety being +to be put in a coffin, and they are generally laid to rest near to their +doors. There is neither railing nor headstone, and no trees or flowers, +those green emblematic garments with which civilised people try to hide +the ugliness of death. I remember once seeing several graves within two +or three yards of the public road, so that in a year or so the waggons +will be rumbling over the heads of those who lie beneath. + +When you ride up to a Boer’s house, the etiquette is to wait until some +member of the family asks you to off-saddle, and then you must go in +and shake hands with every one, a most disagreeable custom. None of the +women--who are very plain--rise to meet one, they just hold out their +hands. This house was a fair specimen of the sort of habitation indulged +in by the ordinary Boer. The main room was about eighteen feet square, +with that kind of door which allows the upper half to open whilst the +lower remains shut, such as is used in stables in England. The flooring +is made of cow-dung, into which peach stones are trodden at the +threshold, in order to prevent its wearing away. The furniture consists +of a deal table and some chairs, rather nearly made of strips of hide +fastened to a wooden frame. There is no ceiling, but only beams, to +which are fastened strips of “biltong,” or game’s flesh, dried in the +sun. Out of this room open one or two more, in which the whole family +sleep, without much attempt at privacy. + +Sitting about the room were two or three young mothers, without +stockings and nursing babies; in the corner, on a chair, made twice as +large as any of the others, reposed the mother of the family, a woman of +large size. The whole house was pervaded by a sickly odour, like that of +a vault, whilst the grime and filth of it baffle description. And this +was the place we had to eat and sleep in. However, there was no help for +it; the only thing to do was to light one’s pipe, and smoke. After an +hour or so, supper was put upon the table, consisting of a bowl full of +boiled bones, a small stack of mealie cobs, and, be it added, some good +bread-and-butter. The eating arrangements of these people are certainly +very trying. The other day we had to eat our dinner in a Boer’s house, +with a reeking ox-hide, just torn from the animal, lying on the floor +beside us, together with portions of the poor beast’s head whose flesh +we were eating. However, on this occasion we were spared the ox-hide, +and, being very hungry, managed to put up with the other discomforts. +After a long grace our suppers were served out to us. I remember I got +an enormous bone with but little flesh on it, which, if I may form an +opinion from its great size and from a rapid anatomical survey, must +have been the tibia of an ox. A young Boer sat opposite to me--a +wonderful fellow. He got through several mealie cobs (and large ones +too) whilst I was eating half a one. His method was peculiar, and shows +what practice can do. He shoved a mealie cob into his mouth, gave it +a bite and a wrench, just like one of those patent American threshing +machines, brought the cob out perfectly clear of grain, and took +another. After the supper was over, we had another long grace ending +with: “voor spijze en drunk de Heer ik dank” (for food and drink the +Lord I thank). + +After supper we went outside in order to escape the feet-washing +ceremony (all in the same water) which this “simple pastoral people” + are said to indulge in, and which they might expect the “uitlander” + (stranger) to enter into with enthusiasm. When we came back, we +found that the women--who, by-the-by, do not eat till the men have +finished--had done their meal, and gone to bed, having first made us up +a luxurious couch on the floor, consisting of a filthy feather-bed, and +an equally filthy blanket. My heart misgave me when I looked at that +bed. It may have been fancy, but once or twice I thought it moved. +However, there was no choice, unless we chose to sit up all night; so in +we got, looking for all the world like three big sun-burned dolls put +to bed by some little girl. I, as the youngest, blew out the light, and +then!--from every side _they_ came. Up one’s arms, up one’s legs, +down one’s back they scampered, till life became a burden. Sleep was +impossible; one could only lie awake and calculate the bites per minute, +and the quantity of blood one would lose before daybreak. Cold as it +was, I would have turned out and slept in the veldt, only my rug was +over my two companions as well as myself, so I could not take it. I have +slept in a good many different places, and in very fairly uncomfortable +places, but I never had such a night before. + +At the first grey dawn of morning the old “frau” came stumbling out of +the bedroom, and sat down without ceremony in her big chair. Waiting +till she thought that we had reached a sufficiently advanced stage in +our toilette--and her idea of what that was must have been a strange +one--she shouted out to her daughters that they could “com,” and in they +all came. Very glad were we when we had paid our bill, which was a heavy +one, and were in the saddle once more, riding through the cold morning +mist that lay in masses on all the ridges of the hills like snow on +mountains. + +It was needful to start early, for we had more than sixty miles to +cover, and our ponies had done a good journey the day before. The work +that one can get out of these ponies is marvellous. There was my pony, +“Mettle,” who had my eleven stone to carry, to say nothing of the +saddle, heavy saddle-bags, and a roll of rugs, who came in at the end +of his journey as fresh as paint. We cantered easily over the great +high-veldt prairies, now and then passing clumps of trees, outposts +of the bush-veldt. These enormous plains, notwithstanding their dreary +vastness, have a wild beauty of their own. The grass is what is called +sour grass, and has a peculiar blue tinge, but stock do not like it so +well as the low-veldt grass, which is sweeter, and fattens them more +quickly, though it does not put them in such good fettle. The rock here +is all white sandstone, and thinly overlaps an enormous bed of coal, +cropping up from beneath the water-washed surface. At this time of year +there are very few beasts or birds of any sort to be seen, though in the +winter the veldt is one moving mass of “trek” or migratory game. + +Our destination that day was Botsabelo, the most important +mission-station, and one of the very few successful ones, in +South-Eastern Africa. As we neared it, the country gradually broke into +hills of peculiar and beautiful formation, which rendered the last two +hours of our ride, in the dark, through an unknown country, rather a +difficult job. However, we stumbled through streams, and over boulders, +and about nine o’clock were lucky enough to come right upon the station, +where we were most kindly received by Dr. Merensky. The station itself +stands on the brow of a hill surrounded by gardens and orchards; beneath +it lie slope and mountain, stream and valley, over which are dotted +numbers of kraals, to say nothing of three or four substantial houses +occupied by the assistant missionary and German artisans. Near Dr. +Merensky’s house stands the church, by far the best I have seen in the +Transvaal, and there is also a store with some well-built workshops +around it. All the neighbouring country belongs to the station, which +is, in fact, like a small independent State, 40,000 acres in extent. +On a hill-top overshadowing the station, are placed the fortifications, +consisting of thick walls running in a circle with upstanding towers, +in which stand one or two cannon; but it all reminds one more of an old +Norman keep, with its village clustered in its protecting shadow, than +of a modern mission establishment. + +Dr. Merensky commenced his labours in Secocoeni’s country, but was +forced to fly from thence by night, with his wife and new-born baby, +to escape being murdered by that Chief’s orders, who, like most Kafir +potentates, has an intense aversion to missionaries. Twelve years ago he +established this station, and, gathering his scattered converts around +him, defied Secocoeni to drive him thence. Twice that Chief has sent out +a force to sweep him away, and murder his people, and twice they have +come and looked, and, like false Sextus, turned back again. The Boers, +too, have more than once threatened to destroy him, for it is unpleasant +to them to have so intelligent a witness in their midst, but they have +never dared to try. The place is really impregnable to Basutus and +Boers; Zulus might carry it, with their grand steady rush, but it would +be at a terrible sacrifice of life. In fact, Dr. Merensky has been +forced, by the pressure of circumstances, to teach his men the use of a +rifle, as well as the truths of Christianity; to trust in God, but also +to “keep their powder dry.” At a few minutes’ notice he can turn out 200 +well-armed natives, ready for offence or defence; and the existence +of such a stronghold is of great advantage to the few English in the +neighbourhood, for the Boers know well that should they attack them +they might draw down the vengeance of Dr. Merensky’s formidable body of +Christian soldiers. + +We only passed one night at Botsabelo, and next morning went on to +Middelburg, or Nazareth, which is an hour’s ride from the station. Here, +too, we met with a warm welcome from the handful of English residents, +but we were eager to push on as rapidly as possible, for our kind +friends told us that it would be impossible to proceed to Secocoeni’s on +horseback, because of the deadly nature of the country for horses. So +we had to hire an ox-waggon, which they provisioned for us, and, much to +our disgust (as we were pressed for time), were obliged to fall back on +that dilatory method of travelling. + +We decided that we would take the three oldest and least valuable horses +with us, in order to proceed with them from Fort Weeber, which was our +next point, to Secocoeni’s town, whither waggons could not reach. Few +English readers are aware that there is a mysterious disease +among horses in South Africa, peculiar to the country, called +“horse-sickness.” During the autumn season it carries off thousands of +horses annually, though some are good and others bad years--a bad fever +year being generally a bad horse-sickness year also, and _vice versa_. +A curious feature about it is, that as the veldt gets “tamed,” that is, +fed off by domesticated animals, the sickness gradually disappears. +No cure has yet been discovered for it, and very few horses pull +through--perhaps, five per cent. These are called “salted horses,” and +are very valuable; as, although they are not proof against the disease, +they are not so liable to take it. A salted horse may be known by the +peculiar looseness and roughness of his skin, and also by a +certain unmistakable air of depression, as though he felt that the +responsibilities of life pressed very heavily upon him. He is like a man +who has dearly bought his experience; he can never forget the terrible +lesson taught in the buying. + +On the fourth day from our start we left Middelburg, and, taking a +north-east course from this outpost of civilisation, overtook the +waggon, and camped, after a twenty miles’ trek, just on the edge of the +bush-veldt. We had two young Boers to drive our waggons--terrible louts. +However, they understood how to drive a waggon, and whilst one of them +drove, the other would sit for hours, with a vacant stare on his face, +thinking. It is a solemn fact that, from the time we left Middelburg +till the time we returned, neither of those fellows touched water, that +is, to wash themselves. The only luxury in the shape of comforts of the +toilette which they allowed themselves was a comb with a brass back, +carefully tied to the roof of the waggon with two strips of ox-hide +thick enough to have held a hundredweight of lead. I don’t think they +ever used it--it was too great a luxury for general use--but they would +occasionally untie it and look at it. Our own outfit in the waggon was +necessarily scanty, consisting of a few iron pots and plates, a kettle, +some green blankets, a lantern, and an old anti-friction grease-can used +for water, which gave it a fine flavour of waggon-wheels. We also had +a “cartle,” or wooden frame, across which were stretched strips of hide +fitted into the waggon about two feet above the floor, and intended to +sleep on; but the less said about that the better. + +After we left the great high-veldt plains, over which the fresh breeze +was sweeping, we dropped down into a beautiful bush-clad valley with +mountains on either side. It was like making a sudden descent into the +tropics. Not a breath of wind stirred the trees, and the sun shone with +a steady burning heat. Scarcely a sound broke the silence, save the +murmur of the river we crossed and recrossed, the occasional pipe of a +bird, and the melancholy cry, half sigh, half bark, of an old baboon, +who was swinging himself along, indignant at our presence. + +If the sights and sounds were beautiful, the sun was hot, and the road +fearful, and we were indeed glad when we reached “Whitehead’s Cobalt +Mine,” and were most kindly received by the gentlemen who superintend +the works. The house used to belong to some Boer, who had deserted +the place, but left behind him a beautiful orchard of orange and peach +trees. The place is very feverish and unhealthy, and the white ants +so troublesome that everything has to be stood in sardine tins full of +ashes. + +On our way from the house we went to see the cobalt mine, which is on +a hillside a mile away. It has only been established about three years, +and has existed hitherto under the greatest difficulties as regards +labour, transport, machinery, danger from surrounding native tribes, +&c.; but it has already, the proprietor informed me, reduced the price +of cobalt--the blue dye used to colour such things as the willow-pattern +plates--by one-half in the English market, bringing it down from +somewhere about 140 pounds to 80 pounds a ton. We were very much +astonished to see the amount of work which had been done, as we expected +to find a pit such as the Kafirs work for copper, but instead of that +there was a large slanting shaft quite a hundred yards long, to say +nothing of various openings out of it following branch leads of ore. +There is also a vertical shaft one hundred feet deep, through which the +ore comes up, and by which one can ascend and descend in a bucket. After +we emerged from this awful hole, we went into another, a drive running +straight into the mountain for more than three hundred feet, following a +vein of black oxide of cobalt, which is much more valuable than the ore; +and, though the vein is rarely more than a foot in thickness, pays +very well. Leaving the mine, we rode on past some old Kafir +copper-workings--circular pits--which must have been abandoned, to judge +from their appearance, a hundred years ago, till we came to the banks +of the great “Olifants’” or “Elephants’” river. This magnificent stream, +though it is unnavigable owing to frequent rapids, has stretches miles +long, down which a man-of-war could steam, and after its junction with +the Elands’ River it grows larger and larger till, pursuing a north-east +course, it at length falls into the mighty Limpopo. It is a very +majestic but somewhat sluggish stream, and its water is not very good. +You cannot see the river till you are right upon it, owing to the great +trees with which its steep banks are fringed, and in the early morning +it is quite hidden from bank to bank by a dense mass of billows of white +mist, indescribably strange to look upon. + +But, beautiful as this country is, it is most unhealthy for man and +beast. The close odour, the long creeping lines of mist, the rich rank +vegetation, the steady heat of day and night, all say one word, “fever,” + and fever of the most virulent type. The traveller through this sort of +country is conscious of a latent fear lest he should some day begin to +feel hot when he ought to be cold, and cold when he ought to be hot, and +so be stricken down, to rise prematurely old, or perhaps to die, and be +buried in a lonely grave covered with stones to keep off the jackals. +We were travelling in the very worst fever-month, March, when the summer +vegetation is commencing to rot, and throw off its poisonous steam. What +saved us here and afterwards, at Secocoeni’s, was our temperate living, +hard exercise, and plenty of quinine and tobacco-smoke. + +All the country through which we were passing is good game-veldt, but we +saw very little and killed nothing. This was chiefly owing to the fact +that we did not dare go out of hearing of the waggon-wheels, for fear +of getting lost in the bush, a thing very easily done. A few years back +this veldt swarmed with big game, with elephants and giraffes, and +they are even now occasionally seen. We managed now and again to get +a glimpse of some of the beautiful “Impala” buck, or of a small lot of +blue wilderbeestes vanishing between the trees, like a troop of wild +horses. There are still plenty of lions about, but we did not hear any: +whether it was that they had gone to the high-veldt after the cattle, or +that they do not roar so much in summer, I do not know. Perhaps it is as +well that we did not, for the roar of a lion is very generally followed +by what the Dutch call a “skrech.” After roaring once or twice to wake +the cattle up, and make them generally uneasy, the lion stations himself +about twenty yards to the windward of the waggon. The oxen get wind of +him and promptly “skrech,” that is, break their rims and run madly into +the veldt. This is just what the lion wants, for now he can pick out a +fat ox and quietly approach him from the other side till he is within +springing distance. He then jumps upon him, crushes his neck with one +bite, and eats him at his leisure. + +And so we trekked on through the sunrise, through the burning mid-day +and glowing sunsets, steering by the sun and making our own road; now +through tambouki grass higher than the oxen, and now through dense bush, +till at length, one day, we said good-bye to the Olifants’ just where +the Elands’ River flows into it, and turned our faces eastward. This +course soon brought us on to higher ground and away from the mimosa, +which loves the low, hot valleys, into the region of the sugar bush, +which thrives upon the hill-sides. This sugar bush is a very handsome +and peculiar plant, with soft thick leaves, standing about twenty feet +high. It bears a brush-like flower, each of which in the Cape Colony +contains half a teaspoonful of delicious honey; but, curiously enough, +though in other respects the tree is precisely similar, this is not the +case in the Transvaal or Natal. At the proper season the Cape farmers +go out with buckets and shake the flowers till they have collected +sufficient honey to last them for the winter, a honey more fragrant than +that made by bees. + +After a long ride over the open, which must once have been thickly +populated, to judge from the number of remains of kraals, we came at +length to Fort Weeber. The fort is very badly situated in the hollow of +a plain, and so surrounded by fine hills that it is entirely commanded. +It consists of a single sod wall about two feet thick and five high, +capped with loose stones, whilst at two of the corners stand, on raised +platforms, a six-pounder and a three-pounder Whitworth gun. Inside the +wall are built rows of mud huts, which are occupied by the garrison, +leaving an open square, in the midst of which is placed the magazine. We +found the garrison in a wretched condition. They have not received any +pay except Government “good-fors” (promissory notes, generally known as +“good-for-nothings”), so they are in a state of abject poverty; whilst +they are rendered harmless as regards offensive operations, by the +death, from horse-sickness, of eighty-two of the ninety horses +they owned. However, the officers and garrison gave us a very grand +reception. As we rode up, they fired a salute of twelve guns, and then, +after we had dismounted and been received by the officers, we were taken +through a lane made by the garrison drawn up in a double line, and, just +as we got to the middle, “bang” went the eighty rifles over our +heads. Then an address was read (the volunteers are great people for +addresses), but a more practical welcome soon followed in the shape of a +good dinner. + +Next morning we started, a party of seven, including the interpreter, +to ride over the Loolu Berg to Secocoeni’s, a distance of about +thirty-eight miles. + +For the first five miles we passed through the most curious granite +formation, a succession of small hills entirely composed of rounded +boulders of granite, weighing from five to 1000 tons, and looking +exactly like piles of gigantic snow-balls hurled together by some mighty +hand. The granite formation prevails in all this part of the country, +and individual boulders sometimes take very curious shapes; for +instance, in the bush-veldt we passed a great column towering high above +the trees, composed of six boulders getting smaller and smaller from +the base up, and each accurately balanced on the one beneath it. Then +we crossed the range of hills which overlooks the fort, and passing +Secocoeni’s old kraal where he used to live before he retreated to his +fastnesses, we arrived at a great alluvial valley nine miles broad, on +the other side of which rises the Loolu. It was on this plain that the +only real fight between the volunteers and Secocoeni’s men took place, +when the former managed to get between the Basutus and the hills, +and shot them down like game, killing over 200 men. Leaving the +battle-field, where the skeletons still lie, a little to our right, we +crossed the plain and came to the foot of the Loolu, all along the base +of which stand neat villages inhabited by Secocoeni’s people. Some of +these villages have been burnt by the volunteers, and the remainder are +entirely deserted, their inhabitants having built fresh huts among the +rocks in almost inaccessible places. The appearance of these white huts +peeping out all over the black rocks was very curious, and reminded one +of the Swiss chalets. + +By the stream that runs along past the villages we off-saddled, as both +ourselves and our horses were nearly exhausted by the burning heat; but +as there was not much time to lose, after a short rest we started off +again, and rode on over a bed of magnetic iron lying on the ground in +great lumps of almost pure metal, until we came to a stretch of what +looked remarkably like gold-bearing quartz, and then to a limestone +formation. The whole country is evidently rich beyond measure in +minerals. All this time we were passing through scenery inexpressibly +wild and grand, and when we had arrived at the highest spot of the pass, +it reached a climax of savage beauty. About forty miles in front of us +towered up another magnificent range of blue-tinged mountains known as +the Blue Berg, whilst all around us rose great bush-clad hills, opening +away in every direction towards gorgeous-coloured valleys. The scene was +so grand and solemn that I do not think it lies in the power of words to +describe it. + +Here we had to dismount to descend a most fearful precipitous path +consisting of boulders piled together in the wildest confusion, from +one to another of which we had to jump, driving the horses before us. +Half-way down we off-saddled to rest ourselves, and as we did so we +noticed that the gall was running from one of the horses’ noses. We knew +too well what was the matter, and so left him there to die during the +night. This horse was by far the finest we had with us, and his owner +used to boast that the poor beast had often carried him, a heavy man, +from his house to Pretoria, a distance of nearly ninety miles, in +one day. He was also a “salted” horse. It is a curious thing that the +sickness generally kills the best horses first. + +After a short rest we started on again, and at the end of another hour +reached the bottom of the pass. From thence we rode along a gulley, that +alternately narrowed and widened, till at length it brought us right on +to Secocoeni’s beautiful, fever-stricken home. + +All three of us had seen a good deal of scenery in different parts +of the world, and one of the party was intimately acquainted with the +finest spots in South Africa, but we were forced to admit that we had +never seen anything half so lovely as Secocoeni’s valley. We had seen +grander views, indeed the scene from the top of the pass was grander, +but never anything that so nearly approached perfection in detail. +Beautiful it was, beautiful beyond measure, but it was the sort of +beauty under whose veil are hidden fever and death. And so we pushed on, +through the still hot eventide, till at length we came to the gates +of the town, where we found “Makurupiji,” Secocoeni’s “mouth” or prime +minister, who had evidently been informed of our coming by his spies +waiting to receive us.[*] + +[*] Makurupiji committed suicide after the town had been stormed, +preferring death to imprisonment. + +Conducted by this grandee, we went on past the Chief’s kraals, down to +the town, whence flocked men, women, and children, to look on the white +lords; all in a primitive state of dress, consisting of a strip of skin +tied round the middle, and the women with their hair powdered with some +preparation of iron, which gave it a metallic blue tinge. + +At length we stopped just opposite a beautiful fortified kopje[*] +perforated by secret caves where the ammunition of the tribe is hidden. +No stranger is allowed to enter these caves, or even to ascend the +kopje, though they do not object to one’s inspecting some of the other +fortifications. Dismounting from our wearied horses, we passed through a +cattle kraal and came into the presence of “Swasi,” Secocoeni’s uncle, +a fat old fellow who was busily engaged in braying a skin. Nearly every +male Basutu one meets, be he high or low, is braying a hide of some +sort, either by rubbing or by masticating it. It is a curious sight to +come across some twenty of these fellows, every one of them twisting or +chewing away. + + [*] Afterwards stormed in the attack on Secocoeni’s town by + Sir Garnet Wolseley. + +Swasi was a sort of master of the household; his duty it was to receive +strangers and see that they were properly looked after; so, after +shaking hands with us furiously (he was a wonderful fellow to shake +hands), he conducted us to our hut. It stood in a good-sized courtyard +beautifully paved with a sort of concrete of limestone which looked very +clean and white, and surrounded by a hedge of reeds and sticks tightly +tied together, inside which ran a slightly raised bench, also made of +limestone. The hut itself was neatly thatched, the thatch projecting +several feet, so as to form a covering to a narrow verandah that ran all +round it. Inside it was commodious, and ornamented after the Egyptian +style with straight and spiral lines, painted on with some kind of red +ochre, and floored with a polished substance. Certainly these huts are +as much superior to those of the Zulus as those who dwell in them are +inferior to that fine race. What the Basutus gain in art and handiness +they lose in manliness and gentlemanly feeling. + +We had just laid ourselves down on the grass mats in the courtyard--for +it was too hot to go into the hut--thoroughly exhausted with our day’s +work and the heat, when in came two men, each of them dragging a fine +indigenous sheep. They were accompanied by Makurupiji, who brought us a +message from Secocoeni to the effect that he, the Chief, sent to greet +us, the great Chiefs; that he sent us also a morsel to eat, lest we +should be hungry in his house. It was but a morsel--it should have been +an ox, for great Chiefs should eat much meat--but he himself was pinched +with hunger, his belt was drawn very tight by the Boers. He was poor, +and so his gift was poor; still, he would see if to-morrow he could find +a beast that had something besides the skin on its bones, that he might +offer it to us. After this magniloquent address the poor animals were +trundled out by the other gate to have their throats cut. + +After getting some supper and taking our quinine, we turned in and +slept that night in the best way that the heat would let us, rising next +morning with the vain hope of getting a bathe. Of all the discomforts +we experienced at Secocoeni’s, the scarcity and badness of the water was +the worst. Bad water, when you are in a hotbed of fever, is a terrible +privation. And so we had to go unwashed, with the exception of having a +little water poured over our hands out of gourds. We must have presented +a curious sight at breakfast that morning. Before us knelt a sturdy +Kafir, holding a stick in each hand, on which were respectively speared +a leg and a side of mutton, from which we cut off great hunks with our +hunting-knives, and, taking them in our fingers, devoured them like +beasts of prey. If we got a bit we did not like, our mode of dispensing +of it was simple and effective. We threw it to one of the natives +standing round us, among whom was the heir-apparent, who promptly +gobbled it up. + +Breakfast finished, a message came from Secocoeni asking for spirits to +drink. But we were not to be taken in in this way, for we knew well that +if we sent the Chief spirits we should get no business done that day, +and we did not care to run the risk of fever by stopping longer than we +could help; so we sent back a message to the effect that business +must come first and spirits afterwards. The head men, who brought this +message, said that they could perfectly understand our objection, as far +as Secocoeni and ourselves were concerned, since we had to talk, but +as they had only to sit still and listen there could be no possible +objection to their having something to drink. This argument was +ingenious, but we did not see the force of it, as our stock of spirits, +which we had brought more for medicine than anything else, was very +limited. Still, we were obliged to promise them a “tot” after the +talking was over, in order to keep them civil. + +Our message had the desired effect, for presently Secocoeni sent to say +that it was now time to talk, and that his head men would lead us +to him. So we started up, accompanied by “Makurupiji,” “Swasi,” and +“Galook,” the general of his forces, a fat fellow with a face exactly +like a pig. The sun beat down with such tremendous force that, though +we had only three-quarters of a mile to walk, we felt quite tired by +the time we reached the Chief’s kraals. Passing through several cattle +kraals, we came to a shed under which sat the heir-apparent dressed in +a gorgeous blanket with his court around him. Leaving him, we entered an +inner cattle kraal, where, in one corner, stood a large, roughly-built +shed, under the shade of which squatted over a hundred of the head men +of the tribe, gathered together by Secocoeni to “witness.”[*] + + [*] As each chief came up to the meeting-place he would pass + before the enclosure where Secocoeni was sitting and salute + him, by softly striking the hands together, and saying + something that sounded like “Marema.” + +Opening out of this kraal was the chief’s private enclosure, where stood +his huts. As we drew near, Secocoeni, who had inspired such terror into +the bold Burghers of the Republic, the chief of nine thousand warriors, +the husband of sixty-four wives, the father of a hundred children, rose +from the ox-hide on which he was seated, under the shade of a tree, and +came to the gate to meet us. And a queer sight this potentate was as +he stood there shaking hands through the gate. Of middle age, about +forty-five years of age, rather fat, with a flat nose, and small, +twinkling, black eyes, he presented an entirely hideous and +semi-repulsive appearance. His dress consisted of a cotton blanket +over which was thrown a tiger-skin kaross, and on his head was stuck +an enormous old white felt hat, such as the Boers wear, and known as a +“wilderbeeste chaser.” + +After we had been duly introduced, he retreated to his ox-hide, and we +went and squatted down among the head men. Secocoeni took no active +part in the proceedings that followed; he sat in his enclosure and +occasionally shouted out some instructions to Makurupiji, who was +literally his “mouth,” speaking for him and making use of the pronoun +“I.” During the four hours or so that we were there Secocoeni never +stopped chewing an intoxicating green leaf, very much resembling that of +the pomegranate, of which he occasionally sent us some. + +After the business of the Commission had come to an end, and some of our +party started on their homeward journey, we were detained by Secocoeni, +who wished to see us privately. He sent for us to his private enclosure, +and we sat down on his ox-hide with him and one or two head men. It was +very curious to see this wily old savage shoving a handful of leaves +into his mouth, and giving his head a shake, and then making some shrewd +remark which went straight to the bottom of whatever question was in +hand. At length we bade Secocoeni good-bye, having promised to deliver +all his respectful messages to our chief, and, thoroughly wearied, +arrived at our own hut. Tired as we were, we thought it would be better +to start for the fort at once, rather than risk the fever for another +night. So we made up our minds to a long moonlight ride, and, saddling +up, got out of Secocoeni’s town about 3.30 P.M., having looked our last +upon this beautiful fever-trap, which only wants water scenery to make +it absolutely perfect. Half-way up, we saw the poor horse we had left +sick the day before, lying dead, with dry foam all round his mouth, +and half his skin taken off by some passing Basutu. A couple of hundred +yards farther on we found another dying, left by the party who had +started before us. It was in truth a valley of the shadow of death. +Luckily our horses lasted us back to the fort, but one died there, and +the other two are dead since. + +Beautiful as was the scene by day, in the light of the full moon it was +yet more surpassingly lovely. It was solemn, weird. Every valley became +a mysterious deep, and every hill, stone, and tree shone with that cold +pale lustre which the moon alone can throw. Silence reigned, the silence +of the dead, broken only once or twice by the wild whistling challenge +of one of Secocoeni’s warriors as he came bounding down the rocks, +to see who we were that passed. The effect of the fires by the huts, +perched among the rocks at the entrance to the pass, was very strange +and beautiful, reminding one of the midnight fires of the Gnomes in the +fairy tales. + +And so we rode on, hour after hour, through the night, till we well-nigh +fell asleep in our saddles, and at length, about two o’clock in the +morning, we reached the waggons to find the young Boers fast asleep +in our bed. We kicked them out, and, after swallowing some biscuits, +tumbled in ourselves for the few hours’ rest which we so sadly needed. + +On the following morning, Thursday, two of the party bade farewell to +our hosts at the fort and started on one of the quickest possible treks, +leaving our companion to proceed across country to the fort established +by President Burgers, or “Porocororo,” as the Basutus call him, at +Steelport. + +We returned to Middelburg by an entirely different route from that +by which we came. Leaving the valley of the Olifants to our right, we +trekked along the high-veldt, and thus avoided all the fever country. +Roughly speaking, we had about 120 miles of country to get over to reach +Middelburg, and we determined to do this in three days and two nights, +so as to get in on the Saturday night, as we were much pressed for time. +Now, according to English ideas, it is no great thing to travel 120 +miles in three days; but it is six days’ journey in an ox-waggon over +bad country, and we were going to do it in half that time by doubling +the speed. + +Of course, to do this we had to trek night and day. For instance, on the +first day we inspanned at 10.30 A.M. and trekked till within an hour +of sundown; at sundown we inspanned, and with one outspan trekked till +sunrise; outspanned for two hours, and on again, being seventeen and +a half hours under the yoke out of the twenty-four, and covering +fifty-five miles. Of course, one cannot do this sort of travelling for +more than two or three days without killing the oxen; as it was, towards +the end, as soon as the yokes were lifted off, the poor beasts dropped +down as though they were shot, and most of them went lame. Another +great disadvantage is that one suffers very much from want of sleep. The +jolting of the springless machine, as it lumbered over rocks a foot high +and through deep spruits or streams, brought our heads down with such a +fearful jar on the saddle-bags that we used for pillows, that all sleep +was soon knocked out of them; or, even if we were lucky enough to be +crossing a stretch of tolerably smooth ground, there was a swaying +motion that rubbed one’s face up and down till the skin was nearly +worn through, polishing the saddle-bags to such an extent that we might +almost have used them for looking-glasses as well as pillows. + +At Secocoeni’s kraal we had engaged two boys to carry our packs as far +as the fort, who, on their arrival, were so well satisfied with the way +in which we treated them that they requested to be allowed to proceed +with us. These young barbarians, who went respectively by the names of +“Nojoke” and “Scowl,” as being the nearest approach in English to their +Sisutu names, were the greatest possible source of amusement to us, +with their curious ways.[*] I never saw such fellows to sleep; it is +a positive fact that Nojoke used frequently to take his rest coiled up +like a boa constrictor in a box at the end of the waggon, in which box +stood three iron pots with their sharp legs sticking up. On those legs +he peacefully slumbered when the waggon was going over ground that +prohibited our even stopping in it. “Scowl” was not a nice boy to look +at, for his naked back was simply cut to pieces and covered with huge +weals, of which everybody, doubtless, thought we were the cause. On +inquiring how he came to get such a tremendous thrashing, it turned +out that these Basutus have a custom of sending young men of a certain +age[+] out in couples, each armed with a good “sjambok” (a whip cut from +the hide of a sea-cow), to thrash one another till one gives in, and +that it was in one of these encounters that the intelligent Scowl got +so lacerated; but, as he remarked with a grin, “_My_ back is nothing, the +chiefs should see that of the other boy.” + + [*] Of these two lads, Nojoke subsequently turned out + worthless, and went to the Diamond Fields, whilst Scowl + became an excellent servant, until he took to wearing a + black coat, and turned Christian, when he shortly afterwards + developed into a drunkard and a thief. + + [+] The age of puberty. + +We spent one night at Middelburg, and next morning, bidding adieu to our +kind English friends, started for Pretoria, taking care to end our first +day’s journey at a house where an Englishman lived, so as to ensure a +clean shakedown. Here we discovered that the horse I was riding (the +sole survivor of the five we had started with) had got the sickness, +and so we had to leave him and hire another. This horse, by the by, +recovered, which is the only instance of an animal’s conquering the +disease which has yet come under my observation. We hired the new horse +from a Boer, who charged us exactly three times its proper price, +and then preached us a sermon quite a quarter of an hour long on +his hospitality, his kindness of heart, and his willingness to help +strangers. I must tell you that, just as we were going to sleep the +night before, a stranger had come and asked for a shakedown, which was +given to him in the same room. We had risen before daybreak, and my +companion was expatiating to me, in clear and forcible language, on the +hypocrisy and scoundrelism of this Boer, when suddenly a sleepy voice +out of the darkness murmured thickly, “I say, stranger, guess you +shouldn’t lose your temper; guess that ‘ere Boer is acting after the +manner of human natur’.” And then the owner of the voice turned over and +went to sleep again. + +We had over sixty miles to ride that day, and it must have been about +eight o’clock at night, on the sixteenth day of our journey, when +we reached Pretoria and rode straight up to our camp, where we were +heartily greeted. I am sure that some of our friends must have felt a +little disappointed at seeing us arrive healthy and fat, without a sign +of fever, after all their melancholy predictions. It would not have been +“human natur’” if they had not. When we got to the camp, I called out +to Masooku, my Zulu servant, to come and take the horses. Next moment +I heard a rush and a scuttle in the tent like the scrimmage in a +rabbit-burrow when one puts in the ferrets, and Masooku shouted out in +Zulu, “He has come back! by Chaka’s head, I swear it! It is his voice, +his own voice, that calls me; my father’s, my chief’s!” + +And so ended one of the hardest and most interesting journeys +imaginable--a journey in which the risk only added to the pleasure. +Still, I should not care to make it again at the same time of year. + + + +VII + +A ZULU WAR-DANCE + +In all that world-wide empire which the spirit of the English +colonisation has conquered from out of the realms of the distant and +unknown, and added year by year to the English dominions, it is doubtful +whether there be any one spot of corresponding area, presenting so many +large questions, social and political, as the colony of Natal. Wrested +some thirty years ago from the patriarchal Boers, and peopled by a few +scattered scores of adventurous emigrants, Natal has with hard toil +gained for itself a precarious foothold hardly yet to be called an +existence. Known chiefly to the outside world as the sudden birthplace +of those tremendous polemical missiles which battered so fiercely, +some few years ago, against the walls of the English Church, it is now +attracting attention to the shape and proportion of that unsolved riddle +of the future, the Native Question. In those former days of rude and +hand-to-mouth legislation, when the certain evil of the day had to be +met and dealt with before the possible evil of the morrow, the seeds of +great political trouble were planted in the young colony, seeds whose +fruit is fast ripening before our eyes. + +When the strong aggressive hand of England has grasped some fresh +portion of the earth’s surface, there is yet a spirit of justice in +her heart and head which prompts the question, among the first of such +demands, as to how best and most fairly to deal by the natives of +the newly-acquired land. In earlier times, when steam was not, and +telegraphs and special correspondents were equally unknown agencies for +getting at the truth of things, this question was more easily answered +across a width of dividing ocean or continent. Then distant action might +be prompt and sharp on emergency, and no one would be the wiser. But of +late years, owing to these results of civilisation, harsh measures have, +by the mere pressure of public opinion, and without consideration +of their necessity in the eyes of the colonists, been set aside as +impracticable and inhuman. In the case of Natal, most of the early +questions of possession and right were settled, sword in hand, by the +pioneer Dutch, who, after a space of terrible warfare, drove back the +Zulus over the Tugela, and finally took possession of the land. But they +did not hold it long. The same hateful invading Englishman, with his new +ideas and his higher forms of civilisation, who had caused them to quit +the “Old Colony,” the land of their birth, came and drove them, _vi +et armis_, from the land of their adoption. And it was not long before +these same English became lords of this red African soil, from the coast +up to the Drakensberg. Still there were difficulties; for although the +new-comers might be lords of the soil, there remained yet a remnant, +and a very troublesome remnant, of its original and natural masters: +shattered fragments of the Zulu power in Natal, men who had once swept +over the country in the army of Chaka the Terrible, Chaka of the Short +Spear, but who had remained behind in the fair new land, when Chaka’s +raids had been checked by the white man and his deadly weapons. +Remnants, too, of conquered aboriginal tribes, who had found even +Chaka’s rule easier than that of their own chieftains, swelled the +amount to a total of some 100,000 souls. + +One of the first acts of the English Government, when it took up the +reins, was to allot to each of these constituent fragments a large +portion of the land. This might perhaps have been short-sighted +legislation, but it arose from the necessity of the moment. According +to even the then received ideas of colonisation and its duties, it +was hardly possible--danger apart--to drive all the natives over +the frontier, so they were allowed to stay and share the rights and +privileges of British subjects. But the evil did not stop there. Ere +long some political refugees, defeated in battle, fled before the +avenging hand of the conqueror, and craved place and protection from the +Government of Natal. It was granted; and the principle once established, +body after body of men poured in: for, in stepping over the boundary +line, they left the regions of ruin and terrible death, and entered +those of peace, security, and plenty. + +Thus it is that the native population of Natal, fed from within and +without, has in thirty years increased enormously in number. Secluded +from the outside world in his location, the native has lived in peace +and watched his cattle grow upon a thousand hills. His wealth has become +great and his wives many. He no longer dreads swift “death by order +of the king,” or by word of the witch-doctor. No “impi,” or native +regiment, can now sweep down on him and “eat him up,” that is, carry off +his cattle, put his kraal to the flames, and himself, his people, his +wives, and children to the assegai. For the first time in the story of +the great Kafir race, he can, when he rises in the morning, be sure that +he will not sleep that night, stiff, in a bloody grave. He has tasted +the blessings of peace and security, and what is the consequence? He has +increased and multiplied until his numbers are as grains of sand on the +sea-shore. Overlapping the borders of his location, he squats on private +lands, he advances like a great tidal wave, he cries aloud for room, +more room. This is the trouble which stares us in the face, looming +larger and more distinct year by year; the great over-growing problem +which thoughtful men fear must one day find a sudden and violent +solution. Thus it comes to pass that there hangs low on the horizon of +South Africa the dark cloud of the Native Question. How and when it will +burst no man can pretend to say, but some time and in some way burst it +must, unless means of dispersing it can be found. + +There is now at work among the Kafir population the same motive power +which has raised in turn all white nations, and, having built them up +to a certain height, has then set to work to sap them until they have +fallen--the power of civilisation. Hand in hand the missionary and the +trader have penetrated the locations. The efforts of the teacher have +met with but a partial success. “A Christian may be a good man in his +way, but he is a Zulu spoiled,” said Cetywayo, King of the Zulus, when +arguing the question of Christianity with the Secretary for Native +Affairs; and such is, not altogether wrongly, the general feeling of +the natives. With the traders it has been different. Some have dealt +honestly--and more, it is to be feared, dishonestly--not only with those +with whom they have had dealings, but with their fellow-subjects and +their Government. It is these men chiefly who have, in defiance of the +law, supplied the natives with those two great modern elements of danger +and destruction, the gin-bottle and the rifle. The first is as yet +injurious only to the recipients, but it will surely react on those who +have taught them its use; the danger of possessing the rifle may come +home to us any day and at any moment. + +Civilisation, it would seem, when applied to black races, produces +effects diametrically opposite to those we are accustomed to observe +in white nations: it debases before it can elevate; and as regards the +Kafirs it is doubtful, and remains to be proved, whether it has much +power to elevate them at all. Take the average Zulu warrior, and it +will be found that, in his natural state, his vices are largely +counter-balanced by his good qualities. In times of peace he is a +simple, pastoral man, leading a good-humoured easy life with his wives +and his cattle, perfectly indolent and perfectly happy. He is a kind +husband and a kinder father; he never disowns his poor relations; his +hospitality is extended alike to white and black; he is open in his +dealings and faithful to his word, and his honesty is a proverb in the +land. True, if war breaks out and the thirst for slaughter comes upon +him, he turns into a different man. When the fierce savage spirit is +once aroused, blood alone will cool it. But even then he has virtues. If +he is cruel, he is brave in the battle; if he is reckless of the lives +of others, he regards not his own; and when death comes, he meets +it without fear, and goes to the spirits of his fathers boldly, as a +warrior should. And now reverse the picture, and see him in the dawning +light of that civilisation which, by intellect and by nature, he is some +five centuries behind. See him, ignoring its hidden virtues, eagerly +seize and graft its most prominent vices on to his own besetting sins. +Behold him by degrees adding cunning to his cruelty, avarice to his love +of possession, replacing his bravery by coarse bombast and insolence, +and his truth by lies. Behold him inflaming all his passions with the +maddening drink of the white man, and then follow him through many +degrees of degradation until he falls into crime and ends in a jail. +Such are, in only too many instances, the consequences of this +partial civilisation, and they are not even counterbalanced, except in +individual cases, by the attempt to learn the truths of a creed which +he cannot, does not, pretend to understand. And if this be the result +in the comparatively few individuals who have been brought under these +influences, it may be fair to argue that it will differ only in degree, +not in kind, when the same influences are brought to bear on the same +material in corresponding proportions. Whatever may or may not be the +effects of our partial civilisation when imperfectly and spasmodically +applied to the vast native population of South Africa, one thing must, +in course of time, result from it. The old customs, the old forms, the +old feelings, must each in turn die away. The outer expression of these +will die first, and it will not be long before the very memory of +them will fade out of the barbaric heart. The rifle must replace, and, +indeed, actually has replaced, the assegai and the shield, and portions +of the cast-off uniforms of all the armies of Europe are to be seen +where, until lately, the bronze-like form of the Kafir warrior went +naked as on the day he was born. But so long as native customs and +ceremonies still linger in some of the more distant locations, so long +will they exercise a certain attraction for dwellers amid tamer scenes. +It is therefore from a belief in the magnetism of contrast that the +highly-civilised reader is invited to come to where he can still meet +the barbarian face to face and witness that wild ceremony, half jest, +half grim earnest--a Zulu war dance. + +It was the good fortune of the writer of this sketch to find himself, +some years ago, travelling through the up-country districts of Natal, +in the company of certain high officials of the English Government. The +journey dragged slowly enough by waggon, and some monotonous weeks had +passed before we pitched our camp, one drizzling gusty night, on a high +plateau, surrounded by still loftier hills. A wild and dismal place +it looked in the growing dusk of an autumn evening, nor was it more +suggestively cheerful when we rode away from it next morning in the +sunshine, leaving the waggons to follow slowly. Our faces were set +towards a great mountain, towering high above its fellows, called +Pagadi’s Kop--Pagadi being a powerful chief who had fled from the Zulus +in the early days of the colony, and had ever since dwelt loyally and +peacefully here in this wild place, beneath the protection of the Crown. +Messengers had been duly sent to inform him that he was to receive +the honour of a visit, for your true savage never likes to be taken by +surprise. Other swift-footed runners had come back with the present of +a goat, and the respectful answer, so Oriental in its phraseology, that +“Pagadi was old, he was infirm, yet he would arise and come to greet his +lords.” Every mile or so of our slow progress a fresh messenger would +spring up before us suddenly, as though he had started out of the earth +at our feet, and prefixing his greeting with the royal salute, given +with up-raised arm, “Bayete! Bayete!”--a salutation only accorded to +Zulu royalty, to the governors of the different provinces, and to Sir +T. Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs--he would deliver his +message or his news and fall into the rear. Presently came one saying, +“Pagadi is very old and weak; Pagadi is weary; let his lords forgive him +if he meet them not this day. To-morrow, when the sun is high, he will +come to their place of encampment and greet his lords and hold festival +before them. But let his lords, the white lords of all the land from the +Great Mountain to the Black Water, go up to his kraal, and let them +take the biggest hut and drink of the strongest beer. There his son, the +chief that is to be, and all his wives, shall greet them; let his lords +be honoured by Pagadi, through them.” An acknowledgment was sent, and we +still rode on, beginning the ascent of the formidable stronghold, on the +flat top of which was placed the chief’s kraal. A hard and stiff climb +it was, up a bridle path with far more resemblance to a staircase than a +road. But if the road was bad, the scenery and the vegetation were wild +and beautiful in the extreme. Now we came to a deep “kloof” or cleft +in the steep mountain-side, at the bottom of which, half hidden by the +masses of ferns and rich rank greenery, trickled a little stream; now +to an open space of rough ground, covered only with huge, weather-washed +boulders. A little further on lay a Kafir mealie-garden, where the +tall green stalks were fairly bent to the ground by the weight of the +corn-laden heads, and beyond that, again, a park-like slope of grassy +veldt. And ever, when we looked behind us, the vast undulating plain +over which we had come stretched away in its mysterious silence, till it +blended at length with the soft blue horizon. + +At last, after much hard and steady climbing, we reached the top and +stood upon a perfectly level space ten or twelve acres in extent, +exactly in the centre of which was placed the chief’s kraal. Before we +dismounted we rode to the extreme western edge of the plateau, to look +at one of the most perfectly lovely views it is possible to imagine. It +was like coming face to face with great primeval Nature, not Nature +as we civilised people know her, smiling in corn-fields, waving in +well-ordered woods, but Nature as she was on the morrow of the Creation. +There, to our left, cold and grey and grand, rose the great peak, +flinging its dark shadow far beyond its base. Two thousand feet and more +beneath us lay the valley of the Mooi river, with the broad tranquil +stream flashing silver through its midst. Over against us rose another +range of towering hills, with sudden openings in their blue depths +through which could be seen the splendid distances of a champaign +country. Immediately at our feet, and seeming to girdle the great gaunt +peak, lay a deep valley, through which the Little Bushman’s River forced +its shining way. All around rose the great bush-clad hills, so green, so +bright in the glorious streaming sunlight, and yet so awfully devoid of +life, so solemnly silent. It was indeed a sight never to be forgotten, +this wide panoramic out-look, with its towering hills, its smiling +valleys, its flashing streams, its all-pervading sunlight, and its deep +sad silence. But it was not always so lifeless and so still. Some few +years ago those hills, those plains, those rivers were teeming each with +their various creatures. But a short time since, and standing here +at eventide, the traveller could have seen herds of elephants cooling +themselves yonder after their day’s travel, whilst the black-headed +white-tusked sea-cow rose and plunged in the pool below. That bush-clad +hill was the favourite haunt of droves of buffaloes and elands, and on +that plain swarmed thousands upon thousands of springbok and of quagga, +of hartebeest and of oribi. All alien life must cease before the white +man, and so these wild denizens of forest, stream, and plain have passed +away never to return. + +Turning at length from the contemplation of a scene so new and so +surprising, we entered the stockade of the kraal. These kraals consist +of a stout outer palisade, and then, at some distance from the first, +a second enclosure, between which the cattle are driven at night, or in +case of danger. At the outer entrance we were met by the chief’s eldest +son, a finely-built man, who greeted us with much respect and conducted +us through rows of huts to the dwelling-places of the chief’s family, +fenced off from the rest by a hedge of Tambouki grass. In the centre +of these stood Pagadi’s hut, which was larger and more finely woven and +thatched than the rest. It is impossible to describe these huts better +than by saying that they resemble enormous straw beehives of the +old-fashioned pattern. In front of the hut were grouped a dozen or so +of women clad in that airiest of costumes, a string of beads. They were +Pagadi’s wives, and ranged from the first shrivelled-up wife of his +youth to the plump young damsel bought last month. The spokeswoman +of the party, however, was not one of the wives, but a daughter +of Pagadi’s, a handsome girl, tall, and splendidly formed, with a +finely-cut face. This prepossessing young lady entreated her lords to +enter, which they did, in a very unlordly way, on their hands and knees. +So soon as the eye became accustomed to the cool darkness of the hut, it +was sufficiently interesting to notice the rude attempts at comfort with +which it was set forth. The flooring, of a mixture of clay and cow-dung, +looked exactly like black marble, so smooth and polished had it been +made, and on its shining, level surface couches of buckskin and gay +blankets were spread in an orderly fashion. Some little three-legged +wooden sleeping-pillows and a few cooking-pots made up its sole +furniture besides. In one corner rested a bundle of assegais and +war-shields, and opposite the door were ranged several large calabashes +full of “twala” or native beer. The chief’s son and all the women +followed us into the hut. The ladies sat themselves down demurely in a +double row opposite to us, but the young chieftain crouched in a distant +corner apart and played with his assegais. We partook of the beer and +exchanged compliments, almost Oriental in their dignified courtesy, in +the soft and liquid Zulu language, but not for long, for we still had +far to ride. The stars were shining in southern glory before we reached +the place of our night’s encampment, and supper and bed were even more +than usually welcome. There is a pleasure in the canvas-sheltered meal, +in the after-pipe and evening talk of the things of the day that has +been and those of the day to come, here, amid these wild surroundings, +which is unfelt and unknown in scenes of greater comfort and higher +civilisation. There is a sense of freshness and freedom in the +wind-swept waggon-bed that is not to be exchanged for the softest couch +in the most luxurious chamber. And when at length the morning comes, +sweet in the scent of flowers, and glad in the voice of birds, it finds +us ready to greet it, not hiding it from us with canopy and blind, as is +the way of cities. + +The scene of the coming spectacle of this bright new day lies spread +before us, and certainly no spot could have been better chosen for +dramatic effect. In front of the waggons is a large, flat, open space, +backed by bold rising ground with jutting crags and dotted clumps of +luxuriant vegetation. All around spreads the dense thorn-bush, allowing +but of one way of approach, from the left. During the morning we could +hear snatches of distant chants growing louder and louder as time wore +on, and could catch glimpses of wild figures threading the thorns, +warriors hastening to the meeting-place. All through the past night the +farmers for miles around had been aroused by the loud insistent cries +of the chief’s messengers as they flitted far and wide, stopping but a +moment wherever one of their tribe sojourned, and bidding him come, and +bring plume and shield, for Pagadi had need of him. This day, we may be +sure, the herds are left untended, the mealie-heads ungathered, for the +herdsmen and the reapers have come hither to answer to the summons of +their chief. Little reck they whether it be for festival or war; he +needs them, and has called them, and that is enough. Higher and higher +rose the fitful distant chant, but no one could be seen. Suddenly there +stood before us a creature, a woman, who, save for the colour of her +skin, might have been the original of any one of Macbeth’s “weird +sisters.” Little, withered, and bent nearly double by age, her activity +was yet past comprehension. Clad in a strange jumble of snake-skins, +feathers, furs, and bones, a forked wand in her outstretched hand, she +rushed to and fro before the little group of white men. Her eyes gleamed +like those of a hawk through her matted hair, and the genuineness of her +frantic excitement was evident by the quivering flesh and working face, +and the wild, spasmodic words she spoke. The spirit at least of her +rapid utterances may thus be rendered:-- + +“Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, ai. Oh, ye warriors that shall dance before the +great ones of the earth, come! Oh, ye dyers of spears, ye plumed suckers +of blood, come! I, the Isanusi, I, the witch-finder, I, the wise woman, +I, the seer of strange sights, I, the reader of dark thoughts, call ye! +Come, ye fierce ones; come, ye brave ones, come, and do honour to the +white lords! Ah, I hear ye! Ah, I smell ye! Ah, I see ye; ye come, ye +come!” + +Hardly had her invocation trailed off into the “Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, ai,” + with which it had opened, when there rushed over the edge of the hill, +hard by, another figure scarcely less wild, but not so repulsive in +appearance. This last was a finely-built warrior arrayed in the full +panoply of savage war. With his right hand he grasped his spears, and +on his left hung his large black ox-hide shield, lined on its inner side +with spare assegais. From the “man’s” ring round his head arose a single +tall grey plume, robbed from the Kafir crane. His broad shoulders were +bare, and beneath the arm-pits was fastened a short garment of strips of +skin, intermixed with ox-tails of different colours. From his waist hung +a rude kilt made chiefly of goat’s hair, whilst round the calf of the +right leg was fixed a short fringe of black ox-tails. As he stood before +us with lifted weapon and outstretched shield, his plume bending to the +breeze, and his savage aspect made more savage still by the graceful, +statuesque pose, the dilated eye and warlike mould of the set features, +as he stood there, an emblem and a type of the times and the things +which are passing away, his feet resting on ground which he held on +sufferance, and his hands grasping weapons impotent as a child’s +toy against those of the white man,--he who was the rightful lord of +all,--what reflections did he not induce, what a moral did he not teach! + +The warrior left us little time, however, for either reflections or +deductions, for, striking his shield with his assegai, he rapidly poured +forth this salutation:-- + +“Bayete, Bayete, O chief from the olden times, O lords and chief of +chiefs! Pagadi, the son of Masingorano, the great chief, the leader of +brave ones, the son of Ulubako, greets you. Pagadi is humble before you; +he comes with warrior and with shield, but he comes to lay them at your +feet. O father of chiefs, son of the great Queen over the water, is +it permitted that Pagad’ approach you? Ou, I see it is, your face is +pleasant; Bayete, Bayete!” + +He ends, and, saluting again, springs forward, and, flying hither and +thither, chants the praises of his chief. “Pagadi,” he says, “Pagad’, +chief and father of the Amocuna, is coming. Pagad’, the brave in battle, +the wise in council, the slayer of warriors; Pagad’ who slew the tiger +in the night time; Pagadi, the rich in cattle, the husband of many +wives, the father of many children. Pagad’ is coming, but not alone; he +comes surrounded with his children, his warriors. He comes like a king +at the head of his brave children. Pagadi’s soldiers are coming; his +soldiers who know well how to fight; his soldiers and his captains who +make the hearts of brave men to sink down; his shakers of spears; his +quaffers of blood. Pagad’ and his soldiers are coming; tremble all ye, +ou, ou, ou!” + +As the last words die on his lips the air is filled with a deep, +murmuring sound like distant thunder; it swells and rolls, and finally +passes away to give place to the noise of the rushing of many feet. Over +the brow of the hill dashes a compact body of warriors, running swiftly +in lines of four, with their captain at their head, all clad in the same +wild garb as the herald. Each bears a snow-white shield carried on the +slant, and above each warrior’s head rises a grey heron’s plume. These +are the advance-guard, formed of the “greys” or veteran troops. As they +come into full view the shields heave and fall, and then from every +throat bursts the war-song of the Zulus. Passing us swiftly, they +take up their position in a double line on our right, and stand there +solemnly chanting all the while. Another rush of feet, and another +company flits over the hill towards us, but they bear coal-black +shields, and the drooping plumes are black as night; they fall into +position next the firstcomers, and take up the chant. Now they come +faster and faster, but all through the same gap in the bush. The red +shields, the dun shields, the mottled shields, the yellow shields, +follow each other in quick but regular succession, till at length there +stands before us a body of some five hundred men, presenting, in their +savage dress, their various shields and flashing spears, as wild a +spectacle as it is possible to conceive. + +But it is not our eyes only that are astonished, for from each of those +five hundred throats there swells a chant never to be forgotten. +From company to company it passes, that wild, characteristic song, so +touching in its simple grandeur, so expressive in its deep, pathetic +volume. The white men who listened had heard the song of choirs ringing +down resounding aisles, they had been thrilled by the roll of oratorios +pealing in melody, beautiful and complex, through the grandest of man’s +theatres, but never till now had they heard music of voices so weird, +so soft and yet so savage, so simple and yet so all-expressive of the +fiercest passions known to the human heart. Hark! now it dies; lower and +lower it sinks, it grows faint, despairing: “Why does he not come, our +chief, our lord? Why does he not welcome his singers? Ah! see, they +come, the heralds of our lord! our chief is coming to cheer his +praisers, our chief is coming to lead his warriors.” Again it rises +and swells louder and louder, a song of victory and triumph. It rolls +against the mountains, it beats against the ground: “He is coming, he is +here, attended by his chosen. Now we shall go forth to slay; now shall +we taste of the battle.” Higher yet and higher, till at length the +chief, Pagadi, swathed in war-garments of splendid furs, preceded by +runners and accompanied by picked warriors, creeps slowly up. He is +old and tottering, and of an unwieldy bulk. Two attendants support +him, whilst a third bears his shield, and a fourth (oh bathos!) a +cane-bottomed chair. One moment the old man stands and surveys his +warriors and listens to the familiar war-cry. As he stands, his face +is lit with the light of battle, the light of remembered days. The +tottering figure straightens itself, the feeble hand becomes strong once +more. With a shout, the old man shakes off his supporters and grasps his +shield, and then, forgetting his weakness and his years, he rushes to +his chieftain’s place in the centre of his men. And as he comes the +chant grows yet louder, the time yet faster, till it rises, and rings, +and rolls, no longer a chant, but a war-cry, a paean of power. Pagadi +stops and raises his hand, and the place is filled with a silence that +may be felt. But not for long. The next moment five hundred shields +are tossed aloft, five hundred spears flash in the sunshine, and with a +sudden roar, forth springs the royal salute, “Bayete!” + +The chief draws back and gives directions to his _indunas_, his +thinkers, his wise ones, men distinguished from their fellows by the +absence of shield and plume; the _indunas_ pass on the orders to the +captains, and at once the so-called dance begins. First they manoeuvre +a little in absolute silence, and changing their position with wonderful +precision and rapidity; but as their blood warms there comes a sound as +of the hissing of ten thousand snakes, and they charge and charge again. +A pause, and the company of “greys” on our right, throwing itself into +open order, flits past us like so many vultures to precipitate itself +with a wild, whistling cry on an opposing body which rushed to meet +it. They join issue, they grapple; on them swoops another company, then +another and another, until nothing is to be distinguished except a mass +of wild faces heaving; of changing forms rolling and writhing, twisting +and turning, and, to all appearances, killing and being killed, whilst +the whole air is pervaded with a shrill, savage sibillation. It is not +always the same cry; now it is the snorting of a troop of buffaloes, now +the shriek of the eagle as he seizes his prey, anon the terrible cry +of the “night-prowler,” the lion, and now--more thrilling than all--the +piercing wail of a woman. But whatever the cry, the cadence rises and +falls in perfect time and unanimity; no two mix with one another so as +to mar the effect of each. + +Again the combatants draw back and pause, and then forth from the ranks +springs a chosen warrior, and hurls himself on an imaginary foe. He +darts hither and thither with wild activity, he bounds five feet into +the air like a panther, he twists through the grass like a snake, and, +finally, making a tremendous effort, he seems to slay his airy opponent, +and sinks exhausted to the ground. The onlookers mark their approval +or disapproval of the dancer’s feats by the rising and falling of the +strange whistling noise which, without the slightest apparent movement +of face or lip, issues from each mouth. Warrior after warrior comes +forth in turn from the ranks and does battle with his invisible foe, and +receives his meed of applause. The last warrior to spring forward with a +wild yell is the future chief, Pagadi’s son and successor, our friend +of yesterday. He stands, with his shield in one hand and his lifted +battle-axe--borne by him alone--in the other, looking proudly around, +and rattling his lion-claw necklets, whilst from every side bursts forth +a storm of sibillating applause, not from the soldiers only, but from +the old men, women, and children. Through all his fierce pantomimic +dance it continues, and when he has ended it redoubles, then dies away, +but only to burst out again and again with unquenchable enthusiasm. + +In order, probably, to give the warriors a brief breathing space, +another song is now set up, and it is marvellous the accuracy and +knowledge of melody with which the parts are sung, like a glee of catch, +the time being kept by a conductor, who rushes from rank to rank beating +time with a wand. Yet it is hardly like chanting, rather like a weird, +sobbing melody, with tones in it which range from the deepest bass to +the shrillest treble. It ends in a long sigh, and then follows a scene, +a tumult, a melee, which hardly admits of a description in words. The +warriors engage in a mimic combat, once more they charge, retreat, +conquer, and are defeated, all in turns. In front of them, exciting them +to new exertions, with word and gesture, undulate in a graceful dance +of their own the “intombis,” the young beauties of the tribe, with green +branches in their hands, and all their store of savage finery glittering +on their shapely limbs. Some of these maidens are really handsome, +and round them again dance the children, armed with mimic spears and +shields. Wild as seems the confusion, through it all, even the moments +of highest excitement, some sort of rough order is maintained; more, +it would seem, by mutual sounds than by word of command or sense of +discipline. + +Even a Zulu warrior must, sooner or later, grow weary, and at length +the signal is given for the dance to end. The companies are drawn up in +order again, and receive the praise and thanks of those in whose honour +they had been called together. To these compliments they reply in a +novel and imposing fashion. At a given signal each man begins to softly +tap his ox-hide shield with the handle of his spear, producing a sound +somewhat resembling the murmur of the distant sea. By slow degrees it +grows louder and louder, till at length it rolls and re-echoes from the +hills like thunder, and comes to its conclusion with a fierce, quick +rattle. This is the royal war-salute of the Zulus, and is but rarely +to be heard. One more sonorous salute with voice and hand, and then the +warriors disappear as they came, dropping swiftly and silently over the +brow of the hill in companies. In a few moments no sign or vestige +of dance or dancers remained, save, before our eyes, the well-trodden +ground, a few lingering girls laden with large calabashes of beer, and +in our ears some distant dying snatches of chants. The singers were on +their joyful way to slay and devour the oxen provided as a stimulus and +reward for them by their chief’s liberality. + +When the last dusky figure had topped the rising ground over which the +homeward path lay, and had stood out for an instant against the flaming +background of the western sun, and then dropped, as it were, back into +its native darkness beyond those gates of fire, the old chief drew near. +He had divested himself of his heavy war-dress, and sat down amicably +amongst us. + +“Ah,” he said, taking the hand of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, and +addressing him by his native name, “Ah! t’Sompseu, t’Sompseu, the +seasons are many since first I held this your hand. Then we two were +young, and life lay bright before us, and now you have grown great, and +are growing grey, and I have grown very old! I have eaten the corn of my +time, till only the cob is left for me to suck, and, _ow_, it is bitter. +But it is well that I should grasp this your hand once more, oh, holder +of the Spirit of Chaka,[*] before I sit down and sleep with my fathers. +_Ow_, I am glad.” + + [*] The reader must bear in mind that the Zulu warrior is + buried sitting and in full war-dress. Chaka, or T’chaka, was + the founder of the Zulu power. + +Imposing as was this old-time war-dance, it is not difficult to imagine +the heights to which its savage grandeur must have swelled when it was +held--as was the custom at each new year--at the kraal of Cetywayo, +King of the Zulus. Then 30,000 warriors took part in it, and a tragic +interest was added to the fierce spectacle by the slaughter of many men. +It was, in fact, a great political opportunity for getting rid of the +“irreconcilable” element from council and field. Then, in the moment of +wildest enthusiasm, the witch-finder darted forward and lightly touched +with a switch some doomed man, sitting, it may be, quietly among the +spectators, or capering with his fellow-soldiers. Instantly he was led +away, and his place knew him no more. + +Throughout the whole performance there was one remarkable and genuine +feature, the strong personal attachment of each member of the tribe +to its chief--not only to the fine old chief, Pagadi, their leader in +former years, but to the head and leader for the years to come. + +It must be remembered that this system of chieftainship and its +attendant law is, to all the social bearings of South African native +life, what the tree is to its branches; it has grown through long, long +ages amid a people slow to forget old traditions, and equally slow to +receive new ideas; dependent on it are all the native’s customs, all his +keen ideas of right and justice; in it lies embodied his history of the +past, and from it springs his hope for the future. Surely even the most +uncompromising of those marching under the banner of civilisation +must hesitate before they condemn this deep-rooted system to instant +uprootal.[*] The various influences of the white man have eaten into the +native system as rust into iron, and their action will never cease till +all be destroyed. The bulwarks of barbarism, its minor customs and minor +laws, are gone, or exist only in name; but its two great principles, +polygamy and chieftainship, yet flourish and are strong. Time will undo +his work, and find for these also a place among forgotten things. And it +is the undoubted duty of us English, who absorb people and territories +in the high name of civilisation, to be true to our principles and our +aim, and aid the great destroyer by any and every safe and justifiable +means. But between the legitimate means and the rash, miscalculating +uprootal of customs and principles, which are not the less venerable and +good in their way because they do not accord with our own present ideas, +there is a great gulf fixed. Such an uprootal might precipitate an +outburst of the very evils it aims at destroying. + + [*] I do not wish the remarks in this paper, which was + written some years ago, to be taken as representing my + present views on the Natal native question, formed after a + longer and more intimate acquaintance with its + peculiarities, for which I beg to refer the reader to the + chapter on Natal.--Author. + +What the ultimate effect of our policy will be, when the leaven has +leavened the whole, when the floodgates are lifted, and this vast native +population (which, contrary to all ordinary precedent, does _not_ +melt away before the sun of the white man’s power) is let loose in its +indolent thousands, unrestrained, save by the bonds of civilised law, +who can presume to say? But this is not for present consideration. +Subject to due precautions, the path of progress must of necessity be +followed, and the results of such following left in the balancing hands +of Fate and the future. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cetywayo and his White Neighbours, by +H. Rider Haggard + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + +***** This file should be named 8667-0.txt or 8667-0.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/6/6/8667/ + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + http://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. diff --git a/8667-0.zip b/8667-0.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..a9466d3 --- /dev/null +++ b/8667-0.zip diff --git a/8667-h.zip b/8667-h.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..7e6ab5a --- /dev/null +++ b/8667-h.zip diff --git a/8667-h/8667-h.htm b/8667-h/8667-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..fe578ed --- /dev/null +++ b/8667-h/8667-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,11194 @@ +<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?> + +<!DOCTYPE html + PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" + "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd" > + +<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" lang="en"> + <head> + <title> + Cetywayo and his White Neighbours, by H. Rider Haggard + </title> + <style type="text/css" xml:space="preserve"> + + body { margin:5%; background:#faebd0; text-align:justify} + P { text-indent: 1em; margin-top: .25em; margin-bottom: .25em; } + H1,H2,H3,H4,H5,H6 { text-align: center; margin-left: 15%; margin-right: 15%; } + hr { width: 50%; text-align: center;} + .foot { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; text-indent: -3em; font-size: 90%; } + blockquote {font-size: 97%; font-style: italic; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%;} + .mynote {background-color: #DDE; color: #000; padding: .5em; margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 95%;} + .toc { margin-left: 10%; margin-bottom: .75em;} + .toc2 { margin-left: 20%;} + div.fig { display:block; margin:0 auto; text-align:center; } + div.middle { margin-left: 20%; margin-right: 20%; text-align: justify; } + .figleft {float: left; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 1%;} + .figright {float: right; margin-right: 0%; margin-left: 1%;} + .pagenum {display:inline; font-size: 70%; font-style:normal; + margin: 0; padding: 0; position: absolute; right: 1%; + text-align: right;} + pre { font-style: italic; font-size: 90%; margin-left: 10%;} + +</style> + </head> + <body> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + +Project Gutenberg's Cetywayo and his White Neighbours, by H. Rider Haggard + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cetywayo and his White Neighbours + Remarks on Recent Events in Zululand, Natal, and the Transvaal + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: April 27, 2006 [EBook #8667] +Last Updated: September 23, 2016 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: UTF-8 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; David Widger + + + + + +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h1> + CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + </h1> + <h2> + OR, REMARKS ON RECENT EVENTS IN ZULULAND, <br /> NATAL, AND THE TRANSVAAL. + <br /> <br /> By H. Rider Haggard + </h2> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h3> + First Published 1882. + </h3> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + PREPARER’S NOTE + + This text was prepared from an 1882 edition published by + Trubner & Co., Ludgate Hill, London. +</pre> + <p> + <br /> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <p> + “I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating in + this way, for a change of Government in England may give them again the + old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance of English + politics than such an idea. I tell you there is no Government—Whig + or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical—who would dare, under any + circumstances, to give back this country (the Transvaal). They would not + dare, because the English people would not allow them.”—(<i>Extract + from Speech of Sir Garnet Wolseley, delivered at a Public Banquet in + Pretoria, on the 17th December 1879.</i>) + </p> + <p> + “There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding (from the + Transvaal); it was impossible to say what calamities such a step as + receding might not cause. . . . For such a risk he could not make himself + responsible. . . . Difficulties with the Zulu and the frontier tribes + would again arise, and looking as they must to South Africa as a whole, + the Government, after a careful consideration of the question, came to the + conclusion that we could not relinquish the Transvaal.”—(<i>Extract + from Speech of Lord Kimberley in the House of Lords, 24th May 1880. H. P. + D., vol. cclii., p. 208.</i>) + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <blockquote> + <p class="toc"> + <big><b>CONTENTS</b></big> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_INTR"> INTRODUCTION </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0002"> CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0003"> CETYWAYO AND THE ZULU SETTLEMENT </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0004"> NATAL AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_4_0005"> <b>THE TRANSVAAL</b> </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0001"> CHAPTER I </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0002"> CHAPTER II </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0003"> CHAPTER III </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0004"> CHAPTER IV </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0005"> CHAPTER V </a> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2HCH0006"> CHAPTER VI </a> + </p> + <p> + <br /> + </p> + <p class="toc"> + <a href="#link2H_APPE"> APPENDIX </a> + </p> + </blockquote> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> + <hr /> + <p> + <a name="link2H_INTR" id="link2H_INTR"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> <br /> <br /> + </p> + <h2> + INTRODUCTION + </h2> + <p> + The writer on Colonial Affairs is naturally, to some extent, discouraged + by the knowledge that the subject is an unattractive one to a large + proportion of the reading public. It is difficult to get up anything + beyond a transient interest in the affairs of our Colonial dependencies; + indeed, I believe that the mind of the British public was more profoundly + moved by the exodus of Jumbo, than it would be were one of them to become + the scene of some startling catastrophe. This is the more curious, + inasmuch as, putting aside all sentimental considerations, which indeed + seem to be out of harmony with the age we live in: the trade done, even + with such comparatively insignificant colonies as our South African + possessions, amounts to a value of many millions of pounds sterling per + annum. Now, as the preachers of the new gospel that hails from Birmingham + and Northampton have frequently told us, trade is the life-blood of + England, and must be fostered at any price. It is therefore surprising + that, looking on them in the light of a commercial speculation, in which + aspect (saith the preacher) they are alone worthy of notice, a keener + interest is not taken in the well-being and development of the Colonies. + We have only to reflect to see how great are the advantages that the + Mother Country derives from the possession of her Colonial Empire; + including, as they do, a home for her surplus children, a vast and varied + market for her productions, and a wealth of old-fashioned loyalty and deep + attachment to the Old Country—“home,” as it is always called—which, + even if it is out of date, might prove useful on emergency. It seems + therefore, almost a pity that some Right Honourable Gentlemen and their + followers should adopt the tone they do with reference to the Colonies. + After all, there is an odd shuffling of the cards going on now in England; + and great as she is, her future looks by no means sunny. Events in these + latter days develop themselves very quickly; and though the idea may, at + the present moment, seem absurd, surely it is possible that, what between + the rapid spread of Radical ideas, the enmity of Ireland, the importation + of foreign produce, and the competition of foreign trade, to say nothing + of all the unforeseen accidents and risks of the future, the Englishmen + of, say, two generations hence, may not find their country in her present + proud position. Perhaps, and stranger things have happened in the history + of the world, she may by that time be under the protection of those very + Colonies for which their forefathers had such small affection. + </p> + <p> + The position of South Africa with reference to the Mother Country is + somewhat different to that of her sister Colonies, in that she is + regarded, not so much with apathy tinged with dislike, as with downright + disgust. This feeling has its foundation in the many troubles and expenses + in which this country has been recently involved, through local + complications in the Cape, Zululand, and the Transvaal: and indeed is + little to be wondered at. But, whilst a large portion of the press has + united with a powerful party of politicians in directing a continuous + stream of abuse on to the heads of the white inhabitants of South Africa, + whom they do not scruple to accuse of having created the recent + disturbances in order to reap a money profit from them: it does not appear + to have struck anybody that the real root of this crop of troubles might, + after all, be growing nearer home. The truth of the matter is, that native + and other problems in South Africa have, till quite lately, been left to + take their chance, and solve themselves as best they might; except when + they have, in a casual manner, been made the <i>corpus vile</i> of some + political experiment. It was during this long period of inaction, when + each difficulty—such as the native question in Natal—was + staved off to be dealt with by the next Government, that the seed was sown + of which we are at present reaping the fruit. In addition to this, matters + have recently been complicated by the elevation of South African affairs + to the dignity of an English party question. Thus, the Transvaal + Annexation was made use of as a war-cry in the last general election, a + Boer rebellion was thereby encouraged, which resulted in a complete + reversal of our previous policy. + </p> + <p> + Now, if there is any country dependent on England that requires the + application to the conduct of its affairs of a firm, considered, and + consistent policy, that country is South Africa. Boers and Natives are + quite incapable of realising the political necessities of any of our + parties, or of understanding why their true interests should be sacrificed + in order to minister to those necessities. It is our wavering and + uncertain policy, as applied to peoples, who look upon every hesitating + step as a sign of fear and failing dominion, that, in conjunction with + previous postponement and neglect, has really caused our troubles in South + Africa. For so long as the affairs of that country are influenced by + amateurs and sentimentalists, who have no real interest in it, and whose + knowledge of its circumstances and conditions of life is gleaned from a + few blue-books, superficially got up to enable the reader to indite + theoretical articles to the “Nineteenth Century,” or deliver inaccurate + speeches in the House of Commons—for so long will those troubles + continue. + </p> + <p> + If I may venture to make a suggestion, the affairs of South Africa should + be controlled by a Board or Council, like that which formerly governed + India, composed of moderate members of both parties, with an admixture of + men possessing practical knowledge of the country. I do not know if any + such arrangement would be possible under our constitution, but the present + system of government, by which the control of savage races fluctuates in + obedience of every variation of English party politics, is most + mischievous in its results. + </p> + <p> + The public, however, is somewhat tired of South Africa, and the reader + may, perhaps, wonder why he should be troubled with more literature on the + subject. I can assure him that these pages are not written in order to + give me an opportunity of airing my individual experiences or ideas. Their + object is shortly—(1.) To give a true history of the events + attendant on the Annexation of the Transvaal, which act has so frequently + been assigned to the most unworthy motives, and has never yet been fairly + described by any one who was in a position to know the facts; (2.) To + throw as much publicity as possible on the present disgraceful state of + Zululand, resulting from our recent settlement in that country; (3.) To + show all interested in the Kafir races what has been the character of our + recent surrender in the Transvaal, and what its effect will be on our + abandoned native subjects living in that country. + </p> + <p> + It may, perhaps, seem an odd statement, considering that I have lived in + various parts of South Africa for about six years, and have, perhaps, + enjoyed exceptional advantage in forming my opinions, when I say that my + chief fear in publishing the present volume, is lest my knowledge of my + subject in all its bearings should not be really equal to the task. It is, + I know, the fashion to treat South African difficulties as being simple of + solution. Thus it only took Sir Garnet Wolseley a few weeks to understand + the whole position of Zulu affairs, and to execute his memorable + settlement of that country: whilst eminent writers appear to be able, in + scampering from Durban <i>via</i> Kimberley to Cape Town in a post-cart, + to form decided opinions upon every important question in South Africa. + The power of thus rapidly assimilating intricate knowledge, and of seeing + straight through a wall whilst ordinary individuals are still criticising + the bricks, is no doubt one of the peculiar privileges of genius—which + is, perhaps fortunately for South Africa—rare. To the common run of + mind, however, the difficulty of forming a sound and accurate judgment on + the interlacing problems that disclose themselves to the student of the + politics of South-Eastern Africa, is exceedingly great and the work of + years. + </p> + <p> + But although it is by no means perfect, I think that my knowledge of these + problems and of their imminent issues is sufficiently intimate to justify + me in making a prophecy—namely, that unless the native and other + questions of South-Eastern Africa are treated with more honest + intelligence, and on a more settled plan than it has hitherto been thought + necessary to apply to them, the British taxpayer will find that he has <i>by + no means</i> heard the last of that country and its wars. + </p> + <p> + There is one more point to which, although it hardly comes within the + scope of this volume, I have made some allusion, and which I venture to + suggest deserves the consideration of thinking Englishmen. I refer to the + question of the desirability of allowing the Dutch in South Africa, who + are already numerically the strongest, to continue to advance with such + rapid strides towards political supremacy. That the object of this party + is to reduce Englishmen and English ideas to a subordinate position in the + State, if not actually to rid itself of our rule and establish a republic, + there is no manner of doubt. Indeed, there exists a powerful organisation, + the Africander Bond, which has its headquarters in the Cape, and openly + devotes its energies to forwarding these ends, by offering a sturdy + opposition to the introduction of English emigrants and the use of the + English language, whilst striving in every way to excite class prejudices + and embitter the already strained relations between Englishman and Boer. + In considering this question, it is as well not to lose sight of the fact + that the Dutch are as a body, at heart hostile to our rule, chiefly + because they cannot tolerate our lenient behaviour to the native races. + Should they by any chance cease to be the subjects of England, they will, + I believe, become her open enemies. This of itself would be comparatively + unimportant, were it not for the fact that, in the event of the blocking + of the Suez Canal, it would be, to say the least, inconvenient that the + Cape should be in the hands of a hostile population. + </p> + <p> + In conclusion, I wish to state that this book is not written for any party + purpose. I have tried to describe a state of affairs which has for the + most part come under my own observation, and events in which I have been + interested, and at times engaged. That the naked truths of such a business + as the Transvaal surrender, or of the present condition of Zululand, are + unpleasant reading for an Englishman, there is no doubt; but, so far as + these pages are concerned, they owe none of their ugliness to undue + colouring or political bias. + </p> + <p> + Windham Club, St. James’ Square, June 1882. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0002" id="link2H_4_0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0003" id="link2H_4_0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CETYWAYO AND THE ZULU SETTLEMENT + </h2> + <p> + <i>Claims of affairs of Zululand to attention—Proposed visit of + Cetywayo to England—Chaka—His method of government—His + death— Dingaan—Panda—Battle of the Tugela—John + Dunn—Nomination of Cetywayo—His coronation—His lady + advocates—Their attacks on officials—Was Cetywayo + bloodthirsty?—Cause of the Zulu war—Zulu military system—States + of feeling amongst the Zulus previous to the war—Cetywayo’s position—His + enemies—His intentions on the Transvaal—Their frustration by + Sir T. Shepstone—Cetywayo’s interview with Mr. Fynney—His + opinion of the Boers—The annexation in connection with the Zulu war—The + Natal colonists and the Zulu war—Sir Bartle Frere—The Zulu war—Cetywayo’s + half-heartedness—Sir Garnet Wolseley’s settlement—Careless + selection of chiefs—The Sitimela plot—Chief John Dunn—Appointment + of Mr. Osborn as British Resident—His difficult position—Folly + and cruelty of our settlement—Disappointment of the Zulus—Object + and result of settlement—Slaughter in Zululand—Cetywayo’s son—Necessity + of proper settlement of Zululand—Should Cetywayo be restored?</i> + </p> + <p> + Zululand and the Zulu settlement still continue to receive some attention + from the home public, partly because those responsible for the conduct of + affairs are not quite at ease about it, and partly because of the + agitation in this country for the restoration of Cetywayo. + </p> + <p> + There is no doubt that the present state of affairs in Zululand is a + subject worthy of close consideration, not only by those officially + connected with them, but by the public at large. Nobody, either at home or + in the colonies, wishes to see another Zulu war, or anything approaching + to it. Unless, however, the affairs of Zululand receive a little more + attention, and are superintended with a little more humanity and + intelligence than they are at present, the public will sooner or later be + startled by some fresh catastrophe. Then will follow the usual outcry, and + the disturbance will be attributed to every cause under the sun except the + right one—want of common precautions. + </p> + <p> + The Zulu question is a very large one, and I only propose discussing so + much of it as necessary to the proper consideration of the proposed + restoration of Cetywayo to his throne. + </p> + <p> + The king is now coming to England,[*] where he will doubtless make a very + good impression, since his appearance is dignified, and his manners, as is + common among Zulus of high rank, are those of a gentleman. It is probable + that his visit will lead to a popular agitation in his favour, and very + possibly to an attempt on the part of the English Government to reinstate + him in his kingdom. Already Lady Florence Dixie waves his banner, and + informs the public through the columns of the newspapers how good, how + big, and how beautiful he is, and “F. W. G. X.” describes in enthusiastic + terms his pearl-like teeth. But as there are interests involved in the + question of his reinstatement which are, I think, more important than + Cetywayo’s personal proportions of mind or body, and as the results of + such a step would necessarily be very marked and far-reaching, it is as + well to try and understand the matter in all its bearing before anything + is done. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] Since the above was written the Government have at the + last moment decided to postpone Cetywayo’s visit to this + country, chiefly on account of the political capital which + was being made out of the event by agitators in Zululand. + The project of bringing the king to England does not, + however, appear to have been abandoned. +</pre> + <p> + There has been a great deal of special pleading about Cetywayo. Some + writers, swayed by sentiment, and that spirit of partisanship that the + sight of royalty in distress always excites, whitewash him in such a + persistent manner that their readers are left under the impression that + the ex-king is a model of injured innocence and virtue. Others again, for + political reasons, paint him very black, and predict that his restoration + would result in the destruction, or at the least, disorganisation, of our + South African empire. The truth in this, as in the majority of political + controversies, lies somewhere between these two extremes, though it is + difficult to say exactly where. + </p> + <p> + To understand the position of Cetywayo both with reference to his subjects + and the English Government, it will be necessary to touch, though briefly, + on the history of Zululand since it became a nation, and also on the + principal events of the ex-king’s reign. + </p> + <p> + Chaka, Cetywayo’s great uncle, was the first Zulu king, and doubtless one + of the most remarkable men that has ever filled a throne since the days of + the Pharaohs. When he came to his chieftainship, about 1813, the Zulu + people consisted of a single small tribe; when his throne became vacant in + 1828, their name had become a living terror, and they were the greatest + Black power in South Africa. The invincible armies of this African Attila + had swept north and south, east and west, had slaughtered more than a + million human beings, and added vast tracts of country to his dominions. + Wherever his warriors went, the blood of men, women, and children was + poured out without stay or stint; indeed he reigned like a visible Death, + the presiding genius of a saturnalia of slaughter. + </p> + <p> + His methods of government and warfare were peculiar and somewhat drastic, + but most effective. As he conquered a tribe, he enrolled its remnants in + his army, so that they might in their turn help to conquer others. He + armed his regiments with the short stabbing assegai, instead of the + throwing assegai which they had been accustomed to use, and kept them + subject to an iron discipline. If a man was observed to show the slightest + hesitation about coming to close quarters with the enemy, he was executed + as soon as the fight was over. If a regiment had the misfortune to be + defeated, whether by its own fault or not, it would on its return to + headquarters find that a goodly proportion of the wives and children + belonging to it had been beaten to death by Chaka’s orders, and that he + was waiting their arrival to complete his vengeance by dashing out their + brains. The result was, that though Chaka’s armies were occasionally + annihilated, they were rarely defeated, and they never ran away. I will + not enter in the history of his numerous cruelties, and indeed they are + not edifying. Amongst other things, like Nero, he killed his own mother, + and then caused several persons to be executed because they did not show + sufficient sorrow at her death. + </p> + <p> + At length, in 1828, he too suffered the fate he had meted out to so many, + and was killed by his brothers, Dingaan and Umhlangan, by the hands of one + Umbopa. He was murdered in his hut, and as his life passed out of him he + is reported to have addressed these words to his brothers, who were + watching his end: “What! do you stab me, my brothers, dogs of mine own + house, whom I have fed? You hope to be kings; but though you do kill me, + think not that your line shall reign for long. I tell you that I hear the + sound of the feet of the great white people, and that this land shall be + trodden by them.” He then expired, but his last words have always been + looked upon as a prophecy by the Zulus, and indeed they have been partly + fulfilled. + </p> + <p> + Having in his turn killed Umhlangan, his brother by blood and in crime, + Dingaan took possession of the throne. He was less pronounced than Chaka + in his foreign policy, though he seems to have kept up the family + reputation as regards domestic affairs. It was he who, influenced, + perhaps, by Chaka’s dying prophecy about white men, massacred Retief, the + Boer leader, and his fifty followers, in the most treacherous manner, and + then falling on the emigrant Boers in Natal, murdered men, women, and + children to the number of nearly six hundred. There seems, however, to + have been but little love lost between any of the sons of Usengangacona + (the father of Chaka, Dingaan, Umhlangan, and Panda), for in due course + Panda, his brother, conspired with the Boers against Dingaan, and + overthrew him with their assistance. Dingaan fled, and was shortly + afterwards murdered in Swaziland, and Panda ascended the throne in 1840. + </p> + <p> + Panda was a man of different character to the remainder of his race, and + seems to have been well content to reign in peace, only killing enough + people to keep up his authority. Two of his sons, Umbelazi and Cetywayo, + of whom Umbelazi was the elder and Panda’s favourite, began, as their + father grew old, to quarrel about the succession to the crown. On the + question being referred to Panda, he is reported to have remarked that + when two young cocks quarrelled the best thing they could do was to fight + it out. Acting on this hint, each prince collected his forces, Panda + sending down one of his favourite regiments to help Umbelazi. The fight + took place in 1856 on the banks of the Tugela. A friend of the writer, + happening to be on the Natal side of the river the day before the battle, + and knowing it was going to take place, swam his horse across in the + darkness, taking his chance of the alligators, and hid in some bush on a + hillock commanding the battlefield. It was a hazardous proceeding, but the + sight repaid the risk, though he describes it as very awful, more + especially when the regiment of veterans sent by Panda joined in the fray. + It came up at the charge, between two and three thousand strong, and was + met near his hiding-place by one of Cetywayo’s young regiments. The noise + of the clash of their shields was like the roar of the sea, but the old + regiment, after a struggle in which men fell thick and fast, annihilated + the other, and passed on with thinned ranks. Another of Cetywayo’s + regiments took the place of the one that had been destroyed, and this time + the combat was fierce and long, till victory again declared for the + veterans’ spears. But they had brought it dear, and were in no position to + continue their charge; so the leaders of that brave battalion formed its + remnants into a ring, and, like the Scotch at Flodden— + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + “The stubborn spearmen still made good + The dark, impenetrable wood; + Each stepping where his comrade stood + The instant that he fell,” + </pre> + <p> + till there were none left to fall. The ground around them was piled with + dead. + </p> + <p> + But this gallant charge availed Umbelazi but little, and by degrees + Cetywayo’s forces pressed his men back to the banks of the Tugela, and + finally into it. Thousands fell upon the field and thousands perished in + the river. When my friend swam back that night, he had nothing to fear + from the alligators: they were too well fed. Umbelazi died on the + battlefield of a broken heart, at least it is said that no wound could be + found on his person. He probably expired in a fit brought on by anxiety of + mind and fatigue. A curious story is told of Cetywayo with reference to + his brother’s death. After the battle was over a Zulu from one of his own + regiments presented himself before him with many salutations, saying, “O + prince! now canst thou sleep in peace, for Umbelazi is dead.” “How knowest + thou that he is dead?” said Cetywayo. “Because I slew him with my own + hand,” replied the Zulu. “Thou dog!” said the prince, “thou hast dared to + lift thy hand against the blood royal, and now thou makest it a matter of + boasting. Wast thou not afraid? By Chaka’s head thou shalt have thy + reward. Lead him away.” And the Zulu, who was but lying after all, having + possessed himself of the bracelets off the dead prince’s body, was + instantly executed. The probability is that Cetywayo acted thus more from + motives of policy than from affection to his brother, whom indeed he hoped + to destroy. It did not do to make too light of the death of an important + prince: Umbelazi’s fate to-day might be Cetywayo’s fate to-morrow. This + story bears a really remarkable resemblance to that of the young man who + slew Saul, the Lord’s anointed, and suffered death on account thereof at + the hands of David. + </p> + <p> + This battle is also memorable as being the occasion of the first public + appearance of Mr. John Dunn, now the most important chief in Zululand, + and, be it understood, the unknown quantity in all future transactions in + that country. At that time Dunn was a retainer of Umbelazi’s, and fought + on his side in the Tugela battle. After the fight, however, he went over + to Cetywayo and became his man. From that time till the outbreak of the + Zulu war he remained in Zululand as adviser to Cetywayo, agent for the + Natal Government, and purveyor of firearms to the nation at large. As soon + as Cetywayo got into trouble with the Imperial Government, Dunn, like a + prudent man, deserted him and came over to us. In reward Sir Garnet + Wolseley advanced him to the most important chieftainship in Zululand, + which he hopes to make a stepping-stone to the vacant throne. His advice + was largely followed by Sir Garnet in the bestowal of the other + chieftainships, and was naturally not quite disinterested. He has already + publicly announced his intention of resisting the return of the king, his + old master, by force of arms, should the Government attempt to reinstate + him. + </p> + <p> + A period of sixteen years elapsed before Cetywayo reaped the fruits of the + battle of the Tugela by succeeding to the throne on the death of his + father, Panda, the only Zulu monarch who has as yet come to his end by + natural causes. + </p> + <p> + In 1861, however, Cetywayo was, at the instance of the Natal Government, + formally nominated heir to the throne by Mr. Shepstone, it being thought + better that a fixed succession should be established with the concurrence + of the Natal Government than that matters should be left to take their + chance on Panda’s death. Mr. Shepstone accomplished his mission + successfully, though at great personal risk. For some unknown reason, + Cetywayo, who was blown up with pride, was at first adverse to being thus + nominated, and came down to the royal kraal with three thousand armed + followers, meaning, it would see, to kill Mr. Shepstone, whom he had never + before met. Panda, the old king, had an inkling of what was to happen, but + was powerless to control his son, so he confined himself to addressing the + assembled multitude in what I have heard Sir Theophilus Shepstone say was + the most eloquent and touching speech he ever listened to, the subject + being the duties of hospitality. He did not at the time know how nearly + the speech concerned him, or that its object was to preserve his life. + This, however, soon became manifest when, exception being taken to some + breech of etiquette by one of his servants, he was surrounded by a mob of + shouting savages, whose evident object was to put an end to him and those + with him. For two hours he remained sitting there, expecting that every + moment would be his last, but showing not the slightest emotion, till at + length he got an opportunity of speaking, when he rose and said, “I know + that you mean to kill me; it is an easy thing to do; but I tell you Zulus, + that for every drop of my blood that falls to the ground, a hundred men + will come out of the sea yonder, from the country of which Natal is one of + the cattle-kraals, and will bitterly avenge me.” As he spoke he turned and + pointed towards the ocean, and so intense was the excitement that animated + it, that the whole great multitude turned with him and stared towards the + horizon, as though they expected to see the long lines of avengers + creeping across the plains. Silence followed his speech; his + imperturbability and his well-timed address had saved his life. From that + day his name was a power in the land.[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] A very good description of this scene was published in + the <i>London Quarterly Review</i> in 1878. The following is an + extract: + + “In the centre of those infuriated savages he (Mr. + Shepstone) sat for more than two hours outwardly calm, + giving confidence to his solitary European companion by his + own quietness, only once saying, ‘Why, Jem, you’re afraid,’ + and imposing restraint on his native attendants. Then, when + they had shouted, as Cetywayo himself said in our hearing, + ‘till their throats were so sore that they could shout no + more,’ they departed. But Sompseu (Mr. Shepstone) had + conquered. Cetywayo, in describing the scene to us and our + companion on a visit to him a short time afterwards, said, + ‘Sompseu is a great man: no man but he could have come + through that day alive.’ Similar testimony we have had from + some of the Zulu assailants, from the native attendants, and + the companion above mentioned. Next morning Cetywayo humbly + begged an interview, which was not granted but on terms of + unqualified submission. From that day Cetywayo has submitted + to British control in the measure in which it has been + exercised, and has been profuse in his expressions of + respect and submission to Mr. T. Shepstone; but in his + heart, as occasional acts and speeches show, he writhes + under the restraint, and bitterly hates the man who imposed + it.” + </pre> + <p> + It was on this occasion that a curious incident occurred which afterwards + became of importance. Among the Zulus there exists a certain salute, + “Bayete,” which it is the peculiar and exclusive privilege of Zulu royalty + to receive. The word means, or is supposed to mean, “Let us bring + tribute.” On Mr. Shepstone’s visit the point was raised by the Zulu + lawyers as to what salute he should receive. It was not consistent with + their ideas that the nominator of their future king should be greeted with + any salute inferior to the Bayete, and this, as plain Mr. Shepstone, it + was impossible to give him. The difficulty was obvious, but the Zulu mind + proved equal to it. He was solemnly announced to be a Zulu king, and to + stand in the place of the great founder of their nation, Chaka. Who was so + fit to proclaim the successor to the throne as the great predecessor of + the prince proclaimed? To us this seems a strange, not to say ludicrous, + way of settling a difficulty, but there was nothing in it repugnant to + Zulu ideas. Odd as it was, it invested Mr. Shepstone with all the + attributes of a Zulu king, such as the power to make laws, order + executions, &c., and those attributes in the eyes of Zulus he still + retains. + </p> + <p> + In 1873 messengers came down from Zululand to the Natal Government, + bringing with them the “king’s head,” that is, a complimentary present of + oxen, announcing the death of Panda. “The nation,” they said, “was + wandering; it wanders and wanders, and wanders again;” the spirit of the + king had departed from them; his words had ceased, and “none but children + were left.” The message ended with a request that Mr. Shepstone, as + Cetywayo’s “father,” should come and instal him on the throne. A month or + two afterwards there came another message, again requesting his + attendance; and on the request being refused by the Lieutenant-Governor of + Natal, there came a third message, to which the Natal Government returned + a favourable answer. + </p> + <p> + Accordingly Mr. Shepstone proceeded to Zululand, and on the 3rd September + 1873 proclaimed Cetywayo king with all due pomp and ceremony. It was on + this occasion that, in the presence of, and with the enthusiastic assent + of, both king and people, Mr. Shepstone, “standing in the place of + Cetywayo’s father, and so representing the nation,” enunciated the four + following articles, with a view to putting an end to the continual + slaughter that darkens the history of Zululand:— + </p> + <p> + 1. That the indiscriminate shedding of blood shall cease in the land. + </p> + <p> + 2. That no Zulu shall be condemned without open trial, and the public + examination of witnesses for and against, and that he shall have a right + to appeal to the king. + </p> + <p> + 3. That no Zulu’s life shall be taken without the previous knowledge and + consent of the king, after such trial has taken place, and the right of + appeal has been allowed to be exercised. + </p> + <p> + 4. That for minor crimes the loss of property, all or a portion, shall be + substituted for the punishment of death. + </p> + <p> + Nobody will deny that these were admirable regulations, and that they were + received as such at the time by the Zulu king and people. But there is no + doubt that their ready acceptance by the king was a sacrifice to his + desire to please “his father Sompseu” (Mr. Shepstone) and the Natal + Government, with both of which he was particularly anxious to be on good + terms. He has never adhered to these coronation regulations, or promises, + as they have been called, and the probability is that he never intended to + adhere to them. However this may be, I must say that personally I have + been unable to share the views of those who see in the breach of these + so-called promises a justification of the Zulu war. After all, what do + they amount to, and what guarantee was there for their fulfilment? They + merely represent a very laudable attempt on the part of the Natal + Government to keep a restraining hand on Zulu cruelty, and to draw the + bonds of friendship as tight as the idiosyncrasies of a savage state would + allow. The Government of Natal had no right to dictate the terms to a Zulu + king on which he was to hold his throne. The Zulu nation was an + independent nation, and had never been conquered or annexed by Natal. If + the Government of that colony was able by friendly negotiation to put a + stop to Zulu slaughter, it was a matter for congratulation on humanitarian + grounds; but it is difficult to follow the argument that because it was + not able, or was only partially able, to do so, therefore England was + justified in making war on the Zulus. On the other hand, it is perfectly + ludicrous to observe the way in which Cetywayo’s advocates overshoot the + mark in arguing this and similar points; especially his lady advocates, + whose writings upon these subjects bear about the same resemblance to the + truth that the speech to the jury by the counsel for the defence in a + hopeless murder case does to the summing up of the judge. Having + demonstrated that the engagements entered into by Cetywayo meant nothing, + they will proceed to show that, even if they did, cold-blooded murder, + when perpetrated by a black paragon like Cetywayo, does not amount to a + great offence. In the mouths of these gentle apologists for slaughter, + massacre masquerades under the name of “executions,” and is excused on the + plea of being, “after all,” only the enforcement of “an old custom.” + Again, the employment of such phrases, in a solemn answer to a + remonstrance from the Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, as “I do kill; but do + not consider that I have done anything yet in the way of killing. . . . I + have not yet begun; I have yet to kill,” are shown to mean nothing at all, + and to be “nothing more than the mere irritation of the moment.”[*] + Perhaps those of Cetywayo’s subjects who suffered on account of this mere + momentary irritation took a more serious view of it. It is but fair to the + particular authority from whom I quote (Miss Colenso’s “History of the + Zulu War,” pp. 230-231) to state that she considers this reply from the + “usually courteous and respectful king” as “no doubt petulant and wanting + in due respect.” Considering that the message in question (which can be + read in the footnote) was a point-blank defiance of Sir Henry Bulwer, + admitting that there had been slaughter, but that it was nothing compared + to what was coming, most people will not think Miss Colenso’s description + of it too strong. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] The following is the text of the message:— + + “Did I ever tell Mr. Shepstone I would not kill? Did he tell + the white people that I made such an arrangement? Because if + he did he has deceived them. I do kill; but do not consider + that I have done anything yet in the way of killing. Why do + the white people start at nothing? I have not yet begun; I + have yet to kill; it is the custom of our nation, and I + shall not depart from it. Why does the Governor of Natal + speak to me about my laws? Do I go to Natal and dictate to + him about his laws? I shall not agree to any laws or rules + from Natal, and by doing so throw the large kraal which I + govern into the water. My people will not listen unless they + are killed; and while wishing to be friends with the + English, I do not agree to give my people over to be + governed by laws sent to me by them. Have I not asked the + English to allow me to wash my spears since the death of my + father ‘Umpandi,’ and they have kept playing with me all + this time, treating me like a child? Go back and tell the + English that I shall now act on my own account, and if they + wish me to agree to their laws, I shall leave and become a + wanderer; but before I go it will be seen, as I shall not go + without having acted. Go back and tell the white men this, + and let them hear it well. The Governor of Natal and I are + equal; he is Governor of Natal, and I am Governor here.” + </pre> + <p> + To admit that the Zulu king has the right to kill as many of his subjects + as he chooses, so long as they will tolerate being killed, is one thing, + but it is certainly surprising to find educated Europeans adopting a line + of defence of these proceedings on his behalf that amounts to a virtual + expression of approval, or at least of easy toleration. Has philanthropy a + deadening effect on the moral sense, that the people who constitute + themselves champions for the unfortunate Zulu king and the oppressed Boers + cannot get on to their hobbies without becoming blind to the difference + between right and wrong? Really an examination of the utterances of these + champions of oppressed innocence would almost lead one to that conclusion. + On the one hand they suppress and explain away facts, and on the other + supply their want of argument by reckless accusations and vicious attacks + on the probity of such of their fellow-Englishmen, especially if in + office, as have had the misfortune to pursue a course of action or to + express opinions not pleasing to them or their proteges. For instance, an + innocent and unenlightened reader of the very interesting work from which + I have just quoted probably lays it down with the conviction that both Sir + Bartle Frere and Sir Theophilus Shepstone are very wicked men and full of + bad motives, and will wonder how a civilised Government could employ such + monsters of bloodthirsty duplicity. As he proceeds he will also find that + there is not much to be said for the characters of either Sir Garnet + Wolseley or Lord Chelmsford; whilst as regards such small fry as Mr. John + Shepstone, the present Secretary of Native Affairs in Natal, after passing + through Miss Colenso’s mill their reputations come out literally in rags + and tatters. He will be shocked to find that not only did one and all of + these gentlemen make gross errors of judgment, but, trusted and + distinguished servants of their country as they are, they were one and all + actuated by dark personal motives that will not bear examination. + </p> + <p> + Heaven help the members of the Shepstone family when they fall into the + hands of the gentler but more enthusiastic sex, for Miss Colenso is not + their only foe. In a recent publication called a “Defence of Zululand and + its Kings,” Lady Florence Dixie gibbets Mr. Henrique Shepstone, and points + him out to be execrated by a Cetywayo-worshipping public, because the + ex-king is to be sent to England in his charge; when, according to Lady + Dixie, he will certainly be scoundrel enough to misinterpret all that + Cetywayo says for his own ends, and will thereby inflict a “cruel wrong” + upon him, and render his visit to England “perfectly meaningless.” Perhaps + it has never occurred to Lady Dixie that this is a very serious charge to + bring against an honourable man, whose reputation is probably as dear to + him as the advancement of Cetywayo’s cause is to her. It is all very well + to be enthusiastic, but ladies should remember that there are other people + in the world to be considered beside Cetywayo. + </p> + <p> + As regards the question of Cetywayo’s bloodthirstiness, which is so + strenuously denied by his apologists, I cannot say that a careful study of + the blue books bearing on the subject brings me to the same conclusion. It + is true that there is not much information on the point, for the obvious + reason that the history of slaughters in Zululand in the vast majority of + cases only reached Natal in the form of rumours, which nobody thought it + worth while to report. There were no newspaper correspondents in Zululand. + There is not, however, any doubt that Cetywayo was in the habit of killing + large numbers of people; indeed it was a matter of the commonest + notoriety; nor, as will be seen from the message I have transcribed, did + he himself deny it, when, being angry, he spoke the truth. At the same + time that this message was sent, we find Mr. Osborn, then resident + magistrate at Newcastle in Natal, who is certainly not given to + exaggeration, writing to the Secretary for Native Affairs thus:—“From + all I have been able to learn, Cetywayo’s conduct has been, and continues + to be, disgraceful. He is putting people to death in a shameful manner, + especially girls. The dead bodies are placed by his order in the principal + paths, especially where the paths intersect each other (cross roads). A + few of the parents of the young people so killed buried the bodies, and + thus brought Cetywayo’s wrath on themselves, resulting not only on their + own death, but destruction of the whole family. . . . It is really + terrible that such horrible savagery could take place on our own borders. + . . . Uhamu reproved Cetywayo the other day, reminded him of his promises + to Mr. Shepstone, and begged him to spare the people. This advice, as + could be expected, was not relished.” + </p> + <p> + Again, Mr. Fynney, in his report of his visit to Zululand in 1877, states + that though the king and his “indunas” (councillors) denied that men were + killed without trial, the people told a very different tale. Thus he says, + “In every instance, where I had so far gained the confidence of the Zulus + as to cause them to speak freely, was I assured of the truthfulness of the + statement that the king, Cetywayo, caused his people to be put to death in + great numbers; and when I remarked that of course he did so after a fair + and proper trial, in some cases my remark was greeted with a suppressed + laugh or a smile. Some remarked, ‘Yes, a trial of bullets;’ others, ‘Yes, + we get a trial, but that means surrounding the kraal at daybreak and + shooting us down like cattle.’ One asked me what the Government in Natal + intended doing, or what was thought in Natal about the killing, saying, + ‘It was not in the night that Sompseu spoke, but in the sunshine; the king + was not alone, but his people were around him, and the ears of all + Zululand heard these words, and the hearts of all Zulus were joyful, and + in gladness they lifted up their hands saying: The mouth of our white + father has spoken good words; he has cautioned his child in the presence + of his people, and a good sun has risen this day over Zululand! How is it + now? Has the king listened? Does he hold fast those words? No! not one. + The promises he made are all broken. What does Sompseu say to this? You + should dine at my kraal yonder for a few days, and see the izizi (cattle + and other property of people who have been killed) pass, and you would + then see with your own eyes how a case is tried.’” Farther on Mr. Fynney + says, “When a charge is made against a Zulu, the question is generally + asked, ‘Has he any cattle?’ and if answered in the affirmative, there is + little chance of escape. Instances of killing occurred while I was in + Zululand, and to my knowledge no trial was allowed. An armed party was + despatched on the morning I left Ondine, and, as I was informed, to kill.” + </p> + <p> + There is no reason to suppose that Mr. Fynney was in any way prejudiced in + making these remarks; on the contrary, he was simply carrying out an + official mission, and reporting for the general information of the + Governments of Natal and the Transvaal. It is, however, noticeable that + neither these nor similar passages are ever alluded to by Cetywayo’s + advocates, whose object seems to be rather to suppress the truth than to + put it fairly before the public, if by such suppression they think they + can advance the cause of the ex-king. + </p> + <p> + The whole matter of Cetywayo’s private policy, however, appears to me to + be very much beside the question. Whether or no he slaughtered his + oppressed subjects in bygone years, which there is no doubt he did, is not + our affair, since we were not then, as we are now, responsible for the + good government of Zululand; and seeing the amount of slaughter that goes + on under our protectorate, it ill becomes us to rake up these things + against Cetywayo. What we have to consider is his foreign policy, not the + domestic details of his government.[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] A gentleman, who has recently returned from travelling + in Zululand, relates the following story as nearly as + possible in the words in which it was told to him by a well- + known hunter in Zululand, Piet Hogg by name, now residing + near Dundee on the Zulu border. The story is a curious one + as illustrative of Zulu character, and scarcely represents + Cetywayo in as amiable a light as one might wish. Piet Hogg + and my informant were one day talking about the king when + the former said, “I was hunting and trading in Zululand, and + was at a military kraal occupied by Cetywayo, where I saw a + Basuto who had been engaged by the king to instruct his + people in building houses, that were to be <i>square</i> instead + of circular (as are all Zulu buildings), for which his pay + was to be thirty head of cattle. The Basuto came to Cetywayo + in my presence, and said that the square buildings were + made; he now wished to have his thirty head of cattle and to + depart. Cetywayo having obtained what he required, began to + think the man overpaid, so said, ‘I have observed that you + like —— (a Zulu woman belonging to the kraal); suppose you + take her instead of the thirty head of cattle.’ Now this was + a very bad bargain for the Basuto, as the woman was not + worth more, in Zulu estimation, than ten head of cattle; but + the Basuto, knowing with whom he had to deal, thought it + might be better to comply with the suggestion rather than + insist upon his rights, and asked to be allowed till the + next morning to consider the proposal. After he had been + dismissed on this understanding, Cetywayo sent for the + woman, and accused her of misconduct with the Basuto, the + punishment of which, if proved, would be death. She denied + this vehemently, with protestations and tears. He insisted, + but, looking up at a tree almost denuded of leaves which + grew close by, said, significantly, ‘Take care that not a + leaf remains on that tree by the morning.’ The woman + understood the metaphor, and in an hour or two, aided by + other strapping Zulu females, attacked the unfortunate + Basuto and killed him with clubs. But Cetywayo having thus, + like the monkey in the fable, employed a cat’s paw to do his + dirty work, began to think the Basuto’s untimely death might + have an ugly appearance in my eyes, so gave orders in my + presence that, as a punishment, six of the women who had + killed the Basuto should also be put to death. This was too + much for me, knowing as I did, all that had passed. I + reproached Cetywayo for his cruelty, and declared I would + leave Zululand without trading there, and without making him + the present he expected. I also said I should take care the + great English ‘Inkose’ (the Governor of Natal) should hear + of his conduct and the reason of my return. Cetywayo was + then on friendly terms with the English, and being impressed + by my threats, he reconsidered his orders, and spared the + lives of the women.” + </pre> + <p> + I do not propose to follow out all the details of the boundary dispute + between Cetywayo and the Transvaal, or to comment on the different + opinions held on the point by the various authorities, English and Zulu. + The question has been, for the moment, settled by the Transvaal + Convention, and is besides a most uninteresting one to the general reader. + </p> + <p> + Nor shall I enter into a discussion concerning the outrages on which Sir + Bartle Frere based his ultimatum previous to the Zulu war. They were after + all insignificant, although sufficient to serve as a <i>casus belli</i> to + a statesman determined to fight. The Zulu war was, in the opinion of Sir + B. Frere, necessary in self-defence, which is the first principle of + existence. If it admits of justification, it is on the ground that the + Zulu army was a menace to the white population of South Africa, and that + it was therefore necessary to destroy it, lest at some future time it + should destroy the whites. It is ridiculous to say that the capture of two + Zulu women in Natal and their subsequent murder, or the expulsion on + political grounds of a few missionaries, justified us in breaking up a + kingdom and slaughtering ten thousand men. Sir Bartle Frere declared war + upon the Zulus because he was afraid, and had good reason to be afraid, + that if he did not, Cetywayo would before long sweep either the Transvaal + or Natal; whilst, on the other hand, the Zulus fought us because our + policy was too philanthropic to allow them to fight anybody else. This + statement may appear strange, but a little examination into Zulu character + and circumstances will, I think, show it to be correct. + </p> + <p> + It must be remembered that for some years before Panda’s death the Zulus + had not been engaged in any foreign war. When Cetywayo ascended the + throne, it was the general hope and expectation of the army, and therefore + of the nation, that this period of inaction would come to an end, and that + the new king would inaugurate an active foreign policy. They did not + greatly care in what direction the activity developed itself, provided it + did develop. It must also be borne in mind that every able-bodied man in + the Zulu country was a member of a regiment, even the lads being attached + to regiments as carriers, and the women being similarly enrolled, though + they did not fight. The Zulu military system was the universal-service + system of Germany brought to an absolute perfection, obtained by + subordinating all the ties and duties of civil life to military ends. + Thus, for instance, marriage could not be contracted at will, but only by + the permission of the king, which was generally delayed until a regiment + was well advanced in years, when a number of girls were handed over to it + to take to wife. This regulation came into force because it was found that + men without home ties were more ferocious and made better soldiers, and + the result of these harsh rules was that the Zulu warrior, living as he + did under the shadow of a savage discipline, for any breach of which there + was but one punishment, death, can hardly be said to have led a life of + domestic comfort, such as men of all times and nations have thought their + common right. But even a Zulu must have some object in life, some shrine + at which to worship, some mistress of his affections. Home he had none, + religion he had none, mistress he had none, but in their stead he had his + career as a warrior, and his hope of honour and riches to be gained by the + assegai. His home was on the war-track with his regiment, his religion the + fierce denunciation of the isanusi,[*] and his affections were fixed on + the sudden rush of battle, the red slaughter, and the spoils of the slain. + “War,” says Sir T. Shepstone, in a very remarkable despatch written about + a year before the outbreak of the Zulu war, “is the universal cry among + the soldiers, who are anxious to live up to their traditions, . . . . and + the idea is gaining ground among the people that their nation has outlived + the object of its existence.” Again he says, “The engine (the Zulu + military organisation) has not ceased to exist or to generate its forces, + although the reason or excuse for its existence has died away: these + forces have continued to accumulate and are daily accumulating without + safety-valve or outlet.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] <i>Witch-doctor.</i> These persons are largely employed in + Zululand to smell out witches who are supposed to have + bewitched others, and are of course very useful as political + agents. Any person denounced by them is at once executed. A + friend of the writer’s was once present at a political + smelling-out on a large scale, and describes it as a very + curious and unpleasant scene. The men, of whom there were + some thousands, were seated in a circle, as pale with terror + as Zulus can be. Within the circle were several witch + doctors; one of whom amidst his or her incantations would + now and again step forward and touch some unfortunate man + with a forked stick. The victim was instantly led away a few + paces and his neck twisted. The circle awaited each + denunciation in breathless expectation, for not a man among + them knew whose turn it might be next. On another occasion, + an unfortunate wretch who had been similarly condemned by an + isanusi rushed up to the same gentleman’s waggon and + besought shelter. He was hidden under some blankets, but + presently his pursuers arrived, and insisted upon his being + handed over. All possible resistance was made, until the + executioners announced that they would search the waggon and + kill him there. It was then covenanted that he should have a + start in the race for life. He was, however, overtaken and + killed. These instances will show how dark and terrible is + the Zulu superstition connected with witchcraft, and what a + formidable weapon it becomes in the hands of the king or + chief. +</pre> + <p> + Desirable as such a state of feeling may be in an army just leaving for + the battlefield, it is obvious that for some fifty thousand men, + comprising the whole manhood of the nation, to be continually on the boil + with sanguinary animosity against the human race in general, is an awkward + element to fit into the peaceable government of a state. + </p> + <p> + Yet this was doubtless the state of affairs with which Cetywayo had to + contend during the latter years of his reign. He found himself surrounded + by a great army, in a high state of efficiency and warlike preparation, + proclaiming itself wearied with camp life, and clamouring to be led + against an enemy, that it might justify its traditions and find employment + for its spears. Often and often he must have been sorely puzzled to find + excuses wherewithal to put it off. Indeed his position was both awkward + and dangerous: on the one hand was Scylla in the shape of the English + Government, and on the other the stormy and uncertain Charybdis of his + clamouring regiments. Slowly the idea must have began to dawn upon him + that unless he found employment for the army, which, besides being + disgusted with his inactivity, was somewhat wearied with his cruelties, + for domestic slaughter had ceased to divert and had begun to irritate: the + army, or some enterprising members of it, might put it beyond his power + ever to find employment for it at all, and bring one of his brothers to + rule in his stead. + </p> + <p> + And yet who was he to fight, if fight he must? There were three possible + enemies—1. The Swazis; 2. The Transvaal Boers; 3. The English. + </p> + <p> + Although the English may have held a place on Cetywayo’s list as possible + foes, there is no ground for supposing that, until shortly before the war, + he had any wish to fight with us. Indeed, whereas their hatred of the + Boers was pronounced, and openly expressed, both the Zulu king and people + always professed great respect for Englishmen, and even a certain amount + of liking and regard. + </p> + <p> + Therefore, when Cetywayo had to settle on an enemy to attack, it was not + the English that he chose, but the Swazis, whose territory adjoined his + own, lying along the borders of the Transvaal towards Delagoa Bay. The + Swazis are themselves Zulus, and Cetywayo claimed certain sovereign rights + over them, which, however, they refused to recognise. They are a powerful + tribe, and can turn out about 10,000 fighting men, quite enough for + Cetywayo’s young warriors to try their mettle on. Still the king does not + appear to have wished to undertake the war without first obtaining the + approval of the Natal Government, to whom he applied several times for + permission “to wash his spears,” saying that he was but half a king until + he had done so. The Natal Government, however, invariably replied that he + was on no account to do anything of the sort. This shows the + inconveniences of possessing a complimentary feudal hold over a savage + potentate, the shadow of power without the reality. The Governor of Natal + could not in decency sanction such a proceeding as a war of extermination + against the Swazis, but if it had occurred without his sanction, the + Swazis would have suffered no doubt, but the Zulu spears would have been + satisfactorily washed, and there would have been no Zulu war. As it is, + Englishmen have been killed instead of Swazis. + </p> + <p> + Thwarted in his designs on the Swazis, Cetywayo next turned his attention + to the Transvaal Boers. The Zulus and the Boers had never been good + friends since the days of the massacre of Retief, and of late years their + mutual animosity had been greatly increased owing to their quarrels about + the boundary question previously alluded to. This animosity reached + blood-heat when the Boer Government, acting with the arrogance it always + displayed towards natives, began to lay its commands upon Cetywayo about + his relations with the Amaswazi, the alleged trespassing on Boer + territory, and other matters. The arrogance was all the more offensive + because it was impotent. The Boers were not in a position to undertake the + chastisement of the Zulus. But the king and council of Zululand now + determined to try conclusions with the Transvaal on the first convenient + opportunity, and this time without consulting the Government of Natal. The + opportunity soon occurred. Secocoeni, the powerful chief of the Bapedi, + one of the tribes whose territories border on the Transvaal, came to a + difference with the Boers over another border question. There is good + ground for supposing that Cetywayo incited him to withstand the Boer + demands; it is certain that during the course of the war that followed he + assisted him with advice, and more substantially still, with Zulu + volunteers. + </p> + <p> + To be brief, the Secocoeni war resulted in the discomfiture of the + Transvaal forces. Another result of this struggle was to throw the whole + state into the most utter confusion, of which the Dutch burghers, always + glad of an opportunity to defy the law, took advantage to refuse to pay + taxes. National bankruptcy ensued, and confusion grew worse confounded. + </p> + <p> + Cetywayo took note of all this, and saw that now was his opportunity to + attack. The Boers had suffered both in morale and prestige from their + defeat by Secocoeni, who was still in arms against them; whilst the + natives were proportionately elated by their success over the dreaded + white men. There was, he knew well, but little chance of a rapid + concentration to resist a sudden raid, especially when made by such a + powerful army, or rather chain of armies, as he could set in motion. + Everything favoured the undertaking; indeed, humanly speaking, it is + difficult to see what could have saved the greater part of the population + of the Transvaal from sudden extinction, if a kind Providence had not just + then put it into the head of Lord Carnarvon to send out Sir T. Shepstone + as Special Commissioner to their country. When Cetywayo heard that his + father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) was going up to the Transvaal, he held + his hand, sent out spies, and awaited the course of events. The following + incident will show with what interest he was watching what took place. At + the Vaal River a party of Boers met the Special Commissioner and fired + salutes to welcome him. It was immediately reported to Cetywayo by his + spies that the Boers had fired over Sir T. Shepstone’s waggon. Shortly + afterwards a message arrived at Pretoria from Cetywayo to inquire into the + truth of the story, coolly announcing his intention of sweeping the + Transvaal if it were true that “his father” had been fired at. In a + conversation with Mr. Fynney after the Annexation Cetywayo alludes to his + intentions in these words:— + </p> + <p> + “I heard that the Boers were not treating him (Sompseu) properly, and that + they intended to put him in a corner. If they had done so I should not + have waited for anything more. <i>Had but one shot been fired</i>, I + should have said, ‘What more do I wait for? they have touched my father.’ + I should have poured my men over the land, and I can tell you, son of Mr. + Fynney, the land would have burned with fire.” This will show how eagerly + Cetywayo was searching for an excuse to commence his attack on the + Transvaal. When the hope of finding a pretext in the supposed firing at + Sir T. Shepstone or any incident of a similar nature faded away, he + appears to have determined to carry out his plans without any immediate + pretext, and to make a <i>casus belli</i> of his previous differences with + the Government of the Republic. Accordingly he massed his impis (army + corps) at different points along the Transvaal border, where they awaited + the signal to advance and sweep the country. Information of Cetywayo’s + doings and of his secret plans reached Pretoria shortly before the + Annexation, and confirmed the mind of the Special Commissioner as to the + absolute necessity of that measure to save the citizens of the Republic + from coming to a violent end, and South Africa from being plunged into a + native war of unexampled magnitude. The day before the Annexation took + place, when it was quite certain that it would take place, a message was + sent to Cetywayo by Sir T. Shepstone telling him of what was about to + happen, and telling him too in the sternest and most straightforward + language, that the Transvaal had become the Queen’s land like Natal, and + that he must no more think of attacking it than he would of attacking + Natal. Cetywayo on receiving the message at once disbanded his armies and + sent them to their kraals. “Kabuna,” he said to the messenger, “my impis + were gathered; now at my father’s (Sir T. Shepstone’s) bidding I send them + back to their homes.” + </p> + <p> + This fact, namely, that at the bidding of his old mentor Sir T. Shepstone, + Cetywayo abandoned his long-cherished plans, and his undoubted opportunity + of paying off old scores with the Boers in a most effectual manner, and + gave up a policy that had so many charms for him, must be held by every + unprejudiced man to speak volumes in his favour. It must be remembered + that it was not merely to oblige his “father Sompseu” that he did this, + but to meet the wishes of the English Government, and the act shows how + anxious he was to retain the friendship and fall in with the views of that + Government. Evidently Cetywayo had no animosity against us in April 1877. + </p> + <p> + In his interview with Mr. Fynney, Cetywayo speaks out quite frankly as to + what his intentions had been; he says, “I know all about the soldiers + being on their way up, but I would have asked Sompseu to allow the + soldiers to stand on one side for just a little while, only a little, and + see what my men could do. It would have been unnecessary for the Queen’s + people to trouble. My men were all ready, and how big must that stone have + been, with my father Sompseu digging at one side and myself at the other, + that would not have toppled over? Even though the size of that mountain + (pointing to a mountain range), we could put it on its back. Again I say I + am glad to know the Transvaal is English ground; perhaps now there may be + rest.” + </p> + <p> + This and other passages show beyond all doubt from what an awful + catastrophe the Transvaal was saved by the Annexation. That Cetywayo + personally detested the Boers is made clear by his words to Mr. Fynney. + “‘The Boers,’ he says, ‘are a nation of liars; they are a bad people, bad + altogether. I do not want them near my people; they lie and claim what is + not theirs, and ill-use my people. Where is Thomas?’ (President Burgers). + I informed him that Mr. Burgers had left the Transvaal. ‘Then let them + pack up and follow Thomas,’ said he. ‘Let them go. The Queen does not want + such people as those about her land. What can the Queen make of them or do + with them? Their evil ways puzzled both Thomas and Rudolph, Landdrost of + Utrecht; they will not be quiet.’” + </p> + <p> + It is very clear that if Cetywayo had been left to work his will, a great + many of the Boers would have found it necessary to “pack up and follow + Thomas,” whilst many more would have never needed to pack again. + </p> + <p> + I am aware that attempts have been made to put another explanation on + Cetywayo’s warlike preparations against the Boers. It has been said that + the Zulu army was called up by Sir T. Shepstone to coerce the Transvaal. + It is satisfactory to be able, from intimate personal knowledge, to give + unqualified denial to that statement, which is a pure invention, as indeed + is easily proved by clear evidence, which I have entered into in another + part of this book. Cetywayo played for his own hand all along, and + received neither commands nor hints from the Special Commissioner to get + his army together. Indeed, when Sir T. Shepstone discovered what was going + on, he suffered great anxiety lest some catastrophe should occur before he + was in a position to prevent it. Nothing short of the Annexation could + have saved the Transvaal at that moment, and the conduct of the Boers + after the danger had been taken on to the shoulders of the Imperial + Government is a startling instance of national ingratitude. + </p> + <p> + Here again the Zulu king was brought face to face with the ubiquitous + British Government, and that too at a particularly aggravating moment. He + was about to commence his attack when he was met with a polite, “Hands + off; this is British territory.” No wonder that we find him in despair + renewing his prayer that Sompseu will allow him to make “one little raid + only, one small swoop,” and saying that “it is the custom of our country, + when a new king is placed over the nation, to wash their spears, and it + has been done in the case of all former kings of Zululand. I am no king, + but sit in a heap. I cannot be a king till I have washed my assegais.” All + of which is doubtless very savage and very wrong, but such is the + depravity of human nature, that there is something taking about it for all + that. + </p> + <p> + It was at this period of the history of South Africa that many people + think we made our crowning mistake. We annexed the Transvaal, say they, + six months too soon. As things have turned out, it would have been wiser + to have left Zulus and Transvaal Boers to try conclusions, and done our + best to guard our own frontiers. There is no doubt that such a + consummation of affairs would have cleared the political atmosphere + wonderfully; the Zulus would have got enough fighting to last them some + time, and the remainder of the Boers would have entreated our protection + and become contented British subjects; there would have been no + Isandhlwana and no Majuba Hill. But to these I say who could foresee the + future, and who, in the then state of kindly feeling towards the Boers, + could wish to leave them, and all the English mixed up with them, to + undergo, unprepared as they were, the terrible experience of a Zulu + invasion? Besides, what guarantee was there that the slaughter would stop + in the Transvaal, or that the combat would not have developed into a war + of races throughout South Africa? Even looking at the matter in the light + of after events, it is difficult to regret that humanity was on this + occasion allowed to take precedence of a more cold-blooded policy. If the + opponents of the Annexation, or even the members of the Transvaal + Independence Committee, knew what a Zulu invasion meant, they would + scarcely have been so bitter about that act. + </p> + <p> + From the time of the Annexation it was a mere matter of opinion as to + which direction the Zulu explosion would take. The safety-valves were + loaded whilst the pressure daily increased, and all acquainted with the + people knew that it must come sooner or later. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after the Transvaal became British territory the old Zulu boundary + question came to the fore again and was made more complicated than ever by + Sir T. Shepstone, who had hitherto favoured the Zulu claims, taking the + Boer side of the controversy, after examination of the locality and of + persons acquainted with the details of the matter. There was nothing + wonderful in this change of opinion, though of course it was attributed to + various motives by advocates of the Zulu claims, and there is no doubt + that Cetywayo himself did not at all like it, and, excited thereto by + vexation and the outcry of his regiments, adopted a very different and + aggressive tone in his communications with the English authorities. Indeed + his irritation against the Boers and everybody connected with them was + very great. Probably if he had been left alone he would in time have + carried out his old programme, and attacked the Transvaal. But, + fortunately for the Transvaal, which, like sailors and drunken men, always + seems to have had a special Providence taking care of it: at this juncture + Sir Bartle Frere appeared upon the scene, and after a few preliminaries + and the presentation of a strong ultimatum, which was quite impracticable + so far as Cetywayo was concerned, since it demanded what it was almost + impossible for him to concede—the disbandment of his army—invaded + Zululand. + </p> + <p> + It is generally supposed that the Natal colonists had a great deal to do + with making the Zulu war, but this is not the case. It is quite true that + they were rejoiced at the prospect of the break-up of Cetywayo’s power, + because they were very much afraid of him and of his “celibate man-slaying + machine,” which, under all the circumstances, is not wonderful. But the + war was a distinctly Imperial war, made by an Imperial officer, without + consultation with Colonial authorities, on Imperial grounds, viz., because + Cetywayo menaced Her Majesty’s power in South Africa. Of course, if there + had been no colonies there would have been no war, but in that way only + are they responsible for it. Natal, however, has not grudged to pay + 250,000 pounds towards its expenses, which is a great deal more than it + can afford, and, considering that the foolish settlement made by Sir + Garnet Wolseley is almost sure to involve the colony in trouble, quite as + much as should be asked. + </p> + <p> + The fact of the matter was, that Sir Bartle Frere was a statesman who had + the courage of his convictions; he saw that a Zulu disturbance of one kind + or another was inevitable, so he boldly took the initiative. If things had + gone right with him, as he supposed they would, praise would have been + lavished on him by the Home authorities, and he would have been made a + peer, and perhaps Governor-General of India to boot; but he reckoned + without his Lord Chelmsford, and the element of success which was + necessary to gild his policy in the eyes of the home public was + conspicuous by its absence. As it was, no language was considered to be + too bad to apply to this “imperious proconsul” who had taken upon himself + to declare a war. If it is any consolation to him, he has at any rate the + gratitude of the South African Colonies, not so much for what he has done, + for that is being carefully nullified by the subsequent action of the Home + Government, but because, believing his policy to be right, he had the + boldness to carry it out at the risk of his official reputation. Sir + Bartle Frere took a larger view of the duties of the governor of a great + dependency than to constitute himself the flickering shadow of the + Secretary of State in Downing Street, who, knowing little of the real + interests of the colony, is himself only the reflection of those that hold + the balance of power, to whom the subject is one of entire indifference, + provided that there is nothing to pay. + </p> + <p> + The details of the Zulu war are matters of melancholy history, which it is + useless to recapitulate here. With the exception of the affair at Rorke’s + Drift, there is nothing to be proud of in connection with it, and a great + deal to be ashamed of, more especially its final settlement. There is, + however, one point that I wish to submit to the consideration of my + readers, and that is, that Cetywayo was never thoroughly in earnest about + the war. If he had been in earnest, if he had been determined to put out + his full strength, he would certainly have swept Natal from end to end + after his victory at Isandhlwana. There was no force to prevent his doing + so: on the contrary, it is probable that if he had advanced a strong army + over the border, a great number of the Natal natives would have declared + in his favour through fear of his vengeance, or at the least would have + remained neutral. He had ample time at his disposal to have executed the + manoeuvre twice over before the arrival of the reinforcements, of which + the results must have been very dreadful, and yet he never destroyed a + single family. The reason he has himself given for this conduct is that he + did not wish to irritate the white man; that he had not made the war, and + was only anxious to defend his country. + </p> + <p> + When the fighting came to an end after the battle of Ulundi, there were + two apparent courses open to us to take. One was to take over the country + and rule it for the benefit of the Zulus, and the other to enforce the + demands in Sir Bartle Frere’s ultimatum, and, taking such guarantees as + circumstances would admit of, leave Cetywayo on the throne. Instead of + acting on either of these plans, however, Sir Garnet Wolseley proceeded, + in the face of an extraordinary consensus of adverse opinion, which he + treated with calm contempt, to execute what has proved to be a very cruel + settlement. Sir Garnet Wolseley has the reputation of being an extremely + able man, and it is only fair to him to suppose that he was not the sole + parent of this political monster, by which all the blood and treasure + expended on the Zulu war were made of no account, but that it was + partially dictated to him by authorities at home, who were anxious to + gratify English opinion, and partly ignorant, partly careless of the + consequences. At the same time, it is clear that he is responsible for the + details of the scheme, since immediately after the capture of Cetywayo he + writes a despatch about them which was considered so important, that a + member of his staff was sent to England in charge of it. In this document + he informs the Secretary of State that Cetywayo’s rule was resolutely + built up “without any of the ordinary and lawful foundations of authority, + and by the mere vigour and vitality of an individual character.” It is + difficult to understand what Sir Garnet means in this passage. If the fact + of being the rightful and generally accepted occupant of the throne is not + an “ordinary and lawful foundation of authority,” what is? As regards + Cetywayo having built up his rule by the “mere vigour and vitality of an + individual character,” he is surely in error. Cetywayo’s position was not + different to that of his immediate predecessors. If Sir Garnet had applied + the remark to Chaka, the first king, to the vigour and vitality of whose + individual character Zululand owes its existence as a nation, it would + have been more appropriate. The despatch goes on to announce that he has + made up his mind to divide the country into thirteen portions, in order to + prevent the “possibility of any reunion of its inhabitants under one + rule,” and ends in these words: “I have laboured with the great aim of + establishing for Her Majesty’s subjects in South Africa, both white and + coloured, as well as for this spirited people against whom unhappily we + have been involved in war, the enduring foundations of peace, happiness + and prosperity.” The spirited people were no doubt vastly thankful, but + the white man, reading such a passage as this, and knowing the facts of + the case, will only recognise Sir Garnet Wolseley’s admirable talent for + ironical writing. + </p> + <p> + Sir Garnet entered into an agreement with each of his kinglets, who, + amongst other things, promised that they would not make war without the + sanction of the British Government. He also issued a paper of instructions + to the gentleman who was first appointed British Resident (who, by the + way, very soon threw up his post in despair). From this document we learn + that all the ex-king’s brothers are to “be under the eye of the chief John + Dunn,” but it is chiefly remarkable for the hostility it evinces to all + missionary enterprise. The Resident is instructed to “be careful to hold + yourself entirely aloof from all missionary or proselytising enterprises,” + and that “grants of land by former kings to missionaries cannot be + recognised by the British Government,” although Sir Garnet will allow + missionaries to live in the country if the chief of the district does not + object. These instructions created some adverse comment in England, with + the result that, in the supplementary instructions issued on the occasion + of Mr. Osborn’s appointment as Resident, they were somewhat modified. In + the despatch to the Secretary of State in which he announces the new + appointment, Sir Garnet says that Mr. Osborn is to be the “councillor, + guide, and friend” of the native chiefs, and that to his “moral influence” + “we should look I think for the spread of civilisation and the propagation + of the Gospel.” What a conglomeration of duties,—at once “prophet, + priest, and king!” Poor Mr. Osborn! + </p> + <p> + Of the chiefs appointed under this unfortunate settlement, some were so + carelessly chosen that they have no authority whatsoever over the + districts to which they were appointed, their nominal subjects preferring + to remain under the leadership of their hereditary chief. Several of Sir + Garnet’s little kings cannot turn out an hundred men, whilst the + hereditary chief, who has no official authority, can bring up three or + four thousand. Thus, for instance, a territory was given to a chief called + Infaneulela. The retainers of this gentleman live in a kraal of five or + six huts on the battlefield of Ulundi. A chief called Dilligane, to whom + the district should have been given, is practically head man of the + district, and takes every possible opportunity of defying the nominee + chief, Infaneulela, who is not acknowledged by the people. Another case is + that of Umgitchwa, to whom a territory was given. In this instance there + are two brothers, Umgitchwa and Somhlolo, born of different mothers. + Umgitchwa is the elder, but Somhlolo is the son of a daughter of the king, + and therefore, according to Zulu custom, entitled to succeed to the + chieftainship. Somhlolo was disinherited by Sir Garnet on account of his + youth (he is about twenty-five and has many wives). But an ancient custom + is not to be thus abrogated by a stroke of the pen, and Somhlolo is + practically chief of the district. Fighting is imminent between the two + brothers. + </p> + <p> + A third case is that of Hlubi, who, though being a good, well-meaning man, + is a Basuto, and being a foreigner, has no influence over the Zulus under + him. + </p> + <p> + A fourth instance is that of Umlandela, an old and infirm Zulu, who was + made chief over a large proportion of the Umtetwa tribe on the coast of + Zululand. His appointment was a fatal mistake, and has already led to much + bloodshed under the following curious circumstances, which are not without + interest, as showing the intricacy of Zulu plots. + </p> + <p> + The Umtetwas were in the days of Chaka a very powerful tribe, but suffered + the same fate at his hands as did every other that ventured to cross + spears with him. They were partially annihilated, and whilst some of the + survivors, of whom the Umtetwas in Zululand are the descendants, were + embodied in the Zulu regiments, others were scattered far and wide. + Branches of this important tribe exist as far off as the Cape Colony. + Dingiswayo, who was the chief of the Umtetwas when Chaka conquered the + tribe, fled after his defeat into Basutoland, and is supposed to have died + there. After the Zulu war Sir G. Wolseley divided the Umtetwa into two + districts, appointing an Umtetwa chief named Somkeli ruler over one, and + Umlandela over the other. + </p> + <p> + Umlandela, being a Zulu and worn with age, has never had any authority + over his nominal subjects, and has been anxious to rid himself of the + danger and responsibility of his chieftainship by transferring it on to + the shoulders of Mr. John Dunn, whose territory adjoins his own, and who + would be, needless to say, nothing loth to avail himself of the + opportunity of increasing his taxable area. Whilst this intrigue was in + progress all Zululand was convulsed with the news of our defeat by the + Boers and the consequent surrender of the Transvaal. It was commonly + rumoured that our forces were utterly destroyed, and that the Boers were + now the dominant Power. Following on the heels of this intelligence was a + rumour to the effect that Cetywayo was coming back. These two reports, + both of which had a foundation of truth, had a very bad effect on the + vulgar mind in Zululand, and resulted in the setting in motion of a + variety of plots, of which the following was the most important. + </p> + <p> + The Umtetwa tribe is among those who are not anxious for the return of + Cetywayo, but see in the present state of affairs an opportunity of + regaining the power they possessed before the days of Chaka. If they were + to have a king over Zululand they determined that it should be an Umtetwa + king, and Somkeli, one of the chiefs appointed by Sir Garnet, was the man + who aimed at the throne. He was not, however, anxious to put out his hand + at first further than he could draw it back, so he adopted a very + ingenious expedient. It will be remembered that the old Chief Dingiswayo + fled to Basutoland, where he is reported to have married. It occurred to + Somkeli that if he could produce a descendant or a pseudo-descendant of + Dingiswayo he would have no difficulty in beginning operations by + dispossessing Umlandela of his territory in favour of the supposed lawful + heir. In fact he wanted a cat to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for + him, who could easily be got rid of afterwards. Accordingly one Sitimela + was produced who is supposed to be an escaped convict from Natal, who gave + out that he was a grandson of Dingiswayo by a Basuto woman, and a great + medicine-man, able to kill everybody by a glance of his eye. + </p> + <p> + To this impostor adherents flocked from all parts of Zululand, and + Umlandela flying for his life into John Dunn’s territory, Sitimela seized + upon the chieftainship. The Resident thereupon ordered him to appear + before him, but he, as might be expected, refused to come. As it was + positively necessary to put an end to the plot by some means, since its + further development would have endangered and perhaps destroyed the + weak-knee’d Zulu settlement, Mr. Osborn determined to proceed to the scene + of action. Mahomet would not go to the mountain, so the mountain had to go + to Mahomet. On arrival he pitched his tents half way between the camps of + Sitimela and John Dunn, who had Umlandela under his charge, and summoned + Somkeli, the author of the plot, to appear before him. Ten days elapsed + before the summons was obeyed. During this time, and indeed until they + finally escaped, the Resident and his companion could not even venture to + the spring, which was close at hand, to wash, for fear of being + assassinated. All day long they could see lines of armed men swarming over + the hills round them, and hear them yelling their war-songs. At length + Somkeli appeared, accompanied by over a thousand armed warriors. He was + ordered to withdraw his forces from Sitimela’s army and go home. He went + home, but did not withdraw his forces. The next day Sitimela himself + appeared before the Resident. He was ordered to come with ten men: he came + with two thousand all armed, wild with excitement and “moutied” + (medicined). To make this medicine they had killed and pounded up a little + cripple boy and several of Umlandela’s wives. It afterwards transpired + that the only reason Sitimela did not then and there kill the Resident was + that he (Mr. Osborn) had with him several chiefs who were secretly + favourable to Sitimela’s cause, and if he had killed him he would, + according to Zulu custom, have had to kill them too. Mr. Osborn ordered + Sitimela to disperse his forces or take the consequences, and waited a few + days for him to do so; but seeing no signs of his compliance, he then + ordered the neighbouring chiefs to fall on him, and at length withdrew + from his encampment,—none too soon. That very night a party of + Sitimela’s men came down to kill him, and finding the tent in which he and + his companions had slept standing, stabbed at its supposed occupants + through the canvas. + </p> + <p> + Sitimela was defeated by the forces ordered out by the Resident with a + loss of about 500 men. It is, however, worthy of note, and shows how + widespread was the conspiracy, that out of all the thousands promised, Mr. + Osborn was only able to call out two thousand men. + </p> + <p> + The appointment, however, that has occasioned the most criticism is that + of John Dunn, who got the Benjamin share of Zululand in preference to his + brother chiefs. The converting of an Englishman into a Zulu chief is such + a very odd proceeding that it is difficult to know what to think of it. + John Dunn is an ambitious man, and most probably has designs on the + throne; he is also a man who understands the value of money, of which he + makes a great deal out of his chieftainship. At the same time, it is clear + that, so far as it goes, his rule is better than that of the other chiefs; + he has a uniform tax fixed, and has even done something in the way of + starting schools and making roads. From all that I have been able to + gather, his popularity and influence with the Zulus are overrated, though + he has lived amongst them so many years, and taken so many of their women + to wife. His appointment was a hazardous experiment, and in the long run + is likely to prove a mischievous one, since any attempted amendment of the + settlement will be violently resisted by him on the ground of vested + interests. Also, if white men are set over Zulus at all, they should be <i>gentlemen</i> + in the position of government officers, not successful adventurers. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the only wise thing done in connection with the settlement was the + appointment of Mr. Osborn, C.M.G., as British Resident. It is not easy to + find a man fitted for that difficult and dangerous position, for the + proper filling of which many qualifications are required. Possessed of an + intimate knowledge of the Zulus, their language, and their mode of thought + and life, and being besides a very able and energetic officer, Mr. Osborn + would have saved the settlement from breaking down if anybody could have + saved it. As it is, by the exercise of ceaseless energy and at great + personal risk, he has preserved it from total collapse. Of the dangers and + anxieties to which he is exposed, the account I have given of the Sitimela + incident is a sufficient example. He is, in fact, nothing but a shadow, + for he has no force at his command to ensure obedience to his decisions, + or to prevent civil war; and in Zululand, oddly enough, force is a remedy. + Should one chief threaten the peace of the country, he can only deal with + him by calling on another chief for aid, a position that is neither + dignified nor right. What is worst of all is that the Zulus are beginning + to discover what a shadow he is, and with this weakened position he has to + pit his single brains against all the thousand and one plots which are + being woven throughout Zululand. The whole country teems with plots. + Mnyamane, the late Prime Minister, and one of the ablest, and perhaps the + most influential man in Zululand, is plotting for the return of Cetywayo. + Bishop Colenso, again, is as usual working his own wires, and creating + agitations to forward his ends, whatever they may be at the moment. John + Dunn, on the other hand, is plotting to succeed Cetywayo, and so on <i>ad + infinitum</i>. Such is the state of affairs with which our unfortunate + Resident has to contend. Invested with large imaginary powers, he has in + reality nothing but his personal influence and his own wits to help him. + He has no white man to assist him, but living alone in a broken-down tent + and some mud huts built by his son’s hands (for the Government have never + kept their promise to put him up a house), in the midst of thousands of + restless and scheming savages, amidst plots against the peace and against + his authority, he has to do the best he can to carry out an impracticable + settlement, and to maintain the character of English justice and the + honour of the English name. Were Mr. Osborn to throw up his post or to be + assassinated, the authorities would find it difficult to keep the whole + settlement from collapsing like a card castle. + </p> + <p> + Nobody who understood Zulu character and aspirations could ever have + executed such a settlement as Sir Garnet Wolseley’s, unless he did it in + obedience to some motive or instructions that it was not advisable to + publish. It is true that Sir Garnet’s experience of the Zulus was + extremely small, and that he put aside the advice of those who did know + them with that contempt with which he is wont to treat colonists and their + opinions. Sir Garnet Wolseley does not like colonial people, possibly + because they have signally failed to appreciate heaven-born genius in his + person, or his slap-dash drumhead sort of way of settling the fate of + countries, and are, indeed, so rude as to openly say, that, in their + opinion, he did more mischief in Africa in a few months, than it would + take an ordinary official a lifetime to accomplish. + </p> + <p> + However this may be, stop his ears as much as he might, Sir Garnet cannot + have been entirely blind to the import of what he was doing, and the only + explanation of his action is that he entered on it more with the idea of + flattering and gratifying English public opinion, than of doing his best + for the Zulus or the white Colonists on their borders. A great outcry had + been raised at home, where, in common with most South African affairs, the + matter was not thoroughly understood, against the supposed intended + annexation of Zululand for the benefit of “greedy colonists.” It was + argued that colonists were anxious for the annexation in order that they + might get the land to speculate with, and doubtless this was, in + individual instances, true. I fully agree with those who think that it + would be unwise to throw open Zululand to the European settler, not on + account of the Zulus, who would benefit by the change, but because the + result would be a state of affairs similar to that in Natal, where there + are a few white men surrounded by an ever-growing mass of Kafirs. But + there is a vast difference between Annexation proper and the Protectorate + it was our duty to establish over the natives. Such an arrangement would + have presented few difficulties, and have brought with it many advantages. + White men could have been forbidden to settle in the country. A small + hut-tax, such as the Zulus would have cheerfully paid, would have brought + in forty or fifty thousand a year, an ample sum to defray the expenses of + the Resident and sub-Residents: the maintenance of an adequate native + force to keep order: and even the execution of necessary public works. It + is impossible to overrate the advantages that must have resulted both to + the Zulus and their white neighbours from the adoption of this obvious + plan, among them being lasting peace and security to life and property; or + to understand the folly and cruelty that dictated the present arrangement, + or rather want of arrangement. Not for many years has England missed such + an opportunity of doing good, not only at no cost, but with positive + advantage to herself. Did we owe nothing to this people whose kingdom we + had broken up, and whom we had been shooting down by thousands? They may + well ask, as they do continually, what they have done that we should treat + them as we have and are doing? + </p> + <p> + It cannot be too clearly understood, that, when the Zulus laid down their + arms they did so, hoping and believing that they would be taken over by + the English Government, which, having been fairly beaten by it, they now + looked on as their head or king, and be ruled like their brethren in + Natal. They expected to have to pay taxes and to have white magistrates + placed over them, and they or the bulk of them looked forward to the + change with pleasure. It must be remembered that when once they have found + their master, there exists no more law-abiding people in the world than + the Zulus, provided they are ruled firmly, and above all justly. Believing + that such a rule would fall to their lot they surrendered when they did. + How great, then, must their surprise have been when they found, that + without their wishes being consulted in the matter, their own hereditary + king was to be sent away, and thirteen little kings set up in his place, + with, strangest of all, a white man as chief little king, whilst the + British Government contented itself with placing a Resident in the + country, to watch the troubles that must ensue. + </p> + <p> + Such a settlement as this could only have one object and one result, + neither of which is at all creditable to the English people. The Zulus + were parcelled out among thirteen chiefs, in order that their strength + might be kept down by internecine war and mutual distrust and jealousy: + and, as though it were intended to render this result more certain, + territories were chucked about in the careless way I have described, + whilst central authority was abolished, and the vacant throne is dangled + before all eyes labelled “the prize of the strongest.” Of course Sir + Garnet’s paper agreements with the chiefs were for the most part + disregarded from the first. For instance, every chief has his army and + uses it too. In Zululand bloodshed is now a thing of every-day occurrence, + and the whole country is torn by fear, uncertainly, and consequent + want.[*] The settlement is bearing its legitimate fruit; some thousands of + Zulus have already been killed in direct consequence of it, and more will + doubtless follow. And this is the outcome of all the blood and treasure + spent over the Zulu war! Well, we have settled Zululand on the most + approved principles, and thank Heaven, British influence has not been + extended! + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] A severe famine is said to be imminent in Zululand. +</pre> + <p> + To show that I am not singular in my opinion as to the present state of + Zululand, I may be allowed to quote a few short extracts taken at random, + from half-a-dozen numbers of the “Natal Mercury.” Talking of the Zulu + settlement terms as dictated by Sir G. Wolseley, the leading article of + the issue 21st November 1881 says:—“It will at once be apparent that + these terms have in several cases been flagrantly violated, especially as + regards clauses of 2, 3, 4, and 6. This last will assuredly be broken + again and yet again, so long as the British Resident occupies the position + of an official mollusc. The chiefs themselves perceive and admit the evils + that must arise out of the absence of any effective central authority. + These evils are so obvious, they were so generally recognised at the + outset as being inherent in the scheme, that we might almost suppose their + occurrence had been deliberately anticipated as a desired outcome of the + settlement. The morality of such a line of policy would be precisely on a + par with that which is involved in the proposal to reinstate Cetywayo as a + means of dealing with the Boers. The creation of thirteen kinglets in + order that they might destroy each other, is as humane and high-minded an + effort of statesmanship as would be the restoration of a banished king in + order that he might eat up a people to whom the same power has just given + back their independence. To the simple colonial mind such deep designs of + Machiavellian statecraft are as hateful as they are inhuman and + dishonest.” + </p> + <p> + A correspondent of the “Mercury” in Zululand writes under date of 13th + October:— + </p> + <p> + “I send a line at the last moment to say that things are going from bad to + worse at railway speed. Up to the arrival of Sir Evelyn Wood, the chiefs + did not fully realise that they were really independent at all. Now they + do, and if I mistake not, like a beggar on horseback will ride to the + devil sharp. Oham has begun by killing a large number of the Amagalusi + people. My information is derived from native sources, and may be somewhat + exaggerated. It is that the killed at Isandhlwana were few compared with + those killed by Uhamu a few days ago. Usibebu also and Undabuka are, I am + told, on the point of coming to blows; and if they do that it will be + worse still, for Undabuka will find supporters throughout the length and + breadth of Zululand. Undabuka, the full brother of the ex-king, is the + protege of the Bishop of Natal. The Bishop, I find, has again sent one of + his agents (Amajuba by name) calling for another deputation. The + deputation is now on its way to Natal, and that, I understand, against the + express refusal of the Resident to allow it.” In the issue of 14th + November is published a letter from Mr. Nunn, a gentleman well known in + Zululand, from which, as it is too long to quote in its entirety, I give a + few extracts:—“<i>Oham’s Camp, Oct.15.</i>—The Zulus cannot + comprehend the Transvaal affair, and it has been industriously circulated + among them that the English have been beaten and forced to give back the + Transvaal. They do not understand gracious acts of restoration after we + have been beaten. Four times this year has Umnyamana called his army + together and menaced Oham, who has several times had to have parties of + his followers sleeping around his kraal in the hills adjacent, so as to + give him timely notice to fly. When Oham left his kraal for the purpose of + attending the meeting at Inslasatye, the same day the whole of the + Maquilisini Tribe came on to the hills adjacent to Oham’s kraal, the + ‘Injamin,’ and threatened that district. This has been the case on two or + three former occasions, and simultaneously Umnyamana’s tribe and + Undabuka’s followers always flew to arms, thus threatening on all sides. . + . . Trading is and has been for months entirely suspended in this + district. The fields are unplanted, no ploughs or Kafir-picks at work—all + are in a state of excitement, not knowing the moment a collision may take + place. Hunger will stare many in the face next year, and all the men + yelling to their chiefs to be let loose and put an end to this state of + uncertainty.” + </p> + <p> + Mr. Nunn encloses an account by an eye-witness of a battle which took + place on the 2d October 1881 between Oham’s army and the Maquilisini + Tribe. The following is an extract:—“On the 2nd there was a heavy + mist, and on moving forward the mounted party found themselves in the + midst of the enemy (the Maquilisini), and on hearing a cry to stab the + horses, they rode through them with no casualty (except one horse slightly + wounded with a bullet). The army, moving in a half circle, now became + generally engaged in a hand-to-hand fight, and our men were checked and + annoyed by a number of the enemy armed with guns, who were in a + stone-kraal and kept up a constant fire. Amatonga, now at the head of the + mounted party, charged and drove the enemy out of the kraal, from which + they three several times charged the enemy on the flank, assisted by a + small infantry party, and cut paths through their ranks. The fight, which + had now lasted nearly an hour, commenced to flag, and Oham’s army making a + sudden rush entirely routed the enemy, and the carnage lasted to the Bevan + river, the boundary of the Transvaal. No women or children were killed, + but out of an army of about 1500 of the enemy but few escaped” (sic) . . . + . “The men, as they were being killed, repeatedly exclaimed, ‘We are dying + through Umnyamana and Umlabaku.’” + </p> + <p> + In the “Natal Mercury” of the 13th March occurs the following:— + </p> + <p> + “<i>Zulu Country.</i>—As to the state of the country it is something + we cannot describe; everything is upside down, and the chiefs appointed by + the government are mere nobodies, and have not any power over their own + people. Even the Resident is in a false position, and seems perfectly + powerless to act either way. We had one row, just arriving at a kraal in + time to save it from being eaten up. Witchcraft and killing, one of the + pretences on which the English made war, are of every-day occurrence, and + fifty times worse than they were before the war. Oham and Tibysio (?) keep + their men continually in the field, consequently those districts are at + present in a state of famine.” + </p> + <p> + Sir Garnet Wolseley executed the Zulu settlement on the 1st September + 1879. The above extracts will suffice to show the state of the country + after it has been working for little more than two years. They will also, + I believe, suffice to convince any just and impartial mind that I do not + exaggerate when I say that it is an abomination and a disgrace to England. + The language may be strong, but when one hears of 1500 unfortunates + (nearly twice as many as we lost at Isandhlwana) being slaughtered in a + single intertribal broil, it is time to use strong language. It is not as + though this were an unexpected or an unavoidable development of events, + every man who knew the Zulus predicted the misery that must result from + such a settlement, but those who directed their destinies turned a deaf + ear to all warnings. They did not wish to hear. + </p> + <p> + And now we are told that civil war is imminent between the Cetywayo or + anti-settlement party, and what I must, for want of a better name, call + the John Dunn party, or those who have acquired interests under the + settlement, and who for various reasons wish to see Cetywayo’s face no + more. If this occurs, and it will occur unless the Government makes up its + mind to do something before long, the slaughter, not only of men but also + of women and children, will be enormous; fugitives will pour into Natal, + followed perhaps by their pursuers, and for aught we know the war may + spread into our own dominions. We are a philanthropic people, very, when + Bulgarians are concerned, or when the subject is one that piques the + morbid curiosity, or is the rage of the moment, and the subject of + addresses from great and eloquent speakers. But we can sit still, and let + such massacres as these take place, when we have but to hold up our hand + to stop them. When occasionally the veil is lifted a little, and the + public hears of “fresh fighting in Zululand;” a question is asked in the + House; Mr. Courtney, as usual, has no information, but generally + discredits the report, and it is put aside as “probably not true.” I am + well aware that of the few who read these words, many will discredit them, + or say that they are written for some object, or for party purposes. But + it is not the case; they are written in the interest of the truth, and in + the somewhat faint hope that they may awaken a portion of the public, + however small, to a knowledge of our responsibilities to the unfortunate + Zulus. For try to get rid of it as we may, those responsibilities rest + upon our shoulders. When we conquered the Zulu nation and sent away the + Zulu king, we undertook, morally at any rate, to provide for the future + good government of the country; otherwise, the Zulu war was unjust indeed. + If we continue to fail, as we have hitherto, to carry out our + responsibilities as a humane and Christian nation ought to do, our lapse + from what is right will certainly recoil upon our own heads, and, in the + stern lessons of future troubles and disasters, we shall learn that + Providence with the nation, as with the individual, makes a neglected duty + its own avenger. We have sown the wind, let us be careful lest we reap the + whirlwind. + </p> + <p> + It is very clear that things cannot remain in their present condition. If + they do, it is probable that the Resident will sooner or later be + assassinated; not from any personal motives, but as a political necessity, + and some second Chaka will rise up and found a new Zulu dynasty, sweeping + away our artificial chiefs and divisions like cobwebs. This idea seems to + have penetrated into Lord Kimberley’s official mind, since in his despatch + of instructions to Sir H. Bulwer, written in February last, he says, + “Probably if the chiefs are left to themselves after a period more or less + prolonged of war and anarchy, some man will raise himself to the position + of supreme chief.” The prospect of war and anarchy in Zululand does not, + however, trouble Lord Kimberley at all; in fact, the whole despatch is + typical to a degree of the Liberal Colonial policy. Lord Kimberley admits + that what little quiet the country has enjoyed under the settlement, “was + due to a mistaken belief on the part of the Zulus that the British + Government was ruling them, or would rule them through the Resident.” He + evidently clearly sees all the evils and bloodshed that are resulting and + that must result from the present state of affairs; indeed he + recapitulates them, and then ends up by even refusing to allow such slight + measures of relief as the appointment of sub-Residents to be carried out, + although begged for by the chiefs, on the ground that it might extend + British influence. Of the interests of the Zulus himself he is quite + careless. The whole despatch can be summed up thus: “If you can find any + method to improve the state of affairs which will not subject us to the + smallest cost, risk, or responsibility, you can employ it; if not, let + them fight it out.” Perhaps Lord Kimberley may live (officially) long + enough to find out that meanness and selfishness do not always pay, and + that it is not always desirable, thus to sacrifice the respect, and crush + the legitimate aspirations of a generous people. + </p> + <p> + Unless something is done before long, it is possible that John Dunn may + succeed after a bloody war in securing the throne; but this would not + prove a permanent arrangement, since he is now getting on in life and has + no son to carry on the dynasty. Another possibility, and one that is not + generally known, at any rate in this country, though it is perhaps the + most probable of all, is this. Cetywayo has left a son in Zululand, who is + being carefully educated under the care of Mnyamane, the late King’s Prime + Minister. The boy is now about 16 years of age, and is reported to possess + very good abilities, and is the trump card that Mnyamane will play as soon + as the time is ripe. This young man is the hereditary heir to the Zulu + crown, and it is more than probable that if he is proclaimed king the vast + majority of the nation will rally round him and establish him firmly on + his throne. There is little use in keeping Cetywayo confined whilst his + son is at large. The lad should have been brought to England and educated, + so that he might at some future time have assisted in the civilisation of + his country: as it is, he is growing up in a bad school. + </p> + <p> + And now I come to the root of the whole matter, the question whether or + no, under all these circumstances, it is right or desirable to + re-establish Cetywayo on the throne of Zululand. In considering this + question, I think that Cetywayo’s individuality ought to be out on one + side, however much we may sympathise with his position, as I confess I do + to some extent myself. After all, Cetywayo is only one man, whereas the + happiness, security, and perhaps the lives of many thousands are involved + in the issue of the question. In coming to any conclusion in the matter it + is necessary to keep in view the intentions of the Government as regards + our future connection with Zululand. If the Government intends to do its + duty and rule Zululand as it ought to be ruled, by the appointment of + proper magistrates, the establishment of an adequate force, and the + imposition of the necessary taxes; then it would be the height of folly to + permit Cetywayo to return, since his presence would defeat the scheme. It + must be remembered that there is as yet nothing whatsoever to prevent this + plan being carried out. It would be welcomed with joy by the large + majority of both Zulus and Colonists. It would also solve the problem of + the increase of the native population of Natal, which is assuming the most + alarming proportions, since Zululand, being very much underpopulated, it + would be easy, were that country once quietly settled, to draft the + majority of the Natal Zulus back into it. This is undoubtedly the best + course, and indeed the only right course; but it does not at all follow + that it will be taken, since governments are unfortunately more concerned + at the prospect of losing votes than with the genuine interests of their + dependencies. The proper settlement of Zululand would not be popular + amongst a large class in this country, and therefore it is not likely to + be carried out, however right and necessary it may be. + </p> + <p> + If nothing is going to be done, then it becomes a question whether or no + Cetywayo should be sent back. + </p> + <p> + The large majority of the Natalians consider that his restoration would be + an act of suicidal folly, and their opinion is certainly entitled to great + weight, since they are after all the people principally concerned. The + issue of the experiment would be a matter of comparative indifference to + people living 7000 miles away, but is naturally regarded with some anxiety + by those who have their homes on the borders of Zululand. It is very well + to sympathise with savage royalty in distress, but it must be borne in + mind that there are others to be considered besides the captive king. Many + of the Zulus, for instance, are by no means anxious to see him again, + since they look forward with just apprehension to the line of action he + may take with those who have not shown sufficient anxiety for his return, + or have in other ways incurred his resentment. One thing is clear, to send + the king back to Zululand is to restore the <i>status in quo</i> as it was + before the war. There can be no half measures about it, no more worthless + paper stipulations; a Zulu king must either be allowed to rule in his own + fashion or not at all. The war would go for nothing, and would doubtless + have to be fought over again with one of Cetywayo’s successors. + </p> + <p> + Also it must be remembered that it is one thing to talk of restoring + Cetywayo, and another to carry his restoration into effect. It would not + simply be a question of turning him down on the borders of Zululand, and + letting him find his own way back to his throne, for such a proceeding + would be the signal for the outbreak of civil war. It is not to be + supposed that John Dunn, and those whose interests are identical with + Dunn’s, would allow the ex-king to reseat himself on the throne without a + struggle; indeed the former has openly declared his intention of resisting + the attempt by force of arms if necessary. He is by no means anxious to + give up the 15,000 pounds a year his hut-tax brings in, and all the + contingent profits and advantages of his chieftainship. If we wish to + restore Cetywayo we must first depose Dunn; in fact, we must be ready to + support his restoration by force of arms. + </p> + <p> + As regards Cetywayo himself, I cannot share the opinion of those who think + that he would be personally dangerous. He has learnt his lesson, and would + not be anxious to try conclusions with the English again; indeed, I + believe he would prove a staunch ally. But supposing him re-established on + the throne, how long would it be before a revolution, or the hand of the + assassin, to say nothing of the ordinary chances of nature, put an end to + him, and how do we know that his successor in power would share his views? + </p> + <p> + Cetywayo’s rule, bad as it was, was perhaps preferable to the reign of + terror that we have established, under the name of a settlement. But that + we can still remedy if we choose to do so, whereas, if we once restore + Cetywayo, all power over the Zulus passes out of our hands. + </p> + <p> + We have many interests to consider in South Africa, all of which will be + more or less affected by our action in this matter. On the whole, I am of + opinion that the Government that replaces Cetywayo on the throne of his + fathers will undertake a very grave responsibility, and must be prepared + to deal with many resulting complications, not the least of which will be + the utter exasperation of the white inhabitants of Natal. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0004" id="link2H_4_0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + NATAL AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT + </h2> + <p> + <i>Natal—Causes of increase of the native population—Happy + condition of the Natal Zulus—Polygamy—Its results on + population—The impossibility of eradicating it—Relations + between a Zulu and his wives—Connection between polygamy and native + law—Missionary work amongst the Zulus—Its failure—Reasons + of its failure—Early days of Natal—Growth of the native + question—Coming struggle between white and black over the land + question—Difficulty of civilising the Zulu—Natal as a black + settlement—The constitution of Natal—Request for responsible + government—Its refusal—The request renewed and granted—Terms + and reason of Lord Kimberley’s offer—Infatuation of responsible + government party in Natal—Systematic abuse of colonists in England—Colonial + speculators—Grievances against the Imperial Government—Sir + Henry Bulwer—Uncertain future of Natal—Its available force—Exterior + dangers—The defence question shirked by the “party of progress”— + The confederation question—The difficulty of obtaining desirable + immigrants—The only real key to the Natal native question—Folly + of accepting self-government till it is solved.</i> + </p> + <p> + Natal has an area of about 18,000 square miles, and its present population + is, roughly, 25,000 whites and 400,000 natives of the Zulu race. When, in + 1843, it first became a British colony, the number of natives living + within its borders was very small, and they were for the most part + wanderers, fragmentary remnants of the tribes that Chaka had destroyed. I + shall probably be under, rather than over the mark, if I say, that the + Zulu population of the colony has multiplied itself by ten during the last + thirty years. Two causes have combined to bring about this extraordinary + increase; firstly, wholesale immigration from the surrounding territories; + and secondly, the practice of polygamy. + </p> + <p> + This immigration has been due to a great want of foresight, or want of + knowledge, on the part of the Home authorities, who have allowed it to go + on without check or hindrance till it has, in conjunction with its twin + evil polygamy, produced the state of affairs it is my object to describe. + Ever since its first establishment as a colony Natal has been turned into + a city of refuge for the native inhabitants of Zululand, the Transvaal, + Swaziland, and elsewhere. If news came to a Zulu chief that his king + purposed to eat him up, he at once fled across the Tugela with his wives + and followers and settled in Natal. If the Boers or Swazis destroyed a + tribe, the remnant found its way to Natal. + </p> + <p> + That country, indeed, is to the South African native a modern Isles of the + Blest. Once across the border line, and, whatever his crime, he is in a + position to defy his worst enemy, and can rest secure in the protection of + the Home and local Governments, and of the enactments specially passed to + protect him and his privileges. The Government allots him land, or if it + does not he squats on private land: bringing with him his own peculiar and + barbarous customs. In all the world I do not know a race more favoured by + circumstances than the Natal Zulus. They live on the produce of the fields + that their wives cultivate, or rather scratch, doing little or no work, + and having no occasion to do any. They are very rich, and their taxes are + a mere trifle, fifteen shillings per annum for each hut. They bear no + share of the curse that comes to all other men as a birthright; they need + not labour. Protected by a powerful Government, they do not fear attack + from without, or internal disorder. What all men desire, riches and women, + are theirs in abundance, and even their children, the objects of so much + expense and sore perplexity to civilised parents, are to them a source of + wealth. Their needs are few; a straw hut, corn for food, and the bright + sun. They are not even troubled with the thought of a future life, but, + like the animals, live through their healthy, happy days, and at last, in + extreme old age, meet a death which for them has no terrors, because it + simply means extinction. When compared to that of civilised races, or even + of their own brethren in the interior, their lot is indeed a happy one. + </p> + <p> + But the stream of immigration, continuous though it has been, would not by + itself have sufficed to bring up the native population to its present + enormous total, without the assistance of the polygamous customs of the + immigrants. + </p> + <p> + I believe that inquirers have ascertained, that, as a general rule, the + practice of polygamy has not the effect of bringing about an abnormal + growth of population. However this may be elsewhere, in Natal, owing in + great measure to the healthy customs of the Zulu race,[*] the rate of + increase is unprecedented. Many writers and other authorities consider + polygamy as an institution, to be at once wicked and disgusting. As to its + morality, it is a point upon which it is difficult to express any opinion, + nor, indeed, does the question enter into the scope of what I have to say; + but it must be remembered that in the case of the Zulu his whole law and + existence is mixed up with the institution, and that it is necessary to + him to repair the gaps made in his ranks by war. Violent anti-polygamists + in this country always make a strong point of the cruelty it is supposed + to involve to the women, and talk about the “violation of their holiest + feelings.” As a matter of fact, sad as it may appear, the Zulu women are + much attached to the custom, nor would they, as a general rule, consent to + marry a man who only purposed taking one wife. There are various reasons + for this: for instance, the first wife is a person of importance, and + takes precedence of all the others, a fact as much appreciated by the Zulu + woman as by the London lady. Again, the more wives there are, the more + wealth it brings into the family, since in the ordinary course of nature + more wives mean more female children, who, when they come to a + marriageable age, mean in their turn at least ten cows each (the + Government price for a wife). The amount thus obtained is placed to the + credit of the estate of the mother of the girl married, and for this + reason all Zulu women are extremely anxious to have children, especially + female children. Finally, the liking of Zulu women for the custom is bred + in them. It has been going on for countless generations, and it is + probable that it will go on for so long as the race endures. Nations do + not change such habits unless the change is forced on them, with the + alternative of extermination. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] As soon as a Zulu woman is discovered to be pregnant, + her husband ceases to cohabit with her, nor does he live + with her again until the child is weaned, eighteen months, + and sometimes two years, after its birth. +</pre> + <p> + Polygamy will never be eradicated by moral persuasion, because, even if a + native could be brought to think it wrong, which is in itself impossible, + its abolition would affect his interests irredeemably. A Zulu’s wives are + also his servants; they plough his land and husband his grain, in addition + to bearing his children. Had he but one wife most of her time would be + taken up with the latter occupation, and then the mealie-planting and + gathering would necessarily fall to the lot of the husband, a state of + affairs he would never consent to. Again, if monogamy were established, + girls would lose their value, and a great source of wealth would be + destroyed. It must, however, be understood that Zulu girls are not exactly + sold; the cows received by the parents are by a legal fiction supposed to + be a gift presented, not a price paid. Should the wife subsequently run + away, they are, I believe, returnable. + </p> + <p> + On these subjects, as is not to be wondered at when so many interests are + concerned, the Zulu law is a little intricate. The cleverest counsel in + the Temple could not give an opinion on such a case as the following:— + </p> + <p> + A. has four wives and children by Nos. 1 and 3. On his death his brother, + B., a rich man, takes over his wives and property, and has children by + each of the four women. He has also children by other wives. On his death, + in extreme old age, how should the property be divided amongst the + descendants of the various marriages? + </p> + <p> + It is clear that if such a case as this is to be dealt with at all it must + be under native law, and this is one of the great dangers of polygamy. + Once rooted in a state it necessitates a double system of laws, since + civilised law is quite unable to cope with the cases daily arising from + its practice. It is sometimes argued that the law employed is a matter of + indifference, provided that substantial justice is done, according to the + ideas of people concerned, and this is doubtless very true if it is + accepted as a fact that the Zulu population of Natal is always to remain + in its present condition of barbarism. To continue to administer their law + is to give it the sanction of the white man’s authority, and every day + that it is so administered makes it more impossible to do away with it. I + say “more impossible” advisedly, because I believe its abrogation is + already impossible. There is no satisfactory way out of the difficulty, + because it has its roots in, and draws its existence from, the principle + of polygamy, which I believe will last while the people last. + </p> + <p> + Some rely on the Missionary to effect this stupendous change, and turn a + polygamous people into monogamists. But it is a well-known fact that the + missionaries produce no more permanent effect on the Zulu mind than a + child does on the granite rock which he chips at with a chisel. How many + real Christians are there in Zululand and Natal, and of that select and + saintly band how many practise monogamy? But very few, and among those few + there is a large proportion of bad characters, men who have adopted + Christianity as a last resource. I mean no disrespect to the missionaries, + many of whom are good men, doing their best under the most unpromising + conditions, though some are simply traders and political agitators. But + the fact remains the same. Christianity makes no appreciable progress + amongst the Zulu natives, whilst, on the other hand, no one having any + experience in the country will, if he can avoid it, have a so-called + Christian Kafir in his house, because the term is but too frequently + synonymous with that of drunkard and thief. I do not wish it to be + understood that it is the fact of his Christianity that so degrades the + Zulu, because I do not think it has anything to do with it. It is only + that the novice, standing on the threshold of civilisation, as a rule + finds the vices of the white man more congenial than his virtues. + </p> + <p> + The Zulus are as difficult to convince of the truths of Christianity as + were the Jews, whom they so much resemble in their customs. They have a + natural disinclination to believe that which they cannot see, and, being + constitutionally very clever and casuistical, are prepared to argue each + individual point with an ability very trying to missionaries. It was one + of these Zulus, known as the Intelligent Zulu, but in reality no more + intelligent than his fellows, whose shrewd remarks first caused doubts to + arise in the mind of Bishop Colenso, and through him in those of thousands + of others. + </p> + <p> + Another difficulty in the way of the Missionary is, that he is obliged to + insist on the putting away of surplus wives, and thus to place himself out + of court at the outset. It is quite conceivable that in the opinion of + wild and savage men, it is preferable to let the new teaching alone, + rather than to adopt it at the cost of such a radical change in their + domestic arrangements. As a case in point I may quote that of Hlubi, the + Basutu appointed chief of one of the divisions of Zululand, by Sir G. + Wolseley. Hlubi is at heart a Christian, and a good man, and anxious to be + baptized. The missionaries, however, refuse to baptize him, because he has + two wives. Hlubi therefore remains a heathen, saying, not unnaturally, + that he feels it would be impossible for him to put away a woman with whom + he has lived for so many years. + </p> + <p> + Whilst polygamy endures Christianity will advance with but small strides. + It seems to me that we are beginning at the wrong end. We must civilise + first and Christianise afterwards. As well try to sow corn among rocks and + look to gather a full crop, as expect the words of Grace and Divine love + to bear fruit in the hearts of a people whose forefathers have for + countless generations been men of blood, whose prized traditions are one + long story of slaughter, and who, if they are now at peace are, as it + were, only gathering strength for a surer spring. First, the soil must be + prepared before the seed is sown. + </p> + <p> + To do this there is but one way. Abolish native customs and laws, + especially polygamy, and bring our Zulu subjects within the pale of our + own law. Deprive them of their troops of servants in the shape of wives, + and thus force them to betake themselves to honest labour like the rest of + mankind. + </p> + <p> + There is only one objection in the way of the realisation of this scheme, + which would, doubtless, bring about, in the course of a generation, a much + better state of things, and gather many thousand converts into the fold of + the Church; and that is, the opportunity has, so far as Natal is + concerned, been missed—the time has gone by when it could have been + carried out. To young countries, as to young men, there come sometimes + opportunities of controlling their future destinies which, if not seized + at the moment, pass away for ever, or only to return after long and + troubled years. Natal has had her chance, and it has gone away from her, + though through no fault of her own. If, when the colony was first settled, + the few natives who then lived there had been forced to conform to the + usages of civilised life or to quit its borders; if refugees had been + refused admission save on the same terms, it would not occupy the very + serious position it does at the present moment. + </p> + <p> + To understand the situation into which Natal has drifted with reference to + its native inhabitants, it is necessary to premise that that country has + hitherto had practically no control over its own affairs, more especially + as regards native legislation. + </p> + <p> + In its early days it was a happy, quiet place, a favoured clime, where the + traveller or settler could find good shooting, cheap labour, and cheap + living. No enemy threatened its rest, and the natives were respectful and + peaceful in their behaviour. But it was in those days that the native + difficulty, that Upas tree that now overshadows and poisons the whole + land, took root; for slowly, from all parts, all through that quiet time, + by ones, by tens, by hundreds, refugees were flowing in, and asking and + receiving land to settle on from the Government. + </p> + <p> + It is not, however, to be supposed that the local officials did not + perceive the gathering danger, since it has again and again been pointed + out to different Secretaries of State, and again and again been ignored by + them, or put off for the consideration of their successors. Hand-to-mouth + legislation has always been the characteristic of our rule in South + Africa. On one occasion Sir Theophilus, then Mr. Shepstone, went so far as + to offer to personally draw off a large portion of the native population, + and settle them on some vacant territory bordering on the Cape Colony, but + the suggestion was not acceded to, for fear lest the execution of the + scheme should excite disturbances amongst the natives of the Cape. Thus + year after year has passed away—plan after plan has been put aside,—and + nothing has been done. + </p> + <p> + In the colony a great deal of abuse is poured out on the head of Sir T. + Shepstone, to whom the present native situation is unjustly attributed by + a certain party of politicians. Sir T. Shepstone was for very many years + Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, but until he came to England, + shortly before the termination of his official career, he was personally + unknown to the Colonial Office, and had no influence there. It was totally + out of his power to control the policy of the Home Government with + reference to the Natal natives; he could only take things as he found + them, and make the best of such materials as came to his hand. As he could + not keep the natives out of the colony or prevent polygamy, he did what he + could towards making them loyal and contented subjects. How well he + succeeded, and with what consummate tact and knowledge he must have + exercised his authority, is shown by the fact that in all these years + there has been but one native disturbance, namely that of Langalibalele, + and by the further fact that the loyalty of the Natal Zulus stood the + strain of the Zulu war. Also, there never has been, and probably never + will be, another white man so universally beloved and reverenced by the + natives throughout the length and breadth of South Africa. + </p> + <p> + But Sir T. Shepstone’s influence for good will pass away, as all purely + personal influence must, and meanwhile, what is the situation? On the one + hand, there is a very slowly increasing, scattered, and mixed population + of about 25,000 whites, capable, at the outside, of putting a force of + 4000 men in the field. On the other, there is a warlike native population, + united by the ties of race and common interests, numbering at the present + moment between 400,000 and 500,000, and increasing by leaps and bounds: + capable of putting quite 80,000 warriors into the field, and possessing, + besides, numerous strongholds called locations. At present these two rival + populations live side by side in peace and amity, though at heart neither + loves the other. The two races are so totally distinct that it is quite + impossible for them to have much community of feeling; they can never + mingle; their ideas are different, their objects are different, and in + Natal their very law is different. Kafirs respect and like individual + Englishmen, but I doubt whether they are particularly fond of us as a + race, though they much prefer us to any other white men, and are devoted + to our rule, so long as it is necessary to them. The average white man, on + the other hand, detests the Kafir, and looks on him as a lazy + good-for-nothing, who ought to work for him and will not work for him, + whilst he is quite incapable of appreciating his many good points. It is + an odd trait about Zulus that only gentlemen, in the true sense of the + word, can win their regard, or get anything out of them. + </p> + <p> + It is obvious that, sooner or later, these two races must come into + contact, the question being how long the present calm will last. To this + question I will venture to suggest an answer,—I believe the right + one. It will last until the native gets so cramped for room that he has no + place left to settle on, except the white man’s lands. The white man will + then try to turn him off, whereupon the native will fall back on the + primary resource of killing him, and possessing himself of the land by + force. This plan, simultaneously carried out on a large scale, would place + the colony at the mercy of its native inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + Nor is the time so very far distant when Englishmen and Zulus will stand + face to face over this land question. In the early days of the colony, + locations were established in the mountainous districts, because they were + comparatively worthless, and the natives were settled in them by tribes. + Of what goes on in these locations very little is known, except that they + are crowded, and that the inhabitants are as entirely wedded to their + savage customs as their forefathers were before them. As there is no more + room in the locations, many thousands of Kafirs have settled upon private + lands, sometimes with and sometimes without the leave of the owners. But, + for many reasons, this is a state of affairs that cannot go on for ever. + In a few years, the private lands will be filled up, as well as the + locations, and what then? + </p> + <p> + Zulus are a people who require a very large quantity of land, since they + possess great numbers of cattle which must have grazing room. Also their + cultivation being of the most primitive order, and consisting as it does + of picking out the very richest patches of land, and cropping them till + they are exhausted, all ordinary land being rejected as too much trouble + to work, the possession, or the right of usor, of several hundred acres is + necessary to the support of a single family. Nor, if we may judge from + precedent, and its well-marked characteristics, is it to be supposed that + this race will at the pinch suit itself to circumstances, take up less + land, and work harder. Zulus would rather fight to the last than discard a + cherished and an ancient custom. Savages they are, and savages they will + remain, and in the struggle between them and civilisation it is possible + that they may be conquered, but I do not believe that they will be + converted. The Zulu Kafir is incompatible with civilisation. + </p> + <p> + It will be seen, from what I have said, that Natal might more properly be + called a Black settlement than an English colony. Looking at it from the + former point of view, it is a very interesting experiment. For the first + time probably since their race came into existence, Zulu natives have got + a chance given them of increasing and multiplying without being + periodically decimated by the accidents of war, whilst at the same time + enjoying the protection of a strong and a just government. It remains to + be seen what use they will make of their opportunity. That they will avail + themselves of it for the purposes of civilising themselves I do not + believe; but it seems to me possible that they will learn from the white + man the advantages of combination, and aim at developing themselves into a + powerful and united black nation. + </p> + <p> + It is in the face of this state of things that Lord Kimberley now proposes + to grant responsible government to the white inhabitants of Natal, should + they be willing to accept it, providing that it is to carry with it the + responsibility of ruling the natives, and further, of defending the colony + from the attacks of its neighbours, whether white or coloured. + </p> + <p> + Natal has hitherto been ruled under a hybrid constitution, which, whilst + allowing the Legislative Assembly of the colony to pass laws, &c., + reserves all real authority to the Crown. There has, however, been for + some years past a growing agitation amongst a proportion of its + inhabitants, instituted with the object of inducing the Home Government to + concede practical independence to the colony, Her Majesty having on + several occasions been petitioned on the subject by the Legislative + Council. On the 13th February 1880, Sir G. Wolseley, who was at the time + Governor of Natal, wrote what I can only call, a very intemperate despatch + to the Secretary of State, commenting on the prayer for responsible + government, which he strongly condemned. He also took the opportunity to + make a series of somewhat vicious attacks on the colonists in general, + whose object in asking for independence was, he implied, to bring the + black man in relations of “appropriate servitude to his white superior.” + It would appear, however, from words used by him towards the end of his + despatch, that the real reason of his violence was, that he feared, that + one of the first acts of the Natal Parliament would be to put an end to + his settlement in Zululand, which was and is the laughing-stock of the + colony. He was probably right in this supposition. The various charges he + brings against the colonists are admirably and conclusively refuted in a + minute adopted by the Legislative Council of Natal, dated 20th December + 1880. + </p> + <p> + In a despatch, dated 15th March 1881, Lord Kimberley refuses to accede to + the request for the grant of Responsible Government. + </p> + <p> + On the 28th of December, the Legislative Council again petitioned the + Crown on the subject, and forward to Lord Kimberley a report of a Select + committee appointed to consider the matter, in which the following words + occur:— + </p> + <p> + “Your committee hold that while the colony may well be held responsible + for its defence from such aggression as may be caused by the acts or + policy of a responsible government, it cannot justly be saddled with the + obligation to meet acts of aggression from bordering territories that have + arisen out of the circumstances or measures over which such government + have had no control; although, as a matter of fact, the brunt of defence + (must be borne?) in the first instance by the colonists. The Council, + therefore, neither exercises, nor desires to exercise, any control over + territories adjacent to or bordering on the colony; for the preservation + of its own internal peace and order the colony is prepared to provide. The + duty of protecting the colony from external foes, whether by sea or land, + devolves on the Empire as a whole, otherwise to be a section of that + Empire constitutes no real privilege.” + </p> + <p> + To this report, somewhat to the surprise of the Natalians, Lord Kimberley + returned, in a despatch addressed to Sir H. Bulwer, on the occasion of his + departure to take up the Governorship of Natal, and dated 2d February + 1882, a most favourable reply. In fact, he is so obliging as to far exceed + the wishes of the Natalians, as expressed in the passage just quoted, and + to tell them that Her Majesty’s Government is not only ready to give them + responsible government, but that it will expect them to defend their own + frontiers, independently of any assistance from the Imperial Government. + He further informs them that the Imperial troops will be withdrawn, and + that the only responsibility Her Majesty’s Government will retain with + reference to the colony will be that of its defence against aggression by + foreign powers. + </p> + <p> + This sudden change of face on the part of the Imperial Government, which + had up till now flatly refused to grant <i>any measure</i> of + self-government to Natal, may at first seem rather odd, but on examination + it will be found to be quite in accordance with the recently developed + South African policy of Mr. Gladstone’s Government. There is little doubt + that it is an article of faith among the Liberal party that the less the + mother-country has to do with her colonies, and more especially her South + African colonies, the better. A grand step was made in the direction of + the abandonment of our South African Empire when we surrendered the + Transvaal to the Boers, and it is clear that if our troops can be + withdrawn from Natal and all responsibility for the safety of that colony + put an end to, the triumph of self-effacement will be still more complete. + But there is another and more immediate reason for Lord Kimberley’s + generous offer. He knows, no one better, that the policy pursued in South + Africa, both as regards the Transvaal and Zululand, must produce its + legitimate fruit—bloodshed—before very long. He, or rather his + Government, is consequently anxious to cut the connection before anything + of the sort occurs, when they will be able to attribute the trouble, + whatever it is, to the ill-advised action of the Colonial Legislature. + </p> + <p> + What is still more strange, however, is that the colonists, having regard + to the position they occupy with reference to the Kafirs that surround + them, to whom they bear the same relative proportion that the oases do in + the desert, or the islands of an archipelago to the ocean that washes + their shores, should wish for such a dangerous boon as that of + self-government, if indeed they really do wish it. When I lived in Natal, + I often heard the subject discussed, and watched the Legislative Council + pass its periodical resolutions about it, but I confess I always looked on + the matter as being more or less of a farce. There exists, however, in + Natal a knot of politicians who are doubtless desirous of the change, + partly because they think that it would be really beneficial, and partly + because they are possessed by a laudable ambition to fill the high + positions of Prime Minister, Treasurer, &c., in the future Parliament. + But these gentlemen for the most part live in towns, where they are + comparatively safe should a native rising occur. I have not noticed the + same enthusiasm for responsible government among those Natalians who live + up country in the neighbourhood of the locations. + </p> + <p> + Still there does exist a considerable party who are in favour of the + change, a party that has recently sprung into existence. Many things have + occurred within the last few years to irritate and even exasperate people + in Natal with the Imperial Government, and generally with the treatment + that they have received at our hands. For instance, colonists are + proverbially sensitive, and it is therefore rather hard that every + newspaper correspondent or itinerant bookmaker who comes to their shores, + should at once proceed to print endless letters and books abusing them + without mercy. The fact of the matter is that these gentlemen come, and + put up at the hotels and pot-shops, where they meet all the loafers and + bad characters in the country, whom they take to be specimens of the best + class of colonists, whom they describe accordingly as the “riddlings of + society.” Into the quiet, respectable, and happy homes that really give + the tone to the colony they do not enter. + </p> + <p> + It is also a favourite accusation to bring against the people of Natal + that they make the South African wars in order to make money out of them. + For instance, in a leading article of one of the principal English + journals, it was stated not long ago, that the murmurs of the colonists at + being forced to eat the bread of humiliation in the Transvaal matter, + arose from no patriotic feeling, but from sorrow at the early termination + of a war out of which they hoped to suck no small advantage. This + statement is quite untrue. + </p> + <p> + No doubt a great deal of money has been made out of the wars by a few + colonial speculators, some of it, maybe, dishonestly; but this is not an + unusual occurrence in a foreign war. Was no money made dishonestly by + English speculators and contractors in the Crimean War? Cannot Manchester + boast manufacturers ready to supply our enemies,—for cash payments,—with + guns to shoot us with, or any other material of war? + </p> + <p> + It is not to be supposed that because a few speculators made fortunes out + of the Commissariat that the whole colony participated in the spoils of + the various wars. On the contrary, the marjority of its inhabitants have + suffered very largely. Not only have they run considerable personal risk, + but since, and owing to, the Zulu and Boer wars the cost of living has + almost, if not quite doubled, which, needless to say, has not been the + case with their incomes. It is therefore particularly cruel that Natal + should be gibbeted as the abode of scoundrels of the worst sort, men + prepared to bring about bloodshed in order to profit by it. Sir Garnet + Wolseley, however, found in this report of colonial dishonesty a + convenient point of vantage from which to attack the colonists generally, + and in his despatch about responsible government we may be sure he did not + spare them. The Legislative Council thus comments on his remarks: “To + colonists a war means the spreading among them of distress, alarm, and + confusion, peril to life and property in outlying districts, the arrest of + progress, and general disorganisation. . . . The Council regard with pain + and indignation the uncalled-for and cruel stigma thus cast upon the + colonists by Sir Garnet Wolseley.” + </p> + <p> + At first sight these accusations may not appear to have much to do with + the question of whether or no the colonists should accept responsible + government, but in reality they have, inasmuch as they create a feeling of + soreness that inclines the Natalians to get rid of Imperial interference + and the attendant criticism at any price. + </p> + <p> + More substantial grievances against the English Government are the present + condition of the native problem, which the colonists justly attribute to + Imperial mismanagement, and that triumph of genius, Sir Garnet Wolseley’s + settlement in Zululand. They see these evils, which they know were + preventable, growing more formidable day by day, and they imagine, or some + of them do, that if they had free institutions it would still be in their + power to stop that growth. + </p> + <p> + The whole question has now been referred to the colony, which is to elect + a fresh Legislative Assembly on the issue of responsible government. The + struggle between “the party of progress,” i.e., the responsible government + section, and the reactionists, or those who are prepared to dispense with + “freedom,” provided they can be sure of safety, is being carried on + keenly, and at present it is doubtful which side will have a majority. I + do not, however, believe that the majority of any Council returned will + consent to accept Lord Kimberley’s proposal as it stands; to walk into a + parlour in which the spider is so very obvious, and to deliberately + undertake the guardianship of all the Imperial interests in South-Eastern + Africa. If they do, they will, in my opinion, deserve all they will + get.[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] Since this chapter was written the Natal constituencies + have, as I thought probable, declared against the acceptance + of Lord Kimberley’s offer in its present form, by returning + a majority of anti-responsible Government men. It is, + however, probable that the new Legislative Council will try + to re-open negotiations on a different, or, at any rate, a + modified basis. +</pre> + <p> + The Natalians are fortunate at the present crisis in having, by dint of + vigorous agitation against the appointment of Mr. Sendall, a gentleman + selected by Lord Kimberley to govern them, obtained the reappointment of + their former Governor, Sir Henry Bulwer. Sir Henry, during his first + tenure of office, lost credit with the South African colonists on account + of his lukewarmness with reference to the Zulu war, but the course of + events has gone far towards justifying his views. He is one of the most + hard-working and careful Governors that Natal has ever had, and, perhaps, + the most judicious. Of a temperate and a cautious mind, he may be more + safely trusted to pilot a country so surrounded with difficulties and + dangers as Natal is, than most men, and it is to be hoped that the + application to the questions of the day, of the strong common sense that + he possesses in such an eminent degree, may have a cooling effect on the + hot heads and excited imaginations of the “party of progress.” + </p> + <p> + In considering the pros and cons of the responsible government question, + it must be steadily kept in sight that Natal is not likely to be a country + with a peaceful future. To begin with, she has her native inhabitants to + deal with. To-day they number, say 450,000, fifteen or twenty years hence + they will number a million, or perhaps more. These men are no longer the + docile overgrown children they were twenty years ago. The lessons of our + performances in the Zulu and Boer wars, more especially the latter, have + not been lost upon them, and they are beginning to think that the white + man, instead of being the unconquerable demigod they thought him, is + somewhat of a humbug. Pharaoh, we know, grew afraid of the Israelites; + Natal, with a much weaker power at command than that of Pharaoh, has got + to cope with a still more dangerous element, and one that cannot be + induced to depart into the wilderness. + </p> + <p> + And after all what does the power of Natal amount to? Let us be liberal, + and say six thousand men, it is the outside. In the event of a native + rising, or any other serious war, I believe that of this number, at least + two thousand would make themselves scarce. There exists in all colonies a + floating element of individuals who have drifted there for the purpose of + making money, but who have no real affection for the (temporary) country + of their adoption. Their capital is, as a rule, small and easily realised, + and the very last thing that they would think of doing, would be to engage + in a deadly life or death struggle, on behalf of a land that they only + look on as a milch cow, out of which their object is to draw as much as + possible. On the contrary, they would promptly seek another cow, leaving + the old one to the tender mercies of the butcher. + </p> + <p> + Their defection would leave some 4000 men to cope with the difficulty, + whatever it was, of which number at least 1000 would be ineffective from + age and various other causes, whilst of the remainder, quite 1000 would be + obliged to remain where they were to protect women and children in + outlying districts. This would leave a total effective force of 2000 men, + or, deducting 500 for garrison purposes, of 1500 ready to take the field. + But it would take some time to collect, arm, and equip even this number, + and in the meanwhile, in the case of a sudden and preconcerted native + rising, half the inhabitants of the colony would be murdered in detail. + </p> + <p> + But Natalians have got other dangers to fear besides those arising from + the presence of this vast mass of barbarism in their midst. After a period + of anarchy a new king may possess himself of the throne of Zululand, and + it is even possible that he might, under circumstances that will arise + hereafter, lead his armies into Natal, and create a difficulty with which + the 1500 available white men would find it difficult to cope. Or the Boers + of the Orange Free State and Transvaal may get tired of paying customs + dues at Durban, and march 5000 men down to take possession of the port! + Perhaps Natal might provide herself with an effective force by enrolling + an army of 10,000 or 20,000 Kafirs, but it seems to me that the proceeding + would be both uncertain and expensive, and, should the army take it into + its head to mutiny, very dangerous to boot. + </p> + <p> + It is a noticeable fact that those who so ardently advocate the acceptance + of Lord Kimberley’s offer, in all their speeches, addresses, and articles, + almost entirely shirk this question of defence, which is, after all, the + root of the matter. I have formed my estimate of the number of men + forthcoming in time of danger, on the supposition that a burgher law was + in force in Natal, that is, that every man remaining in the country should + be obliged to take a part in its defence. But they do not even hint at a + burgher law—in fact, they repudiate the idea, because they know that + it would not be tolerated. The universal service system is not the + Natalian’s idea of happiness. They simply avoid the question, calling it + the “defence bugbear,” and assume that it will all be arranged in some + unforeseen way. + </p> + <p> + The only suggestion that I have yet seen as regards the arrangements for + the future defence of the colony should it become independent, is a + somewhat ominous one, namely:—that Natal should enter into a close + alliance, offensive and defensive, with the Transvaal and the Orange Free + State. But, as the advocates of “freedom” would soon find, the Orange Free + State (for even if willing to help them, the Transvaal will for some years + have enough to do with its own affairs) will not come forward for nothing. + There would first have to be a few business formalities with reference to + the customs dues collected in Durban, on goods passing through to the + interior, which yield the bulk of the Natal revenue: and possibly, some + concessions to Boer public opinion as regards the English mode of dealing + with the Natal natives. I incline to the opinion that in relying on the + assistance of the Boers in time of trouble the inhabitants of Natal would + be leaning on a broken reed. They are more likely to find them in arms + against them than fighting on their side. + </p> + <p> + The party of progress also talks much about the prospects of confederation + with the Cape, if once they get responsible government. Most people, + however, will think that the fact of their being independent, and + therefore responsible for their own defence, will hardly prove an + inducement to the Cape to offer to share those responsibilities. The only + confederation possible to Natal as a self-governing community will be a + Boer confederation, to which it may be admitted—on certain terms. + Another cry is that the moment responsible government is established + immigrants will flow into the country, and thus restore the balance of + races. I take the liberty to doubt the truth of this supposition. The + intending emigrant from Europe does not, it is true, understand the ins + and outs of the Natal native question, but he does now that it is a place + where there are wars and rumours of wars, and where he might possibly be + killed, and the result is that he wisely goes to some other colony, that + has equal advantages to offer and no Kafirs. To suppose that the emigrant + would go to Natal when he came to understand that it was an independent + settlement of a few white men, living in the midst of a mass of warlike + Kafirs, when Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, are + all holding out their arms to him, is to suppose him a bigger fool than he + is. At the best of times Natal is not likely to attract many desirable + emigrants: under a responsible government I do not believe that it will + attract any. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me, that there is only one condition of affairs under which it + would be at all possible for the Natalians to assume the responsibilities + of self-government with any safety, and that is when the great bulk of the + native population has been removed back to whence it came—Zululand. + Causes of a diametrically opposite nature to those that have been at work + among the natives of Natal, have been in operation amongst their brethren + in Zululand. In Natal, peace, polygamy, plenty and immigration have bred + up an enormous native population. In Zululand, war, private slaughter by + the king’s order, and the severe restrictions put upon marriage, have kept + down the increase of the race; also an enormous number of individuals have + fled from the one country into the other. I do not suppose that the + population of Zululand amounts, at the present moment, to much more than + half that of Natal. + </p> + <p> + In this state of affairs lies the only real key to the Natal native + difficulty. Let Zululand be converted into a black colony under English + control, and its present inhabitants be established in suitable locations; + then let all the natives of Natal, with the exception of those who choose + to become monogamists and be subject to civilised law, be moved into + Zululand, and also established in locations. There would be plenty of room + for them all. Of course there would be difficulties in the way of the + realisation of this scheme, but I do not think that they would prove + insuperable. It is probable, however, that it would require a show of + force before the Natal natives would consent to budge. Indeed, it is + absurd to suppose, that anything would induce them to leave peaceful + Natal, and plunge into the seething cauldron of bloodshed, extortion, and + political plots that we have cooked up in Zululand under the name of a + settlement. Proper provisions must first be made for the government of the + country, and security to life and property made certain. Till this is + done, no natives in their senses will return to Zululand. + </p> + <p> + Till this is done, too, or till some other plan is discovered by means of + which the native difficulty can be effectively dealt with, the Natalians + will indeed be foolish if they discard the protection of England, and + accept the fatal boon of self-government. If they do, their future career + may be brilliant; but I believe that it will be brief. + </p> + <p> + It is no answer to urge that at present the natives seem quite quiet, and + that there is no indication of disturbance. + </p> + <p> + History tells us that before the destruction of doomed Pompeii, Vesuvius + was very still; only day by day the dark cloud hanging over the mountain’s + summit grew denser and blacker. We know what happened to Pompeii. + </p> + <p> + I do not wish to suggest anything unpleasant, far from it; but sometimes, + I cannot help thinking, that it is perhaps a matter worth the + consideration of the Natalians, whether it might not be as well, instead + of talking about responsible government: to improve upon the example of + the inhabitants of Pompeii, and take to their ships <i>before</i> the + volcano begins to work. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me that there is an ugly cloud gathering on the political + horizon in Natal. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_4_0005" id="link2H_4_0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + THE TRANSVAAL + </h2> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0001" id="link2HCH0001"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER I + </h2> + <h3> + ITS INHABITANTS, LAWS, AND CUSTOMS + </h3> + <p> + <i>Invasion by Mosilikatze—Arrival of the emigrant Boers—Establishment + of the South African republic—The Sand River convention—Growth + of the territory of the republic—The native tribes surrounding it—Capabilities + of the country—Its climate—Its inhabitants—The Boers—Their + peculiarities and mode of life—Their abhorrence of settled + government and payment of taxes—The Dutch patriotic party—Form + of government previous to the annexation—Courts of law—The + commando system—Revenue arrangements—Native races in the + Transvaal.</i> + </p> + <p> + The Transvaal is a country without a history. Its very existence was + hardly known of until about fifty years ago. Of its past we know nothing. + The generations who peopled its great plains have passed utterly out of + the memory and even the traditions of man, leaving no monument to mark + that they have existed, not even a tomb. + </p> + <p> + During the reign of Chaka, 1813-1828, whose history has been sketched in a + previous chapter, one of his most famous generals, Mosilikatze, surnamed + the Lion, seceded from him with a large number of his soldiers, and + striking up in a north-westerly direction, settled in or about what is now + the Morico district of the Transvaal. The country through which + Mosilikatze passed was at that time thickly populated with natives of the + Basutu or Macatee race, whom the Zulus look upon with great contempt. + Mosilikatze expressed the feelings of his tribe in a practical manner, by + massacring every living soul of them that came within his reach. That the + numbers slaughtered were very great, the numerous ruins of Basutu kraals + all over the country testify. + </p> + <p> + It was Chaka’s intention to follow up Mosilikatze and destroy him, but he + was himself assassinated before he could do so. Dingaan, his successor, + however, carried out his brother’s design, and despatched a large force to + punish him. This army, after marching over 300 miles, burst upon + Mosilikatze, drove him back with slaughter, and returned home triumphant. + The invasion is important, because the Zulus claim the greater part of the + Transvaal territory by virtue of it. + </p> + <p> + About the time that Mosilikatze was conquered, 1835-1840, the discontented + Boers were leaving the Cape Colony exasperated at the emancipation of the + slaves by the Imperial authorities. First they made their way to Natal, + but being followed thither by the English flag they travelled further + inland over the Vaal River and founded the town of Mooi River Dorp or + Potchefstroom. Here they were joined by other malcontents from the Orange + Sovereignty, which, although afterwards abandoned, was at that time a + British possession. Acting upon + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + The good old rule, the simple plan + Of let him take who has the power, + And let him keep who can, +</pre> + <p> + the Boers now proceeded to possess themselves of as much territory as they + wanted. Nor was this a difficult task. The country was, as I have said, + peopled by Macatees, who are a poor-spirited race as compared to the + Zulus, and had had what little courage they possessed crushed out of them + by the rough handling they had received at the hands of Mosilikatze and + Dingaan. The Boers, they argued, could not treat them worse than the Zulus + had done. Occasionally a Chief, bolder than the rest, would hold out, and + then such an example was made of him and his people that few cared to + follow in his footsteps. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the Boers were fairly settled in their new home, they began to + think about setting up a Government. First they tried a system of + Commandants, with a Commandant-general, but this does not seem to have + answered. Next, those of their number who lived in Lydenburg district + (where the gold fields now are) set up a Republic, with a President and + Volksraad, or popular assembly. This example was followed by the other + white inhabitants of the country, who formed another Republic and elected + another President, with Pretoria for their capital. The two republics were + subsequently incorporated. + </p> + <p> + In 1852 the Imperial authorities, having regard to the expense of + maintaining an effective government over an unwilling people in an + undeveloped and half-conquered country, concluded a convention with the + emigrant Boers “beyond the Vaal River.” The following were the principal + stipulations of this convention, drawn up between Major Hogg and Mr. Owen, + Her Majesty’s Assistant-Commissioners for the settling and adjusting of + the affairs of the eastern and north-eastern boundaries of the Colony of + the Cape of Good Hope on the one part, and a deputation representative of + the emigrant farmers north of the Vaal River on the other. It was + guaranteed “in the fullest manner on the part of the British Government to + the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal River the right to manage their own + affairs, and to govern themselves according to their own laws, without any + interference on the part of the British Government, and that no + encroachment shall be made by the said Government on the territory beyond + to the north of the Vaal River, with the further assurance that the + warmest wish of the British Government is to promote peace, free trade, + and friendly intercourse with the emigrant farmers now inhabiting, or who + hereafter may inhabit that country, it being understood that this system + of non-interference is binding on both parties.” + </p> + <p> + Next were disclaimed, on behalf of the British Government, “all alliances + whatever and with whomsoever of the coloured nations to the north of the + Vaal River.” + </p> + <p> + It was also agreed “that no slavery is or shall be permitted or practised + in the country to the north of the Vaal River by the emigrant farmers.” + </p> + <p> + It was further agreed “that no objection shall be made by any British + authority against the emigrant Boers purchasing their supplies of + ammunition in any of the British colonies and possessions of South Africa; + it being mutually understood that all trade in ammunition with the native + tribes is prohibited both by the British Government and the emigrant + farmers on both sides of the Vaal River.” + </p> + <p> + These were the terms of this famous convention, which is as slipshod in + its diction as it is vague in its meaning. What, for instance, is meant by + the territory to the north of the Vaal River? According to the letter of + the agreement, Messrs. Hogg and Owen ceded all the territory between the + Vaal and Egypt. This historical document was the Charta of the new-born + South African Republic. Under its provisions, the Boers, now safe from + interference on the part of the British, established their own Government + and promulgated their “Grond Wet,” or Constitution. + </p> + <p> + The history of the Republic between 1852 and 1876 is not very interesting, + and is besides too wearisome to enter into here. It consists of an + oft-told tale of civil broils, attacks on native tribes, and encroachment + on native territories. Until shortly before the Annexation, every burgher + was, on coming of age, entitled to receive from the Government 6000 acres + of land. As these rights were in the early days of the Republic frequently + sold to speculators for such trifles as a bottle of brandy or half a dozen + of beer, and as the seller still required his 6000 acres: for a Boer + considers it beneath his dignity to settle on less, it is obvious that it + required a very large country to satisfy all demands. To meet these + demands, the territories of the Republic had to be stretched like an + elastic band, and they were stretched accordingly,—at the expense of + the natives. The stretching process was an ingenious one, and is very well + described in a minute written by Mr. Osborn, the late Magistrate at Newcastle, + dated 22d September, 1876, in these words:— + </p> + <p> + “The Boers, as they have done in other cases and are still doing, + encroached by degrees on native territory, commencing by obtaining + permission to graze stock upon portions of it at certain seasons of the + year, followed by individual graziers obtaining from native headmen a sort + of right or license to squat upon certain defined portions, ostensibly in + order to keep other Boer squatters away from the same land. These + licenses, temporarily intended as friendly or neighbourly acts by + unauthorised headmen, after a few seasons of occupation by the Boer, are + construed by him as title, and his permanent occupation ensues. Damage for + trespass is levied by him from the very man from whom he obtained the + right to squat, to which the natives submit out of fear of the matter + reaching the ears of the paramount chief, who would in all probability + severely punish them for opening the door to encroachment by the Boer. + After a while, however, the matter comes to a crisis in consequence of the + incessant disputes between the Boers and the natives; one or other of the + disputants lays the case before the paramount chief, who, when hearing + both parties, is literally frightened with violence and threats by the + Boer into granting him the land. Upon this the usual plan followed by the + Boer is at once to collect a few neighbouring Boers, including a field + cornet, or even an acting provisional field cornet, appointed by the field + cornet or provisional cornet, the latter to represent the Government, + although without instructions authorising him to act in the matter. A few + cattle are collected among themselves, which the party takes to the chief, + and his signature is obtained to a written document alienating to the + Republican Boers a large slice of all his territory. The contents of this + document are, as far as I can make out, never clearly or intelligibly + explained to the chief who signs and accepts of the cattle under the + impression that it is all in settlement of hire for the grazing licenses + granted by his headmen. This, I have no hesitation in saying, is the usual + method by which the Boers obtain what they call cessions to them of + territories by native chiefs. In Secocoeni’s case they allege that his + father Sequati cedes to them the whole of his territory (hundreds of + square miles) for a hundred head of cattle.” + </p> + <p> + So rapidly did this progress go on that the little Republic to the “North + of the Vaal River,” had at the time of the Annexation grown into a country + of the size of France. Its boundaries had only been clearly defined where + they abutted on neighbouring White Communities, or on the territories of + great native powers, on which the Government had not dared to infringe to + any marked degree, such as those of Lo Bengula’s people in the north. But + wheresoever on the State’s borders there had been no white Power to limit + its advances, or where the native tribes had found themselves too isolated + or too weak to resist aggressions, there the Republic had by degrees + encroached and extended the shadow, if not the substance, of its + authority. + </p> + <p> + The Transvaal has a boundary line of over 1,600 miles in circumference, + and of this a large portion is disputed by different native tribes. + Speaking generally, the territory lies between the 22 and 28 degrees of + South Latitude and the 25 and 32 degrees of East Longitude, or between the + Orange Free State, Natal and Griqualand West on the south, and the Limpopo + River on the north; and between the Lebombo mountains on the east, and the + Kalihari desert on the west. On the north of its territory live three + great tribes, the Makalaka, the Matabele (descendants of the Zulus who + deserted Chaka under Mosilikatze) and the Matyana. These tribes are all + warlike. On the west, following the line down to the Diamond Field + territory, are the Sicheli, the Bangoaketsi, the Baralong and the Koranna + tribes. Passing round by Griqualand West, the Free State, and Natal, we + reach Zululand on the south-east corner; then come the Lebombo mountains + on the east, separating the Transvaal from Amatonga land, and from the + so-called Portuguese possessions, which are entirely in the hands of + native tribes, most of them subject to the great Zulu chief, Umzeila, who + has his stronghold in the north-east. + </p> + <p> + It will be observed that the country is almost surrounded by native + tribes. Besides these there are about one million native inhabitants + living within its borders. In one district alone, Zoutpansberg, it is + computed that there are 364,250 natives, as compared to about 750 whites. + </p> + <p> + If a beautiful and fertile country were alone necessary to make a state + and its inhabitants happy and prosperous, happiness and prosperity would + rain upon the Transvaal and the Dutch Boers. The capabilities of this + favoured land are vast and various. Within its borders are to be found + highlands and lowlands, vast stretches of rolling veldt like gigantic + sheep downs, hundreds of miles of swelling bushland, huge tracts of + mountainous country, and even little glades spotted with timber that + remind one of an English park. There is every possible variety of soil and + scenery. Some districts will grow all tropical produce, whilst others are + well suited for breeding sheep, cattle and horses. Most of the districts + will produce wheat and all other cereals in greater perfection and + abundance than any of the other South African colonies. Two crops of + cereals may be obtained from the soil every year, and both the vine and + tobacco are cultivated with great success. Coffee, sugar-cane and cotton + have been grown with profit in the northern parts of the State. Also the + undeveloped mineral wealth of the country is very great. Its known + minerals are gold, copper, lead, cobalt, iron, coal, tin and plumbago: + copper and iron having long been worked by the natives. Altogether there + is little doubt that the Transvaal is the richest of all the South African + states, and had it remained under English rule it would, with the aid of + English enterprise and capital, have become a very wealthy and prosperous + country. However there is little chance of that now. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps the greatest charm of the Transvaal lies in its climate, which is + among the best in the world, and in all the southern districts very + healthy. During the winter months, that is from April to October, little + or no rain falls, and the climate is cold and bracing. In summer it is + rather warm, but not overpoweringly hot, the thermometer at Pretoria + averaging from 65 to 73 degrees, and in the winter from 59 to 56 degrees. + The population of the Transvaal is estimated at about 40,000 whites, + mostly of Dutch origin, consisting of about thirty vast families: and one + million natives. There are several towns, the largest of which are + Pretoria and Potchefstroom. + </p> + <p> + Such is the country that we annexed in 1877, and were drummed out of in + 1881. Now let us turn to its inhabitants. It has been the fashion to talk + of the Transvaal as though nobody but Boers lived in it. In reality the + inhabitants were divided into three classes: 1. Natives; 2. Boers; 3. + English. I say were divided, because the English class can now hardly be + said to exist, the country having been made too hot to hold it, since the + war. The natives stand in the proportion of nearly twenty to one to the + whites. The Boers were in their turn much more numerous than the English, + but the latter owned nearly all the trading establishments in the country, + and also a very large amount of property. + </p> + <p> + The Transvaal Boers have been very much praised up by members of the + Government in England, and others who are anxious to advance their + interests, as against English interests. Mr. Gladstone, indeed, can hardly + find words strong enough to express his admiration of their leaders, those + “able men,” since they inflicted a national humiliation on us; and + doubtless they are a people with many good points. That they are not + devoid of sagacity can be seen by the way they have dealt with the English + Government. + </p> + <p> + The Boers are certainly a peculiar people, though they can hardly be said + to be “zealous of good works.” They are very religious, but their religion + takes it colour from the darkest portions of the Old Testament; lessons of + mercy and gentleness are not at all to their liking, and they seldom care + to read the Gospels. What they delight in are the stories of wholesale + butchery by the Israelites of old; and in their own position they find a + reproduction of that of the first settlers in the Holy Land. Like them + they think they are entrusted by the Almighty with the task of + exterminating the heathen native tribes around them, and are always ready + with a scriptural precedent for slaughter and robbery. The name of the + Divinity is continually on their lips, sometimes in connection with very + doubtful statements. They are divided into three sects, none of which care + much for the other two. These are the Doppers, who number about half the + population, the Orthodox Reform, and the Liberal Reform, which is the + least numerous. Of these three sects, the Doppers are by far the most + uncompromising and difficult to deal with. They much resemble the puritans + of Charles the First’s time, of the extreme Hew-Agag-in-pieces stamp. + </p> + <p> + It is difficult to agree with those who call the Boers cowards, an + accusation which the whole of their history belies. A Boer does not like + fighting if he can avoid it, because he sets a high value on his own life; + but if he is cornered, he will fight as well as anybody else. The Boers + fought well enough, in the late war, though that, it is true, is no great + criterion of courage, since they were throughout flushed with victory, + and, owing to the poor shooting of the British troop, in but little + personal danger. One very unpleasant characteristic they have, and that is + an absence of regard for the truth, especially where land is concerned. + Indeed the national characteristic is crystallised into a proverb, “I am + no slave to my word.” It has several times happened to me, to see one set + of highly respectable witnesses in a land case, go into the box and swear + distinctly that they saw a beacon placed on a certain spot, whilst an + equal number on the other side will swear that they saw it placed a mile + away. Filled as they are with a land hunger, to which that of the Irish + peasant is a weak and colourless sentiment, there is little that they will + not do to gratify their taste. It is the subject of constant litigation + amongst them, and it is by no means uncommon for a Boer to spend several + thousand pounds in lawsuits over a piece of land not worth as many + hundreds. + </p> + <p> + Personally Boers are fine men, but as a rule ugly. Their women-folk are + good-looking in early life, but get very stout as they grow older. They, + in common with most of their sex, understand how to use their tongues; + indeed, it is said, that it was the women who caused the rising against + the English Government. None of the refinements of civilisation enter into + the life of an ordinary Boer. He lives in a way that would shock an + English labourer at twenty-five shillings the week, although he is very + probably worthy fifteen or twenty thousand pounds. His home is but too + frequently squalid and filthy to an extraordinary degree. He himself has + no education, and does not care that his children should receive any. He + lives by himself in the middle of a great plot of land, his nearest + neighbour being perhaps ten or twelve miles away, caring but little for + the news of the outside world, and nothing for its opinions, doing very + little work, but growing daily richer through the increase of his flocks + and herds. His expenses are almost nothing, and as he gets older, wealth + increases upon him. The events in his life consist of an occasional trip + on “commando,” against some native tribe, attending a few political + meetings, and the journeys he makes with his family to the nearest town, + some four times a year, in order to be present at “Nachtmaal” or + communion. Foreigners, especially Englishmen, he detests, but he is kindly + and hospitable to his own people. Living isolated as he does, the lord of + a little kingdom, he naturally comes to have a great idea of himself, and + a corresponding contempt for all the rest of mankind. Laws and taxes are + things distasteful to him, and he looks upon it as an impertinence that + any court should venture to call him to account for his doings. He is rich + and prosperous, and the cares of poverty, and all the other troubles that + fall to the lot of civilised men, do not affect him. He has no romance in + him, nor any of the higher feelings and aspirations that are found in + almost every other race; in short, unlike the Zulu he despises, there is + little of the gentleman in his composition, though he is at times capable + of acts of kindness and even generosity. His happiness is to live alone in + the great wilderness, with his children, his men-servants and his + maid-servants, his flocks and his herds, the monarch of all he surveys. If + civilisation presses him too closely, his remedy is a simple one. He sells + his farm, packs up his goods and cash in his waggon, and starts for + regions more congenially wild. Such are some of the leading + characteristics of that remarkable product of South Africa, the Transvaal + Boer, who resembles no other white man in the world. + </p> + <p> + Perhaps, however, the most striking of all his oddities is his abhorrence + of all government, more especially if that government be carried out + according to English principles. The Boers have always been more or less + in rebellion; they rebelled against the rule of the Company when the Cape + belonged to Holland, they rebelled against the English Government in the + Cape, they were always in a state of semi-rebellion against their own + government in the Transvaal, and now they have for the second time, with + the most complete success, rebelled against the English Government. The + fact of the matter is that the bulk of their number hate all Governments, + because Governments enforce law and order, and they hate the English + Government worst of all, because it enforces law and order most of all. It + is not liberty they long for, but license. The “sturdy independence” of + the Boer resolves itself into a determination not to have his affairs + interfered with by any superior power whatsoever, and not to pay taxes if + he can possibly avoid it. But he has also a specific cause of complaint + against the English Government, which would alone cause him to do his + utmost to get rid of it, and that is its mode of dealing with natives, + which is radically opposite to his own. This is the secret of Boer + patriotism. To understand it, it must be remembered that the Englishman + and the Boer look at natives from a different point of view. The + Englishman, though he may not be very fond of him, at any rate regards the + Kafir as a fellow human being with feelings like his own. The average Boer + does not. He looks upon the “black creature” as having been delivered into + his hand by the “Lord” for his own purposes, that is, to shoot and + enslave. He must not be blamed too harshly for this, for, besides being + naturally of a somewhat hard disposition, hatred of the native is + hereditary, and is partly induced by the history of many a bloody + struggle. Also the native hates the Boer fully as much as the Boer hates + the native, though with better reason. Now native labour is a necessity to + the Boer, because he will not as a rule do hard manual labour himself, and + there must be some one to plant and garner the crops, and herd the cattle. + On the other hand, the natives are not anxious to serve the Boers, which + means little or no pay and plenty of thick stick, and sometimes worse. The + result of this state of affairs is that the Boer often has to rely on + forced labour to a very great extent. But this is a thing that an English + Government will not tolerate, and the consequence is that under its rule + he cannot get the labour that is necessary to him. + </p> + <p> + Then there is the tax question. If he lives under the English flag the + money has to be paid regularly, but under his own Government he pays or + not as he likes. It was this habit of his of refusing payment of taxes + that brought the Republic into difficulties in 1877, and that will ere + long bring it into trouble again. He cannot understand that cash is + necessary to carry on a Government, and looks upon a tax as though it were + so much money stolen from him. These things are the real springs of the + “sturdy independence” and the patriotism of the ordinary Transvaal farmer. + Doubtless, there are some who are really patriotic; for instance, one of + their leaders, Paul Kruger. But with the majority, patriotism is only + another word for unbounded license and forced labour. + </p> + <p> + These remarks must not be taken to apply to the Cape Boers, who are a + superior class of men, since they, living under a settled and civilised + Government, have been steadily improving, whilst their cousins, living + every man for his own hand, have been deteriorating. The old Voortrekkers, + the fathers and grandfathers of the Transvaal Boer of to-day, were, + without doubt, a very fine set of men, and occasionally you may in the + Transvaal meet individuals of the same stamp whom it is a pleasure to + know. But these are generally men of a certain age with some experience of + the world; the younger men are very objectionable in their manners. + </p> + <p> + The real Dutch Patriotic party is not to be found in the Transvaal, but in + the Cape Colony. Their object, which, as affairs now are, is well within + the bounds of possibility, is by fair means or foul to swamp the English + element in South Africa, and to establish a great Dutch Republic. It was + this party, which consists of clever and well educated men, who raised the + outcry against the Transvaal Annexation, because it meant an enormous + extension of English influence, and who had the wit, by means of their + emissaries and newspapers, to work upon the feeling of the ignorant + Transvaal farmers until they persuaded them to rebel; and finally, to + avail themselves of the yearnings of English radicalism for the disruption + of the Empire and the minimisation of British authority, to get the + Annexation cancelled. All through this business the Boers have more or + less danced in obedience to strings pulled at Cape Town, and it is now + said that one of the chief wire-pullers, Mr. Hofmeyer, is to be asked to + become President of the Republic. These men are the real patriots of South + Africa, and very clever ones too, not the Transvaal Boers, who vapour + about their blood and their country and the accursed Englishman to order, + and are in reality influenced by very small motives, such as the desire to + avoid payment of taxes, or to hunt away a neighbouring Englishman, whose + civilisation and refinement are as offensive as his farm is desirable. + Such are the Dutch inhabitants of the Transvaal. I will now give a short + sketch of their institutions as they were before the Annexation, and to + which the community has reverted since its recision, with, I believe, but + few alterations. + </p> + <p> + The form of government is republican, and to all intents and purposes, + manhood suffrage prevails, supreme power resting in the people. The + executive power of the State centres in a President elected by the people + to hold office for a term of five years, every voter having a voice in his + election. He is assisted in the execution of his duties by an Executive + Council, consisting of the State Secretary and such other three members as + are selected for that purpose by the legislative body, the Volksraad. The + State Secretary holds office for four years, and is elected by the + Volksraad. The members of the Executive all have seats in the Volksraad, + but have no votes. The Volksraad is the legislative body of the State, and + consists of forty-two members. The country is divided into twelve + electoral districts, each of which has the right to return three members; + the Gold Fields have also the right of electing two members, and the four + principal towns, one member each. There is no power in the State competent + to either prorogue or dissolve the Volksraad except that body itself, so + that an appeal to the country on a given subject or policy is impossible + without its concurrence. Members are elected for four years, but half + retire by rotation every two years, the vacancies being filled by + re-elections. Members must have been voters for three years, and be not + less than thirty years of age, must belong to a Protestant Church, be + resident in the country, and owners of immovable property therein. A + father and son cannot sit in the same Raad, neither can seats be occupied + by coloured persons, bastards, or officials. + </p> + <p> + For each electoral district there is a magistrate or Landdrost whose + duties are similar to those of a Civil Commissioner. These districts are + again subdivided into wards presided over by field cornets, who exercise + judicial powers in minor matters, and in times of war have considerable + authority. The Roman Dutch law is the common law of the country, as it is + of the colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal, and of the Orange Free + State. + </p> + <p> + Prior to the Annexation justice was administered in a very primitive + fashion. First, there was the Landdrosts’ Court, from which an appeal lay + to a court consisting of the Landdrost and six councillors elected by the + public. This was a court of first instance as well as a court of appeal. + Then there was a Supreme Court, consisting of three Landdrosts from three + different districts, and a jury of twelve selected from the burghers of + the State. There was no appeal from this court, but cases have sometimes + been brought under the consideration of the Volksraad as the supreme + power. It is easy to imagine what the administration of justice was like + when the presidents of all the law courts in the country were elected by + the mob, not on account of their knowledge of the law, but because they + were popular. Suitors before the old Transvaal courts found the law + surprisingly uncertain. A High Court of Justice was, however, established + after the Annexation, and has been continued by the Volksraad, but an + agitation is being got up against it, and it will possibly be abolished in + favour of the old system. + </p> + <p> + In such a community as that of the Transvaal Boers, the question of public + defence was evidently of the first importance. This is provided for under + what is known as the Commando system. The President, with the concurrence + of the Executive Council, has the right of declaring war, and of calling + up a Commando, in which the burghers are placed under the field cornets + and commandants. These last are chosen by the field cornets for each + district, and a Commandant-general is chosen by the whole laager or force, + but the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the army. All the + inhabitants of the state between sixteen and sixty, with a few exceptions, + are liable for service. Young men under eighteen, and men over fifty, are + only called out under circumstances of emergency. Members of the + Volksraad, officials, clergymen, and school-teachers are exempt from + personal service, unless martial law is proclaimed, but must contribute an + amount not exceeding 15 pounds towards the expense of the war. All legal + proceedings in civil cases are suspended against persons on commando, no + summonses can be made out, and as soon as martial law is proclaimed no + legal execution can be prosecuted, the pounds are closed, and transfer + dues payments are suspended, until after thirty days from the recall of + the proclamation of martial law. Owners of land residing beyond the + borders of the Republic are also liable, in addition to the ordinary war + tax, to place a fit and proper substitute at the disposal of the + Government, or otherwise to pay a fine of 15 pounds. The first levy of the + burghers is, of men from eighteen to thirty-four years of age; the second, + thirty-four to fifty; and the third, from sixteen to eighteen, and from + fifty to sixty years. Every man is bound to provide himself with clothing, + a gun, and ammunition, and there must be enough waggons and oxen found + between them to suffice for their joint use. Of the booty taken, one + quarter goes to Government and the rest to the burghers. The most + disagreeable part of the commandeering system is, however, yet to come; + personal service is not all that the resident in the Transvaal Republic + has to endure. The right is vested in field cornets to commandeer articles + as well as individuals, and to call upon inhabitants to furnish requisites + for the commando. As may be imagined, it goes very hard on these occasions + with the property of any individual whom the field cornet may not happen + to like. + </p> + <p> + Each ward is expected to turn out its contingent ready and equipped for + war, and this can only be done by seizing goods right and left. One + unfortunate will have to find a waggon, another to deliver his favourite + span of trek oxen, another his riding-horse, or some slaughter cattle, and + so on. Even when the officer making the levy is desirous of doing his duty + as fairly as he can, it is obvious that very great hardships must be + inflicted under such a system. Requisitions are made more with regard to + what is wanted, than with a view to an equitable distribution of demands; + and like the Jews in the time of the Crusades, he who has got most must + pay most, or take the consequences, which may be unpleasant. Articles + which are not perishable, such as waggons, are supposed to be returned, + but if they come back at all they are generally worthless. + </p> + <p> + In case of war, the native tribes living within the borders of the State + are also expected to furnish contingents, and it is on them that most of + the hard work of the campaign generally falls. They are put in the front + of the battle, and have to do the hand-to-hand fighting, which, however, + if of the Zulu race, they do not object to. + </p> + <p> + The revenue of the State is so arranged that the burden of it should fall + as much as possible on the trading community and as little as possible on + the farmer. It is chiefly derived from licenses on trades, professions, + and callings, 30s. per annum quit-rent on farms, transfer dues and stamps, + auction dues, court fees, and contributions from such native tribes as can + be made to pay them. Since we have given up the country, the Volksraad has + put a very heavy tax on all imported goods, hoping thereby to beguile the + Boers into paying taxes without knowing it, and at the same time strike a + blow at the trading community, which is English in its proclivities. The + result has been to paralyse what little trade there was left in the + country, and to cause great dissatisfaction amongst the farmers, who + cannot understand why, now that the English are gone, they should have to + pay twice as much for their sugar and coffee as they have been accustomed + to do. + </p> + <p> + I will conclude this chapter with a few words about the natives, who swarm + in and around the Transvaal. They can be roughly divided into two great + races, the Amazulu and their offshoots, and the Macatee or Basutu tribes. + All those of Zulu blood, including the Swazies, Mapock’s Kafirs, the + Matabele, the Knobnodes, and others are very warlike in disposition, and + men of fine physique. The Basutus (who must not be confounded with the + Cape Basutus), however, differ from these tribes in every respect, + including their language, which is called Sisutu, the only mutual feeling + between the two races being their common detestation of the Boers. They do + not love war; in fact, they are timid and cowardly by nature, and only + fight when they are obliged to. Unlike the Zulus, they are much addicted + to the arts of peace, show considerable capacities for civilisation, and + are even willing to become Christians. There would have been a far better + field for the Missionary in the Transvaal than in Zululand and Natal. + Indeed, the most successful mission station I have seen in Africa is near + Middelburg, under the control of Mr. Merensky. In person the Basutus are + thin and weakly when compared to the stalwart Zulu, and it is their + consciousness of inferiority both to the white men, and their black + brethren, that, together with their natural timidity, makes them submit as + easily as they do to the yoke of the Boer. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0002" id="link2HCH0002"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER II + </h2> + <h3> + EVENTS PRECEDING THE ANNEXATION + </h3> + <p> + <i>Mr. Burgers elected president—His character and aspirations—His + pension from the English Government—His visit to England—The + railway loan—Relations of the republic with native tribes—The + pass laws—Its quarrel with Cetywayo—Confiscation of native + territory by the Keate award—Treaty with the Swazi king—The + Secocoeni war—Capture of Johannes’ stronghold by the Swazi allies—Attack + on Secocoeni’s mountain—Defeat and dispersion of the Boers—Elation + of the natives—Von Schlickmann’s volunteers—Cruelties + perpetrated—Abel Erasmus—Treatment of natives by Boers—Public + meeting at Potchefstroom in 1768—The slavery question—Some + evidence on the subject—Pecuniary position of the Transvaal prior to + the annexation—Internal troubles—Divisions amongst the Boers—Hopeless + condition of the country.</i> + </p> + <p> + In or about the year 1872, the burghers of the Republic elected Mr. + Burgers their President. This remarkable man was a native of the Cape + Colony, and passed the first sixteen or seventeen years of his life, he + once informed me, on a farm herding sheep. He afterwards became a + clergyman noted for the eloquence of his preaching, but his ideas proving + too broad for his congregation, he resigned his cure, and in an evil + moment for himself took to politics. + </p> + <p> + President Burgers was a man of striking presence and striking talents, + especially as regards his oratory, which was really of a very high class, + and would have commanded attention in our own House of Commons. He + possessed, however, a mind of that peculiarly volatile order, that is + sometimes met with in conjunction with great talents, and which seems to + be entirely without ballast. His intellect was of a balloon-like nature, + and as incapable of being steered. He was always soaring in the clouds, + and, as is natural to one in that elevated position, taking a very + different and more sanguine view of affairs to that which men of a more + lowly, and perhaps a more practical, turn of mind would do. + </p> + <p> + But notwithstanding his fly-away ideas, President Burgers was undoubtedly + a true patriot, labouring night and day for the welfare of the state of + which he had to undertake the guidance: but his patriotism was too exalted + for his surroundings. He wished to elevate to the rank of a nation a + people who had not got the desire to be elevated; with this view he + contracted railway loans, made wars, minted gold, &c., and then + suddenly discovered that the country refused to support him. In short, he + was made of a very different clay to that of the people he had to do with. + He dreamt of a great Dutch Republic “with eight millions of inhabitants,” + doing a vast trade with the interior through the Delagoa Bay Railway. + They, on the other hand, cared nothing about republics or railways, but + fixed their affections on forced labour and getting rid of the necessity + of paying taxes—and so between them the Republic came to grief. But + it must be borne in mind that President Burgers was throughout actuated by + good motives; he did his best by a stubborn and stiff-necked people; and + if he failed, as fail he did, it was more their fault than his. As regards + the pension he received from the English Government, which has so often + been brought up against him, it was after all no more than his due after + five years of arduous work. If the Republic had continued to exist, it is + to be presumed that they would have made some provision for their old + President, more especially as he seems to have exhausted his private means + in paying the debts of the country. Whatever may be said of some of the + other officials of the Republic, its President was, I believe, an honest + man. + </p> + <p> + In 1875, Mr. Burgers proceeded to Europe, having, he says in a posthumous + document recently published, been empowered by the Volksraad “to carry out + my plans for the development of the country, by opening up a direct + communication for it, free from the trammels of British ports and + influence.” According to this document, during his absence, two powerful + parties, viz., “the faction of unprincipled fortune-hunters, rascals, and + runaways on the one hand, and the faction of the extreme orthodox party in + a certain branch of the Dutch Reform Church on the other, began to + co-operate against the Government of the Republic and me personally. . . . + . . Ill as I was, and contrary to the advice of my medical men, I + proceeded to Europe, in the beginning of 1875, to carry out my project, + and no sooner was my back turned on the Transvaal, than the conspiring + elements began to act. The new coat of arms and flag adopted in the Raad + by an almost unanimous vote were abolished. The laws for a free and + secular education were tampered with, and my resistance to a reckless + inspection and disposal of Government lands, still occupied by natives, + was openly defied. The Raad, filled up to a large extent with men of ill + repute, who, under the cloak of progress and favour to the Government + view, obtained their seats, was too weak to cope with the skill of the + conspirators, and granted leave to the acting President to carry out + measures diametrically opposed to my policy. <i>Native lands</i> were + inspected and given out to a few speculators, who held large numbers of + claims to lands which were destined for citizens, and so a war was + prepared for me, on my return from Europe, which I could not avert.” This + extract is interesting, as showing the state of feeling existing between + the President and his officers previous to the outbreak of the Secocoeni + war. It also shows how entirely he was out of sympathy with the citizens, + seeing that as soon as his back was turned, they, with Mr. Joubert and + Paul Kruger at their head, at once undid all the little good he had done. + </p> + <p> + When Mr. Burgers got to England, he found that city capitalists would have + nothing whatever to say to his railway scheme. In Holland, however, he + succeeded in getting 90,000 pounds of the 300,000 pounds he wished to + borrow at a high rate of interest, and by passing a bond on five hundred + government farms. This money was immediately invested in a railway plant, + which, when it arrived at Delagoa Bay, had to be mortgaged to pay the + freight on it, and that was the end of the Delagoa Bay railway scheme, + except that the 90,000 pounds is, I believe, still owing to the confiding + shareholders in Holland. + </p> + <p> + On his return to the Transvaal the President was well received, and for a + month or so all went smoothly. But the relations of the Republic with the + surrounding native tribes had by this time become so bad that an explosion + was imminent somewhere. In the year 1874 the Volksraad raised the price of + passes under the iniquitous pass law, by which every native travelling + through the territory was made to pay from 1 pound to five pounds. In case + of non-payment the native was made subject to a fine of from 1 pound to 10 + pounds, and to a beating of from “ten to twenty-five lashes.” He was also + to go into service for three months, and have a certificate thereof, for + which he must pay five shillings; the avowed object of the law being to + obtain a supply of Kafir labour. This was done in spite of the earnest + protest of the President, who gave the Raad distinctly to understand that + by accepting this law they would, in point of fact, annul treaties + concluded with the chiefs on the south-western borders. It was not clear, + however, if this amended pass law ever came into force. It is to be hoped + it did not, for even under the old law natives were shamefully treated by + the Boers, who would pretend that they were authorised by the Government + to collect the tax; the result being that the unfortunate Kafir was + frequently obliged to pay twice over. Natives had such a horror of the + pass laws of the country, that when travelling to the Diamond Fields to + work they would frequently go round some hundreds of miles rather than + pass through the Transvaal. + </p> + <p> + That the Volksraad should have thought it necessary to enact such a law in + order that the farmers should obtain a supply of Kafir labour in a + territory that had nearly a million of native inhabitants, who, unlike the + Zulus, are willing to work if only they meet with decent treatment, is in + itself an instructive commentary on the feelings existing between the Boer + master and Kafir servant. + </p> + <p> + But besides the general quarrel with the Kafir race in its entirety, which + the Boers always have on hand, they had just then several individual + differences, in each of which there lurked the possibilities of + disturbance. + </p> + <p> + To begin with, their relations with Cetywayo were by no means amicable. + During Mr. Burgers’ absence the Boer Government, then under the leadership + of P. J. Joubert, sent Cetywayo a very stern message—a message that + gives the reader the idea that Mr. Joubert was ready to enforce it with + ten thousand men. After making various statements and demands with + reference to the Amaswazi tribe, the disputed boundary line, &c., it + ends thus:— + </p> + <p> + “Although the Government of the South African Republic has never wished, + and does not now desire, that serious disaffection and animosities should + exist between you and them, yet it is not the less of the greatest + consequence and importance for you earnestly to weigh these matters and + risks, and to satisfy them; the more so, if you on your side also wish + that peace and friendship shall be maintained between you and us.” + </p> + <p> + The Secretary for Native Affairs for Natal comments on this message in + these words: “The tone of this message to Cetywayo is not very friendly, + it has the look of an ultimatum, and if the Government of the Transvaal + were in circumstances different to what it is, the message would suggest + an intention to coerce if the demands it conveys are not at once complied + with; but I am inclined to the opinion that no such intention exists, and + that the transmission of a copy of the message to the Natal Government is + intended as a notification that the Transvaal Government has proclaimed + the territory hitherto in dispute between it and the Zulus to be + Republican territory, and that the Republic intends to occupy it.” + </p> + <p> + In the territories marked out by a decision known as the Keate Award, in + which Lieutenant-Governor Keate of Natal, at the request of both parties, + laid down the boundary line between the Boers and certain native tribes, + the Boer Government carried it with a yet higher hand, insomuch as the + natives of those districts, being comparatively unwarlike, were less + likely to resist. + </p> + <p> + On the 18th August 1875, Acting President Joubert issued a proclamation by + which a line was laid down far to the southward of that marked out by Mr. + Keate, and consequently included more territory within the elastic + boundaries of the Republic. A Government notice of the same date invites + all claiming lands now declared to belong to the Republic, to send in + their claims to be settled by a land commission. + </p> + <p> + On the 6th March 1876, another chief in the same neighbourhood (Montsoia) + writes to the Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West in these terms:— + </p> + <p> + “My Friend,—I wish to acquaint you with the doings of some people + connected with the Boers. A man-servant of mine has been severely injured + in the head by one of the Boers’ servants, which has proved fatal. Another + of my people has been cruelly treated by a Boer tying a rein about his + neck, and then mounting his horse and dragging him about the place. My + brother Molema, who is the bearer of this, will give you full + particulars.” + </p> + <p> + Molema explains the assaults thus: “The assaulted man is not dead; his + skull was fractured. The assault was committed by a Boer named Wessels + Badenhorst, who shamefully ill-treated the man, beat him till he fainted, + and, on his revival, fastened a rim around his neck, and made him run to + the homestead by the side of his (Badenhorst’s) horse cantering. At the + homestead he tied him to the waggon-wheel, and flogged him again till Mrs. + Badenhorst stopped her husband.” + </p> + <p> + Though it will be seen that the Boers were on good terms neither with the + Zulus nor the Keate Award natives, they still had one Kafir ally, namely, + Umbandeni, the Amaswazi king. This alliance was concluded under + circumstances so peculiar that they are worthy of a brief recapitulation. + It appears that in the winter of the year 1875 Mr. Rudolph, the Landdrost + of Utrecht, went to Swazieland, and, imitating the example of the Natal + Government with Cetywayo, crowned Umbandeni king, on behalf of the Boer + Government. He further made a treaty of alliance with him, and promised + him a commando to help him in case of his being attacked by the Zulus. Now + comes the curious part of the story. On the 18th May 1876, a message came + from this same Umbandeni to Sir H. Bulwer, of which the following is an + extract:—“We are sent by our king to thank the Government of Natal + for the information sent to him last winter by that Government, and + conveyed by Mr. Rudolph, of the intended attack on his people by the + Zulus. We are further instructed by the king to thank the Natal Government + for the influence it used to stop the intended raid, and for instructing a + Boer commando to go to his country to render him assistance in case of + need; and further for appointing Mr. Randolph at the head of the commando + to place him (Umbandeni) as king over the Amaswazi, and to make a treaty + with him and his people on behalf of the Natal Government. . . . . . The + Transvaal Government has asked Umbandeni to acknowledge himself a subject + of the Republic, but he has distinctly refused to do so.” In a minute + written on this subject, the Secretary for Native Affairs for Natal says, + “No explanation or assurance was sufficient to convince them (Umbandeni’s + messengers) that they had on that occasion made themselves subjects of the + South African Republic; they declared it was not their wish or intention + to do so, and that they would refuse to acknowledge a position into which + they had been unwittingly betrayed.” I must conclude this episode by + quoting the last paragraph of Sir H. Bulwer’s covering despatch, because + it concerns larger issues than the supposed treaty: “It will not be + necessary that I should at present add any remarks to those contained in + the minute for the Secretary for Native Affairs, but I would observe that + the situation arising out of the relations of the Government of the South + African Republic with the neighbouring states is so complicated, and + presents so many elements of confusion and of danger to the peace of this + portion of South Africa, that I trust some way may be found to an early + settlement of questions that ought not, in my opinion, to be left alone, + as so many have been left, to take the chance of the future.” + </p> + <p> + And now I come to the last and most imminent native difficulty that at the + time faced the Republic. On the borders of Lydenburg district there lived + a powerful chief named Secocoeni. Between this chief and the Transvaal + Government difficulties arose in the beginning of 1876 on the usual + subject—land. The Boers declared that they had bought the land from + the Swazies, who had conquered portions of the country, and that the + Swazies offered to make it “clean from brambles,” i.e., kill everybody + living on it; but that they (the Boers) said that they were to let them + be, that they might be their servants. The Basutus, on the other hand, + said that no such sale ever took place, and, even if it did take place, it + was invalid, because the Swazies were not in occupation of the land, and + therefore could not sell it. It was a Christian Kafir called Johannes, a + brother of Secocoeni, who was the immediate cause of the war. This + Johannes used to live at a place called Botsobelo, the mission-station of + Mr. Merensky, but moved to a stronghold on the Spekboom river, in the + disputed territory. The Boers sent to him to come back, but he refused, + and warned the Boers off his land. Secocoeni was then appealed to, but + declared that the land belonged to his tribe, and would be occupied by + Johannes. He also told the Boers “that he did not wish to fight, but that + he was quite ready to do so if they preferred it.” Thereupon the Transvaal + Government declared war, although it does not appear that the natives + committed any outrage or acts of hostility before the declaration. As + regards the Boers’ right to Secocoeni’s country, Sir H. Barkly sums up the + question thus, in a despatch addressed to President Burgers, dated 28th + Nov. 1876:—“On the whole, it seems perfectly clear, and I feel bound + to repeat it, that Sikukuni was neither <i>de jure</i> or <i>de facto</i> + a subject of the Republic when your Honour declared war against him in + June last.” As soon as war had been declared, the clumsy commando system + was set working, and about 2500 white men collected; the Swazies also were + applied to to send a contingent, which they did, being only too glad of + the opportunity of slaughter. + </p> + <p> + At first all went well, and the President, who accompanied the commando in + person, succeeded in reducing a mountain stronghold, which, in his + high-flown way, he called a “glorious victory” over a “Kafir Gibraltar.” + </p> + <p> + On the 14th July another engagement took place, when the Boers and Swazies + attacked Johannes’ stronghold. The place was taken with circumstances of + great barbarity by the Swazies, for when the signal was given to advance + the Boers did not move. Nearly all the women were killed, and the brains + of the children were dashed out against the stones; in one instance, + before the captive mother’s face. Johannes was badly wounded, and died two + days afterwards. When he was dying he said to his brother, “I am going to + die. I am thankful I do not die by the hands of these cowardly Boers, but + by the hand of a black and courageous nation like myself . . .” He then + took leave of his people, told his brother to read the Bible, and expired. + The Swazies were so infuriated at the cowardice displayed by the Boers on + this occasion that they returned home in great dudgeon. + </p> + <p> + On the 2nd of August Secocoeni’s mountain, which is a very strong + fortification, was attacked in two columns, or rather an attempt was made + to attack it, for when it came to the pinch only about forty men, mostly + English and Germans, would advance. Thereupon the whole commando retreated + with great haste, the greater part of it going straight home. In vain the + President entreated them to shoot him rather than desert him; they had had + enough of Secocoeni and his stronghold, and home they went. The President + then retreated with what few men he had left to Steelport, where he built + a fort, and from thence returned to Pretoria. The news of the collapse of + the commando was received throughout the Transvaal, and indeed the whole + of South Africa, with the greatest dismay. For the first time in the + history of that country the white man had been completely worsted by a + native tribe, and that tribe wretched Basutus, people whom the Zulus call + their “dogs.” It was glad tidings to every native from the Zambesi to the + Cape, who learnt thereby that the white man was not so invincible as he + used to be. Meanwhile the inhabitants of Lydenburg were filled with alarm, + and again and again petitioned the Governors of the Cape and Natal for + assistance. Their fears were, however, to a great extent groundless, for, + with the exception of occasional cattle-lifting, Secocoeni did not follow + up his victory. + </p> + <p> + On the 4th September the President opened the special sitting of the + Volksraad, and presented to that body a scheme for the establishment of a + border force to take the place of the commando system, announcing that he + had appointed a certain Captain Von Schlickmann to command it. He also + requested the Raad to make some provision for the expenses of the + expedition, which they had omitted to do in their former sitting. + </p> + <p> + Captain Von Schlickmann determined to carry on the war upon a different + system. He got together a band of very rough characters on the Diamond + Fields, and occupied the fort built by the President, from whence he would + sally out from time to time and destroy kraals. He seems, if we may + believe the reports in the blue books and the stories of eye-witnesses, to + have carried on his proceedings in a somewhat savage way. The following is + an extract from a private letter written by one of his volunteers:— + </p> + <p> + “About daylight we came across four Kafirs. Saw them first, and charged in + front of them to cut off their retreat. Saw they were women, and called + out not to fire. In spite of that, one of the poor things got her head + blown off (a d——d shame). . . . Afterwards two women and a + baby were brought to the camp prisoners. The same night they were taken + out by our Kafirs and murdered in cold blood by the order of ——. + Mr. —— and myself strongly protested against it, but without + avail. I never heard such a cowardly piece of business in my life. No good + will come of it, you may depend. . . . —— says he would cut + all the women and children’s throats he catches. Told him distinctly he + was a d——d coward.” + </p> + <p> + Schlickmann was, however, a mild-mannered man when compared to a certain + Abel Erasmus, afterwards denounced at a public dinner by Sir Garnet + Wolseley as a “fiend in human form.” This gentleman, in the month of + October, attacked a friendly kraal of Kafirs. The incident is described + thus in a correspondent’s letter:— + </p> + <p> + “The people of the kraals, taken quite by surprise, fled when they saw + their foes, and most of them took shelter in the neighbouring bush. Two or + three men were distinctly seen in their flight from the kraal, and one of + them is known to have been wounded. According to my informant the + remainder were women and children, who were pursued into the bush, and + there, all shivering and shrieking, were put to death by the Boers’ + Kafirs, some being shot, but the majority stabbed with assegais. After the + massacre he counted thirteen women and three children, but he says he did + not see the body of a single man. Another Kafir said, pointing to a place + in the road where the stones were thickly strewn, ‘the bodies of the women + and children lay like these stones.’ The Boer before mentioned, who has + been stationed outside, has told one of his own friends, whom he thought + would not mention it, that the shrieks were fearful to hear.” + </p> + <p> + Several accounts of, or allusion to, this atrocity can be found in the + blue books, and I may add that it, in common with others of the same + stamp, was the talk of the country at the time. + </p> + <p> + I do not relate these horrors out of any wish to rake up old stories to + the prejudice of the Boers, but because I am describing the state of the + country before the Annexation, in which they form an interesting and + important item. Also, it is as well that people in England should know + into what hands they have delivered over the native tribes who trusted in + their protection. What happened in 1876 is probably happening again now, + and will certainly happen again and again. The character of the Transvaal + Boer and his sentiments towards the native races have not modified during + the last five years, but, on the contrary, a large amount of energy, which + has been accumulating during the period of British protection, will now be + expended on their devoted heads. + </p> + <p> + As regards the truth of these atrocities, the majority of them are beyond + the possibility of doubt; indeed, to the best of my knowledge, no serious + attempt has ever been made to refute such of them as have come into public + notice, except in a general way, for party purposes. As, however, they may + be doubted, I will quote the following extract from a despatch written by + Sir H. Barkly to Lord Carnarvon, dated 18th December 1876:— + </p> + <p> + “As Von Schlickmann has since fallen fighting bravely, it is not without + reluctance that I join in affixing this dark stain on his memory, but + truth compels me to add the following extract from a letter which I have + since received from one whose name (which I communicate to your Lordship + privately) forbids disbelief: ‘There is no longer the <i>slightest doubt</i> + as to the murder of the two women and the child at Steelport by the direct + order of Schlickmann, and in the attack on the kraal near which these + women were captured (or some attack about that period) he ordered his men + to cut the throats of all the wounded! This is no mere report; it is + positively true.’” He concludes by expressing a hope that the course of + events will enable Her Majesty’s Government to take such steps “as will + terminate this wanton and useless bloodshed, and prevent the recurrence of + the <i>scenes of injustice, cruelty, and rapine which abundant evidence is + every day forthcoming to prove have rarely ceased to disgrace the + Republics beyond the Vaal ever since they first sprang into existence.</i>”[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] The italics are my own.—Author. +</pre> + <p> + These are strong words, but none too strong for the facts of the case. + Injustice, cruelty, and rapine have always been the watchwords of the + Transvaal Boers. The stories of wholesale slaughter in the earlier days of + the Republic are very numerous. One of the best known of those shocking + occurrences took place in the Zoutpansberg war in 1865. On this occasion a + large number of Kafirs took refuge in caves, where the Boers smoked them + to death. Some years afterwards Dr. Wangeman, whose account is, I believe, + thoroughly reliable, describes the scene of their operations in these + words:— + </p> + <p> + “The roof of the first cave was black with smoke; the remains of the logs + which were burnt lay at the entrance. The floor was strewn with hundreds + of skulls and skeletons. In confused heaps lay karosses, kerries, + assegais, pots, spoons, snuff-boxes, and the bones of men, giving one the + impression that this was the grave of a whole people. Some estimate the + number of those who perished here from twenty to thirty thousand. This is, + I believe, too high. In the one chamber there were from two hundred to + three hundred skeletons; the other chambers I did not visit.” + </p> + <p> + In 1868 a public meeting was held at Potchefstroom to consider the war + then going on with the Zoutpansberg natives. According to the report of + the proceedings, the Rev. Mr. Ludorf said that “on a particular occasion a + number of native children, who were too young to be removed, had been + collected in a heap, covered with long grass, and burned alive. Other + atrocities had also been committed, but these were too horrible to + relate.” When called upon to produce his authority for this statement, Mr. + Ludorf named his authority “in a solemn declaration to the State + Attorney.” At this same meeting Mr. J. G. Steyn, who had been Landdrost of + Potchefstroom, said “there now was innocent blood on our hands which had + not yet been avenged, and the curse of God rested on the land in + consequence.” Mr. Rosalt remarked that “it was a singular circumstance + that in the different colonial Kafir wars, as also in the Basutu wars, one + did not hear of destitute children being found by the commandoes, and + asked how it was that every petty commando that took the field in this + Republic invariably found numbers of destitute children. He gave it as his + opinion that the present system of apprenticeship was an essential cause + of our frequent hostilities with the natives.” Mr. Jan Talyard said, + “Children were forcibly taken from their parents, and were then called + destitute and apprenticed.” Mr. Daniel Van Nooren was heard to say, “If + they had to clear the country, and could not have the children they found, + he would shoot them.” Mr. Field-Cornet Furstenburg stated “that when he + was at Zoutpansberg with his burghers, the chief Katse-Kats was told to + come down from the mountains; that he sent one of his subordinates as a + proof of amity; that whilst a delay of five days was guaranteed by + Commandant Paul Kruger, who was then in command, orders were given at the + same time to attack the natives at break of day, which was accordingly + done, but which resulted in total failure.” Truly, this must have been an + interesting meeting. + </p> + <p> + Before leaving these unsavoury subjects, I must touch on the question of + slavery. It has been again and again denied, on behalf of the Transvaal + Boers, that slavery existed in the Republic. Now, this is, strictly + speaking, true; slavery did not exist, but apprenticeship did—the + rose was called by another name, that is all. The poor destitute children + who were picked up by kindhearted Boers, after the extermination of their + parents, were apprenticed to farmers till they came of age. It is a + remarkable fact that these children never attained their majority. You + might meet oldish men in the Transvaal who were not, according to their + masters’ reckoning, twenty-one years of age. The assertion that slavery + did not exist in the Transvaal is only made to hoodwink the English + public. I have known men who have owned slaves, and who have seen whole + waggon-loads of “black ivory,” as they were called, sold for about 15 + pounds a-piece. I have at this moment a tenant, Carolus by name, on some + land I own in Natal, now a well-to-do man, who was for many years—about + twenty, if I remember right—a Boer slave. During those years, he + told me, he worked from morning till night, and the only reward he + received was two calves. He finally escaped into Natal. + </p> + <p> + If other evidence is needed it is not difficult to find, so I will quote a + little. On the 22d August 1876 we find Khama, king of the Bamangwato, one + of the most worthy chiefs in South Africa, sending a message to “Victoria, + the great Queen of the English people,” in these words:— + </p> + <p> + “I write to you, Sir Henry, in order that your Queen may preserve for me + my country, it being in her hands. The Boers are coming into it, and I do + not like them. Their actions are cruel among us black people. We are like + money, they sell us and our children. I ask Her Majesty to pity me, and to + hear that which I write quickly. I wish to hear upon what conditions Her + Majesty will receive me, and my country and my people, under her + protection. I am weary with fighting. I do not like war, and I ask Her + Majesty to give me peace. I am very much distressed that my people are + being destroyed by war, and I wish them to obtain peace. I ask Her Majesty + to defend me, as she defends all her people. There are three things which + distress me very much—war, selling people, and drink. All these + things I shall find in the Boers, and it is these things which destroy + people to make an end of them in the country. <i>The custom of the Boers + has always been to cause people to be sold, and to-day they are still + selling people.</i> Last year I saw them pass with two waggons full of + people whom they had bought at the river at Tanane” (Lake Ngate). + </p> + <p> + The Special Correspondence of the “Cape Argus,” a highly respectable + journal, writes thus on the 28th November 1876:—“The Boer from whom + this information was gleaned has furnished besides some facts which may + not be uninteresting, as a commentary on the repeated denials by Mr. + Burgers of the existence of slavery. During the last week slaves have been + offered for sale on his farm. The captives have been taken from + Secocoeni’s country by Mapoch’s people, and are being exchanged at the + rate of a child for a heifer. He also assures us that the whole of the + Highveld is bring replenished with Kafir children, whom the Boers have + been lately purchasing from the Swazies at the rate of a horse for a + child. I should like to see this man and his father as witnesses before an + Imperial Commission. He let fall one or two incidents of the past which + were brought to mind by the occurrences of the present. In 1864, he says, + ‘The Swazies accompanied the Boers against Males. The Boers did nothing + but stand by and witness the fearful massacre. The men and women were also + murdered. One poor woman sat clutching her baby of eight days old. The + Swazies stabbed her through the body, and when she found that she could + not live, she wrung the baby’s neck with her own hands to save it from + future misery. On the return of that Commando the children who became too + weary to continue the journey were killed on the road. The survivors were + sold as slaves to the farmers.’” + </p> + <p> + The same gentleman writes in the issue of the 12th December as follows:—“The + whole world may know it, for it is true, and investigation will only bring + out the horrible details, that through the whole course of this Republic’s + existence it has acted in contravention of the Sand River Treaty; and + slavery has occurred not only here and there in isolated cases, but as an + unbroken practice, and has been one of the peculiar institutions of the + country, mixed up with all its social and political life. It has been at + the root of most of its wars. It has been carried on regularly even in + times of peace. It has been characterised by all those circumstances which + have so often roused the British nation to an indignant protest, and to + repeated efforts to banish the slave trade from the world. The Boers have + not only fallen on unsuspecting kraals simply for the purpose of obtaining + the women and children and cattle, but they have carried on a traffic + through natives who have kidnapped the children of their weaker + neighbours, and sold them to the white man. Again, the Boers have sold and + exchanged their victims among themselves. Waggon-loads of slaves have been + conveyed from one end of the country to the other for sale, and that with + the cognisance of, and for the direct advantage of, the highest officials + of the land. The writer has himself seen in a town, situated in the south + of the Republic, the children who had been brought down from a remote + northern district. One fine morning, in walking through the streets, he + was struck with the number of little black strangers standing about + certain houses, and wondered where they could have come from. He learnt a + few hours later that they were part of loads which were disposed of on the + outskirts of the town the day before. The circumstances connected with + some of these kidnapping excursions are appalling, and the barbarities + practised by cruel masters upon some of these defenceless creatures during + the course of their servitude are scarcely less horrible than those + reported from Turkey. It is no disgrace in this country for an official to + ride a fine horse which was got for two Kafir children, to procure whom + the father and mother were shot. No reproach is inherited by the mistress + who, day after day, tied up her female servant in an agonising posture, + and had her beaten until there was no sound part in her body, securing her + in the stocks during the intervals of torture. That man did not lose caste + who tied up another woman and had her thrashed until she brought forth at + the whipping-post. These are merely examples of thousands of cases which + could be proved were an Imperial Commission to sit, and could the wretched + victims of a prolonged oppression recover sufficiently from the dread of + their old tyrants to give a truthful report.” + </p> + <p> + To come to some evidence more recently adduced. On the 9th May 1881, an + affidavit was sworn to by the Rev. John Thorne, curate of St. John the + Evangelist, Lydenburg, Transvaal, and presented to the Royal Commission + appointed to settle Transvaal affairs, in which he states:—“That I + was appointed to the charge of a congregation in Potchefstroom, about + thirteen years ago, when the Republic was under the presidency of Mr. + Pretorius.[*] I remember noticing one morning, as I walked through the + streets, a number of young natives, whom I knew to be strangers. I + inquired where they came from. I was told that they had just been brought + from Zoutpansberg. This was the locality from which slaves were chiefly + brought at that time, and were traded for under the name of ‘Black Ivory.’ + One of these natives belonged to Mr. Munich, the State Attorney. It was a + matter of common remark at that time, that the President of the Republic + was himself one of the greatest dealers in slaves.” In the fourth + paragraph of the same affidavit Mr. Thorne says, “That the Rev. Doctor + Nachtigal, of the Berlin Missionary Society, was the interpreter for + Shatane’s people in the private office of Mr. Roth, and, at the close of + the interview, told me what had occurred. On my expressing surprise, he + went on to relate that he had information on native matters which would + surprise me more. He then produced the copy of a register, kept in the + landdrost’s office, of men, women, and children, to the number of four + hundred and eighty (480), who had been disposed of by one Boer to another + for a consideration. In one case an ox was given in exchange, in another + goats, in a third a blanket, and so forth. Many of these natives he (Mr. + Nachtigal) knew personally. The copy was certified as true and correct by + an official of the Republic, and I would mention his name now, only that I + am persuaded that it would cost the man his life if his act became known + to the Boers.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] One of the famous Triumvirate. +</pre> + <p> + On the 16th May 1881, a native, named Frederick Molepo, was examined by + the Royal Commission. The following are extracts from his examination:— + </p> + <p> + “(Sir E. Wood.) Are you a Christian?—Yes. + </p> + <p> + “(Sir H. de Villiers.) How long were you a slave?—Half a year. + </p> + <p> + “How do you know that you were a slave? Might you not have been an + apprentice?—No, I was not apprenticed. + </p> + <p> + “How do you know?—They got me from my parents, and ill-treated me. + </p> + <p> + “(Sir E. Wood.) How many times did you get the stick?—Every day. + </p> + <p> + “(Sir H. de Villiers.) What did the Boers do with you when they caught + you?—They sold me. + </p> + <p> + “How much did they sell you for?—One cow and a big pot.” + </p> + <p> + On the 28th May 1881, amongst the other documents handed in for the + consideration of the Royal Commission, is the statement of a headman, + whose name it has been considered advisable to omit in the blue book for + fear the Boers should take vengeance on him. He says, “I say, that if the + English Government dies I shall die too; I would rather die than be under + the Boer Government. I am the man who helped to make bricks for the church + you see now standing in the square here (Pretoria), as a slave without + payment. As a representative of my people I am still obedient to the + English Government, and willing to obey all commands from them, even to + die for their cause in this country, rather than submit to the Boers. + </p> + <p> + “I was under Shambok, my chief, who fought the Boers formerly, but he left + us, and we were <i>put up to auction</i> and sold among the Boers. I want + to state this myself to the Royal Commission in Newcastle. I was bought by + Fritz Botha and sold by Frederick Botha, who was then veld cornet (justice + of the peace) of the Boers.”[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] I have taken the liberty to quote all these extracts + exactly as they stand in the original, instead of weaving + their substance into my narrative, in order that I may not + be accused, as so often happens to authors who write upon + this subject, of having presented a garbled version of the + truth. The original of every extract is to be found in blue + books presented to Parliament. I have thought it best to + confine myself to these, and avoid repeating stories of + cruelties and slavery, however well authenticated, that have + come to my knowledge privately, such stories being always + more or less open to suspicion. +</pre> + <p> + It would be easy to find more reports of the slave-trading practices of + the Boers, but as the above are fair samples it will not be necessary to + do so. My readers will be able from them to form some opinion as to + whether or not slavery or apprenticeship existed in the Transvaal. If they + come to the conclusion that it did, it must be borne in mind that what + existed in the past will certainly exist again in the future. Natives are + not now any fonder of working for Boers than they were a few years back, + and Boers must get labour somehow. If, on the other hand, it did not + exist, then the Boers are a grossly slandered people, and all writers on + the subject, from Livingstone down, have combined to take away their + character. + </p> + <p> + Leaving native questions for the present, we must now return to the + general affairs of the country. When President Burgers opened the special + sitting of the Volksraad, on the 4th September, he appealed, it will be + remembered, to that body for pecuniary aid to liquidate the expenses of + the war. This appeal was responded to by the passing of a war tax, under + which every owner of a farm was to pay 10 pounds, the owner of half a farm + 5 pounds, and so on. The tax was not a very just one, since it fell with + equal weight on the rich man, who held twenty farms, and the poor man, who + held but one. Its justice or injustice was, however, to a great extent + immaterial, since the free and independent burghers, including some of the + members of the Volksraad who had imposed it, promptly refused to pay it, + or indeed, whilst they were about it, any other tax. As the Treasury was + already empty, and creditors were pressing, this refusal was most + ill-timed, and things began to look very black indeed. Meanwhile, in + addition to the ordinary expenditure, and the interest payable on debts, + money had to be found to pay Von Schlickmann’s volunteers. As there was no + cash in the country, this was done by issuing Government promissory notes, + known as “goodfors,” or vulgarly as “good for nothings,” and by promising + them all booty, and to each man a farm of two thousand acres, lying east + and north-east of the Loolu mountains; in other words, in Secocoeni’s + territory, which did not belong to the Government to give away. The + officials were the next to suffer, and for six months before the + Annexation these unfortunate individuals lived as best they could, for + they certainly got no salary, except in the case of a postmaster, who was + told to help himself to his pay in stamps. The Government issued large + numbers of bills, but the banks refused to discount them, and in some + cases the neighbouring Colonies had to advance money to the Transvaal + post-cart contractors, who were carrying the mails, as a matter of + charity. The Government even mortgaged the great salt-pan near Pretoria + for the paltry sum of 400 pounds, whilst the leading officials of the + Government were driven to pledging their own private credit in order to + obtain the smallest article necessary to its continuance. In fact, to such + a pass did things come that when the country was annexed a single + threepenny bit (which had doubtless been overlooked) was found in the + Treasury chest, together with acknowledgments of debts to the extent of + nearly 300,000 pounds. + </p> + <p> + Nor was the refusal to pay taxes, which they were powerless to enforce, + the only difficulty with which the Government had to contend. Want of + money is as bad and painful a thing to a State as to an individual, but + there are perhaps worse things than want of money, one of which is to be + deserted by your own friends and household. This was the position of the + Government of the Republic; no sooner was it involved in overwhelming + difficulties than its own subjects commenced to bait it, more especially + the English portion of its subjects. They complained to the English + authorities about the commandeering of members of their family or goods; + they petitioned the British Government to interfere, and generally made + themselves as unpleasant as possible to the local Authorities. Such a + course of action was perhaps natural, but it can hardly be said to be + either quite logical or just. The Transvaal Government had never asked + them to come and live in the country, and if they did so, it must be + remembered that many of the agitators had accumulated property, to leave + which would mean ruin; and they saw that, unless something was done, its + value would be destroyed. + </p> + <p> + Under the pressure of all these troubles the Boers themselves split up + into factions, as they are always ready to do. The Dopper party declared + that they had had enough progress, and proposed the extremely conservative + Paul Kruger as President, Burgers’ time having nearly expired. Paul Kruger + accepted the candidature, although he had previously promised his support + to Burgers, and distrust of each other was added to the other difficulties + of the Executive, the Transvaal becoming a house very much divided against + itself. Natives, Doppers, Progressionists, Officials, English, were all + pulling different ways, and each striving for his own advantage. Anything + more hopeless than the position of the country on the 1st January 1877 it + is impossible to conceive. Enemies surrounded it; on every border there + was the prospect of a serious war. In the exchequer there was nothing but + piles of overdue bills. The President was helpless, and mistrustful of his + officers, and the officers were caballing against the President. All the + ordinary functions of Government had ceased, and trade was paralysed. Now + and then wild proposals were made to relieve the State of its burdens, + some of which partook of the nature of repudiation, but these were the + exception; the majority of the inhabitants, who would neither fight nor + pay taxes, sat still and awaited the catastrophe, utterly careless of all + consequences. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0003" id="link2HCH0003"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER III + </h2> + <h3> + THE ANNEXATION + </h3> + <p> + <i>Anxiety of Lord Carnarvon—Despatch of Sir T. Shepstone as Special + Commissioner to the Transvaal—Sir T. Shepstone, his great experience + and ability—His progress to Pretoria and reception there—Feelings + excited by the arrival of the mission—The annexation </i>not<i> a + foregone conclusion—Charge brought against Sir T. Shepstone of + having called up the Zulu army to sweep the Transvaal—Its complete + falsehood—Cetywayo’s message to Sir T. Shepstone—Evidence on + the matter summed up—General desire of the natives for English rule—Habitual + disregard of their interests—Assembly of the Volksraad—Rejection + of Lord Carnarvon’s Confederation Bill and of President Burgers’ new + constitution— President Burgers’ speeches to the Raad—His + posthumous statement —Communication to the Raad of Sir T. + Shepstone’s intention to annex the country—Despatch of Commission to + inquire into the alleged peace with Secocoeni—Its fraudulent + character discovered—Progress of affairs in the Transvaal—Paul + Kruger and his party—Restlessness of natives—Arrangements for + the annexation—The annexation proclamation.</i> + </p> + <p> + The state of affairs described in the previous chapter was one that filled + the Secretary of State for the Colonies with alarm. During his tenure of + office, Lord Carnarvon evidently had the permanent welfare of South Africa + much at heart, and he saw with apprehension that the troubles that were + brewing in the Transvaal were of a nature likely to involve the Cape and + Natal in a native war. Though there is a broad line of demarcation between + Dutch and English, it is not so broad but that a victorious nation like + the Zulus might cross it, and beginning by fighting the Boer, might end by + fighting the white man irrespective of race. When the reader reflects how + terrible would be the consequences of a combination of native tribes + against the Whites, and how easily such a combination might at that time + have been brought about in the first flush of native successes, he will + understand the anxiety with which all thinking men watched the course of + events in the Transvaal in 1876. + </p> + <p> + At last they took such a serious turn that the Home Government saw that + some action must be taken if the catastrophe was to be averted, and + determined to despatch Sir Theophilus Shepstone as Special Commissioner to + the Transvaal, with powers, should it be necessary, to annex the country + to Her Majesty’s dominions, “in order to secure the peace and safety of + Our said colonies and of Our subjects elsewhere.” + </p> + <p> + The terms of his Commission were unusually large, leaving a great deal to + his discretionary power. In choosing that officer for the execution of a + most difficult and delicate mission, the Government, doubtless, made a + very wise selection. Sir Theophilus Shepstone is a man of remarkable tact + and ability, combined with great openness and simplicity of mind, and one + whose name will always have a leading place in South African history. + During a long official lifetime he has had to do with most of the native + races in South Africa, and certainly knows them and their ways better than + any living man; whilst he is by them all regarded with a peculiar and + affectionate reverence. He is <i>par excellence</i> their great white + chief and “father,” and a word from him, even now that he has retired from + active life, still carries more weight than the formal remonstrances of + any governor in South Africa. + </p> + <p> + With the Boers he is almost equally well acquainted, having known many of + them personally for years. He possesses, moreover, the rare power of + winning the regard and affection, as well as the respect, of those about + him in such a marked degree that those who have served him once would go + far to serve him again. Sir T. Shepstone, however, has enemies like other + people, and is commonly reported among them to be a disciple of + Machiavelli, and to have his mind steeped in all the darker wiles of Kafir + policy. The Annexation of the Transvaal is by them attributed to a + successful and vigorous use of those arts that distinguished the diplomacy + of two centuries ago. Falsehood and bribery are supposed to have been the + great levers used to effect the change, together with threats of + extinction at the hands of a savage and unfriendly nation. + </p> + <p> + That the Annexation was a triumph of mind over matter is quite true, but + whether or not that triumph was unworthily obtained, I will leave those + who read this short chronicle of the events connected with it to judge. I + saw it somewhat darkly remarked in a newspaper the other day that the + history of the Annexation had evidently yet to be written; and I fear that + the remark represents the feeling of most people about the event; implying + as it did, that it was carried out, by means certainly mysterious, and + presumably doubtful. I am afraid that those who think thus will be + disappointed in what I have to say about the matter, since I know that the + means employed to bring the Boers— + </p> + <p> + “Fracti bello, fatisque repulsi”— + </p> + <p> + under her Majesty’s authority were throughout as fair and honest as the + Annexation itself was, in my opinion, right and necessary. + </p> + <p> + To return to Sir T. Shepstone. He undoubtedly had faults as a ruler, one + of the most prominent of which was that his natural mildness of character + would never allow him to act with severity even when severity was + necessary. The very criminals condemned to death ran a good chance of + reprieve when he had to sign their death-warrants. He had also that worst + of faults (so called), in one fitted by nature to become great—want + of ambition, a failing that in such a man marks him the possessor of an + even and a philosophic mind. It was no seeking of his own that raised him + out of obscurity, and when his work was done to comparative obscurity he + elected to return, though whether a man of his ability and experience in + South African affairs should, at the present crisis, be allowed to remain + there, is another question. + </p> + <p> + On the 20th December 1876, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President Burgers, + informing him of his approaching visit to the Transvaal, to secure, if + possible, the adjustment of the existing troubles, and the adoption of + such measures as might be best calculated to prevent their recurrence in + the future. + </p> + <p> + On his road to Pretoria, Sir Theophilus received a hearty welcome from the + Boer as well as the English inhabitants of the country. One of these + addresses to him says: “Be assured, high honourable Sir, that we burghers, + now assembled together, entertain the most friendly feeling towards your + Government, and that we shall agree with anything you may do in + conjunction with our Government for the progress of our State, the + strengthening against our native enemies, and for the general welfare of + all the inhabitants of the whole of South Africa. Welcome in Heidelberg, + and welcome in the Transvaal.” + </p> + <p> + At Pretoria the reception of the Special Commissioner was positively + enthusiastic; the whole town came out to meet him, and the horses having + been taken out of the carriage, he was dragged in triumph through the + streets. In his reply to the address presented to him, Sir Theophilus + shadowed forth the objects of his mission in these words: “Recent events + in this country have shown to all thinking men the absolute necessity for + closer union and more oneness of purpose among the Christian Governments + of the southern portion of this Continent: the best interests of the + native races, no less than the peace and prosperity of the white, + imperatively demand it, and I rely upon you and upon your Government to + co-operate with me in endeavouring to achieve the great and glorious end + of inscribing on a general South African banner the appropriate motto—‘Eendragt + maakt magt’ (Unity makes strength).” + </p> + <p> + A few days after his arrival a commission was appointed, consisting of + Messrs. Henderson and Osborn, on behalf of the Special Commissioner, and + Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen, on behalf of the Transvaal Government, to + discuss the state of the country. This commission came to nothing, and was + on both sides nothing more than a bit of by-play. + </p> + <p> + The arrival of the mission was necessarily regarded with mixed feelings by + the inhabitants of the Transvaal. By one party it was eagerly greeted, + viz., the English section of the population, who devoutly hoped that it + had come to annex the country. With the exception of the Hollander + element, the officials also were glad of its arrival, and secretly hoped + that the country would be taken over, when there would be more chance of + their getting their arrear pay. The better educated Boers also were for + the most part satisfied that there was no hope for the country unless + England helped it in some way, though they did not like having to accept + the help. But the more bigoted and narrow-minded among them were + undoubtedly opposed to English interference, and under their leader, Paul + Kruger, who was at the time running for the President’s chair, did their + best to be rid of it. They found ready allies in the Hollander clientele, + with which Mr. Burgers had surrounded himself, headed by the famous Dr. + Jorissen, who was, like most of the rulers of this singular State, an + ex-clergyman, but now an Attorney-general, not learned in the law. These + men were for the most part entirely unfit for the positions they held, and + feared that in the event of the country changing hands they might be + ejected from them; and also, they did all Englishmen the favour to regard + them, with that particularly virulent and general hatred which is a part + of the secret creed of many foreigners, more especially of such as are + under our protection. As may easily be imagined, what between all these + different parties and the presence of the Special Commissioner, there were + certainly plenty of intrigues going on in Pretoria during the first few + months of 1877, and the political excitement was very great. Nobody knew + how far Sir T. Shepstone was prepared to go, and everybody was afraid of + putting out his hand further than he could pull it back, and trying to + make himself comfortable on two stools at once. Members of the Volksraad + and other prominent individuals in the country who had during the day been + denouncing the Commissioner in no measured terms, and even proposing that + he and his staff should be shot as a warning to the English Government, + might be seen arriving at his house under cover of the shades of evening, + to have a little talk with him, and express the earnest hope that it was + his intention to annex the country as soon as possible. It is necessary to + assist at a peaceable annexation to learn the depth of meanness human + nature is capable of. + </p> + <p> + In Pretoria, at any rate, the ladies were of great service to the cause of + the mission, since they were nearly all in favour of a change of + government, and, that being the case, they naturally soon brought their + husbands, brothers, and lovers to look at things from the same point of + view. It was a wise man who said that in any matter where it is necessary + to obtain the goodwill of a population you should win over the women; that + done, you need not trouble yourself about the men. + </p> + <p> + Though the country was thus overflowing with political intrigues, nothing + of the kind went on in the Commissioner’s camp. It was not he who made the + plots to catch the Transvaalers; on the contrary, they made the plots to + catch him. For several months all that he did was to sit still and let the + rival passions work their way, fighting what the Zulus afterwards called + the “fight of sit down.” When anybody came to see him he was very glad to + meet them, pointed out the desperate condition of the country, and asked + them if they could suggest a remedy. And that was about all he did do, + beyond informing himself very carefully as to all that was going on in the + country, and the movements of the natives within and outside its borders. + There was no money spent on bribery, as has been stated, though it is + impossible to imagine a state of affairs in which it would have been more + easy to bribe, or in which it could have been done with greater effect; + unless indeed the promise that some pension should be paid to President + Burgers can be called a bribe, which it was certainly never intended to + be, but simply a guarantee that after having spent all his private means + on behalf of the State he should not be left destitute. The statement that + the Annexation was effected under a threat that if the Government did not + give its consent Sir T. Shepstone would let loose the Zulus on the country + is also a wicked and malicious invention, but with this I shall deal more + at length further on. + </p> + <p> + It must not, however, be understood that the Annexation was a foregone + conclusion, or that Sir T. Shepstone came up to the Transvaal with the + fixed intention of annexing the country without reference to its position, + merely with a view of extending British influence, or, as has been + absurdly stated, in order to benefit Natal. He had no fixed purpose, + whether it were necessary or no, of exercising the full powers given to + him by his commission; on the contrary, he was all along most anxious to + find some internal resources within the State by means of which Annexation + could be averted, and of this fact his various letters and despatches give + full proof. Thus, in his letter to President Burgers, of the 9th April + 1877, in which he announces his intention of annexing the country, he + says: “I have more than once assured your Honour that if I could think of + any plan by which the independence of the State could be maintained by its + own internal resources I would most certainly not conceal that plan from + you.” It is also incidentally remarkably confirmed by a passage in Mr. + Burgers’ posthumous defence, in which he says: “Hence I met Shepstone + alone in my house, and opened up the subject of his mission. With a + candour that astonished me, he avowed that his purpose was to annex the + country, as he had sufficient grounds for it, unless I could so alter as + to satisfy his Government. My plan of a new constitution, modelled after + that of America, of a standing police force of two hundred mounted men, + was then proposed. He promised to give me time to call the Volksraad + together, and to <i>abandon his design</i> if the Volksraad would adopt + these measures, and the country be willing to submit to them, and to carry + them out.” Further on he says: “In justice to Shepstone I must say that I + would not consider an officer of my Government to have acted faithfully if + he had not done what Shepstone did.” + </p> + <p> + It has also been frequently alleged in England, and always seems to be + taken as the groundwork of argument in the matter of the Annexation, that + the Special Commissioner represented that the majority of the inhabitants + wished for the Annexation, and that it was sanctioned on that ground. This + statement shows the great ignorance that exists in this country of South + African affairs, an ignorance which in this case has been carefully + fostered by Mr. Gladstone’s Government for party purposes, they having + found it necessary to assume, in order to make their position in the + matter tenable, that Sir T. Shepstone and other Officials had been guilty + of misrepresentation. Unfortunately, the Government and its supporters + have been more intent upon making out their case than upon ascertaining + the truth of their statements. If they had taken the trouble to refer to + Sir T. Shepstone’s despatches, they would have found that the ground on + which the Transvaal was annexed was, not because the majority of the + inhabitants wished for it, but because the State was drifting into + anarchy, was bankrupt, and was about to be destroyed by native tribes. + They would further have found that Sir T. Shepstone never represented that + the majority of the Boers were in favour of Annexation. What he did say + was that most thinking men in the country saw no other way out of the + difficulty; but what proportion of the Boers can be called “thinking men?” + He also said, in the fifteenth paragraph of his despatch to Lord Carnarvon + of 6th March 1877, that petitions signed by 2500 people, representing + every class of the community, out of a total adult population of 8000, had + been presented to the Government of the Republic, setting forth its + difficulties and dangers, and praying it “to treat with me for their + amelioration or removal.” He also stated, and with perfect truth, that + many more would have signed had it not been for the terrorism that was + exercised, and that all the towns and villages in the country desired the + change, which was a patent fact. + </p> + <p> + This is the foundation on which the charge of misrepresentation is built—a + charge which has been manipulated so skilfully, and with such a charming + disregard for the truth, that the British public has been duped into + believing it. When it is examined into, it vanishes into thin air. + </p> + <p> + But a darker charge has been brought against the Special Commissioner—a + charge affecting his honour as a gentleman and his character as a + Christian; and, strange to say, has gained a considerable credence, + especially amongst a certain party in England. I allude to the statement + that he called up the Zulu army with the intention of sweeping the + Transvaal if the Annexation was objected to. I may state, from my own + personal knowledge, that the report is a complete falsehood, and that no + such threat was ever made, either by Sir T. Shepstone or by anybody + connected with him, and I will briefly prove what I say. + </p> + <p> + When the mission first arrived at Pretoria, a message came from Cetywayo + to the effect that he had heard that the Boers had fired at “Sompseu” (Sir + T. Shepstone), and announcing his intention of attacking the Transvaal if + “his father” was touched. About the middle of March alarming rumours began + to spread as to the intended action of Cetywayo with reference to the + Transvaal; but as Sir T. Shepstone did not think that the king would be + likely to make any hostile movement whilst he was in the country, he took + no steps in the matter. Neither did the Transvaal Government ask his + advice and assistance. Indeed, a remarkable trait in the Boers is their + supreme self-conceit, which makes them believe that they are capable of + subduing all the natives in Africa, and of thrashing the whole British + army if necessary. Unfortunately, the recent course of events has tended + to confirm them in their opinion as regards their white enemies. To + return: towards the second week in April, or the week before the + proclamation of annexation was issued, things began to look very serious; + indeed, rumours that could hardly be discredited reached the Special + Commissioner that the whole of the Zulu army was collected in a chain of + Impis or battalions, with the intention of bursting into the Transvaal and + sweeping the country. Knowing how terrible would be the catastrophe if + this were to happen, Sir T. Shepstone was much alarmed about the matter, + and at a meeting with the Executive Council of the Transvaal Government he + pointed out to them the great danger in which the country was placed. This + was done in the presence of several officers of his Staff, and it was on + this friendly exposition of the state of affairs that the charge that he + had threatened the country with invasion by the Zulus was based. On the + 11th of April, or the day before the Annexation, a message was despatched + to Cetywayo, telling him of the reports that had reached Pretoria, and + stating that if they were true he must forthwith give up all such + intentions, as the Transvaal would at once be placed under the sovereignty + of Her Majesty, and that if he had assembled any armies for purposes of + aggression they must be disbanded at once. Sir T. Shepstone’s message + reached Zululand not a day too soon. Had the Annexation of the Transvaal + been delayed by a few weeks even—and this is a point which I + earnestly beg Englishmen to remember in connection with that act—Cetywayo’s + armies would have entered the Transvaal, carrying death before them, and + leaving a wilderness behind them. + </p> + <p> + Cetywayo’s answer to the Special Commissioner’s message will sufficiently + show, to use Sir Theophilus’ own words in his despatch on the subject, + “the pinnacle of peril which the Republic and South Africa generally had + reached at the moment when the Annexation took place.” He says, “I thank + my Father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) for his message. I am glad that he + has sent it, because the Dutch have tired me out, and I intended to fight + them once and once only, and to drive them over the Vaal. Kabana (name of + messenger), you see my Impis (armies) are gathered. It was to fight the + Dutch I called them together; now I will send them back to their homes. Is + it well that two men (‘amadoda-amabili’) should be made ‘iziula’ (fools)? + In the reign of my father Umpanda the Boers were constantly moving their + boundary further into my country. Since his death the same thing has been + done. I had therefore determined to end it once for all!” The message then + goes on to other matters, and ends with a request to be allowed to fight + the Amaswazi, because “they fight together and kill one another. This,” + says Cetywayo naively, “is wrong, and I want to chastise them for it.” + </p> + <p> + This quotation will suffice to convince all reasonable men, putting aside + all other matters, from what imminent danger the Transvaal was delivered + by the much-abused Annexation. + </p> + <p> + Some months after that event, however, it occurred to the ingenious mind + of some malicious individual in Natal that, properly used, much political + capital might be made out of this Zulu incident, and the story that + Cetywayo’s army had been called up by Sir Theophilus himself to overawe, + and, if necessary, subdue the Transvaal, was accordingly invented and + industriously circulated. Although Sir T. Shepstone at once caused it to + be authoritatively contradicted, such an astonishing slander naturally + took firm root, and on the 12th April 1879 we have Mr. M. W. Pretorius, + one of the Boer leaders, publicly stating at a meeting of the farmers that + “previous to the Annexation Sir T. Shepstone had threatened the Transvaal + with an attack from the Zulus as an argument for advancing the + Annexation.” Under such an imputation the Government could no longer keep + silence, and accordingly Sir Owen Lanyon, who was then Administrator of + the Transvaal, caused the matter to be officially investigated, with these + results, which are summed up by him in a letter to Mr. Pretorius, dated + 1st May 1879:— + </p> + <p> + 1. The records of the Republican Executive Council contained no allusion + to any such statement. + </p> + <p> + 2. Two members of that Council filed statements in which they unreservedly + denied that Sir T. Shepstone used the words or threats imputed to him. + </p> + <p> + 3. Two officers of Sir T. Shepstone’s staff, who were always present with + him at interviews with the Executive Council, filed statements to the same + effect. + </p> + <p> + “I have no doubt,” adds Sir Owen Lanyon, “that the report has been + originated and circulated by some evil-disposed persons.” + </p> + <p> + In addition to this evidence we have a letter written to the Colonial + Office by Sir T. Shepstone, dated London, August 12, 1879, in which he + points out that Mr. Pretorius was not even present at any of the + interviews with the Executive Council on which occasion he accuses him of + having made use of the threats. He further shows that the use of such a + threat on his part would have been the depth of folly, and “knowingly to + court the instant and ignominious failure of my mission,” because the + Boers were so persuaded of their own prowess that they could not be + convinced that they stood in any danger from native sources, and also + because “such play with such keen-edged tools as the excited passions of + savages are, and especially such savages as I knew the Zulus to be, is not + what an experience of forty-two years in managing them inclined me to.” + And yet, in the face of all this accumulated evidence, this report + continues to be believed, that is, by those who wished to believe it. + </p> + <p> + Such are the accusations that have been brought against the manner of the + Annexation and the Officer who carried it out, and never were accusations + more groundless. Indeed both for party purposes, and from personal animus, + every means, fair or foul, has been used to discredit it and all connected + with it. To take a single instance, one author (Miss Colenso, p. 134, + “History of the Zulu War”) actually goes the length of putting a portion + of a speech made by President Burgers into the mouth of Sir T. Shepstone, + and then abusing him for his incredible profanity. Surely this exceeds the + limits of fair criticism. + </p> + <p> + Before I go on to the actual history of the Annexation there is one point + I wish to submit to my reader. In England the change of Government has + always been talked of as though it only affected the forty thousand white + inhabitants of the country, whilst everybody seems to forget that this + same land had about a million human beings living on it, its original + owners, and only, unfortunately for themselves, possessing a black skin, + and therefore entitled to little consideration,—even at the hands of + the most philanthropic Government in the world. It never seems to have + occurred to those who have raised so much outcry on behalf of the forty + thousand Boers, to inquire what was thought of the matter by the million + natives. If they were to be allowed a voice in their own disposal, the + country was certainly annexed by the wish of a very large majority of its + inhabitants. It is true that Secocoeni, instigated thereto by the Boers, + afterwards continued the war against us, but, with the exception of this + one chief, the advent of our rule was hailed with joy by every native in + the Transvaal, and even he was glad of it at the time. During our period + of rule in the Transvaal the natives have had, as they foresaw, more peace + than at any time since the white man set foot in the land. They have paid + their taxes gladly, and there has been no fighting among themselves; but + since we have given up the country we hear a very different tale. It is + this million of men, women, and children who, notwithstanding their black + skins, live and feel, and have intelligence as much as ourselves, who are + the principal, because the most numerous sufferers from Mr. Gladstone’s + conjuring tricks, that can turn a Sovereign into a Suzerain as airily as + the professor of magic brings a litter of guinea-pigs out of a top hat. It + is our falsehood and treachery to them whom we took over “for ever,” as we + told them, and whom we have now handed back to their natural enemies to be + paid off for their loyalty to the Englishman, that is the blackest stain + in all this black business, and that has destroyed our prestige, and + caused us to be looked on amongst them, for they do not hide their + opinion, as “cowards and liars.” + </p> + <p> + But very little attention, however, seems to have been paid to native + views or claims at any time in the Transvaal; indeed they have all along + been treated as serfs of the soil, to be sold with it, if necessary, to a + new master. It is true that the Government, acting under pressure from the + Aborigines Protection Society, made, on the occasion of the Surrender, a + feeble effort to secure the independence of some of the native tribes; but + when the Boer leaders told them shortly that they would have nothing of + the sort, and that, if they were not careful, they would reoccupy Laing’s + Nek, the proposal was at once dropped, with many assurances that no + offence was intended. The worst of the matter is that this treatment of + our native subjects and allies will assuredly recoil on the heads of + future innocent Governments. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after the appointment of the Joint-Commission alluded to at the + beginning of this chapter, President Burgers, who was now in possession of + the Special Commissioner’s intentions, should he be unable to carry out + reforms sufficiently drastic to satisfy the English Government, thought it + best to call together the Volksraad. In the meantime, it had been + announced that the “rebel” Secocoeni had sued for peace and signed a + treaty declaring himself a subject of the Republic. I shall have to enter + into the question of this treaty a little further on, so I will at present + only say that it was the first business laid before the Raad, and, after + some discussion, ratified. Next in order to the Secocoeni peace came the + question of Confederation, as laid down in Lord Carnarvon’s Permissive + Bill. This proposal was laid before them in an earnest and eloquent speech + by their President, who entreated them to consider the dangerous position + of the Republic, and to face their difficulties like men. The question was + referred to a committee, and an adverse report being brought up, was + rejected without further consideration. It is just possible that + intimidation had something to do with the summary treatment of so + important a matter, seeing that whilst it was being argued a large mob of + Boers, looking very formidable with their sea-cow hide whips, watched + every move of their representatives through the windows of the Volksraad + Hall. It was Mr. Chamberlain’s caucus system in practical and visible + operation. + </p> + <p> + A few days after the rejection of the Confederation Bill, President + Burgers, who had frequently alluded to the desperate condition of the + Republic, and stated that either some radical reform must be effected or + the country must come under the British flag, laid before the Raad a brand + new constitution of a very remarkable nature, asserting that they must + either accept it or lose their independence. + </p> + <p> + The first part of this strange document dealt with the people and their + rights, which remained much as they were before, with the exception that + the secrecy of all letters entrusted to the post was to be inviolable. The + recognition of this right is an amusing incident in the history of a free + Republic. Under following articles the Volksraad was entrusted with the + charge of the native inhabitants of the State, the provision for the + administration of justice, the conduct of education, the regulation of + money-bills, &c. It is in the fourth chapter, however, that we come to + the real gist of the Bill, which was the endowment of the State President + with the authority of a dictator. Mr. Burgers thought to save the State by + making himself an absolute monarch. He was to be elected for a period of + seven years instead of five years, and to be eligible for re-election. In + him was vested the power of making all appointments without reference to + the legislature. All laws were to be drawn up by him, and he was to have + the right of veto on Volksraad resolutions, which body he could summon and + dissolve at will. Finally, his Executive Council was to consist of heads + of departments appointed by himself, and of one member of the Volksraad. + The Volksraad treated this Bill in much the same way as they had dealt + with the Permissive Confederation Bill, gave it a casual consideration, + and threw it out. + </p> + <p> + The President, meanwhile, was doing his best to convince the Raad of the + danger of the country; that the treasury was empty, whilst duns were + pressing, that enemies were threatening on every side, and, finally, that + Her Majesty’s Special Commissioner was encamped within a thousand yards of + them, watching their deliberations with some interest. He showed them that + it was impossible at once to scorn reform and reject friendly offers, that + it was doubtful if anything could save them, but that if they took no + steps they were certainly lost as a nation. The “Fathers of the land,” + however, declined to dance to the President’s piping. Then he took a + bolder line. He told them that a guilty nation never can evade the + judgment that follows its steps. He asked them “conscientiously to advise + the people not obstinately to refuse a union with a powerful Government. + He could not advise them to refuse such a union. . . . He did not believe + that a new constitution would save them; for as little as the old + constitution had brought them to ruin, so little would a new constitution + bring salvation. . . . If the citizens of England had behaved towards the + Crown as the burghers of this State had behaved to their Government, + England would never have stood so long as she had.” He pointed out to them + their hopeless financial position. “To-day,” he said, “a bill for 1100 + pounds was laid before me for signature; but I would sooner have cut off + my right hand than sign that paper—(cheers)—for I have not the + slightest ground to expect that, when that bill becomes due, there will be + a penny to pay it with.” And finally, he exhorted them thus: “Let them + make the best of the situation, and get the best terms they possibly + could; let them agree to join their hands to those of their brethren in + the south, and then from the Cape to the Zambesi there would be one great + people. Yes, there was something grand in that, grander even than their + idea of a Republic, something which ministered to their national feeling—(cheers)—and + would this be so miserable? Yes, this would be miserable for those who + would not be under the law, for the rebel and the revolutionist, but + welfare and prosperity for the men of law and order.” + </p> + <p> + These powerful words form a strong indictment against the Republic, and + from them there can be little doubt that President Burgers was thoroughly + convinced of the necessity and wisdom of the Annexation. It is interesting + to compare them, and many other utterances of his made at this period, + with the opinions he expresses in the posthumous document recently + published, in which he speaks somewhat jubilantly of the lessons taught us + on Laing’s Nek and Majuba by such “an inherently weak people as the + Boers,” and points to them as striking instances of retribution. In this + document he attributes the Annexation to the desire to advance English + supremacy in South Africa, and to lay hold of the way to Central South + Africa. It is, however, noticeable that he does not in any way indicate + how it could have been averted, and the State continue to exist; and he + seems all along to feel that his case is a weak one, for in explaining, or + attempting to explain, why he had never defended himself from the charges + brought against him in connection with the Annexation, he says: “Had I not + endured in silence, had I not borne patiently all the accusations, but out + of selfishness or fear told the plain truth of the case, the Transvaal + would never have had the consideration it has now received from Great + Britain. However unjust the Annexation was, my self-justification would + have <i>exposed the Boers to such an extent</i>, and the state of the + country in such a way, that it would have deprived them both of the + sympathy of the world and the consideration of the English politicians.” + In other words, “If I had told the truth about things as I should have + been obliged to do to justify myself, there would have been no more outcry + about the Annexation, because the whole world, even the English Radicals, + would have recognised how necessary it was, and what a fearful state the + country was in.” + </p> + <p> + But to let that pass, it is evident that President Burgers did not take + the same view of the Annexation in 1877 as he did in 1881, and indeed his + speeches to the Volksraad would read rather oddly printed in parallel + columns with his posthumous statement. The reader would be forced to one + of two conclusions, either on one of the two occasions he is saying what + he does not mean, or he must have changed his mind. As I believe him to + have been an honest man, I incline to the latter supposition; nor do I + consider it so very hard to account for, taking into consideration his + natural Dutch proclivities. In 1877 Burgers is the despairing head of a + State driving rapidly to ruin, if not to actual extinction, when the + strong hand of the English Government is held out to him. What wonder that + he accepts it gladly on behalf of his country, which is by its help + brought into a state of greater prosperity than it has ever before known? + In 1881 the wheel has gone round, and great events have come about whilst + he lies dying. The enemies of the Boers have been destroyed, the powers of + the Zulus and Secocoeni are no more; the country has prospered under a + healthy rule, and its finances have been restored. More,—glad + tidings have come from Mid-Lothian, to the “rebel and the revolutionist,” + whose hopes were flagging, and eloquent words have been spoken by the new + English Dictator that have aroused a great rebellion. And, to crown all, + English troops have suffered one massacre and three defeats, and England + sues for peace from the South African peasant, heedless of honour or her + broken word, so that the prayer be granted. With such events before him, + that dying man may well have found cause to change his opinion. Doubtless + the Annexation was wrong, since England disowns her acts; and may not that + dream about the great South African Republic come true after all? Has not + the pre-eminence of the Englishman received a blow from which it can never + recover, and is not his control over Boers and natives irredeemably + weakened? And must he,—Burgers,—go down to posterity as a + Dutchman who tried to forward the interests of the English party? No, + doubtless the Annexation was wrong; but it has done good, for it has + brought about the downfall of the English: and we will end the argument in + the very words of his last public utterance, with which he ends his + statement: “South Africa gained more from this, and has made a larger step + forward in the march of freedom than most people can conceive.” + </p> + <p> + Who shall say that he is wrong? the words of dying men are sometimes + prophetic! South Africa has made a great advance towards the “freedom” of + a Dutch Republic. + </p> + <p> + This has been a digression, but I hope not an uninteresting one. To return—on + the 1st March, Sir T. Shepstone met the Executive Council, and told them + that in his opinion there was now but one remedy to be adopted, and that + was that the Transvaal should be united with English Colonies of South + Africa under one head, namely the Queen, saying at the same time that the + only thing now left to the Republic was to make the best arrangements it + could for the future benefit of its inhabitants, and to submit to that + which he saw to be, and every thinking man saw to be, inevitable. So soon + as this information was officially communicated to the Raad, for a good + proportion of its members were already acquainted with it unofficially, it + flew from a state of listless indifference into vigorous and hasty action. + The President was censured, and a Committee was appointed to consider and + report upon the situation, which reported in favour of the adoption of + Burgers’ new constitution. Accordingly, the greatest part of this measure, + which had been contemptuously rejected a few days before, was adopted + almost without question, and Mr. Paul Kruger was appointed Vice-President. + On the following day, a very drastic treason law was passed, borrowed from + the Statute book of the Orange Free State, which made all public + expression of opinion, if adverse to the Government, or in any way + supporting the Annexation party, high treason. This done, the Assembly + prorogued itself until—October 1881. + </p> + <p> + During and after the sitting of the Raad, rumours arose that the Chief + Secocoeni’s signature to the treaty of peace, ratified by that body, had + been obtained by misrepresentation. As ratified, this treaty consisted of + three articles, according to which Secocoeni consented, first to become a + subject of the Republic, and obey the laws of the country; secondly, to + agree to a certain restricted boundary line and, thirdly, to pay 2000 head + of cattle; which, considering he had captured quite 5000 head, was not + exorbitant. + </p> + <p> + Towards the end of February a written message was received from Secocoeni + by Sir T. Shepstone, dated after the signing of the supposed treaty. The + original, which was written in Sisutu, was a great curiosity. The + following is a correct translation:— + </p> + <p> + “For Myn Heer Sheepstone,—I beg you, Chief, come help me, the Boers + are killing me, and I don’t know the reasons why they should be angry with + me; Chief, I beg you come with Myn Heer Merensky.—I am Sikukuni.” + </p> + <p> + This message was accompanied by a letter from Mr. Merensky, a well-known + and successful missionary, who had been for many years resident in + Secocoeni’s country, in which he stated that he heard on very good + authority that Secocoeni had distinctly refused to agree to that article + of the treaty by which he became a subject of the State. He adds that he + cannot remain “silent while such tricks are played.” + </p> + <p> + Upon this information, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President Burgers, + stating that “if the officer in whom you have placed confidence has + withheld any portion of the truth from you, especially so serious a + portion of it, he is guilty of a wrong towards you personally, as well as + towards the Government, because he has caused you to assume an untenable + position,” and suggesting that a joint commission should be despatched to + Secocoeni, to thoroughly sift the question in the interest of all + concerned. This suggestion was after some delay agreed to, and a + commission was appointed, consisting of Mr. Van Gorkom, a Hollander, and + Mr. Holtshausen, a member of the Executive Council, on behalf of the + Transvaal Government, and Mr. Osborn, R.M., and Captain Clarke, R.A., on + behalf of the Commissioner, whom I accompanied as Secretary. + </p> + <p> + At Middelburg the native Gideon who acted as interpreter between + Commandant Ferreira, C.M.G. (the officer who negotiated the treaty on + behalf of the Boer Government), and Secocoeni was examined, and also two + natives, Petros and Jeremiah, who were with him, but did not actually + interpret. All these men persisted that Secocoeni had positively refused + to become a subject of the Republic, and only consented to sign the treaty + on the representations of Commandant Ferreira that it would only be + binding, as regards to the two articles about the cattle and the boundary + line. + </p> + <p> + The Commission then proceeded to Secocoeni’s town, accompanied by a fresh + set of interpreters, and had a long interview with Secocoeni. The chief’s + Prime Minister or “mouth,” Makurupiji, speaking in his presence, and on + his behalf and making use of the pronoun “I” before all the assembled + headmen of the tribe, gave an account of the interview between Commandant + Ferreira in the presence of that gentleman, who accompanied the commission + and Secocoeni, in almost the same words as had been used by the + interpreters at Middelburg. He distinctly denied having consented to + become a subject of the Republic or to stand under the law, and added that + he feared he “had touched the feather to” (signed) things that he did not + know of in the treaty. Commandant Ferreira then put some questions, but + entirely failed to shake the evidence; on the contrary, he admitted by his + questions that Secocoeni had not consented to become a subject of the + Republic. Secocoeni had evidently signed the piece of paper under the + impression that he was acknowledging his liability to pay 2000 head of + cattle, and fixing a certain portion of his boundary line, and on the + distinct understanding that he was not to become a subject of the State. + </p> + <p> + Now it was the Secocoeni war that had brought the English Mission into the + country, and if it could be shown that the Secocoeni war had come to a + successful termination, it would go far towards helping the Mission out + again. To this end, it was necessary that the Chief should declare himself + a subject of the State, and thereby, by implication acknowledge himself to + have been a rebel, and admit his defeat. All that was required was a + signature, and that once obtained the treaty was published and submitted + to the Raad for confirmation, without a whisper being heard of the + conditions under which this ignorant Basutu was induced to sign. Had no + Commission visited Secocoeni, this treaty would afterwards have been + produced against him in its entirety. Altogether, the history of the + Secocoeni Peace Treaty does not reassure one as to the genuineness of the + treaties which the Boers are continually producing, purporting to have + been signed by native chiefs, and as a general rule presenting the State + with great tracts of country in exchange for a horse or a few oxen. + However fond the natives may be of their Boer neighbours, such liberality + can scarcely be genuine. On the other hand, it is so easy to induce a + savage to sign a paper, or even, if he is reticent, to make a cross for + him, and once made, as we all know, <i>litera scripa manet</i>, and + becomes title to the lands. + </p> + <p> + During the Secocoeni investigation, affairs in the Transvaal were steadily + drifting towards anarchy. The air was filled with rumours; now it was + reported that an outbreak was imminent amongst the English population at + the Gold Fields, who had never forgotten Von Schlickmann’s kind suggestion + that they should be “subdued;” now it was said that Cetywayo had crossed + the border, and might shortly be expected at Pretoria; now that a large + body of Boers were on their road to shoot the Special Commissioner, his + twenty-five policemen and Englishmen generally, and so on. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, Paul Kruger and his party were not letting the grass grow under + their feet, but worked public feeling with great vigour, with the double + object of getting Paul made President and ridding themselves of the + English. Articles in his support were printed in the well-known Dutch + paper “Die Patriot,” published in the Cape Colony, which are so typical of + the Boers and of the only literature that has the slightest influence over + them, that I will quote a few extracts from one of them. + </p> + <p> + After drawing a very vivid picture of the wretched condition of the + country as compared to what it was when the Kafirs had “a proper respect” + for the Boers, before Burgers came into power, the article proceeds to + give the cause of this state of affairs. “God’s word,” it says, “gives us + the solution. Look at Israel, while the people have a godly king, + everything is prosperous, but under a godless prince the land retrogrades, + and the whole of the people must suffer. Read Leviticus, chapter 26, with + attention, &c. In the day of the Voortrekkers (pioneers), a handful of + men chased a thousand Kafirs and made them run; so also in the Free State + War (Deut. xxxii. 30; Jos. xxiii. 10; Lev. xxvi. 8). But mark, now when + Burgers became President, he knows no Sabbath, he rides through the land + in and out of town on Sunday, he knows not the church and God’s service + (Lev. xxvi. 2-3) to the scandal of pious people. And he formerly was a + priest too. And what is the consequence? No harvest (Lev. xxvi. 16), an + army of 6,000 men runs because one man falls (Lev. xxvi. 17, &c.) What + is now the remedy?” The remedy proves to be Paul Kruger, “because there is + no other candidate. Because our Lord clearly points him out to be the man, + for why is there no other candidate? Who arranged it this way?” Then + follows a rather odd argument in favour of Paul’s election, “Because he + himself (P. Kruger) acknowledges in his own reply that he is <i>incompetent</i>, + but that all his ability is from our Lord. Because he is a warrior. + Because he is a Boer.” Then Paul Kruger, the warrior and the Boer, is + compared to Joan of Arc, “a simple Boer girl who came from behind the + sheep.” The Burghers of Transvaal are exhorted to acknowledge the hand of + the Lord, and elect Paul Kruger, or look for still heavier punishment. + (Lev. xxvi. 18 <i>et seq</i>.) Next the “Patriot” proceeds to give a bit + of advice to “our candidate, Paul Kruger.” He is to deliver the land from + the Kafirs. “The Lord has given you the heart of a warrior, arise and + drive them,” a bit of advice quite suited to his well-known character. But + this chosen vessel was not to get all the loaves and fishes; on the + contrary, as soon as he had fulfilled his mission of “driving” the Kafirs, + he was to hand over his office to a “good” president. The article ends + thus: “If the Lord wills to use you now to deliver this land from its + enemies, and a day of peace and prosperity arises again, and you see that + you are not exactly the statesman to further govern the Republic, then it + will be your greatest honour to say, ‘Citizens, I have delivered you from + the enemy, I am no statesman, but now you have peace and time to choose + and elect a <i>good</i> President.’” + </p> + <p> + An article such as the above is instructive reading as showing the low + calibre of the minds that are influenced by it. Yet such writings and + sermons have more power among the Boers than any other arguments, + appealing as they do to the fanaticism and vanity of their nature, which + causes them to believe that the Divinity is continually interfering on + their behalf at the cost of other people. It will be noticed that the + references given are all to the Old Testament, and nearly all refer to + acts of blood. + </p> + <p> + These doctrines were not, however, at all acceptable to Burgers’ party, or + the more enlightened members of the community, and so bitter did the + struggle of rival opinions become that there is very little doubt that had + the country not been annexed, civil war would have been added to its other + calamities. Meanwhile the natives were from day to day becoming more + restless, and messengers were constantly arriving at the Special + Commissioner’s camp, begging that their tribe might be put under the + Queen, and stating that they would fight rather than submit any longer to + the Boers. + </p> + <p> + At length on the 9th April, Sir T. Shepstone informed the Government of + the Republic that he was about to declare the Transvaal British territory. + He told them that he had considered and reconsidered his determination, + but that he could see no possible means within the State by which it could + free itself from the burdens that were sinking it to destruction, adding + that if he could have found such means he would certainly not have hidden + them from the Government. This intimation was received in silence, though + all the later proceedings with reference to the Annexation were in reality + carried out in concert with the Authorities of the Republic. Thus on the + 13th March the Government submitted a paper of ten questions to Sir T. + Shepstone as regards the future condition of the Transvaal under English + rule, whether the debts of the State would be guaranteed, &c. To these + questions replies were given which were on the whole satisfactory to the + Government. As these replies formed the basis of the proclamation + guarantees, it is not necessary to enter into them. + </p> + <p> + It was further arranged by the Republican Government that a formal protest + should be entered against the Annexation, which was accordingly prepared + and privately shown to the Special Commissioner. The annexation + proclamation was also shown to President Burgers, and a paragraph + eliminated at his suggestion. In fact, the Special Commissioner and the + President, together with most of his Executive, were quite at one as + regards the necessity of the proclamation being issued, their joint + endeavours being directed to the prevention of any disturbance, and to + secure a good reception for the change. + </p> + <p> + At length, after three months of inquiry and negotiation, the proclamation + of annexation was on the 12th of April 1877 read by Mr. Osborn, + accompanied by some other gentlemen of Sir T. Shepstone’s staff. It was an + anxious moment for all concerned. To use the words of the Special + Commissioner in his despatch home on the subject, “Every effort had been + made during the previous fortnight by, it is said, educated Hollanders, + and who had but lately arrived in the country to rouse the fanaticism of + the Boers and induce them to offer ‘bloody’ resistance to what it was + known I intended to do. The Boers were appealed to in the most + inflammatory language by printed manifestoes and memorials; . . . it was + urged that I had but a small escort which could easily be overpowered.” In + a country so full of desperadoes and fanatical haters of anything English, + it was more than possible than though such an act would have been + condemned by the general sense of the country, a number of men could + easily be found who would think they were doing a righteous act in + greeting the “annexationists” with an ovation of bullets. I do not mean + that the anxiety was personal, because I do not think the members of that + small party set any higher value on their lives than other people, but it + was absolutely necessary for the success of the act itself, and for the + safety of the country, that not a single shot should be fired. Had that + happened it is probable that the whole country would have been involved in + confusion and bloodshed, the Zulus would have broken in, and the Kafirs + would have risen; in fact, to use Cetywayo’s words, “the land would have + burned with fire.” + </p> + <p> + It will therefore be easily understood what an anxious hour that was both + for the Special Commissioner sitting up at Government House, and for his + Staff down on the Market Square, and how thankful they were when the + proclamation was received with hearty cheers by the crowd. Mr. Burgers’ + protest, which was read immediately afterwards, was received in respectful + silence. + </p> + <p> + And thus the Transvaal Territory passed for a while into the great family + of the English Colonies. I believe that the greatest political opponent of + the act will bear tribute to the very remarkable ability with which it was + carried out. When the variety and number of the various interests that had + to be conciliated, the obstinate nature of the individuals who had to be + convinced, as well as the innate hatred of the English name and ways which + had to be overcome to carry out this act successfully, are taken into + consideration: together with a thousand other matters, the neglect of any + one of which would have sufficed to make failure certain, it will be seen + what tact and skill, and knowledge of human nature were required to + execute so difficult a task. It must be remembered that no force was used, + and that there never was any threat of force. The few troops that were to + enter the Transvaal were four weeks’ march from Pretoria at the time. + There was nothing whatsoever to prevent the Boers putting a summary stop + to the proceedings of the Commissioner if they had thought fit. + </p> + <p> + That Sir Theophilus played a bold and hazardous game nobody will deny, + but, like most players who combine boldness with coolness of head and + justice of cause, he won; and, without shedding a single drop of blood, or + even confiscating an acre of land, and at no cost, annexed a great + country, and averted a very serious war. That same country four years + later cost us a million of money, the loss of nearly a thousand men killed + and wounded, and the ruin of many more confiding thousands, to surrender. + It is true, however, that nobody can accuse the retrocession of having + been conducted with judgment or ability—very much the contrary. + </p> + <p> + There can be no more ample justification of the necessity of the issue of + the annexation proclamation than the proclamation itself— + </p> + <p> + First, it touches on the Sand River Convention of 1852, by which + independence was granted to the State, and shows that the “evident objects + and inciting motives” in granting such guarantee were to promote peace, + free-trade and friendly intercourse, in the hope and belief that the + Republic “would become a flourishing and self-sustaining State, a source + of strength and security to neighbouring European communities, and a point + from which Christianity and civilisation might rapidly spread toward + Central Africa.” It goes on to show how these hopes have been + disappointed, and how that “increasing weakness in the State itself on the + one side, and more than corresponding growth of real strength and + confidence among the native tribes on the other have produced their + natural and inevitable consequence . . . that after more or less of + irritating conflict with aboriginal tribes to the north, there commenced + about the year 1867 gradual abandonment to the natives in that direction + of territory, settled by burghers of the Transvaal in well-built towns and + villages and on granted farms.” + </p> + <p> + It goes on to show that “this decay of power and ebb of authority in the + north, is being followed by similar processes in the south under yet more + dangerous circumstances. People of this State residing in that direction + have been compelled within the last three months, at the bidding of native + chiefs and at a moment’s notice, to leave their farms and homes, their + standing crops . . . all to be taken possession of by natives, but that + the Government is more powerless than ever to vindicate its assumed rights + or to resist the declension that is threatening its existence.” It then + recites how all the other colonies and communities of South Africa have + lost confidence in the State, how it is in a condition of hopeless + bankruptcy, and its commerce annihilated whilst the inhabitants are + divided into factions, and the Government has fallen into “helpless + paralysis.” How also the prospect of the election of a new President, + instead of being looked forward to with hope, would, in the opinion of all + parties, be the signal for civil war, anarchy, and bloodshed. How that + this state of things affords the very strongest temptation to the great + neighbouring native powers to attack the country, a temptation that they + were only too ready and anxious to yield to, and that the State was in far + too feeble a condition to repel such attacks, from which it had hitherto + only been saved by the repeated representations of the Government of + Natal. The next paragraphs I will quote as they stand, for they sum up the + reasons for the Annexation. + </p> + <p> + “That the Secocoeni war, which would have produced but little effect on a + healthy constitution, has not only proved suddenly fatal to the resources + and reputation of the Republic, but has shown itself to be a culminating + point in the history of South Africa, in that a Makatee or Basutu tribe, + unwarlike and of no account in Zulu estimation, successfully withstood the + strength of the State, and disclosed for the first time to the native + powers outside the Republic, from the Zambesi to the Cape, the great + change that had taken place in the relative strength of the white and + black races, that this disclosure at once shook the prestige of the white + man in South Africa, and placed every European community in peril, that + this common danger has caused universal anxiety, has given to all + concerned the right to investigate its cause, and to protect themselves + from its consequences, and has imposed the duty upon those who have the + power to shield enfeebled civilisation from the encroachments of barbarism + and inhumanity.” It proceeds to point out that the Transvaal will be the + first to suffer from the results of its own policy, and that it is for + every reason perfectly impossible for Her Majesty’s Government to stand by + and see a friendly white State ravaged, knowing that its own possessions + will be the next to suffer. That H. M. Government, being persuaded that + the only means to prevent such a catastrophe would be by the annexation of + the country, and, knowing that this was the wish of a large proportion of + the inhabitants of the Transvaal, the step must be taken. Next follows the + formal annexation. + </p> + <p> + Together with the proclamation, an address was issued by Sir T. Shepstone + to the burghers of the State, laying the facts before them in a friendly + manner, more suited to their mode of thought than it was possible to do in + a formal proclamation. This document, the issue of which was one of those + touches that ensured the success of the Annexation, was a powerful summing + up in colloquial language of the arguments used in the proclamation + strengthened by quotations from the speeches of the President. It ends + with these words: “It remains only for me to beg of you to consider and + weigh what I have said calmly and without undue prejudice. Let not mere + feeling or sentiment prevail over your judgment. Accept what Her Majesty’s + Government intends shall be, and what you will soon find from experience, + is a blessing not only to you and your children, but to the whole of South + Africa through you, and I believe that I speak these words to you as a + friend from my heart.” + </p> + <p> + Two other proclamations were also issued, one notifying the assumption of + the office of Administrator of the Government by Sir T. Shepstone, and the + other repealing the war-tax, which was doubtless an unequal and oppressive + impost. + </p> + <p> + I have in the preceding pages stated all the principal grounds of the + Annexation and briefly sketched the history of that event. In the next + chapter I propose to follow the fortunes of the Transvaal under British + Rule. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0004" id="link2HCH0004"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER IV + </h2> + <h3> + THE TRANSVAAL UNDER BRITISH RULE + </h3> + <p> + <i>Reception of the annexation—Major Clarke and the Volunteers— + Effect of the annexation on credit and commerce—Hoisting of the + Union Jack—Ratification of the annexation by Parliament—Messrs. + Kruger and Jorissen’s mission to England—Agitation against the + annexation in the Cape Colony—Sir T. Shepstone’s tour—Causes + of the growth of discontent among the Boers—Return of Messrs. + Jorissen and Kruger—The Government dispenses with their services—Despatch + of a second deputation to England—Outbreak of war with Secocoeni—Major + Clarke, R.A.—The Gunn of Gunn plot—Mission of Captain Paterson + and Mr. Sergeaunt to Matabeleland—Its melancholy termination—The + Isandhlwana disaster—Departure of Sir T. Shepstone for England—Another + Boer meeting—The Pretoria Horse—Advance of the Boers on + Pretoria—Arrival of Sir B. Frere at Pretoria and dispersion of the + Boers—Arrival of Sir Garnet Wolseley—His proclamation—The + Secocoeni expedition—Proceedings of the Boers—Mr. Pretorius—Mr. + Gladstone’s Mid-Lothian speeches, their effect—Sir G. Wolseley’s + speech at Pretoria, its good results—Influx of Englishmen and + cessation of agitation—Financial position of the country after three + years of British rule—Letter of the Boer leaders to Mr. Courtney.</i> + </p> + <p> + The news of the Annexation was received all over the country with a sigh + of relief, and in many parts of it with great rejoicings. At the Gold + Fields, for instance, special thanksgiving services were held, and “God + save the Queen” was sung in church. Nowhere was there the slightest + disturbance, but, on the contrary, addresses of congratulation and thanks + literally poured in by every mail, many of them signed by Boers who have + since been conspicuous for their bitter opposition to English rule. At + first, there was some doubt as to what would be the course taken under the + circumstances by the volunteers enlisted by the late Republic. Major + Clarke, R.A., was sent to convey the news, and to take command of them, + unaccompanied save by his Kafir servant. On arrival at the principal fort, + he at once ordered the Republican flag to be hauled down and the Union + Jack run up, and his orders were promptly obeyed. A few days afterwards + some members of the force thought better of it, and having made up their + minds to kill him, came to the tent where he was sitting to carry out + their purpose. On learning their kind intentions, Major Clarke fixed his + eye-glass in his eye, and, after steadily glaring at them through it for + some time, said, “You are all drunk, go back to your tents.” The + volunteers, quite overcome by his coolness and the fixity of his gaze, at + once slipped off, and there was no further trouble. About three weeks + after the Annexation, the 1-13th Regiment arrived at Pretoria, having been + very well received all along the road by the Boers, who came from miles + round to hear the band play. Its entry into Pretoria was quite a sight; + the whole population turned out to meet it; indeed the feeling of + rejoicing and relief was so profound that when the band began to play “God + save the Queen” some of the women burst into tears. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the effect of the Annexation on the country was perfectly + magical. Credit and commerce were at once restored; the railway bonds that + were down to nothing in Holland rose with one bound to par, and the value + of landed property nearly doubled. Indeed it would have been possible for + any one, knowing what was going to happen, to have realised large sums of + money by buying land in the beginning of 1877, and selling it shortly + after the Annexation. + </p> + <p> + On the 24th May, being Her Majesty’s birthday, all the native chiefs who + were anywhere within reach, were summoned to attend the first formal + hoisting of the English flag. The day was a general festival, and the + ceremony was attended by a large number of Boers and natives in addition + to all the English. At mid-day, amidst the cheers of the crowd, the salute + of artillery, and the strains of “God save the Queen,” the Union Jack was + run up a lofty flagstaff, and the Transvaal was formally announced to be + British soil. The flag was hoisted by Colonel Brooke, R.E., and the + present writer. Speaking for myself, I may say that it was one of the + proudest moments of my life. Could I have foreseen that I should live to + see that same flag, then hoisted with so much joyous ceremony, within a + few years shamefully and dishonourably hauled down and buried,[*] I think + it would have been the most miserable. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] The English flag was during the signing of the + Convention at Pretoria formally buried by a large crowd of + Englishmen and loyal natives. +</pre> + <p> + The Annexation was as well received in England as it was in the Transvaal. + Lord Carnarvon wrote to Sir T. Shepstone to convey “the Queen’s entire + approval of your conduct since you received Her Majesty’s commission, with + a renewal of my own thanks on behalf of the Government for the admirable + prudence and discretion with which you have discharged a great and + unwonted responsibility.” It was also accepted by Parliament with very few + dissentient voices, since it was not till afterwards, when the subject + became useful as an electioneering howl, that the Liberal party, headed by + our “powerful popular minister,” discovered the deep iniquity that had + been perpetrated in South Africa. So satisfied were the Transvaal Boers + with the change that Messrs. Kruger, Jorissen, and Bok, who formed the + deputation to proceed to England and present President Burgers’ formal + protest against the Annexation, found great difficulty in raising one-half + of the necessary expenses—something under one thousand pounds—towards + the cost of the undertaking. The thirst for independence cannot have been + very great when all the wealthy burghers in the Transvaal put together + would not subscribe a thousand pounds towards retaining it. Indeed, at + this time the members of the deputation themselves seem to have looked + upon their undertaking as being both doubtful and undesirable, since they + informed Sir T. Shepstone that they were going to Europe to discharge an + obligation which had been imposed upon them, and if the mission failed, + they would have done their duty. Mr. Kruger said that if they did fail, he + would be found to be as faithful a subject under the new form of + government as he had been under the old; and Dr. Jorissen admitted with + equal frankness that “the change was inevitable, and expressed his belief + that the cancellation of it would be calamitous.” + </p> + <p> + Whilst the Annexation was thus well received in the country immediately + interested, a lively agitation was commenced in the Western Province of + the Cape Colony, a thousand miles away, with a view of inducing the Home + Government to repudiate Sir T. Shepstone’s act. The reason of this + movement was that the Cape Dutch party, caring little or nothing for the + real interests of the Transvaal, did care a great deal about their scheme + to turn all the white communities of South Africa into a great Dutch + Republic, to which they thought the Annexation would be a deathblow. As I + have said elsewhere, it must be borne in mind that the strings of the + anti-annexation agitation have all along been pulled in the Western + Province, whilst the Transvaal Boers have played the parts of puppets. The + instruments used by the leaders of the movement in the Cape were, for the + most part, the discontented and unprincipled Hollander element, a + newspaper of an extremely abusive nature called the “Volkstem,” and + another in Natal known as the “Natal Witness,” lately edited by the + notorious Aylward, which has an almost equally unenviable reputation. + </p> + <p> + On the arrival of Messrs. Jorissen and Kruger in England, they were + received with great civility by Lord Carnarvon, who was, however, careful + to explain to them that the Annexation was irrevocable. In this decision + they cheerfully acquiesced, assuring his lordship of their determination + to do all they could to induce the Boers to accept the new state of + things, and expressing their desire to be allowed to serve under the new + Government. + </p> + <p> + Whilst these gentlemen were thus satisfactorily arranging matters with + Lord Carnarvon, Sir T. Shepstone was making a tour round the country which + resembled a triumphal progress more than anything else. He was everywhere + greeted with enthusiasm by all classes of the community, Boers, English, + and natives, and numerous addresses were presented to him couched in the + warmest language, not only by Englishmen but also by Boers. + </p> + <p> + It is very difficult to reconcile the enthusiasm of a great number of the + inhabitants of the Transvaal for English rule, and the quite acquiescence + of the remainder, at this time, with the decidedly antagonistic attitude + assumed later on. It appears to me, however, that there are several + reasons that go far towards accounting for it. The Transvaal, when we + annexed it, was in the position of a man with a knife at his throat, who + is suddenly rescued by some one stronger than he, on certain conditions + which at the time he gladly accepts, but afterwards, when the danger is + passed, wishes to repudiate. In the same way the inhabitants of the South + African Republic, were in the time of need very thankful for our aid, but + after a while, when the recollection of their difficulties had grown + faint, when their debts had been paid and their enemies defeated, they + began to think that they would like to get rid of us again, and start + fresh on their own account, with a clean sheet. What fostered agitation + more than anything else, however, was the perfect impunity in which it was + allowed to be carried on. Had only a little firmness and decision been + shown in the first instance there would have been no further trouble. We + might have been obliged to confiscate half-a-dozen farms, and perhaps + imprison as many free burghers for a few months, and there it would have + ended. Neither Boers or natives understand our namby-pamby way of playing + at government; they put it down to fear. What they want, and what they + expect, is to be governed with a just but a firm hand. Thus when the Boers + found that they could agitate with impunity, they naturally enough + continued to agitate. Anybody who knows them will understand that it was + very pleasant to them to find themselves in possession of that delightful + thing, a grievance, and, instead of stopping quietly at home on their + farms, to feel obliged to proceed, full of importance and long words, to a + distant meeting, there to spout and listen to the spouting of others. It + is so much easier to talk politics than to sow mealies. Some attribute the + discontent among the Boers to the postponement of the carrying out of the + annexation proclamation promises with reference to the free institutions + to be granted to the country, but in my opinion it had little or nothing + to do with it. The Boers never understood the question of responsible + government, and never wanted that institution; what they did want was to + be free of all English control, and this they said twenty times in the + most outspoken language. I think there is little doubt the causes I have + indicated are the real sources of the agitation, though there must be + added to them their detestation of our mode of dealing with natives, and + of being forced to pay taxes regularly, and also the ceaseless agitation + of the Cape wire-pullers, through their agents the Hollanders, and their + organs in the press. + </p> + <p> + On the return of Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen to the Transvaal, the latter + gentleman resumed his duties as Attorney-General, on which occasion, if I + remember aright, I myself had the honour of administering to him the oath + of allegiance to Her Majesty, that he afterwards kept so well. The former + reported the proceedings of the deputation to a Boer meeting, when he took + a very different tone to that in which he addressed Lord Carnarvon, + announcing that if there existed a majority of the people in favour of + independence, he still was Vice-President of the country. + </p> + <p> + Both these gentlemen remained for some time in the pay of the British + Government, Mr. Jorissen as Attorney-General, and Mr. Kruger as member of + the Executive Council. The Government, however, at length found it + desirable to dispense with their services, though on different grounds. + Mr. Jorissen had, like several other members of the Republican Government, + been a clergyman, and was quite unfit to hold the post of Attorney-General + in an important colony like the Transvaal, where legal questions were + constantly arising requiring all the attention of a trained mind; and + after he had on several occasions been publicly admonished from the bench, + the Government retired him on liberal terms. Needless to say, his + opposition to English rule then became very bitter. Mr. Kruger’s + appointment expired by law in November 1877, and the Government did not + think it advisable to re-employ him. The terms of his letter of dismissal + can be found on page 135 of Blue Book (c. 144), and involving as they do a + serious charge of misrepresentation in money matters, are not very + creditable to him. After this event he also pursued the cause of + independence with increased vigour. + </p> + <p> + During the last months of 1877 and the first part of 1878 agitation + against British rule went on unchecked, and at last grew to alarming + proportions, so much so that Sir T. Shepstone, on his return from the Zulu + border in March 1878, where he had been for some months discussing the + vexed and dangerous question of the boundary line with the Zulus, found it + necessary to issue a stringent proclamation warning the agitators that + their proceedings and meetings were illegal, and would be punished + according to law. This document which was at the time vulgarly known as + the “Hold-your-jaw” proclamation, not being followed by action, produced + but little effect. + </p> + <p> + On the 4th April 1878 another Boer meeting was convened, at which it was + decided to send a second deputation to England, to consist this time of + Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, with Mr. Bok as secretary. This deputation + proved as abortive as the first, Sir M. Hicks Beach assuring it, in a + letter dated 6th August 1878, that it is “impossible, for many reasons, . + . . . that the Queen’s sovereignty should now be withdrawn.” + </p> + <p> + Whilst the Government was thus hampered by internal disaffection, it had + also many other difficulties on its hands. First, there was the Zulu + boundary question, which was constantly developing new dangers to the + country. Indeed, it was impossible to say what might happen in that + direction from one week to another. Nor were its relations with Secocoeni + satisfactory. It will be remembered that just before the Annexation this + chief had expressed his earnest wish to become a British subject, and even + paid over part of the fine demanded from him by the Boer Government to the + Civil Commissioner, Major Clarke. In March 1878, however, his conduct + towards the Government underwent a sudden change, and he practically + declared war. It afterwards appeared, from Secocoeni’s own statement, that + he was instigated to this step by a Boer, Abel Erasmus by name—the + same man who was concerned in the atrocities in the first Secocoeni war—who + constantly encouraged him to continue the struggle. I do not propose to + minutely follow the course of this long war, which, commencing in the + beginning of 1878, did not come to an end till after the Zulu war: when + Sir Garnet Wolseley attacked Secocoeni’s stronghold with a large force of + troops, volunteers, and Swazi allies, and took it with great slaughter. + The losses on our side were not very heavy, so far as white men were + concerned, but the Swazies are reported to have lost 400 killed and 500 + wounded. + </p> + <p> + The struggle was, during the long period preceding the final attack, + carried on with great courage and ability by Major Clarke, R.A., C.M.G., + whose force, at the best of times, only consisted of 200 volunteers and + 100 Zulus. With this small body of men he contrived, however, to keep + Secocoeni in check, and to take some important strongholds. It was marked + also by some striking acts of individual bravery, of which one, performed + by Major Clarke himself, whose reputation for cool courage and presence of + mind in danger is unsurpassed in South Africa, is worthy of notice; and + which, had public attention been more concentrated on the Secocoeni war, + would doubtless have won him the Victoria Cross. On one occasion, on + visiting one of the outlying forts, he found that a party of hostile + natives, who were coming down to the fort on the previous day with a flag + of truce, had been accidentally fired upon, and had at once retreated. As + his system in native warfare was always to try and inspire his enemy with + perfect faith in the honour of Englishmen, and their contempt of all + tricks and treachery even towards a foe, he was very angry at this + occurrence, and at once, unarmed and unattended save by his native + servant, rode up into the mountains to the kraal from which the white flag + party had come on the previous day, and apologised to the Chief for what + had happened. When I consider how very anxious Secocoeni’s natives were to + kill or capture Clarke, whom they held in great dread, and how terrible + the end of so great a captain would in all probability have been had he + taken alive by these masters of refined torture, I confess that I think + this act of gentlemanly courage is one of the most astonishing things I + ever heard of. When he rode up those hills he must have known that he was + probably going to meet his death at the hands of justly incensed savages. + When Secocoeni heard of what Major Clarke had done he was so pleased that + he shortly afterwards released a volunteer whom he had taken prisoner, and + who would otherwise, in all probability, have been tortured to death. I + must add that Major Clarke himself never reported to or alluded to this + incident, but an account of it can be found in a despatch written by Sir + O. Lanyon to the Secretary of State, dated 2d February 1880. + </p> + <p> + Concurrently with, though entirely distinct from, the political agitation + that was being carried on among the Boers having for object the + restoration of independence, a private agitation was set on foot by a few + disaffected persons against Sir T. Shepstone, with the view of obtaining + his removal from office in favour of a certain Colonel Weatherley. The + details of this impudent plot are so interesting, and the plot itself so + typical of the state of affairs with which Sir T. Shepstone had to deal, + that I will give a short account of it. + </p> + <p> + After the Annexation had taken place, there were naturally enough a good + many individuals who found themselves disappointed in the results so far + as they personally were concerned; I mean that they did not get so much + out of it as they expected. Among these was a gentleman called Colonel + Weatherley, who had come to the Transvaal as manager of a gold-mining + company, but getting tired of that had taken a prominent part in the + Annexation, and who, being subsequently disappointed about an appointment, + became a bitter enemy of the Administrator. I may say at once that Colonel + Weatherley seems to me to have been throughout the dupe of the other + conspirators. + </p> + <p> + The next personage was a good-looking desperado, who called himself + Captain Gunn of Gunn, and who was locally somewhat irreverently known as + the very Gunn of very Gunn. This gentleman, whose former career had been + of a most remarkable order, was, on the annexation of the country, found + in the public prison charged with having committed various offences, but + on Colonel Weatherley’s interesting himself strongly on his behalf, he was + eventually released without trial. On his release, he requested the + Administrator to publish a Government notice declaring him innocent of the + charges brought against him. This Sir T. Shepstone declined to do, and so, + to use his own words, in a despatch to the High Commissioner on the + subject, Captain Gunn of Gunn at once became “what in this country is + called a patriot.” + </p> + <p> + The third person concerned was a lawyer, who had got into trouble on the + Diamond Fields, and who felt himself injured because the rules of the High + Court did not allow him to practise as an advocate. The quartet was made + up by Mr. Celliers, the editor of the patriotic organ, the “Volkstem,” + who, since he had lost the Government printing contract, found that no + language could be too strong to apply to the <i>personnel</i> of the + Government, more especially its head. Of course, there was a lady in it; + what plot would be complete without? She was Mrs. Weatherley, now, I + believe, Mrs. Gunn of Gunn. These gentlemen began operations by drawing up + a long petition to Sir Bartle Frere as High Commissioner, setting forth a + string of supposed grievances, and winding up with a request that the + Administrator might be “promoted to some other sphere of political + usefulness.” This memorial was forwarded by the “committee,” as they + called themselves, to various parts of the country for signature, but + without the slightest success, the fact of the matter being that it was + not the Annexor but the Annexation that the Boers objected to. + </p> + <p> + At this stage in the proceedings Colonel Weatherley went to try and + forward the good cause with Sir Bartle Frere at the Cape. His letters to + Mrs. Weatherley from thence, afterwards put into Court in the celebrated + divorce case, contained many interesting accounts of his attempts in that + direction. I do not think, however, that he was cognisant of what was + being concocted by his allies in Pretoria, but being a very vain, weak + man, was easily deceived by them. With all his faults he was a gentleman. + As soon as he was gone a second petition was drawn up by the “committee,” + showing “the advisability of immediately suspending our present + Administrator, and temporarily appointing and recommending for Her + Majesty’s royal and favourable consideration an English gentleman of high + integrity and honour, in whom the country at large has respect and + confidence.” + </p> + <p> + The English gentleman of high integrity and honour of course proves to be + Colonel Weatherley, whose appointment is, further on, “respectfully but + earnestly requested,” since he had “thoroughly gained the affections, + confidence, and respect of Boers, English, and other Europeans in this + country.” But whilst it is comparatively easy to write petitions, there is + sometimes a difficulty in getting people to sign them, as proved to be the + case with reference to the documents under consideration. When the + “committee” and the employes in the office of the “Volkstem” had affixed + their valuable signatures it was found to be impossible to induce anybody + else to follow their example. Now, a petition with some half dozen + signatures attached would not, it was obvious, carry much weight with the + Imperial Government, and no more could be obtained. + </p> + <p> + But really great minds rise superior to such difficulties, and so did the + “committee,” or some of them, or one of them. If they could not get + genuine signatures to their petitions, they could at any rate manufacture + them. This great idea once hit out, so vigorously was it prosecuted that + they, or some of them, or one of them, produced in a very little while no + less than 3883 signatures, of which sixteen were proved to be genuine, + five were doubtful, and all the rest fictitious. But the gentleman, + whoever he was, who was the working partner in the scheme—and I may + state, by way of parenthesis, that when Gunn of Gunn was subsequently + arrested, petitions in process of signature were found under the mattress + of his bed—calculated without his host. He either did not know, or + had forgotten, that on receipt of such documents by a superior officer, + they are at once sent to the officer accused to report upon. This course + was followed in the present case, and the petitions were discovered to be + gross impostures. The ingenuity exercised by their author or authors was + really very remarkable, for it must be remembered that not one of the + signatures was forged; they were all invented, and had, of course, to be + written in a great variety of hands. The plan generally pursued was to put + down the names of people living in the country, with slight variations. + Thus “De <i>V</i>illiers” became “De <i>W</i>illiers,” and “Van Z<i>y</i>l” + “Van Z<i>u</i>l.” I remember that my own name appeared on one of the + petitions with some slight alteration. Some of the names were evidently + meant to be facetious. Thus there was a “Jan Verneuker,” which means “John + the Cheat.” + </p> + <p> + Of the persons directly or indirectly concerned in this rascally plot, the + unfortunate Colonel Weatherly subsequently apologised to Sir T. Shepstone + for his share in the agitation, and shortly afterwards died fighting + bravely on Kambula. Captain Gunn of Gunn and Mrs. Weatherley, after having + given rise to the most remarkable divorce case I ever heard,—it took + fourteen days to try—were, on the death of Colonel Weatherley, + united in the bonds of holy matrimony, and are, I believe, still in + Pretoria. The lawyer vanished I know not where, whilst Mr. Celliers still + continues to edit that admirably conducted journal the “Volkstem;” nor, if + I may judge from the report of a speech made by him recently at a Boer + festival, which, by the way, was graced by the presence of our + representative, Mr. Hudson, the British Resident: has his right hand + forgotten its cunning, or rather his tongue lost the use of those peculiar + and recherche epithets that used to adorn the columns of the “Volkstem.” I + see that he, on this occasion, denounced the English element as being + “poisonous and dangerous” to a State, and stated, amidst loud cheers, that + “he despised” it. Mr. Cellier’s lines have fallen in pleasant places; in + any other country he would long ago have fallen a victim to the stern laws + of libel. I recommend him to the notice of enterprising Irish newspapers. + Such is the freshness and vigour of his style that I am confident he would + make the fortune of any Hibernian journal. + </p> + <p> + Some little time after the Gunn of Gunn frauds a very sad incident + happened in connection with the Government of the Transvaal. Shortly after + the Annexation, the Home Government sent out Mr. Sergeaunt, C.M.G., one of + the Crown Agents for the Colonies, to report on the financial condition of + the country. He was accompanied, in an unofficial capacity, amongst other + gentlemen, by Captain Patterson and his son, Mr. J Sergeaunt; and when he + returned to England, these two gentlemen remained behind to go on a + shooting expedition. About this time Sir Bartle Frere was anxious to send + a friendly mission to Lo Bengula, king of the Matabele, a branch of the + Zulu tribe, living up towards the Zambesi. This chief had been making + himself unpleasant by causing traders to be robbed, and it was thought + desirable to establish friendly relations with him, so it was suggested to + Captain Patterson and Mr. Sergeaunt that they should combine business with + pleasure, and go on a mission to Lo Bengula, an offer which they accepted, + and shortly afterwards started for Matabeleland with an interpreter and a + few servants. They reached their destination in safety; and having + concluded their business with the king, started on a visit to the Zambesi + Falls on foot, leaving the interpreter with the wagon. The falls were + about twelve days’ walk from the king’s kraal, and they were accompanied + thither by young Mr. Thomas, the son of the local missionary, two Kafir + servants, and twenty native bearers supplied by Lo Bengula. The next thing + that was heard of them was that they had all died through drinking + poisoned water, full details of the manner of their deaths being sent down + by Lo Bengula. + </p> + <p> + In the first shock and confusion of such news it was not very closely + examined, at any rate by the friends of the dead men, but, on reflection, + there were several things about it that appeared strange. For instance, it + was well known that Captain Patterson had a habit, for which indeed, we + had often laughed at him, of, however thirsty he might be, always having + his water boiled when he was travelling, in order to destroy impurities: + and it seemed odd, that he should on this one occasion, have neglected the + precaution. Also, it was curious that the majority of Lo Bengula’s bearers + appeared to have escaped, whereas all the others were, without exception, + killed; nor even in that district is it usual to find water so bad that it + will kill with the rapidity it had been supposed to do in this case, + unless indeed it had been designedly poisoned. These doubts of the + poisoning-by-water-story resolved themselves into certainty when the + waggon returned in charge of the interpreter, when, by putting two and two + together, we were able to piece out the real history of the diabolical + murder of our poor friends with considerable accuracy, a story which shows + what bloodthirsty wickedness a savage is capable of when he fancies his + interests are threatened. + </p> + <p> + It appeared that, when Captain Patterson first interviewed Lo Bengula, he + was not at all well received by him. I must, by way of explanation, state + that there exists a Pretender to his throne, Kruman by name, who, as far + as I can make out, is the real heir to the kingdom. This man had, for some + cause or other, fled the country, and for a time acted as gardener to Sir + T. Shepstone in Natal. At the date of Messrs. Patterson and Sergeaunt’s + mission to Matabeleland he was living, I believe, in the Transvaal. + Captain Patterson, on finding himself so ill received by the king, and not + being sufficiently acquainted with the character of savage chiefs, most + unfortunately, either by accident or design, dropped some hint in the + course of conversation about this Kruman. From that moment, Lo Bengula’s + conduct towards the mission entirely changed, and, dropping his former + tone, he became profusely civil; and from that moment, too, he doubtless + determined to kill them, probably fearing that they might forward some + scheme to oust him and place Kruman, on whose claim a large portion of his + people looked favourably, on the throne. + </p> + <p> + When their business was done, and Captain Patterson told the king that + they were anxious, before returning, to visit the Zambesi Falls, he + readily fell in with their wish, but, in the first instance, refused + permission to young Thomas, the son of the missionary, to accompany them, + only allowing him to do so on the urgent representation of Captain + Patterson. The reason for this was, no doubt, that he had kindly feelings + towards the lad, and did not wish to include him in the slaughter. + </p> + <p> + Captain Patterson was a man of extremely methodical habits, and, amongst + other things, was in the habit of making notes of all that he did. His + note-book had been taken off his body, and sent down to Pretoria with the + other things. In it we found entries of his preparations for the trip, + including the number and names of the bearers provided by Lo Bengula. We + also found the chronicle of the first three days’ journey, and that of the + morning of the fourth day, but there the record stopped. The last entry + was probably made a few minutes before he was killed; and it is to be + observed that there was no entry of the party having been for several days + without water, as stated by the messengers, and then finding the poisoned + water. + </p> + <p> + This evidence by itself would not have amounted to much, but now comes the + curious part of the story, showing the truth of the old adage, “Murder + will out.” It appears that when the waggon was coming down to Pretoria in + charge of the interpreter, it was outspanned one day outside the borders + of Lo Bengula’s country, when some Kafirs—Bechuanas, I think—came + up, asked for some tobacco, and fell into conversation with the driver, + remarking that he had come up with a full waggon, and now he went down + with an empty one. The driver replied by lamenting the death by poisoned + water of his masters, whereupon one of the Kafirs told him the following + story:—He said that a brother of his was out hunting, a little while + back, in the desert for ostriches, with a party of other Kafirs, when + hearing shots fired some way off, they made for the spot, thinking that + white men were out shooting, and that they would be able to beg meat. On + reaching the spot, which was by a pool of water, they saw the bodies of + three white men lying on the ground, and also those of a Hottentot and a + Kafir, surrounded by an armed party of Kafirs. They at once asked the + Kafirs what they had been doing killing the white men, and were told to be + still, for it was by “order of the king.” They then learned the whole + story. It appeared that the white men had made a mid-day halt by the + water, when one of the bearers, who had gone to the edge of the pool, + suddenly shouted to them to come and look at a great snake in the water. + Captain Patterson ran up, and, as he leaned over the edge, was instantly + killed by a blow with an axe; the others were then shot and assegaied. The + Kafir further described the clothes that his brother had seen on the + bodies, and also some articles that had been given to his party by the + murderers, that left little doubt as to the veracity of his story. And so + ended the mission to Matabeleland. + </p> + <p> + No public notice was taken of the matter, for the obvious reason that it + was impossible to get at Lo Bengula to punish him; nor would it have been + easy to come by legal evidence to disprove the ingenious story of the + poisoned water, since anybody trying to reach the spot of the massacre + would probably fall a victim to some similar accident before he got back + again. It is devoutly to be hoped that the punishment he deserves will + sooner or later overtake the author of this devilish and wholesale murder. + </p> + <p> + The beginning of 1879 was signalised by the commencement of operations in + Zululand and by the news of the terrible disaster at Isandhlwana, which + fell on Pretoria like a thunderclap. It was not, however, any surprise to + those who were acquainted with Zulu tactics and with the plan of attack + adopted by the English commanders. In fact, I know that one solemn warning + of what would certainly happen to him, if he persisted in his plan of + advance, was addressed to Lord Chelmsford, through the officer in command + at Pretoria, by a gentlemen whose position and long experience of the + Zulus and their mode of attack should have carried some weight. If it ever + reached him, he took, to the best of my recollection, no notice of it + whatever. + </p> + <p> + But though some such disaster was daily expected by a few, the majority of + both soldiers and civilians never dreamed of anything of the sort, the + general idea being that the conquest of Cetywayo was a very easy + undertaking: and the shock produced by the news of Isandhlwana was + proportionally great, especially as it reached Pretoria in a much + exaggerated form. I shall never forget the appearance of the town that + morning; business was entirely suspended, and the streets were filled with + knots of men talking, with scared faces, as well they might: for there was + scarcely anybody but had lost a friend, and many thought that their sons + or brothers were among the dead on that bloody field. Among others, Sir T. + Shepstone lost one son, and thought for some time that he had lost three. + </p> + <p> + Shortly after this event Sir T. Shepstone went to England to confer with + the Secretary of State on various matters connected with the Transvaal, + carrying with him the affection and respect of all who knew him, not + excepting the majority of the malcontent Boers. He was succeeded by + Colonel, now Sir Owen Lanyon, who was appointed to administer the + Government during the absence of Sir T. Shepstone. + </p> + <p> + By the Boers, however, the news of our disaster was received with great + and unconcealed rejoicing, or at least by the irreconcilable portion of + that people. England’s necessity was their opportunity, and one of which + they certainly meant to avail themselves. Accordingly, notices were sent + out summoning the burghers of the Transvaal to attend a mass meeting on + the 18th March, at a place about thirty miles from Pretoria. Emissaries + were also sent to native chiefs, to excite them to follow Cetywayo’s + example, and massacre all the English within reach, of whom a man called + Solomon Prinsloo was one of the most active. The natives, however, + notwithstanding the threats used towards them, one and all declined the + invitation. + </p> + <p> + It must not be supposed that all the Boers who attended these meetings did + so of their own free will; on the contrary, a very large number came under + compulsion, since they found that the English authorities were powerless + to give them protection. The recalcitrants were threatened with all sorts + of pains and penalties if they did not attend, a favourite menace being + that they should be made “biltong” of when the country was given back + (i.e., be cut into strips and hung in the sun to dry). Few, luckily for + themselves, were brave enough to tempt fortune by refusing to come, but + those who did, have had to leave the country since the war. Whatever were + the means employed, the result was an armed meeting of about 3000 Boers, + who evidently meant mischief. + </p> + <p> + Just about this time a corps had been raised in Pretoria, composed, for + the most part, of gentlemen, and known as the Pretoria Horse; for the + purpose of proceeding to the Zulu border, where cavalry, especially + cavalry acquainted with the country, was earnestly needed. In the + emergency of the times officials were allowed to join this corps, a + permission of which I availed myself, and was elected one of the + lieutenants.[*] The corps was not, after all, allowed to go to Zululand on + account of the threatening aspect adopted by the Boers, against whom it + was retained for service. In my capacity as an officer of the corps I was + sent out with a small body of picked men, all good riders and light + weights, to keep up a constant communication between the Boer camp and the + Administrator, and found the work both interesting and exciting. My + head-quarters were at an inn about twenty-five miles from Pretoria, to + which our agents in the meeting used to come every evening and report how + matters were proceeding, whereupon, if the road was clear, I despatched a + letter to head-quarters; or, if I feared that the messengers would be + caught <i>en route</i> by Boer patrols and searched, I substituted + different coloured ribbons according to what I wished to convey. There was + a relief hidden in the trees or rocks every six miles, all day and most of + the night, whose business it was to take the despatch or ribbon and gallop + on with it to the next station, in which way we used to get the despatches + into town in about an hour and a quarter. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] It is customary in South African volunteer forces to + allow the members to elect their own officers, provided the + men elected are such as the Government approves. This is + done, so that the corps may not afterwards be able to + declare that they have no confidence in their officers in + action, or to grumble at their treatment by them. +</pre> + <p> + On one or two occasions the Boers came to the inn and threatened to shoot + us, but as our orders were to do nothing unless our lives were actually in + danger, we took no notice. The officer who came out to relieve me had not, + however, been there more than a day or two before he and all his troopers, + were hunted back into Pretoria by a large mob of armed Boers whom they + only escaped by very hard riding. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the Boers were by degrees drawing nearer and nearer to the town, + till at last they pitched their laagers within six miles, and practically + besieged it. All business was stopped, the houses were loopholed and + fortified, and advantageous positions were occupied by the military and + the various volunteer corps. The building, normally in the occupation of + the Government mules, fell to the lot of the Pretoria Horse, and, though + it was undoubtedly a post of honour, I honestly declare that I have no + wish to sleep for another month in a mule stable that has not been cleaned + out for several years. However, by sinking a well, and erecting bastions + and a staging for sharp-shooters, we converted it into an excellent + fortress, though it would not have been of much use against artillery. Our + patrols used to be out all night, since we chiefly feared a night attack, + and generally every preparation was made to resist the onset that was + hourly expected, and I believe that it was that state of preparedness that + alone prevented it. + </p> + <p> + Whilst this meeting was going on, and when matters had come to a point + that seemed to render war inevitable, Sir B. Frere arrived at Pretoria and + had several interviews with the Boer leaders, at which they persisted in + demanding their independence, and nothing short of it. After a great deal + of talk the meeting finally broke up without any actual appeal to arms, + though it had, during its continuance, assumed many of the rights of + government, such as stopping post-carts and individuals, and sending armed + patrols about the country. The principal reason of its break-up was that + the Zulu war was now drawing to a close, and the leaders saw that there + would soon be plenty of troops available to suppress any attempt at + revolt, but they also saw to what lengths they could go with impunity. + They had for a period of nearly two months been allowed to throw the whole + country into confusion, to openly violate the laws, and to intimidate and + threaten Her Majesty’s loyal subjects with war and death. The lesson was + not lost on them; but they postponed action till a more favourable + opportunity offered. + </p> + <p> + Sir Bartle Frere before his departure took an opportunity at a public + dinner given him at Potchefstroom of assuring the loyal inhabitants of the + country that the Transvaal would never be given back. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile a new Pharaoh had arisen in Egypt, in the shape of Sir G. + Wolseley, and on the 29th June 1879 we find him communicating the fact to + Sir O. Lanyon in very plain language, telling him that he disapproved of + his course of action with regard to Secocoeni, and that “in future you + will please take orders only from me.” + </p> + <p> + As soon as Sir Garnet had completed his arrangements for the pacification + of Zululand, he proceeded to Pretoria, and having caused himself to be + sworn in as Governor, set vigorously to work. I must say that in his + dealings with the Transvaal he showed great judgment and a keen + appreciation of what the country needed, namely, strong government; the + fact of the matter being, I suppose, that being very popular with the Home + authorities he felt that he could more or less command their support in + what he did, a satisfaction not given to most governors, who never know + but that they may be thrown overboard in emergency, in lighten the ship. + </p> + <p> + One of his first acts was to issue a proclamation, stating that “Whereas + it appears that, notwithstanding repeated assurances of the contrary given + by Her Majesty’s representatives in this territory, uncertainty or + misapprehension exists amongst some of Her Majesty’s subjects as to the + intention of Her Majesty’s Government regarding the maintenance of British + rule and sovereignty over the territory of the Transvaal: and whereas it + is expedient that all grounds for such uncertainty or misapprehension + should be removed once and for all beyond doubt or question: now therefore + I do hereby proclaim and make known, in the name and on behalf of Her + Majesty the Queen, that it is the will and determination of Her Majesty’s + Government that this Transvaal territory shall be, <i>and shall continue + to be for ever</i>, an integral portion of Her Majesty’s dominions in + South Africa.” + </p> + <p> + Alas! Sir G. Wolseley’s estimate of the value of a solemn pledge thus made + in the name of Her Majesty, whose word has hitherto been held to be + sacred, differed greatly to that of Mr. Gladstone and his Government. + </p> + <p> + Sir Garnet Wolseley’s operations against Secocoeni proved eminently + successful, and were the best arranged bit of native warfare that I have + yet heard of in South Africa. One blow was struck, and only one, but that + was crushing. Of course the secret of his success lay in the fact that he + had an abundance of force; but it was not ensured by that alone, good + management being very requisite in an affair of the sort, especially where + native allies have to be dealt with. The cost of the expedition, not + counting other Secocoeni war expenditure, amounted to over 300,000 pounds, + all of which is now lost to this country. + </p> + <p> + Another step in the right direction undertaken by Sir Garnet was the + establishment of an Executive Council and also of a Legislative Council, + for the establishment of which Letters Patent were sent from Downing + Street in November 1880. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the Boers, paying no attention to the latter proclamation, for + they guessed that it, like other proclamations in the Transvaal, would be + a mere <i>brutum fulmen</i>, had assembled for another mass meeting, at + which they went forward a step, and declared a Government which was to + treat with the English authorities. They had now learnt that they could do + what they liked with perfect impunity, provided they did not take the + extreme course of massacring the English. They had yet to learn that they + might even do that. At the termination of this meeting, a vote of thanks + was passed to “Mr. Leonard Courtney of London, and other members of the + British Parliament.” It was wise of the Boer leaders to cultivate Mr. + Courtney of London. As a result of this meeting, Pretorius, one of the + principal leaders, and Bok, the secretary, were arrested on a charge of + treason, and underwent a preliminary examination; but as the Secretary of + State, Sir M. Hicks Beach, looked rather timidly on the proceeding, and + the local authorities were doubtful of securing a verdict, the prosecution + was abandoned, and necessarily did more harm than good, being looked upon + as another proof of the impotence of the Government. + </p> + <p> + Shortly afterwards, Sir G. Wolseley changed his tactics, and, instead of + attempting to imprison Pretorius, offered him a seat on the Executive + Council, with a salary attached. This was a much more sensible way of + dealing with him, and he at once rose to the bait, stating his willingness + to join the Government after a while, but that he could not publicly do so + at the moment lest he should lose his influence with those who were to be + brought round through him. It does not, however, appear that Mr. Pretorius + ever did actually join the Executive, probably because he found public + opinion too strong to allow him to do so. + </p> + <p> + In December 1879, a new light broke upon the Boers, for, in the previous + month Mr. Gladstone had been delivering his noted attack on the policy of + the Conservative Government. Those Mid-Lothian speeches did harm, it is + said, in many parts of the world; but I venture to think that they have + proved more mischievous in South Africa than anywhere else; at any rate, + they have borne fruit sooner. It is not to be supposed that Mr. Gladstone + really cared anything about the Transvaal or its independence when he was + denouncing the hideous outrage that had been perpetrated by the + Conservative Government in annexing it. On the contrary, as he acquiesced + in the Annexation at the time (when Lord Kimberley stated that it was + evidently unavoidable), and declined to rescind it when he came into + power, it is to be supposed that he really approved of it, or at the least + looked on it as a necessary evil. However this may be, any stick will do + to beat a dog with, and the Transvaal was a convenient point on which to + attack the Government. He probably neither knew nor cared what effect his + reckless words might have on ignorant Boers thousands of miles away; and + yet, humanly speaking, many a man would have been alive and strong to-day, + whose bones now whiten the African Veldt, had those words never been + spoken. Then, for the first time, the Boers learnt that, if they played + their cards properly and put on sufficient pressure, they would, in the + event of the Liberal party coming to office, have little difficulty in + coercing it as they wished. + </p> + <p> + There was a fair chance at the time of the utterance of the Mid-Lothian + speeches that the agitation would, by degrees, die away; Sir G. Wolseley + had succeeded in winning over Pretorius, and the Boers in general were + sick of mass meetings. Indeed, a memorial was addressed to Sir G. Wolseley + by a number of Boers in the Potchefstroom district, protesting against the + maintenance of the movement against Her Majesty’s rule, which, considering + the great amount of intimidation exercised by the malcontents, may be + looked upon as a favourable sign. + </p> + <p> + But when it slowly came to be understood among the Boers that a great + English Minister had openly espoused their cause, and that he would + perhaps soon be all-powerful, the moral gain to them was incalculable. + They could now go to the doubting ones and say,—we must be right + about the matter, because, putting our own feelings out of the question, + the great Gladstone says we are. We find the committee of the Boer + malcontents, at their meeting in March 1880, reading a letter to Mr. + Gladstone, “in which he was thanked for the great sympathy shown to their + fate,” and a hope expressed that, if he succeeded in getting power, he + would not forget them. In fact, a charming unanimity prevailed between our + great Minister and the Boer rebels, for their interests were the same, the + overthrow of the Conservative Government. If, however, every leader of the + Opposition were to intrigue, or countenance intrigues with those who are + seeking to undermine the authority of Her Majesty, whether they be Boers + or Irishmen, in order to help himself to power, the country might suffer + in the long run. + </p> + <p> + But whatever feelings may have prompted Her Majesty’s opposition, the Home + Government, and their agent, Sir Garnet Wolseley, blew no uncertain blast, + if we may judge from their words and actions. Thus we find Sir Garnet + speaking as follows at a banquet given in his honour at Pretoria:— + </p> + <p> + “I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating in + this way, for a change of Government in England may give them again the + old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance of English + politics than such an idea; I tell you that there is no Government, Whig + or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical, <i>who would dare under any + circumstances to give back this country</i>. They would not dare, because + the English people would not allow them. To give back the country, what + would it mean? To give it back to external danger, to the danger of attack + by hostile tribes on its frontier, and who, if the English Government were + removed for one day, would make themselves felt the next. Not an official + of Government paid for months; it would mean national bankruptcy. No taxes + being paid, the same thing recurring again which had existed before would + mean danger without, anarchy and civil war within, every possible misery; + the strangulation of trade, and the destruction of property.” + </p> + <p> + It is very amusing to read this passage by the light of after events. On + other occasions Sir Garnet Wolseley will probably not be quite so + confident as to the future when it is to be controlled by a Radical + Government. + </p> + <p> + This explicit and straightforward statement of Sir Garnet’s produced a + great effect on the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal, which was + heightened by the publication of the following telegram from the Secretary + of State:—“You may fully confirm explicit statements made from the + time to time as to inability of Her Majesty’s Government to entertain <i>any + proposal</i> for withdrawal of the Queen’s sovereignty.” + </p> + <p> + On the faith of these declarations many Englishmen migrated to the + Transvaal and settled there, whilst those who were in the country now + invested all their means, being confident that they would not lose their + property through its being returned to the Boers. The excitement produced + by Mr. Gladstone’s speeches began to quiet down and be forgotten for the + time, arrear taxes were paid up by the malcontents, and generally the + aspect of affairs was such, in Sir Garnet Wolseley’s opinion, as justified + him in writing, in April 1880, to the Secretary of State expressing his + belief that the agitation was dying out.[*] Indeed, so sanguine was he on + that point that he is reported to have advised the withdrawal of the + cavalry regiment stationed in the territory, a piece of economy that was + one of the immediate causes of the revolt. + </p> + <p> + The reader will remember the financial condition of the country at the + time of the Annexation, which was one of utter bankruptcy. After three + years of British rule, however, we find, notwithstanding the constant + agitation that had been kept up, that the total revenue receipts for the + first quarter of 1879 and 1880 amounted to 22,773 pounds, and 44,982 + pounds respectively. That is to say, that, during the last year of British + rule, the revenue of the country more than doubled itself, and amounted to + about 160,000 pounds a-year, taking the quarterly returns at the low + average of 40,000 pounds. It must, however, be remembered that this sum + would have been very largely increased in subsequent years, most probably + doubled. At any rate the revenue would have been amply sufficient to make + the province one of the most prosperous in South Africa, and to have + enabled it to shortly repay all debts due to the British Government, and + further to provide for its own defence. Trade also, which in April 1877, + was completely paralysed, had increased enormously. So early as the middle + of 1879, the Committee of the Transvaal Chamber of Commerce pointed out, + in a resolution adopted by them, that the trade of the country had in two + years, risen from almost nothing to the considerable sum of two millions + sterling per annum, and that it was entirely in the hands of those + favourable to British rule. They also pointed out that more than half the + land tax was paid by Englishmen, or other Europeans adverse to Boer + Government. Land, too, had risen greatly in value, of which I can give the + following instance. About a year after the Annexation I, together with a + friend, bought a little property on the outskirts of Pretoria, which, with + a cottage we put up on it, cost some 300 pounds. Just before the rebellion + we fortunately determined to sell it, and had no difficulty in getting 650 + pounds for it. I do not believe that it would now fetch a fifty pound + note. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] In Blue Book No. (C. 2866) of September 1881, which is + descriptive of various events connected with the Boer + rising, is published, as an appendix, a despatch from Sir + Garnet Wolseley, dated October 1879. This despatch declares + the writer’s opinion that the Boer discontent is on the + increase. Its publication thus—<i>apropos des bottes</i>—nearly + two years after it was written, is rather an amusing + incident. It certainly gives one the idea that Sir Garnet + Wolseley, fearing that his reputation for infallibility + might be attacked by scoffers for not having foreseen the + Boer rebellion, and perhaps uneasily conscious of other + despatches very different in tenor and subsequent in date: + and, mindful of the withdrawal of the cavalry regiment by + his advice, had caused it to be tacked on to the Blue Book + as a documentary “I told you so,” and a proof that, whoever + else was blinded, he foresaw. It contains, however, the + following remarkable passage:—“Even were it not impossible, + for many other reasons, to contemplate a withdrawal of our + authority from the Transvaal, the position of insecurity in + which we should leave this loyal and important section of + the community (the English inhabitants), by exposing them to + the certain retaliation of the Boers, would constitute, in + my opinion, an insuperable obstacle to retrocession. + Subjected to the same danger, moreover, would be those of + the Boers, whose superior intelligence and courageous + character has rendered them loyal to our Government.” + + As the Government took the trouble to publish the despatch, + it is a pity that they did not think fit to pay more + attention to its contents. +</pre> + <p> + I cannot conclude this chapter better than by drawing attention to a + charming specimen of the correspondence between the Boer leaders and their + friend Mr. Courtney. The letter in question, which is dated 26th June, + purports to be written by Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, but it is obvious + that it owes its origin to some member or members of the Dutch party at + the Cape, from whence, indeed, it is written. This is rendered evident + both by its general style, and also by the use of such terms as “Satrap,” + and by references to Napoleon III. and Cayenne, about whom Messrs. Kruger + and Joubert know no more than they do of Peru and the Incas. + </p> + <p> + After alluding to former letters, the writers blow a blast of triumph over + the downfall of the Conservative Government, and then make a savage attack + on the reputation of Sir Bartle Frere. The “stubborn Satrap” is throughout + described as a liar, and every bad motive imputed to him. Really, the fact + that Mr. Courtney should encourage such epistles as this is enough to give + colour to the boast made by some of the leading Boers, after the war, that + they had been encouraged to rebel by a member of the British Government. + </p> + <p> + At the end of this letter, and on the same page of the Blue Book, is + printed the telegram recalling Sir Bartle Frere, dated 1st August 1880. It + really reads as though the second document was consequent to the first. + One thing is very clear, the feelings of Her Majesty’s new Government + towards Sir Bartle Frere differed only in the method of their expression, + from those set forth by the Boer leaders in their letter to Mr. Courtney, + whilst their object, namely, to be rid of him, was undoubtedly identical + with that of the Dutch party in South Africa. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0005" id="link2HCH0005"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER V + </h2> + <h3> + THE BOER REBELLION + </h3> + <p> + <i>Accession of Mr. Gladstone to power—His letters to the Boer + leaders and the loyals—His refusal to rescind the annexation—The + Boers encouraged by prominent members of the Radical party—The + Bezuidenhout incident—Despatch of troops to Potchefstroom—Mass + meeting of the 8th December 1880—Appointment of the Triumvirate and + declaration of the republic—Despatch of Boer proclamation to Sir O. + Lanyon—His reply—Outbreak of hostilities at Potchefstroom—Defence + of the court-house by Major Clarke—The massacre of the detachment of + the 94th under Colonel Anstruther—Dr. Ward—The Boer rejoicings—The + Transvaal placed under martial law—Abandonment of their homes by the + people of Pretoria—Sir Owen Lanyon’s admirable defence organisation—Second + proclamation issued by the Boers—Its complete falsehood—Life + at Pretoria during the siege—Murders of natives by the Boers—Loyal + conduct of the native chiefs—Difficulty of preventing them from + attacking the Boers—Occupation of Lang’s Nek by the Boers—Sir + George Colley’s departure to Newcastle—The condition of that town—The + attack on Lang’s Nek—Its desperate nature—Effect of victory on + the Boers—The battle at the Ingogo—Our defeat—Sufferings + of the wounded—Major Essex—Advance of the Boers into Natal—Constant + alarms—Expected attack on Newcastle—Its unorganised and + indefensible condition—Arrival of the reinforcements and retreat of + the Boers to the Nek—Despatch of General Wood to bring up more + reinforcements—Majuba Hill—Our disaster, and death of Sir + George Colley—Cause of our defeat—A Boer version of the + disaster—Sir George Colley’s tactics.</i> + </p> + <p> + When the Liberal ministry became an accomplished fact instead of a happy + possibility, Mr. Gladstone did not find it convenient to adopt the line of + policy with reference to the Transvaal, that might have been expected from + his utterances whilst leader of the Opposition. On the contrary, he + declared in Parliament that the Annexation could not be cancelled, and on + the 8th June 1880 we find him, in answer to a Boer petition, written with + the object of inducing him to act up to the spirit of his words and + rescind the Annexation, writing thus:—“Looking to all circumstances, + both of the Transvaal and the rest of South Africa, and to the necessity + of preventing a renewal of disorders which might lead to disastrous + consequences, not only to the Transvaal, but to the whole of South Africa, + our judgment is, that the <i>Queen cannot be advised to relinquish her + sovereignty over the Transvaal;</i> but, consistently with the maintenance + of that sovereignty, we desire that the white inhabitants of the Transvaal + should, without prejudice to the rest of the population, enjoy the fullest + liberty to manage their local affairs. We believe that this liberty may be + most easily and promptly conceded to the Transvaal as a member of a South + African confederation.” + </p> + <p> + Unless words have lost their signification, this passage certainly means + that the Transvaal must remain a British colony, but that England will be + prepared to grant it responsible government, more especially if it will + consent to a confederation scheme. Mr. Gladstone, however, in a + communication dated 1st June 1881, and addressed to the unfortunate + Transvaal loyals, for whom he expresses “respect and sympathy,” interprets + his meaning thus: “It is stated, as I observe, that a promise was given to + me that the Transvaal should never be given back. There is no mention of + the terms or date of this promise. If the reference be to my letter, of + 8th June 1880, to Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, I do not think the language + of that letter justifies the description given. Nor am I sure in what + manner or to what degree the fullest liberty to manage their local + affairs, which I then said Her Majesty’s Government desired to confer on + the white population of the Transvaal, differs from the settlement now + about being made in its bearing on the interests of those whom your + Committee represents.” + </p> + <p> + Such twisting of the meaning of words would, in a private person, be + called dishonest. It will also occur to most people that Mr. Gladstone + might have spared the deeply wronged and loyal subjects of Her Majesty + whom he was addressing, the taunt he levels at them in the second + paragraph I have quoted. If asked, he would no doubt say that he had not + the slightest intention of laughing at them; but when he deliberately + tells them that it makes no difference to their interests whether they + remain Her Majesty’s subjects under a responsible Government, or become + the servants of men who were but lately in arms against them and Her + Majesty’s authority, he is either mocking them, or offering an insult to + their understandings. + </p> + <p> + By way of comment on his remarks, I may add that he had, in a letter + replying to a petition from these same loyal inhabitants, addressed to him + in May 1880, informed them that he had already told the Boer + representatives that the Annexation could not be rescinded. Although Mr. + Gladstone is undoubtedly the greatest living master of the art of getting + two distinct and opposite sets of meanings out of one set of words, it + would try even his ingenuity to make out, to the satisfaction of an + impartial mind, that he never gave any pledge about the retention of the + Transvaal. + </p> + <p> + Indeed, it is from other considerations clear that he had no intention of + giving up the country to the Boers, whose cause he appears to have taken + up solely for electioneering purposes. Had he meant to do so, he would + have carried out his intention on succeeding to office, and, indeed, as + things have turned out, it is deeply to be regretted that he did not; for, + bad as such a step would have been, it would at any rate have had a better + appearance than our ultimate surrender after three defeats. It would also + have then been possible to secure the repayment of some of the money owing + to this country, and to provide for the proper treatment of the natives, + and the compensation of the loyal inhabitants who could no longer live + there: since it must naturally have been easier to make terms with the + Boers before they had defeated our troops. + </p> + <p> + On the other hand, we should have missed the grandest and most + soul-stirring display of radical theories, practically applied, that has + as yet lightened the darkness of this country. But although Mr. Gladstone + gave his official decision against returning the country, there seems to + be little doubt that communications on the subject were kept up with the + Boer leaders through some prominent members of the Radical party, whom, it + was said, went so far as to urge the Boers to take up arms against us. + When Mr. White came to this country on behalf of the loyalists, after the + surrender, he stated that this was so at a public meeting, and said + further that he had in his possession proofs of his statements. He even + went so far as to name the gentleman he accused, and to challenge him to + deny it. I have not been able to gather that Mr. White’s statements were + contradicted. + </p> + <p> + However this may be, after a pause, agitation in the Transvaal suddenly + recommenced with redoubled vigour. It began through a man named + Bezuidenhout, who refused to pay his taxes. Thereupon a waggon was seized + in execution under the authority of the court and put up to auction, but + its sale was prevented by a crowd of rebel Boers, who kicked the + auctioneer off the waggon and dragged the vehicle away. This was on the + 11th November 1880. When this intelligence reached Pretoria, Sir Owen + Lanyon sent down a few companies of the 21st Regiment, under the command + of Major Thornhill, to support the Landdrost in arresting the rioters, and + appointed Captain Raaf, C.M.G., to act as special messenger to the + Landdrost’s Court at Potchefstroom, with authority to enrol special + constables to assist him to carry out the arrests. On arrival at + Potchefstroom Captain Raaf found that, without an armed force, it was + quite impossible to effect any arrest. On the 26th November Sir Owen + Lanyon, realising the gravity of the situation, telegraphed to Sir George + Colley, asking that the 58th Regiment should be sent back to the + Transvaal. Sir George replied that he could ill spare it on account of + “daily expected outbreak of Pondos and possible appeal for help from Cape + Colony,” and that the Government must be supported by the loyal + inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + It will be seen that the Boers had, with some astuteness, chosen a very + favourable time to commence operations. The hands of the Cape Government + were full with the Basutu war, so no help could be expected from it. Sir + G. Wolseley had sent away the only cavalry regiment that remained in the + country, and lastly, Sir Owen Lanyon had quite recently allowed a body of + 300 trained volunteers, mostly, if not altogether, drawn from among the + loyalists, to be raised for service in the Basutu war, a serious drain + upon the resources of a country so sparsely populated as the Transvaal. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile a mass meeting had been convened by the Boers for the 8th + January to consider Mr. Gladstone’s letter, but the Bezuidenhout incident + had the effect of putting forward the date of assembly by a month, and it + was announced that it would be held on the 8th December. Subsequently the + date was shifted to the 15th, and then back again to the 8th. Every effort + was made, by threats of future vengeance, to secure the presence of as + many burghers as possible; attempts were also made to persuade the native + chiefs to send representatives, and to promise to join in an attack on the + English. These entirely failed. The meeting was held at a place called + Paarde Kraal, and resulted in the sudden declaration of the Republic and + the appointment of the famous triumvirate Kruger, Joubert, and Pretorius. + It then moved into Heidelberg, a little town about sixty miles from + Pretoria, and on the 16th December the Republic was formally proclaimed in + a long proclamation, containing a summary of the events of the few + preceding years, and declaring the arrangements the malcontents were + willing to make with the English authorities. The terms offered in this + document are almost identical with those finally accepted by Her Majesty’s + Government, with the exception that in the proclamation of the 16th + December the Boer leaders declare their willingness to enter into + confederation, and to guide their native policy by general rules adopted + in concurrence “with the Colonies and States of South Africa.” This was a + more liberal offer than that which we ultimately agreed to, but then the + circumstances had changed. + </p> + <p> + This proclamation was forwarded to Sir Owen Lanyon with a covering letter, + in which the following words occur:—“We declare in the most solemn + manner that we have no desire to spill blood, and that from our side we do + not wish war. It lies in your hands to force us to appeal to arms in + self-defence. . . . . We expect your answer within twice twenty-four + hours.” + </p> + <p> + I beg to direct particular attention to these paragraphs, as they have a + considerable interest in view of what followed. + </p> + <p> + The letter and proclamation reached Government House, Pretoria, at 10.30 + on the evening of Friday the 17th December. Sir Owen Lanyon’s + proclamation, written in reply, was handed to the messenger at noon on + Sunday, 19th December, or within about thirty-six hours of his arrival, + and could hardly have reached the rebel camp, sixty miles off, before dawn + the next day, the 20th December, on which day, at about one o’clock, a + detachment of the 94th was ambushed and destroyed on the road between + Middelburg and Pretoria, about eighty miles off, by a force despatched + from Heidelburg for that purpose some days before. On the 16th December, + or the <i>same day</i> on which the Triumvirate had despatched the + proclamation to Pretoria containing their terms, and expressing in the + most solemn manner that they had no desire to shed blood, a large Boer + force was attacking Potchefstroom. + </p> + <p> + So much then for the sincerity of the professions of their desire to avoid + bloodshed. + </p> + <p> + The proclamation sent by Sir O. Lanyon in reply recited in its preamble + the various acts of which the rebels had been guilty, including that of + having “wickedly sought to incite the said loyal native inhabitants + throughout the province to take up arms against Her Majesty’s Government,” + announced that matters had now been put into the hands of the officer + commanding Her Majesty’s troops, and promised pardon to all who would + disperse to their homes. + </p> + <p> + It was at Potchefstroom, which town had all along been the nursery of the + rebellion, that actual hostilities first broke out. Potchefstroom as a + town is much more Boer in its sympathies than Pretoria, which is, or + rather was, almost purely English. Sir Owen Lanyon had, as stated before, + sent a small body of soldiers thither to support the civil authorities, + and had also appointed Major Clarke, C.M.G., an officer of noted coolness + and ability, to act as Special Commissioner for the district. + </p> + <p> + Major Clarke’s first step was to try, in conjunction with Captain Raaf, to + raise a corps of volunteers, in which he totally failed. Those of the + townsfolk who were not Boers at heart had too many business relations with + the surrounding farmers, and perhaps too little faith in the stability of + English rule after Mr. Gladstone’s utterances, to allow them to indulge in + patriotism. At the time of the outbreak, between seventy and eighty + thousand sterling was owing to firms in Potchefstroom by neighbouring + Boers, a sum amply sufficient to account for their lukewarmness in the + English cause. Subsequent events have shown that the Potchefstroom + shopkeepers were wise in their generation. + </p> + <p> + On the 15th December a large number of Boers came into the town and took + possession of the printing-office in order to print the proclamation + already alluded to. Major Clarke made two attempts to enter the office and + see the leaders, but without success. + </p> + <p> + On the 16th a Boer patrol fired on some of the mounted infantry, and the + fire was returned. These were the first shots fired during the war, and + they were fired by Boers. Orders were thereupon signalled to Clarke by + Lieutenant-Colonel Winsloe, 21st Regiment, now commanding at the fort + which he afterwards defended so gallantly, that he was to commence firing. + Clarke was in the Landdrost’s office on the Market Square with a force of + about twenty soldiers under Captain Falls and twenty civilians under + Captain Raaf, C.M.G., a position but ill-suited for defensive purposes, + from whence fire was accordingly opened, the Boers taking up positions in + the surrounding houses commanding the office. Shortly after the + commencement of the fighting, Captain Falls was shot dead whilst talking + to Major Clarke, the latter having a narrow escape, a bullet grazing his + head just above the ear. The fighting continued during the 17th and till + the morning of the 18th, when the Boers succeeded in firing the roof, + which was of thatch, by throwing fire-balls on to it. Major Clarke then + addressed the men, telling them that, though personally he did not care + about his own life, he did not see that they could serve any useful + purpose by being burned alive, so he should surrender, which he did, with + a loss of about six killed and wounded. The camp meanwhile had repulsed + with loss the attack made on it, and was never again directly attacked. + </p> + <p> + Whilst these events were in progress at Potchefstroom, a much more awful + tragedy was in preparation on the road between Middelburg and Pretoria. + </p> + <p> + On the 23rd November Colonel Bellairs, at the request of Sir Owen Lanyon, + directed a concentration on Pretoria of most of the few soldiers that + there were in the territory, in view of the disturbed condition of the + country. In accordance with these orders, Colonel Anstruther marched from + Lydenburg, a town about 180 miles from Pretoria, on the 5th December, with + the headquarters and two companies of the 94th Regiment, being a total of + 264 men, three women, and two children, and the disproportionately large + train of thirty-four ox-waggons, or an ox-waggon capable of carrying five + thousand pounds’ weight to every eight persons. And here I may remark that + it is this enormous amount of baggage, without which it appears to be + impossible to move the smallest body of men, that renders infantry + regiments almost useless for service in South Africa except for + garrisoning purposes. Both Zulus and Boers can get over the ground at + thrice the pace possible to the unfortunate soldier, and both races + despise them accordingly. The Zulus call our infantry “pack oxen.” In this + particular instance, Colonel Anstruther’s defeat, or rather, annihilation, + is to a very great extent referable to his enormous baggage train; since, + in the first place, had he not lost valuable days in collecting more + waggons, he would have been safe in Pretoria before danger arose. It must + also be acknowledged that his arrangements on the line of march were + somewhat reckless, though it can hardly be said that he was ignorant of + his danger. Thus we find that Colonel Bellairs wrote to Colonel + Anstruther, warning him of the probability of an attack, and impressing on + him the necessity of keeping a good look-out, the letter being received + and acknowledged by the latter on the 17th December. + </p> + <p> + To this warning was added a still more impressive one, that came to my + knowledge privately. A gentleman well known to me received, on the morning + after the troops had passed through the town of Middelburg on their way to + Pretoria, a visit from an old Boer with whom he was on friendly terms, who + had purposely come to tell him that a large patrol was out to ambush the + troops on the Pretoria road. My informant having convinced himself of the + truth of the statement, at once rode after the soldiers, and catching them + up some distance from Middelburg, told Colonel Anstruther what he had + heard, imploring him, he said, with all the energy he could command, to + take better precautions against surprise. The Colonel, however, laughed at + his fears, and told him that if the Boers came “he would frighten them + away with the big drum.” + </p> + <p> + At one o’clock on Sunday, the 20th December, the column was marching along + about a mile and a half from a place known as Bronker’s Spruit, and + thirty-eight miles from Pretoria, when suddenly a large number of mounted + Boers were seen in loose formation on the left side of the road. The band + was playing at the time, and the column was extended over more than half a + mile, the rear-guard being about a hundred yards behind the last waggon. + The band stopped playing on seeing the Boers, and the troops halted, when + a man was seen advancing with a white flag, whom Colonel Anstruther went + out to meet, accompanied by Conductor Egerton, a civilian. They met about + one hundred and fifty yards from the column, and the man gave Colonel + Anstruther a letter, which announced the establishment of the South + African Republic, stated that until they heard Lanyon’s reply to their + proclamation they did not know if they were at war or not; that, + consequently, they could not allow any movements of troops which would be + taken as a declaration of war. This letter was signed by Joubert, one of + the Triumvirate. Colonel Anstruther replied that he was ordered to + Pretoria, and to Pretoria he must go. + </p> + <p> + Whilst this conference was going on, the Boers, of whom there were quite + five hundred, had gradually closed round the column, and took up positions + behind rocks and trees which afforded them excellent cover, whilst the + troops were on a bare plain, and before Colonel Anstruther reached his men + a murderous fire was poured in upon them from all sides. The fire was + hotly returned by the soldiers. Most of the officers were struck down by + the first volley, having, no doubt, been picked out by the marksmen. The + firing lasted about fifteen minutes, and at the end of that time seven out + of the nine officers were down killed and wounded; an eighth (Captain + Elliot), one of two who escaped untouched, being reserved for an even more + awful fate. The majority of the men were also down, and had the hail of + lead continued much longer it is clear that nobody would have been left. + Colonel Anstruther, who was lying badly wounded in five places, seeing + what a hopeless state affairs were in, ordered the bugler to sound the + cease firing, and surrendered. One of the three officers who were not much + hurt was, most providentially, Dr. Ward, who had but a slight wound in the + thigh; all the others, except Captain Elliot and one lieutenant, were + either killed or died from the effects of their wounds. There were + altogether 56 killed and 101 wounded, including a woman, Mrs. Fox. Twenty + more afterwards died of their wounds. The Boer loss appears to have been + very small. + </p> + <p> + After the fight Conductor Egerton, with a sergeant, was allowed to walk + into Pretoria to obtain medical assistance, the Boers refusing to give him + a horse, or even to allow him to use his own. The Boer leader also left + Dr. Ward eighteen men and a few stores for the wounded, with which he made + shift as best he could. Nobody can read this gentleman’s report without + being much impressed with the way in which, though wounded himself, he got + through his terrible task of, without assistance, attending to the wants + of 101 sufferers. Beginning the task at two P.M., it took him till six the + next morning before he had seen the last man. It is to be hoped that his + services have met with some recognition. Dr. Ward remained near the scene + of the massacre with his wounded men till the declaration of peace, when + he brought them down to Maritzburg, having experienced great difficulty in + obtaining food for them during so many weeks. + </p> + <p> + This is a short account of what I must, with reluctance, call a most cruel + and carefully planned massacre. I may mention that a Zulu driver, who was + with the rear-guard, and escaped into Natal, stated that the Boers shot + all the wounded men who formed that body. His statement was to a certain + extent borne out by the evidence of one of the survivors, who stated that + all the bodies found in that part of the field (nearly three-quarters of a + mile away from the head of the column), had a bullet hole through the head + or breast in addition to their other wounds. + </p> + <p> + The Administrator in the Transvaal in council thus comments on the + occurrence in an official minute:—“The surrounding and gradual + hemming in under a flag of truce of a force, and the selection of spots + from which to direct their fire, as in the case of the unprovoked attack + by the rebels upon Colonel Anstruther’s force, is a proceeding of which + very few like incidents can be mentioned in the annals of civilised + warfare.” + </p> + <p> + The Boer leaders, however, were highly elated at their success, and + celebrated it in a proclamation of which the following is an extract:—“Inexpressible + is the gratitude of the burghers for this blessing conferred on them. + Thankful to the brave General F. Joubert and his men who have upheld the + honour of the Republic on the battlefield. Bowed down in the dust before + Almighty God, who had thus stood by them, and, with a loss of over a + hundred of the enemy, only allowed two of ours to be killed.” + </p> + <p> + In view of the circumstances of the treacherous hemming in and destruction + of this small body of unprepared men, most people would think this + language rather high-flown, not to say blasphemous. + </p> + <p> + On the news of this disaster reaching Pretoria, Sir Owen Lanyon issued a + proclamation placing the country under martial law. As the town was large, + straggling, and incapable of defence, all the inhabitants, amounting to + over four thousand souls, were ordered up to camp, where the best + arrangements possible were made for their convenience. In these quarters + they remained for three months, driven from their comfortable homes, and + cheerfully enduring all the hardships, want, and discomforts consequence + on their position, whilst they waited in patience for the appearance of + that relieving column that never came. People in England hardly understand + what these men and women went through because they chose to remain loyal. + Let them suppose that all the inhabitants of an ordinary English town, + with the exception of the class known as poor people, which can hardly be + said to exist in a colony, were at an hour’s notice ordered—all, the + aged, and the sick, delicate women, and tiny children—to leave their + homes to the mercy of the enemy, and crowd up in a little space under + shelter of a fort, with nothing but canvas tents or sheds to cover them + from the fierce summer suns and rains, and the coarsest rations to feed + them; whilst the husbands and brothers were daily engaged with a cunning + and dangerous enemy, and sometimes brought home wounded or dead. They + will, then, have some idea of what was gone through by the loyal people of + Pretoria, in their weak confidence in the good faith of the English + Government. + </p> + <p> + The arrangements made for the defence of the town were so ably and + energetically carried out by Sir Owen Lanyon, assisted by the military + officers, that no attack upon it was ever attempted. It seems to me that + the organisation that could provide for the penning up of four thousand + people for months, and carry it out without the occurrence of a single + unpleasantness or expression of discontent, must have had something + remarkable about it. Of course, it would have been impossible without the + most loyal co-operation on the part of those concerned. Indeed, everybody + in the town lent a helping hand; judges served out rations, members of the + Executive inspected nuisances, and so forth. There was only one instance + of “striking;” and then, of all people in the world, it was the five civil + doctors who, thinking it a favourable opportunity to fleece the + Government, combined to demand five guineas a-day each for their services. + I am glad to say that they did not succeed in their attempt at extortion. + </p> + <p> + On the 23d December, the Boer leaders issued a second proclamation in + reply to that of Sir O. Lanyon of the 18th, which is characterised by an + utter absence of regard for the truth, being, in fact, nothing but a + tissue of impudent falsehoods. It accuses Sir O. Lanyon of having + bombarded women and children, of arming natives against the Boers, and of + firing on the Boers without declaring war. Not one of these accusations + has any foundation in fact, as the Boers well knew; but they also knew + that Sir Owen, being shut up in Pretoria, was not in a position to rebut + their charges, which they hoped might, to some extent, be believed, and + create sympathy for them in other parts of the world. This was the reason + for the issue of the proclamation, which well portrays the character of + its framers. + </p> + <p> + Life at Pretoria was varied by occasional sorties against the Boer + laagers, situated at different points in the neighbourhood, generally + about six or eight miles from the town. These expeditions were carried out + with considerable success, though with some loss, the heaviest incurred + being when the Boers, having treacherously hoisted the white flag, opened + a heavy fire on the Pretoria forces, as soon as they, beguiled into + confidence, emerged from their cover. In the course of the war, one in + every four of the Pretoria mounted volunteers was killed or wounded. + </p> + <p> + But perhaps the most serious of all the difficulties the Government had to + meet, was that of keeping the natives in check. As has before been stated + they were devotedly attached to our rule, and, during the three years of + its continuance, had undergone what was to them a strange experience, they + had neither been murdered, beaten, or enslaved. Naturally they were in no + hurry to return to the old order of things, in which murder, flogging, and + slavery were events of everyday occurrence. Nor did the behaviour of the + Boers on the outbreak of the war tend to reconcile them to any such idea. + Thus we find that the farmers had pressed a number of natives from + Waterberg into one of their laagers (Zwart Koppies); two of them tried to + run away, a Boer saw them and shot them both. Again, on the 7th January a + native reported to the authorities at Pretoria that he and some others + were returning from the Diamond Fields driving some sheep. A Boer came and + asked them to sell the sheep. They refused, whereupon he went away, but + returning with some other Dutchmen fired on the Kafirs, killing one. + </p> + <p> + On the 2d January information reached Pretoria that on the 26th December + some Boers fired on some natives who were resting outside Potchefstroom + and killed three; the rest fled, whereupon the Boers took the cattle they + had with them. + </p> + <p> + On the 11th January some men, who had been sent from Pretoria with + despatches for Standerton, were taken prisoners. Whilst prisoners they saw + ten men returning from the Fields stopped by the Boers and ordered to come + to the laager. They refused and ran away, were fired on, five being killed + and one getting his arm broken. + </p> + <p> + These are a few instances of the treatment meted out to the unfortunate + natives, taken at haphazard from the official reports. There are plenty + more of the same nature if anybody cares to read them. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the news of the rising reached them, every chief of any + importance sent in to offer aid to Government, and many of them, + especially Montsoia, our old ally in the Keate Award district, took the + loyals of the neighbourhood under their protection. Several took charge of + Government property and cattle during the disturbances, and one had four + or five thousand pounds in gold, the product of a recently collected tax + given him to take care of by the Commissioner of his district, who was + afraid that the money would be seized by the Boers. In every instance the + property entrusted to their charge was returned intact. The loyalty of all + the native chiefs under very trying circumstances (for the Boers were + constantly attempting to cajole or frighten them into joining them) is a + remarkable proof of the great affection of the Kafirs, more especially + those of the Basutu tribes, who love peace better than war, for the + Queen’s rule. The Government of Pretoria need only have spoken one word, + to set an enormous number of armed men in motion against the Boers, with + the most serious results to the latter. Any other Government in the world + would, in its extremity, have spoken that word, but, fortunately for the + Boers, it is against English principles to set black against white under + any circumstances. + </p> + <p> + Besides the main garrison at Pretoria there were forts defended by + soldiery and loyals at the following places:—Potchefstroom, + Rustenburg, Lydenburg, Marabastad, and Wakkerstroom, none of which were + taken by the Boers.[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] Colonel Winsloe, however, being short of provisions, was + beguiled by the fraudulent representations and acts of the + Boer commander into surrendering the fort at Potchefstroom + during the armistice. +</pre> + <p> + One of the first acts of the Triumvirate was to despatch a large force + from Heidelberg with orders to advance into Natal Territory, and seize the + pass over the Drakensberg known as Lang’s Nek, so as to dispute the + advance of any relieving column. This movement was promptly executed, and + strong Boer troops patrolled Natal country almost up to Newcastle. + </p> + <p> + The news of the outbreak, followed as it was by that of the Bronker’s + Spruit massacre, and Captain Elliot’s murder, created a great excitement + in Natal. All available soldiers were at once despatched up country, + together with a naval brigade, who, on arrival at Newcastle, brought up + the strength of the Imperial troops of all arms to about a thousand men. + On the 10th January Sir George Colley left Maritzburg to join the force at + Newcastle, but at this time nobody dreamt that he meant to attack the Nek + with such an insignificant column. It was known that the loyals and troops + who were shut up in the various towns in the Transvaal had sufficient + provisions to last for some months, and that there was therefore nothing + to necessitate a forlorn hope. Indeed the possibility of Sir George Colley + attempting to enter the Transvaal was not even speculated upon until just + before his advance, it being generally considered as out of the question. + </p> + <p> + The best illustration I can give of the feeling that existed about the + matter is to quote my own case. I had been so unfortunate as to land in + Natal with my wife and servants just as the Transvaal troubles began, my + intention being to proceed to a place I had near Newcastle. For some weeks + I remained in Maritzburg, but finding that the troops were to concentrate + on Newcastle, and being besides heartily wearied of the great expense and + discomfort of hotel life in that town, I determined to go on up country, + looking on it as being as safe as any place in the Colony. Of course the + possibility of Sir George attacking the Nek before the arrival of the + reinforcements did not enter into my calculations, as I thought it a + venture that no sensible man would undertake. On the day of my start, + however, there was a rumour about the town that the General was going to + attack the Boer position. Though I did not believe it, I thought it as + well to go and ask the Colonial Secretary, Colonel Mitchell, privately, if + there was any truth in it, adding that if there was, as I had a pretty + intimate knowledge of the Boers and their shooting powers, and what the + inevitable result of such a move would be, I should certainly prefer, as I + had ladies with me, to remain where I was. Colonel Mitchell told me + frankly that he knew no more about Sir George’s plans than I did; but he + added I might be sure that so able and prudent a soldier would not do + anything rash. His remark concurred with my own opinion; so I started, and + on arrival at Newcastle a week later was met by the intelligence that Sir + George had advanced that morning to attack the Nek. To return was almost + impossible, since both horses and travellers were pretty nearly knocked + up. Also, anybody who has travelled with his family in summer-time over + the awful track of alternate slough and boulders between Maritzburg and + Newcastle, known in the Colony as a road, will understand, that at the + time, the adventurous voyagers would far rather risk being shot than face + a return journey. + </p> + <p> + The only thing to do under the circumstances was to await the course of + events, which were now about to develop themselves with startling + rapidity. The little town of Newcastle was at this time an odd sight, and + remained so all through the war. The hotels were crowded to overflowing + with refugees, and on every spare patch of land were erected tents, mud + huts, canvas houses, and every kind of covering that could be utilised + under the pressure of necessity, to house the many homeless families who + had succeeded in effecting their escape from the Transvaal, many of whom + were reduced to great straits. + </p> + <p> + On the morning of the 28th January, anybody listening attentively in the + neighbourhood of Newcastle could hear the distant boom of heavy guns. We + were not kept long in suspense, for in the afternoon news arrived that Sir + George had attacked the Nek, and failed with heavy loss. The excitement in + the town was intense, for, in addition to other considerations, the 58th + Regiment, which had suffered most, had been quartered there for some time, + and both the officers and men were personally known to the inhabitants. + </p> + <p> + The story of the fight is well known, and needs little repetition, and a + sad story it is. The Boers, who at that time were some 2000 strong, were + posted and entrenched on steep hills, against which Sir George Colley + hurled a few hundred soldiers. It was a forlorn hope, but so gallant was + the charge, especially that of the mounted squadron led by Major Bronlow, + that at one time it nearly succeeded. But nothing could stand under the + withering fire from the Boer schanses, and as regards the foot soldiers, + they never had a chance. Colonel Deane tried to take them up the hill with + a rush, with the result that by the time they reached the top, some of the + men were actually sick from exhaustion, and none could hold a rifle + steady. There on the bare hill-top, they crouched and lay, while the + pitiless fire from redoubt and rock lashed them like hail, till at last + human nature could bear it no longer, and what was left of them retired + slowly down the slope. But for many, that gallant charge was their last + earthly action. As they charged they fell, and where they fell they were + afterwards buried. The casualties, killed and wounded, amounted to 195, + which, considering the small number of troops engaged in the actual + attack, is enormously heavy, and shows more plainly than words can tell, + the desperate nature of the undertaking. Amongst the killed were Colonel + Deane, Major Poole, Major Hingeston, and Lieutenant Elwes. Major Essex was + the only staff officer engaged who escaped, the same officer who was one + of the fortunate four who lived through Isandhlwana. On this occasion his + usual good fortune attended him, for though his horse was killed and his + helmet knocked off, he was not touched. The Boer loss was very trivial. + </p> + <p> + Sir George Colley, in his admirably lucid despatch about this occurrence + addressed to the Secretary of State for War, does not enter much into the + question as to the motives that prompted him to attack, simply stating + that his object was to relieve the besieged towns. He does not appear to + have taken into consideration, what was obvious to anybody who knew the + country and the Boers, that even if he had succeeded in forcing the Nek, + in itself almost an impossibility, he could never have operated with any + success in the Transvaal with so small a column, without cavalry, and with + an enormous train of waggons. He would have been harassed day and night by + the Boer skirmishers, his supplies cut off, and his advance made + practically impossible. Also the Nek would have been re-occupied behind + him, since he could not have detached sufficient men to hold it, and in + all probability Newcastle, his base of supplies, would have fallen into + the hands of the enemy. + </p> + <p> + The moral effect of our defeat on the Boers was very great. Up to this + time there had been many secret doubts amongst a large section of them as + to what the upshot of an encounter with the troops might be; and with this + party, in the same way that defeat, or even the anxiety of waiting to be + attacked, would have turned the scale one way, victory turned it the + other. It gave them unbounded confidence in their own superiority, and + infused a spirit of cohesion and mutual reliance into their ranks which + had before been wanting. Waverers wavered no longer, but gave a loyal + adherence to the good cause, and, what was still more acceptable, large + numbers of volunteers,—whatever President Brand may say to the + contrary,—poured in from the Orange Free State. + </p> + <p> + What Sir George Colley’s motive was in making so rash a move is, of + course, quite inexplicable to the outside observer. It was said at the + time in Natal that he was a man with a theory: namely, that small bodies + of men properly handled were as useful and as likely to obtain the object + in view as a large force. Whether or no this was so, I am not prepared to + say; but it is undoubtedly the case that very clever men have sometimes + very odd theories, and it may be that he was a striking instance in point. + </p> + <p> + For some days after the battle at Lang’s Nek affairs were quiet, and it + was hoped that they would remain so till the arrival of the + reinforcements, which were on their way out. The hope proved a vain one. + On the 7th February it was reported that the escort proceeding from + Newcastle to the General’s camp with the post, a distance of about + eighteen miles, had been fired on and forced to return. + </p> + <p> + On the 8th, about mid-day, we were all startled by the sound of fighting, + proceeding apparently from a hill known as Scheins Hoogte, about ten miles + from Newcastle. It was not know that the General contemplated any move, + and everybody was entirely at a loss to know what was going on, the + general idea being, however, that the camp near Lang’s Nek had been + abandoned, and that Sir George was retiring on Newcastle. + </p> + <p> + The firing grew hotter and hotter, till at last it was perfectly + continuous, the cannon evidently being discharged as quickly as they could + be loaded, whilst their dull booming was accompanied by the unceasing + crash and roll of the musketry. Towards three o’clock the firing + slackened, and we thought it was all over, one way or the other, but about + five o’clock it broke out again with increased vigour. At dusk it finally + ceased. About this time some Kafirs came to my house and told us that an + English force was hemmed in on a hill this side of the Ingogo River, that + they were fighting bravely, but that “their arms were tired,” adding that + they thought they would be all killed at night. + </p> + <p> + Needless to say we spent that night with heavy hearts, expecting every + minute to hear the firing begin again, and ignorant of what fate had + befallen our poor soldiers on the hill. Morning put an end to our + suspense, and we then learnt that we had suffered what, under the + circumstances, amounted to a crushing defeat. It appears that Sir George + had moved out with a force of five companies of the 60th Regiment, two + guns, and a few mounted men, to, in his own words, “patrol the road, and + meet and escort some waggons expected from Newcastle.” As soon as he + passed the Ingogo he was surrounded by a body of Boers sent after him from + Lang’s Nek, on a small triangular plateau, and sharply assailed on all + sides. With a break of about two hours, from three to five, the assault + was kept up till nightfall, with very bad results so far as we were + concerned, seeing that out of a body of about 500 men, over 150 were + killed and wounded. The reinforcements sent for from the camp apparently + did not come into action. For some unexplained reason the Boers did not + follow up their attack that night, perhaps because they did not think it + possible that our troops could effect their escape back to the camp, and + considered that the next morning would be soon enough to return and finish + the business. The General, however, determined to get back, and scratch + teams of such mules, riding-horses, and oxen as had lived through the day + being harnessed to the guns, the dispirited and exhausted survivors of the + force managed to ford the Ingogo, now swollen by rain which had fallen in + the afternoon, poor Lieutenant Wilkinson, the Adjutant of the 60th, losing + his life in the operation, and to struggle through the dense darkness back + to camp. + </p> + <p> + On the hill-top they had lately held, the dead lay thick. There, too, + exposed to the driving rain and bitter wind lay the wounded, many of whom + would be dead before the rising of the morrow’s sun. It must, indeed, have + been a sight never to be forgotten by those who saw it. The night—I + remember well—was cold and rainy, the great expanses of hill and + plain being sometimes lit by the broken gleams of an uncertain moon, and + sometimes plunged into intensest darkness by the passing of a heavy cloud. + Now and again flashes of lightning threw every crag and outline into vivid + relief, and the deep muttering of distant thunder made the wild gloom more + solemn. Then a gust of icy wind would come tearing down the valleys to be + followed by a pelting thunder shower—and thus the night wore away. + </p> + <p> + When one reflects what discomfort, and even danger, an ordinary healthy + person would suffer if left after a hard day’s work to lie all night in + the rain and wind on the top of a stony mountain, without food, or even + water to assuage his thirst, it becomes to some degree possible to realise + what the sufferings of our wounded after the battle of Ingogo must have + been. Those who survived were next day taken to the hospital at Newcastle. + </p> + <p> + What Sir George Colley’s real object was in exposing himself to the attack + has never transpired. It can hardly have been to clear the road, as he + says in his despatch, because the road was not held by the enemy, but only + visited occasionally by their patrols. The result of the battle was to + make the Boers, whose losses were trifling, more confident than ever, and + to greatly depress our soldiers. Sir George had now lost between three and + four hundred men, out of his column of little over a thousand, which was + thereby entirely crippled. Of his staff Officers Major Essex now alone + survived, his usual good fortune having carried him safe through the + battle of Ingogo. What makes his repeated escapes the more remarkable is + that he was generally to be found in the heaviest firing. A man so + fortunate as Major Essex ought to be rewarded for his good fortune if for + no other reason, though, if reports are true, there would be no need to + fall back on that to find grounds on which to advance a soldier who has + always borne himself so well. + </p> + <p> + Another result of the Ingogo battle was that the Boers, knowing that we + had no force to cut them off, and always secure of a retreat into the Free + State, passed round Newcastle in Free State Territory, and descended from + fifteen hundred to two thousand strong into Natal for the purpose of + destroying the reinforcements which were now on their way up under General + Wood. This was on the 11th of February, and from that date till the 18th, + the upper districts of Natal were in the hands of the enemy, who cut the + telegraph wires, looted waggons, stole herds of cattle and horses, and + otherwise amused themselves at the expense of Her Majesty’s subjects in + Natal. + </p> + <p> + It was a very anxious time for those who knew what Boers are capable of, + and had women and children to protect, and who were never sure if their + houses would be left standing over their heads from one day to another. + </p> + <p> + Every night we were obliged to place out Kafirs as scouts to give us + timely warning of the approach of marauding parties, and to sleep with + loaded rifles close to our hands, and sometimes, when things looked very + black, in our clothes, with horses ready saddled in the stable. Nor were + our fears groundless, for one day a patrol of some five hundred Boers + encamped on the next place, which by the way belonged to a Dutchman, and + stole all the stock on it, the property of an Englishman. They also + intercepted a train of waggons, destroyed the contents, and burnt them. + Numerous were the false alarms it was our evil fortune to experience. For + instance, one night I was sitting in the drawing-room reading, about + eleven o’clock, with a door leading on to the verandah slightly ajar, for + the night was warm, when suddenly I heard myself called by name in a + muffled voice, and asked if the place was in the possession of the Boers. + Looking towards the door I saw a full-cocked revolver coming round the + corner, and on opening it in some alarm, I could indistinctly discern a + line of armed figures in a crouching attitude stretching along the + verandah into the garden beyond. It turned out to be a patrol of the + mounted police, who had received information that a large number of Boers + had seized the place and had come to ascertain the truth of the report. As + we gathered from them that the Boers were certainly near, we did not pass + a very comfortable night. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile, we were daily expecting to hear that the troops had been + attacked along the line of march, and knowing the nature of the country + and the many opportunities it affords for ambuscading and destroying one + of our straggling columns encumbered with innumerable waggons, we had the + worst fears for the result. At length a report reached us to the effect + that the reinforcements were expected on the morrow, and that they were + not going to cross the Ingagaan at the ordinary drift, which was much + commanded by hills, but at a lower drift on our own place, about three + miles from Newcastle, which was only slightly commanded. We also heard + that it was the intention of the Boers to attack them at this point and to + fall back on my house and the hills beyond. Accordingly, we thought it + about time to retreat, and securing a few valuables such as plate, we made + our way into the town, leaving the house and its contents to take their + chance. At Newcastle an attack was daily expected, if for no other reason, + to obtain possession of the stores collected there. + </p> + <p> + The defences of the place were, however, in a wretched condition, no + proper outlook was kept, and there was an utter want of effective + organisation. The military element at the camp had enough to do to look + after itself, and did not concern itself with the safety of the town; and + the mounted police—a Colonial force paid by the Colony—had + been withdrawn from the little forts round Newcastle, as the General + wanted them for other purposes, and a message sent that the town must + defend its own forts. There were, it is true, a large number of + able-bodied men in the place who were willing to fight, but they had no + organisation. The very laager was not finished until the danger was past. + </p> + <p> + Then there was a large party who were for surrendering the town to the + Boers, because if they fought it might afterwards injure their trade. With + this section of the population the feeling of patriotism was strong, no + doubt, but that of pocket was stronger. I am convinced that the Boers + would have found the capture of Newcastle an easy task, and I confess that + what I then saw did not inspire me with great hopes of the safety of the + Colony when it gets responsible government, and has to depend for + protection on burgher forces. Colonial volunteer forces are, I think, as + good troops as any in the world; but an unorganised colonial mob, pulled + this way and that by different sentiments and interests, is as useless as + any other mob, with the difference that it is more impatient of control. + </p> + <p> + For some unknown reason the Boer leaders providentially changed their + minds about attacking the reinforcements, and their men were withdrawn to + the Nek as swiftly and silently as they had been advanced, and on the 17th + February the reinforcements marched into Newcastle to the very great + relief of the inhabitants, who had been equally anxious for their own + safety and that of the troops. Personally, I was never in my life more + pleased to see Her Majesty’s uniform; and we were equally rejoiced on + returning home to find that nothing had been injured. After this we had + quiet for a while. + </p> + <p> + On the 21st February, we heard that two fresh regiments had been sent up + to the camp at Lang’s Nek, and that General Wood had been ordered down + country by Sir George Colley to bring up more reinforcements. This item of + news caused much surprise, as nobody could understand, why, now that the + road was clear, and that there was little chance of its being again + blocked, a General should be sent down to do work, which could, to all + appearance, have been equally well done by the Officers in command of the + reinforcing regiments, with the assistance of their transport riders. It + was, however, understood that an agreement had been entered into between + the two Generals, that no offensive operations should be undertaken till + Wood returned. + </p> + <p> + With the exception of occasional scares, there was no further excitement + till Sunday the 27th February, when, whilst sitting on the verandah after + lunch, I thought I heard the sound of distant artillery. Others present + differed with me, thinking the sound was caused by thunder, but as I + adhered to my opinion, we determined to ride into town and see. On arrival + there, we found the place full of rumours, from which we gathered that + some fresh disaster had occurred: and that messages were pouring down the + wires from Mount Prospect camp. We then went on to camp, thinking that we + should learn more there, but they knew nothing about it, several officers + asking us what new “shave” we had got hold of. A considerable number of + troops had been marched from Newcastle that morning to go to Mount + Prospect, but when it was realised that something had occurred, they were + stopped, and marched back again. Bit by bit we managed to gather the + truth. At first we heard that our men had made a most gallant resistance + on the hill, mowing down the advancing enemy by hundreds, till at last, + their ammunition failing, they fought with their bayonets, using stones + and meat tins as missiles. I wish that our subsequent information had been + to the same effect. + </p> + <p> + It appears that on the evening of the 26th, Sir George Colley, after mess, + suddenly gave orders for a force of a little over six hundred men, + consisting of detachments from no less than three different regiments, the + 58th, 60th, 92d, and the Naval Brigade, to be got ready for an expedition, + without revealing his plans to anybody, until late in the afternoon: and + then without more ado, marched them up to the top of Majuba—a great + square-topped mountain to the right of, and commanding the Boer position + at Lang’s Nek. The troops reached the top about three in the morning, + after a somewhat exhausting climb, and were stationed at different points + of the plateau in a scientific way. Whilst the darkness lasted, they + could, by the glittering of the watch-fires, trace from this point of + vantage the position of the Boer laagers that lay 2000 yards beneath them, + whilst the dawn of day revealed every detail of the defensive works, and + showed the country lying at their feet like a map. + </p> + <p> + On arrival at the top, it was represented to the General that a rough + entrenchment should be thrown up, but he would not allow it to be done on + account of the men being wearied with their marching up. This was a fatal + mistake. Behind an entrenchment, however slight, one would think that 600 + English soldiers might have defied the whole Boer army, and much more the + 200 or 300 men by whom they were hunted down Majuba. It appears that about + 10.15 A.M. Colonel Steward and Major Fraser again went to General Colley + “to arrange to start the sailors on an entrenchment” . . . “Finding the + ground so exposed, the General did not give orders to entrench.” + </p> + <p> + As soon as the Boers found out that the hill was in the occupation of the + English, their first idea was to leave the Nek, and they began to inspan + with that object, but discovering that there were no guns commanding them, + they changed their mind, and set to work to storm the hill instead. As far + as I have been able to gather, the number of Boers who took the mountain + was about 300, or possibly 400; I do not think there were more than that. + The Boers themselves declare solemnly that they were only 100 strong, but + this I do not believe. They slowly advanced up the hill till about 11.30, + when the real attack began, the Dutchmen coming on more rapidly and + confidently, and shooting with ever-increasing accuracy, as they found our + fire quite ineffective. + </p> + <p> + About a quarter to one, our men retreated to the last ridge, and General + Colley was shot through the head. After this, the retreat became a rout, + and the soldiers rushed pell-mell down the precipitous sides of the hill, + the Boers knocking them over by the score as they went, till they were out + of range. A few were also, I heard, killed by the shells from the guns + that were advanced from the camp to cover the retreat, but as this does + not appear in the reports, perhaps it is not true. Our loss was about 200 + killed and wounded, including Sir George Colley, Drs. Landon and Cornish, + and Commander Romilly, who was shot with an explosive bullet, and died + after some days’ suffering. When the wounded Commander was being carried + to a more sheltered spot, it was with great difficulty that the Boers were + prevented from massacring him as he lay, they being under the impression + that he was Sir Garnet Wolseley. As was the case at Ingogo, the wounded + were left on the battlefield all night in very inclement weather, to which + some of them succumbed. It is worthy of note that after the fight was + over, they were treated with considerable kindness by the Boers. + </p> + <p> + Not being a soldier, of course I cannot venture to give any military + reasons as to how it was, that what was after all a considerable force, + was so easily driven from a position of great natural strength; but I + think I may, without presumption, state my opinion was to the real cause, + which was the villanous shooting of the British soldier. Though the troops + did not, as was said at the time, run short of ammunition, it is clear + that they fired away a great many rounds at men who, in storming the hill, + must necessarily have exposed themselves more or less, of whom they + managed to hit—certainly not more than six or seven,—which was + the outside of the Boer casualties. From this it is clear that they can + neither judge distance nor hit a moving object, nor did they probably know + that when shooting down hill it is necessary to aim low. Such shooting as + the English soldier is capable of may be very well when he has an army to + aim at, but it is useless in guerilla warfare against a foe skilled in the + use of the rifle and the art of taking shelter. + </p> + <p> + A couple of months after the storming of Majuba, I, together with a + friend, had a conversation with a Boer, a volunteer from the Free State in + the late war, and one of the detachment that stormed Majuba, who gave us a + circumstantial account of the attack with the greatest willingness. He + said that when it was discovered that the English had possession of the + mountain, they thought that the game was up, but after a while bolder + counsels prevailed, and volunteers were called for to storm the hill. Only + seventy men could be found to perform the duty, of whom he was one. They + started up the mountain in fear and trembling, but soon found that every + shot passed over their heads, and went on with greater boldness. Only + three men, he declared, were hit on the Boer side; one was killed, one was + hit in the arm, and he himself was the third, getting his face grazed by a + bullet, of which he showed us the scar. He stated that the first to reach + the top ridge was a boy of twelve, and that as soon as the troops saw them + they fled, when, he said, he paid them out for having nearly killed him, + knocking them over one after another “like bucks” as they ran down the + hill, adding that it was “alter lecker” (very nice). He asked us how many + men we had lost during the war, and when we told him about seven hundred + killed and wounded, laughed in our faces, saying he knew that our dead + amounted to several thousands. On our assuring him that this was not the + case, he replied, “Well, don’t let’s talk of it any more, because we are + good friends now, and if we go on you will lie, and I shall lie, and then + we shall get angry. The war is over now, and I don’t want to quarrel with + the English; if one of them takes off his hat to me I always acknowledge + it.” He did not mean any harm in talking thus; it is what Englishmen have + to put up with now in South Africa; the Boers have beaten us, and act + accordingly. + </p> + <p> + This man also told us that the majority of the rifles they picked up were + sighted for 400 yards, whereas the latter part of the fighting had been + carried on within 200. + </p> + <p> + Sir George Colley’s death was much lamented in the Colony, where he was + deservedly popular; indeed, anybody who had the honour of knowing that + kind-hearted gentleman, could not do otherwise than deeply regret his + untimely end. What his motive was in occupying Majuba in the way he did, + has never, so far as I am aware, transpired. The move, in itself, would + have been an excellent one, had it been made in force, or accompanied by a + direct attack on the Nek—but, as undertaken, seems to have been + objectless. There were, of course, many rumours as to the motives that + prompted his action, of which the most probable seems to be that, being + aware of what the Home Government intended to do with reference to the + Transvaal, he determined to strike a blow to try and establish British + Supremacy first, knowing how mischievous any apparent surrender would be. + Whatever his faults may have been as a General, he was a brave man, and + had the honour of his country much at heart. + </p> + <p> + It was also said by soldiers who saw him the night the troops marched up + Majuba, that the General was “not himself,” and it was hinted that + continual anxiety and the chagrin of failure had told upon his mind. As + against this, however, must be set the fact that his telegrams to the + Secretary of State for War, the last of which he must have despatched only + about half-an-hour before he was shot, are cool and collected, and written + in the same unconcerned tone,—as though he were a critical spectator + of an interesting scene—that characterises all his communications, + more especially his despatches. They at any rate give no evidence of + shaken nerve or unduly excited brain, nor can I see that any action of his + with reference to the occupation of Majuba is out of keeping with the + details of his generalship upon other occasions. He was always confident + to rashness, and possessed by the idea that every man in the ranks was + full of as high a spirit, and as brave as he was himself. Indeed most + people will think, that so far from its being a rasher action, the + occupation of Majuba, bad generalship as it seems, was a wiser move than + either the attack on the Nek or the Ingogo fiasco. + </p> + <p> + But at the best, all his movements are difficult to be understand by a + civilian, though they may, for ought we know, have been part of an + elaborate plan, perfected in accordance with the rules of military + science, of which, it is said, he was a great student. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2HCH0006" id="link2HCH0006"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + CHAPTER VI + </h2> + <h3> + THE RETROCESSION OF THE TRANSVAAL + </h3> + <p> + <i>The Queen’s Speech—President Brand and Lord Kimberley—Sir + Henry de Villiers—Sir George Colley’s plan—Paul Kruger’s offer—Sir + George Colley’s remonstrance—Complimentary telegrams—Effect of + Majuba on the Boers and English Government—Collapse of the + Government—Reasons of the Surrender—Professional + sentimentalists—The Transvaal Independence Committee—Conclusion + of the armistice—The preliminary peace—Reception of the news + in Natal—Newcastle after the declaration of peace—Exodus of + the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal—The value of property in + Pretoria—The Transvaal officials dismissed—The Royal + Commission—Mode of trial of persons accused of atrocities—Decision + of the Commission and its results—The severance of territory + question—Arguments </i>pro<i> and </i>con<i>—Opinion of Sir E. + Wood—Humility of the Commissioners and its cause—Their + decision on the Keate award question—The Montsoia difficulty—The + compensation and financial clauses of the report of the Commission—The + duties of the British Resident—Sir E. Wood’s dissent from the report + of the Commission—Signing of the Convention—Burial of the + Union Jack—The native side of the question—Interview between + the Commissioners and the native chiefs—Their opinion of the + surrender—Objections of the Boer Volksraad to the Convention—Mr. + Gladstone temporises—The ratification—Its insolent tone—Mr. + Hudson, the British Resident—The Boer festival—The results of + the Convention—The larger issue of the matter—Its effect on + the Transvaal—Its moral aspects—Its effect on the native mind.</i> + </p> + <p> + When Parliament met in January 1881, the Government announced, through the + mediumship of the Queen’s Speech, that it was their intention to vindicate + Her Majesty’s authority in the Transvaal. I have already briefly described + the somewhat unfortunate attempts to gain this end by force of arms: and I + now propose to follow the course of the diplomatic negotiations entered + into by the Ministry with the same object. + </p> + <p> + As soon as the hostilities in the Transvaal took a positive form, causing + great dismay among the Home authorities, whose paths, as we all know, are + the paths of peace—at any price; and whilst, in the first confusion + of calamity, they knew not where to turn, President Brand stepped upon the + scene in the character of “Our Mutual Friend,” and, by the Government at + any rate, was rapturously welcomed. + </p> + <p> + This gentleman has for many years been at the head of the Government of + the Orange Free State, whose fortunes he had directed with considerable + ability. He is a man of natural talent and kind-hearted disposition, and + has the advancement of the Boer cause in South Africa much at heart. The + rising in the Transvaal was an event that gave him a great and threefold + opportunity: first, of interfering with the genuinely benevolent object of + checking bloodshed; secondly, of advancing the Dutch cause throughout + South Africa under the cloak of amiable neutrality, and striking a + dangerous blow at British supremacy over the Dutch and British prestige + with the natives; and, thirdly, of putting the English Government under a + lasting obligation to him. Of this opportunity he has availed himself to + the utmost in each particular. + </p> + <p> + So soon as things began to look serious, Mr. Brand put himself into active + telegraphic communication with the various British authorities with the + view of preventing bloodshed by inducing the English Government to accede + to the Boer demands. He was also earnest in his declarations that the Free + State was not supporting the Transvaal; which, considering that it was + practically the insurgent base of supplies, where they had retired their + women, children, and cattle, and that it furnished them with a large + number of volunteers, was perhaps straining the truth. + </p> + <p> + About this time also we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing to Mr. Brand that + “if <i>only</i> the Transvaal Boers will desist from armed opposition to + the Queen’s authority,” he thinks some arrangement might be made. This is + the first indication made public of what was passing in the minds of Her + Majesty’s Government, on whom its radical supporters were now beginning to + put the screw, to induce or threaten them into submitting to the Boer + demands. + </p> + <p> + Again, on the 11th January, the President telegraphed to Lord Kimberley + through the Orange Free State Consul in London, suggesting that Sir H. de + Villiers, the Chief Justice at the Cape, should be appointed a + Commissioner to go to the Transvaal to settle matters. Oddly enough, about + the same time the same proposition emanated from the Dutch party in the + Cape Colony, headed by Mr. Hofmeyer, a coincidence that inclines one to + the opinion that these friends of the Boers had some further reason for + thus urging Sir Henry de Villiers’ appointment as Commissioner beyond his + apparent fitness for the post, of which his high reputation as a lawyer + and in his private capacity was a sufficient guarantee. + </p> + <p> + The explanation is not hard to find, the fact being that, rightly or + wrongly, Sir Henry de Villiers, who is himself of Dutch descent, is noted + throughout South Africa for his sympathies with the Boer cause, and both + President Brand and the Dutch party in the Cape shrewdly suspected, that, + if the settling of differences were left to his discretion, the Boers and + their interests would receive very gentle handling. The course of action + adopted by him, when he became a member of the Royal Commission, went far + to support this view, for it will be noticed in the Report of the + Commissioners that in every single point he appears to have taken the Boer + side of the contention. Indeed so blind was he to their faults, that he + would not even admit that the horrible Potchefstroom murders and + atrocities, which are condemned both by Sir H. Robinson and Sir Evelyn + Wood in language as strong as the formal terms of a report will allow, + were acts contrary to the rules of civilised warfare. If those acts had + been perpetrated by Englishmen on Boers, or even on natives, I venture to + think Sir Henry de Villiers would have looked at them in a very different + light. + </p> + <p> + In the same telegram in which President Brand recommends the appointment + of Sir Henry de Villiers, he states that the allegations made by the + Triumvirate in the proclamation in which they accused Sir Owen Lanyon of + committing various atrocities, deserve to be investigated, as they + maintain that the collision was commenced by the authorities. Nobody knew + better than Mr. Brand that any English official would be quite incapable + of the conduct ascribed to Sir Owen Lanyon, whilst, even if the collision + had been commenced by the authorities, which as it happened it was not, + they would under the circumstances have been amply justified in so + commencing it. This remark by President Brand in his telegram was merely + an attempt to throw an air of probability over a series of slanderous + falsehoods. + </p> + <p> + Messages of this nature continued to pour along the wires from day to day, + but the tone of those from the Colonial Office grew gradually humbler; + thus we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing on the 8th February, that if the + Boers would desist from armed opposition all reasonable guarantees would + be given as to their treatment after submission, and that a scheme would + be framed for the “permanent friendly settlement of difficulties.” It will + be seen that the Government had already begun to water the meaning of + their declaration that they would vindicate Her Majesty’s authority. No + doubt Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Courtney, and their followers, had given + another turn to the Radical screw. + </p> + <p> + It is, however, clear that at this time no idea of the real aims of the + Government had entered into the mind of Sir George Colley, since on the + 7th February he telegraphed home a plan which he proposed to adopt on + entering the Transvaal, which included a suggestion that he should grant a + complete amnesty only to those Boers who would sign a declaration of + loyalty. + </p> + <p> + In answer to this he was ordered to do nothing of the sort, but to promise + protection to everybody and refer everything home. + </p> + <p> + Then came the battle of Ingogo, which checked for the time the flow of + telegrams, or rather varied their nature, for those despatched during the + next few days deal with the question of reinforcements. On the 13th + February, however, negotiations were reopened by Paul Kruger, one of the + Triumvirate, who offered, if all the troops were ordered to withdraw from + the Transvaal to give them a free passage through the Nek, to disperse the + Boers and to consent to the appointment of a Commission. + </p> + <p> + The offer was jumped at by Lord Kimberley, who, without making reference + to the question of withdrawing the soldiers, offered, if only the Boers + would disperse, to appoint a Commission with extensive powers to develop + the “permanent friendly settlement” scheme. The telegram ends thus: “Add, + that if this proposal is accepted, you now are authorised to agree to + suspension of hostilities on our part.” This message was sent to General + Wood, because the Boers had stopped the communications with Colley. On the + 19th, Sir George Colley replies in these words, which show his + astonishment at the policy adopted by the Home Government, and which, in + the opinion of most people, redound to his credit— + </p> + <p> + “Latter part of your telegram to Wood not understood. There can be no + hostilities if no resistance is made, but am I to leave Lang’s Nek in + Natal territory in Boer occupation, and our garrisons isolated and short + of provisions, or occupy former and relieve latter?” Lord Kimberley + hastens to reply that the garrisons must be left free to provision + themselves, “but we do not mean that you should march to the relief of + garrisons or occupy Lang’s Nek, if an arrangement proceeds.” + </p> + <p> + It will be seen that the definition of what vindication of Her Majesty’s + authority consisted grew broader and broader; it now included the right of + the Boers to continue to occupy their positions in the Colony of Natal. + </p> + <p> + Meanwhile the daily fire of complimentary messages was being kept up + between President Brand and Lord Kimberley, who alternatively gave + “sincere thanks to Lord Kimberley” and “fully appreciated the friendly + spirit” of President Brand, till on the 21st February the latter + telegraphs through Colley: “Hope of amicable settlement by negotiation, + but this will be greatly facilitated if somebody on spot and friendly + disposed to both, could by personal communication with both endeavour to + smooth difficulties. Offers his services to Her Majesty’s Government, and + Kruger and Pretorius and Joubert are willing.” Needless to say his + services were accepted. + </p> + <p> + Presently, however, on 27th February, Sir George Colley made his last + move, and took possession of Majuba. His defeat and death had the effect + of causing another temporary check in the peace negotiations, whilst Sir + Frederick Roberts with ample reinforcements was despatched to Natal. It + had the further effect of increasing the haughtiness of the Boer leaders, + and infusing a corresponding spirit of pliability or generosity into the + negotiations of Her Majesty’s Government. + </p> + <p> + Thus on 2d March, the Boers, through President Brand and Sir Evelyn Wood, + inform the Secretary of State for the Colonies, that they are willing to + negotiate, but decline to submit or cease opposition. Sir Evelyn Wood, who + evidently did not at all like the line of policy adopted by the + Government, telegraphed that he thought the best thing to do would be for + him to engage the Boers, and disperse them <i>vi et armis</i>, without any + guarantees, “considering the disasters we have sustained,” and that he + should, “if absolutely necessary,” be empowered to promise life and + property to the leaders, but that they should be banished from the + country. In answer to this telegram, Lord Kimberley informs him that Her + Majesty’s Government will amnesty <i>everybody</i> except those who have + committed acts contrary to the rules of civilised warfare, and that they + will agree to anything, and appoint a Commission to carry out the details, + and “be ready for friendly communications with <i>any persons</i> + appointed by the Boers.” + </p> + <p> + Thus was Her Majesty’s authority finally re-established in the Transvaal. + </p> + <p> + It was not a very grand climax, nor the kind of arrangement to which + Englishmen are accustomed, but perhaps, considering the circumstances, and + the well-known predilections of those who made the settlement, it was as + much as could be expected. + </p> + <p> + The action of the Government must not be considered, as though they were + unfettered in their judgment; it can never be supposed that they acted as + they did, because they thought such action right or even wise, for that + would be to set them down as men of a very low order of intelligence, + which they certainly are not. + </p> + <p> + It is clear that no set of sensible men, who had after much consideration + given their decision that under all the circumstances, the Transvaal must + remain British territory, and who, on a revolt subsequently breaking out + in that territory, had declared that Her Majesty’s rule must be upheld, + would have, putting aside all other circumstances, deliberately stultified + themselves by almost unconditionally, and of their own free will, + abandoning the country, and all Her Majesty’s subjects living in it. That + would be to pay a poor tribute to their understanding, since it is clear + that if reasons existed for retaining the Transvaal before the war, as + they were satisfied there did, those reasons would exist with still + greater force after a war had been undertaken and three crushing defeats + sustained, which if left unavenged must, as they knew, have a most + disastrous effect on our prestige throughout the South African continent. + </p> + <p> + I prefer to believe that the Government was coerced into acting as it did + by Radical pressure, both from outside, and from its immediate supporters + in the House, and that it had to choose between making an unconventional + surrender in the Transvaal and losing the support of a very powerful + party. Under these circumstances it, being Liberal in politics, naturally + followed its instincts, and chose surrender. + </p> + <p> + If such a policy was bad in itself, and necessarily mischievous in its + consequences, so much the worse for those who suffered by it; it was clear + that the Government could not be expected to lose votes in order to + forward the true interests of countries so far off as the South African + Colonies, which had had the misfortune to be made a party question of, and + must take the consequences. + </p> + <p> + There is no doubt that the interest brought to bear on the Government was + very considerable, for not only had they to deal with their own + supporters, and with the shadowy caucus that was ready to let the lash of + its displeasure descend even on the august person of Mr. Gladstone, should + he show signs of letting slip so rich an opportunity for the vindication + of the holiest principles of advanced Radicalism, but also with the + hydra-headed crowd of visionaries and professional sentimentalists who + swarm in this country, and who are always ready to take up any cause, from + that of Jumbo, or of a murderer, to that of oppressed peoples, such as the + Bulgarians, or the Transvaal Boers. + </p> + <p> + These gentlemen, burning with zeal, and filled with that confidence which + proverbially results from the hasty assimilation of imperfect and + erroneous information, found in the Transvaal question a great opportunity + of making a noise: and—as in a disturbed farmyard the bray of the + domestic donkey, ringing loud and clear among the utterances of more + intelligent animals, overwhelms and extinguishes them—so, and with + like effect, amongst the confused sound of various English opinions about + the Boer rising, rose the trumpet-note of the Transvaal Independence + Committee and its supporters. + </p> + <p> + As we have seen, they did not sound in vain. + </p> + <p> + On the 6th of March an armistice with the Boers had been entered into by + Sir Evelyn Wood, which was several times prolonged, up to the 21st March, + when Sir Evelyn Wood concluded a preliminary peace with the Boer leaders, + which, under certain conditions, guaranteed the restoration of the country + within six months, and left all other points to be decided by a Royal + Commission. + </p> + <p> + The news of this peace was at first received in the Colony in the silence + of astonishment. Personally, I remember, I would not believe that it was + true. It seemed to us, who had been witnesses of what had passed, and knew + what it all meant, something so utterly incredible that we thought there + must be a mistake. + </p> + <p> + If there had been any one redeeming circumstance about it, if the English + arms had gained a single decisive victory, it might have been so, but it + was hard for Englishmen, just at first, to understand that not only had + the Transvaal been to all appearance wrested from them by force of arms, + but that they were henceforth to be subject, as they well knew would be + the case, to the coarse insults of victorious Boers, and the sarcasms of + keener-witted Kafirs. + </p> + <p> + People in England seem to fancy that when men go to the Colonies they lose + all sense of pride in their country, and think of nothing but their own + advantage. I do not think that this is the case, indeed, I believe that, + individual for individual, there exists a greater sense of loyalty, and a + deeper pride in their nationality, and in the proud name of England, among + Colonists, than among Englishmen proper. Certainly the humiliation of the + Transvaal surrender was more keenly felt in South Africa than it was at + home; but, perhaps, the impossibility of imposing upon people in that + country with the farrago of nonsense about blood-guiltiness and national + morality, which was made such adroit use of at home, may have made the + difference. + </p> + <p> + I know that personally I would not have believed it possible that I could + feel any public event so keenly as I did this; indeed, I quickly made up + my mind that if the peace was confirmed, the neighbourhood of the + Transvaal would be no fit or comfortable residence for an Englishman, and + that I would, at any cost, leave the country,—which I accordingly + did. + </p> + <p> + Newcastle was a curious sight the night after the peace was declared, + every hotel and bar was crowded with refugees, who were trying to relieve + their feelings, by cursing the name of Gladstone, with a vigour, + originality, and earnestness, that I have never heard equalled; and + declaring in ironical terms how proud they were to be citizens of England—a + country that always kept its word. Then they set to work with many + demonstrations of contempt to burn the effigy of the Right Honourable + Gentleman at the head of Her Majesty’s Government, an example, by the way, + that was followed throughout South Africa. + </p> + <p> + Even Sir Evelyn Wood, who is very popular in the Colony, was hissed as he + walked through the town, and great surprise was expressed that a soldier + who came out expressly to fight the Boers, should consent to become the + medium of communication in such a dirty business. And, indeed, there was + some excuse for all this bitterness, for the news meant ruin to very many. + </p> + <p> + But if people in Natal and at the Cape received the news with + astonishment, how shall I describe its effect upon the unfortunate loyal + inhabitants in the Transvaal, on whom it burst like a thunderbolt? + </p> + <p> + They did not say much however, and indeed, there was nothing to be said, + they simply began to pack up such things as they could carry with them, + and to leave the country, which they well knew would henceforth be utterly + untenable for Englishmen or English sympathisers. In a few weeks they came + pouring down through Newcastle by hundreds; it was the most melancholy + exodus that can be imagined. There were people of all classes, officials, + gentlefolk, work-people, and loyal Boers, but they had a connecting link; + they had all been loyal, and they were all ruined. + </p> + <p> + Most of these people had gone to the Transvaal since it became a British + Colony, and invested all they had in it, and now their capital was lost + and their labour rendered abortive; indeed, many of them whom one had + known as well to do in the Transvaal, came down to Natal hardly knowing + how they would feed their families next week. + </p> + <p> + It must be understood that so soon as the Queen’s sovereignty was + withdrawn the value of landed and house property in the Transvaal went + down to nothing, and has remained there ever since. Thus a fair-sized + house in Pretoria brought in a rental varying from ten to twenty pounds a + month during British occupation, but after the declaration of peace, + owners of houses were glad to get people to live in them to keep them from + falling into ruin. Those who owned land or had invested money in + businesses suffered in the same way; their property remains, neither + profitable or saleable, and they themselves are precluded by their + nationality from living on it, the art of “Boycotting” not being peculiar + to Ireland. + </p> + <p> + Nor were they the only sufferers, the officials, many of whom had taken to + the Government service as a permanent profession, in which they expected + to pass their lives, were suddenly dismissed, mostly with a small + gratuity, which would about suffice to pay their debts, and told to find + their living as best they could. It was indeed a case of <i>vae victis</i>,—woe + to the conquered loyalists.[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] The following extract is clipped from a recent issue of + the “Transvaal Advertiser.” It describes the present + condition of Pretoria:— + + “The streets grown over with rank vegetation, the water- + furrows uncleaned and unattended, emitting offensive and + unhealthy stenches, the houses showing evident signs of + dilapidation and decay, the side paths, in many places, + dangerous to pedestrians; in fact, everything the eye can + rest upon indicates the downfall which has overtaken this + once prosperous city. The visitor can, if he be so minded, + betake himself to the outskirts and suburbs, where he will + perceive the same sad evidences of neglect, public grounds + unattended, roads uncared for, mills and other public works + crumbling into ruin. These palpable signs of decay most + strongly impress him. A blight seems to have come over this + lately fair and prosperous town. Rapidly it is becoming a + ‘deserted village,’ a ‘city of the dead.’” + </pre> + <p> + The Commission appointed by Her Majesty’s Government consisted of Sir + Hercules Robinson, Sir Henry de Villiers, and Sir Evelyn Wood, President + Brand being also present in his capacity of friend of both parties, and to + their discretion were left the settlement of all outstanding questions. + Amongst these, were the mode of trial of those persons who had been guilty + of acts contrary to the rules of civilised warfare, the question of + severance of territory from the Transvaal on the Eastern boundary, the + settlement of the boundary in the Keate-Award districts, the compensation + for losses sustained during the war, the functions of the British + Resident, and other matters. Their place of meeting was at Newcastle in + Natal, and from thence they proceeded to Pretoria. + </p> + <p> + The first question of importance that came before the Commission was the + mode of trial to be adopted in the cases of those persons accused of acts + contrary to the usages of civilised warfare, such as murder. The + Attorney-General for the Transvaal strongly advised that a special + Tribunal should be constituted to try these cases, principally because + “after a civil war in which all the inhabitants of a country, with very + few exceptions, have taken part, a jury of fair and impartial men, truly + unbiassed, will be very difficult to get together.” It is satisfactory to + know that the Commissioners gave this somewhat obvious fact “their grave + consideration,” which, according to their Report, resulted in their + determining to let the cases go before the ordinary court, and be tried by + a jury, because in referring them to a specially constituted court which + would have done equal justice without fear or favour, “the British + Government would have made for itself, among the Dutch population of South + Africa, a name for vindictive oppression, which no generosity in other + affairs could efface.” + </p> + <p> + There is more in this determination of the Commissioners, or rather of the + majority of them—for Sir E. Wood, to his credit be it said, refused + to agree in their decision—than meets the eye, the fact of the + matter being that it was privately well known to them, that, though the + Boer leaders might be willing to allow a few of the murderers to undergo + the form of a trial, neither they nor the Boers themselves, meant to + permit the farce to go any further. Had the men been tried by a special + tribunal they would in all probability have been condemned to death, and + then would have come the awkward question of carrying out the sentence on + individuals whose deeds were looked on, if not with general approval, at + any rate without aversion by the great mass of their countrymen. In short, + it would probably have become necessary either to reprieve them or to + fight the Boers again, since it was very certain that they would not have + allowed them to be hung. Therefore the majority of the Commissioners, + finding themselves face to face with a dead wall, determined to slip round + it instead of boldly climbing it, by referring the cases to the Transvaal + High Court, cheerfully confident of what the result must be. + </p> + <p> + After all, the matter was, much cry about little wool, for of all the + crimes committed by the Boers—a list of some of which will be found + in the Appendix to this book—in only three cases were a proportion + of the perpetrators produced and put through the form of trial. Those + three were, the dastardly murder of Captain Elliot, who was shot by his + Boer escort while crossing the Vaal river on parole; the murder of a man + named Malcolm, who was kicked to death in his own house by Boers, who + afterwards put a bullet through his head to make the job “look better;” + and the murder of a doctor named Barber, who was shot by his escort on the + border of the Free State. A few of the men concerned in the first two of + these crimes were tried in Pretoria: and it was currently reported at that + time, that in order to make their acquittal certain our Attorney-General + received instructions not to exercise his right of challenging jurors on + behalf of the Crown. Whether or not this is true I am not prepared to say, + but I believe it is a fact that he did not exercise that right, though the + counsel of the prisoners availed themselves of it freely, with the result + that in Elliot’s case, the jury was composed of eight Boers and one + German, nine being the full South African jury. The necessary result + followed; in both cases the prisoners were acquitted in the teeth of the + evidence. Barber’s murderers were tried in the Free State, and were, as + might be expected, acquitted. + </p> + <p> + Thus it will be seen that of all the perpetrators of murder and other + crimes during the course of the war not one was brought to justice. + </p> + <p> + The offence for which their victims died was, in nearly every case, that + they had served, were serving, or were loyal to Her Majesty the Queen. In + no single case has England exacted retribution for the murder of her + servants and citizens; but nobody can read through the long list of these + dastardly slaughters without feeling that they will not go unavenged. The + innocent blood that has been shed on behalf of this country, and the tears + of children and widows now appeal to a higher tribunal than that of Mr. + Gladstone’s Government, and assuredly they will not appeal in vain. + </p> + <p> + The next point of importance dealt with by the Commission was the question + whether or no any territory should be severed from the Transvaal, and kept + under English rule for the benefit of the native inhabitants. Lord + Kimberley, acting under pressure put upon him by members of the Aborigines + Protection Society, instructed the Commission to consider the advisability + of severing the districts of Lydenburg and Zoutpansberg, and also a strip + of territory bordering on Zululand and Swazieland from the Transvaal, so + as to place the inhabitants of the first two districts out of danger of + maltreatment by the Boers, and to interpose a buffer between Zulus, and + Swazies, and Boer aggression, and <i>vice versa</i>. + </p> + <p> + The Boer leaders had, it must be remembered, acquiesced in the principle + of such a separation in the preliminary peace signed by Sir Evelyn Wood + and themselves. The majority of the Commission, however (Sir Evelyn Wood + dissenting), finally decided against the retention of either of these + districts, a decision which I think was a wise one, though I arrive at + that conclusion on very different grounds to those adopted by the majority + of the Commission. + </p> + <p> + Personally, I cannot see that it is the duty of England to play policeman + to the whole world. To have retained these native districts would have + been to make ourselves responsible for their good government, and to have + guaranteed them against Boer encroachment, which I do not think that we + were called upon to do. It is surely not incumbent upon us, having given + up the Transvaal to the Boers, to undertake the management of the most + troublesome part of it, the Zulu border. Besides, bad as the abandonment + of the Transvaal is, I think that if it was to be done at all, it was best + to do it thoroughly, since to have kept some natives under our protection, + and to have handed over the rest to the tender mercies of the Boers, would + only be to render our injustice more obvious, whilst weakening the power + of the natives themselves to combine in self-defence; since those under + our protection would naturally have little sympathy with their more + unfortunate brethren—their interests and circumstances being + different. + </p> + <p> + The Commission do not seem to have considered the question from these + points of view, but putting them on one side, there are many other + considerations connected with it, which are ably summed up in their + Report. Amongst these is the danger of disturbances commenced between + Zulus or Swazies and Boers, spreading into Natal, and the probability of + the fomenting of disturbances amongst the Zulus by Boers. The great + argument for the retention of some territory, if only as a symbol that the + English had not been driven out of the country, is, however, set forth in + the forty-sixth paragraph of the Report, which runs as follows:—“The + moral considerations that determine the actions of civilised Governments + are not easily understood by barbarians, in whose eyes successful force is + alone the sign of superiority, and it appeared possible that the surrender + by the British Crown of one of its possessions to those who had been in + arms against it, might be looked upon by the natives in no other way than + as a token of the defeat and decay of the British Power, and that thus a + serious shock might be given to British authority in South Africa, and the + capacity of Great Britain to govern and direct the vast native population + within and without her South African dominions—a capacity resting + largely on the renown of her name—might be dangerously impaired.” + </p> + <p> + These words coming from so unexpected a source do not, though couched in + such mild language, hide the startling importance of the question + discussed. On the contrary, they accurately and with double weight convey + the sense and gist of the most damning argument against the policy of the + retrocession of the Transvaal in its entirety; and proceeding from their + own carefully chosen commissioners, can hardly have been pleasant reading + to Lord Kimberley and his colleagues. + </p> + <p> + The majority of the Commission then proceeds to set forth the arguments + advanced by the Boers against the retention of any territory, which appear + to have been chiefly of a sentimental character, since we are informed + that “the people, it seemed certain, would not have valued the restoration + of a mutilated country. Sentiment in a great measure had led them to + insurrection, and the force of such it was impossible to disregard.” Sir + E. Wood in his dissent, states, that he cannot even agree with the + premises of his colleagues’ argument, since he is convinced that it was + not sentiment that had led to the outbreak, but a “general and rooted + aversion to taxation.” If he had added, and a hatred not only of English + rule, but of all rule, he would have stated the complete cause of the + Transvaal rebellion. In the next paragraph of the Report, however, we find + the real cause of the pliability of the Commission in the matter, which is + the same that influenced them in their decision about the mode of trial of + the murderers and other questions:—they feared that the people would + appeal to arms if they decided against their wishes. + </p> + <p> + Discreditable and disgraceful as it may seem, nobody can read this Report + without plainly seeing that the Commissioners were, in treating with the + Boers on these points, in the position of ambassadors from a beaten people + getting the best terms they could. Of course, they well knew that this was + not the case, but whatever the Boer leaders may have said, the Boers + themselves did not know this, or even pretend to look at the matter in any + other light. When we asked for the country back, said they, we did not get + it; after we had three times defeated the English we did get it; the + logical conclusion from the facts being that we got it because we defeated + the English. This was their tone, and it is not therefore surprising that + whenever the Commission threatened to decide anything against them, they, + with a smile, let it know that if it did, they would be under the painful + necessity of re-occupying Lang’s Nek. It was never necessary to repeat the + threat, since the majority of the Commission would thereupon speedily find + a way to meet the views of the Boer representatives. + </p> + <p> + Sir Evelyn Wood, in his dissent, thus correctly sums up the matter:—“To + contend that the Royal Commission ought not to decide contrary to the + wishes of the Boers, because such decision might not be accepted, is to + deny to the Commission the very power of decision that it was agreed + should be left in its hands.” Exactly so. But it is evident that the + Commission knew its place, and so far from attempting to exercise any + “power of decision,” it was quite content with such concessions as it + could obtain by means of bargaining. Thus, as an additional reason against + the retention of any territory, it is urged that if this territory was + retained “the majority of your Commissioners . . . would have found + themselves in no favourable position for obtaining the concurrence of the + Boer leaders as to other matters.” In fact, Her Majesty’s Commission + appointed, or supposed to be appointed, to do Her Majesty’s will and + pleasure, shook in its shoes before men who had lately been rebels in arms + against Her authority, and humbly submitted itself to their dicta. + </p> + <p> + The majority of the Commission went on to express their opinion, that by + giving away about the retention of territory they would be able to obtain + better terms for the natives generally, and larger powers for the British + Resident. But, as Sir Evelyn Wood points out in his Report, they did + nothing of the sort, the terms of the agreement about the Resident and + other native matters being all consequent on and included in the first + agreement of peace. Besides, they seem to have overlooked the fact that + such concessions as they did obtain are only on paper, and practically + worthless, whilst all <i>bona fide</i> advantages remained with the Boers. + </p> + <p> + The decision of the Commissioners in the question of the Keate Award, + which next came under their consideration, appears to have been a + judicious one, being founded on the very careful Report of Colonel Moysey, + R.E., who had been for many months collecting information on the spot. The + Keate Award Territory is a region lying to the south-west of the + Transvaal, and was, like many other districts in that country, originally + in the possession of natives, of the Baralong and Batlapin tribes. + Individual Boers having, however, <i>more suo</i> taken possession of + tracts of land in the district, difficulties speedily arose between their + Government and the native chiefs, and in 1871 Mr. Keate, + Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, was by mutual consent called in to arbitrate + on the matter. His decision was entirely in favour of the natives, and was + accordingly promptly and characteristically repudiated by the Boer + Volksraad. From that time till the rebellion the question remained + unsettled, and was indeed a very thorny one to deal with. The Commission, + acting on the principle <i>in medio tutissimus ibis</i>, drew a line + through the midst of the disputed territory, or, in other words, set aside + Mr. Keate’s award and interpreted the dispute in favour of the Boers. + </p> + <p> + This decision was accepted by all parties at the time, but it has not + resulted in the maintenance of peace. The principal Chief, Montsoia, is an + old ally and staunch friend of the English, a fact which the Boers were + not able to forget or forgive, and they appear to have stirred up rival + Chiefs to attack him, and to have allowed volunteers from the Transvaal to + assist them. Montsoia has also enlisted some white volunteers, and several + fights have taken place, in which the loss of life has been considerable. + Whether or no the Transvaal Government is directly concerned it is + impossible to say, but from the fact that cannon are said to have been + used against Montsoia it would appear that it is, since private + individuals do not, as a rule, own Armstrong guns.[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] I beg to refer any reader interested in this matter to + the letter of “Transvaal” to the “Standard,” which I have + republished in the Appendix to this book. +</pre> + <p> + Amongst the questions remaining for the consideration of the Commissioners + was that of what compensation should be given for losses during the war. + Of course, the great bulk of the losses sustained were of an indirect + nature, resulting from the necessary and enormous depreciation in the + value of land and other property, consequent on the retrocession. Into + this matter the Home Government declined to enter, thereby saving its + pocket at the price of its honour, since it was upon English guarantees + that the country would remain a British possession, that the majority of + the unfortunate loyals invested their money in it. It was, however, agreed + by the Commission (Sir H. de Villiers dissenting) that the Boers should be + liable for compensation in cases where loss had been sustained through + commandeering seizure, confiscation, destruction, or damage of property. + The sums awarded under these heads have already amounted to about 110,000 + pounds, which sum has been defrayed by the Imperial Government, the Boer + authorities stating that they were not in a position to pay it. + </p> + <p> + In connection with this matter, I will pass to the Financial clauses of + the Report. When the country was annexed, the public debt amounted to + 301,727 pounds. Under British rule this debt was liquidated to the extent + of 150,000 pounds, but the total was brought up by a Parliamentary grant, + a loan from the Standard Bank, and sundries to 390,404 pounds, which + represented the public debt of the Transvaal on the 31st December 1880. + This was further increased by moneys advanced by the Standard Bank and + English Exchequer during the war, and till the 8th August 1881, during + which time the country yielded no revenue, to 457,393 pounds. To this must + be added an estimated sum of 200,000 pounds for compensation charges, + pension allowances, &c., and a further sum of 383,000 pounds, the cost + of the successful expedition against Secocoeni, that of the unsuccessful + one being left out of account, bringing up the total public debt to over a + million, of which about 800,000 pounds is owing to this country. + </p> + <p> + This sum, with the characteristic liberality that distinguished them in + their dealings with the Boers, but which was not so marked where loyals + were concerned, the Commissioners (Sir Evelyn Wood dissenting) reduced by + a stroke of the pen to 265,000 pounds, thus entirely remitting an + approximate sum of 500,000 pounds, or 600,000 pounds. To the sum of + 265,000 pounds still owing, must be added say another 150,000 pounds for + sums lately advanced to pay the compensation claims, bringing up the + actual amount now owing to England to something under half a million, of + which I say with confidence she will never see a single 10,000 pounds. As + this contingency was not contemplated, or if contemplated, not alluded to + by the Royal Commission, provision was made for a sinking fund, by means + of which the debt, which is a second charge on the revenues of the States, + is to be extinguished in twenty-five years. + </p> + <p> + It is a strange instance of the proverbial irony of fate, that whilst the + representatives of the Imperial Government were thus showering gifts of + hundreds of thousands of pounds upon men who had spurned the benefits of + Her Majesty’s rule, made war upon her forces, and murdered her subjects, + no such consideration was extended to those who had remained loyal to her + throne. Their claims for compensation were passed by unheeded; and looking + from the windows of the room in which they sat in Newcastle, the members + of the Commission might have seen them flocking down from a country that + could no longer be their home; those that were rich among them made poor, + and those that were poor reduced to destitution. + </p> + <p> + The only other point which it will be necessary for me to touch on in + connection with this Report is the duties of the British Resident and his + relations to the natives. He was to be invested as representative of the + Suzerain with functions for securing the execution of the terms of peace + as regards: (1.) The control of the foreign relations of the State; (2.) + The control of the frontier affairs of the State; and (3.) The protection + of the interests of the natives in the State. + </p> + <p> + As regards the first of these points, it was arranged that the interests + of subjects of the Transvaal should be left in the hands of Her Majesty’s + representatives abroad. Since Boers are, of all people in the world, the + most stay-at-home, our ambassadors and consuls are not likely to be + troubled much on their account. With reference to the second point, the + Commission made stipulations that would be admirable if there were any + probability of their being acted up to. The Resident is to report any + encroachment on native territory by Boers to the High Commissioner, and + when the Resident and the Boer Government differ, the decision of the + Suzerain is to be final. This is a charming way of settling difficulties, + but the Commission forgets to specify how the Suzerain’s decision is to be + enforced. After what has happened, it can hardly have relied on awe of the + name of England to bring about the desired obedience! + </p> + <p> + But besides thus using his beneficent authority to prevent subjects of the + Transvaal from trespassing on their neighbour’s land, the Resident is to + exercise a general supervision over the interests of all the natives in + the country. Considering that they number about a million, and are + scattered over a territory larger than France, one would think that this + duty alone would have taken up the time of any ordinary man; and, indeed, + Sir Evelyn Wood was in favour of the appointment of sub-residents to + assist him. The majority of the Commission refused, however, to listen to + any such suggestion—believing, they said, “that the least possible + interference with the independent Government of the State would be the + wisest.” Quite so, but I suppose it never occurred to them to ask the + natives what their views of the matter were! The Resident was also to be a + member of a Native Location Committee, which was at some future time, to + provide land for natives to live on. + </p> + <p> + In perusing this Report it is easy to follow with more or less accuracy + the individual bent of its framers. Sir Hercules Robinson figures + throughout as a man who has got a disagreeable business to carry out, in + obedience to instructions that admit of no trifling with, and who has set + himself to do the best he can for his country, and those who suffer + through his country’s policy, whilst obeying those instructions. He has + evidently choked down his feelings and opinions as an individual, and + turned himself into an official machine, merely registering in detail the + will of Lord Kimberley. With Sir Henry de Villiers the case is very + different, one feels throughout that the task is to him a congenial one, + and that the Boer cause has in him an excellent friend. Indeed, had he + been an advocate of their cause instead of a member of the Commission, he + could not have espoused their side on every occasion with greater zeal. + According to him they were always in the right, and in them he could find + no guile. Mr. Hofmeyer and President Brand exercised a wise discretion + from their own point of view, when they urged his appointment as Special + Commissioner. I now come to Sir Evelyn Wood, who was in the position of an + independent Englishman, neither prejudiced in favour of the Boers, or the + reverse, and on whom, as a military man, Lord Kimberley would find it + difficult to put the official screw. The results of his happy position are + obvious in the paper attached to the end of the Report, and signed by him, + in which he totally and entirely differs from the majority of the + Commission on every point of importance. Most people will think that this + very outspoke and forcible dissent deducts somewhat from the value of the + Report, and throws a shadow of doubt on the wisdom of its provisions. + </p> + <p> + The formal document of agreement between Her Majesty’s Government and the + Boer leaders, commonly known as the Convention, was signed by both parties + at Pretoria on the afternoon of the 3d August 1881, in the same room in + which, nearly four years before, the Annexation Proclamation was signed by + Sir T. Shepstone. + </p> + <p> + Whilst this business was being transacted in Government House, a curious + ceremony was going on just outside, and within sight of the windows. This + was the ceremonious burial of the Union Jack, which was followed to the + grave by a crowd of about 2000 loyalists and native chiefs. On the outside + of the coffin was written the word “Resurgam,” and an eloquent oration was + delivered over the grave. Such demonstrations are, no doubt, foolish + enough, but they are not entirely without political significance. + </p> + <p> + But a more unpleasant duty awaited the Commissioners than that of + attaching their signatures to a document,—consisting of the + necessity of conveying Her Majesty’s decision as to the retrocession, to + about a hundred native Chiefs, until now Her Majesty’s subjects, who had + been gathered together to hear it. It must be borne in mind that the + natives had not been consulted as to the disposal of the country, although + they outnumber the white people in the proportion of twenty to one, and + that, beyond some worthless paper stipulations, nothing had been done for + their interests. + </p> + <p> + Personally, I must plead guilty to what I know is by many, especially by + those who are attached to the Boer cause, considered as folly if not + worse, namely, a sufficient interest in the natives, and sympathy with + their sufferings to bring me to the conclusion, that in acting thus we + have inflicted a cruel injustice upon them. It seems to me, that as they + were the original owners of the soil, they were entitled to some + consideration in the question of its disposal, and consequently and + incidentally, of their own. I am aware that it is generally considered + that the white man has a right to the black man’s possessions and land, + and that it is his high and holy mission to exterminate the wretched + native and take his place. But with this conclusion I venture to differ. + So far as my own experience of natives has gone, I have found that in all + the essential qualities of mind and body, they very much resemble white + men, with the exception that they are, as a race, quicker-witted, more + honest, and braver, than the ordinary run of white men. Of them might be + aptly quoted the speech Shakespeare puts into Shylock’s mouth: “Hath not a + Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, + passions?” In the same way I ask, Has a native no feelings or affections? + does he not suffer when his parents are shot, or his children stolen, or + when he is driven a wanderer from his home? Does he not know fear, feel + pain, affection, hate and gratitude? Most certainly he does; and this + being so, I cannot believe that the Almighty, who made both white and + black, gave to the one race the right or mission of exterminating, or even + of robbing or maltreating the other, and calling the process the advance + of civilisation. It seems to me, that on only one condition, if at all, + have we the right to take the black man’s land; and that is, that we + provide them with an equal and a just Government, and allow no + maltreatment of them, either as individuals or tribes: but, on the + contrary, do our best to elevate them, and wean them from savage customs. + Otherwise, the practice is surely undefensible. + </p> + <p> + I am aware, however, that with the exception of a small class, these are + sentiments which are not shared by the great majority of the public, + either at home or abroad. Indeed, it can be plainly seen how little + sympathy they command, from the fact that but scanty remonstrance was + raised at the treatment meted out to our native subjects in the Transvaal, + when they were, to the number of nearly a million, handed over from the + peace, justice, and security, that on the whole characterise our rule, to + a state of things, and possibilities of wrong and suffering which I will + not try to describe. + </p> + <p> + To the chiefs thus assembled Sir Hercules Robinson, as President of the + Royal Commission, read a statement, and then retired, refusing to allow + them to speak in answer. The statement informed the natives that “Her + Majesty’s Government, with that sense of justice which befits a great and + powerful nation,” had returned the country to the Boers, “whose + representatives, Messrs. Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert, I now,” said Sir + Hercules, “have much pleasure in introducing to you.” If reports are true, + the native Chiefs had, many of them personally, and all of them by + reputation, already the advantage of a very intimate acquaintance with all + three of these gentlemen, so that an introduction was somewhat + superfluous. + </p> + <p> + Sir Hercules went on to explain to them that locations would be allotted + to them at some future time; that a British Resident would be appointed, + whose especial charge they would be, but that they must bear in mind that + he was not the ruler of the country, but the Government, “subject to Her + Majesty’s suzerain rights.” Natives were, no doubt, expected to know by + intuition what suzerain rights are. The statement then goes on to give + them good advice as to the advantages of indulging in manual labour when + asked to do so by the Boers, and generally to show them how bright and + happy is the future that lies before them. Lest they should be too elated + by such good tidings, they are, however, reminded that it will be + necessary to retain the law relating to passes, which is, in the hands of + a people like the Boers, about as unjust a regulation as a dominant race + can invent for the oppression of a subject people, and had, in the old + days of the Republic, been productive of much hardship. The statement + winds up by assuring them that their “interests will never be forgotten or + neglected by Her Majesty’s Government.” Having read the document the + Commission hastily withdrew, and after their withdrawal the Chiefs were + “allowed” to state their opinions to the Secretary for Native Affairs. + </p> + <p> + In availing themselves of this permission, it is noticeable that no + allusion was made to all the advantages they were to reap under the + Convention, nor did they seem to attach much importance to the appointment + of the British Resident. On the contrary, all their attention was given to + the great fact that the country had been ceded to the Boers, and that they + were no longer the Queen’s subjects. We are told, in Mr. Shepstone’s + Report, that they “got very excited,” and “asked whether it was thought + that they had no feelings or hearts, that they were thus treated as a + stick or piece of tobacco, which could be passed from hand to hand without + question.” Umgombarie, a Zoutpansberg Chief, said, “I am Umgombarie. I + have fought with the Boers, and have many wounds, and they know that what + I say is true. . . . I will never consent to place myself under their + rule. I belong to the English Government. I am not a man who eats with + both sides of his jaw at once; I only use one side. I am English, I have + said.” Silamba said, “I belong to the English. I will never return under + the Boers. You see me, a man of my rank and position, is it right that + such as I should be seized and laid on the ground and flogged, as has been + done to me and other chiefs?” + </p> + <p> + Sinkanhla said: “We hear and yet do not hear, we cannot understand. We are + troubling you, Chief, by talking in this way; we hear the Chiefs say that + the Queen took the country because the people of the country wished it, + and again that the majority of the owners of the country did not wish + their rule, and that therefore the country was given back. We should like + to have the man pointed out from among us black people who objects to the + rule of the Queen. We are the real owners of the country; we were here + when the Boers came, and without asking leave, settled down and treated us + in every way badly. The English Government then came and took the country; + we have now had four years of rest and peaceful and just rule. We have + been called here to-day, and are told that the country, our country, has + been given to the Boers by the Queen. This is a thing which surprises us. + Did the country, then, belong to the Boers? Did it not belong to our + fathers and forefathers before us, long before the Boers came here? We + have heard that the Boers’ country is at the Cape. If the Queen wishes to + give them their land, why does she not give them back the Cape?” + </p> + <p> + I have quoted this speech at length, because, although made by a despised + native, it sets forth their case more powerfully and in happier language + than I can do. + </p> + <p> + Umyethile said: “We have no heart for talking. I have returned to the + country from Sechelis, where I had to fly from Boer oppression. Our hearts + are black and heavy with grief to-day at the news told us, we are in + agony, our intestines are twisting and writhing inside of us, just as you + see a snake do when it is struck on the head. . . . We do not know what + has become of us, but we feel dead; it may be that the Lord may change the + nature of the Boers, and that we will not be treated like dogs and beasts + of burden as formerly, but we have no hope of such a change, and we leave + you with heavy hearts and great apprehension as to the future.” In his + Report, Mr. Shepstone (the Secretary for Native Affairs) says: “One chief, + Jan Sibilo, who has been, he informed me, personally threatened with death + by the Boers after the English leave, could not restrain his feelings, but + cried like a child.” + </p> + <p> + I have nothing to add to these extracts, which are taken from many such + statements. They are the very words of the persons most concerned, and + will speak for themselves. + </p> + <p> + The Convention was signed on the 3d August 1881, and was to be formally + ratified by a Volksraad or Parliament of the Burghers within three months + of that date, in default of which it was to fall to the ground and become + null and void. + </p> + <p> + Anybody who has followed the course of affairs with reference to the + retrocession of the Transvaal, or who has even taken the trouble to read + through this brief history, will probably come to the conclusion that, + under all the circumstances, the Boers had got more than they could + reasonably expect. Not so, however, the Boers themselves. On the 28th + September the newly-elected Volksraad referred the Convention to a General + Committee to report on, and on the 30th September the Report was + presented. On the 3d October a telegram was despatched through the British + Resident to “His Excellency W. E. Gladstone,” in which the Volksraad + states that the Convention is not acceptable— + </p> + <p> + (1.) Because it is in conflict with the Sand River Treaty of 1852. + </p> + <p> + (2.) Because it violates the peace agreement entered into with Sir Evelyn + Wood, in confidence of which the Boers laid down their arms. + </p> + <p> + The Volksraad consequently declared that modifications were desirable, and + that certain articles <i>must</i> be altered. + </p> + <p> + To begin with, they declare that the “conduct of foreign relations does + not appertain to the Suzerain, only supervision,” and that the articles + bearing on these points must consequently be modified. They next attack + the native question, stating that “the Suzerain has not the right to + interfere with our Legislature,” and state that they cannot agree to + Article 3, which gives the Suzerain a right of veto on Legislation + connected with the natives, to Article 13, by virtue of which natives are + to be allowed to acquire land, and to the last part of Article 26, by + which it is provided that whites of alien race living in the Transvaal + shall not be taxed in excess of the taxes imposed on Transvaal citizens. + </p> + <p> + They further declare that it is “infra dignitatem” for the President of + the Transvaal to be a member of a Commission. This refers to the Native + Location Commission, on which he is, in the terms of the Convention, to + sit, together with the British Resident, and a third person jointly + appointed. + </p> + <p> + They next declare that the amount of the debt for which the Commission has + made them liable should be modified. Considering that England had already + made them a present of from 600,000 pounds to 800,000 pounds, this is a + most barefaced demand. Finally, they state that “Articles 15, 16, 26, and + 27, are superfluous, and only calculated to wound our sense of honour” + (sic). + </p> + <p> + Article 15 enacts that no slavery or apprenticeship shall be tolerated. + </p> + <p> + Article 16 provides for religious toleration. + </p> + <p> + Article 26 provides for the free movement, trading, and residence of all + persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of the + Transvaal. + </p> + <p> + Article 27 gives to all the right of free access to the Courts of Justice. + </p> + <p> + Putting the “sense of honour” of the Transvaal Volksraad out of the + question, past experience has but too plainly proved that these Articles + are by no means superfluous. + </p> + <p> + In reply to this message, Sir Hercules Robinson telegraphs to the British + Resident on the 21st October in the following words:— + </p> + <p> + “Having forwarded Volksraad Resolution of 15th to Earl of Kimberley, I am + desired to instruct you in reply to repeat to the Triumvirate that Her + Majesty’s Government cannot entertain any proposals for a modification of + the Convention <i>until after it has been ratified</i>, and the necessity + for further concession proved by experience.” + </p> + <p> + I wish to draw particular attention to the last part of this message, + which is extremely typical of the line of policy adopted throughout in the + Transvaal business. The English Government dared not make any further + concession to the Boers, because they felt that they had already strained + the temper of the country almost to breaking in the matter. On the other + hand, they were afraid that if they did not do something, the Boers would + tear up the Convention, and they would find themselves face to face with + the old difficulty. Under these circumstances, they have fallen back upon + their temporising and un-English policy, which leaves them a back-door to + escape through, whatever turn things take. Should the Boers now suddenly + turn round and declare, which is extremely probable, that they repudiate + their debt to us, or that they are sick of the presence of a British + Resident, the Government will be able to announce that “the necessity for + further concession” has now been “proved by experience,” and thus escape + the difficulty. In short, this telegram has deprived the Convention of + whatever finality it may have possessed, and made it, as a document, as + worthless as it is as a practical settlement. That this is the view taken + of it by the Boers themselves, is proved by the text of the Ratification + which followed on the receipt of this telegram. + </p> + <p> + The tone of this document throughout is, in my opinion, considering from + whom it came, and against whom it is directed, very insolent. And it amply + confirms what I have previously said, that the Boers looked upon + themselves as a victorious people making terms with those they have + conquered. The Ratification leads off thus: “The Volksraad is not + satisfied with this Convention, and considers that the members of the + Triumvirate performed a fervent act of love for the Fatherland when they + upon their own responsibility signed such an unsatisfactory state + document.” This is damning with faint praise indeed. It then goes on to + recite the various points of object, stating that the answers from the + English Government proved that they were well founded. “The English + Government,” it says, “acknowledges indirectly by this answer (the + telegram of 21st October, quoted above) that the difficulties raised by + the Volksraad are neither fictitious nor unfounded, inasmuch <i>as it + desires from us the concession</i> that we, the Volksraad, shall submit it + to a practical test.” It will be observed that English is here represented + as begging the favour of a trial of her conditions from the Volksraad of + the Transvaal Boers. The Ratification is in these words: “Therefore it is + that the Raad here unanimously resolves not to go into further discussion + of the Convention, <i>and maintaining all objections to the Convention</i> + as made before the Royal Commission or stated in the Raad, and for the + purpose of showing to everybody that the love of peace and unity inspires + us, <i>for the time and provisionally</i> submitting the articles of the + Convention to a practical test, <i>hereby complying with the request of + the English Government</i> contained in the telegram of the 13th October + 1881, proceeds to ratify the Convention.” + </p> + <p> + It would have been interesting to have seen how such a Ratification as + this, which is no Ratification but an insult, would have been accepted by + Lord Beaconsfield. I think that within twenty-four hours of its arrival in + Downing Street, the Boer Volksraad would have received a startling answer. + But Lord Beaconsfield is dead, and by his successor it was received with + all due thankfulness and humility. His words, however, on this subject + still remain to us, and even his great rival might have done well to + listen to them. It was in the course of what was, I believe, the last + speech he made in the House of Lords, that speaking about the Transvaal + rising, he warned the Government that it was a very dangerous thing to + make peace with rebellious subjects in arms against the authority of the + Queen. The warning passed unheeded, and the peace was made in the way I + have described. + </p> + <p> + As regards the Convention itself, it will be obvious to the reader that + the Boers have not any intention of acting up to its provisions, mild as + they are, if they can possibly avoid them, whilst, on the other hand, + there is no force at hand to punish their disregard or breach. It is all + very well to create a Resident with extensive powers; but how is he to + enforce his decisions? What is he to do if his awards are laughed at and + made a mockery of, as they are and will be? The position of Mr. Hudson at + Pretoria is even worse than that of Mr. Osborn in Zululand. For instance, + the Convention specifies in the first article that the Transvaal is to be + known as the Transvaal State. The Boer Government have, however, thought + fit to adopt the name of “South African Republic” in all public documents. + Mr. Hudson was accordingly directed to remonstrate, which he did in a + feeble way; his remonstrance was politely acknowledged, but the country is + still officially called the South African Republic, the Convention and Mr. + Hudson’s remonstrations notwithstanding. Mr. Hudson, however, appears to + be better suited to the position than would have been the case had an + Englishman, pure and simple, been appointed, since it is evident that + things that would have struck the latter as insults to the Queen he + represented, and his country generally, are not so understood by him. In + fact, he admirably represents his official superiors in his capacity of + swallowing rebuffs, and when smitten on one cheek delightedly offering the + other. + </p> + <p> + Thus we find him attending a Boer meeting of thanksgiving for the success + that had waited on their arms and the recognition of their independence, + where most people will consider he was out of place. To this meeting, thus + graced by his presence, an address was presented by a branch of the + Africander Bond, a powerful institution, having for its object the total + uprootal of English rule and English customs in South Africa, to which he + must have listened with pleasure. In it he, in common with other members + of the meeting, is informed that “you took up the sword and struck the + Briton with such force” that “the Britons through fear revived that sense + of justice to which they could not be brought by petitions,” and that the + “day will soon come that we shall enter with you on one arena for the + entire independence of South Africa,” i.e., independence from English + rule. + </p> + <p> + On the following day the Government gave a dinner, to which all those who + had done good service during the late hostilities were invited, the + British Resident being apparently the only Englishman asked. Amongst the + other celebrities present I notice the name of Buskes. This man, who is an + educated Hollander, was the moving spirit of the Potchefstroom atrocities; + indeed, so dark is his reputation that the Royal Commission refused to + transact business with him, or to admit him into their presence. Mr. + Hudson was not so particular. And now comes the most extraordinary part of + the episode. At the dinner it was necessary that the health of Her Majesty + as Suzerain should be proposed, and with studied insolence this was done + last of all the leading political toasts, and immediately after that of + the Triumvirate. Notwithstanding this fact, and that the toast was couched + by Mr. Joubert, who stated that “he would not attempt to explain what a + Suzerain was,” in what appear to be semi-ironical terms, we find that Mr. + Hudson “begged to tender his thanks to the Honourable Mr. Joubert for the + kind way in which he proposed the toast.” + </p> + <p> + It may please Mr. Hudson to see the name of the Queen thus metaphorically + dragged in triumph at the chariot wheels of the Triumvirate, but it is + satisfactory to know that the spectacle is not appreciated in England: + since, on a question in the House of Lords, by the Earl of Carnarvon, who + characterised it as a deliberate insult, Lord Kimberley replied that the + British Resident had been instructed that in future he was not to attend + public demonstrations unless he had previously informed himself that the + name of Her Majesty would be treated with proper respect. Let us hope that + this official reprimand will have its effect, and that Mr. Hudson will + learn therefrom that there is such a thing as <i>trop de zele</i>—even + in a good cause. + </p> + <p> + The Convention is now a thing of the past, the appropriate rewards have + been lavishly distributed to its framers, and President Brand has at last + prevailed upon the Volksraad of the Orange Free State to allow him to + become a Knight Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George,—the + same prize looked forward to by our most distinguished public servants at + the close of the devotion of their life to the service of their country. + But its results are yet to come—though it would be difficult to + forecast the details of their development. One thing, however, is clear: + the signing of that document signalised an entirely new departure in South + African affairs, and brought us within a measurable distance of the + abandonment, for the present at any rate, of the supremacy of English rule + in South Africa. + </p> + <p> + This is the larger issue of the matter, and it is already bearing fruit. + Emboldened by their success in the Transvaal, the Dutch party at the Cape + are demanding, and the demand is to be granted, that the Dutch tongue be + admitted <i>pari passu</i> with English, as the official language in the + Law Courts and the House of Assembly. When a country thus consents to use + a foreign tongue equally with its own, it is a sure sign that those who + speak it are rising to power. But “the Party” looks higher than this, and + openly aims at throwing off English rule altogether, and declaring South + Africa a great Dutch republic. The course of events is favourable to their + aspiration. Responsible Government is to be granted to Natal, which + country not being strong enough to stand alone in the face of the many + dangers that surround her, will be driven into the arms of the Dutch party + to save herself from destruction. It will be useless for her to look for + help from England, and any feelings of repugnance she may feel to Boer + rule will soon be choked by necessity, and a mutual interest. It is, + however, possible that some unforeseen event, such as the advent to power + of a strong Conservative Ministry, may check the tide that now sets so + strongly in favour of Dutch supremacy. + </p> + <p> + It seems to me, however, to be a question worthy of the consideration of + those who at present direct the destinies of the Empire, whether it would + not be wise, as they have gone so far, to go a little further and favour a + scheme for the total abandonment of South Africa, retaining only Table + Bay. If they do not, it is now quite within the bounds of sober + possibility that they may one day have to face a fresh Transvaal + rebellion, only on a ten times larger scale, and might find it difficult + to retain even Table Bay. If, on the other hand, they do, I believe that + all the White States in South Africa will confederate of their own + free-will, under the pressure of the necessity for common action, and the + Dutch element being preponderant, at once set to work to exterminate the + natives on general principles, in much the same way, and from much the + same motives that a cook exterminates black beetles, because she thinks + them ugly, and to clear the kitchen. + </p> + <p> + I need hardly say that such a policy is not one that commands my sympathy, + but Her Majesty’s Government having put their hand to the plough, it is + worth their while to consider it. It would at any rate be in perfect + accordance with their declared sentiments, and command an enthusiastic + support from their followers. + </p> + <p> + As regards the smaller and more immediate issue of the retrocession, + namely, its effect on the Transvaal itself, it cannot be other than evil. + The act is, I believe, quite without precedent in our history, and it is + difficult to see, looking at it from those high grounds of national + morality assumed by the Government, what greater arguments can be advanced + in its favour, than could be found to support the abandonment of,—let + us say,—Ireland. Indeed a certain parallel undoubtedly exists + between the circumstances of the two countries. Ireland was, like the + Transvaal, annexed, though a long time ago, and has continually agitated + for its freedom. The Irish hate us, so did the Boers. In Ireland, + Englishmen are being shot, and England is running the awful risk of + bloodguiltiness, as it did in the Transvaal. In Ireland, smouldering + revolution is being fanned into flame by Mr. Gladstone’s speeches and + acts, as it was in the Transvaal. In Ireland, as in the Transvaal, there + exists a strong loyal class that receives insults instead of support from + the Government, and whose property, as was the case there, is taken from + them without compensation, to be flung as a sop to stop the mouths of the + Queen’s enemies. And so I might go on, finding many such similarities of + circumstances, but my parallel, like most parallels, must break down at + last. Thus—it mattered little to England whether or no she let the + Transvaal go, but to let Ireland go would be more than even Mr. Gladstone + dare attempt. + </p> + <p> + Somehow, if you follow these things far enough, you always come to vulgar + first principles. The difference between the case of the Transvaal and + that of Ireland is a difference not of justice but of cause, for both + causes are equally unjust or just according as they are viewed, but of + mere common expediency. Judging from the elevated standpoint of the + national morality theory however, which, as we know, soars above such + truisms as the foolish statement that force is a remedy, or that if you + wish to retain your prestige you must not allow defeats to pass unavenged, + I cannot see why, if it was righteous to abandon the Transvaal, it would + not be equally righteous to abandon Ireland! + </p> + <p> + As for the Transvaal, that country is not to be congratulated on its + success, for it has destroyed all its hopes of permanent peace, has ruined + its trade and credit, and has driven away the most useful and productive + class in the community. The Boers, elated by their success in arms, will + be little likely to settle down to peaceable occupations, and still less + likely to pay their taxes, which, indeed, I hear they are already refusing + to do. They have learnt how easily even a powerful Government can be + upset, and the lesson is not likely to be forgotten, for want of + repetition to their own weak one. + </p> + <p> + Already the Transvaal Government hardly knows which way to turn for funds, + and is, perhaps fortunately for itself, quite unable to borrow, through + want of credit. + </p> + <p> + As regards the native question, I agree with Mr. H. Shepstone, who, in his + Report on this subject, says that he does not believe that the natives + will inaugurate any action against the Boers, so long as the latter do not + try to collect taxes, or otherwise interfere with them. But if the Boer + Government is to continue to exist, it will be bound to raise taxes from + the natives, since it cannot collect much from its white subjects. The + first general attempt of the sort will be the signal for active resistance + on the part of the natives, whom, if they act without concert, the Boers + will be able to crush in detail, though with considerable loss. If, on the + other hand, they should have happened, during the last few years, to have + learnt the advantages of combination, as is quite possible, perhaps they + will crush the Boers. + </p> + <p> + The only thing that is at present certain about the matter is that there + will be bloodshed, and that before long. For instance, the Montsoia + difficulty in the Keate Award has in it the possibilities of a serious + war, and there are plenty such difficulties ready to spring into life + within and without the Transvaal. + </p> + <p> + In all human probability it will take but a small lapse of time for the + Transvaal to find itself in the identical position from which we relieved + it by the Annexation. + </p> + <p> + What course events will then take it is impossible to say. It may be found + desirable to re-annex the country, though, in my opinion, that would be, + after all that has passed, an unfortunate step; its inhabitants may be cut + up piecemeal by a combined movement of native tribes, as they would have + been, had they not been rescued by the English Government in 1877, or it + is possible that the Orange Free State may consent to take the Transvaal + under its wing: who can say? There is only one thing that our recently + abandoned possession can count on for certain, and that is trouble, both + from its white subjects, and the natives, who hate the Boers with a bitter + and a well-earned hatred. + </p> + <p> + The whole question, can, so far as its moral aspect is concerned, be + summed up in a few words. + </p> + <p> + Whether or no the Annexation was a necessity at the moment of its + execution,—which I certainly maintain it was—it received the + unreserved sanction of the Home Authorities, and the relations of + Sovereign and subject, with all the many and mutual obligations involved + in that connection, were established between the Queen of England and + every individual of the motley population of the Transvaal. Nor was this + change an empty form, for, to the largest proportion of that population, + this transfer of allegiance brought with it a priceless and a vital boon. + To them it meant—freedom and justice—for where, on any portion + of this globe over which the British ensign floats, does the law even wink + at cruelty or wrong? + </p> + <p> + A few years passed away, and a small number of the Queen’s subjects in the + Transvaal rose in rebellion against Her authority, and inflicted some + reverses on Her arms. Thereupon, in spite of the reiterated pledges given + to the contrary—partly under stress of defeat, and partly in + obedience to the pressure of “advanced views”—the country was + abandoned, and the vast majority who had remained faithful to the Crown, + was handed to the cruel despotism of the minority who had rebelled against + it. + </p> + <p> + Such an act of treachery to those to whom we were bound with double chains—by + the strong ties of a common citizenship, and by those claims to England’s + protection from violence and wrong which have hitherto been wont to + command it, even where there was no duty to fulfil, and no authority to + vindicate—stands—I believe—without parallel on our + records, and marks a new departure in our history. + </p> + <p> + I cannot end these pages without expressing my admiration of the extremely + able way in which the Boers managed their revolt, when once they felt + that, having undertaken the thing, it was a question of life and death + with them. It shows that they have good stuff in them somewhere, which, + under the firm but just rule of Her Majesty, might have been much + developed, and it makes it the more sad that they should have been led to + throw off that rule, and have been allowed to do so by an English + Government. + </p> + <p> + In conclusion, there is one point that I must touch on, and that is the + effect of the retrocession on the native mind, which I can only describe + as most disastrous. The danger alluded to in the Report of the Royal + Commission has been most amply realised, and the prevailing belief in the + steadfastness of our policy, and the inviolability of our plighted word, + which has hitherto been the great secret of our hold on the Kafirs, has + been rudely shaken. The motives that influenced, or are said to have + influenced, the Government in their act, are naturally quite + unintelligible to savages, however clever, who do believe that force is a + remedy, and who have seen the inhabitants of a country ruled by England, + defeat English soldiers and take possession of it, whilst those who + remained loyal to England were driven out of it. It will not be wonderful + if some of them, say the natives of Natal, deduce therefrom conclusions + unfavourable to loyalty, and evince a desire to try the same experiment. + </p> + <p> + It is, however, unprofitable to speculate on the future, which must be + left to unfold itself. + </p> + <p> + The curtain is, so far as this country is concerned, down for the moment + on the South African stage; when it rises again, there is but too much + reason to fear that it will reveal a state of confusion, which, unless it + is more wisely and consistently dealt with in the future than it has been + in the past, may develop into chaos. + </p> + <p> + <a name="link2H_APPE" id="link2H_APPE"> + <!-- H2 anchor --> </a> + </p> + <div style="height: 4em;"> + <br /><br /><br /><br /> + </div> + <h2> + APPENDIX + </h2> + <p> + I THE POTCHEFSTROOM ATROCITIES, &C. + </p> + <p> + There were more murders and acts of cruelty committed during the war at + Potchefstroom, where the behaviour of the Boers was throughout both + deceitful and savage, than at any other place. + </p> + <p> + When the fighting commenced a number of ladies and children, the wives and + children of English residents, took refuge in the fort. Shortly after it + had been invested they applied to be allowed to return to their homes in + the town till the war was over. The request was refused by the Boer + commander, who said that as they had gone there, they might stop and + “perish” there. One poor lady, the wife of a gentleman well known in the + Transvaal, was badly wounded by having the point of a stake, which had + been cut in two by a bullet, driven into her side. She was at the time in + a state of pregnancy, and died some days afterwards in great agony. Her + little sister was shot through the throat, and several other women and + children suffered from bullet wounds, and fever arising from their being + obliged to live for months exposed to rain and heat, with insufficient + food. + </p> + <p> + The moving spirit of all the Potchefstroom atrocities was a cruel wretch + of the name of Buskes, a well-educated man, who, as an advocate of the + High Court, had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. + </p> + <p> + One deponent swears that he saw this Buskes wearing Captain Fall’s diamond + ring, which he had taken from Sergeant Ritchie, to whom it was handed to + be sent to England, and also that he had possessed himself of the + carriages and other goods belonging to prisoners taken by the Boers.[*] + Another deponent (whose name is omitted in the Blue Book for precautionary + reasons) swears, “That on the next night the patrol again came to my house + accompanied by one Buskes, who was secretary of the Boer Committee, and + again asked where my wife and daughter were. I replied, in bed; and Buskes + then said, ‘I must see for myself.’ I refused to allow him, and he forced + me, with a loaded gun held to my breast, to open the curtains of the bed, + when he pulled the bedclothes half off my wife, and altogether off my + daughter. I then told him if I had a gun I would shoot him. He placed a + loaded gun at my breast, when my wife sprang out of bed and got between + us.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] Buskes was afterwards forced to deliver up the ring. +</pre> + <p> + I remember hearing at the time that this Buskes (who is a good musician) + took one of his victims, who was on the way to execution, into the chapel + and played the “Dead March in Saul,” or some such piece, over him on the + organ. + </p> + <p> + After the capture of the Court House a good many Englishmen fell into the + hands of the Boers. Most of these were sentenced to hard labour and + deprivation of “civil rights.” The sentence was enforced by making them + work in the trenches under a heavy fire from the fort. One poor fellow, F. + W. Finlay by name, got his head blown off by a shell from his own friends + in the fort, and several loyal Kafirs suffered the same fate. After these + events the remaining prisoners refused to return to the trenches till they + had been “tamed” by being thrashed with the butt end of guns, and by + threats of receiving twenty-five lashes each. + </p> + <p> + But their fate, bad as it was, was not so awful as that suffered by Dr. + Woite and J. Van der Linden. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Woite had attended the Boer meeting which was held before the + outbreak, and written a letter from thence to Major Clarke, in which he + had described the talk of the Boers as silly bluster. He was not a paid + spy. This letter was, unfortunately for him, found in Major Clarke’s + pocket-book, and because of it he was put through a form of trial, taken + out and shot dead, all on the same day. He left a wife and large family, + who afterwards found their way to Natal in a destitute condition. + </p> + <p> + The case of Van der Linden is somewhat similar. He was one of Raaf’s + Volunteers, and as such had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. In + the execution of his duty he made a report to his commanding officer about + the Boer meeting, and which afterwards fell into the hands of the Boers. + On this he was put through the form of trial, and, though in the service + of the Queen, was found guilty of treason and condemned to death. One of + his judges, a little less stony-hearted than the rest, pointed out that + “when the prisoner committed the crime martial law had not yet been + proclaimed, nor the State,” but it availed him nothing. He was taken out + and shot. + </p> + <p> + A Kafir named Carolus was also put through the form of trial and shot, for + no crime at all that I can discover. + </p> + <p> + Ten unarmed Kafir drivers, who had been sent away from the fort, were shot + down in cold blood by a party of Boers. Several witnesses depose to having + seen their remains lying together close to Potchefstroom. + </p> + <p> + Various other Kafirs were shot. None of the perpetrators of these crimes + were brought to justice. The Royal Commission comments on these acts as + follows:— + </p> + <p> + “In regard to the deaths of Woite, Van de Linden, and Carolus, the Boer + leaders do not deny the fact that those men had been executed, but sought + to justify it. The majority of your Commissioners felt bound to record + their opinion that the taking of the lives of these men was an act + contrary to the rules of civilised warfare. Sir H. de Villiers was of + opinion that the executions in these cases, having been ordered by + properly constituted Court Martial of the Boers’ forces after due trial, + did not fall under the cognisance of your Commissioners. + </p> + <p> + “Upon the case of William Finlay the majority of your Commissioners felt + bound to record the opinion that the sacrifice of Finlay’s life, through + forced labour under fire in the trenches, was an act contrary to the rules + of civilised warfare. <i>Sir H. de Villiers did not feel justified by the + facts of the case in joining in this expression of opinion</i> (sic). As + to the case of the Kafir Andries, your Commissioners decided that, + although the shooting of this man appeared to them, from the information + laid before them, to be not in accordance with the rules of civilised + warfare, under all the circumstances of the case, it was not desirable to + insist upon a prosecution. + </p> + <p> + “The majority of your Commissioners, although feeling it a duty to record + emphatically their disapproval of the acts that resulted in the deaths of + Woite, Van der Linden, Finlay, and Carolus, yet found it impossible to + bring to justice the persons guilty of these acts.” + </p> + <p> + It will be observed that Sir H. de Villiers does not express any + disapproval, emphatic or otherwise, of these wicked murders. + </p> + <p> + But Potchefstroom did not enjoy a monopoly of murder. + </p> + <p> + In December 1880, Captain Elliot, who was a survivor from the Bronker + Spruit massacre, and Captain Lambart, who had been taken prisoner by the + Boers whilst bringing remounts from the Free State, were released from + Heidelberg on parole on condition that they left the country. An escort of + two men brought them to a drift of the Vaal river, where they refused to + cross, because they could not get their cart through, the river being in + flood. The escort then returned to Heidelberg and reported that the + officers would not cross. A civil note was then sent back to Captains + Elliot and Lambart, signed by P. J. Joubert, telling them “to pass the + Vaal river immediately by the road that will be shown to you.” What secret + orders, if any, were sent with this letter has never transpired; but I + decline to believe that, either in this or in Barber’s case, the Boer + escort took upon themselves the responsibility of murdering their + prisoners, without authority of some kind for the deed. + </p> + <p> + The men despatched from Heidelberg with the letter found Lambert and + Elliot wandering about and trying to find the way to Standerton. They + presented the letter, and took them towards a drift in the Vaal. Shortly + before they got there the prisoners noticed that their escort had been + reinforced. It would be interesting to know, if these extra men were not + sent to assist in the murder, how and why they turned up as they did and + joined themselves to the escort. The prisoners were taken to an old and + disused drift of the Vaal river and told to cross. It was now dark, and + the river was much swollen with rain; in fact, impassable for the cart and + horses. Captains Elliot and Lambart begged to be allowed to outspan till + the next morning, but were told that they must cross, which they + accordingly attempted to do. A few yards from the bank the cart stuck on a + rock, and whilst in this position the Boer escort poured a volley into it. + Poor Elliot was instantly killed, one bullet fracturing his skull, another + passing through the back, a third shattering the right thigh, and a fourth + breaking the left wrist. The cart was also riddled, but, strange to say, + Captain Lambert was untouched, and succeeded in swimming to the further + bank, the Boers firing at him whenever the flashes of lightning revealed + his whereabouts. After sticking some time in the mud of the bank he + managed to effect his escape, and next day reached the house of an + Englishman called Groom, living in the Free State, and from thence made + his way to Natal. + </p> + <p> + Two of the murderers were put through a form of trial, after the + conclusion of peace, and acquitted. + </p> + <p> + The case of the murder of Dr. Barber is of a somewhat similar character to + that of Elliot, except that there is in this case a curious piece of + indirect evidence that seems to connect the murder directly with Piet + Joubert, one of the Triumvirate. + </p> + <p> + In the month of February 1881, two Englishmen came to the Boer laager at + Lang’s Nek to offer their services as doctors. Their names were Dr. + Barber, who was well known to the Boers, and his assistant, Mr. Walter + Dyas, and they came, not from Natal, but the Orange Free State. On arrival + at the Boer camp they were at first well received, but after a little + while seized, searched, and tied up all night to a disselboom (pole of a + waggon). Next morning they were told to mount their horses, and started + from the camp escorted by two men who were to take them over the Free + State line. + </p> + <p> + When they reached the Free State line the Boers told them to get off their + horses, which they were ordered to bring back to the camp. They did so, + bade good-day to their escort, and started to walk on towards their + destination. When they had gone about forty yards Dyas heard the report of + a rifle, and Barber called out, “My God, I am shot!” and fell dead. + </p> + <p> + Dyas went down on his hands and knees and saw one of the escort + deliberately aim at him. He then jumped up, and ran dodging from right to + left, trying to avoid the bullet. Presently the man fired, and he felt + himself struck through the thigh. He fell with his face to the men, and + saw his would-be assassin put a fresh cartridge into his rifle and aim at + him. Turning his face to the ground he awaited his death, but the bullet + whizzed past his head. He then saw the men take the horses and go away, + thinking they had finished him. After waiting a while he managed to get + up, and struggled to a house not far off, where he was kindly treated and + remained till he recovered. + </p> + <p> + Some time after this occurrence a Hottentot, named Allan Smith, made a + statement at Newcastle, from which it appears that he had been taken + prisoner by the Boers and made to work for them. One night he saw Barber + and Dyas tied to the disselboom, and overheard the following, which I will + give in his own words:— + </p> + <p> + “I went to a fire where some Boers were sitting; among them was a + low-sized man, moderately stout, with a dark-brown full beard, apparently + about thirty-five years of age. I do not know his name. <i>He was telling + his comrades that he had brought an order from Piet Joubert</i> to + Viljoen, to take the two prisoners to the Free State line <i>and shoot + them there</i>. He said, in the course of conversation, ‘Piet Joubert het + gevraacht waarom was de mensche neet dood geschiet toen hulle bijde eerste + laager gekom het.’ (‘Piet Joubert asked why were the men not shot when + they came to the first laager.’) They then saw me at the fire, and one of + them said, ‘You must not talk before that fellow; he understands what you + say, and will tell everybody.’ + </p> + <p> + “Next morning Viljoen told me to go away, and gave me a pass into the Free + State. He said (in Dutch), ‘you must not drive for any Englishmen again. + If we catch you doing so we will shoot you, and if you do not go away + quick, and we catch you hanging about when we bring the two men to the + line, we will shoot you too.’” + </p> + <p> + Dyas, who escaped, made an affidavit with reference to this statement in + which he says, “I have read the foregoing affidavit of Allan Smith, and I + say that the person described in the third paragraph thereof as bringing + orders from Piet Joubert to Viljoen, corresponds with one of the Boers who + took Dr. Barber and myself to the Free State, and to the best of my belief + he is the man who shot Dr. Barber.” + </p> + <p> + The actual murderers were put on their trial in the Free State, and, of + course, acquitted. In his examination at the trial, Allan Smith says, “It + was a young man who said that Joubert had given orders that Barber had to + be shot. . . . It was not at night, but in the morning early, when the + young man spoke about Piet Joubert’s order.” + </p> + <p> + Most people will gather, from what I have quoted, that there exists a + certain connection between the dastardly murder of Dr. Barber (and the + attempted murder of Mr. Dyas), and Piet Joubert, one of that “able” + Triumvirate of which Mr. Gladstone speaks so highly. + </p> + <p> + I shall only allude to one more murder, though more are reported to have + occurred, amongst them—that of Mr. Malcolm, who was kicked to death + by Boers,—and that is Mr. Green’s. + </p> + <p> + Mr. Green was an English gold-digger, and was travelling along the main + road to his home at Spitzcop. The road passed close by the military camp + at Lydenburg, into which he was called. On coming out he went to a Boer + patrol with a flag of truce, and whilst talking to them was shot dead. The + Rev. J. Thorne, the English clergyman at Lydenburg, describes this murder + in an affidavit in the following words:— + </p> + <p> + “That I was the clergyman who got together a party of Englishmen and + brought down the body of Mr. Green who was murdered by the Boers and + buried it. I have ascertained the circumstances of the murder, which were + as follows:—Mr. Green was on his way to the gold-fields. As he was + passing the fort, he was called in by the officers, and sent out again + with a message to the Boer commandant. Immediately on leaving the camp, he + went to the Boer guard opposite with a flag of truce in his hand; while + parleying with the Boers, who proposed to make a prisoner of him, he was + shot through the head.” + </p> + <p> + No prosecution was instituted in this case. Mr. Green left a wife and + children in a destitute condition. + </p> + <p> + II + </p> + <p> + PLEDGES GIVEN BY MR. GLADSTONE’S GOVERNMENT AS TO THE RETENTION OF THE + TRANSVAAL AS A BRITISH COLONY + </p> + <p> + The following extracts from the speeches, despatches, and telegrams of + members of the present Government, with reference to the proposed + retrocession of the Transvaal, are not without interest:— + </p> + <p> + During the month of May 1880, Lord Kimberley despatched a telegram to Sir + Bartle Frere, in which the following words occur: “<i>Under no + circumstances can the Queen’s authority in the Transvaal be relinquished.</i>” + </p> + <p> + In a despatch dated 20th May, and addressed to Sir Bartle Frere, Lord + Kimberley says, “That the sovereignty of the Queen in the Transvaal could + not be relinquished.” + </p> + <p> + In a speech in the House of Lords on the 24th May 1880, Lord Kimberley + said:— + </p> + <p> + “There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding; it was + impossible to say what calamities such a step as receding might not cause. + We had, at the cost of much blood and treasure, restored peace, and the + effect of our now reversing our policy would be to leave the province in a + state of anarchy, and possibly to cause an internecine war. For such a + risk he could not make himself responsible. The number of the natives in + the Transvaal was estimated at about 800,000, and that of the whites less + than 50,0000. Difficulties with the Zulus and frontier tribes would again + arise, and, looking as they must to South Africa as a whole, the + Government, after a careful consideration of the question, came to the + conclusion <i>that we could not relinquish the Transvaal</i>. Nothing + could be more unfortunate than uncertainty in respect to such a matter.” + </p> + <p> + On the 8th June 1880, Mr. Gladstone, in reply to a Boer memorial, wrote as + follows:— + </p> + <p> + “It is undoubtedly a matter for much regret that it should, since the + Annexation, have appeared that so large a number of the population of + Dutch origin in the Transvaal are opposed to the annexation of that + territory, but it is impossible now to consider that question as if it + were presented for the first time. We have to do with a state of things + which has existed for a considerable period, during which <i>obligations + have been contracted, especially, though not exclusively, towards the + native population, which cannot be set aside</i>. Looking to all the + circumstances, both of the Transvaal and the rest of South Africa, and to + the necessity of preventing a renewal of disorders, which might lead to + disastrous consequences, not only to the Transvaal but to the whole of + South Africa, <i>our judgment is that the Queen cannot be advised to + relinquish the Transvaal</i>.” + </p> + <p> + Her Majesty’s Speech, delivered in Parliament on the 6th January 1881, + contains the following words: “A rising in the Transvaal has recently + imposed upon me the duty of <i>vindicating my authority</i>.” + </p> + <p> + These extracts are rather curious reading in face of the policy adopted by + the Government, after our troops had been defeated. + </p> + <p> + III THE CASE OF INDABEZIMBI + </p> + <p> + This is a case which came under my own notice. The complainant is now a + tenant of my own. When Indabezimbi appeared before Mr. Cochrane and + myself, his appearance fully bore out his description of the assault made + upon him. We did everything in our power to help him to recover his son + and his property, but without effect. The matter was fully reported to Sir + Hercules Robinson and Sir E. Wood, and a question was asked on the subject + in the House of Commons. I append Mr. Courtney’s answer. This case, which + is perfectly authentic, will prove instructive reading, as showing the + treatment the Kafir must expect at the hands of the Boer, now that he is + no longer protected by us. It must be remembered that the vast majority of + such incidents are never heard of. The Kafirs suffer, and are still. The + assault and robbery of Indabezimbi took place in Natal territory. + </p> + <p> + Statement of Indabezimbi + </p> + <p> + “I used to work on Mr. Robson’s son’s place, and on his death I went to + Meyer’s (in the Utrecht district of the Transvaal) about a year ago. I + took all my property with me. There lived on the farm old Isaac Meyer, + Solomon Meyer, who died during the war, young Isaac Meyer, Jan Meyer, + Martinus Meyer, also a man called Cornelius, a ‘bijwooner,’ who loved in + Solomon’s place after he died. + </p> + <p> + “According to custom, I sent my son to work for old Isaac Meyer, as I + lived on his place. When the war began all the Meyer family moved further + into the Transvaal, my son going with them as herd. I went up to Klip + River with them as driver, where the river forms the boundary between the + Free State and Transvaal. I returned at once, leaving my son with the + Meyers. He was a small boy about twelve years of age. At the termination + of the war the Meyers sent for me to drive them down. I met them a day’s + journey this side of Klip River. I asked them where my son was. Old Isaac + Meyer told me he had sent him to look for horses; he did not return; and + another boy was sent who brought the horses. The horses were found close + by. No one went to look for my son. I asked old Isaac Meyer for leave to + go and offer a reward amongst the Kafirs for my son. He refused, saying I + must drive him home, and then he would give me a pass to come back and + look for him. On our arrival at the farm I and my wife again applied to + old Isaac Meyer to be allowed to go and see about my son. He refused, + saying I must first shear the sheep. I replied that he well knew that I + could not shear sheep. I said, ‘How can I work when my heart is sore for + my son?’ Meyer said again that I must wait awhile as the rivers were full. + I said how could that matter, seeing that both in coming and going with + the waggons we crossed no rivers? As he refused me a pass, I started + without one to seek my son. On arrival at Mavovo’s kraal I met my brother, + who told me that I must go no further, or the Boers would shoot me. Having + no pass I returned. On my return my wives told me that the Meyers had come + every morning to look for me with guns to shoot me, telling them that ‘it + was now no longer the days for sjamboking (flogging with hide whips) the + natives, but the days for shooting them.’ On hearing this I collected my + goods, and by morning had everything on the Natal side of the Buffalo + River—on Natal ground. About mid-day Martinus Meyer overtook us by + Degaza’s kraal and asked me what I was doing on the Natal side of the + river. I told him I was leaving for Natal, because I found it altogether + too hot for me in the Transvaal. He said that if I came back he would make + everything comfortable. I refused. He then attacked me with a knobkerrie, + and would have killed me had not one of my wives, seeing that I was badly + hurt, knocked him down with a piece of iron. Martinus then mounted his + horse and galloped off. I then got on my horse and fled. My wives hid + themselves. In the afternoon there came to the waggon Jan Meyer, Martinus + Meyer, young Isaac Meyer, and the man called Cornelius. They hunted all + about for us with the object of shooting us, as they told Degaza’s Kafirs. + My wives then saw them inspan the waggon and take everything away. I had a + waggon, twelve oxen, four cows, and a mare, also a box containing two + hundred pounds in gold, a telescope, clothes, and other things. My wives + found the box broken on the ground and all the contents gone. Forty sacks + of grain belonging to me were also taken. I was robbed of everything I + had, with the exception of the horse I escaped on. The waggon was one I + hired from my brother (a relation); the oxen were my own brother’s. Eighty + pounds of the money I got from the Standard Bank in Newcastle for oxen + sold to the owner of the store on the Ingagane Drift. The rest I had + accumulated in fees from doctoring. I am a doctor amongst my own people. I + come now to ask you to allow me to settle on your land as a refugee. + </p> + <p> + “(Signed) Indabezimbi, his X mark. + </p> + <p> + “This statement was made by Indabezimbi at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, on + the Seventeenth of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one, in the + presence of the undersigned witnesses. + </p> + <p> + “(Signed) H. Rider Haggard. A. H. D. Cochrane. J. H. Gay Roberts. + </p> + <p> + “N.B.—The outrage of which Indabezimbi has here given an account + occurred within a week of the present date, August 17th, 1881.” + </p> + <p> + Statement of the woman Nongena, Wife of Indabezimbi + </p> + <p> + “My master’s name is Isaac Meyer; he lives in the Transvaal, south of + Utrecht. We have lived on the farm about a year. On the farm lived also + Jan Meyer, Martinus Meyer, and young Isaac Meyer, sons of old Isaac Meyer. + There was also another man on the farm, whose name I do not know. When the + waggon went up with the Meyers’ family to the centre of the Transvaal, + when the late war broke out, my husband drove old Isaac Meyer’s waggon, + and my son Ungazaan also went to drive on stock. After my husband had + driven the waggon to its destination in the Transvaal he returned to the + kraal, leaving his son Ungazaan with the Meyers. After the war was over my + husband was sent for by the Meyers to drive back the waggons. On arrival + of the Meyers at the farm I found my husband had returned, but my son was + left behind. I asked my master where my son was; my master replied, ‘He + did not know, he had sent to boy to bring up horses, but he had not + brought them.’ Another boy was sent who brought the horses. He said he had + not seen the boy Ungazaan since he left to look for the horses, as they + had left the place the morning after the boy was missing. My husband asked + for a pass to go back and look for the boy; Meyer refused, and my husband + went without one to look for Ungazaan, my son. He returned without the + boy, owing, he said, to the want of a pass. My husband dared not go into + the country without a pass. During my husband’s absence, the three sons of + old Isaac Meyer, namely, Martinus, Jan, and Isaac, came every morning to + search for my husband, saying, ‘We will kill him, he leaves our work to go + without our leave for look for the boy.’ They came once with sjamboks, but + afterwards with guns, saying they would kill him if they found him. On + hearing this my husband said, ‘We cannot then stay here longer.’ He then + went at once and borrowed a waggon and twelve oxen, and during the night + we packed the waggon three times, and took three loads across the Buffalo + River to Degaza’s kraal, which is on Natal ground, forty sacks of grain, + 200 pounds in a box, with clothes and other things, also mats and skins, + and four head of cattle and a horse. All these things were at Degaza’s + kraal before sunrise the next morning. The Induna Kabane, at the + magistrate’s office at Newcastle, knows of the money, and from whence it + came. All the money is our money. + </p> + <p> + “About mid-day on the day after the night we moved, Martinus came on + horseback to us at Degaza’s kraal, and I saw him beating my husband with a + kerrie; he hit him also in the mouth with his fist. He hit my husband on + the head with a kerrie; he beat my husband on the foot when he was trying + to creep away in a hut, and would have killed him had not one of his wives + named Camgagaan hit Martinus on the head with a piece of iron. Martinus, + on recovery, rode away; my husband also fled on a horse. + </p> + <p> + “I with the other wives fled, and hid ourselves close by in the grass and + stones. Presently we saw from our own hiding-place three white men, armed + with guns, seeking for us. Their names were Martinus Meyer, Jan Meyer, and + Isaac Meyer, all three sons of old Isaac Meyer. They sought us in vain. + From our hiding-place we heard the waggon driven away; and later, when we + went back to Degaza’s kraal, they told us that the Meyers had inspanned + the waggon, and had returned with it to the Transvaal side of the Buffalo + River. The names of those who saw the Boers go away with the waggon are + Gangtovo, Capaches, Nomatonga, Nomamane, and others. The Boers took away + on the waggon that night all the last load we had brought over from the + Transvaal, together with all our clothes; and some of the sacks first + brought over were loaded up, all our cattle were taken, and our box was + broken, and the 200 pounds taken away. We found the pieces of the box on + the ground when we came from our hiding-place. We then fled. The people at + Degaza’s kraal told us that the Boers had said that they would return, and + take away that which they were forced to leave behind when they took the + first load. We have since heard from Degaza that the Boers came back again + and took what remained of our property at Degaza’s kraal. Degaza saw the + Boers take the things himself. + </p> + <p> + “This is all I know of the facts. The assaults and robbery took place, as + near as I can say, about fourteen days ago.” + </p> + <p> + (Signed) Nongena, her X mark. + </p> + <p> + Gagaoola, also wife of Indabezimbi, states:—“I have heard all that + Nongena has told you. Her words are true; I was present when the assault + and robbery took place.” + </p> + <p> + (Signed) Gagaoola, her X mark. + </p> + <p> + These statements were made to us at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, on the + Twenty-second of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one. + </p> + <p> + A. H. D. Cochrane. + </p> + <p> + H. Rider Haggard. + </p> + <p> + (Signed) Ayah, her X mark, Interpreter. + </p> + <p> + Indabezimbi + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Alderman Fowler asked the Under Secretary of State for the Colonies, + whether the British Resident at Pretoria had brought under the notice of + the Transvaal Government the circumstances of an outrage committed in + August last, by a party of Boers, on the person and property of a Kafir + named Indabezimbi, who was at that time residing in Natal; and whether any + steps had been taken by the authorities of the Transvaal either to + institute a judicial inquiry into the matter, or to surrender the + offenders to the Government of Natal. + </p> + <p> + “Mr. Courtney.—On the 13th of October the British Resident reported + that, according to promise, the Government has caused an investigation to + be made at Utrecht, and informed him that the result was somewhat to + invalidate the statement of Indabezimbi; but that the documents connected + with the investigation at Utrecht would speedily be forwarded to him with + a view to correspondence through him with the Natal Government. No further + communication has been received. It must be observed that, in the absence + of any extradition convention, a judicial inquiry in this case is + practically impossible, the outrage, whatever it was, having been + committed in Natal, and the offenders being in the Transvaal. Her + Majesty’s Government are taking active steps to re-establish a system of + extradition, in pursuance of Article 29, of the Convention. The despatches + on this subject will be given to Parliament when the correspondence is + completed.” + </p> + <p> + IV A BOER ADVERTISEMENT + </p> + <p> + It may be interesting to Englishmen to know what treatment is meted out to + such of their fellow-countrymen as have been bold enough, or forced by + necessity, to remain in the Transvaal since the retrocession. The + following is a translation of an advertisement recently published in the + “Volkstem,” a Transvaal paper, and is a fair sample of what “loyalists” + have to expect. + </p> + <p> + “WARNING + </p> + <p> + “We, the undersigned Burghers of the Ward Aapies river, hereby warn all + loyal persons who have registered themselves with the British Resident, + that they are not to come into our houses, or into our farms, and still + less to offer to shake hands. They can greet us at a distance on the road + <i>like Kafirs</i>, and those who act contrary to this notice can expect + the result.” + </p> + <p> + Presumably “the result” that the Englishman who takes the liberty to offer + to shake hands with a Boer can expect, is to be beaten or murdered. This + notice is signed by the Justice of the Peace or “Veld Cornet” of the + district. Anybody who knows the estimation in which a Kafir is held by the + Boers will understand its peculiar insolence. + </p> + <p> + V “TRANSVAAL’S” LETTER TO THE “STANDARD” + </p> + <p> + The following letter appeared in the issue of the “Standard” of the 31st + May 1882, and is dated Pretoria, 27th April. It is signed “Transvaal,” + probably because the author, were he to put his name at the foot of so + candid a document, would find himself in much the same position as that + occupied at the present moment by an Irish landlord who has outraged the + susceptibilities of the Land League. He would be rigorously “boycotted,” + and might, in the event of any disturbance, be made into a target. The + Transvaal Boers are very sensitive to criticism, especially where their + native policy is concerned. I take the liberty to reprint the letter here, + partly because I feel sure that I will be forwarding the wishes of the + writer by assisting to give publicity to his facts, and partly on account + of the striking and recent confirmation it affords, on every point, to my + remarks on the same subject:— + </p> + <p> + “Sir,—In calling your attention to what is going on on the + south-western border of the Transvaal, I may possibly tell you of some + things which you may already have heard of, for in the present isolated + condition of the country, without telegraphs, and with a very imperfect + postal system, added to the jealousy of the Boer Government in keeping + their actions secret from the outside world, it is not only very difficult + to get at the truth of what is happening, but the people in one portion of + the country are in many cases totally ignorant of what is going on in + another. Nevertheless, I feel it incumbent on me to call the attention of + the English people, through your widely circulating journal, to what has + come under my observation with reference to the disgraceful native war + which is, and has been, raging on the south-west border of this country. + </p> + <p> + “During the late Boer war, you may be aware of the fact that a very large + number, if not all, of the natives, were strongly in favour of the English + Government, and only awaited the signal from it to rush upon their old + oppressors. But the natives, although forbidden by the English Government + from joining with them against the Boers (it is hardly necessary to say + that had it not been for this the war would have had a very different + ending), nevertheless afforded an asylum and protection to the lives and + property of refugee Englishmen and loyalists. Notable among these natives + was a Chief named Montsiou, whose tribe is situated just outside the + borders of the Transvaal to the south-west. This Chief and his people + received numbers of refugees who fled to them for protection from the + rapacity of the Boers, and watched over them and their property throughout + the war. For this offence the Boers swore to be revenged on him, and + hardly was the war finished when they commenced commandeering in the + Potchefstroom district, under the pretence of protecting their borders, + but with the ostensible purpose of inflicting chastisement on this loyal + Chief; and, the better to effect their purpose, they allied themselves + with a neighbouring Chief, who had some old grudge against him, and, by + promises of assistance and hopes of plunder, induced him to commence a + war, under cover of which they could join, and thus effect the purpose + they had in view. + </p> + <p> + “The Chiefs whom the Boers had instigated to harass Montsiou got the worst + of it, and the action of the Boers, who were actively commandeering in the + Potchefstroom (district?), under Commandant Cronge, was brought to the + notice of the Royal Commission through complaints made by loyal Boers, and + resulted in an inquiry into the subject, which showed that his opponent + was the aggressor, and was acting under the advice of and assistance from + the Boers. The Royal Commission managed to patch matters up, but no sooner + were their labours over, and the country fairly handed over to the Boers, + than Moshete and Masouw, instigated by the Boers, commenced again + harassing Montsiou, with the avowed purpose of bringing on a war, and so + far succeeded as to oblige Montsiou to take up arms in self-defence. + </p> + <p> + “From that time forward the war has gone on increasing in dimensions, + until other Chiefs have been drawn into it, and the Boer volunteers + fighting against Montsiou and Monkoroane are almost equal in numbers to + the natives. The Boers, while doing all they can to crush Montsiou on + account of the protection he afforded loyalists during the late war + against the English Government, are careful not to do it in an official + way, because that might cause trouble with England, whereas, by aiding and + assisting it privately, they could do quite as much without incurring + responsibility. You may naturally ask how I know all this, and what proofs + I can advance in support of it. Some time after the Royal Commission had + left the country, and the war had commenced again, Piet Joubert, who is + Commandant-General, went down to the border with the object of putting an + end to the war. This, I presume, he did for the sake of appearances, for + it is well known that he entertains a strong hatred against those natives + who in any way showed a partiality for British rule; and when it is + remembered that Piet Joubert’s journey did not result in a cessation of + hostilities, but in an increase, and that ever since his journey the war + has increased in area and in numbers, and that in no single instance has a + Boer volunteer been prevented from crossing the border, or ammunition for + use against Montsiou been stopped, the sincerity of his intentions may + well be doubted. + </p> + <p> + “Then, again, officers in the Boer Jagers went about Pretoria endeavouring + to obtain volunteers to fight against Montsiou, saying that they were to + have some months’ leave from the Government, and that subscriptions would + be raised to assist those men who had no private means. This took place + almost immediately after Piet Joubert’s return from the border, and while + he was in Pretoria, and the general opinion was that he was at the bottom + of it; but as it became rather more public than was intended, the British + Resident was obliged to take notice of it, and the result was that the + Boers, though in general treating the British Resident with little + consideration, thought it wisest to carry on their operations in a more + private manner, more especially as their object could be attained quite as + effectually in this way. + </p> + <p> + “While the Boers are assisting Moshete and Masouw by every means in their + power, with the sole object of crushing Montsiou and Monkoroane, another + loyal Chief, the Colonial Government, no doubt under instructions from + home, are doing their best to prevent volunteers or ammunition reaching + them, and have already rested men in Kimberley, who have been trying to + raise volunteers to go to their assistance. + </p> + <p> + “The result of this is, that the loyal Chiefs are suffering under a double + disadvantage; for while their enemies are receiving every assistance, they + are blockaded on all sides, and, through the action of the English + Government in preventing them obtaining assistance, are rapidly falling a + prey to the Boers. Those only who know anything of the Boer method of + warfare against natives will know what this means; and in spite of the + Boer Government doing all they can to keep things secret, horrible tales + of the cruelties perpetrated by them leak out occasionally. + </p> + <p> + “It seems to me a disgraceful thing, and a stain on the honour of England, + that these loyal Chiefs and their tribes should be robbed, plundered, and + shot down like dogs, simply because they afforded protection to the lives + and property of Englishmen during the late war, and yet these things are + going on and are being perpetrated on the border of England’s Colonies. If + England will not step in and insist on the Boers putting a stop to this + murderous war, then in God’s name let her not prevent these poor natives + from obtaining ammunition and assistance to enable them to defend their + country. They succoured our countrymen, and if we cannot succour them, the + least we can do is not to interfere to prevent them from protecting + themselves! + </p> + <p> + “Of course, it suits the Boer Government to make out that they have + nothing to do with the war, and cannot prevent Boer Volunteers from + fighting these Chiefs; and so long as the English Government rests + satisfied with these answers, so long will this disgraceful state of + things go on. Let the English Government be firm, however, and insist on + the Boers taking no part in this war, and it will cease—a sure proof + that the Boer Government have the power to stop it if they have the will. + </p> + <p> + “Not only are the Boers wreaking vengeance upon Montsiou and Monkoroane, + but a friend of theirs, a Chief of the name of Kalafin, whose tribe is + situated in the Zeerust district, Transvaal, has been robbed by them of + everything he possessed. This Chief had English sympathies; and as he + presumed to build a wall round his town he gave the Boers the excuse they + wanted. He was ordered to take the wall down, which he did, at the same + time proving that he only built it to prevent his cattle straying among + the huts. He was then ordered to come to Pretoria, which he did + accordingly. He was then ordered to pay a fine of three thousand cattle, + which fine he paid. No sooner was this done than the Boers, bent on his + ruin, raised the fine to ten thousand head. The poor Chief in vain pleaded + his inability to pay. It was the old story of the wolf and the lamb. + Because he couldn’t pay, the Boers construed it into an act of + disobedience, and at once ordered their men to go in and take everything + he possessed. This tribe is small and weak, which the Boers well knew. + Eye-witnesses of what followed say it was a heartrending sight. The women, + with children in their arms, pleaded in vain to the Boers to leave them + something or they would starve, but the latter only jeered at them. What + these poor people will do God only knows, for the Boers stripped them of + every living thing they possessed, and with the proceeds of this robbery + the Boer Government intend to replenish their coffers. + </p> + <p> + “The British Resident, Mr. Hudson, it is believed, shuts his eyes to many + things. No doubt his is a difficult position to fill; and doubtless he is + aware that, if he reports everything to the English Government, the Boers + have it in their power to make his position anything but a pleasant one. + In any case, the English portion of the community here, while admitting + his good qualities socially, have little confidence in him officially. + </p> + <p> + “My object in writing this letter, however, is not so much to show what a + disgraceful state the Government is in, as to try and awaken sympathy in + the breasts of my countrymen for the cause of these loyal Chiefs. While + the Government are writing despatches to the British Resident, these + Chiefs and their people are being ruined past remedying.” + </p> + <p> + VI A VISIT TO THE CHIEF SECOCOENI[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] This paper was written just before the Annexation of the + Transvaal in 1877. +</pre> + <p> + Towards the end of March I had occasion to visit the Basuto chief + Secocoeni, in his native stronghold beyond the Loolu Berg, a range to the + north-east of Pretoria, about 250 miles away; and as this journey was + typical of travelling in the wilds of South Africa, an account of it may + prove interesting. + </p> + <p> + It is perhaps necessary to explain, for the benefit of those who are not + acquainted with South African politics, that Secocoeni is the chieftain + who has been at war with the late Transvaal Republic, who drove back its + forces, capturing some 7000 head of cattle. It is from this raid that the + present state of affairs has arisen; so that this obscure chief, with his + 9000 warriors, has materially affected the future destinies of South + Africa. Negotiations of peace had been set on foot, and it was in + connection with these delicate matters that the journey was to be + undertaken. + </p> + <p> + “Going to Secocoeni at this time of year! Ah!” said one gentleman. “Well, + look here. I sent five natives through that country in this same month + (March) last year; out of those five, three died of the fever, and the + other two just got through with their lives. I only tell you, you know, + that you may take precautions. This is a bad fever year.” However, fever + or no fever, we had to go. As it was necessary to travel rapidly, we could + only take four riding-horses, three for ourselves and the fourth for a + Zulu named “Lankiboy,” who also led a pack-horse, and carried an enormous + “knob-kerry,” or shillelagh, stuck in his button-hole, as though it were a + wedding-bouquet. + </p> + <p> + Behind our saddles were fastened our saddle-bags, containing a change of + clothing, and in front we strapped a rug and a mackintosh. Our + commissariat consisted of four tins of potted ham, and our medicine-chest + of some quinine, Cockle’s pills, and a roll of sticking-plaster, which, + with a revolver and a hunting-knife or two, completed our equipment. + </p> + <p> + We knew little of our route save that our destination lay due east, so due + east we steered. After riding for about twenty miles, and crossing the + Mahaliesburg range, that stretches away north for hundreds of miles, we + came to a Boer’s house, where we off-saddled to feed our horses. It must + be understood that the Boers were the one certain difficulty, and one of + the possible dangers, to be encountered on our road, for at no time are + they are pleasant people to deal with, and just now they are remarkably + unpleasant towards Englishmen. + </p> + <p> + For instance, at this first house, we managed to get some forage for our + horses, before our scowling host found out who we were, but not a bit + could we get to eat. “Have you no bread, myn Heer?” “We have no bread to + spare.” “Have you any eggs?” “We have no eggs.” “Can you let us have some + milk?” “Susan, have you got any milk to give these carles (fellows)?” + Finally, we succeeded in buying three cups of milk for a shilling, “as a + favour,” and that is all we got from sunrise to sunset. + </p> + <p> + Riding, on empty stomachs, for another sixty miles over the plains, we + came to a Boer’s house where we had to sleep. Just before we reached the + door, I noticed what I have often seen since, some graves in a row, with + heaps of stones piled over them. It appears that these people do not care + about bring buried in consecrated ground, their only anxiety being to be + put in a coffin, and they are generally laid to rest near to their doors. + There is neither railing nor headstone, and no trees or flowers, those + green emblematic garments with which civilised people try to hide the + ugliness of death. I remember once seeing several graves within two or + three yards of the public road, so that in a year or so the waggons will + be rumbling over the heads of those who lie beneath. + </p> + <p> + When you ride up to a Boer’s house, the etiquette is to wait until some + member of the family asks you to off-saddle, and then you must go in and + shake hands with every one, a most disagreeable custom. None of the women—who + are very plain—rise to meet one, they just hold out their hands. + This house was a fair specimen of the sort of habitation indulged in by + the ordinary Boer. The main room was about eighteen feet square, with that + kind of door which allows the upper half to open whilst the lower remains + shut, such as is used in stables in England. The flooring is made of + cow-dung, into which peach stones are trodden at the threshold, in order + to prevent its wearing away. The furniture consists of a deal table and + some chairs, rather nearly made of strips of hide fastened to a wooden + frame. There is no ceiling, but only beams, to which are fastened strips + of “biltong,” or game’s flesh, dried in the sun. Out of this room open one + or two more, in which the whole family sleep, without much attempt at + privacy. + </p> + <p> + Sitting about the room were two or three young mothers, without stockings + and nursing babies; in the corner, on a chair, made twice as large as any + of the others, reposed the mother of the family, a woman of large size. + The whole house was pervaded by a sickly odour, like that of a vault, + whilst the grime and filth of it baffle description. And this was the + place we had to eat and sleep in. However, there was no help for it; the + only thing to do was to light one’s pipe, and smoke. After an hour or so, + supper was put upon the table, consisting of a bowl full of boiled bones, + a small stack of mealie cobs, and, be it added, some good + bread-and-butter. The eating arrangements of these people are certainly + very trying. The other day we had to eat our dinner in a Boer’s house, + with a reeking ox-hide, just torn from the animal, lying on the floor + beside us, together with portions of the poor beast’s head whose flesh we + were eating. However, on this occasion we were spared the ox-hide, and, + being very hungry, managed to put up with the other discomforts. After a + long grace our suppers were served out to us. I remember I got an enormous + bone with but little flesh on it, which, if I may form an opinion from its + great size and from a rapid anatomical survey, must have been the tibia of + an ox. A young Boer sat opposite to me—a wonderful fellow. He got + through several mealie cobs (and large ones too) whilst I was eating half + a one. His method was peculiar, and shows what practice can do. He shoved + a mealie cob into his mouth, gave it a bite and a wrench, just like one of + those patent American threshing machines, brought the cob out perfectly + clear of grain, and took another. After the supper was over, we had + another long grace ending with: “voor spijze en drunk de Heer ik dank” + (for food and drink the Lord I thank). + </p> + <p> + After supper we went outside in order to escape the feet-washing ceremony + (all in the same water) which this “simple pastoral people” are said to + indulge in, and which they might expect the “uitlander” (stranger) to + enter into with enthusiasm. When we came back, we found that the women—who, + by-the-by, do not eat till the men have finished—had done their + meal, and gone to bed, having first made us up a luxurious couch on the + floor, consisting of a filthy feather-bed, and an equally filthy blanket. + My heart misgave me when I looked at that bed. It may have been fancy, but + once or twice I thought it moved. However, there was no choice, unless we + chose to sit up all night; so in we got, looking for all the world like + three big sun-burned dolls put to bed by some little girl. I, as the + youngest, blew out the light, and then!—from every side <i>they</i> + came. Up one’s arms, up one’s legs, down one’s back they scampered, till + life became a burden. Sleep was impossible; one could only lie awake and + calculate the bites per minute, and the quantity of blood one would lose + before daybreak. Cold as it was, I would have turned out and slept in the + veldt, only my rug was over my two companions as well as myself, so I + could not take it. I have slept in a good many different places, and in + very fairly uncomfortable places, but I never had such a night before. + </p> + <p> + At the first grey dawn of morning the old “frau” came stumbling out of the + bedroom, and sat down without ceremony in her big chair. Waiting till she + thought that we had reached a sufficiently advanced stage in our toilette—and + her idea of what that was must have been a strange one—she shouted + out to her daughters that they could “com,” and in they all came. Very + glad were we when we had paid our bill, which was a heavy one, and were in + the saddle once more, riding through the cold morning mist that lay in + masses on all the ridges of the hills like snow on mountains. + </p> + <p> + It was needful to start early, for we had more than sixty miles to cover, + and our ponies had done a good journey the day before. The work that one + can get out of these ponies is marvellous. There was my pony, “Mettle,” + who had my eleven stone to carry, to say nothing of the saddle, heavy + saddle-bags, and a roll of rugs, who came in at the end of his journey as + fresh as paint. We cantered easily over the great high-veldt prairies, now + and then passing clumps of trees, outposts of the bush-veldt. These + enormous plains, notwithstanding their dreary vastness, have a wild beauty + of their own. The grass is what is called sour grass, and has a peculiar + blue tinge, but stock do not like it so well as the low-veldt grass, which + is sweeter, and fattens them more quickly, though it does not put them in + such good fettle. The rock here is all white sandstone, and thinly + overlaps an enormous bed of coal, cropping up from beneath the + water-washed surface. At this time of year there are very few beasts or + birds of any sort to be seen, though in the winter the veldt is one moving + mass of “trek” or migratory game. + </p> + <p> + Our destination that day was Botsabelo, the most important + mission-station, and one of the very few successful ones, in South-Eastern + Africa. As we neared it, the country gradually broke into hills of + peculiar and beautiful formation, which rendered the last two hours of our + ride, in the dark, through an unknown country, rather a difficult job. + However, we stumbled through streams, and over boulders, and about nine + o’clock were lucky enough to come right upon the station, where we were + most kindly received by Dr. Merensky. The station itself stands on the + brow of a hill surrounded by gardens and orchards; beneath it lie slope + and mountain, stream and valley, over which are dotted numbers of kraals, + to say nothing of three or four substantial houses occupied by the + assistant missionary and German artisans. Near Dr. Merensky’s house stands + the church, by far the best I have seen in the Transvaal, and there is + also a store with some well-built workshops around it. All the + neighbouring country belongs to the station, which is, in fact, like a + small independent State, 40,000 acres in extent. On a hill-top + overshadowing the station, are placed the fortifications, consisting of + thick walls running in a circle with upstanding towers, in which stand one + or two cannon; but it all reminds one more of an old Norman keep, with its + village clustered in its protecting shadow, than of a modern mission + establishment. + </p> + <p> + Dr. Merensky commenced his labours in Secocoeni’s country, but was forced + to fly from thence by night, with his wife and new-born baby, to escape + being murdered by that Chief’s orders, who, like most Kafir potentates, + has an intense aversion to missionaries. Twelve years ago he established + this station, and, gathering his scattered converts around him, defied + Secocoeni to drive him thence. Twice that Chief has sent out a force to + sweep him away, and murder his people, and twice they have come and + looked, and, like false Sextus, turned back again. The Boers, too, have + more than once threatened to destroy him, for it is unpleasant to them to + have so intelligent a witness in their midst, but they have never dared to + try. The place is really impregnable to Basutus and Boers; Zulus might + carry it, with their grand steady rush, but it would be at a terrible + sacrifice of life. In fact, Dr. Merensky has been forced, by the pressure + of circumstances, to teach his men the use of a rifle, as well as the + truths of Christianity; to trust in God, but also to “keep their powder + dry.” At a few minutes’ notice he can turn out 200 well-armed natives, + ready for offence or defence; and the existence of such a stronghold is of + great advantage to the few English in the neighbourhood, for the Boers + know well that should they attack them they might draw down the vengeance + of Dr. Merensky’s formidable body of Christian soldiers. + </p> + <p> + We only passed one night at Botsabelo, and next morning went on to + Middelburg, or Nazareth, which is an hour’s ride from the station. Here, + too, we met with a warm welcome from the handful of English residents, but + we were eager to push on as rapidly as possible, for our kind friends told + us that it would be impossible to proceed to Secocoeni’s on horseback, + because of the deadly nature of the country for horses. So we had to hire + an ox-waggon, which they provisioned for us, and, much to our disgust (as + we were pressed for time), were obliged to fall back on that dilatory + method of travelling. + </p> + <p> + We decided that we would take the three oldest and least valuable horses + with us, in order to proceed with them from Fort Weeber, which was our + next point, to Secocoeni’s town, whither waggons could not reach. Few + English readers are aware that there is a mysterious disease among horses + in South Africa, peculiar to the country, called “horse-sickness.” During + the autumn season it carries off thousands of horses annually, though some + are good and others bad years—a bad fever year being generally a bad + horse-sickness year also, and <i>vice versa</i>. A curious feature about + it is, that as the veldt gets “tamed,” that is, fed off by domesticated + animals, the sickness gradually disappears. No cure has yet been + discovered for it, and very few horses pull through—perhaps, five + per cent. These are called “salted horses,” and are very valuable; as, + although they are not proof against the disease, they are not so liable to + take it. A salted horse may be known by the peculiar looseness and + roughness of his skin, and also by a certain unmistakable air of + depression, as though he felt that the responsibilities of life pressed + very heavily upon him. He is like a man who has dearly bought his + experience; he can never forget the terrible lesson taught in the buying. + </p> + <p> + On the fourth day from our start we left Middelburg, and, taking a + north-east course from this outpost of civilisation, overtook the waggon, + and camped, after a twenty miles’ trek, just on the edge of the + bush-veldt. We had two young Boers to drive our waggons—terrible + louts. However, they understood how to drive a waggon, and whilst one of + them drove, the other would sit for hours, with a vacant stare on his + face, thinking. It is a solemn fact that, from the time we left Middelburg + till the time we returned, neither of those fellows touched water, that + is, to wash themselves. The only luxury in the shape of comforts of the + toilette which they allowed themselves was a comb with a brass back, + carefully tied to the roof of the waggon with two strips of ox-hide thick + enough to have held a hundredweight of lead. I don’t think they ever used + it—it was too great a luxury for general use—but they would + occasionally untie it and look at it. Our own outfit in the waggon was + necessarily scanty, consisting of a few iron pots and plates, a kettle, + some green blankets, a lantern, and an old anti-friction grease-can used + for water, which gave it a fine flavour of waggon-wheels. We also had a + “cartle,” or wooden frame, across which were stretched strips of hide + fitted into the waggon about two feet above the floor, and intended to + sleep on; but the less said about that the better. + </p> + <p> + After we left the great high-veldt plains, over which the fresh breeze was + sweeping, we dropped down into a beautiful bush-clad valley with mountains + on either side. It was like making a sudden descent into the tropics. Not + a breath of wind stirred the trees, and the sun shone with a steady + burning heat. Scarcely a sound broke the silence, save the murmur of the + river we crossed and recrossed, the occasional pipe of a bird, and the + melancholy cry, half sigh, half bark, of an old baboon, who was swinging + himself along, indignant at our presence. + </p> + <p> + If the sights and sounds were beautiful, the sun was hot, and the road + fearful, and we were indeed glad when we reached “Whitehead’s Cobalt + Mine,” and were most kindly received by the gentlemen who superintend the + works. The house used to belong to some Boer, who had deserted the place, + but left behind him a beautiful orchard of orange and peach trees. The + place is very feverish and unhealthy, and the white ants so troublesome + that everything has to be stood in sardine tins full of ashes. + </p> + <p> + On our way from the house we went to see the cobalt mine, which is on a + hillside a mile away. It has only been established about three years, and + has existed hitherto under the greatest difficulties as regards labour, + transport, machinery, danger from surrounding native tribes, &c.; but + it has already, the proprietor informed me, reduced the price of cobalt—the + blue dye used to colour such things as the willow-pattern plates—by + one-half in the English market, bringing it down from somewhere about 140 + pounds to 80 pounds a ton. We were very much astonished to see the amount + of work which had been done, as we expected to find a pit such as the + Kafirs work for copper, but instead of that there was a large slanting + shaft quite a hundred yards long, to say nothing of various openings out + of it following branch leads of ore. There is also a vertical shaft one + hundred feet deep, through which the ore comes up, and by which one can + ascend and descend in a bucket. After we emerged from this awful hole, we + went into another, a drive running straight into the mountain for more + than three hundred feet, following a vein of black oxide of cobalt, which + is much more valuable than the ore; and, though the vein is rarely more + than a foot in thickness, pays very well. Leaving the mine, we rode on + past some old Kafir copper-workings—circular pits—which must + have been abandoned, to judge from their appearance, a hundred years ago, + till we came to the banks of the great “Olifants’” or “Elephants’” river. + This magnificent stream, though it is unnavigable owing to frequent + rapids, has stretches miles long, down which a man-of-war could steam, and + after its junction with the Elands’ River it grows larger and larger till, + pursuing a north-east course, it at length falls into the mighty Limpopo. + It is a very majestic but somewhat sluggish stream, and its water is not + very good. You cannot see the river till you are right upon it, owing to + the great trees with which its steep banks are fringed, and in the early + morning it is quite hidden from bank to bank by a dense mass of billows of + white mist, indescribably strange to look upon. + </p> + <p> + But, beautiful as this country is, it is most unhealthy for man and beast. + The close odour, the long creeping lines of mist, the rich rank + vegetation, the steady heat of day and night, all say one word, “fever,” + and fever of the most virulent type. The traveller through this sort of + country is conscious of a latent fear lest he should some day begin to + feel hot when he ought to be cold, and cold when he ought to be hot, and + so be stricken down, to rise prematurely old, or perhaps to die, and be + buried in a lonely grave covered with stones to keep off the jackals. We + were travelling in the very worst fever-month, March, when the summer + vegetation is commencing to rot, and throw off its poisonous steam. What + saved us here and afterwards, at Secocoeni’s, was our temperate living, + hard exercise, and plenty of quinine and tobacco-smoke. + </p> + <p> + All the country through which we were passing is good game-veldt, but we + saw very little and killed nothing. This was chiefly owing to the fact + that we did not dare go out of hearing of the waggon-wheels, for fear of + getting lost in the bush, a thing very easily done. A few years back this + veldt swarmed with big game, with elephants and giraffes, and they are + even now occasionally seen. We managed now and again to get a glimpse of + some of the beautiful “Impala” buck, or of a small lot of blue + wilderbeestes vanishing between the trees, like a troop of wild horses. + There are still plenty of lions about, but we did not hear any: whether it + was that they had gone to the high-veldt after the cattle, or that they do + not roar so much in summer, I do not know. Perhaps it is as well that we + did not, for the roar of a lion is very generally followed by what the + Dutch call a “skrech.” After roaring once or twice to wake the cattle up, + and make them generally uneasy, the lion stations himself about twenty + yards to the windward of the waggon. The oxen get wind of him and promptly + “skrech,” that is, break their rims and run madly into the veldt. This is + just what the lion wants, for now he can pick out a fat ox and quietly + approach him from the other side till he is within springing distance. He + then jumps upon him, crushes his neck with one bite, and eats him at his + leisure. + </p> + <p> + And so we trekked on through the sunrise, through the burning mid-day and + glowing sunsets, steering by the sun and making our own road; now through + tambouki grass higher than the oxen, and now through dense bush, till at + length, one day, we said good-bye to the Olifants’ just where the Elands’ + River flows into it, and turned our faces eastward. This course soon + brought us on to higher ground and away from the mimosa, which loves the + low, hot valleys, into the region of the sugar bush, which thrives upon + the hill-sides. This sugar bush is a very handsome and peculiar plant, + with soft thick leaves, standing about twenty feet high. It bears a + brush-like flower, each of which in the Cape Colony contains half a + teaspoonful of delicious honey; but, curiously enough, though in other + respects the tree is precisely similar, this is not the case in the + Transvaal or Natal. At the proper season the Cape farmers go out with + buckets and shake the flowers till they have collected sufficient honey to + last them for the winter, a honey more fragrant than that made by bees. + </p> + <p> + After a long ride over the open, which must once have been thickly + populated, to judge from the number of remains of kraals, we came at + length to Fort Weeber. The fort is very badly situated in the hollow of a + plain, and so surrounded by fine hills that it is entirely commanded. It + consists of a single sod wall about two feet thick and five high, capped + with loose stones, whilst at two of the corners stand, on raised + platforms, a six-pounder and a three-pounder Whitworth gun. Inside the + wall are built rows of mud huts, which are occupied by the garrison, + leaving an open square, in the midst of which is placed the magazine. We + found the garrison in a wretched condition. They have not received any pay + except Government “good-fors” (promissory notes, generally known as + “good-for-nothings”), so they are in a state of abject poverty; whilst + they are rendered harmless as regards offensive operations, by the death, + from horse-sickness, of eighty-two of the ninety horses they owned. + However, the officers and garrison gave us a very grand reception. As we + rode up, they fired a salute of twelve guns, and then, after we had + dismounted and been received by the officers, we were taken through a lane + made by the garrison drawn up in a double line, and, just as we got to the + middle, “bang” went the eighty rifles over our heads. Then an address was + read (the volunteers are great people for addresses), but a more practical + welcome soon followed in the shape of a good dinner. + </p> + <p> + Next morning we started, a party of seven, including the interpreter, to + ride over the Loolu Berg to Secocoeni’s, a distance of about thirty-eight + miles. + </p> + <p> + For the first five miles we passed through the most curious granite + formation, a succession of small hills entirely composed of rounded + boulders of granite, weighing from five to 1000 tons, and looking exactly + like piles of gigantic snow-balls hurled together by some mighty hand. The + granite formation prevails in all this part of the country, and individual + boulders sometimes take very curious shapes; for instance, in the + bush-veldt we passed a great column towering high above the trees, + composed of six boulders getting smaller and smaller from the base up, and + each accurately balanced on the one beneath it. Then we crossed the range + of hills which overlooks the fort, and passing Secocoeni’s old kraal where + he used to live before he retreated to his fastnesses, we arrived at a + great alluvial valley nine miles broad, on the other side of which rises + the Loolu. It was on this plain that the only real fight between the + volunteers and Secocoeni’s men took place, when the former managed to get + between the Basutus and the hills, and shot them down like game, killing + over 200 men. Leaving the battle-field, where the skeletons still lie, a + little to our right, we crossed the plain and came to the foot of the + Loolu, all along the base of which stand neat villages inhabited by + Secocoeni’s people. Some of these villages have been burnt by the + volunteers, and the remainder are entirely deserted, their inhabitants + having built fresh huts among the rocks in almost inaccessible places. The + appearance of these white huts peeping out all over the black rocks was + very curious, and reminded one of the Swiss chalets. + </p> + <p> + By the stream that runs along past the villages we off-saddled, as both + ourselves and our horses were nearly exhausted by the burning heat; but as + there was not much time to lose, after a short rest we started off again, + and rode on over a bed of magnetic iron lying on the ground in great lumps + of almost pure metal, until we came to a stretch of what looked remarkably + like gold-bearing quartz, and then to a limestone formation. The whole + country is evidently rich beyond measure in minerals. All this time we + were passing through scenery inexpressibly wild and grand, and when we had + arrived at the highest spot of the pass, it reached a climax of savage + beauty. About forty miles in front of us towered up another magnificent + range of blue-tinged mountains known as the Blue Berg, whilst all around + us rose great bush-clad hills, opening away in every direction towards + gorgeous-coloured valleys. The scene was so grand and solemn that I do not + think it lies in the power of words to describe it. + </p> + <p> + Here we had to dismount to descend a most fearful precipitous path + consisting of boulders piled together in the wildest confusion, from one + to another of which we had to jump, driving the horses before us. Half-way + down we off-saddled to rest ourselves, and as we did so we noticed that + the gall was running from one of the horses’ noses. We knew too well what + was the matter, and so left him there to die during the night. This horse + was by far the finest we had with us, and his owner used to boast that the + poor beast had often carried him, a heavy man, from his house to Pretoria, + a distance of nearly ninety miles, in one day. He was also a “salted” + horse. It is a curious thing that the sickness generally kills the best + horses first. + </p> + <p> + After a short rest we started on again, and at the end of another hour + reached the bottom of the pass. From thence we rode along a gulley, that + alternately narrowed and widened, till at length it brought us right on to + Secocoeni’s beautiful, fever-stricken home. + </p> + <p> + All three of us had seen a good deal of scenery in different parts of the + world, and one of the party was intimately acquainted with the finest + spots in South Africa, but we were forced to admit that we had never seen + anything half so lovely as Secocoeni’s valley. We had seen grander views, + indeed the scene from the top of the pass was grander, but never anything + that so nearly approached perfection in detail. Beautiful it was, + beautiful beyond measure, but it was the sort of beauty under whose veil + are hidden fever and death. And so we pushed on, through the still hot + eventide, till at length we came to the gates of the town, where we found + “Makurupiji,” Secocoeni’s “mouth” or prime minister, who had evidently + been informed of our coming by his spies waiting to receive us.[*] + </p> + <p> + [*] Makurupiji committed suicide after the town had been stormed, + preferring death to imprisonment. + </p> + <p> + Conducted by this grandee, we went on past the Chief’s kraals, down to the + town, whence flocked men, women, and children, to look on the white lords; + all in a primitive state of dress, consisting of a strip of skin tied + round the middle, and the women with their hair powdered with some + preparation of iron, which gave it a metallic blue tinge. + </p> + <p> + At length we stopped just opposite a beautiful fortified kopje[*] + perforated by secret caves where the ammunition of the tribe is hidden. No + stranger is allowed to enter these caves, or even to ascend the kopje, + though they do not object to one’s inspecting some of the other + fortifications. Dismounting from our wearied horses, we passed through a + cattle kraal and came into the presence of “Swasi,” Secocoeni’s uncle, a + fat old fellow who was busily engaged in braying a skin. Nearly every male + Basutu one meets, be he high or low, is braying a hide of some sort, + either by rubbing or by masticating it. It is a curious sight to come + across some twenty of these fellows, every one of them twisting or chewing + away. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] Afterwards stormed in the attack on Secocoeni’s town by + Sir Garnet Wolseley. +</pre> + <p> + Swasi was a sort of master of the household; his duty it was to receive + strangers and see that they were properly looked after; so, after shaking + hands with us furiously (he was a wonderful fellow to shake hands), he + conducted us to our hut. It stood in a good-sized courtyard beautifully + paved with a sort of concrete of limestone which looked very clean and + white, and surrounded by a hedge of reeds and sticks tightly tied + together, inside which ran a slightly raised bench, also made of + limestone. The hut itself was neatly thatched, the thatch projecting + several feet, so as to form a covering to a narrow verandah that ran all + round it. Inside it was commodious, and ornamented after the Egyptian + style with straight and spiral lines, painted on with some kind of red + ochre, and floored with a polished substance. Certainly these huts are as + much superior to those of the Zulus as those who dwell in them are + inferior to that fine race. What the Basutus gain in art and handiness + they lose in manliness and gentlemanly feeling. + </p> + <p> + We had just laid ourselves down on the grass mats in the courtyard—for + it was too hot to go into the hut—thoroughly exhausted with our + day’s work and the heat, when in came two men, each of them dragging a + fine indigenous sheep. They were accompanied by Makurupiji, who brought us + a message from Secocoeni to the effect that he, the Chief, sent to greet + us, the great Chiefs; that he sent us also a morsel to eat, lest we should + be hungry in his house. It was but a morsel—it should have been an + ox, for great Chiefs should eat much meat—but he himself was pinched + with hunger, his belt was drawn very tight by the Boers. He was poor, and + so his gift was poor; still, he would see if to-morrow he could find a + beast that had something besides the skin on its bones, that he might + offer it to us. After this magniloquent address the poor animals were + trundled out by the other gate to have their throats cut. + </p> + <p> + After getting some supper and taking our quinine, we turned in and slept + that night in the best way that the heat would let us, rising next morning + with the vain hope of getting a bathe. Of all the discomforts we + experienced at Secocoeni’s, the scarcity and badness of the water was the + worst. Bad water, when you are in a hotbed of fever, is a terrible + privation. And so we had to go unwashed, with the exception of having a + little water poured over our hands out of gourds. We must have presented a + curious sight at breakfast that morning. Before us knelt a sturdy Kafir, + holding a stick in each hand, on which were respectively speared a leg and + a side of mutton, from which we cut off great hunks with our + hunting-knives, and, taking them in our fingers, devoured them like beasts + of prey. If we got a bit we did not like, our mode of dispensing of it was + simple and effective. We threw it to one of the natives standing round us, + among whom was the heir-apparent, who promptly gobbled it up. + </p> + <p> + Breakfast finished, a message came from Secocoeni asking for spirits to + drink. But we were not to be taken in in this way, for we knew well that + if we sent the Chief spirits we should get no business done that day, and + we did not care to run the risk of fever by stopping longer than we could + help; so we sent back a message to the effect that business must come + first and spirits afterwards. The head men, who brought this message, said + that they could perfectly understand our objection, as far as Secocoeni + and ourselves were concerned, since we had to talk, but as they had only + to sit still and listen there could be no possible objection to their + having something to drink. This argument was ingenious, but we did not see + the force of it, as our stock of spirits, which we had brought more for + medicine than anything else, was very limited. Still, we were obliged to + promise them a “tot” after the talking was over, in order to keep them + civil. + </p> + <p> + Our message had the desired effect, for presently Secocoeni sent to say + that it was now time to talk, and that his head men would lead us to him. + So we started up, accompanied by “Makurupiji,” “Swasi,” and “Galook,” the + general of his forces, a fat fellow with a face exactly like a pig. The + sun beat down with such tremendous force that, though we had only + three-quarters of a mile to walk, we felt quite tired by the time we + reached the Chief’s kraals. Passing through several cattle kraals, we came + to a shed under which sat the heir-apparent dressed in a gorgeous blanket + with his court around him. Leaving him, we entered an inner cattle kraal, + where, in one corner, stood a large, roughly-built shed, under the shade + of which squatted over a hundred of the head men of the tribe, gathered + together by Secocoeni to “witness.”[*] + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] As each chief came up to the meeting-place he would pass + before the enclosure where Secocoeni was sitting and salute + him, by softly striking the hands together, and saying + something that sounded like “Marema.” + </pre> + <p> + Opening out of this kraal was the chief’s private enclosure, where stood + his huts. As we drew near, Secocoeni, who had inspired such terror into + the bold Burghers of the Republic, the chief of nine thousand warriors, + the husband of sixty-four wives, the father of a hundred children, rose + from the ox-hide on which he was seated, under the shade of a tree, and + came to the gate to meet us. And a queer sight this potentate was as he + stood there shaking hands through the gate. Of middle age, about + forty-five years of age, rather fat, with a flat nose, and small, + twinkling, black eyes, he presented an entirely hideous and semi-repulsive + appearance. His dress consisted of a cotton blanket over which was thrown + a tiger-skin kaross, and on his head was stuck an enormous old white felt + hat, such as the Boers wear, and known as a “wilderbeeste chaser.” + </p> + <p> + After we had been duly introduced, he retreated to his ox-hide, and we + went and squatted down among the head men. Secocoeni took no active part + in the proceedings that followed; he sat in his enclosure and occasionally + shouted out some instructions to Makurupiji, who was literally his + “mouth,” speaking for him and making use of the pronoun “I.” During the + four hours or so that we were there Secocoeni never stopped chewing an + intoxicating green leaf, very much resembling that of the pomegranate, of + which he occasionally sent us some. + </p> + <p> + After the business of the Commission had come to an end, and some of our + party started on their homeward journey, we were detained by Secocoeni, + who wished to see us privately. He sent for us to his private enclosure, + and we sat down on his ox-hide with him and one or two head men. It was + very curious to see this wily old savage shoving a handful of leaves into + his mouth, and giving his head a shake, and then making some shrewd remark + which went straight to the bottom of whatever question was in hand. At + length we bade Secocoeni good-bye, having promised to deliver all his + respectful messages to our chief, and, thoroughly wearied, arrived at our + own hut. Tired as we were, we thought it would be better to start for the + fort at once, rather than risk the fever for another night. So we made up + our minds to a long moonlight ride, and, saddling up, got out of + Secocoeni’s town about 3.30 P.M., having looked our last upon this + beautiful fever-trap, which only wants water scenery to make it absolutely + perfect. Half-way up, we saw the poor horse we had left sick the day + before, lying dead, with dry foam all round his mouth, and half his skin + taken off by some passing Basutu. A couple of hundred yards farther on we + found another dying, left by the party who had started before us. It was + in truth a valley of the shadow of death. Luckily our horses lasted us + back to the fort, but one died there, and the other two are dead since. + </p> + <p> + Beautiful as was the scene by day, in the light of the full moon it was + yet more surpassingly lovely. It was solemn, weird. Every valley became a + mysterious deep, and every hill, stone, and tree shone with that cold pale + lustre which the moon alone can throw. Silence reigned, the silence of the + dead, broken only once or twice by the wild whistling challenge of one of + Secocoeni’s warriors as he came bounding down the rocks, to see who we + were that passed. The effect of the fires by the huts, perched among the + rocks at the entrance to the pass, was very strange and beautiful, + reminding one of the midnight fires of the Gnomes in the fairy tales. + </p> + <p> + And so we rode on, hour after hour, through the night, till we well-nigh + fell asleep in our saddles, and at length, about two o’clock in the + morning, we reached the waggons to find the young Boers fast asleep in our + bed. We kicked them out, and, after swallowing some biscuits, tumbled in + ourselves for the few hours’ rest which we so sadly needed. + </p> + <p> + On the following morning, Thursday, two of the party bade farewell to our + hosts at the fort and started on one of the quickest possible treks, + leaving our companion to proceed across country to the fort established by + President Burgers, or “Porocororo,” as the Basutus call him, at Steelport. + </p> + <p> + We returned to Middelburg by an entirely different route from that by + which we came. Leaving the valley of the Olifants to our right, we trekked + along the high-veldt, and thus avoided all the fever country. Roughly + speaking, we had about 120 miles of country to get over to reach + Middelburg, and we determined to do this in three days and two nights, so + as to get in on the Saturday night, as we were much pressed for time. Now, + according to English ideas, it is no great thing to travel 120 miles in + three days; but it is six days’ journey in an ox-waggon over bad country, + and we were going to do it in half that time by doubling the speed. + </p> + <p> + Of course, to do this we had to trek night and day. For instance, on the + first day we inspanned at 10.30 A.M. and trekked till within an hour of + sundown; at sundown we inspanned, and with one outspan trekked till + sunrise; outspanned for two hours, and on again, being seventeen and a + half hours under the yoke out of the twenty-four, and covering fifty-five + miles. Of course, one cannot do this sort of travelling for more than two + or three days without killing the oxen; as it was, towards the end, as + soon as the yokes were lifted off, the poor beasts dropped down as though + they were shot, and most of them went lame. Another great disadvantage is + that one suffers very much from want of sleep. The jolting of the + springless machine, as it lumbered over rocks a foot high and through deep + spruits or streams, brought our heads down with such a fearful jar on the + saddle-bags that we used for pillows, that all sleep was soon knocked out + of them; or, even if we were lucky enough to be crossing a stretch of + tolerably smooth ground, there was a swaying motion that rubbed one’s face + up and down till the skin was nearly worn through, polishing the + saddle-bags to such an extent that we might almost have used them for + looking-glasses as well as pillows. + </p> + <p> + At Secocoeni’s kraal we had engaged two boys to carry our packs as far as + the fort, who, on their arrival, were so well satisfied with the way in + which we treated them that they requested to be allowed to proceed with + us. These young barbarians, who went respectively by the names of “Nojoke” + and “Scowl,” as being the nearest approach in English to their Sisutu + names, were the greatest possible source of amusement to us, with their + curious ways.[*] I never saw such fellows to sleep; it is a positive fact + that Nojoke used frequently to take his rest coiled up like a boa + constrictor in a box at the end of the waggon, in which box stood three + iron pots with their sharp legs sticking up. On those legs he peacefully + slumbered when the waggon was going over ground that prohibited our even + stopping in it. “Scowl” was not a nice boy to look at, for his naked back + was simply cut to pieces and covered with huge weals, of which everybody, + doubtless, thought we were the cause. On inquiring how he came to get such + a tremendous thrashing, it turned out that these Basutus have a custom of + sending young men of a certain age[+] out in couples, each armed with a + good “sjambok” (a whip cut from the hide of a sea-cow), to thrash one + another till one gives in, and that it was in one of these encounters that + the intelligent Scowl got so lacerated; but, as he remarked with a grin, “<i>My</i> + back is nothing, the chiefs should see that of the other boy.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] Of these two lads, Nojoke subsequently turned out + worthless, and went to the Diamond Fields, whilst Scowl + became an excellent servant, until he took to wearing a + black coat, and turned Christian, when he shortly afterwards + developed into a drunkard and a thief. + + [+] The age of puberty. +</pre> + <p> + We spent one night at Middelburg, and next morning, bidding adieu to our + kind English friends, started for Pretoria, taking care to end our first + day’s journey at a house where an Englishman lived, so as to ensure a + clean shakedown. Here we discovered that the horse I was riding (the sole + survivor of the five we had started with) had got the sickness, and so we + had to leave him and hire another. This horse, by the by, recovered, which + is the only instance of an animal’s conquering the disease which has yet + come under my observation. We hired the new horse from a Boer, who charged + us exactly three times its proper price, and then preached us a sermon + quite a quarter of an hour long on his hospitality, his kindness of heart, + and his willingness to help strangers. I must tell you that, just as we + were going to sleep the night before, a stranger had come and asked for a + shakedown, which was given to him in the same room. We had risen before + daybreak, and my companion was expatiating to me, in clear and forcible + language, on the hypocrisy and scoundrelism of this Boer, when suddenly a + sleepy voice out of the darkness murmured thickly, “I say, stranger, guess + you shouldn’t lose your temper; guess that ‘ere Boer is acting after the + manner of human natur’.” And then the owner of the voice turned over and + went to sleep again. + </p> + <p> + We had over sixty miles to ride that day, and it must have been about + eight o’clock at night, on the sixteenth day of our journey, when we + reached Pretoria and rode straight up to our camp, where we were heartily + greeted. I am sure that some of our friends must have felt a little + disappointed at seeing us arrive healthy and fat, without a sign of fever, + after all their melancholy predictions. It would not have been “human + natur’” if they had not. When we got to the camp, I called out to Masooku, + my Zulu servant, to come and take the horses. Next moment I heard a rush + and a scuttle in the tent like the scrimmage in a rabbit-burrow when one + puts in the ferrets, and Masooku shouted out in Zulu, “He has come back! + by Chaka’s head, I swear it! It is his voice, his own voice, that calls + me; my father’s, my chief’s!” + </p> + <p> + And so ended one of the hardest and most interesting journeys imaginable—a + journey in which the risk only added to the pleasure. Still, I should not + care to make it again at the same time of year. + </p> + <p> + VII A ZULU WAR-DANCE + </p> + <p> + In all that world-wide empire which the spirit of the English colonisation + has conquered from out of the realms of the distant and unknown, and added + year by year to the English dominions, it is doubtful whether there be any + one spot of corresponding area, presenting so many large questions, social + and political, as the colony of Natal. Wrested some thirty years ago from + the patriarchal Boers, and peopled by a few scattered scores of + adventurous emigrants, Natal has with hard toil gained for itself a + precarious foothold hardly yet to be called an existence. Known chiefly to + the outside world as the sudden birthplace of those tremendous polemical + missiles which battered so fiercely, some few years ago, against the walls + of the English Church, it is now attracting attention to the shape and + proportion of that unsolved riddle of the future, the Native Question. In + those former days of rude and hand-to-mouth legislation, when the certain + evil of the day had to be met and dealt with before the possible evil of + the morrow, the seeds of great political trouble were planted in the young + colony, seeds whose fruit is fast ripening before our eyes. + </p> + <p> + When the strong aggressive hand of England has grasped some fresh portion + of the earth’s surface, there is yet a spirit of justice in her heart and + head which prompts the question, among the first of such demands, as to + how best and most fairly to deal by the natives of the newly-acquired + land. In earlier times, when steam was not, and telegraphs and special + correspondents were equally unknown agencies for getting at the truth of + things, this question was more easily answered across a width of dividing + ocean or continent. Then distant action might be prompt and sharp on + emergency, and no one would be the wiser. But of late years, owing to + these results of civilisation, harsh measures have, by the mere pressure + of public opinion, and without consideration of their necessity in the + eyes of the colonists, been set aside as impracticable and inhuman. In the + case of Natal, most of the early questions of possession and right were + settled, sword in hand, by the pioneer Dutch, who, after a space of + terrible warfare, drove back the Zulus over the Tugela, and finally took + possession of the land. But they did not hold it long. The same hateful + invading Englishman, with his new ideas and his higher forms of + civilisation, who had caused them to quit the “Old Colony,” the land of + their birth, came and drove them, <i>vi et armis</i>, from the land of + their adoption. And it was not long before these same English became lords + of this red African soil, from the coast up to the Drakensberg. Still + there were difficulties; for although the new-comers might be lords of the + soil, there remained yet a remnant, and a very troublesome remnant, of its + original and natural masters: shattered fragments of the Zulu power in + Natal, men who had once swept over the country in the army of Chaka the + Terrible, Chaka of the Short Spear, but who had remained behind in the + fair new land, when Chaka’s raids had been checked by the white man and + his deadly weapons. Remnants, too, of conquered aboriginal tribes, who had + found even Chaka’s rule easier than that of their own chieftains, swelled + the amount to a total of some 100,000 souls. + </p> + <p> + One of the first acts of the English Government, when it took up the + reins, was to allot to each of these constituent fragments a large portion + of the land. This might perhaps have been short-sighted legislation, but + it arose from the necessity of the moment. According to even the then + received ideas of colonisation and its duties, it was hardly possible—danger + apart—to drive all the natives over the frontier, so they were + allowed to stay and share the rights and privileges of British subjects. + But the evil did not stop there. Ere long some political refugees, + defeated in battle, fled before the avenging hand of the conqueror, and + craved place and protection from the Government of Natal. It was granted; + and the principle once established, body after body of men poured in: for, + in stepping over the boundary line, they left the regions of ruin and + terrible death, and entered those of peace, security, and plenty. + </p> + <p> + Thus it is that the native population of Natal, fed from within and + without, has in thirty years increased enormously in number. Secluded from + the outside world in his location, the native has lived in peace and + watched his cattle grow upon a thousand hills. His wealth has become great + and his wives many. He no longer dreads swift “death by order of the + king,” or by word of the witch-doctor. No “impi,” or native regiment, can + now sweep down on him and “eat him up,” that is, carry off his cattle, put + his kraal to the flames, and himself, his people, his wives, and children + to the assegai. For the first time in the story of the great Kafir race, + he can, when he rises in the morning, be sure that he will not sleep that + night, stiff, in a bloody grave. He has tasted the blessings of peace and + security, and what is the consequence? He has increased and multiplied + until his numbers are as grains of sand on the sea-shore. Overlapping the + borders of his location, he squats on private lands, he advances like a + great tidal wave, he cries aloud for room, more room. This is the trouble + which stares us in the face, looming larger and more distinct year by + year; the great over-growing problem which thoughtful men fear must one + day find a sudden and violent solution. Thus it comes to pass that there + hangs low on the horizon of South Africa the dark cloud of the Native + Question. How and when it will burst no man can pretend to say, but some + time and in some way burst it must, unless means of dispersing it can be + found. + </p> + <p> + There is now at work among the Kafir population the same motive power + which has raised in turn all white nations, and, having built them up to a + certain height, has then set to work to sap them until they have fallen—the + power of civilisation. Hand in hand the missionary and the trader have + penetrated the locations. The efforts of the teacher have met with but a + partial success. “A Christian may be a good man in his way, but he is a + Zulu spoiled,” said Cetywayo, King of the Zulus, when arguing the question + of Christianity with the Secretary for Native Affairs; and such is, not + altogether wrongly, the general feeling of the natives. With the traders + it has been different. Some have dealt honestly—and more, it is to + be feared, dishonestly—not only with those with whom they have had + dealings, but with their fellow-subjects and their Government. It is these + men chiefly who have, in defiance of the law, supplied the natives with + those two great modern elements of danger and destruction, the gin-bottle + and the rifle. The first is as yet injurious only to the recipients, but + it will surely react on those who have taught them its use; the danger of + possessing the rifle may come home to us any day and at any moment. + </p> + <p> + Civilisation, it would seem, when applied to black races, produces effects + diametrically opposite to those we are accustomed to observe in white + nations: it debases before it can elevate; and as regards the Kafirs it is + doubtful, and remains to be proved, whether it has much power to elevate + them at all. Take the average Zulu warrior, and it will be found that, in + his natural state, his vices are largely counter-balanced by his good + qualities. In times of peace he is a simple, pastoral man, leading a + good-humoured easy life with his wives and his cattle, perfectly indolent + and perfectly happy. He is a kind husband and a kinder father; he never + disowns his poor relations; his hospitality is extended alike to white and + black; he is open in his dealings and faithful to his word, and his + honesty is a proverb in the land. True, if war breaks out and the thirst + for slaughter comes upon him, he turns into a different man. When the + fierce savage spirit is once aroused, blood alone will cool it. But even + then he has virtues. If he is cruel, he is brave in the battle; if he is + reckless of the lives of others, he regards not his own; and when death + comes, he meets it without fear, and goes to the spirits of his fathers + boldly, as a warrior should. And now reverse the picture, and see him in + the dawning light of that civilisation which, by intellect and by nature, + he is some five centuries behind. See him, ignoring its hidden virtues, + eagerly seize and graft its most prominent vices on to his own besetting + sins. Behold him by degrees adding cunning to his cruelty, avarice to his + love of possession, replacing his bravery by coarse bombast and insolence, + and his truth by lies. Behold him inflaming all his passions with the + maddening drink of the white man, and then follow him through many degrees + of degradation until he falls into crime and ends in a jail. Such are, in + only too many instances, the consequences of this partial civilisation, + and they are not even counterbalanced, except in individual cases, by the + attempt to learn the truths of a creed which he cannot, does not, pretend + to understand. And if this be the result in the comparatively few + individuals who have been brought under these influences, it may be fair + to argue that it will differ only in degree, not in kind, when the same + influences are brought to bear on the same material in corresponding + proportions. Whatever may or may not be the effects of our partial + civilisation when imperfectly and spasmodically applied to the vast native + population of South Africa, one thing must, in course of time, result from + it. The old customs, the old forms, the old feelings, must each in turn + die away. The outer expression of these will die first, and it will not be + long before the very memory of them will fade out of the barbaric heart. + The rifle must replace, and, indeed, actually has replaced, the assegai + and the shield, and portions of the cast-off uniforms of all the armies of + Europe are to be seen where, until lately, the bronze-like form of the + Kafir warrior went naked as on the day he was born. But so long as native + customs and ceremonies still linger in some of the more distant locations, + so long will they exercise a certain attraction for dwellers amid tamer + scenes. It is therefore from a belief in the magnetism of contrast that + the highly-civilised reader is invited to come to where he can still meet + the barbarian face to face and witness that wild ceremony, half jest, half + grim earnest—a Zulu war dance. + </p> + <p> + It was the good fortune of the writer of this sketch to find himself, some + years ago, travelling through the up-country districts of Natal, in the + company of certain high officials of the English Government. The journey + dragged slowly enough by waggon, and some monotonous weeks had passed + before we pitched our camp, one drizzling gusty night, on a high plateau, + surrounded by still loftier hills. A wild and dismal place it looked in + the growing dusk of an autumn evening, nor was it more suggestively + cheerful when we rode away from it next morning in the sunshine, leaving + the waggons to follow slowly. Our faces were set towards a great mountain, + towering high above its fellows, called Pagadi’s Kop—Pagadi being a + powerful chief who had fled from the Zulus in the early days of the + colony, and had ever since dwelt loyally and peacefully here in this wild + place, beneath the protection of the Crown. Messengers had been duly sent + to inform him that he was to receive the honour of a visit, for your true + savage never likes to be taken by surprise. Other swift-footed runners had + come back with the present of a goat, and the respectful answer, so + Oriental in its phraseology, that “Pagadi was old, he was infirm, yet he + would arise and come to greet his lords.” Every mile or so of our slow + progress a fresh messenger would spring up before us suddenly, as though + he had started out of the earth at our feet, and prefixing his greeting + with the royal salute, given with up-raised arm, “Bayete! Bayete!”—a + salutation only accorded to Zulu royalty, to the governors of the + different provinces, and to Sir T. Shepstone, the Secretary for Native + Affairs—he would deliver his message or his news and fall into the + rear. Presently came one saying, “Pagadi is very old and weak; Pagadi is + weary; let his lords forgive him if he meet them not this day. To-morrow, + when the sun is high, he will come to their place of encampment and greet + his lords and hold festival before them. But let his lords, the white + lords of all the land from the Great Mountain to the Black Water, go up to + his kraal, and let them take the biggest hut and drink of the strongest + beer. There his son, the chief that is to be, and all his wives, shall + greet them; let his lords be honoured by Pagadi, through them.” An + acknowledgment was sent, and we still rode on, beginning the ascent of the + formidable stronghold, on the flat top of which was placed the chief’s + kraal. A hard and stiff climb it was, up a bridle path with far more + resemblance to a staircase than a road. But if the road was bad, the + scenery and the vegetation were wild and beautiful in the extreme. Now we + came to a deep “kloof” or cleft in the steep mountain-side, at the bottom + of which, half hidden by the masses of ferns and rich rank greenery, + trickled a little stream; now to an open space of rough ground, covered + only with huge, weather-washed boulders. A little further on lay a Kafir + mealie-garden, where the tall green stalks were fairly bent to the ground + by the weight of the corn-laden heads, and beyond that, again, a park-like + slope of grassy veldt. And ever, when we looked behind us, the vast + undulating plain over which we had come stretched away in its mysterious + silence, till it blended at length with the soft blue horizon. + </p> + <p> + At last, after much hard and steady climbing, we reached the top and stood + upon a perfectly level space ten or twelve acres in extent, exactly in the + centre of which was placed the chief’s kraal. Before we dismounted we rode + to the extreme western edge of the plateau, to look at one of the most + perfectly lovely views it is possible to imagine. It was like coming face + to face with great primeval Nature, not Nature as we civilised people know + her, smiling in corn-fields, waving in well-ordered woods, but Nature as + she was on the morrow of the Creation. There, to our left, cold and grey + and grand, rose the great peak, flinging its dark shadow far beyond its + base. Two thousand feet and more beneath us lay the valley of the Mooi + river, with the broad tranquil stream flashing silver through its midst. + Over against us rose another range of towering hills, with sudden openings + in their blue depths through which could be seen the splendid distances of + a champaign country. Immediately at our feet, and seeming to girdle the + great gaunt peak, lay a deep valley, through which the Little Bushman’s + River forced its shining way. All around rose the great bush-clad hills, + so green, so bright in the glorious streaming sunlight, and yet so awfully + devoid of life, so solemnly silent. It was indeed a sight never to be + forgotten, this wide panoramic out-look, with its towering hills, its + smiling valleys, its flashing streams, its all-pervading sunlight, and its + deep sad silence. But it was not always so lifeless and so still. Some few + years ago those hills, those plains, those rivers were teeming each with + their various creatures. But a short time since, and standing here at + eventide, the traveller could have seen herds of elephants cooling + themselves yonder after their day’s travel, whilst the black-headed + white-tusked sea-cow rose and plunged in the pool below. That bush-clad + hill was the favourite haunt of droves of buffaloes and elands, and on + that plain swarmed thousands upon thousands of springbok and of quagga, of + hartebeest and of oribi. All alien life must cease before the white man, + and so these wild denizens of forest, stream, and plain have passed away + never to return. + </p> + <p> + Turning at length from the contemplation of a scene so new and so + surprising, we entered the stockade of the kraal. These kraals consist of + a stout outer palisade, and then, at some distance from the first, a + second enclosure, between which the cattle are driven at night, or in case + of danger. At the outer entrance we were met by the chief’s eldest son, a + finely-built man, who greeted us with much respect and conducted us + through rows of huts to the dwelling-places of the chief’s family, fenced + off from the rest by a hedge of Tambouki grass. In the centre of these + stood Pagadi’s hut, which was larger and more finely woven and thatched + than the rest. It is impossible to describe these huts better than by + saying that they resemble enormous straw beehives of the old-fashioned + pattern. In front of the hut were grouped a dozen or so of women clad in + that airiest of costumes, a string of beads. They were Pagadi’s wives, and + ranged from the first shrivelled-up wife of his youth to the plump young + damsel bought last month. The spokeswoman of the party, however, was not + one of the wives, but a daughter of Pagadi’s, a handsome girl, tall, and + splendidly formed, with a finely-cut face. This prepossessing young lady + entreated her lords to enter, which they did, in a very unlordly way, on + their hands and knees. So soon as the eye became accustomed to the cool + darkness of the hut, it was sufficiently interesting to notice the rude + attempts at comfort with which it was set forth. The flooring, of a + mixture of clay and cow-dung, looked exactly like black marble, so smooth + and polished had it been made, and on its shining, level surface couches + of buckskin and gay blankets were spread in an orderly fashion. Some + little three-legged wooden sleeping-pillows and a few cooking-pots made up + its sole furniture besides. In one corner rested a bundle of assegais and + war-shields, and opposite the door were ranged several large calabashes + full of “twala” or native beer. The chief’s son and all the women followed + us into the hut. The ladies sat themselves down demurely in a double row + opposite to us, but the young chieftain crouched in a distant corner apart + and played with his assegais. We partook of the beer and exchanged + compliments, almost Oriental in their dignified courtesy, in the soft and + liquid Zulu language, but not for long, for we still had far to ride. The + stars were shining in southern glory before we reached the place of our + night’s encampment, and supper and bed were even more than usually + welcome. There is a pleasure in the canvas-sheltered meal, in the + after-pipe and evening talk of the things of the day that has been and + those of the day to come, here, amid these wild surroundings, which is + unfelt and unknown in scenes of greater comfort and higher civilisation. + There is a sense of freshness and freedom in the wind-swept waggon-bed + that is not to be exchanged for the softest couch in the most luxurious + chamber. And when at length the morning comes, sweet in the scent of + flowers, and glad in the voice of birds, it finds us ready to greet it, + not hiding it from us with canopy and blind, as is the way of cities. + </p> + <p> + The scene of the coming spectacle of this bright new day lies spread + before us, and certainly no spot could have been better chosen for + dramatic effect. In front of the waggons is a large, flat, open space, + backed by bold rising ground with jutting crags and dotted clumps of + luxuriant vegetation. All around spreads the dense thorn-bush, allowing + but of one way of approach, from the left. During the morning we could + hear snatches of distant chants growing louder and louder as time wore on, + and could catch glimpses of wild figures threading the thorns, warriors + hastening to the meeting-place. All through the past night the farmers for + miles around had been aroused by the loud insistent cries of the chief’s + messengers as they flitted far and wide, stopping but a moment wherever + one of their tribe sojourned, and bidding him come, and bring plume and + shield, for Pagadi had need of him. This day, we may be sure, the herds + are left untended, the mealie-heads ungathered, for the herdsmen and the + reapers have come hither to answer to the summons of their chief. Little + reck they whether it be for festival or war; he needs them, and has called + them, and that is enough. Higher and higher rose the fitful distant chant, + but no one could be seen. Suddenly there stood before us a creature, a + woman, who, save for the colour of her skin, might have been the original + of any one of Macbeth’s “weird sisters.” Little, withered, and bent nearly + double by age, her activity was yet past comprehension. Clad in a strange + jumble of snake-skins, feathers, furs, and bones, a forked wand in her + outstretched hand, she rushed to and fro before the little group of white + men. Her eyes gleamed like those of a hawk through her matted hair, and + the genuineness of her frantic excitement was evident by the quivering + flesh and working face, and the wild, spasmodic words she spoke. The + spirit at least of her rapid utterances may thus be rendered:— + </p> + <p> + “Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, ai. Oh, ye warriors that shall dance before the great + ones of the earth, come! Oh, ye dyers of spears, ye plumed suckers of + blood, come! I, the Isanusi, I, the witch-finder, I, the wise woman, I, + the seer of strange sights, I, the reader of dark thoughts, call ye! Come, + ye fierce ones; come, ye brave ones, come, and do honour to the white + lords! Ah, I hear ye! Ah, I smell ye! Ah, I see ye; ye come, ye come!” + </p> + <p> + Hardly had her invocation trailed off into the “Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, ai,” + with which it had opened, when there rushed over the edge of the hill, + hard by, another figure scarcely less wild, but not so repulsive in + appearance. This last was a finely-built warrior arrayed in the full + panoply of savage war. With his right hand he grasped his spears, and on + his left hung his large black ox-hide shield, lined on its inner side with + spare assegais. From the “man’s” ring round his head arose a single tall + grey plume, robbed from the Kafir crane. His broad shoulders were bare, + and beneath the arm-pits was fastened a short garment of strips of skin, + intermixed with ox-tails of different colours. From his waist hung a rude + kilt made chiefly of goat’s hair, whilst round the calf of the right leg + was fixed a short fringe of black ox-tails. As he stood before us with + lifted weapon and outstretched shield, his plume bending to the breeze, + and his savage aspect made more savage still by the graceful, statuesque + pose, the dilated eye and warlike mould of the set features, as he stood + there, an emblem and a type of the times and the things which are passing + away, his feet resting on ground which he held on sufferance, and his + hands grasping weapons impotent as a child’s toy against those of the + white man,—he who was the rightful lord of all,—what + reflections did he not induce, what a moral did he not teach! + </p> + <p> + The warrior left us little time, however, for either reflections or + deductions, for, striking his shield with his assegai, he rapidly poured + forth this salutation:— + </p> + <p> + “Bayete, Bayete, O chief from the olden times, O lords and chief of + chiefs! Pagadi, the son of Masingorano, the great chief, the leader of + brave ones, the son of Ulubako, greets you. Pagadi is humble before you; + he comes with warrior and with shield, but he comes to lay them at your + feet. O father of chiefs, son of the great Queen over the water, is it + permitted that Pagad’ approach you? Ou, I see it is, your face is + pleasant; Bayete, Bayete!” + </p> + <p> + He ends, and, saluting again, springs forward, and, flying hither and + thither, chants the praises of his chief. “Pagadi,” he says, “Pagad’, + chief and father of the Amocuna, is coming. Pagad’, the brave in battle, + the wise in council, the slayer of warriors; Pagad’ who slew the tiger in + the night time; Pagadi, the rich in cattle, the husband of many wives, the + father of many children. Pagad’ is coming, but not alone; he comes + surrounded with his children, his warriors. He comes like a king at the + head of his brave children. Pagadi’s soldiers are coming; his soldiers who + know well how to fight; his soldiers and his captains who make the hearts + of brave men to sink down; his shakers of spears; his quaffers of blood. + Pagad’ and his soldiers are coming; tremble all ye, ou, ou, ou!” + </p> + <p> + As the last words die on his lips the air is filled with a deep, murmuring + sound like distant thunder; it swells and rolls, and finally passes away + to give place to the noise of the rushing of many feet. Over the brow of + the hill dashes a compact body of warriors, running swiftly in lines of + four, with their captain at their head, all clad in the same wild garb as + the herald. Each bears a snow-white shield carried on the slant, and above + each warrior’s head rises a grey heron’s plume. These are the + advance-guard, formed of the “greys” or veteran troops. As they come into + full view the shields heave and fall, and then from every throat bursts + the war-song of the Zulus. Passing us swiftly, they take up their position + in a double line on our right, and stand there solemnly chanting all the + while. Another rush of feet, and another company flits over the hill + towards us, but they bear coal-black shields, and the drooping plumes are + black as night; they fall into position next the firstcomers, and take up + the chant. Now they come faster and faster, but all through the same gap + in the bush. The red shields, the dun shields, the mottled shields, the + yellow shields, follow each other in quick but regular succession, till at + length there stands before us a body of some five hundred men, presenting, + in their savage dress, their various shields and flashing spears, as wild + a spectacle as it is possible to conceive. + </p> + <p> + But it is not our eyes only that are astonished, for from each of those + five hundred throats there swells a chant never to be forgotten. From + company to company it passes, that wild, characteristic song, so touching + in its simple grandeur, so expressive in its deep, pathetic volume. The + white men who listened had heard the song of choirs ringing down + resounding aisles, they had been thrilled by the roll of oratorios pealing + in melody, beautiful and complex, through the grandest of man’s theatres, + but never till now had they heard music of voices so weird, so soft and + yet so savage, so simple and yet so all-expressive of the fiercest + passions known to the human heart. Hark! now it dies; lower and lower it + sinks, it grows faint, despairing: “Why does he not come, our chief, our + lord? Why does he not welcome his singers? Ah! see, they come, the heralds + of our lord! our chief is coming to cheer his praisers, our chief is + coming to lead his warriors.” Again it rises and swells louder and louder, + a song of victory and triumph. It rolls against the mountains, it beats + against the ground: “He is coming, he is here, attended by his chosen. Now + we shall go forth to slay; now shall we taste of the battle.” Higher yet + and higher, till at length the chief, Pagadi, swathed in war-garments of + splendid furs, preceded by runners and accompanied by picked warriors, + creeps slowly up. He is old and tottering, and of an unwieldy bulk. Two + attendants support him, whilst a third bears his shield, and a fourth (oh + bathos!) a cane-bottomed chair. One moment the old man stands and surveys + his warriors and listens to the familiar war-cry. As he stands, his face + is lit with the light of battle, the light of remembered days. The + tottering figure straightens itself, the feeble hand becomes strong once + more. With a shout, the old man shakes off his supporters and grasps his + shield, and then, forgetting his weakness and his years, he rushes to his + chieftain’s place in the centre of his men. And as he comes the chant + grows yet louder, the time yet faster, till it rises, and rings, and + rolls, no longer a chant, but a war-cry, a paean of power. Pagadi stops + and raises his hand, and the place is filled with a silence that may be + felt. But not for long. The next moment five hundred shields are tossed + aloft, five hundred spears flash in the sunshine, and with a sudden roar, + forth springs the royal salute, “Bayete!” + </p> + <p> + The chief draws back and gives directions to his <i>indunas</i>, his + thinkers, his wise ones, men distinguished from their fellows by the + absence of shield and plume; the <i>indunas</i> pass on the orders to the + captains, and at once the so-called dance begins. First they manoeuvre a + little in absolute silence, and changing their position with wonderful + precision and rapidity; but as their blood warms there comes a sound as of + the hissing of ten thousand snakes, and they charge and charge again. A + pause, and the company of “greys” on our right, throwing itself into open + order, flits past us like so many vultures to precipitate itself with a + wild, whistling cry on an opposing body which rushed to meet it. They join + issue, they grapple; on them swoops another company, then another and + another, until nothing is to be distinguished except a mass of wild faces + heaving; of changing forms rolling and writhing, twisting and turning, + and, to all appearances, killing and being killed, whilst the whole air is + pervaded with a shrill, savage sibillation. It is not always the same cry; + now it is the snorting of a troop of buffaloes, now the shriek of the + eagle as he seizes his prey, anon the terrible cry of the “night-prowler,” + the lion, and now—more thrilling than all—the piercing wail of + a woman. But whatever the cry, the cadence rises and falls in perfect time + and unanimity; no two mix with one another so as to mar the effect of + each. + </p> + <p> + Again the combatants draw back and pause, and then forth from the ranks + springs a chosen warrior, and hurls himself on an imaginary foe. He darts + hither and thither with wild activity, he bounds five feet into the air + like a panther, he twists through the grass like a snake, and, finally, + making a tremendous effort, he seems to slay his airy opponent, and sinks + exhausted to the ground. The onlookers mark their approval or disapproval + of the dancer’s feats by the rising and falling of the strange whistling + noise which, without the slightest apparent movement of face or lip, + issues from each mouth. Warrior after warrior comes forth in turn from the + ranks and does battle with his invisible foe, and receives his meed of + applause. The last warrior to spring forward with a wild yell is the + future chief, Pagadi’s son and successor, our friend of yesterday. He + stands, with his shield in one hand and his lifted battle-axe—borne + by him alone—in the other, looking proudly around, and rattling his + lion-claw necklets, whilst from every side bursts forth a storm of + sibillating applause, not from the soldiers only, but from the old men, + women, and children. Through all his fierce pantomimic dance it continues, + and when he has ended it redoubles, then dies away, but only to burst out + again and again with unquenchable enthusiasm. + </p> + <p> + In order, probably, to give the warriors a brief breathing space, another + song is now set up, and it is marvellous the accuracy and knowledge of + melody with which the parts are sung, like a glee of catch, the time being + kept by a conductor, who rushes from rank to rank beating time with a + wand. Yet it is hardly like chanting, rather like a weird, sobbing melody, + with tones in it which range from the deepest bass to the shrillest + treble. It ends in a long sigh, and then follows a scene, a tumult, a + melee, which hardly admits of a description in words. The warriors engage + in a mimic combat, once more they charge, retreat, conquer, and are + defeated, all in turns. In front of them, exciting them to new exertions, + with word and gesture, undulate in a graceful dance of their own the + “intombis,” the young beauties of the tribe, with green branches in their + hands, and all their store of savage finery glittering on their shapely + limbs. Some of these maidens are really handsome, and round them again + dance the children, armed with mimic spears and shields. Wild as seems the + confusion, through it all, even the moments of highest excitement, some + sort of rough order is maintained; more, it would seem, by mutual sounds + than by word of command or sense of discipline. + </p> + <p> + Even a Zulu warrior must, sooner or later, grow weary, and at length the + signal is given for the dance to end. The companies are drawn up in order + again, and receive the praise and thanks of those in whose honour they had + been called together. To these compliments they reply in a novel and + imposing fashion. At a given signal each man begins to softly tap his + ox-hide shield with the handle of his spear, producing a sound somewhat + resembling the murmur of the distant sea. By slow degrees it grows louder + and louder, till at length it rolls and re-echoes from the hills like + thunder, and comes to its conclusion with a fierce, quick rattle. This is + the royal war-salute of the Zulus, and is but rarely to be heard. One more + sonorous salute with voice and hand, and then the warriors disappear as + they came, dropping swiftly and silently over the brow of the hill in + companies. In a few moments no sign or vestige of dance or dancers + remained, save, before our eyes, the well-trodden ground, a few lingering + girls laden with large calabashes of beer, and in our ears some distant + dying snatches of chants. The singers were on their joyful way to slay and + devour the oxen provided as a stimulus and reward for them by their + chief’s liberality. + </p> + <p> + When the last dusky figure had topped the rising ground over which the + homeward path lay, and had stood out for an instant against the flaming + background of the western sun, and then dropped, as it were, back into its + native darkness beyond those gates of fire, the old chief drew near. He + had divested himself of his heavy war-dress, and sat down amicably amongst + us. + </p> + <p> + “Ah,” he said, taking the hand of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, and addressing + him by his native name, “Ah! t’Sompseu, t’Sompseu, the seasons are many + since first I held this your hand. Then we two were young, and life lay + bright before us, and now you have grown great, and are growing grey, and + I have grown very old! I have eaten the corn of my time, till only the cob + is left for me to suck, and, <i>ow</i>, it is bitter. But it is well that + I should grasp this your hand once more, oh, holder of the Spirit of + Chaka,[*] before I sit down and sleep with my fathers. <i>Ow</i>, I am + glad.” + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] The reader must bear in mind that the Zulu warrior is + buried sitting and in full war-dress. Chaka, or T’chaka, was + the founder of the Zulu power. +</pre> + <p> + Imposing as was this old-time war-dance, it is not difficult to imagine + the heights to which its savage grandeur must have swelled when it was + held—as was the custom at each new year—at the kraal of + Cetywayo, King of the Zulus. Then 30,000 warriors took part in it, and a + tragic interest was added to the fierce spectacle by the slaughter of many + men. It was, in fact, a great political opportunity for getting rid of the + “irreconcilable” element from council and field. Then, in the moment of + wildest enthusiasm, the witch-finder darted forward and lightly touched + with a switch some doomed man, sitting, it may be, quietly among the + spectators, or capering with his fellow-soldiers. Instantly he was led + away, and his place knew him no more. + </p> + <p> + Throughout the whole performance there was one remarkable and genuine + feature, the strong personal attachment of each member of the tribe to its + chief—not only to the fine old chief, Pagadi, their leader in former + years, but to the head and leader for the years to come. + </p> + <p> + It must be remembered that this system of chieftainship and its attendant + law is, to all the social bearings of South African native life, what the + tree is to its branches; it has grown through long, long ages amid a + people slow to forget old traditions, and equally slow to receive new + ideas; dependent on it are all the native’s customs, all his keen ideas of + right and justice; in it lies embodied his history of the past, and from + it springs his hope for the future. Surely even the most uncompromising of + those marching under the banner of civilisation must hesitate before they + condemn this deep-rooted system to instant uprootal.[*] The various + influences of the white man have eaten into the native system as rust into + iron, and their action will never cease till all be destroyed. The + bulwarks of barbarism, its minor customs and minor laws, are gone, or + exist only in name; but its two great principles, polygamy and + chieftainship, yet flourish and are strong. Time will undo his work, and + find for these also a place among forgotten things. And it is the + undoubted duty of us English, who absorb people and territories in the + high name of civilisation, to be true to our principles and our aim, and + aid the great destroyer by any and every safe and justifiable means. But + between the legitimate means and the rash, miscalculating uprootal of + customs and principles, which are not the less venerable and good in their + way because they do not accord with our own present ideas, there is a + great gulf fixed. Such an uprootal might precipitate an outburst of the + very evils it aims at destroying. + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + [*] I do not wish the remarks in this paper, which was + written some years ago, to be taken as representing my + present views on the Natal native question, formed after a + longer and more intimate acquaintance with its + peculiarities, for which I beg to refer the reader to the + chapter on Natal.—Author. +</pre> + <p> + What the ultimate effect of our policy will be, when the leaven has + leavened the whole, when the floodgates are lifted, and this vast native + population (which, contrary to all ordinary precedent, does <i>not</i> + melt away before the sun of the white man’s power) is let loose in its + indolent thousands, unrestrained, save by the bonds of civilised law, who + can presume to say? But this is not for present consideration. Subject to + due precautions, the path of progress must of necessity be followed, and + the results of such following left in the balancing hands of Fate and the + future. + </p> + <p> + <br /> <br /> + </p> +<pre xml:space="preserve"> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cetywayo and his White Neighbours, by +H. Rider Haggard + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + +***** This file should be named 8667-h.htm or 8667-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/6/6/8667/ + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: Cetywayo and his White Neighbours + Remarks on Recent Events in Zululand, Natal, and the Transvaal + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: April 27, 2006 [EBook #8667] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny + + + + + +CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + +OR, REMARKS ON RECENT EVENTS IN ZULULAND, NATAL, AND THE TRANSVAAL. + + +By H. Rider Haggard + + +First Published 1882. + + + + PREPARER'S NOTE + + This text was prepared from an 1882 edition published by + Trubner & Co., Ludgate Hill, London. + + + +"I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating in +this way, for a change of Government in England may give them again +the old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance of English +politics than such an idea. I tell you there is no Government--Whig +or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical--who would dare, under any +circumstances, to give back this country (the Transvaal). They would not +dare, because the English people would not allow them."--(_Extract +from Speech of Sir Garnet Wolseley, delivered at a Public Banquet in +Pretoria, on the 17th December 1879._) + +"There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding (from +the Transvaal); it was impossible to say what calamities such a step +as receding might not cause. . . . For such a risk he could not make +himself responsible. . . . Difficulties with the Zulu and the frontier +tribes would again arise, and looking as they must to South Africa as +a whole, the Government, after a careful consideration of the +question, came to the conclusion that we could not relinquish the +Transvaal."--(_Extract from Speech of Lord Kimberley in the House of +Lords, 24th May 1880. H. P. D., vol. cclii., p. 208._) + + + + + +INTRODUCTION + +The writer on Colonial Affairs is naturally, to some extent, discouraged +by the knowledge that the subject is an unattractive one to a large +proportion of the reading public. It is difficult to get up anything +beyond a transient interest in the affairs of our Colonial dependencies; +indeed, I believe that the mind of the British public was more +profoundly moved by the exodus of Jumbo, than it would be were one of +them to become the scene of some startling catastrophe. This is the +more curious, inasmuch as, putting aside all sentimental considerations, +which indeed seem to be out of harmony with the age we live in: the +trade done, even with such comparatively insignificant colonies as our +South African possessions, amounts to a value of many millions of pounds +sterling per annum. Now, as the preachers of the new gospel that hails +from Birmingham and Northampton have frequently told us, trade is +the life-blood of England, and must be fostered at any price. It is +therefore surprising that, looking on them in the light of a commercial +speculation, in which aspect (saith the preacher) they are alone +worthy of notice, a keener interest is not taken in the well-being and +development of the Colonies. We have only to reflect to see how great +are the advantages that the Mother Country derives from the possession +of her Colonial Empire; including, as they do, a home for her surplus +children, a vast and varied market for her productions, and a wealth of +old-fashioned loyalty and deep attachment to the Old Country--"home," +as it is always called--which, even if it is out of date, might prove +useful on emergency. It seems therefore, almost a pity that some Right +Honourable Gentlemen and their followers should adopt the tone they do +with reference to the Colonies. After all, there is an odd shuffling of +the cards going on now in England; and great as she is, her future looks +by no means sunny. Events in these latter days develop themselves very +quickly; and though the idea may, at the present moment, seem absurd, +surely it is possible that, what between the rapid spread of Radical +ideas, the enmity of Ireland, the importation of foreign produce, and +the competition of foreign trade, to say nothing of all the unforeseen +accidents and risks of the future, the Englishmen of, say, two +generations hence, may not find their country in her present proud +position. Perhaps, and stranger things have happened in the history of +the world, she may by that time be under the protection of those very +Colonies for which their forefathers had such small affection. + +The position of South Africa with reference to the Mother Country +is somewhat different to that of her sister Colonies, in that she is +regarded, not so much with apathy tinged with dislike, as with downright +disgust. This feeling has its foundation in the many troubles and +expenses in which this country has been recently involved, through local +complications in the Cape, Zululand, and the Transvaal: and indeed is +little to be wondered at. But, whilst a large portion of the press has +united with a powerful party of politicians in directing a continuous +stream of abuse on to the heads of the white inhabitants of South +Africa, whom they do not scruple to accuse of having created the recent +disturbances in order to reap a money profit from them: it does not +appear to have struck anybody that the real root of this crop of +troubles might, after all, be growing nearer home. The truth of the +matter is, that native and other problems in South Africa have, till +quite lately, been left to take their chance, and solve themselves as +best they might; except when they have, in a casual manner, been made +the _corpus vile_ of some political experiment. It was during this long +period of inaction, when each difficulty--such as the native question in +Natal--was staved off to be dealt with by the next Government, that the +seed was sown of which we are at present reaping the fruit. In addition +to this, matters have recently been complicated by the elevation of +South African affairs to the dignity of an English party question. +Thus, the Transvaal Annexation was made use of as a war-cry in the +last general election, a Boer rebellion was thereby encouraged, which +resulted in a complete reversal of our previous policy. + +Now, if there is any country dependent on England that requires the +application to the conduct of its affairs of a firm, considered, and +consistent policy, that country is South Africa. Boers and Natives are +quite incapable of realising the political necessities of any of +our parties, or of understanding why their true interests should be +sacrificed in order to minister to those necessities. It is our wavering +and uncertain policy, as applied to peoples, who look upon every +hesitating step as a sign of fear and failing dominion, that, in +conjunction with previous postponement and neglect, has really caused +our troubles in South Africa. For so long as the affairs of that +country are influenced by amateurs and sentimentalists, who have no real +interest in it, and whose knowledge of its circumstances and conditions +of life is gleaned from a few blue-books, superficially got up to enable +the reader to indite theoretical articles to the "Nineteenth Century," +or deliver inaccurate speeches in the House of Commons--for so long will +those troubles continue. + +If I may venture to make a suggestion, the affairs of South Africa +should be controlled by a Board or Council, like that which formerly +governed India, composed of moderate members of both parties, with an +admixture of men possessing practical knowledge of the country. I do not +know if any such arrangement would be possible under our constitution, +but the present system of government, by which the control of savage +races fluctuates in obedience of every variation of English party +politics, is most mischievous in its results. + +The public, however, is somewhat tired of South Africa, and the reader +may, perhaps, wonder why he should be troubled with more literature on +the subject. I can assure him that these pages are not written in order +to give me an opportunity of airing my individual experiences or ideas. +Their object is shortly--(1.) To give a true history of the events +attendant on the Annexation of the Transvaal, which act has so +frequently been assigned to the most unworthy motives, and has never +yet been fairly described by any one who was in a position to know +the facts; (2.) To throw as much publicity as possible on the present +disgraceful state of Zululand, resulting from our recent settlement in +that country; (3.) To show all interested in the Kafir races what has +been the character of our recent surrender in the Transvaal, and what +its effect will be on our abandoned native subjects living in that +country. + +It may, perhaps, seem an odd statement, considering that I have lived +in various parts of South Africa for about six years, and have, perhaps, +enjoyed exceptional advantage in forming my opinions, when I say that my +chief fear in publishing the present volume, is lest my knowledge of my +subject in all its bearings should not be really equal to the task. It +is, I know, the fashion to treat South African difficulties as being +simple of solution. Thus it only took Sir Garnet Wolseley a few weeks +to understand the whole position of Zulu affairs, and to execute his +memorable settlement of that country: whilst eminent writers appear to +be able, in scampering from Durban _via_ Kimberley to Cape Town in a +post-cart, to form decided opinions upon every important question +in South Africa. The power of thus rapidly assimilating intricate +knowledge, and of seeing straight through a wall whilst ordinary +individuals are still criticising the bricks, is no doubt one of the +peculiar privileges of genius--which is, perhaps fortunately for South +Africa--rare. To the common run of mind, however, the difficulty of +forming a sound and accurate judgment on the interlacing problems that +disclose themselves to the student of the politics of South-Eastern +Africa, is exceedingly great and the work of years. + +But although it is by no means perfect, I think that my knowledge of +these problems and of their imminent issues is sufficiently intimate +to justify me in making a prophecy--namely, that unless the native and +other questions of South-Eastern Africa are treated with more honest +intelligence, and on a more settled plan than it has hitherto been +thought necessary to apply to them, the British taxpayer will find that +he has _by no means_ heard the last of that country and its wars. + +There is one more point to which, although it hardly comes within the +scope of this volume, I have made some allusion, and which I venture to +suggest deserves the consideration of thinking Englishmen. I refer to +the question of the desirability of allowing the Dutch in South Africa, +who are already numerically the strongest, to continue to advance with +such rapid strides towards political supremacy. That the object of +this party is to reduce Englishmen and English ideas to a subordinate +position in the State, if not actually to rid itself of our rule and +establish a republic, there is no manner of doubt. Indeed, there exists +a powerful organisation, the Africander Bond, which has its headquarters +in the Cape, and openly devotes its energies to forwarding these ends, +by offering a sturdy opposition to the introduction of English emigrants +and the use of the English language, whilst striving in every way to +excite class prejudices and embitter the already strained relations +between Englishman and Boer. In considering this question, it is as well +not to lose sight of the fact that the Dutch are as a body, at heart +hostile to our rule, chiefly because they cannot tolerate our lenient +behaviour to the native races. Should they by any chance cease to be the +subjects of England, they will, I believe, become her open enemies. This +of itself would be comparatively unimportant, were it not for the fact +that, in the event of the blocking of the Suez Canal, it would be, to +say the least, inconvenient that the Cape should be in the hands of a +hostile population. + +In conclusion, I wish to state that this book is not written for any +party purpose. I have tried to describe a state of affairs which has for +the most part come under my own observation, and events in which I have +been interested, and at times engaged. That the naked truths of such +a business as the Transvaal surrender, or of the present condition of +Zululand, are unpleasant reading for an Englishman, there is no doubt; +but, so far as these pages are concerned, they owe none of their +ugliness to undue colouring or political bias. + +Windham Club, St. James' Square, June 1882. + + + + + +CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + + + + +CETYWAYO AND THE ZULU SETTLEMENT + + +_Claims of affairs of Zululand to attention--Proposed visit of +Cetywayo to England--Chaka--His method of government--His death-- +Dingaan--Panda--Battle of the Tugela--John Dunn--Nomination of +Cetywayo--His coronation--His lady advocates--Their attacks on +officials--Was Cetywayo bloodthirsty?--Cause of the Zulu war--Zulu +military system--States of feeling amongst the Zulus previous to +the war--Cetywayo's position--His enemies--His intentions on the +Transvaal--Their frustration by Sir T. Shepstone--Cetywayo's interview +with Mr. Fynney--His opinion of the Boers--The annexation in connection +with the Zulu war--The Natal colonists and the Zulu war--Sir Bartle +Frere--The Zulu war--Cetywayo's half-heartedness--Sir Garnet Wolseley's +settlement--Careless selection of chiefs--The Sitimela plot--Chief +John Dunn--Appointment of Mr. Osborn as British Resident--His difficult +position--Folly and cruelty of our settlement--Disappointment of +the Zulus--Object and result of settlement--Slaughter in +Zululand--Cetywayo's son--Necessity of proper settlement of +Zululand--Should Cetywayo be restored?_ + +Zululand and the Zulu settlement still continue to receive some +attention from the home public, partly because those responsible for the +conduct of affairs are not quite at ease about it, and partly because of +the agitation in this country for the restoration of Cetywayo. + +There is no doubt that the present state of affairs in Zululand is a +subject worthy of close consideration, not only by those officially +connected with them, but by the public at large. Nobody, either at +home or in the colonies, wishes to see another Zulu war, or anything +approaching to it. Unless, however, the affairs of Zululand receive a +little more attention, and are superintended with a little more humanity +and intelligence than they are at present, the public will sooner or +later be startled by some fresh catastrophe. Then will follow the usual +outcry, and the disturbance will be attributed to every cause under the +sun except the right one--want of common precautions. + +The Zulu question is a very large one, and I only propose discussing +so much of it as necessary to the proper consideration of the proposed +restoration of Cetywayo to his throne. + +The king is now coming to England,[*] where he will doubtless make +a very good impression, since his appearance is dignified, and +his manners, as is common among Zulus of high rank, are those of +a gentleman. It is probable that his visit will lead to a popular +agitation in his favour, and very possibly to an attempt on the part +of the English Government to reinstate him in his kingdom. Already Lady +Florence Dixie waves his banner, and informs the public through the +columns of the newspapers how good, how big, and how beautiful he is, +and "F. W. G. X." describes in enthusiastic terms his pearl-like teeth. +But as there are interests involved in the question of his reinstatement +which are, I think, more important than Cetywayo's personal proportions +of mind or body, and as the results of such a step would necessarily be +very marked and far-reaching, it is as well to try and understand the +matter in all its bearing before anything is done. + + [*] Since the above was written the Government have at the + last moment decided to postpone Cetywayo's visit to this + country, chiefly on account of the political capital which + was being made out of the event by agitators in Zululand. + The project of bringing the king to England does not, + however, appear to have been abandoned. + +There has been a great deal of special pleading about Cetywayo. Some +writers, swayed by sentiment, and that spirit of partisanship that the +sight of royalty in distress always excites, whitewash him in such a +persistent manner that their readers are left under the impression that +the ex-king is a model of injured innocence and virtue. Others again, +for political reasons, paint him very black, and predict that +his restoration would result in the destruction, or at the least, +disorganisation, of our South African empire. The truth in this, as in +the majority of political controversies, lies somewhere between these +two extremes, though it is difficult to say exactly where. + +To understand the position of Cetywayo both with reference to his +subjects and the English Government, it will be necessary to touch, +though briefly, on the history of Zululand since it became a nation, and +also on the principal events of the ex-king's reign. + +Chaka, Cetywayo's great uncle, was the first Zulu king, and doubtless +one of the most remarkable men that has ever filled a throne since the +days of the Pharaohs. When he came to his chieftainship, about 1813, the +Zulu people consisted of a single small tribe; when his throne became +vacant in 1828, their name had become a living terror, and they were +the greatest Black power in South Africa. The invincible armies of this +African Attila had swept north and south, east and west, had slaughtered +more than a million human beings, and added vast tracts of country to +his dominions. Wherever his warriors went, the blood of men, women, and +children was poured out without stay or stint; indeed he reigned like a +visible Death, the presiding genius of a saturnalia of slaughter. + +His methods of government and warfare were peculiar and somewhat +drastic, but most effective. As he conquered a tribe, he enrolled its +remnants in his army, so that they might in their turn help to conquer +others. He armed his regiments with the short stabbing assegai, instead +of the throwing assegai which they had been accustomed to use, and kept +them subject to an iron discipline. If a man was observed to show the +slightest hesitation about coming to close quarters with the enemy, +he was executed as soon as the fight was over. If a regiment had the +misfortune to be defeated, whether by its own fault or not, it would on +its return to headquarters find that a goodly proportion of the wives +and children belonging to it had been beaten to death by Chaka's orders, +and that he was waiting their arrival to complete his vengeance by +dashing out their brains. The result was, that though Chaka's armies +were occasionally annihilated, they were rarely defeated, and they never +ran away. I will not enter in the history of his numerous cruelties, and +indeed they are not edifying. Amongst other things, like Nero, he killed +his own mother, and then caused several persons to be executed because +they did not show sufficient sorrow at her death. + +At length, in 1828, he too suffered the fate he had meted out to so +many, and was killed by his brothers, Dingaan and Umhlangan, by the +hands of one Umbopa. He was murdered in his hut, and as his life passed +out of him he is reported to have addressed these words to his brothers, +who were watching his end: "What! do you stab me, my brothers, dogs of +mine own house, whom I have fed? You hope to be kings; but though you do +kill me, think not that your line shall reign for long. I tell you that +I hear the sound of the feet of the great white people, and that this +land shall be trodden by them." He then expired, but his last words have +always been looked upon as a prophecy by the Zulus, and indeed they have +been partly fulfilled. + +Having in his turn killed Umhlangan, his brother by blood and in crime, +Dingaan took possession of the throne. He was less pronounced than +Chaka in his foreign policy, though he seems to have kept up the family +reputation as regards domestic affairs. It was he who, influenced, +perhaps, by Chaka's dying prophecy about white men, massacred Retief, +the Boer leader, and his fifty followers, in the most treacherous +manner, and then falling on the emigrant Boers in Natal, murdered men, +women, and children to the number of nearly six hundred. There seems, +however, to have been but little love lost between any of the sons of +Usengangacona (the father of Chaka, Dingaan, Umhlangan, and Panda), +for in due course Panda, his brother, conspired with the Boers against +Dingaan, and overthrew him with their assistance. Dingaan fled, and was +shortly afterwards murdered in Swaziland, and Panda ascended the throne +in 1840. + +Panda was a man of different character to the remainder of his race, and +seems to have been well content to reign in peace, only killing enough +people to keep up his authority. Two of his sons, Umbelazi and Cetywayo, +of whom Umbelazi was the elder and Panda's favourite, began, as their +father grew old, to quarrel about the succession to the crown. On the +question being referred to Panda, he is reported to have remarked that +when two young cocks quarrelled the best thing they could do was to +fight it out. Acting on this hint, each prince collected his forces, +Panda sending down one of his favourite regiments to help Umbelazi. The +fight took place in 1856 on the banks of the Tugela. A friend of the +writer, happening to be on the Natal side of the river the day before +the battle, and knowing it was going to take place, swam his horse +across in the darkness, taking his chance of the alligators, and hid in +some bush on a hillock commanding the battlefield. It was a hazardous +proceeding, but the sight repaid the risk, though he describes it as +very awful, more especially when the regiment of veterans sent by Panda +joined in the fray. It came up at the charge, between two and three +thousand strong, and was met near his hiding-place by one of Cetywayo's +young regiments. The noise of the clash of their shields was like the +roar of the sea, but the old regiment, after a struggle in which men +fell thick and fast, annihilated the other, and passed on with thinned +ranks. Another of Cetywayo's regiments took the place of the one that +had been destroyed, and this time the combat was fierce and long, till +victory again declared for the veterans' spears. But they had brought it +dear, and were in no position to continue their charge; so the leaders +of that brave battalion formed its remnants into a ring, and, like the +Scotch at Flodden-- + + "The stubborn spearmen still made good + The dark, impenetrable wood; + Each stepping where his comrade stood + The instant that he fell," + +till there were none left to fall. The ground around them was piled with +dead. + +But this gallant charge availed Umbelazi but little, and by degrees +Cetywayo's forces pressed his men back to the banks of the Tugela, and +finally into it. Thousands fell upon the field and thousands perished in +the river. When my friend swam back that night, he had nothing to +fear from the alligators: they were too well fed. Umbelazi died on the +battlefield of a broken heart, at least it is said that no wound could +be found on his person. He probably expired in a fit brought on by +anxiety of mind and fatigue. A curious story is told of Cetywayo with +reference to his brother's death. After the battle was over a Zulu +from one of his own regiments presented himself before him with many +salutations, saying, "O prince! now canst thou sleep in peace, for +Umbelazi is dead." "How knowest thou that he is dead?" said Cetywayo. +"Because I slew him with my own hand," replied the Zulu. "Thou dog!" +said the prince, "thou hast dared to lift thy hand against the blood +royal, and now thou makest it a matter of boasting. Wast thou not +afraid? By Chaka's head thou shalt have thy reward. Lead him away." And +the Zulu, who was but lying after all, having possessed himself of +the bracelets off the dead prince's body, was instantly executed. The +probability is that Cetywayo acted thus more from motives of policy than +from affection to his brother, whom indeed he hoped to destroy. It did +not do to make too light of the death of an important prince: Umbelazi's +fate to-day might be Cetywayo's fate to-morrow. This story bears a +really remarkable resemblance to that of the young man who slew Saul, +the Lord's anointed, and suffered death on account thereof at the hands +of David. + +This battle is also memorable as being the occasion of the first public +appearance of Mr. John Dunn, now the most important chief in Zululand, +and, be it understood, the unknown quantity in all future transactions +in that country. At that time Dunn was a retainer of Umbelazi's, and +fought on his side in the Tugela battle. After the fight, however, +he went over to Cetywayo and became his man. From that time till the +outbreak of the Zulu war he remained in Zululand as adviser to Cetywayo, +agent for the Natal Government, and purveyor of firearms to the nation +at large. As soon as Cetywayo got into trouble with the Imperial +Government, Dunn, like a prudent man, deserted him and came over to +us. In reward Sir Garnet Wolseley advanced him to the most important +chieftainship in Zululand, which he hopes to make a stepping-stone to +the vacant throne. His advice was largely followed by Sir Garnet in +the bestowal of the other chieftainships, and was naturally not quite +disinterested. He has already publicly announced his intention of +resisting the return of the king, his old master, by force of arms, +should the Government attempt to reinstate him. + +A period of sixteen years elapsed before Cetywayo reaped the fruits of +the battle of the Tugela by succeeding to the throne on the death of his +father, Panda, the only Zulu monarch who has as yet come to his end by +natural causes. + +In 1861, however, Cetywayo was, at the instance of the Natal Government, +formally nominated heir to the throne by Mr. Shepstone, it being +thought better that a fixed succession should be established with the +concurrence of the Natal Government than that matters should be left +to take their chance on Panda's death. Mr. Shepstone accomplished his +mission successfully, though at great personal risk. For some unknown +reason, Cetywayo, who was blown up with pride, was at first adverse +to being thus nominated, and came down to the royal kraal with three +thousand armed followers, meaning, it would see, to kill Mr. Shepstone, +whom he had never before met. Panda, the old king, had an inkling of +what was to happen, but was powerless to control his son, so he confined +himself to addressing the assembled multitude in what I have heard Sir +Theophilus Shepstone say was the most eloquent and touching speech he +ever listened to, the subject being the duties of hospitality. He did +not at the time know how nearly the speech concerned him, or that its +object was to preserve his life. This, however, soon became manifest +when, exception being taken to some breech of etiquette by one of his +servants, he was surrounded by a mob of shouting savages, whose evident +object was to put an end to him and those with him. For two hours he +remained sitting there, expecting that every moment would be his +last, but showing not the slightest emotion, till at length he got an +opportunity of speaking, when he rose and said, "I know that you mean to +kill me; it is an easy thing to do; but I tell you Zulus, that for every +drop of my blood that falls to the ground, a hundred men will come +out of the sea yonder, from the country of which Natal is one of the +cattle-kraals, and will bitterly avenge me." As he spoke he turned +and pointed towards the ocean, and so intense was the excitement that +animated it, that the whole great multitude turned with him and stared +towards the horizon, as though they expected to see the long lines of +avengers creeping across the plains. Silence followed his speech; his +imperturbability and his well-timed address had saved his life. From +that day his name was a power in the land.[*] + + [*] A very good description of this scene was published in + the _London Quarterly Review_ in 1878. The following is an + extract: + + "In the centre of those infuriated savages he (Mr. + Shepstone) sat for more than two hours outwardly calm, + giving confidence to his solitary European companion by his + own quietness, only once saying, 'Why, Jem, you're afraid,' + and imposing restraint on his native attendants. Then, when + they had shouted, as Cetywayo himself said in our hearing, + 'till their throats were so sore that they could shout no + more,' they departed. But Sompseu (Mr. Shepstone) had + conquered. Cetywayo, in describing the scene to us and our + companion on a visit to him a short time afterwards, said, + 'Sompseu is a great man: no man but he could have come + through that day alive.' Similar testimony we have had from + some of the Zulu assailants, from the native attendants, and + the companion above mentioned. Next morning Cetywayo humbly + begged an interview, which was not granted but on terms of + unqualified submission. From that day Cetywayo has submitted + to British control in the measure in which it has been + exercised, and has been profuse in his expressions of + respect and submission to Mr. T. Shepstone; but in his + heart, as occasional acts and speeches show, he writhes + under the restraint, and bitterly hates the man who imposed + it." + +It was on this occasion that a curious incident occurred which +afterwards became of importance. Among the Zulus there exists a certain +salute, "Bayete," which it is the peculiar and exclusive privilege of +Zulu royalty to receive. The word means, or is supposed to mean, "Let +us bring tribute." On Mr. Shepstone's visit the point was raised by the +Zulu lawyers as to what salute he should receive. It was not consistent +with their ideas that the nominator of their future king should be +greeted with any salute inferior to the Bayete, and this, as plain Mr. +Shepstone, it was impossible to give him. The difficulty was obvious, +but the Zulu mind proved equal to it. He was solemnly announced to be +a Zulu king, and to stand in the place of the great founder of their +nation, Chaka. Who was so fit to proclaim the successor to the throne +as the great predecessor of the prince proclaimed? To us this seems a +strange, not to say ludicrous, way of settling a difficulty, but there +was nothing in it repugnant to Zulu ideas. Odd as it was, it invested +Mr. Shepstone with all the attributes of a Zulu king, such as the power +to make laws, order executions, &c., and those attributes in the eyes of +Zulus he still retains. + +In 1873 messengers came down from Zululand to the Natal Government, +bringing with them the "king's head," that is, a complimentary present +of oxen, announcing the death of Panda. "The nation," they said, "was +wandering; it wanders and wanders, and wanders again;" the spirit of +the king had departed from them; his words had ceased, and "none +but children were left." The message ended with a request that Mr. +Shepstone, as Cetywayo's "father," should come and instal him on the +throne. A month or two afterwards there came another message, again +requesting his attendance; and on the request being refused by the +Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, there came a third message, to which the +Natal Government returned a favourable answer. + +Accordingly Mr. Shepstone proceeded to Zululand, and on the 3rd +September 1873 proclaimed Cetywayo king with all due pomp and ceremony. +It was on this occasion that, in the presence of, and with the +enthusiastic assent of, both king and people, Mr. Shepstone, "standing +in the place of Cetywayo's father, and so representing the nation," +enunciated the four following articles, with a view to putting an end to +the continual slaughter that darkens the history of Zululand:-- + +1. That the indiscriminate shedding of blood shall cease in the land. + +2. That no Zulu shall be condemned without open trial, and the public +examination of witnesses for and against, and that he shall have a right +to appeal to the king. + +3. That no Zulu's life shall be taken without the previous knowledge and +consent of the king, after such trial has taken place, and the right of +appeal has been allowed to be exercised. + +4. That for minor crimes the loss of property, all or a portion, shall +be substituted for the punishment of death. + +Nobody will deny that these were admirable regulations, and that they +were received as such at the time by the Zulu king and people. But there +is no doubt that their ready acceptance by the king was a sacrifice to +his desire to please "his father Sompseu" (Mr. Shepstone) and the Natal +Government, with both of which he was particularly anxious to be on +good terms. He has never adhered to these coronation regulations, or +promises, as they have been called, and the probability is that he +never intended to adhere to them. However this may be, I must say that +personally I have been unable to share the views of those who see in +the breach of these so-called promises a justification of the Zulu war. +After all, what do they amount to, and what guarantee was there for +their fulfilment? They merely represent a very laudable attempt on the +part of the Natal Government to keep a restraining hand on Zulu cruelty, +and to draw the bonds of friendship as tight as the idiosyncrasies of +a savage state would allow. The Government of Natal had no right to +dictate the terms to a Zulu king on which he was to hold his throne. The +Zulu nation was an independent nation, and had never been conquered or +annexed by Natal. If the Government of that colony was able by friendly +negotiation to put a stop to Zulu slaughter, it was a matter for +congratulation on humanitarian grounds; but it is difficult to follow +the argument that because it was not able, or was only partially able, +to do so, therefore England was justified in making war on the Zulus. +On the other hand, it is perfectly ludicrous to observe the way in which +Cetywayo's advocates overshoot the mark in arguing this and similar +points; especially his lady advocates, whose writings upon these +subjects bear about the same resemblance to the truth that the speech to +the jury by the counsel for the defence in a hopeless murder case does +to the summing up of the judge. Having demonstrated that the engagements +entered into by Cetywayo meant nothing, they will proceed to show that, +even if they did, cold-blooded murder, when perpetrated by a black +paragon like Cetywayo, does not amount to a great offence. In the mouths +of these gentle apologists for slaughter, massacre masquerades under the +name of "executions," and is excused on the plea of being, "after all," +only the enforcement of "an old custom." Again, the employment of +such phrases, in a solemn answer to a remonstrance from the +Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, as "I do kill; but do not consider that +I have done anything yet in the way of killing. . . . I have not yet +begun; I have yet to kill," are shown to mean nothing at all, and to be +"nothing more than the mere irritation of the moment."[*] Perhaps those +of Cetywayo's subjects who suffered on account of this mere momentary +irritation took a more serious view of it. It is but fair to the +particular authority from whom I quote (Miss Colenso's "History of the +Zulu War," pp. 230-231) to state that she considers this reply from +the "usually courteous and respectful king" as "no doubt petulant and +wanting in due respect." Considering that the message in question (which +can be read in the footnote) was a point-blank defiance of Sir Henry +Bulwer, admitting that there had been slaughter, but that it was nothing +compared to what was coming, most people will not think Miss Colenso's +description of it too strong. + + [*] The following is the text of the message:-- + + "Did I ever tell Mr. Shepstone I would not kill? Did he tell + the white people that I made such an arrangement? Because if + he did he has deceived them. I do kill; but do not consider + that I have done anything yet in the way of killing. Why do + the white people start at nothing? I have not yet begun; I + have yet to kill; it is the custom of our nation, and I + shall not depart from it. Why does the Governor of Natal + speak to me about my laws? Do I go to Natal and dictate to + him about his laws? I shall not agree to any laws or rules + from Natal, and by doing so throw the large kraal which I + govern into the water. My people will not listen unless they + are killed; and while wishing to be friends with the + English, I do not agree to give my people over to be + governed by laws sent to me by them. Have I not asked the + English to allow me to wash my spears since the death of my + father 'Umpandi,' and they have kept playing with me all + this time, treating me like a child? Go back and tell the + English that I shall now act on my own account, and if they + wish me to agree to their laws, I shall leave and become a + wanderer; but before I go it will be seen, as I shall not go + without having acted. Go back and tell the white men this, + and let them hear it well. The Governor of Natal and I are + equal; he is Governor of Natal, and I am Governor here." + +To admit that the Zulu king has the right to kill as many of his +subjects as he chooses, so long as they will tolerate being killed, is +one thing, but it is certainly surprising to find educated Europeans +adopting a line of defence of these proceedings on his behalf that +amounts to a virtual expression of approval, or at least of easy +toleration. Has philanthropy a deadening effect on the moral sense, that +the people who constitute themselves champions for the unfortunate Zulu +king and the oppressed Boers cannot get on to their hobbies without +becoming blind to the difference between right and wrong? Really an +examination of the utterances of these champions of oppressed innocence +would almost lead one to that conclusion. On the one hand they suppress +and explain away facts, and on the other supply their want of argument +by reckless accusations and vicious attacks on the probity of such +of their fellow-Englishmen, especially if in office, as have had the +misfortune to pursue a course of action or to express opinions not +pleasing to them or their proteges. For instance, an innocent and +unenlightened reader of the very interesting work from which I have just +quoted probably lays it down with the conviction that both Sir Bartle +Frere and Sir Theophilus Shepstone are very wicked men and full of bad +motives, and will wonder how a civilised Government could employ such +monsters of bloodthirsty duplicity. As he proceeds he will also find +that there is not much to be said for the characters of either Sir +Garnet Wolseley or Lord Chelmsford; whilst as regards such small fry as +Mr. John Shepstone, the present Secretary of Native Affairs in Natal, +after passing through Miss Colenso's mill their reputations come out +literally in rags and tatters. He will be shocked to find that not only +did one and all of these gentlemen make gross errors of judgment, but, +trusted and distinguished servants of their country as they are, they +were one and all actuated by dark personal motives that will not bear +examination. + +Heaven help the members of the Shepstone family when they fall into the +hands of the gentler but more enthusiastic sex, for Miss Colenso is not +their only foe. In a recent publication called a "Defence of Zululand +and its Kings," Lady Florence Dixie gibbets Mr. Henrique Shepstone, and +points him out to be execrated by a Cetywayo-worshipping public, because +the ex-king is to be sent to England in his charge; when, according to +Lady Dixie, he will certainly be scoundrel enough to misinterpret all +that Cetywayo says for his own ends, and will thereby inflict a +"cruel wrong" upon him, and render his visit to England "perfectly +meaningless." Perhaps it has never occurred to Lady Dixie that this is a +very serious charge to bring against an honourable man, whose reputation +is probably as dear to him as the advancement of Cetywayo's cause is to +her. It is all very well to be enthusiastic, but ladies should remember +that there are other people in the world to be considered beside +Cetywayo. + +As regards the question of Cetywayo's bloodthirstiness, which is so +strenuously denied by his apologists, I cannot say that a careful +study of the blue books bearing on the subject brings me to the same +conclusion. It is true that there is not much information on the point, +for the obvious reason that the history of slaughters in Zululand in the +vast majority of cases only reached Natal in the form of rumours, +which nobody thought it worth while to report. There were no newspaper +correspondents in Zululand. There is not, however, any doubt that +Cetywayo was in the habit of killing large numbers of people; indeed it +was a matter of the commonest notoriety; nor, as will be seen from the +message I have transcribed, did he himself deny it, when, being angry, +he spoke the truth. At the same time that this message was sent, we +find Mr. Osborn, then resident magistrate at Newcastle in Natal, who is +certainly not given to exaggeration, writing to the Secretary for Native +Affairs thus:--"From all I have been able to learn, Cetywayo's conduct +has been, and continues to be, disgraceful. He is putting people to +death in a shameful manner, especially girls. The dead bodies are +placed by his order in the principal paths, especially where the paths +intersect each other (cross roads). A few of the parents of the young +people so killed buried the bodies, and thus brought Cetywayo's wrath +on themselves, resulting not only on their own death, but destruction +of the whole family. . . . It is really terrible that such horrible +savagery could take place on our own borders. . . . Uhamu reproved +Cetywayo the other day, reminded him of his promises to Mr. Shepstone, +and begged him to spare the people. This advice, as could be expected, +was not relished." + +Again, Mr. Fynney, in his report of his visit to Zululand in 1877, +states that though the king and his "indunas" (councillors) denied that +men were killed without trial, the people told a very different +tale. Thus he says, "In every instance, where I had so far gained the +confidence of the Zulus as to cause them to speak freely, was I assured +of the truthfulness of the statement that the king, Cetywayo, caused his +people to be put to death in great numbers; and when I remarked that of +course he did so after a fair and proper trial, in some cases my remark +was greeted with a suppressed laugh or a smile. Some remarked, 'Yes, +a trial of bullets;' others, 'Yes, we get a trial, but that means +surrounding the kraal at daybreak and shooting us down like cattle.' +One asked me what the Government in Natal intended doing, or what was +thought in Natal about the killing, saying, 'It was not in the night +that Sompseu spoke, but in the sunshine; the king was not alone, but his +people were around him, and the ears of all Zululand heard these words, +and the hearts of all Zulus were joyful, and in gladness they lifted up +their hands saying: The mouth of our white father has spoken good words; +he has cautioned his child in the presence of his people, and a good sun +has risen this day over Zululand! How is it now? Has the king listened? +Does he hold fast those words? No! not one. The promises he made are +all broken. What does Sompseu say to this? You should dine at my kraal +yonder for a few days, and see the izizi (cattle and other property of +people who have been killed) pass, and you would then see with your own +eyes how a case is tried.'" Farther on Mr. Fynney says, "When a charge +is made against a Zulu, the question is generally asked, 'Has he any +cattle?' and if answered in the affirmative, there is little chance of +escape. Instances of killing occurred while I was in Zululand, and to +my knowledge no trial was allowed. An armed party was despatched on the +morning I left Ondine, and, as I was informed, to kill." + +There is no reason to suppose that Mr. Fynney was in any way prejudiced +in making these remarks; on the contrary, he was simply carrying out +an official mission, and reporting for the general information of the +Governments of Natal and the Transvaal. It is, however, noticeable that +neither these nor similar passages are ever alluded to by Cetywayo's +advocates, whose object seems to be rather to suppress the truth than to +put it fairly before the public, if by such suppression they think they +can advance the cause of the ex-king. + +The whole matter of Cetywayo's private policy, however, appears to me +to be very much beside the question. Whether or no he slaughtered his +oppressed subjects in bygone years, which there is no doubt he did, is +not our affair, since we were not then, as we are now, responsible for +the good government of Zululand; and seeing the amount of slaughter +that goes on under our protectorate, it ill becomes us to rake up these +things against Cetywayo. What we have to consider is his foreign policy, +not the domestic details of his government.[*] + + [*] A gentleman, who has recently returned from travelling + in Zululand, relates the following story as nearly as + possible in the words in which it was told to him by a well- + known hunter in Zululand, Piet Hogg by name, now residing + near Dundee on the Zulu border. The story is a curious one + as illustrative of Zulu character, and scarcely represents + Cetywayo in as amiable a light as one might wish. Piet Hogg + and my informant were one day talking about the king when + the former said, "I was hunting and trading in Zululand, and + was at a military kraal occupied by Cetywayo, where I saw a + Basuto who had been engaged by the king to instruct his + people in building houses, that were to be _square_ instead + of circular (as are all Zulu buildings), for which his pay + was to be thirty head of cattle. The Basuto came to Cetywayo + in my presence, and said that the square buildings were + made; he now wished to have his thirty head of cattle and to + depart. Cetywayo having obtained what he required, began to + think the man overpaid, so said, 'I have observed that you + like ---- (a Zulu woman belonging to the kraal); suppose you + take her instead of the thirty head of cattle.' Now this was + a very bad bargain for the Basuto, as the woman was not + worth more, in Zulu estimation, than ten head of cattle; but + the Basuto, knowing with whom he had to deal, thought it + might be better to comply with the suggestion rather than + insist upon his rights, and asked to be allowed till the + next morning to consider the proposal. After he had been + dismissed on this understanding, Cetywayo sent for the + woman, and accused her of misconduct with the Basuto, the + punishment of which, if proved, would be death. She denied + this vehemently, with protestations and tears. He insisted, + but, looking up at a tree almost denuded of leaves which + grew close by, said, significantly, 'Take care that not a + leaf remains on that tree by the morning.' The woman + understood the metaphor, and in an hour or two, aided by + other strapping Zulu females, attacked the unfortunate + Basuto and killed him with clubs. But Cetywayo having thus, + like the monkey in the fable, employed a cat's paw to do his + dirty work, began to think the Basuto's untimely death might + have an ugly appearance in my eyes, so gave orders in my + presence that, as a punishment, six of the women who had + killed the Basuto should also be put to death. This was too + much for me, knowing as I did, all that had passed. I + reproached Cetywayo for his cruelty, and declared I would + leave Zululand without trading there, and without making him + the present he expected. I also said I should take care the + great English 'Inkose' (the Governor of Natal) should hear + of his conduct and the reason of my return. Cetywayo was + then on friendly terms with the English, and being impressed + by my threats, he reconsidered his orders, and spared the + lives of the women." + +I do not propose to follow out all the details of the boundary dispute +between Cetywayo and the Transvaal, or to comment on the different +opinions held on the point by the various authorities, English and +Zulu. The question has been, for the moment, settled by the Transvaal +Convention, and is besides a most uninteresting one to the general +reader. + +Nor shall I enter into a discussion concerning the outrages on which +Sir Bartle Frere based his ultimatum previous to the Zulu war. They were +after all insignificant, although sufficient to serve as a _casus belli_ +to a statesman determined to fight. The Zulu war was, in the opinion of +Sir B. Frere, necessary in self-defence, which is the first principle of +existence. If it admits of justification, it is on the ground that the +Zulu army was a menace to the white population of South Africa, and that +it was therefore necessary to destroy it, lest at some future time it +should destroy the whites. It is ridiculous to say that the capture of +two Zulu women in Natal and their subsequent murder, or the expulsion on +political grounds of a few missionaries, justified us in breaking up a +kingdom and slaughtering ten thousand men. Sir Bartle Frere declared war +upon the Zulus because he was afraid, and had good reason to be +afraid, that if he did not, Cetywayo would before long sweep either +the Transvaal or Natal; whilst, on the other hand, the Zulus fought us +because our policy was too philanthropic to allow them to fight anybody +else. This statement may appear strange, but a little examination into +Zulu character and circumstances will, I think, show it to be correct. + +It must be remembered that for some years before Panda's death the Zulus +had not been engaged in any foreign war. When Cetywayo ascended the +throne, it was the general hope and expectation of the army, and +therefore of the nation, that this period of inaction would come to an +end, and that the new king would inaugurate an active foreign policy. +They did not greatly care in what direction the activity developed +itself, provided it did develop. It must also be borne in mind that +every able-bodied man in the Zulu country was a member of a regiment, +even the lads being attached to regiments as carriers, and the women +being similarly enrolled, though they did not fight. The Zulu military +system was the universal-service system of Germany brought to an +absolute perfection, obtained by subordinating all the ties and duties +of civil life to military ends. Thus, for instance, marriage could not +be contracted at will, but only by the permission of the king, which was +generally delayed until a regiment was well advanced in years, when a +number of girls were handed over to it to take to wife. This regulation +came into force because it was found that men without home ties were +more ferocious and made better soldiers, and the result of these harsh +rules was that the Zulu warrior, living as he did under the shadow of a +savage discipline, for any breach of which there was but one punishment, +death, can hardly be said to have led a life of domestic comfort, such +as men of all times and nations have thought their common right. But +even a Zulu must have some object in life, some shrine at which to +worship, some mistress of his affections. Home he had none, religion he +had none, mistress he had none, but in their stead he had his career +as a warrior, and his hope of honour and riches to be gained by the +assegai. His home was on the war-track with his regiment, his religion +the fierce denunciation of the isanusi,[*] and his affections were fixed +on the sudden rush of battle, the red slaughter, and the spoils of +the slain. "War," says Sir T. Shepstone, in a very remarkable despatch +written about a year before the outbreak of the Zulu war, "is the +universal cry among the soldiers, who are anxious to live up to their +traditions, . . . . and the idea is gaining ground among the people that +their nation has outlived the object of its existence." Again he says, +"The engine (the Zulu military organisation) has not ceased to exist or +to generate its forces, although the reason or excuse for its existence +has died away: these forces have continued to accumulate and are daily +accumulating without safety-valve or outlet." + + [*] _Witch-doctor._ These persons are largely employed in + Zululand to smell out witches who are supposed to have + bewitched others, and are of course very useful as political + agents. Any person denounced by them is at once executed. A + friend of the writer's was once present at a political + smelling-out on a large scale, and describes it as a very + curious and unpleasant scene. The men, of whom there were + some thousands, were seated in a circle, as pale with terror + as Zulus can be. Within the circle were several witch + doctors; one of whom amidst his or her incantations would + now and again step forward and touch some unfortunate man + with a forked stick. The victim was instantly led away a few + paces and his neck twisted. The circle awaited each + denunciation in breathless expectation, for not a man among + them knew whose turn it might be next. On another occasion, + an unfortunate wretch who had been similarly condemned by an + isanusi rushed up to the same gentleman's waggon and + besought shelter. He was hidden under some blankets, but + presently his pursuers arrived, and insisted upon his being + handed over. All possible resistance was made, until the + executioners announced that they would search the waggon and + kill him there. It was then covenanted that he should have a + start in the race for life. He was, however, overtaken and + killed. These instances will show how dark and terrible is + the Zulu superstition connected with witchcraft, and what a + formidable weapon it becomes in the hands of the king or + chief. + +Desirable as such a state of feeling may be in an army just leaving +for the battlefield, it is obvious that for some fifty thousand men, +comprising the whole manhood of the nation, to be continually on the +boil with sanguinary animosity against the human race in general, is an +awkward element to fit into the peaceable government of a state. + +Yet this was doubtless the state of affairs with which Cetywayo had +to contend during the latter years of his reign. He found himself +surrounded by a great army, in a high state of efficiency and warlike +preparation, proclaiming itself wearied with camp life, and clamouring +to be led against an enemy, that it might justify its traditions and +find employment for its spears. Often and often he must have been sorely +puzzled to find excuses wherewithal to put it off. Indeed his position +was both awkward and dangerous: on the one hand was Scylla in the shape +of the English Government, and on the other the stormy and uncertain +Charybdis of his clamouring regiments. Slowly the idea must have began +to dawn upon him that unless he found employment for the army, which, +besides being disgusted with his inactivity, was somewhat wearied with +his cruelties, for domestic slaughter had ceased to divert and had begun +to irritate: the army, or some enterprising members of it, might put it +beyond his power ever to find employment for it at all, and bring one of +his brothers to rule in his stead. + +And yet who was he to fight, if fight he must? There were three possible +enemies--1. The Swazis; 2. The Transvaal Boers; 3. The English. + +Although the English may have held a place on Cetywayo's list as +possible foes, there is no ground for supposing that, until shortly +before the war, he had any wish to fight with us. Indeed, whereas their +hatred of the Boers was pronounced, and openly expressed, both the Zulu +king and people always professed great respect for Englishmen, and even +a certain amount of liking and regard. + +Therefore, when Cetywayo had to settle on an enemy to attack, it was not +the English that he chose, but the Swazis, whose territory adjoined his +own, lying along the borders of the Transvaal towards Delagoa Bay. The +Swazis are themselves Zulus, and Cetywayo claimed certain sovereign +rights over them, which, however, they refused to recognise. They are a +powerful tribe, and can turn out about 10,000 fighting men, quite enough +for Cetywayo's young warriors to try their mettle on. Still the king +does not appear to have wished to undertake the war without first +obtaining the approval of the Natal Government, to whom he applied +several times for permission "to wash his spears," saying that he was +but half a king until he had done so. The Natal Government, however, +invariably replied that he was on no account to do anything of the sort. +This shows the inconveniences of possessing a complimentary feudal hold +over a savage potentate, the shadow of power without the reality. The +Governor of Natal could not in decency sanction such a proceeding as a +war of extermination against the Swazis, but if it had occurred without +his sanction, the Swazis would have suffered no doubt, but the Zulu +spears would have been satisfactorily washed, and there would have been +no Zulu war. As it is, Englishmen have been killed instead of Swazis. + +Thwarted in his designs on the Swazis, Cetywayo next turned his +attention to the Transvaal Boers. The Zulus and the Boers had never been +good friends since the days of the massacre of Retief, and of late +years their mutual animosity had been greatly increased owing to +their quarrels about the boundary question previously alluded to. This +animosity reached blood-heat when the Boer Government, acting with the +arrogance it always displayed towards natives, began to lay its commands +upon Cetywayo about his relations with the Amaswazi, the alleged +trespassing on Boer territory, and other matters. The arrogance was +all the more offensive because it was impotent. The Boers were not in +a position to undertake the chastisement of the Zulus. But the king and +council of Zululand now determined to try conclusions with the Transvaal +on the first convenient opportunity, and this time without consulting +the Government of Natal. The opportunity soon occurred. Secocoeni, the +powerful chief of the Bapedi, one of the tribes whose territories border +on the Transvaal, came to a difference with the Boers over another +border question. There is good ground for supposing that Cetywayo +incited him to withstand the Boer demands; it is certain that during the +course of the war that followed he assisted him with advice, and more +substantially still, with Zulu volunteers. + +To be brief, the Secocoeni war resulted in the discomfiture of the +Transvaal forces. Another result of this struggle was to throw the whole +state into the most utter confusion, of which the Dutch burghers, always +glad of an opportunity to defy the law, took advantage to refuse to pay +taxes. National bankruptcy ensued, and confusion grew worse confounded. + +Cetywayo took note of all this, and saw that now was his opportunity to +attack. The Boers had suffered both in morale and prestige from their +defeat by Secocoeni, who was still in arms against them; whilst the +natives were proportionately elated by their success over the dreaded +white men. There was, he knew well, but little chance of a rapid +concentration to resist a sudden raid, especially when made by such a +powerful army, or rather chain of armies, as he could set in motion. +Everything favoured the undertaking; indeed, humanly speaking, it +is difficult to see what could have saved the greater part of the +population of the Transvaal from sudden extinction, if a kind Providence +had not just then put it into the head of Lord Carnarvon to send out +Sir T. Shepstone as Special Commissioner to their country. When Cetywayo +heard that his father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) was going up to the +Transvaal, he held his hand, sent out spies, and awaited the course +of events. The following incident will show with what interest he was +watching what took place. At the Vaal River a party of Boers met +the Special Commissioner and fired salutes to welcome him. It was +immediately reported to Cetywayo by his spies that the Boers had fired +over Sir T. Shepstone's waggon. Shortly afterwards a message arrived at +Pretoria from Cetywayo to inquire into the truth of the story, coolly +announcing his intention of sweeping the Transvaal if it were true that +"his father" had been fired at. In a conversation with Mr. Fynney after +the Annexation Cetywayo alludes to his intentions in these words:-- + +"I heard that the Boers were not treating him (Sompseu) properly, and +that they intended to put him in a corner. If they had done so I should +not have waited for anything more. _Had but one shot been fired_, +I should have said, 'What more do I wait for? they have touched my +father.' I should have poured my men over the land, and I can tell you, +son of Mr. Fynney, the land would have burned with fire." This will show +how eagerly Cetywayo was searching for an excuse to commence his attack +on the Transvaal. When the hope of finding a pretext in the supposed +firing at Sir T. Shepstone or any incident of a similar nature faded +away, he appears to have determined to carry out his plans without +any immediate pretext, and to make a _casus belli_ of his previous +differences with the Government of the Republic. Accordingly he massed +his impis (army corps) at different points along the Transvaal border, +where they awaited the signal to advance and sweep the country. +Information of Cetywayo's doings and of his secret plans reached +Pretoria shortly before the Annexation, and confirmed the mind of the +Special Commissioner as to the absolute necessity of that measure to +save the citizens of the Republic from coming to a violent end, +and South Africa from being plunged into a native war of unexampled +magnitude. The day before the Annexation took place, when it was quite +certain that it would take place, a message was sent to Cetywayo by Sir +T. Shepstone telling him of what was about to happen, and telling +him too in the sternest and most straightforward language, that the +Transvaal had become the Queen's land like Natal, and that he must no +more think of attacking it than he would of attacking Natal. Cetywayo +on receiving the message at once disbanded his armies and sent them +to their kraals. "Kabuna," he said to the messenger, "my impis were +gathered; now at my father's (Sir T. Shepstone's) bidding I send them +back to their homes." + +This fact, namely, that at the bidding of his old mentor Sir T. +Shepstone, Cetywayo abandoned his long-cherished plans, and his +undoubted opportunity of paying off old scores with the Boers in a most +effectual manner, and gave up a policy that had so many charms for him, +must be held by every unprejudiced man to speak volumes in his favour. +It must be remembered that it was not merely to oblige his "father +Sompseu" that he did this, but to meet the wishes of the English +Government, and the act shows how anxious he was to retain the +friendship and fall in with the views of that Government. Evidently +Cetywayo had no animosity against us in April 1877. + +In his interview with Mr. Fynney, Cetywayo speaks out quite frankly as +to what his intentions had been; he says, "I know all about the soldiers +being on their way up, but I would have asked Sompseu to allow the +soldiers to stand on one side for just a little while, only a little, +and see what my men could do. It would have been unnecessary for the +Queen's people to trouble. My men were all ready, and how big must that +stone have been, with my father Sompseu digging at one side and myself +at the other, that would not have toppled over? Even though the size +of that mountain (pointing to a mountain range), we could put it on its +back. Again I say I am glad to know the Transvaal is English ground; +perhaps now there may be rest." + +This and other passages show beyond all doubt from what an awful +catastrophe the Transvaal was saved by the Annexation. That Cetywayo +personally detested the Boers is made clear by his words to Mr. Fynney. +"'The Boers,' he says, 'are a nation of liars; they are a bad people, +bad altogether. I do not want them near my people; they lie and claim +what is not theirs, and ill-use my people. Where is Thomas?' (President +Burgers). I informed him that Mr. Burgers had left the Transvaal. 'Then +let them pack up and follow Thomas,' said he. 'Let them go. The Queen +does not want such people as those about her land. What can the Queen +make of them or do with them? Their evil ways puzzled both Thomas and +Rudolph, Landdrost of Utrecht; they will not be quiet.'" + +It is very clear that if Cetywayo had been left to work his will, a +great many of the Boers would have found it necessary to "pack up and +follow Thomas," whilst many more would have never needed to pack again. + +I am aware that attempts have been made to put another explanation on +Cetywayo's warlike preparations against the Boers. It has been said that +the Zulu army was called up by Sir T. Shepstone to coerce the Transvaal. +It is satisfactory to be able, from intimate personal knowledge, to +give unqualified denial to that statement, which is a pure invention, as +indeed is easily proved by clear evidence, which I have entered into in +another part of this book. Cetywayo played for his own hand all along, +and received neither commands nor hints from the Special Commissioner to +get his army together. Indeed, when Sir T. Shepstone discovered what was +going on, he suffered great anxiety lest some catastrophe should +occur before he was in a position to prevent it. Nothing short of +the Annexation could have saved the Transvaal at that moment, and the +conduct of the Boers after the danger had been taken on to the +shoulders of the Imperial Government is a startling instance of national +ingratitude. + +Here again the Zulu king was brought face to face with the ubiquitous +British Government, and that too at a particularly aggravating moment. +He was about to commence his attack when he was met with a polite, +"Hands off; this is British territory." No wonder that we find him in +despair renewing his prayer that Sompseu will allow him to make "one +little raid only, one small swoop," and saying that "it is the custom +of our country, when a new king is placed over the nation, to wash +their spears, and it has been done in the case of all former kings of +Zululand. I am no king, but sit in a heap. I cannot be a king till I +have washed my assegais." All of which is doubtless very savage and +very wrong, but such is the depravity of human nature, that there is +something taking about it for all that. + +It was at this period of the history of South Africa that many people +think we made our crowning mistake. We annexed the Transvaal, say they, +six months too soon. As things have turned out, it would have been wiser +to have left Zulus and Transvaal Boers to try conclusions, and done +our best to guard our own frontiers. There is no doubt that such a +consummation of affairs would have cleared the political atmosphere +wonderfully; the Zulus would have got enough fighting to last them some +time, and the remainder of the Boers would have entreated our protection +and become contented British subjects; there would have been no +Isandhlwana and no Majuba Hill. But to these I say who could foresee the +future, and who, in the then state of kindly feeling towards the Boers, +could wish to leave them, and all the English mixed up with them, to +undergo, unprepared as they were, the terrible experience of a Zulu +invasion? Besides, what guarantee was there that the slaughter would +stop in the Transvaal, or that the combat would not have developed into +a war of races throughout South Africa? Even looking at the matter in +the light of after events, it is difficult to regret that humanity +was on this occasion allowed to take precedence of a more cold-blooded +policy. If the opponents of the Annexation, or even the members of the +Transvaal Independence Committee, knew what a Zulu invasion meant, they +would scarcely have been so bitter about that act. + +From the time of the Annexation it was a mere matter of opinion as to +which direction the Zulu explosion would take. The safety-valves were +loaded whilst the pressure daily increased, and all acquainted with the +people knew that it must come sooner or later. + +Shortly after the Transvaal became British territory the old Zulu +boundary question came to the fore again and was made more complicated +than ever by Sir T. Shepstone, who had hitherto favoured the Zulu +claims, taking the Boer side of the controversy, after examination of +the locality and of persons acquainted with the details of the matter. +There was nothing wonderful in this change of opinion, though of course +it was attributed to various motives by advocates of the Zulu claims, +and there is no doubt that Cetywayo himself did not at all like it, and, +excited thereto by vexation and the outcry of his regiments, adopted +a very different and aggressive tone in his communications with the +English authorities. Indeed his irritation against the Boers and +everybody connected with them was very great. Probably if he had been +left alone he would in time have carried out his old programme, and +attacked the Transvaal. But, fortunately for the Transvaal, which, like +sailors and drunken men, always seems to have had a special Providence +taking care of it: at this juncture Sir Bartle Frere appeared upon the +scene, and after a few preliminaries and the presentation of a strong +ultimatum, which was quite impracticable so far as Cetywayo was +concerned, since it demanded what it was almost impossible for him to +concede--the disbandment of his army--invaded Zululand. + +It is generally supposed that the Natal colonists had a great deal to +do with making the Zulu war, but this is not the case. It is quite true +that they were rejoiced at the prospect of the break-up of Cetywayo's +power, because they were very much afraid of him and of his "celibate +man-slaying machine," which, under all the circumstances, is not +wonderful. But the war was a distinctly Imperial war, made by an +Imperial officer, without consultation with Colonial authorities, on +Imperial grounds, viz., because Cetywayo menaced Her Majesty's power in +South Africa. Of course, if there had been no colonies there would have +been no war, but in that way only are they responsible for it. Natal, +however, has not grudged to pay 250,000 pounds towards its expenses, +which is a great deal more than it can afford, and, considering that the +foolish settlement made by Sir Garnet Wolseley is almost sure to involve +the colony in trouble, quite as much as should be asked. + +The fact of the matter was, that Sir Bartle Frere was a statesman who +had the courage of his convictions; he saw that a Zulu disturbance of +one kind or another was inevitable, so he boldly took the initiative. If +things had gone right with him, as he supposed they would, praise would +have been lavished on him by the Home authorities, and he would have +been made a peer, and perhaps Governor-General of India to boot; but he +reckoned without his Lord Chelmsford, and the element of success which +was necessary to gild his policy in the eyes of the home public was +conspicuous by its absence. As it was, no language was considered to +be too bad to apply to this "imperious proconsul" who had taken upon +himself to declare a war. If it is any consolation to him, he has at any +rate the gratitude of the South African Colonies, not so much for what +he has done, for that is being carefully nullified by the subsequent +action of the Home Government, but because, believing his policy to be +right, he had the boldness to carry it out at the risk of his official +reputation. Sir Bartle Frere took a larger view of the duties of the +governor of a great dependency than to constitute himself the flickering +shadow of the Secretary of State in Downing Street, who, knowing little +of the real interests of the colony, is himself only the reflection +of those that hold the balance of power, to whom the subject is one of +entire indifference, provided that there is nothing to pay. + +The details of the Zulu war are matters of melancholy history, which +it is useless to recapitulate here. With the exception of the affair at +Rorke's Drift, there is nothing to be proud of in connection with it, +and a great deal to be ashamed of, more especially its final settlement. +There is, however, one point that I wish to submit to the consideration +of my readers, and that is, that Cetywayo was never thoroughly in +earnest about the war. If he had been in earnest, if he had been +determined to put out his full strength, he would certainly have swept +Natal from end to end after his victory at Isandhlwana. There was no +force to prevent his doing so: on the contrary, it is probable that if +he had advanced a strong army over the border, a great number of the +Natal natives would have declared in his favour through fear of his +vengeance, or at the least would have remained neutral. He had ample +time at his disposal to have executed the manoeuvre twice over before +the arrival of the reinforcements, of which the results must have been +very dreadful, and yet he never destroyed a single family. The reason he +has himself given for this conduct is that he did not wish to irritate +the white man; that he had not made the war, and was only anxious to +defend his country. + +When the fighting came to an end after the battle of Ulundi, there +were two apparent courses open to us to take. One was to take over +the country and rule it for the benefit of the Zulus, and the other to +enforce the demands in Sir Bartle Frere's ultimatum, and, taking such +guarantees as circumstances would admit of, leave Cetywayo on the +throne. Instead of acting on either of these plans, however, Sir Garnet +Wolseley proceeded, in the face of an extraordinary consensus of adverse +opinion, which he treated with calm contempt, to execute what has proved +to be a very cruel settlement. Sir Garnet Wolseley has the reputation of +being an extremely able man, and it is only fair to him to suppose that +he was not the sole parent of this political monster, by which all the +blood and treasure expended on the Zulu war were made of no account, but +that it was partially dictated to him by authorities at home, who were +anxious to gratify English opinion, and partly ignorant, partly +careless of the consequences. At the same time, it is clear that he is +responsible for the details of the scheme, since immediately after the +capture of Cetywayo he writes a despatch about them which was considered +so important, that a member of his staff was sent to England in +charge of it. In this document he informs the Secretary of State that +Cetywayo's rule was resolutely built up "without any of the ordinary and +lawful foundations of authority, and by the mere vigour and vitality of +an individual character." It is difficult to understand what Sir Garnet +means in this passage. If the fact of being the rightful and generally +accepted occupant of the throne is not an "ordinary and lawful +foundation of authority," what is? As regards Cetywayo having built up +his rule by the "mere vigour and vitality of an individual character," +he is surely in error. Cetywayo's position was not different to that +of his immediate predecessors. If Sir Garnet had applied the remark to +Chaka, the first king, to the vigour and vitality of whose individual +character Zululand owes its existence as a nation, it would have been +more appropriate. The despatch goes on to announce that he has made +up his mind to divide the country into thirteen portions, in order to +prevent the "possibility of any reunion of its inhabitants under one +rule," and ends in these words: "I have laboured with the great aim of +establishing for Her Majesty's subjects in South Africa, both white and +coloured, as well as for this spirited people against whom unhappily we +have been involved in war, the enduring foundations of peace, happiness +and prosperity." The spirited people were no doubt vastly thankful, but +the white man, reading such a passage as this, and knowing the facts of +the case, will only recognise Sir Garnet Wolseley's admirable talent for +ironical writing. + +Sir Garnet entered into an agreement with each of his kinglets, who, +amongst other things, promised that they would not make war without +the sanction of the British Government. He also issued a paper of +instructions to the gentleman who was first appointed British Resident +(who, by the way, very soon threw up his post in despair). From this +document we learn that all the ex-king's brothers are to "be under +the eye of the chief John Dunn," but it is chiefly remarkable for the +hostility it evinces to all missionary enterprise. The Resident is +instructed to "be careful to hold yourself entirely aloof from all +missionary or proselytising enterprises," and that "grants of land +by former kings to missionaries cannot be recognised by the British +Government," although Sir Garnet will allow missionaries to live in the +country if the chief of the district does not object. These instructions +created some adverse comment in England, with the result that, in +the supplementary instructions issued on the occasion of Mr. Osborn's +appointment as Resident, they were somewhat modified. In the despatch +to the Secretary of State in which he announces the new appointment, Sir +Garnet says that Mr. Osborn is to be the "councillor, guide, and friend" +of the native chiefs, and that to his "moral influence" "we should +look I think for the spread of civilisation and the propagation of the +Gospel." What a conglomeration of duties,--at once "prophet, priest, and +king!" Poor Mr. Osborn! + +Of the chiefs appointed under this unfortunate settlement, some were +so carelessly chosen that they have no authority whatsoever over +the districts to which they were appointed, their nominal subjects +preferring to remain under the leadership of their hereditary chief. +Several of Sir Garnet's little kings cannot turn out an hundred men, +whilst the hereditary chief, who has no official authority, can bring up +three or four thousand. Thus, for instance, a territory was given to +a chief called Infaneulela. The retainers of this gentleman live in a +kraal of five or six huts on the battlefield of Ulundi. A chief called +Dilligane, to whom the district should have been given, is practically +head man of the district, and takes every possible opportunity of +defying the nominee chief, Infaneulela, who is not acknowledged by +the people. Another case is that of Umgitchwa, to whom a territory was +given. In this instance there are two brothers, Umgitchwa and Somhlolo, +born of different mothers. Umgitchwa is the elder, but Somhlolo is the +son of a daughter of the king, and therefore, according to Zulu custom, +entitled to succeed to the chieftainship. Somhlolo was disinherited by +Sir Garnet on account of his youth (he is about twenty-five and has many +wives). But an ancient custom is not to be thus abrogated by a stroke of +the pen, and Somhlolo is practically chief of the district. Fighting is +imminent between the two brothers. + +A third case is that of Hlubi, who, though being a good, well-meaning +man, is a Basuto, and being a foreigner, has no influence over the Zulus +under him. + +A fourth instance is that of Umlandela, an old and infirm Zulu, who was +made chief over a large proportion of the Umtetwa tribe on the coast of +Zululand. His appointment was a fatal mistake, and has already led to +much bloodshed under the following curious circumstances, which are not +without interest, as showing the intricacy of Zulu plots. + +The Umtetwas were in the days of Chaka a very powerful tribe, but +suffered the same fate at his hands as did every other that ventured to +cross spears with him. They were partially annihilated, and whilst some +of the survivors, of whom the Umtetwas in Zululand are the descendants, +were embodied in the Zulu regiments, others were scattered far and wide. +Branches of this important tribe exist as far off as the Cape Colony. +Dingiswayo, who was the chief of the Umtetwas when Chaka conquered the +tribe, fled after his defeat into Basutoland, and is supposed to have +died there. After the Zulu war Sir G. Wolseley divided the Umtetwa into +two districts, appointing an Umtetwa chief named Somkeli ruler over one, +and Umlandela over the other. + +Umlandela, being a Zulu and worn with age, has never had any authority +over his nominal subjects, and has been anxious to rid himself of the +danger and responsibility of his chieftainship by transferring it on to +the shoulders of Mr. John Dunn, whose territory adjoins his own, and +who would be, needless to say, nothing loth to avail himself of the +opportunity of increasing his taxable area. Whilst this intrigue was in +progress all Zululand was convulsed with the news of our defeat by the +Boers and the consequent surrender of the Transvaal. It was commonly +rumoured that our forces were utterly destroyed, and that the Boers were +now the dominant Power. Following on the heels of this intelligence was +a rumour to the effect that Cetywayo was coming back. These two reports, +both of which had a foundation of truth, had a very bad effect on the +vulgar mind in Zululand, and resulted in the setting in motion of a +variety of plots, of which the following was the most important. + +The Umtetwa tribe is among those who are not anxious for the return +of Cetywayo, but see in the present state of affairs an opportunity of +regaining the power they possessed before the days of Chaka. If they +were to have a king over Zululand they determined that it should be an +Umtetwa king, and Somkeli, one of the chiefs appointed by Sir Garnet, +was the man who aimed at the throne. He was not, however, anxious to put +out his hand at first further than he could draw it back, so he adopted +a very ingenious expedient. It will be remembered that the old Chief +Dingiswayo fled to Basutoland, where he is reported to have married. +It occurred to Somkeli that if he could produce a descendant or a +pseudo-descendant of Dingiswayo he would have no difficulty in beginning +operations by dispossessing Umlandela of his territory in favour of the +supposed lawful heir. In fact he wanted a cat to pull the chestnuts +out of the fire for him, who could easily be got rid of afterwards. +Accordingly one Sitimela was produced who is supposed to be an escaped +convict from Natal, who gave out that he was a grandson of Dingiswayo +by a Basuto woman, and a great medicine-man, able to kill everybody by a +glance of his eye. + +To this impostor adherents flocked from all parts of Zululand, and +Umlandela flying for his life into John Dunn's territory, Sitimela +seized upon the chieftainship. The Resident thereupon ordered him to +appear before him, but he, as might be expected, refused to come. As it +was positively necessary to put an end to the plot by some means, since +its further development would have endangered and perhaps destroyed the +weak-knee'd Zulu settlement, Mr. Osborn determined to proceed to the +scene of action. Mahomet would not go to the mountain, so the mountain +had to go to Mahomet. On arrival he pitched his tents half way between +the camps of Sitimela and John Dunn, who had Umlandela under his charge, +and summoned Somkeli, the author of the plot, to appear before him. Ten +days elapsed before the summons was obeyed. During this time, and indeed +until they finally escaped, the Resident and his companion could not +even venture to the spring, which was close at hand, to wash, for fear +of being assassinated. All day long they could see lines of armed +men swarming over the hills round them, and hear them yelling their +war-songs. At length Somkeli appeared, accompanied by over a thousand +armed warriors. He was ordered to withdraw his forces from Sitimela's +army and go home. He went home, but did not withdraw his forces. The +next day Sitimela himself appeared before the Resident. He was ordered +to come with ten men: he came with two thousand all armed, wild with +excitement and "moutied" (medicined). To make this medicine they had +killed and pounded up a little cripple boy and several of Umlandela's +wives. It afterwards transpired that the only reason Sitimela did not +then and there kill the Resident was that he (Mr. Osborn) had with him +several chiefs who were secretly favourable to Sitimela's cause, and if +he had killed him he would, according to Zulu custom, have had to kill +them too. Mr. Osborn ordered Sitimela to disperse his forces or take +the consequences, and waited a few days for him to do so; but seeing no +signs of his compliance, he then ordered the neighbouring chiefs to fall +on him, and at length withdrew from his encampment,--none too soon. That +very night a party of Sitimela's men came down to kill him, and finding +the tent in which he and his companions had slept standing, stabbed at +its supposed occupants through the canvas. + +Sitimela was defeated by the forces ordered out by the Resident with +a loss of about 500 men. It is, however, worthy of note, and shows how +widespread was the conspiracy, that out of all the thousands promised, +Mr. Osborn was only able to call out two thousand men. + +The appointment, however, that has occasioned the most criticism is that +of John Dunn, who got the Benjamin share of Zululand in preference to +his brother chiefs. The converting of an Englishman into a Zulu chief is +such a very odd proceeding that it is difficult to know what to think of +it. John Dunn is an ambitious man, and most probably has designs on the +throne; he is also a man who understands the value of money, of which +he makes a great deal out of his chieftainship. At the same time, it is +clear that, so far as it goes, his rule is better than that of the other +chiefs; he has a uniform tax fixed, and has even done something in the +way of starting schools and making roads. From all that I have been able +to gather, his popularity and influence with the Zulus are overrated, +though he has lived amongst them so many years, and taken so many of +their women to wife. His appointment was a hazardous experiment, and in +the long run is likely to prove a mischievous one, since any attempted +amendment of the settlement will be violently resisted by him on the +ground of vested interests. Also, if white men are set over Zulus at +all, they should be _gentlemen_ in the position of government officers, +not successful adventurers. + +Perhaps the only wise thing done in connection with the settlement was +the appointment of Mr. Osborn, C.M.G., as British Resident. It is not +easy to find a man fitted for that difficult and dangerous position, for +the proper filling of which many qualifications are required. Possessed +of an intimate knowledge of the Zulus, their language, and their mode of +thought and life, and being besides a very able and energetic officer, +Mr. Osborn would have saved the settlement from breaking down if anybody +could have saved it. As it is, by the exercise of ceaseless energy and +at great personal risk, he has preserved it from total collapse. Of the +dangers and anxieties to which he is exposed, the account I have given +of the Sitimela incident is a sufficient example. He is, in fact, +nothing but a shadow, for he has no force at his command to ensure +obedience to his decisions, or to prevent civil war; and in Zululand, +oddly enough, force is a remedy. Should one chief threaten the peace of +the country, he can only deal with him by calling on another chief for +aid, a position that is neither dignified nor right. What is worst of +all is that the Zulus are beginning to discover what a shadow he is, and +with this weakened position he has to pit his single brains against all +the thousand and one plots which are being woven throughout Zululand. +The whole country teems with plots. Mnyamane, the late Prime Minister, +and one of the ablest, and perhaps the most influential man in Zululand, +is plotting for the return of Cetywayo. Bishop Colenso, again, is as +usual working his own wires, and creating agitations to forward his +ends, whatever they may be at the moment. John Dunn, on the other hand, +is plotting to succeed Cetywayo, and so on _ad infinitum_. Such is the +state of affairs with which our unfortunate Resident has to contend. +Invested with large imaginary powers, he has in reality nothing but his +personal influence and his own wits to help him. He has no white man +to assist him, but living alone in a broken-down tent and some mud +huts built by his son's hands (for the Government have never kept their +promise to put him up a house), in the midst of thousands of restless +and scheming savages, amidst plots against the peace and against his +authority, he has to do the best he can to carry out an impracticable +settlement, and to maintain the character of English justice and the +honour of the English name. Were Mr. Osborn to throw up his post or to +be assassinated, the authorities would find it difficult to keep the +whole settlement from collapsing like a card castle. + +Nobody who understood Zulu character and aspirations could ever have +executed such a settlement as Sir Garnet Wolseley's, unless he did it +in obedience to some motive or instructions that it was not advisable +to publish. It is true that Sir Garnet's experience of the Zulus was +extremely small, and that he put aside the advice of those who did know +them with that contempt with which he is wont to treat colonists and +their opinions. Sir Garnet Wolseley does not like colonial people, +possibly because they have signally failed to appreciate heaven-born +genius in his person, or his slap-dash drumhead sort of way of settling +the fate of countries, and are, indeed, so rude as to openly say, that, +in their opinion, he did more mischief in Africa in a few months, than +it would take an ordinary official a lifetime to accomplish. + +However this may be, stop his ears as much as he might, Sir Garnet +cannot have been entirely blind to the import of what he was doing, and +the only explanation of his action is that he entered on it more with +the idea of flattering and gratifying English public opinion, than of +doing his best for the Zulus or the white Colonists on their borders. A +great outcry had been raised at home, where, in common with most South +African affairs, the matter was not thoroughly understood, against the +supposed intended annexation of Zululand for the benefit of "greedy +colonists." It was argued that colonists were anxious for the annexation +in order that they might get the land to speculate with, and doubtless +this was, in individual instances, true. I fully agree with those who +think that it would be unwise to throw open Zululand to the European +settler, not on account of the Zulus, who would benefit by the change, +but because the result would be a state of affairs similar to that in +Natal, where there are a few white men surrounded by an ever-growing +mass of Kafirs. But there is a vast difference between Annexation proper +and the Protectorate it was our duty to establish over the natives. Such +an arrangement would have presented few difficulties, and have brought +with it many advantages. White men could have been forbidden to settle +in the country. A small hut-tax, such as the Zulus would have cheerfully +paid, would have brought in forty or fifty thousand a year, an ample +sum to defray the expenses of the Resident and sub-Residents: the +maintenance of an adequate native force to keep order: and even the +execution of necessary public works. It is impossible to overrate the +advantages that must have resulted both to the Zulus and their white +neighbours from the adoption of this obvious plan, among them being +lasting peace and security to life and property; or to understand the +folly and cruelty that dictated the present arrangement, or rather +want of arrangement. Not for many years has England missed such an +opportunity of doing good, not only at no cost, but with positive +advantage to herself. Did we owe nothing to this people whose kingdom we +had broken up, and whom we had been shooting down by thousands? They +may well ask, as they do continually, what they have done that we should +treat them as we have and are doing? + +It cannot be too clearly understood, that, when the Zulus laid down +their arms they did so, hoping and believing that they would be taken +over by the English Government, which, having been fairly beaten by +it, they now looked on as their head or king, and be ruled like their +brethren in Natal. They expected to have to pay taxes and to have +white magistrates placed over them, and they or the bulk of them looked +forward to the change with pleasure. It must be remembered that when +once they have found their master, there exists no more law-abiding +people in the world than the Zulus, provided they are ruled firmly, and +above all justly. Believing that such a rule would fall to their lot +they surrendered when they did. How great, then, must their surprise +have been when they found, that without their wishes being consulted in +the matter, their own hereditary king was to be sent away, and thirteen +little kings set up in his place, with, strangest of all, a white man as +chief little king, whilst the British Government contented itself with +placing a Resident in the country, to watch the troubles that must +ensue. + +Such a settlement as this could only have one object and one result, +neither of which is at all creditable to the English people. The Zulus +were parcelled out among thirteen chiefs, in order that their strength +might be kept down by internecine war and mutual distrust and jealousy: +and, as though it were intended to render this result more certain, +territories were chucked about in the careless way I have described, +whilst central authority was abolished, and the vacant throne is dangled +before all eyes labelled "the prize of the strongest." Of course +Sir Garnet's paper agreements with the chiefs were for the most part +disregarded from the first. For instance, every chief has his army +and uses it too. In Zululand bloodshed is now a thing of every-day +occurrence, and the whole country is torn by fear, uncertainly, and +consequent want.[*] The settlement is bearing its legitimate fruit; some +thousands of Zulus have already been killed in direct consequence of it, +and more will doubtless follow. And this is the outcome of all the blood +and treasure spent over the Zulu war! Well, we have settled Zululand on +the most approved principles, and thank Heaven, British influence has +not been extended! + + [*] A severe famine is said to be imminent in Zululand. + +To show that I am not singular in my opinion as to the present state +of Zululand, I may be allowed to quote a few short extracts taken at +random, from half-a-dozen numbers of the "Natal Mercury." Talking of +the Zulu settlement terms as dictated by Sir G. Wolseley, the leading +article of the issue 21st November 1881 says:--"It will at once +be apparent that these terms have in several cases been flagrantly +violated, especially as regards clauses of 2, 3, 4, and 6. This last +will assuredly be broken again and yet again, so long as the British +Resident occupies the position of an official mollusc. The chiefs +themselves perceive and admit the evils that must arise out of the +absence of any effective central authority. These evils are so obvious, +they were so generally recognised at the outset as being inherent in +the scheme, that we might almost suppose their occurrence had been +deliberately anticipated as a desired outcome of the settlement. The +morality of such a line of policy would be precisely on a par with that +which is involved in the proposal to reinstate Cetywayo as a means of +dealing with the Boers. The creation of thirteen kinglets in order that +they might destroy each other, is as humane and high-minded an effort +of statesmanship as would be the restoration of a banished king in order +that he might eat up a people to whom the same power has just given back +their independence. To the simple colonial mind such deep designs +of Machiavellian statecraft are as hateful as they are inhuman and +dishonest." + +A correspondent of the "Mercury" in Zululand writes under date of 13th +October:-- + +"I send a line at the last moment to say that things are going from bad +to worse at railway speed. Up to the arrival of Sir Evelyn Wood, the +chiefs did not fully realise that they were really independent at all. +Now they do, and if I mistake not, like a beggar on horseback will ride +to the devil sharp. Oham has begun by killing a large number of the +Amagalusi people. My information is derived from native sources, and may +be somewhat exaggerated. It is that the killed at Isandhlwana were few +compared with those killed by Uhamu a few days ago. Usibebu also and +Undabuka are, I am told, on the point of coming to blows; and if they +do that it will be worse still, for Undabuka will find supporters +throughout the length and breadth of Zululand. Undabuka, the full +brother of the ex-king, is the protege of the Bishop of Natal. The +Bishop, I find, has again sent one of his agents (Amajuba by name) +calling for another deputation. The deputation is now on its way to +Natal, and that, I understand, against the express refusal of the +Resident to allow it." In the issue of 14th November is published a +letter from Mr. Nunn, a gentleman well known in Zululand, from which, +as it is too long to quote in its entirety, I give a few +extracts:--"_Oham's Camp, Oct.15._--The Zulus cannot comprehend the +Transvaal affair, and it has been industriously circulated among them +that the English have been beaten and forced to give back the Transvaal. +They do not understand gracious acts of restoration after we have been +beaten. Four times this year has Umnyamana called his army together and +menaced Oham, who has several times had to have parties of his followers +sleeping around his kraal in the hills adjacent, so as to give him +timely notice to fly. When Oham left his kraal for the purpose of +attending the meeting at Inslasatye, the same day the whole of the +Maquilisini Tribe came on to the hills adjacent to Oham's kraal, the +'Injamin,' and threatened that district. This has been the case on two +or three former occasions, and simultaneously Umnyamana's tribe and +Undabuka's followers always flew to arms, thus threatening on all sides. +. . . Trading is and has been for months entirely suspended in this +district. The fields are unplanted, no ploughs or Kafir-picks at +work--all are in a state of excitement, not knowing the moment a +collision may take place. Hunger will stare many in the face next year, +and all the men yelling to their chiefs to be let loose and put an end +to this state of uncertainty." + +Mr. Nunn encloses an account by an eye-witness of a battle which took +place on the 2d October 1881 between Oham's army and the Maquilisini +Tribe. The following is an extract:--"On the 2nd there was a heavy mist, +and on moving forward the mounted party found themselves in the midst +of the enemy (the Maquilisini), and on hearing a cry to stab the horses, +they rode through them with no casualty (except one horse slightly +wounded with a bullet). The army, moving in a half circle, now became +generally engaged in a hand-to-hand fight, and our men were checked +and annoyed by a number of the enemy armed with guns, who were in a +stone-kraal and kept up a constant fire. Amatonga, now at the head of +the mounted party, charged and drove the enemy out of the kraal, from +which they three several times charged the enemy on the flank, assisted +by a small infantry party, and cut paths through their ranks. The fight, +which had now lasted nearly an hour, commenced to flag, and Oham's army +making a sudden rush entirely routed the enemy, and the carnage lasted +to the Bevan river, the boundary of the Transvaal. No women or children +were killed, but out of an army of about 1500 of the enemy but few +escaped" (sic) . . . . "The men, as they were being killed, repeatedly +exclaimed, 'We are dying through Umnyamana and Umlabaku.'" + +In the "Natal Mercury" of the 13th March occurs the following:-- + +"_Zulu Country._--As to the state of the country it is something we +cannot describe; everything is upside down, and the chiefs appointed by +the government are mere nobodies, and have not any power over their own +people. Even the Resident is in a false position, and seems perfectly +powerless to act either way. We had one row, just arriving at a kraal in +time to save it from being eaten up. Witchcraft and killing, one of the +pretences on which the English made war, are of every-day occurrence, +and fifty times worse than they were before the war. Oham and Tibysio +(?) keep their men continually in the field, consequently those +districts are at present in a state of famine." + +Sir Garnet Wolseley executed the Zulu settlement on the 1st September +1879. The above extracts will suffice to show the state of the country +after it has been working for little more than two years. They will +also, I believe, suffice to convince any just and impartial mind that I +do not exaggerate when I say that it is an abomination and a disgrace +to England. The language may be strong, but when one hears of 1500 +unfortunates (nearly twice as many as we lost at Isandhlwana) being +slaughtered in a single intertribal broil, it is time to use strong +language. It is not as though this were an unexpected or an unavoidable +development of events, every man who knew the Zulus predicted the misery +that must result from such a settlement, but those who directed their +destinies turned a deaf ear to all warnings. They did not wish to hear. + +And now we are told that civil war is imminent between the Cetywayo or +anti-settlement party, and what I must, for want of a better name, call +the John Dunn party, or those who have acquired interests under the +settlement, and who for various reasons wish to see Cetywayo's face no +more. If this occurs, and it will occur unless the Government makes up +its mind to do something before long, the slaughter, not only of men but +also of women and children, will be enormous; fugitives will pour into +Natal, followed perhaps by their pursuers, and for aught we know the war +may spread into our own dominions. We are a philanthropic people, very, +when Bulgarians are concerned, or when the subject is one that piques +the morbid curiosity, or is the rage of the moment, and the subject of +addresses from great and eloquent speakers. But we can sit still, and +let such massacres as these take place, when we have but to hold up our +hand to stop them. When occasionally the veil is lifted a little, and +the public hears of "fresh fighting in Zululand;" a question is asked +in the House; Mr. Courtney, as usual, has no information, but generally +discredits the report, and it is put aside as "probably not true." I +am well aware that of the few who read these words, many will discredit +them, or say that they are written for some object, or for party +purposes. But it is not the case; they are written in the interest of +the truth, and in the somewhat faint hope that they may awaken a portion +of the public, however small, to a knowledge of our responsibilities +to the unfortunate Zulus. For try to get rid of it as we may, those +responsibilities rest upon our shoulders. When we conquered the Zulu +nation and sent away the Zulu king, we undertook, morally at any rate, +to provide for the future good government of the country; otherwise, the +Zulu war was unjust indeed. If we continue to fail, as we have hitherto, +to carry out our responsibilities as a humane and Christian nation ought +to do, our lapse from what is right will certainly recoil upon our own +heads, and, in the stern lessons of future troubles and disasters, we +shall learn that Providence with the nation, as with the individual, +makes a neglected duty its own avenger. We have sown the wind, let us be +careful lest we reap the whirlwind. + +It is very clear that things cannot remain in their present condition. +If they do, it is probable that the Resident will sooner or later +be assassinated; not from any personal motives, but as a political +necessity, and some second Chaka will rise up and found a new Zulu +dynasty, sweeping away our artificial chiefs and divisions like cobwebs. +This idea seems to have penetrated into Lord Kimberley's official mind, +since in his despatch of instructions to Sir H. Bulwer, written in +February last, he says, "Probably if the chiefs are left to themselves +after a period more or less prolonged of war and anarchy, some man will +raise himself to the position of supreme chief." The prospect of war and +anarchy in Zululand does not, however, trouble Lord Kimberley at all; in +fact, the whole despatch is typical to a degree of the Liberal Colonial +policy. Lord Kimberley admits that what little quiet the country has +enjoyed under the settlement, "was due to a mistaken belief on the part +of the Zulus that the British Government was ruling them, or would rule +them through the Resident." He evidently clearly sees all the evils and +bloodshed that are resulting and that must result from the present +state of affairs; indeed he recapitulates them, and then ends up by even +refusing to allow such slight measures of relief as the appointment of +sub-Residents to be carried out, although begged for by the chiefs, on +the ground that it might extend British influence. Of the interests of +the Zulus himself he is quite careless. The whole despatch can be summed +up thus: "If you can find any method to improve the state of affairs +which will not subject us to the smallest cost, risk, or responsibility, +you can employ it; if not, let them fight it out." Perhaps Lord +Kimberley may live (officially) long enough to find out that meanness +and selfishness do not always pay, and that it is not always desirable, +thus to sacrifice the respect, and crush the legitimate aspirations of a +generous people. + +Unless something is done before long, it is possible that John Dunn may +succeed after a bloody war in securing the throne; but this would not +prove a permanent arrangement, since he is now getting on in life and +has no son to carry on the dynasty. Another possibility, and one that is +not generally known, at any rate in this country, though it is perhaps +the most probable of all, is this. Cetywayo has left a son in Zululand, +who is being carefully educated under the care of Mnyamane, the late +King's Prime Minister. The boy is now about 16 years of age, and is +reported to possess very good abilities, and is the trump card that +Mnyamane will play as soon as the time is ripe. This young man is the +hereditary heir to the Zulu crown, and it is more than probable that if +he is proclaimed king the vast majority of the nation will rally round +him and establish him firmly on his throne. There is little use in +keeping Cetywayo confined whilst his son is at large. The lad should +have been brought to England and educated, so that he might at some +future time have assisted in the civilisation of his country: as it is, +he is growing up in a bad school. + +And now I come to the root of the whole matter, the question whether +or no, under all these circumstances, it is right or desirable to +re-establish Cetywayo on the throne of Zululand. In considering this +question, I think that Cetywayo's individuality ought to be out on one +side, however much we may sympathise with his position, as I confess I +do to some extent myself. After all, Cetywayo is only one man, whereas +the happiness, security, and perhaps the lives of many thousands are +involved in the issue of the question. In coming to any conclusion +in the matter it is necessary to keep in view the intentions of the +Government as regards our future connection with Zululand. If the +Government intends to do its duty and rule Zululand as it ought to be +ruled, by the appointment of proper magistrates, the establishment of an +adequate force, and the imposition of the necessary taxes; then it would +be the height of folly to permit Cetywayo to return, since his presence +would defeat the scheme. It must be remembered that there is as yet +nothing whatsoever to prevent this plan being carried out. It would be +welcomed with joy by the large majority of both Zulus and Colonists. It +would also solve the problem of the increase of the native population of +Natal, which is assuming the most alarming proportions, since Zululand, +being very much underpopulated, it would be easy, were that country once +quietly settled, to draft the majority of the Natal Zulus back into it. +This is undoubtedly the best course, and indeed the only right course; +but it does not at all follow that it will be taken, since governments +are unfortunately more concerned at the prospect of losing votes than +with the genuine interests of their dependencies. The proper settlement +of Zululand would not be popular amongst a large class in this country, +and therefore it is not likely to be carried out, however right and +necessary it may be. + +If nothing is going to be done, then it becomes a question whether or no +Cetywayo should be sent back. + +The large majority of the Natalians consider that his restoration would +be an act of suicidal folly, and their opinion is certainly entitled to +great weight, since they are after all the people principally +concerned. The issue of the experiment would be a matter of comparative +indifference to people living 7000 miles away, but is naturally regarded +with some anxiety by those who have their homes on the borders of +Zululand. It is very well to sympathise with savage royalty in distress, +but it must be borne in mind that there are others to be considered +besides the captive king. Many of the Zulus, for instance, are by +no means anxious to see him again, since they look forward with just +apprehension to the line of action he may take with those who have not +shown sufficient anxiety for his return, or have in other ways incurred +his resentment. One thing is clear, to send the king back to Zululand is +to restore the _status in quo_ as it was before the war. There can be +no half measures about it, no more worthless paper stipulations; a Zulu +king must either be allowed to rule in his own fashion or not at all. +The war would go for nothing, and would doubtless have to be fought over +again with one of Cetywayo's successors. + +Also it must be remembered that it is one thing to talk of restoring +Cetywayo, and another to carry his restoration into effect. It would not +simply be a question of turning him down on the borders of Zululand, and +letting him find his own way back to his throne, for such a proceeding +would be the signal for the outbreak of civil war. It is not to be +supposed that John Dunn, and those whose interests are identical with +Dunn's, would allow the ex-king to reseat himself on the throne without +a struggle; indeed the former has openly declared his intention of +resisting the attempt by force of arms if necessary. He is by no means +anxious to give up the 15,000 pounds a year his hut-tax brings in, and +all the contingent profits and advantages of his chieftainship. If we +wish to restore Cetywayo we must first depose Dunn; in fact, we must be +ready to support his restoration by force of arms. + +As regards Cetywayo himself, I cannot share the opinion of those who +think that he would be personally dangerous. He has learnt his lesson, +and would not be anxious to try conclusions with the English again; +indeed, I believe he would prove a staunch ally. But supposing him +re-established on the throne, how long would it be before a revolution, +or the hand of the assassin, to say nothing of the ordinary chances +of nature, put an end to him, and how do we know that his successor in +power would share his views? + +Cetywayo's rule, bad as it was, was perhaps preferable to the reign of +terror that we have established, under the name of a settlement. But +that we can still remedy if we choose to do so, whereas, if we once +restore Cetywayo, all power over the Zulus passes out of our hands. + +We have many interests to consider in South Africa, all of which will be +more or less affected by our action in this matter. On the whole, I am +of opinion that the Government that replaces Cetywayo on the throne +of his fathers will undertake a very grave responsibility, and must be +prepared to deal with many resulting complications, not the least of +which will be the utter exasperation of the white inhabitants of Natal. + + + + +NATAL AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT + +_Natal--Causes of increase of the native population--Happy condition of +the Natal Zulus--Polygamy--Its results on population--The impossibility +of eradicating it--Relations between a Zulu and his wives--Connection +between polygamy and native law--Missionary work amongst the Zulus--Its +failure--Reasons of its failure--Early days of Natal--Growth of the +native question--Coming struggle between white and black over the +land question--Difficulty of civilising the Zulu--Natal as a black +settlement--The constitution of Natal--Request for responsible +government--Its refusal--The request renewed and granted--Terms and +reason of Lord Kimberley's offer--Infatuation of responsible government +party in Natal--Systematic abuse of colonists in England--Colonial +speculators--Grievances against the Imperial Government--Sir Henry +Bulwer--Uncertain future of Natal--Its available force--Exterior +dangers--The defence question shirked by the "party of progress"-- +The confederation question--The difficulty of obtaining desirable +immigrants--The only real key to the Natal native question--Folly of +accepting self-government till it is solved._ + +Natal has an area of about 18,000 square miles, and its present +population is, roughly, 25,000 whites and 400,000 natives of the Zulu +race. When, in 1843, it first became a British colony, the number of +natives living within its borders was very small, and they were for the +most part wanderers, fragmentary remnants of the tribes that Chaka had +destroyed. I shall probably be under, rather than over the mark, if I +say, that the Zulu population of the colony has multiplied itself by ten +during the last thirty years. Two causes have combined to bring about +this extraordinary increase; firstly, wholesale immigration from the +surrounding territories; and secondly, the practice of polygamy. + +This immigration has been due to a great want of foresight, or want of +knowledge, on the part of the Home authorities, who have allowed it to +go on without check or hindrance till it has, in conjunction with its +twin evil polygamy, produced the state of affairs it is my object to +describe. Ever since its first establishment as a colony Natal has been +turned into a city of refuge for the native inhabitants of Zululand, the +Transvaal, Swaziland, and elsewhere. If news came to a Zulu chief that +his king purposed to eat him up, he at once fled across the Tugela with +his wives and followers and settled in Natal. If the Boers or Swazis +destroyed a tribe, the remnant found its way to Natal. + +That country, indeed, is to the South African native a modern Isles of +the Blest. Once across the border line, and, whatever his crime, he +is in a position to defy his worst enemy, and can rest secure in the +protection of the Home and local Governments, and of the enactments +specially passed to protect him and his privileges. The Government +allots him land, or if it does not he squats on private land: bringing +with him his own peculiar and barbarous customs. In all the world I do +not know a race more favoured by circumstances than the Natal Zulus. +They live on the produce of the fields that their wives cultivate, or +rather scratch, doing little or no work, and having no occasion to do +any. They are very rich, and their taxes are a mere trifle, fifteen +shillings per annum for each hut. They bear no share of the curse that +comes to all other men as a birthright; they need not labour. Protected +by a powerful Government, they do not fear attack from without, or +internal disorder. What all men desire, riches and women, are theirs in +abundance, and even their children, the objects of so much expense and +sore perplexity to civilised parents, are to them a source of wealth. +Their needs are few; a straw hut, corn for food, and the bright sun. +They are not even troubled with the thought of a future life, but, like +the animals, live through their healthy, happy days, and at last, in +extreme old age, meet a death which for them has no terrors, because it +simply means extinction. When compared to that of civilised races, or +even of their own brethren in the interior, their lot is indeed a happy +one. + +But the stream of immigration, continuous though it has been, would not +by itself have sufficed to bring up the native population to its present +enormous total, without the assistance of the polygamous customs of the +immigrants. + +I believe that inquirers have ascertained, that, as a general rule, the +practice of polygamy has not the effect of bringing about an abnormal +growth of population. However this may be elsewhere, in Natal, owing in +great measure to the healthy customs of the Zulu race,[*] the rate of +increase is unprecedented. Many writers and other authorities consider +polygamy as an institution, to be at once wicked and disgusting. As to +its morality, it is a point upon which it is difficult to express any +opinion, nor, indeed, does the question enter into the scope of what I +have to say; but it must be remembered that in the case of the Zulu his +whole law and existence is mixed up with the institution, and that it +is necessary to him to repair the gaps made in his ranks by war. Violent +anti-polygamists in this country always make a strong point of the +cruelty it is supposed to involve to the women, and talk about the +"violation of their holiest feelings." As a matter of fact, sad as it +may appear, the Zulu women are much attached to the custom, nor would +they, as a general rule, consent to marry a man who only purposed taking +one wife. There are various reasons for this: for instance, the first +wife is a person of importance, and takes precedence of all the others, +a fact as much appreciated by the Zulu woman as by the London lady. +Again, the more wives there are, the more wealth it brings into the +family, since in the ordinary course of nature more wives mean more +female children, who, when they come to a marriageable age, mean in +their turn at least ten cows each (the Government price for a wife). The +amount thus obtained is placed to the credit of the estate of the mother +of the girl married, and for this reason all Zulu women are extremely +anxious to have children, especially female children. Finally, the +liking of Zulu women for the custom is bred in them. It has been going +on for countless generations, and it is probable that it will go on for +so long as the race endures. Nations do not change such habits unless +the change is forced on them, with the alternative of extermination. + + [*] As soon as a Zulu woman is discovered to be pregnant, + her husband ceases to cohabit with her, nor does he live + with her again until the child is weaned, eighteen months, + and sometimes two years, after its birth. + +Polygamy will never be eradicated by moral persuasion, because, even +if a native could be brought to think it wrong, which is in itself +impossible, its abolition would affect his interests irredeemably. A +Zulu's wives are also his servants; they plough his land and husband his +grain, in addition to bearing his children. Had he but one wife most +of her time would be taken up with the latter occupation, and then the +mealie-planting and gathering would necessarily fall to the lot of +the husband, a state of affairs he would never consent to. Again, if +monogamy were established, girls would lose their value, and a great +source of wealth would be destroyed. It must, however, be understood +that Zulu girls are not exactly sold; the cows received by the parents +are by a legal fiction supposed to be a gift presented, not a price +paid. Should the wife subsequently run away, they are, I believe, +returnable. + +On these subjects, as is not to be wondered at when so many interests +are concerned, the Zulu law is a little intricate. The cleverest +counsel in the Temple could not give an opinion on such a case as the +following:-- + +A. has four wives and children by Nos. 1 and 3. On his death his +brother, B., a rich man, takes over his wives and property, and has +children by each of the four women. He has also children by other wives. +On his death, in extreme old age, how should the property be divided +amongst the descendants of the various marriages? + +It is clear that if such a case as this is to be dealt with at all +it must be under native law, and this is one of the great dangers of +polygamy. Once rooted in a state it necessitates a double system of +laws, since civilised law is quite unable to cope with the cases daily +arising from its practice. It is sometimes argued that the law employed +is a matter of indifference, provided that substantial justice is done, +according to the ideas of people concerned, and this is doubtless very +true if it is accepted as a fact that the Zulu population of Natal is +always to remain in its present condition of barbarism. To continue +to administer their law is to give it the sanction of the white man's +authority, and every day that it is so administered makes it more +impossible to do away with it. I say "more impossible" advisedly, +because I believe its abrogation is already impossible. There is no +satisfactory way out of the difficulty, because it has its roots in, +and draws its existence from, the principle of polygamy, which I believe +will last while the people last. + +Some rely on the Missionary to effect this stupendous change, and turn a +polygamous people into monogamists. But it is a well-known fact that the +missionaries produce no more permanent effect on the Zulu mind than a +child does on the granite rock which he chips at with a chisel. How many +real Christians are there in Zululand and Natal, and of that select and +saintly band how many practise monogamy? But very few, and among those +few there is a large proportion of bad characters, men who have +adopted Christianity as a last resource. I mean no disrespect to the +missionaries, many of whom are good men, doing their best under the most +unpromising conditions, though some are simply traders and political +agitators. But the fact remains the same. Christianity makes no +appreciable progress amongst the Zulu natives, whilst, on the other +hand, no one having any experience in the country will, if he can avoid +it, have a so-called Christian Kafir in his house, because the term is +but too frequently synonymous with that of drunkard and thief. I do not +wish it to be understood that it is the fact of his Christianity that so +degrades the Zulu, because I do not think it has anything to do with it. +It is only that the novice, standing on the threshold of civilisation, +as a rule finds the vices of the white man more congenial than his +virtues. + +The Zulus are as difficult to convince of the truths of Christianity as +were the Jews, whom they so much resemble in their customs. They have a +natural disinclination to believe that which they cannot see, and, being +constitutionally very clever and casuistical, are prepared to argue each +individual point with an ability very trying to missionaries. It was one +of these Zulus, known as the Intelligent Zulu, but in reality no more +intelligent than his fellows, whose shrewd remarks first caused doubts +to arise in the mind of Bishop Colenso, and through him in those of +thousands of others. + +Another difficulty in the way of the Missionary is, that he is obliged +to insist on the putting away of surplus wives, and thus to place +himself out of court at the outset. It is quite conceivable that in the +opinion of wild and savage men, it is preferable to let the new teaching +alone, rather than to adopt it at the cost of such a radical change +in their domestic arrangements. As a case in point I may quote that of +Hlubi, the Basutu appointed chief of one of the divisions of Zululand, +by Sir G. Wolseley. Hlubi is at heart a Christian, and a good man, and +anxious to be baptized. The missionaries, however, refuse to baptize +him, because he has two wives. Hlubi therefore remains a heathen, +saying, not unnaturally, that he feels it would be impossible for him to +put away a woman with whom he has lived for so many years. + +Whilst polygamy endures Christianity will advance with but small +strides. It seems to me that we are beginning at the wrong end. We must +civilise first and Christianise afterwards. As well try to sow corn +among rocks and look to gather a full crop, as expect the words of +Grace and Divine love to bear fruit in the hearts of a people whose +forefathers have for countless generations been men of blood, whose +prized traditions are one long story of slaughter, and who, if they +are now at peace are, as it were, only gathering strength for a surer +spring. First, the soil must be prepared before the seed is sown. + +To do this there is but one way. Abolish native customs and laws, +especially polygamy, and bring our Zulu subjects within the pale of our +own law. Deprive them of their troops of servants in the shape of wives, +and thus force them to betake themselves to honest labour like the rest +of mankind. + +There is only one objection in the way of the realisation of this +scheme, which would, doubtless, bring about, in the course of a +generation, a much better state of things, and gather many thousand +converts into the fold of the Church; and that is, the opportunity has, +so far as Natal is concerned, been missed--the time has gone by when it +could have been carried out. To young countries, as to young men, there +come sometimes opportunities of controlling their future destinies +which, if not seized at the moment, pass away for ever, or only to +return after long and troubled years. Natal has had her chance, and it +has gone away from her, though through no fault of her own. If, when the +colony was first settled, the few natives who then lived there had +been forced to conform to the usages of civilised life or to quit its +borders; if refugees had been refused admission save on the same terms, +it would not occupy the very serious position it does at the present +moment. + +To understand the situation into which Natal has drifted with reference +to its native inhabitants, it is necessary to premise that that country +has hitherto had practically no control over its own affairs, more +especially as regards native legislation. + +In its early days it was a happy, quiet place, a favoured clime, where +the traveller or settler could find good shooting, cheap labour, +and cheap living. No enemy threatened its rest, and the natives were +respectful and peaceful in their behaviour. But it was in those days +that the native difficulty, that Upas tree that now overshadows and +poisons the whole land, took root; for slowly, from all parts, all +through that quiet time, by ones, by tens, by hundreds, refugees +were flowing in, and asking and receiving land to settle on from the +Government. + +It is not, however, to be supposed that the local officials did not +perceive the gathering danger, since it has again and again been pointed +out to different Secretaries of State, and again and again been +ignored by them, or put off for the consideration of their successors. +Hand-to-mouth legislation has always been the characteristic of our rule +in South Africa. On one occasion Sir Theophilus, then Mr. Shepstone, +went so far as to offer to personally draw off a large portion of the +native population, and settle them on some vacant territory bordering +on the Cape Colony, but the suggestion was not acceded to, for fear +lest the execution of the scheme should excite disturbances amongst the +natives of the Cape. Thus year after year has passed away--plan after +plan has been put aside,--and nothing has been done. + +In the colony a great deal of abuse is poured out on the head of Sir T. +Shepstone, to whom the present native situation is unjustly attributed +by a certain party of politicians. Sir T. Shepstone was for very many +years Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, but until he came to +England, shortly before the termination of his official career, he was +personally unknown to the Colonial Office, and had no influence there. +It was totally out of his power to control the policy of the Home +Government with reference to the Natal natives; he could only take +things as he found them, and make the best of such materials as came to +his hand. As he could not keep the natives out of the colony or prevent +polygamy, he did what he could towards making them loyal and contented +subjects. How well he succeeded, and with what consummate tact and +knowledge he must have exercised his authority, is shown by the fact +that in all these years there has been but one native disturbance, +namely that of Langalibalele, and by the further fact that the loyalty +of the Natal Zulus stood the strain of the Zulu war. Also, there never +has been, and probably never will be, another white man so universally +beloved and reverenced by the natives throughout the length and breadth +of South Africa. + +But Sir T. Shepstone's influence for good will pass away, as all purely +personal influence must, and meanwhile, what is the situation? On +the one hand, there is a very slowly increasing, scattered, and mixed +population of about 25,000 whites, capable, at the outside, of putting a +force of 4000 men in the field. On the other, there is a warlike native +population, united by the ties of race and common interests, numbering +at the present moment between 400,000 and 500,000, and increasing by +leaps and bounds: capable of putting quite 80,000 warriors into the +field, and possessing, besides, numerous strongholds called locations. +At present these two rival populations live side by side in peace and +amity, though at heart neither loves the other. The two races are so +totally distinct that it is quite impossible for them to have much +community of feeling; they can never mingle; their ideas are different, +their objects are different, and in Natal their very law is different. +Kafirs respect and like individual Englishmen, but I doubt whether they +are particularly fond of us as a race, though they much prefer us to any +other white men, and are devoted to our rule, so long as it is necessary +to them. The average white man, on the other hand, detests the Kafir, +and looks on him as a lazy good-for-nothing, who ought to work for him +and will not work for him, whilst he is quite incapable of appreciating +his many good points. It is an odd trait about Zulus that only +gentlemen, in the true sense of the word, can win their regard, or get +anything out of them. + +It is obvious that, sooner or later, these two races must come into +contact, the question being how long the present calm will last. To this +question I will venture to suggest an answer,--I believe the right one. +It will last until the native gets so cramped for room that he has no +place left to settle on, except the white man's lands. The white man +will then try to turn him off, whereupon the native will fall back on +the primary resource of killing him, and possessing himself of the land +by force. This plan, simultaneously carried out on a large scale, would +place the colony at the mercy of its native inhabitants. + +Nor is the time so very far distant when Englishmen and Zulus will stand +face to face over this land question. In the early days of the colony, +locations were established in the mountainous districts, because they +were comparatively worthless, and the natives were settled in them by +tribes. Of what goes on in these locations very little is known, except +that they are crowded, and that the inhabitants are as entirely wedded +to their savage customs as their forefathers were before them. As there +is no more room in the locations, many thousands of Kafirs have settled +upon private lands, sometimes with and sometimes without the leave +of the owners. But, for many reasons, this is a state of affairs that +cannot go on for ever. In a few years, the private lands will be filled +up, as well as the locations, and what then? + +Zulus are a people who require a very large quantity of land, since they +possess great numbers of cattle which must have grazing room. Also their +cultivation being of the most primitive order, and consisting as it does +of picking out the very richest patches of land, and cropping them till +they are exhausted, all ordinary land being rejected as too much trouble +to work, the possession, or the right of usor, of several hundred acres +is necessary to the support of a single family. Nor, if we may judge +from precedent, and its well-marked characteristics, is it to be +supposed that this race will at the pinch suit itself to circumstances, +take up less land, and work harder. Zulus would rather fight to the last +than discard a cherished and an ancient custom. Savages they are, +and savages they will remain, and in the struggle between them and +civilisation it is possible that they may be conquered, but I do not +believe that they will be converted. The Zulu Kafir is incompatible with +civilisation. + +It will be seen, from what I have said, that Natal might more properly +be called a Black settlement than an English colony. Looking at it from +the former point of view, it is a very interesting experiment. For the +first time probably since their race came into existence, Zulu natives +have got a chance given them of increasing and multiplying without being +periodically decimated by the accidents of war, whilst at the same time +enjoying the protection of a strong and a just government. It remains +to be seen what use they will make of their opportunity. That they will +avail themselves of it for the purposes of civilising themselves I do +not believe; but it seems to me possible that they will learn from +the white man the advantages of combination, and aim at developing +themselves into a powerful and united black nation. + +It is in the face of this state of things that Lord Kimberley now +proposes to grant responsible government to the white inhabitants of +Natal, should they be willing to accept it, providing that it is to +carry with it the responsibility of ruling the natives, and further, of +defending the colony from the attacks of its neighbours, whether white +or coloured. + +Natal has hitherto been ruled under a hybrid constitution, which, whilst +allowing the Legislative Assembly of the colony to pass laws, &c., +reserves all real authority to the Crown. There has, however, been +for some years past a growing agitation amongst a proportion of its +inhabitants, instituted with the object of inducing the Home Government +to concede practical independence to the colony, Her Majesty having +on several occasions been petitioned on the subject by the Legislative +Council. On the 13th February 1880, Sir G. Wolseley, who was at the +time Governor of Natal, wrote what I can only call, a very intemperate +despatch to the Secretary of State, commenting on the prayer for +responsible government, which he strongly condemned. He also took +the opportunity to make a series of somewhat vicious attacks on the +colonists in general, whose object in asking for independence was, he +implied, to bring the black man in relations of "appropriate servitude +to his white superior." It would appear, however, from words used by him +towards the end of his despatch, that the real reason of his violence +was, that he feared, that one of the first acts of the Natal Parliament +would be to put an end to his settlement in Zululand, which was and +is the laughing-stock of the colony. He was probably right in this +supposition. The various charges he brings against the colonists +are admirably and conclusively refuted in a minute adopted by the +Legislative Council of Natal, dated 20th December 1880. + +In a despatch, dated 15th March 1881, Lord Kimberley refuses to accede +to the request for the grant of Responsible Government. + +On the 28th of December, the Legislative Council again petitioned the +Crown on the subject, and forward to Lord Kimberley a report of a Select +committee appointed to consider the matter, in which the following words +occur:-- + +"Your committee hold that while the colony may well be held responsible +for its defence from such aggression as may be caused by the acts or +policy of a responsible government, it cannot justly be saddled with the +obligation to meet acts of aggression from bordering territories +that have arisen out of the circumstances or measures over which such +government have had no control; although, as a matter of fact, the brunt +of defence (must be borne?) in the first instance by the colonists. +The Council, therefore, neither exercises, nor desires to exercise, any +control over territories adjacent to or bordering on the colony; for the +preservation of its own internal peace and order the colony is prepared +to provide. The duty of protecting the colony from external foes, +whether by sea or land, devolves on the Empire as a whole, otherwise to +be a section of that Empire constitutes no real privilege." + +To this report, somewhat to the surprise of the Natalians, Lord +Kimberley returned, in a despatch addressed to Sir H. Bulwer, on the +occasion of his departure to take up the Governorship of Natal, and +dated 2d February 1882, a most favourable reply. In fact, he is so +obliging as to far exceed the wishes of the Natalians, as expressed in +the passage just quoted, and to tell them that Her Majesty's Government +is not only ready to give them responsible government, but that it +will expect them to defend their own frontiers, independently of any +assistance from the Imperial Government. He further informs them that +the Imperial troops will be withdrawn, and that the only responsibility +Her Majesty's Government will retain with reference to the colony will +be that of its defence against aggression by foreign powers. + +This sudden change of face on the part of the Imperial Government, which +had up till now flatly refused to grant _any measure_ of self-government +to Natal, may at first seem rather odd, but on examination it will +be found to be quite in accordance with the recently developed South +African policy of Mr. Gladstone's Government. There is little doubt +that it is an article of faith among the Liberal party that the less +the mother-country has to do with her colonies, and more especially +her South African colonies, the better. A grand step was made in +the direction of the abandonment of our South African Empire when we +surrendered the Transvaal to the Boers, and it is clear that if our +troops can be withdrawn from Natal and all responsibility for the safety +of that colony put an end to, the triumph of self-effacement will be +still more complete. But there is another and more immediate reason +for Lord Kimberley's generous offer. He knows, no one better, that +the policy pursued in South Africa, both as regards the Transvaal and +Zululand, must produce its legitimate fruit--bloodshed--before very +long. He, or rather his Government, is consequently anxious to cut the +connection before anything of the sort occurs, when they will be able to +attribute the trouble, whatever it is, to the ill-advised action of the +Colonial Legislature. + +What is still more strange, however, is that the colonists, having +regard to the position they occupy with reference to the Kafirs that +surround them, to whom they bear the same relative proportion that the +oases do in the desert, or the islands of an archipelago to the ocean +that washes their shores, should wish for such a dangerous boon as that +of self-government, if indeed they really do wish it. When I lived in +Natal, I often heard the subject discussed, and watched the Legislative +Council pass its periodical resolutions about it, but I confess I always +looked on the matter as being more or less of a farce. There exists, +however, in Natal a knot of politicians who are doubtless desirous +of the change, partly because they think that it would be really +beneficial, and partly because they are possessed by a laudable ambition +to fill the high positions of Prime Minister, Treasurer, &c., in the +future Parliament. But these gentlemen for the most part live in towns, +where they are comparatively safe should a native rising occur. I have +not noticed the same enthusiasm for responsible government among those +Natalians who live up country in the neighbourhood of the locations. + +Still there does exist a considerable party who are in favour of the +change, a party that has recently sprung into existence. Many things +have occurred within the last few years to irritate and even exasperate +people in Natal with the Imperial Government, and generally with the +treatment that they have received at our hands. For instance, colonists +are proverbially sensitive, and it is therefore rather hard that every +newspaper correspondent or itinerant bookmaker who comes to their +shores, should at once proceed to print endless letters and books +abusing them without mercy. The fact of the matter is that these +gentlemen come, and put up at the hotels and pot-shops, where they meet +all the loafers and bad characters in the country, whom they take to be +specimens of the best class of colonists, whom they describe accordingly +as the "riddlings of society." Into the quiet, respectable, and happy +homes that really give the tone to the colony they do not enter. + +It is also a favourite accusation to bring against the people of Natal +that they make the South African wars in order to make money out of +them. For instance, in a leading article of one of the principal English +journals, it was stated not long ago, that the murmurs of the colonists +at being forced to eat the bread of humiliation in the Transvaal +matter, arose from no patriotic feeling, but from sorrow at the early +termination of a war out of which they hoped to suck no small advantage. +This statement is quite untrue. + +No doubt a great deal of money has been made out of the wars by a few +colonial speculators, some of it, maybe, dishonestly; but this is not +an unusual occurrence in a foreign war. Was no money made dishonestly +by English speculators and contractors in the Crimean War? Cannot +Manchester boast manufacturers ready to supply our enemies,--for cash +payments,--with guns to shoot us with, or any other material of war? + +It is not to be supposed that because a few speculators made fortunes +out of the Commissariat that the whole colony participated in the spoils +of the various wars. On the contrary, the marjority of its inhabitants +have suffered very largely. Not only have they run considerable personal +risk, but since, and owing to, the Zulu and Boer wars the cost of living +has almost, if not quite doubled, which, needless to say, has not been +the case with their incomes. It is therefore particularly cruel that +Natal should be gibbeted as the abode of scoundrels of the worst sort, +men prepared to bring about bloodshed in order to profit by it. Sir +Garnet Wolseley, however, found in this report of colonial dishonesty +a convenient point of vantage from which to attack the colonists +generally, and in his despatch about responsible government we may be +sure he did not spare them. The Legislative Council thus comments on his +remarks: "To colonists a war means the spreading among them of distress, +alarm, and confusion, peril to life and property in outlying districts, +the arrest of progress, and general disorganisation. . . . The Council +regard with pain and indignation the uncalled-for and cruel stigma thus +cast upon the colonists by Sir Garnet Wolseley." + +At first sight these accusations may not appear to have much to do with +the question of whether or no the colonists should accept responsible +government, but in reality they have, inasmuch as they create a +feeling of soreness that inclines the Natalians to get rid of Imperial +interference and the attendant criticism at any price. + +More substantial grievances against the English Government are the +present condition of the native problem, which the colonists justly +attribute to Imperial mismanagement, and that triumph of genius, Sir +Garnet Wolseley's settlement in Zululand. They see these evils, which +they know were preventable, growing more formidable day by day, and they +imagine, or some of them do, that if they had free institutions it would +still be in their power to stop that growth. + +The whole question has now been referred to the colony, which is +to elect a fresh Legislative Assembly on the issue of responsible +government. The struggle between "the party of progress," i.e., the +responsible government section, and the reactionists, or those who +are prepared to dispense with "freedom," provided they can be sure of +safety, is being carried on keenly, and at present it is doubtful which +side will have a majority. I do not, however, believe that the majority +of any Council returned will consent to accept Lord Kimberley's proposal +as it stands; to walk into a parlour in which the spider is so very +obvious, and to deliberately undertake the guardianship of all the +Imperial interests in South-Eastern Africa. If they do, they will, in my +opinion, deserve all they will get.[*] + + [*] Since this chapter was written the Natal constituencies + have, as I thought probable, declared against the acceptance + of Lord Kimberley's offer in its present form, by returning + a majority of anti-responsible Government men. It is, + however, probable that the new Legislative Council will try + to re-open negotiations on a different, or, at any rate, a + modified basis. + +The Natalians are fortunate at the present crisis in having, by dint of +vigorous agitation against the appointment of Mr. Sendall, a gentleman +selected by Lord Kimberley to govern them, obtained the reappointment +of their former Governor, Sir Henry Bulwer. Sir Henry, during his +first tenure of office, lost credit with the South African colonists +on account of his lukewarmness with reference to the Zulu war, but the +course of events has gone far towards justifying his views. He is one +of the most hard-working and careful Governors that Natal has ever had, +and, perhaps, the most judicious. Of a temperate and a cautious mind, +he may be more safely trusted to pilot a country so surrounded with +difficulties and dangers as Natal is, than most men, and it is to be +hoped that the application to the questions of the day, of the strong +common sense that he possesses in such an eminent degree, may have a +cooling effect on the hot heads and excited imaginations of the "party +of progress." + +In considering the pros and cons of the responsible government question, +it must be steadily kept in sight that Natal is not likely to be a +country with a peaceful future. To begin with, she has her native +inhabitants to deal with. To-day they number, say 450,000, fifteen or +twenty years hence they will number a million, or perhaps more. These +men are no longer the docile overgrown children they were twenty years +ago. The lessons of our performances in the Zulu and Boer wars, more +especially the latter, have not been lost upon them, and they +are beginning to think that the white man, instead of being the +unconquerable demigod they thought him, is somewhat of a humbug. +Pharaoh, we know, grew afraid of the Israelites; Natal, with a much +weaker power at command than that of Pharaoh, has got to cope with a +still more dangerous element, and one that cannot be induced to depart +into the wilderness. + +And after all what does the power of Natal amount to? Let us be liberal, +and say six thousand men, it is the outside. In the event of a native +rising, or any other serious war, I believe that of this number, at +least two thousand would make themselves scarce. There exists in all +colonies a floating element of individuals who have drifted there for +the purpose of making money, but who have no real affection for the +(temporary) country of their adoption. Their capital is, as a rule, +small and easily realised, and the very last thing that they would think +of doing, would be to engage in a deadly life or death struggle, on +behalf of a land that they only look on as a milch cow, out of which +their object is to draw as much as possible. On the contrary, they would +promptly seek another cow, leaving the old one to the tender mercies of +the butcher. + +Their defection would leave some 4000 men to cope with the difficulty, +whatever it was, of which number at least 1000 would be ineffective from +age and various other causes, whilst of the remainder, quite 1000 would +be obliged to remain where they were to protect women and children in +outlying districts. This would leave a total effective force of 2000 +men, or, deducting 500 for garrison purposes, of 1500 ready to take the +field. But it would take some time to collect, arm, and equip even this +number, and in the meanwhile, in the case of a sudden and preconcerted +native rising, half the inhabitants of the colony would be murdered in +detail. + +But Natalians have got other dangers to fear besides those arising from +the presence of this vast mass of barbarism in their midst. After +a period of anarchy a new king may possess himself of the throne of +Zululand, and it is even possible that he might, under circumstances +that will arise hereafter, lead his armies into Natal, and create +a difficulty with which the 1500 available white men would find it +difficult to cope. Or the Boers of the Orange Free State and Transvaal +may get tired of paying customs dues at Durban, and march 5000 men down +to take possession of the port! Perhaps Natal might provide herself with +an effective force by enrolling an army of 10,000 or 20,000 Kafirs, +but it seems to me that the proceeding would be both uncertain and +expensive, and, should the army take it into its head to mutiny, very +dangerous to boot. + +It is a noticeable fact that those who so ardently advocate the +acceptance of Lord Kimberley's offer, in all their speeches, addresses, +and articles, almost entirely shirk this question of defence, which +is, after all, the root of the matter. I have formed my estimate of the +number of men forthcoming in time of danger, on the supposition that a +burgher law was in force in Natal, that is, that every man remaining in +the country should be obliged to take a part in its defence. But they +do not even hint at a burgher law--in fact, they repudiate the idea, +because they know that it would not be tolerated. The universal service +system is not the Natalian's idea of happiness. They simply avoid the +question, calling it the "defence bugbear," and assume that it will all +be arranged in some unforeseen way. + +The only suggestion that I have yet seen as regards the arrangements +for the future defence of the colony should it become independent, is +a somewhat ominous one, namely:--that Natal should enter into a close +alliance, offensive and defensive, with the Transvaal and the Orange +Free State. But, as the advocates of "freedom" would soon find, the +Orange Free State (for even if willing to help them, the Transvaal will +for some years have enough to do with its own affairs) will not come +forward for nothing. There would first have to be a few business +formalities with reference to the customs dues collected in Durban, on +goods passing through to the interior, which yield the bulk of the +Natal revenue: and possibly, some concessions to Boer public opinion as +regards the English mode of dealing with the Natal natives. I incline +to the opinion that in relying on the assistance of the Boers in time of +trouble the inhabitants of Natal would be leaning on a broken reed. They +are more likely to find them in arms against them than fighting on their +side. + +The party of progress also talks much about the prospects of +confederation with the Cape, if once they get responsible government. +Most people, however, will think that the fact of their being +independent, and therefore responsible for their own defence, will +hardly prove an inducement to the Cape to offer to share those +responsibilities. The only confederation possible to Natal as a +self-governing community will be a Boer confederation, to which it +may be admitted--on certain terms. Another cry is that the moment +responsible government is established immigrants will flow into the +country, and thus restore the balance of races. I take the liberty to +doubt the truth of this supposition. The intending emigrant from Europe +does not, it is true, understand the ins and outs of the Natal native +question, but he does now that it is a place where there are wars and +rumours of wars, and where he might possibly be killed, and the result +is that he wisely goes to some other colony, that has equal advantages +to offer and no Kafirs. To suppose that the emigrant would go to Natal +when he came to understand that it was an independent settlement of a +few white men, living in the midst of a mass of warlike Kafirs, when +Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, are all holding +out their arms to him, is to suppose him a bigger fool than he is. +At the best of times Natal is not likely to attract many desirable +emigrants: under a responsible government I do not believe that it will +attract any. + +It seems to me, that there is only one condition of affairs under +which it would be at all possible for the Natalians to assume the +responsibilities of self-government with any safety, and that is when +the great bulk of the native population has been removed back to whence +it came--Zululand. Causes of a diametrically opposite nature to +those that have been at work among the natives of Natal, have been in +operation amongst their brethren in Zululand. In Natal, peace, polygamy, +plenty and immigration have bred up an enormous native population. In +Zululand, war, private slaughter by the king's order, and the severe +restrictions put upon marriage, have kept down the increase of the race; +also an enormous number of individuals have fled from the one country +into the other. I do not suppose that the population of Zululand +amounts, at the present moment, to much more than half that of Natal. + +In this state of affairs lies the only real key to the Natal native +difficulty. Let Zululand be converted into a black colony under +English control, and its present inhabitants be established in suitable +locations; then let all the natives of Natal, with the exception of +those who choose to become monogamists and be subject to civilised law, +be moved into Zululand, and also established in locations. There would +be plenty of room for them all. Of course there would be difficulties in +the way of the realisation of this scheme, but I do not think that they +would prove insuperable. It is probable, however, that it would require +a show of force before the Natal natives would consent to budge. Indeed, +it is absurd to suppose, that anything would induce them to leave +peaceful Natal, and plunge into the seething cauldron of bloodshed, +extortion, and political plots that we have cooked up in Zululand under +the name of a settlement. Proper provisions must first be made for +the government of the country, and security to life and property made +certain. Till this is done, no natives in their senses will return to +Zululand. + +Till this is done, too, or till some other plan is discovered by means +of which the native difficulty can be effectively dealt with, the +Natalians will indeed be foolish if they discard the protection of +England, and accept the fatal boon of self-government. If they do, their +future career may be brilliant; but I believe that it will be brief. + +It is no answer to urge that at present the natives seem quite quiet, +and that there is no indication of disturbance. + +History tells us that before the destruction of doomed Pompeii, +Vesuvius was very still; only day by day the dark cloud hanging over +the mountain's summit grew denser and blacker. We know what happened to +Pompeii. + +I do not wish to suggest anything unpleasant, far from it; but +sometimes, I cannot help thinking, that it is perhaps a matter worth the +consideration of the Natalians, whether it might not be as well, instead +of talking about responsible government: to improve upon the example of +the inhabitants of Pompeii, and take to their ships _before_ the volcano +begins to work. + +It seems to me that there is an ugly cloud gathering on the political +horizon in Natal. + + + + +THE TRANSVAAL + + + +CHAPTER I + +ITS INHABITANTS, LAWS, AND CUSTOMS + +_Invasion by Mosilikatze--Arrival of the emigrant Boers--Establishment +of the South African republic--The Sand River convention--Growth of +the territory of the republic--The native tribes surrounding +it--Capabilities of the country--Its climate--Its inhabitants--The +Boers--Their peculiarities and mode of life--Their abhorrence of +settled government and payment of taxes--The Dutch patriotic party--Form +of government previous to the annexation--Courts of law--The commando +system--Revenue arrangements--Native races in the Transvaal._ + +The Transvaal is a country without a history. Its very existence +was hardly known of until about fifty years ago. Of its past we know +nothing. The generations who peopled its great plains have passed +utterly out of the memory and even the traditions of man, leaving no +monument to mark that they have existed, not even a tomb. + +During the reign of Chaka, 1813-1828, whose history has been sketched +in a previous chapter, one of his most famous generals, Mosilikatze, +surnamed the Lion, seceded from him with a large number of his soldiers, +and striking up in a north-westerly direction, settled in or about what +is now the Morico district of the Transvaal. The country through which +Mosilikatze passed was at that time thickly populated with natives +of the Basutu or Macatee race, whom the Zulus look upon with great +contempt. Mosilikatze expressed the feelings of his tribe in a practical +manner, by massacring every living soul of them that came within his +reach. That the numbers slaughtered were very great, the numerous ruins +of Basutu kraals all over the country testify. + +It was Chaka's intention to follow up Mosilikatze and destroy him, +but he was himself assassinated before he could do so. Dingaan, his +successor, however, carried out his brother's design, and despatched +a large force to punish him. This army, after marching over 300 miles, +burst upon Mosilikatze, drove him back with slaughter, and returned +home triumphant. The invasion is important, because the Zulus claim the +greater part of the Transvaal territory by virtue of it. + +About the time that Mosilikatze was conquered, 1835-1840, the +discontented Boers were leaving the Cape Colony exasperated at the +emancipation of the slaves by the Imperial authorities. First they made +their way to Natal, but being followed thither by the English flag they +travelled further inland over the Vaal River and founded the town +of Mooi River Dorp or Potchefstroom. Here they were joined by other +malcontents from the Orange Sovereignty, which, although afterwards +abandoned, was at that time a British possession. Acting upon + + The good old rule, the simple plan + Of let him take who has the power, + And let him keep who can, + +the Boers now proceeded to possess themselves of as much territory as +they wanted. Nor was this a difficult task. The country was, as I have +said, peopled by Macatees, who are a poor-spirited race as compared to +the Zulus, and had had what little courage they possessed crushed out of +them by the rough handling they had received at the hands of Mosilikatze +and Dingaan. The Boers, they argued, could not treat them worse than the +Zulus had done. Occasionally a Chief, bolder than the rest, would hold +out, and then such an example was made of him and his people that few +cared to follow in his footsteps. + +As soon as the Boers were fairly settled in their new home, they began +to think about setting up a Government. First they tried a system of +Commandants, with a Commandant-general, but this does not seem to have +answered. Next, those of their number who lived in Lydenburg district +(where the gold fields now are) set up a Republic, with a President and +Volksraad, or popular assembly. This example was followed by the other +white inhabitants of the country, who formed another Republic and +elected another President, with Pretoria for their capital. The two +republics were subsequently incorporated. + +In 1852 the Imperial authorities, having regard to the expense of +maintaining an effective government over an unwilling people in an +undeveloped and half-conquered country, concluded a convention with the +emigrant Boers "beyond the Vaal River." The following were the principal +stipulations of this convention, drawn up between Major Hogg and +Mr. Owen, Her Majesty's Assistant-Commissioners for the settling and +adjusting of the affairs of the eastern and north-eastern boundaries of +the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope on the one part, and a deputation +representative of the emigrant farmers north of the Vaal River on the +other. It was guaranteed "in the fullest manner on the part of the +British Government to the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal River the +right to manage their own affairs, and to govern themselves according +to their own laws, without any interference on the part of the +British Government, and that no encroachment shall be made by the said +Government on the territory beyond to the north of the Vaal River, with +the further assurance that the warmest wish of the British Government is +to promote peace, free trade, and friendly intercourse with the emigrant +farmers now inhabiting, or who hereafter may inhabit that country, it +being understood that this system of non-interference is binding on both +parties." + +Next were disclaimed, on behalf of the British Government, "all +alliances whatever and with whomsoever of the coloured nations to the +north of the Vaal River." + +It was also agreed "that no slavery is or shall be permitted or +practised in the country to the north of the Vaal River by the emigrant +farmers." + +It was further agreed "that no objection shall be made by any British +authority against the emigrant Boers purchasing their supplies of +ammunition in any of the British colonies and possessions of South +Africa; it being mutually understood that all trade in ammunition with +the native tribes is prohibited both by the British Government and the +emigrant farmers on both sides of the Vaal River." + +These were the terms of this famous convention, which is as slipshod in +its diction as it is vague in its meaning. What, for instance, is meant +by the territory to the north of the Vaal River? According to the letter +of the agreement, Messrs. Hogg and Owen ceded all the territory between +the Vaal and Egypt. This historical document was the Charta of the +new-born South African Republic. Under its provisions, the Boers, now +safe from interference on the part of the British, established their own +Government and promulgated their "Grond Wet," or Constitution. + +The history of the Republic between 1852 and 1876 is not very +interesting, and is besides too wearisome to enter into here. It +consists of an oft-told tale of civil broils, attacks on native tribes, +and encroachment on native territories. Until shortly before the +Annexation, every burgher was, on coming of age, entitled to receive +from the Government 6000 acres of land. As these rights were in the +early days of the Republic frequently sold to speculators for such +trifles as a bottle of brandy or half a dozen of beer, and as the seller +still required his 6000 acres: for a Boer considers it beneath his +dignity to settle on less, it is obvious that it required a very large +country to satisfy all demands. To meet these demands, the territories +of the Republic had to be stretched like an elastic band, and they were +stretched accordingly,--at the expense of the natives. The stretching +process was an ingenious one, and is very well described in a minute +written by Mr. Osborn, the late Magistrate at Newcastle, dated 22d +September, 1876, in these words:-- + +"The Boers, as they have done in other cases and are still doing, +encroached by degrees on native territory, commencing by obtaining +permission to graze stock upon portions of it at certain seasons of the +year, followed by individual graziers obtaining from native headmen +a sort of right or license to squat upon certain defined portions, +ostensibly in order to keep other Boer squatters away from the same +land. These licenses, temporarily intended as friendly or neighbourly +acts by unauthorised headmen, after a few seasons of occupation by +the Boer, are construed by him as title, and his permanent occupation +ensues. Damage for trespass is levied by him from the very man from whom +he obtained the right to squat, to which the natives submit out of fear +of the matter reaching the ears of the paramount chief, who would in all +probability severely punish them for opening the door to encroachment +by the Boer. After a while, however, the matter comes to a crisis in +consequence of the incessant disputes between the Boers and the natives; +one or other of the disputants lays the case before the paramount chief, +who, when hearing both parties, is literally frightened with violence +and threats by the Boer into granting him the land. Upon this the usual +plan followed by the Boer is at once to collect a few neighbouring +Boers, including a field cornet, or even an acting provisional field +cornet, appointed by the field cornet or provisional cornet, the latter +to represent the Government, although without instructions authorising +him to act in the matter. A few cattle are collected among themselves, +which the party takes to the chief, and his signature is obtained to a +written document alienating to the Republican Boers a large slice of all +his territory. The contents of this document are, as far as I can make +out, never clearly or intelligibly explained to the chief who signs and +accepts of the cattle under the impression that it is all in settlement +of hire for the grazing licenses granted by his headmen. This, I have no +hesitation in saying, is the usual method by which the Boers obtain +what they call cessions to them of territories by native chiefs. In +Secocoeni's case they allege that his father Sequati cedes to them the +whole of his territory (hundreds of square miles) for a hundred head of +cattle." + +So rapidly did this progress go on that the little Republic to the +"North of the Vaal River," had at the time of the Annexation grown into +a country of the size of France. Its boundaries had only been clearly +defined where they abutted on neighbouring White Communities, or on +the territories of great native powers, on which the Government had not +dared to infringe to any marked degree, such as those of Lo Bengula's +people in the north. But wheresoever on the State's borders there had +been no white Power to limit its advances, or where the native tribes +had found themselves too isolated or too weak to resist aggressions, +there the Republic had by degrees encroached and extended the shadow, if +not the substance, of its authority. + +The Transvaal has a boundary line of over 1,600 miles in circumference, +and of this a large portion is disputed by different native tribes. +Speaking generally, the territory lies between the 22 and 28 degrees of +South Latitude and the 25 and 32 degrees of East Longitude, or between +the Orange Free State, Natal and Griqualand West on the south, and the +Limpopo River on the north; and between the Lebombo mountains on the +east, and the Kalihari desert on the west. On the north of its territory +live three great tribes, the Makalaka, the Matabele (descendants of +the Zulus who deserted Chaka under Mosilikatze) and the Matyana. These +tribes are all warlike. On the west, following the line down to the +Diamond Field territory, are the Sicheli, the Bangoaketsi, the Baralong +and the Koranna tribes. Passing round by Griqualand West, the Free +State, and Natal, we reach Zululand on the south-east corner; then +come the Lebombo mountains on the east, separating the Transvaal from +Amatonga land, and from the so-called Portuguese possessions, which +are entirely in the hands of native tribes, most of them subject to the +great Zulu chief, Umzeila, who has his stronghold in the north-east. + +It will be observed that the country is almost surrounded by native +tribes. Besides these there are about one million native inhabitants +living within its borders. In one district alone, Zoutpansberg, it +is computed that there are 364,250 natives, as compared to about 750 +whites. + +If a beautiful and fertile country were alone necessary to make a state +and its inhabitants happy and prosperous, happiness and prosperity would +rain upon the Transvaal and the Dutch Boers. The capabilities of this +favoured land are vast and various. Within its borders are to be found +highlands and lowlands, vast stretches of rolling veldt like gigantic +sheep downs, hundreds of miles of swelling bushland, huge tracts of +mountainous country, and even little glades spotted with timber that +remind one of an English park. There is every possible variety of soil +and scenery. Some districts will grow all tropical produce, whilst +others are well suited for breeding sheep, cattle and horses. Most +of the districts will produce wheat and all other cereals in greater +perfection and abundance than any of the other South African colonies. +Two crops of cereals may be obtained from the soil every year, and +both the vine and tobacco are cultivated with great success. Coffee, +sugar-cane and cotton have been grown with profit in the northern parts +of the State. Also the undeveloped mineral wealth of the country is very +great. Its known minerals are gold, copper, lead, cobalt, iron, coal, +tin and plumbago: copper and iron having long been worked by the +natives. Altogether there is little doubt that the Transvaal is the +richest of all the South African states, and had it remained under +English rule it would, with the aid of English enterprise and capital, +have become a very wealthy and prosperous country. However there is +little chance of that now. + +Perhaps the greatest charm of the Transvaal lies in its climate, which +is among the best in the world, and in all the southern districts very +healthy. During the winter months, that is from April to October, little +or no rain falls, and the climate is cold and bracing. In summer it is +rather warm, but not overpoweringly hot, the thermometer at Pretoria +averaging from 65 to 73 degrees, and in the winter from 59 to 56 +degrees. The population of the Transvaal is estimated at about 40,000 +whites, mostly of Dutch origin, consisting of about thirty vast +families: and one million natives. There are several towns, the largest +of which are Pretoria and Potchefstroom. + +Such is the country that we annexed in 1877, and were drummed out of +in 1881. Now let us turn to its inhabitants. It has been the fashion to +talk of the Transvaal as though nobody but Boers lived in it. In reality +the inhabitants were divided into three classes: 1. Natives; 2. Boers; +3. English. I say were divided, because the English class can now hardly +be said to exist, the country having been made too hot to hold it, since +the war. The natives stand in the proportion of nearly twenty to one +to the whites. The Boers were in their turn much more numerous than the +English, but the latter owned nearly all the trading establishments in +the country, and also a very large amount of property. + +The Transvaal Boers have been very much praised up by members of the +Government in England, and others who are anxious to advance their +interests, as against English interests. Mr. Gladstone, indeed, can +hardly find words strong enough to express his admiration of their +leaders, those "able men," since they inflicted a national humiliation +on us; and doubtless they are a people with many good points. That they +are not devoid of sagacity can be seen by the way they have dealt with +the English Government. + +The Boers are certainly a peculiar people, though they can hardly be +said to be "zealous of good works." They are very religious, but their +religion takes it colour from the darkest portions of the Old Testament; +lessons of mercy and gentleness are not at all to their liking, and they +seldom care to read the Gospels. What they delight in are the stories of +wholesale butchery by the Israelites of old; and in their own position +they find a reproduction of that of the first settlers in the Holy Land. +Like them they think they are entrusted by the Almighty with the task +of exterminating the heathen native tribes around them, and are always +ready with a scriptural precedent for slaughter and robbery. The name of +the Divinity is continually on their lips, sometimes in connection with +very doubtful statements. They are divided into three sects, none of +which care much for the other two. These are the Doppers, who number +about half the population, the Orthodox Reform, and the Liberal Reform, +which is the least numerous. Of these three sects, the Doppers are +by far the most uncompromising and difficult to deal with. They much +resemble the puritans of Charles the First's time, of the extreme +Hew-Agag-in-pieces stamp. + +It is difficult to agree with those who call the Boers cowards, an +accusation which the whole of their history belies. A Boer does not like +fighting if he can avoid it, because he sets a high value on his own +life; but if he is cornered, he will fight as well as anybody else. The +Boers fought well enough, in the late war, though that, it is true, is +no great criterion of courage, since they were throughout flushed with +victory, and, owing to the poor shooting of the British troop, in but +little personal danger. One very unpleasant characteristic they have, +and that is an absence of regard for the truth, especially where land +is concerned. Indeed the national characteristic is crystallised into +a proverb, "I am no slave to my word." It has several times happened to +me, to see one set of highly respectable witnesses in a land case, go +into the box and swear distinctly that they saw a beacon placed on a +certain spot, whilst an equal number on the other side will swear that +they saw it placed a mile away. Filled as they are with a land hunger, +to which that of the Irish peasant is a weak and colourless sentiment, +there is little that they will not do to gratify their taste. It is +the subject of constant litigation amongst them, and it is by no means +uncommon for a Boer to spend several thousand pounds in lawsuits over a +piece of land not worth as many hundreds. + +Personally Boers are fine men, but as a rule ugly. Their women-folk are +good-looking in early life, but get very stout as they grow older. They, +in common with most of their sex, understand how to use their tongues; +indeed, it is said, that it was the women who caused the rising against +the English Government. None of the refinements of civilisation enter +into the life of an ordinary Boer. He lives in a way that would shock an +English labourer at twenty-five shillings the week, although he is very +probably worthy fifteen or twenty thousand pounds. His home is but too +frequently squalid and filthy to an extraordinary degree. He himself has +no education, and does not care that his children should receive any. +He lives by himself in the middle of a great plot of land, his nearest +neighbour being perhaps ten or twelve miles away, caring but little for +the news of the outside world, and nothing for its opinions, doing very +little work, but growing daily richer through the increase of his flocks +and herds. His expenses are almost nothing, and as he gets older, wealth +increases upon him. The events in his life consist of an occasional +trip on "commando," against some native tribe, attending a few political +meetings, and the journeys he makes with his family to the nearest +town, some four times a year, in order to be present at "Nachtmaal" +or communion. Foreigners, especially Englishmen, he detests, but he is +kindly and hospitable to his own people. Living isolated as he does, +the lord of a little kingdom, he naturally comes to have a great idea of +himself, and a corresponding contempt for all the rest of mankind. Laws +and taxes are things distasteful to him, and he looks upon it as an +impertinence that any court should venture to call him to account for +his doings. He is rich and prosperous, and the cares of poverty, and all +the other troubles that fall to the lot of civilised men, do not affect +him. He has no romance in him, nor any of the higher feelings and +aspirations that are found in almost every other race; in short, +unlike the Zulu he despises, there is little of the gentleman in his +composition, though he is at times capable of acts of kindness and even +generosity. His happiness is to live alone in the great wilderness, with +his children, his men-servants and his maid-servants, his flocks and his +herds, the monarch of all he surveys. If civilisation presses him too +closely, his remedy is a simple one. He sells his farm, packs up his +goods and cash in his waggon, and starts for regions more congenially +wild. Such are some of the leading characteristics of that remarkable +product of South Africa, the Transvaal Boer, who resembles no other +white man in the world. + +Perhaps, however, the most striking of all his oddities is his +abhorrence of all government, more especially if that government be +carried out according to English principles. The Boers have always been +more or less in rebellion; they rebelled against the rule of the Company +when the Cape belonged to Holland, they rebelled against the English +Government in the Cape, they were always in a state of semi-rebellion +against their own government in the Transvaal, and now they have for +the second time, with the most complete success, rebelled against the +English Government. The fact of the matter is that the bulk of their +number hate all Governments, because Governments enforce law and order, +and they hate the English Government worst of all, because it enforces +law and order most of all. It is not liberty they long for, but +license. The "sturdy independence" of the Boer resolves itself into a +determination not to have his affairs interfered with by any superior +power whatsoever, and not to pay taxes if he can possibly avoid it. +But he has also a specific cause of complaint against the English +Government, which would alone cause him to do his utmost to get rid of +it, and that is its mode of dealing with natives, which is radically +opposite to his own. This is the secret of Boer patriotism. To +understand it, it must be remembered that the Englishman and the Boer +look at natives from a different point of view. The Englishman, though +he may not be very fond of him, at any rate regards the Kafir as a +fellow human being with feelings like his own. The average Boer does +not. He looks upon the "black creature" as having been delivered into +his hand by the "Lord" for his own purposes, that is, to shoot and +enslave. He must not be blamed too harshly for this, for, besides +being naturally of a somewhat hard disposition, hatred of the native +is hereditary, and is partly induced by the history of many a bloody +struggle. Also the native hates the Boer fully as much as the Boer hates +the native, though with better reason. Now native labour is a necessity +to the Boer, because he will not as a rule do hard manual labour +himself, and there must be some one to plant and garner the crops, and +herd the cattle. On the other hand, the natives are not anxious to serve +the Boers, which means little or no pay and plenty of thick stick, and +sometimes worse. The result of this state of affairs is that the Boer +often has to rely on forced labour to a very great extent. But this is a +thing that an English Government will not tolerate, and the consequence +is that under its rule he cannot get the labour that is necessary to +him. + +Then there is the tax question. If he lives under the English flag the +money has to be paid regularly, but under his own Government he pays or +not as he likes. It was this habit of his of refusing payment of taxes +that brought the Republic into difficulties in 1877, and that will ere +long bring it into trouble again. He cannot understand that cash is +necessary to carry on a Government, and looks upon a tax as though it +were so much money stolen from him. These things are the real springs of +the "sturdy independence" and the patriotism of the ordinary Transvaal +farmer. Doubtless, there are some who are really patriotic; for +instance, one of their leaders, Paul Kruger. But with the majority, +patriotism is only another word for unbounded license and forced labour. + +These remarks must not be taken to apply to the Cape Boers, who are a +superior class of men, since they, living under a settled and civilised +Government, have been steadily improving, whilst their cousins, +living every man for his own hand, have been deteriorating. The old +Voortrekkers, the fathers and grandfathers of the Transvaal Boer of +to-day, were, without doubt, a very fine set of men, and occasionally +you may in the Transvaal meet individuals of the same stamp whom it is a +pleasure to know. But these are generally men of a certain age with some +experience of the world; the younger men are very objectionable in their +manners. + +The real Dutch Patriotic party is not to be found in the Transvaal, but +in the Cape Colony. Their object, which, as affairs now are, is well +within the bounds of possibility, is by fair means or foul to swamp +the English element in South Africa, and to establish a great Dutch +Republic. It was this party, which consists of clever and well educated +men, who raised the outcry against the Transvaal Annexation, because it +meant an enormous extension of English influence, and who had the wit, +by means of their emissaries and newspapers, to work upon the feeling of +the ignorant Transvaal farmers until they persuaded them to rebel; and +finally, to avail themselves of the yearnings of English radicalism for +the disruption of the Empire and the minimisation of British authority, +to get the Annexation cancelled. All through this business the Boers +have more or less danced in obedience to strings pulled at Cape Town, +and it is now said that one of the chief wire-pullers, Mr. Hofmeyer, is +to be asked to become President of the Republic. These men are the real +patriots of South Africa, and very clever ones too, not the Transvaal +Boers, who vapour about their blood and their country and the accursed +Englishman to order, and are in reality influenced by very small +motives, such as the desire to avoid payment of taxes, or to hunt away +a neighbouring Englishman, whose civilisation and refinement are as +offensive as his farm is desirable. Such are the Dutch inhabitants of +the Transvaal. I will now give a short sketch of their institutions as +they were before the Annexation, and to which the community has reverted +since its recision, with, I believe, but few alterations. + +The form of government is republican, and to all intents and purposes, +manhood suffrage prevails, supreme power resting in the people. The +executive power of the State centres in a President elected by the +people to hold office for a term of five years, every voter having a +voice in his election. He is assisted in the execution of his duties by +an Executive Council, consisting of the State Secretary and such other +three members as are selected for that purpose by the legislative body, +the Volksraad. The State Secretary holds office for four years, and is +elected by the Volksraad. The members of the Executive all have seats in +the Volksraad, but have no votes. The Volksraad is the legislative body +of the State, and consists of forty-two members. The country is divided +into twelve electoral districts, each of which has the right to return +three members; the Gold Fields have also the right of electing two +members, and the four principal towns, one member each. There is +no power in the State competent to either prorogue or dissolve the +Volksraad except that body itself, so that an appeal to the country on +a given subject or policy is impossible without its concurrence. Members +are elected for four years, but half retire by rotation every two years, +the vacancies being filled by re-elections. Members must have been +voters for three years, and be not less than thirty years of age, must +belong to a Protestant Church, be resident in the country, and owners +of immovable property therein. A father and son cannot sit in the same +Raad, neither can seats be occupied by coloured persons, bastards, or +officials. + +For each electoral district there is a magistrate or Landdrost whose +duties are similar to those of a Civil Commissioner. These districts are +again subdivided into wards presided over by field cornets, who exercise +judicial powers in minor matters, and in times of war have considerable +authority. The Roman Dutch law is the common law of the country, as it +is of the colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal, and of the Orange +Free State. + +Prior to the Annexation justice was administered in a very primitive +fashion. First, there was the Landdrosts' Court, from which an appeal +lay to a court consisting of the Landdrost and six councillors elected +by the public. This was a court of first instance as well as a court of +appeal. Then there was a Supreme Court, consisting of three Landdrosts +from three different districts, and a jury of twelve selected from the +burghers of the State. There was no appeal from this court, but cases +have sometimes been brought under the consideration of the Volksraad +as the supreme power. It is easy to imagine what the administration +of justice was like when the presidents of all the law courts in the +country were elected by the mob, not on account of their knowledge of +the law, but because they were popular. Suitors before the old Transvaal +courts found the law surprisingly uncertain. A High Court of Justice +was, however, established after the Annexation, and has been continued +by the Volksraad, but an agitation is being got up against it, and it +will possibly be abolished in favour of the old system. + +In such a community as that of the Transvaal Boers, the question of +public defence was evidently of the first importance. This is provided +for under what is known as the Commando system. The President, with the +concurrence of the Executive Council, has the right of declaring war, +and of calling up a Commando, in which the burghers are placed under +the field cornets and commandants. These last are chosen by the field +cornets for each district, and a Commandant-general is chosen by the +whole laager or force, but the President is the Commander-in-Chief of +the army. All the inhabitants of the state between sixteen and sixty, +with a few exceptions, are liable for service. Young men under +eighteen, and men over fifty, are only called out under circumstances +of emergency. Members of the Volksraad, officials, clergymen, and +school-teachers are exempt from personal service, unless martial law +is proclaimed, but must contribute an amount not exceeding 15 pounds +towards the expense of the war. All legal proceedings in civil cases are +suspended against persons on commando, no summonses can be made out, +and as soon as martial law is proclaimed no legal execution can be +prosecuted, the pounds are closed, and transfer dues payments are +suspended, until after thirty days from the recall of the proclamation +of martial law. Owners of land residing beyond the borders of the +Republic are also liable, in addition to the ordinary war tax, to +place a fit and proper substitute at the disposal of the Government, or +otherwise to pay a fine of 15 pounds. The first levy of the burghers +is, of men from eighteen to thirty-four years of age; the second, +thirty-four to fifty; and the third, from sixteen to eighteen, and +from fifty to sixty years. Every man is bound to provide himself with +clothing, a gun, and ammunition, and there must be enough waggons and +oxen found between them to suffice for their joint use. Of the booty +taken, one quarter goes to Government and the rest to the burghers. The +most disagreeable part of the commandeering system is, however, yet to +come; personal service is not all that the resident in the Transvaal +Republic has to endure. The right is vested in field cornets to +commandeer articles as well as individuals, and to call upon inhabitants +to furnish requisites for the commando. As may be imagined, it goes very +hard on these occasions with the property of any individual whom the +field cornet may not happen to like. + +Each ward is expected to turn out its contingent ready and equipped +for war, and this can only be done by seizing goods right and left. One +unfortunate will have to find a waggon, another to deliver his favourite +span of trek oxen, another his riding-horse, or some slaughter cattle, +and so on. Even when the officer making the levy is desirous of doing +his duty as fairly as he can, it is obvious that very great hardships +must be inflicted under such a system. Requisitions are made more with +regard to what is wanted, than with a view to an equitable distribution +of demands; and like the Jews in the time of the Crusades, he who +has got most must pay most, or take the consequences, which may be +unpleasant. Articles which are not perishable, such as waggons, are +supposed to be returned, but if they come back at all they are generally +worthless. + +In case of war, the native tribes living within the borders of the State +are also expected to furnish contingents, and it is on them that most of +the hard work of the campaign generally falls. They are put in the front +of the battle, and have to do the hand-to-hand fighting, which, however, +if of the Zulu race, they do not object to. + +The revenue of the State is so arranged that the burden of it should +fall as much as possible on the trading community and as little as +possible on the farmer. It is chiefly derived from licenses on trades, +professions, and callings, 30s. per annum quit-rent on farms, transfer +dues and stamps, auction dues, court fees, and contributions from such +native tribes as can be made to pay them. Since we have given up the +country, the Volksraad has put a very heavy tax on all imported goods, +hoping thereby to beguile the Boers into paying taxes without knowing +it, and at the same time strike a blow at the trading community, which +is English in its proclivities. The result has been to paralyse +what little trade there was left in the country, and to cause great +dissatisfaction amongst the farmers, who cannot understand why, now that +the English are gone, they should have to pay twice as much for their +sugar and coffee as they have been accustomed to do. + + +I will conclude this chapter with a few words about the natives, who +swarm in and around the Transvaal. They can be roughly divided into two +great races, the Amazulu and their offshoots, and the Macatee or Basutu +tribes. All those of Zulu blood, including the Swazies, Mapock's Kafirs, +the Matabele, the Knobnodes, and others are very warlike in disposition, +and men of fine physique. The Basutus (who must not be confounded with +the Cape Basutus), however, differ from these tribes in every respect, +including their language, which is called Sisutu, the only mutual +feeling between the two races being their common detestation of the +Boers. They do not love war; in fact, they are timid and cowardly by +nature, and only fight when they are obliged to. Unlike the Zulus, they +are much addicted to the arts of peace, show considerable capacities +for civilisation, and are even willing to become Christians. There would +have been a far better field for the Missionary in the Transvaal than in +Zululand and Natal. Indeed, the most successful mission station I have +seen in Africa is near Middelburg, under the control of Mr. Merensky. +In person the Basutus are thin and weakly when compared to the stalwart +Zulu, and it is their consciousness of inferiority both to the white +men, and their black brethren, that, together with their natural +timidity, makes them submit as easily as they do to the yoke of the +Boer. + + + +CHAPTER II + +EVENTS PRECEDING THE ANNEXATION + +_Mr. Burgers elected president--His character and aspirations--His +pension from the English Government--His visit to England--The railway +loan--Relations of the republic with native tribes--The pass laws--Its +quarrel with Cetywayo--Confiscation of native territory by the Keate +award--Treaty with the Swazi king--The Secocoeni war--Capture of +Johannes' stronghold by the Swazi allies--Attack on Secocoeni's +mountain--Defeat and dispersion of the Boers--Elation of the +natives--Von Schlickmann's volunteers--Cruelties perpetrated--Abel +Erasmus--Treatment of natives by Boers--Public meeting at Potchefstroom +in 1768--The slavery question--Some evidence on the subject--Pecuniary +position of the Transvaal prior to the annexation--Internal +troubles--Divisions amongst the Boers--Hopeless condition of the +country._ + +In or about the year 1872, the burghers of the Republic elected Mr. +Burgers their President. This remarkable man was a native of the Cape +Colony, and passed the first sixteen or seventeen years of his life, +he once informed me, on a farm herding sheep. He afterwards became +a clergyman noted for the eloquence of his preaching, but his ideas +proving too broad for his congregation, he resigned his cure, and in an +evil moment for himself took to politics. + +President Burgers was a man of striking presence and striking talents, +especially as regards his oratory, which was really of a very high +class, and would have commanded attention in our own House of Commons. +He possessed, however, a mind of that peculiarly volatile order, that is +sometimes met with in conjunction with great talents, and which seems to +be entirely without ballast. His intellect was of a balloon-like nature, +and as incapable of being steered. He was always soaring in the clouds, +and, as is natural to one in that elevated position, taking a very +different and more sanguine view of affairs to that which men of a more +lowly, and perhaps a more practical, turn of mind would do. + +But notwithstanding his fly-away ideas, President Burgers was +undoubtedly a true patriot, labouring night and day for the welfare of +the state of which he had to undertake the guidance: but his patriotism +was too exalted for his surroundings. He wished to elevate to the rank +of a nation a people who had not got the desire to be elevated; with +this view he contracted railway loans, made wars, minted gold, &c., and +then suddenly discovered that the country refused to support him. In +short, he was made of a very different clay to that of the people he had +to do with. He dreamt of a great Dutch Republic "with eight millions of +inhabitants," doing a vast trade with the interior through the Delagoa +Bay Railway. They, on the other hand, cared nothing about republics or +railways, but fixed their affections on forced labour and getting rid of +the necessity of paying taxes--and so between them the Republic came +to grief. But it must be borne in mind that President Burgers was +throughout actuated by good motives; he did his best by a stubborn and +stiff-necked people; and if he failed, as fail he did, it was more their +fault than his. As regards the pension he received from the English +Government, which has so often been brought up against him, it was +after all no more than his due after five years of arduous work. If the +Republic had continued to exist, it is to be presumed that they would +have made some provision for their old President, more especially as +he seems to have exhausted his private means in paying the debts of +the country. Whatever may be said of some of the other officials of the +Republic, its President was, I believe, an honest man. + +In 1875, Mr. Burgers proceeded to Europe, having, he says in a +posthumous document recently published, been empowered by the Volksraad +"to carry out my plans for the development of the country, by opening up +a direct communication for it, free from the trammels of British ports +and influence." According to this document, during his absence, two +powerful parties, viz., "the faction of unprincipled fortune-hunters, +rascals, and runaways on the one hand, and the faction of the extreme +orthodox party in a certain branch of the Dutch Reform Church on the +other, began to co-operate against the Government of the Republic and +me personally. . . . . . Ill as I was, and contrary to the advice of my +medical men, I proceeded to Europe, in the beginning of 1875, to carry +out my project, and no sooner was my back turned on the Transvaal, than +the conspiring elements began to act. The new coat of arms and flag +adopted in the Raad by an almost unanimous vote were abolished. The laws +for a free and secular education were tampered with, and my resistance +to a reckless inspection and disposal of Government lands, still +occupied by natives, was openly defied. The Raad, filled up to a large +extent with men of ill repute, who, under the cloak of progress and +favour to the Government view, obtained their seats, was too weak to +cope with the skill of the conspirators, and granted leave to the acting +President to carry out measures diametrically opposed to my policy. +_Native lands_ were inspected and given out to a few speculators, who +held large numbers of claims to lands which were destined for citizens, +and so a war was prepared for me, on my return from Europe, which I +could not avert." This extract is interesting, as showing the state of +feeling existing between the President and his officers previous to the +outbreak of the Secocoeni war. It also shows how entirely he was out of +sympathy with the citizens, seeing that as soon as his back was turned, +they, with Mr. Joubert and Paul Kruger at their head, at once undid all +the little good he had done. + +When Mr. Burgers got to England, he found that city capitalists would +have nothing whatever to say to his railway scheme. In Holland, however, +he succeeded in getting 90,000 pounds of the 300,000 pounds he wished to +borrow at a high rate of interest, and by passing a bond on five hundred +government farms. This money was immediately invested in a railway +plant, which, when it arrived at Delagoa Bay, had to be mortgaged to +pay the freight on it, and that was the end of the Delagoa Bay railway +scheme, except that the 90,000 pounds is, I believe, still owing to the +confiding shareholders in Holland. + +On his return to the Transvaal the President was well received, and for +a month or so all went smoothly. But the relations of the Republic with +the surrounding native tribes had by this time become so bad that an +explosion was imminent somewhere. In the year 1874 the Volksraad raised +the price of passes under the iniquitous pass law, by which every native +travelling through the territory was made to pay from 1 pound to five +pounds. In case of non-payment the native was made subject to a fine of +from 1 pound to 10 pounds, and to a beating of from "ten to twenty-five +lashes." He was also to go into service for three months, and have a +certificate thereof, for which he must pay five shillings; the avowed +object of the law being to obtain a supply of Kafir labour. This was +done in spite of the earnest protest of the President, who gave the Raad +distinctly to understand that by accepting this law they would, in point +of fact, annul treaties concluded with the chiefs on the south-western +borders. It was not clear, however, if this amended pass law ever came +into force. It is to be hoped it did not, for even under the old law +natives were shamefully treated by the Boers, who would pretend that +they were authorised by the Government to collect the tax; the result +being that the unfortunate Kafir was frequently obliged to pay twice +over. Natives had such a horror of the pass laws of the country, that +when travelling to the Diamond Fields to work they would frequently go +round some hundreds of miles rather than pass through the Transvaal. + +That the Volksraad should have thought it necessary to enact such a law +in order that the farmers should obtain a supply of Kafir labour in a +territory that had nearly a million of native inhabitants, who, unlike +the Zulus, are willing to work if only they meet with decent treatment, +is in itself an instructive commentary on the feelings existing between +the Boer master and Kafir servant. + +But besides the general quarrel with the Kafir race in its entirety, +which the Boers always have on hand, they had just then several +individual differences, in each of which there lurked the possibilities +of disturbance. + +To begin with, their relations with Cetywayo were by no means amicable. +During Mr. Burgers' absence the Boer Government, then under the +leadership of P. J. Joubert, sent Cetywayo a very stern message--a +message that gives the reader the idea that Mr. Joubert was ready to +enforce it with ten thousand men. After making various statements and +demands with reference to the Amaswazi tribe, the disputed boundary +line, &c., it ends thus:-- + +"Although the Government of the South African Republic has never wished, +and does not now desire, that serious disaffection and animosities +should exist between you and them, yet it is not the less of the +greatest consequence and importance for you earnestly to weigh these +matters and risks, and to satisfy them; the more so, if you on your side +also wish that peace and friendship shall be maintained between you and +us." + +The Secretary for Native Affairs for Natal comments on this message in +these words: "The tone of this message to Cetywayo is not very friendly, +it has the look of an ultimatum, and if the Government of the Transvaal +were in circumstances different to what it is, the message would +suggest an intention to coerce if the demands it conveys are not at once +complied with; but I am inclined to the opinion that no such intention +exists, and that the transmission of a copy of the message to the Natal +Government is intended as a notification that the Transvaal Government +has proclaimed the territory hitherto in dispute between it and the +Zulus to be Republican territory, and that the Republic intends to +occupy it." + +In the territories marked out by a decision known as the Keate Award, +in which Lieutenant-Governor Keate of Natal, at the request of both +parties, laid down the boundary line between the Boers and certain +native tribes, the Boer Government carried it with a yet higher +hand, insomuch as the natives of those districts, being comparatively +unwarlike, were less likely to resist. + +On the 18th August 1875, Acting President Joubert issued a proclamation +by which a line was laid down far to the southward of that marked out by +Mr. Keate, and consequently included more territory within the elastic +boundaries of the Republic. A Government notice of the same date invites +all claiming lands now declared to belong to the Republic, to send in +their claims to be settled by a land commission. + +On the 6th March 1876, another chief in the same neighbourhood +(Montsoia) writes to the Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West in these +terms:-- + +"My Friend,--I wish to acquaint you with the doings of some people +connected with the Boers. A man-servant of mine has been severely +injured in the head by one of the Boers' servants, which has proved +fatal. Another of my people has been cruelly treated by a Boer tying a +rein about his neck, and then mounting his horse and dragging him about +the place. My brother Molema, who is the bearer of this, will give you +full particulars." + +Molema explains the assaults thus: "The assaulted man is not dead; his +skull was fractured. The assault was committed by a Boer named Wessels +Badenhorst, who shamefully ill-treated the man, beat him till he +fainted, and, on his revival, fastened a rim around his neck, and +made him run to the homestead by the side of his (Badenhorst's) horse +cantering. At the homestead he tied him to the waggon-wheel, and flogged +him again till Mrs. Badenhorst stopped her husband." + +Though it will be seen that the Boers were on good terms neither with +the Zulus nor the Keate Award natives, they still had one Kafir ally, +namely, Umbandeni, the Amaswazi king. This alliance was concluded +under circumstances so peculiar that they are worthy of a brief +recapitulation. It appears that in the winter of the year 1875 Mr. +Rudolph, the Landdrost of Utrecht, went to Swazieland, and, imitating +the example of the Natal Government with Cetywayo, crowned Umbandeni +king, on behalf of the Boer Government. He further made a treaty of +alliance with him, and promised him a commando to help him in case +of his being attacked by the Zulus. Now comes the curious part of the +story. On the 18th May 1876, a message came from this same Umbandeni to +Sir H. Bulwer, of which the following is an extract:--"We are sent by +our king to thank the Government of Natal for the information sent to +him last winter by that Government, and conveyed by Mr. Rudolph, of the +intended attack on his people by the Zulus. We are further instructed by +the king to thank the Natal Government for the influence it used to +stop the intended raid, and for instructing a Boer commando to go to +his country to render him assistance in case of need; and further +for appointing Mr. Randolph at the head of the commando to place him +(Umbandeni) as king over the Amaswazi, and to make a treaty with him and +his people on behalf of the Natal Government. . . . . . The Transvaal +Government has asked Umbandeni to acknowledge himself a subject of the +Republic, but he has distinctly refused to do so." In a minute written +on this subject, the Secretary for Native Affairs for Natal says, "No +explanation or assurance was sufficient to convince them (Umbandeni's +messengers) that they had on that occasion made themselves subjects +of the South African Republic; they declared it was not their wish or +intention to do so, and that they would refuse to acknowledge a position +into which they had been unwittingly betrayed." I must conclude this +episode by quoting the last paragraph of Sir H. Bulwer's covering +despatch, because it concerns larger issues than the supposed treaty: +"It will not be necessary that I should at present add any remarks to +those contained in the minute for the Secretary for Native Affairs, but +I would observe that the situation arising out of the relations of the +Government of the South African Republic with the neighbouring states is +so complicated, and presents so many elements of confusion and of danger +to the peace of this portion of South Africa, that I trust some way +may be found to an early settlement of questions that ought not, in my +opinion, to be left alone, as so many have been left, to take the chance +of the future." + +And now I come to the last and most imminent native difficulty that at +the time faced the Republic. On the borders of Lydenburg district there +lived a powerful chief named Secocoeni. Between this chief and the +Transvaal Government difficulties arose in the beginning of 1876 on the +usual subject--land. The Boers declared that they had bought the land +from the Swazies, who had conquered portions of the country, and +that the Swazies offered to make it "clean from brambles," i.e., kill +everybody living on it; but that they (the Boers) said that they were +to let them be, that they might be their servants. The Basutus, on the +other hand, said that no such sale ever took place, and, even if it did +take place, it was invalid, because the Swazies were not in occupation +of the land, and therefore could not sell it. It was a Christian Kafir +called Johannes, a brother of Secocoeni, who was the immediate cause +of the war. This Johannes used to live at a place called Botsobelo, +the mission-station of Mr. Merensky, but moved to a stronghold on the +Spekboom river, in the disputed territory. The Boers sent to him to come +back, but he refused, and warned the Boers off his land. Secocoeni was +then appealed to, but declared that the land belonged to his tribe, and +would be occupied by Johannes. He also told the Boers "that he did not +wish to fight, but that he was quite ready to do so if they preferred +it." Thereupon the Transvaal Government declared war, although it does +not appear that the natives committed any outrage or acts of hostility +before the declaration. As regards the Boers' right to Secocoeni's +country, Sir H. Barkly sums up the question thus, in a despatch +addressed to President Burgers, dated 28th Nov. 1876:--"On the whole, it +seems perfectly clear, and I feel bound to repeat it, that Sikukuni +was neither _de jure_ or _de facto_ a subject of the Republic when your +Honour declared war against him in June last." As soon as war had been +declared, the clumsy commando system was set working, and about +2500 white men collected; the Swazies also were applied to to send a +contingent, which they did, being only too glad of the opportunity of +slaughter. + +At first all went well, and the President, who accompanied the commando +in person, succeeded in reducing a mountain stronghold, which, in his +high-flown way, he called a "glorious victory" over a "Kafir Gibraltar." + +On the 14th July another engagement took place, when the Boers and +Swazies attacked Johannes' stronghold. The place was taken with +circumstances of great barbarity by the Swazies, for when the signal +was given to advance the Boers did not move. Nearly all the women were +killed, and the brains of the children were dashed out against the +stones; in one instance, before the captive mother's face. Johannes was +badly wounded, and died two days afterwards. When he was dying he said +to his brother, "I am going to die. I am thankful I do not die by the +hands of these cowardly Boers, but by the hand of a black and courageous +nation like myself . . ." He then took leave of his people, told his +brother to read the Bible, and expired. The Swazies were so infuriated +at the cowardice displayed by the Boers on this occasion that they +returned home in great dudgeon. + +On the 2nd of August Secocoeni's mountain, which is a very strong +fortification, was attacked in two columns, or rather an attempt was +made to attack it, for when it came to the pinch only about forty men, +mostly English and Germans, would advance. Thereupon the whole commando +retreated with great haste, the greater part of it going straight home. +In vain the President entreated them to shoot him rather than desert +him; they had had enough of Secocoeni and his stronghold, and home they +went. The President then retreated with what few men he had left to +Steelport, where he built a fort, and from thence returned to Pretoria. +The news of the collapse of the commando was received throughout the +Transvaal, and indeed the whole of South Africa, with the greatest +dismay. For the first time in the history of that country the white man +had been completely worsted by a native tribe, and that tribe wretched +Basutus, people whom the Zulus call their "dogs." It was glad tidings to +every native from the Zambesi to the Cape, who learnt thereby that +the white man was not so invincible as he used to be. Meanwhile the +inhabitants of Lydenburg were filled with alarm, and again and again +petitioned the Governors of the Cape and Natal for assistance. Their +fears were, however, to a great extent groundless, for, with the +exception of occasional cattle-lifting, Secocoeni did not follow up his +victory. + +On the 4th September the President opened the special sitting of the +Volksraad, and presented to that body a scheme for the establishment of +a border force to take the place of the commando system, announcing that +he had appointed a certain Captain Von Schlickmann to command it. He +also requested the Raad to make some provision for the expenses of the +expedition, which they had omitted to do in their former sitting. + +Captain Von Schlickmann determined to carry on the war upon a different +system. He got together a band of very rough characters on the Diamond +Fields, and occupied the fort built by the President, from whence he +would sally out from time to time and destroy kraals. He seems, if +we may believe the reports in the blue books and the stories of +eye-witnesses, to have carried on his proceedings in a somewhat savage +way. The following is an extract from a private letter written by one of +his volunteers:-- + +"About daylight we came across four Kafirs. Saw them first, and charged +in front of them to cut off their retreat. Saw they were women, and +called out not to fire. In spite of that, one of the poor things got her +head blown off (a d----d shame). . . . Afterwards two women and a baby +were brought to the camp prisoners. The same night they were taken out +by our Kafirs and murdered in cold blood by the order of ----. Mr. ---- +and myself strongly protested against it, but without avail. I never +heard such a cowardly piece of business in my life. No good will come +of it, you may depend. . . . ---- says he would cut all the women and +children's throats he catches. Told him distinctly he was a d----d +coward." + +Schlickmann was, however, a mild-mannered man when compared to a certain +Abel Erasmus, afterwards denounced at a public dinner by Sir Garnet +Wolseley as a "fiend in human form." This gentleman, in the month of +October, attacked a friendly kraal of Kafirs. The incident is described +thus in a correspondent's letter:-- + +"The people of the kraals, taken quite by surprise, fled when they saw +their foes, and most of them took shelter in the neighbouring bush. Two +or three men were distinctly seen in their flight from the kraal, and +one of them is known to have been wounded. According to my informant the +remainder were women and children, who were pursued into the bush, and +there, all shivering and shrieking, were put to death by the Boers' +Kafirs, some being shot, but the majority stabbed with assegais. After +the massacre he counted thirteen women and three children, but he says +he did not see the body of a single man. Another Kafir said, pointing to +a place in the road where the stones were thickly strewn, 'the bodies +of the women and children lay like these stones.' The Boer before +mentioned, who has been stationed outside, has told one of his own +friends, whom he thought would not mention it, that the shrieks were +fearful to hear." + +Several accounts of, or allusion to, this atrocity can be found in the +blue books, and I may add that it, in common with others of the same +stamp, was the talk of the country at the time. + +I do not relate these horrors out of any wish to rake up old stories to +the prejudice of the Boers, but because I am describing the state of +the country before the Annexation, in which they form an interesting and +important item. Also, it is as well that people in England should know +into what hands they have delivered over the native tribes who trusted +in their protection. What happened in 1876 is probably happening again +now, and will certainly happen again and again. The character of the +Transvaal Boer and his sentiments towards the native races have not +modified during the last five years, but, on the contrary, a large +amount of energy, which has been accumulating during the period of +British protection, will now be expended on their devoted heads. + +As regards the truth of these atrocities, the majority of them are +beyond the possibility of doubt; indeed, to the best of my knowledge, no +serious attempt has ever been made to refute such of them as have come +into public notice, except in a general way, for party purposes. As, +however, they may be doubted, I will quote the following extract from a +despatch written by Sir H. Barkly to Lord Carnarvon, dated 18th December +1876:-- + +"As Von Schlickmann has since fallen fighting bravely, it is not without +reluctance that I join in affixing this dark stain on his memory, but +truth compels me to add the following extract from a letter which I have +since received from one whose name (which I communicate to your Lordship +privately) forbids disbelief: 'There is no longer the _slightest doubt_ +as to the murder of the two women and the child at Steelport by the +direct order of Schlickmann, and in the attack on the kraal near which +these women were captured (or some attack about that period) he ordered +his men to cut the throats of all the wounded! This is no mere report; +it is positively true.'" He concludes by expressing a hope that the +course of events will enable Her Majesty's Government to take such steps +"as will terminate this wanton and useless bloodshed, and prevent +the recurrence of the _scenes of injustice, cruelty, and rapine which +abundant evidence is every day forthcoming to prove have rarely ceased +to disgrace the Republics beyond the Vaal ever since they first sprang +into existence._"[*] + + [*] The italics are my own.--Author. + +These are strong words, but none too strong for the facts of the case. +Injustice, cruelty, and rapine have always been the watchwords of the +Transvaal Boers. The stories of wholesale slaughter in the earlier +days of the Republic are very numerous. One of the best known of those +shocking occurrences took place in the Zoutpansberg war in 1865. On this +occasion a large number of Kafirs took refuge in caves, where the Boers +smoked them to death. Some years afterwards Dr. Wangeman, whose account +is, I believe, thoroughly reliable, describes the scene of their +operations in these words:-- + +"The roof of the first cave was black with smoke; the remains of the +logs which were burnt lay at the entrance. The floor was strewn with +hundreds of skulls and skeletons. In confused heaps lay karosses, +kerries, assegais, pots, spoons, snuff-boxes, and the bones of men, +giving one the impression that this was the grave of a whole people. +Some estimate the number of those who perished here from twenty to +thirty thousand. This is, I believe, too high. In the one chamber there +were from two hundred to three hundred skeletons; the other chambers I +did not visit." + +In 1868 a public meeting was held at Potchefstroom to consider the war +then going on with the Zoutpansberg natives. According to the report of +the proceedings, the Rev. Mr. Ludorf said that "on a particular occasion +a number of native children, who were too young to be removed, had been +collected in a heap, covered with long grass, and burned alive. Other +atrocities had also been committed, but these were too horrible to +relate." When called upon to produce his authority for this statement, +Mr. Ludorf named his authority "in a solemn declaration to the State +Attorney." At this same meeting Mr. J. G. Steyn, who had been Landdrost +of Potchefstroom, said "there now was innocent blood on our hands which +had not yet been avenged, and the curse of God rested on the land in +consequence." Mr. Rosalt remarked that "it was a singular circumstance +that in the different colonial Kafir wars, as also in the Basutu wars, +one did not hear of destitute children being found by the commandoes, +and asked how it was that every petty commando that took the field in +this Republic invariably found numbers of destitute children. He gave +it as his opinion that the present system of apprenticeship was an +essential cause of our frequent hostilities with the natives." Mr. Jan +Talyard said, "Children were forcibly taken from their parents, and were +then called destitute and apprenticed." Mr. Daniel Van Nooren was +heard to say, "If they had to clear the country, and could not have the +children they found, he would shoot them." Mr. Field-Cornet Furstenburg +stated "that when he was at Zoutpansberg with his burghers, the chief +Katse-Kats was told to come down from the mountains; that he sent one of +his subordinates as a proof of amity; that whilst a delay of five days +was guaranteed by Commandant Paul Kruger, who was then in command, +orders were given at the same time to attack the natives at break of +day, which was accordingly done, but which resulted in total failure." +Truly, this must have been an interesting meeting. + +Before leaving these unsavoury subjects, I must touch on the question of +slavery. It has been again and again denied, on behalf of the Transvaal +Boers, that slavery existed in the Republic. Now, this is, strictly +speaking, true; slavery did not exist, but apprenticeship did--the rose +was called by another name, that is all. The poor destitute children who +were picked up by kindhearted Boers, after the extermination of their +parents, were apprenticed to farmers till they came of age. It is a +remarkable fact that these children never attained their majority. You +might meet oldish men in the Transvaal who were not, according to their +masters' reckoning, twenty-one years of age. The assertion that slavery +did not exist in the Transvaal is only made to hoodwink the English +public. I have known men who have owned slaves, and who have seen whole +waggon-loads of "black ivory," as they were called, sold for about 15 +pounds a-piece. I have at this moment a tenant, Carolus by name, on some +land I own in Natal, now a well-to-do man, who was for many years--about +twenty, if I remember right--a Boer slave. During those years, he told +me, he worked from morning till night, and the only reward he received +was two calves. He finally escaped into Natal. + +If other evidence is needed it is not difficult to find, so I will quote +a little. On the 22d August 1876 we find Khama, king of the Bamangwato, +one of the most worthy chiefs in South Africa, sending a message to +"Victoria, the great Queen of the English people," in these words:-- + +"I write to you, Sir Henry, in order that your Queen may preserve for me +my country, it being in her hands. The Boers are coming into it, and I +do not like them. Their actions are cruel among us black people. We are +like money, they sell us and our children. I ask Her Majesty to pity +me, and to hear that which I write quickly. I wish to hear upon what +conditions Her Majesty will receive me, and my country and my people, +under her protection. I am weary with fighting. I do not like war, and +I ask Her Majesty to give me peace. I am very much distressed that my +people are being destroyed by war, and I wish them to obtain peace. I +ask Her Majesty to defend me, as she defends all her people. There +are three things which distress me very much--war, selling people, +and drink. All these things I shall find in the Boers, and it is these +things which destroy people to make an end of them in the country. _The +custom of the Boers has always been to cause people to be sold, and +to-day they are still selling people._ Last year I saw them pass with +two waggons full of people whom they had bought at the river at Tanane" +(Lake Ngate). + +The Special Correspondence of the "Cape Argus," a highly respectable +journal, writes thus on the 28th November 1876:--"The Boer from whom +this information was gleaned has furnished besides some facts which may +not be uninteresting, as a commentary on the repeated denials by Mr. +Burgers of the existence of slavery. During the last week slaves have +been offered for sale on his farm. The captives have been taken from +Secocoeni's country by Mapoch's people, and are being exchanged at the +rate of a child for a heifer. He also assures us that the whole of the +Highveld is bring replenished with Kafir children, whom the Boers have +been lately purchasing from the Swazies at the rate of a horse for a +child. I should like to see this man and his father as witnesses before +an Imperial Commission. He let fall one or two incidents of the past +which were brought to mind by the occurrences of the present. In 1864, +he says, 'The Swazies accompanied the Boers against Males. The Boers did +nothing but stand by and witness the fearful massacre. The men and women +were also murdered. One poor woman sat clutching her baby of eight days +old. The Swazies stabbed her through the body, and when she found that +she could not live, she wrung the baby's neck with her own hands to save +it from future misery. On the return of that Commando the children who +became too weary to continue the journey were killed on the road. The +survivors were sold as slaves to the farmers.'" + +The same gentleman writes in the issue of the 12th December +as follows:--"The whole world may know it, for it is true, and +investigation will only bring out the horrible details, that through the +whole course of this Republic's existence it has acted in contravention +of the Sand River Treaty; and slavery has occurred not only here and +there in isolated cases, but as an unbroken practice, and has been +one of the peculiar institutions of the country, mixed up with all its +social and political life. It has been at the root of most of its wars. +It has been carried on regularly even in times of peace. It has been +characterised by all those circumstances which have so often roused +the British nation to an indignant protest, and to repeated efforts to +banish the slave trade from the world. The Boers have not only fallen +on unsuspecting kraals simply for the purpose of obtaining the women and +children and cattle, but they have carried on a traffic through natives +who have kidnapped the children of their weaker neighbours, and sold +them to the white man. Again, the Boers have sold and exchanged their +victims among themselves. Waggon-loads of slaves have been conveyed +from one end of the country to the other for sale, and that with the +cognisance of, and for the direct advantage of, the highest officials of +the land. The writer has himself seen in a town, situated in the south +of the Republic, the children who had been brought down from a remote +northern district. One fine morning, in walking through the streets, +he was struck with the number of little black strangers standing about +certain houses, and wondered where they could have come from. He learnt +a few hours later that they were part of loads which were disposed of +on the outskirts of the town the day before. The circumstances connected +with some of these kidnapping excursions are appalling, and the +barbarities practised by cruel masters upon some of these defenceless +creatures during the course of their servitude are scarcely less +horrible than those reported from Turkey. It is no disgrace in this +country for an official to ride a fine horse which was got for two Kafir +children, to procure whom the father and mother were shot. No reproach +is inherited by the mistress who, day after day, tied up her female +servant in an agonising posture, and had her beaten until there was no +sound part in her body, securing her in the stocks during the intervals +of torture. That man did not lose caste who tied up another woman and +had her thrashed until she brought forth at the whipping-post. These +are merely examples of thousands of cases which could be proved were +an Imperial Commission to sit, and could the wretched victims of a +prolonged oppression recover sufficiently from the dread of their old +tyrants to give a truthful report." + +To come to some evidence more recently adduced. On the 9th May 1881, an +affidavit was sworn to by the Rev. John Thorne, curate of St. John the +Evangelist, Lydenburg, Transvaal, and presented to the Royal Commission +appointed to settle Transvaal affairs, in which he states:--"That I +was appointed to the charge of a congregation in Potchefstroom, about +thirteen years ago, when the Republic was under the presidency of Mr. +Pretorius.[*] I remember noticing one morning, as I walked through +the streets, a number of young natives, whom I knew to be strangers. +I inquired where they came from. I was told that they had just been +brought from Zoutpansberg. This was the locality from which slaves were +chiefly brought at that time, and were traded for under the name of +'Black Ivory.' One of these natives belonged to Mr. Munich, the State +Attorney. It was a matter of common remark at that time, that the +President of the Republic was himself one of the greatest dealers in +slaves." In the fourth paragraph of the same affidavit Mr. Thorne says, +"That the Rev. Doctor Nachtigal, of the Berlin Missionary Society, was +the interpreter for Shatane's people in the private office of Mr. Roth, +and, at the close of the interview, told me what had occurred. On my +expressing surprise, he went on to relate that he had information on +native matters which would surprise me more. He then produced the +copy of a register, kept in the landdrost's office, of men, women, and +children, to the number of four hundred and eighty (480), who had been +disposed of by one Boer to another for a consideration. In one case an +ox was given in exchange, in another goats, in a third a blanket, and +so forth. Many of these natives he (Mr. Nachtigal) knew personally. The +copy was certified as true and correct by an official of the Republic, +and I would mention his name now, only that I am persuaded that it would +cost the man his life if his act became known to the Boers." + + [*] One of the famous Triumvirate. + +On the 16th May 1881, a native, named Frederick Molepo, was examined by +the Royal Commission. The following are extracts from his examination:-- + +"(Sir E. Wood.) Are you a Christian?--Yes. + +"(Sir H. de Villiers.) How long were you a slave?--Half a year. + +"How do you know that you were a slave? Might you not have been an +apprentice?--No, I was not apprenticed. + +"How do you know?--They got me from my parents, and ill-treated me. + +"(Sir E. Wood.) How many times did you get the stick?--Every day. + +"(Sir H. de Villiers.) What did the Boers do with you when they caught +you?--They sold me. + +"How much did they sell you for?--One cow and a big pot." + +On the 28th May 1881, amongst the other documents handed in for the +consideration of the Royal Commission, is the statement of a headman, +whose name it has been considered advisable to omit in the blue book for +fear the Boers should take vengeance on him. He says, "I say, that if +the English Government dies I shall die too; I would rather die than be +under the Boer Government. I am the man who helped to make bricks for +the church you see now standing in the square here (Pretoria), as a +slave without payment. As a representative of my people I am still +obedient to the English Government, and willing to obey all commands +from them, even to die for their cause in this country, rather than +submit to the Boers. + +"I was under Shambok, my chief, who fought the Boers formerly, but he +left us, and we were _put up to auction_ and sold among the Boers. I +want to state this myself to the Royal Commission in Newcastle. I was +bought by Fritz Botha and sold by Frederick Botha, who was then veld +cornet (justice of the peace) of the Boers."[*] + + [*] I have taken the liberty to quote all these extracts + exactly as they stand in the original, instead of weaving + their substance into my narrative, in order that I may not + be accused, as so often happens to authors who write upon + this subject, of having presented a garbled version of the + truth. The original of every extract is to be found in blue + books presented to Parliament. I have thought it best to + confine myself to these, and avoid repeating stories of + cruelties and slavery, however well authenticated, that have + come to my knowledge privately, such stories being always + more or less open to suspicion. + +It would be easy to find more reports of the slave-trading practices of +the Boers, but as the above are fair samples it will not be necessary +to do so. My readers will be able from them to form some opinion as to +whether or not slavery or apprenticeship existed in the Transvaal. If +they come to the conclusion that it did, it must be borne in mind that +what existed in the past will certainly exist again in the future. +Natives are not now any fonder of working for Boers than they were a few +years back, and Boers must get labour somehow. If, on the other hand, +it did not exist, then the Boers are a grossly slandered people, and +all writers on the subject, from Livingstone down, have combined to take +away their character. + +Leaving native questions for the present, we must now return to the +general affairs of the country. When President Burgers opened the +special sitting of the Volksraad, on the 4th September, he appealed, +it will be remembered, to that body for pecuniary aid to liquidate the +expenses of the war. This appeal was responded to by the passing of a +war tax, under which every owner of a farm was to pay 10 pounds, the +owner of half a farm 5 pounds, and so on. The tax was not a very just +one, since it fell with equal weight on the rich man, who held twenty +farms, and the poor man, who held but one. Its justice or injustice was, +however, to a great extent immaterial, since the free and independent +burghers, including some of the members of the Volksraad who had imposed +it, promptly refused to pay it, or indeed, whilst they were about it, +any other tax. As the Treasury was already empty, and creditors were +pressing, this refusal was most ill-timed, and things began to look very +black indeed. Meanwhile, in addition to the ordinary expenditure, +and the interest payable on debts, money had to be found to pay Von +Schlickmann's volunteers. As there was no cash in the country, this was +done by issuing Government promissory notes, known as "goodfors," or +vulgarly as "good for nothings," and by promising them all booty, and to +each man a farm of two thousand acres, lying east and north-east of the +Loolu mountains; in other words, in Secocoeni's territory, which did not +belong to the Government to give away. The officials were the next +to suffer, and for six months before the Annexation these unfortunate +individuals lived as best they could, for they certainly got no salary, +except in the case of a postmaster, who was told to help himself to his +pay in stamps. The Government issued large numbers of bills, but the +banks refused to discount them, and in some cases the neighbouring +Colonies had to advance money to the Transvaal post-cart contractors, +who were carrying the mails, as a matter of charity. The Government even +mortgaged the great salt-pan near Pretoria for the paltry sum of 400 +pounds, whilst the leading officials of the Government were driven +to pledging their own private credit in order to obtain the smallest +article necessary to its continuance. In fact, to such a pass did things +come that when the country was annexed a single threepenny bit (which +had doubtless been overlooked) was found in the Treasury chest, together +with acknowledgments of debts to the extent of nearly 300,000 pounds. + +Nor was the refusal to pay taxes, which they were powerless to enforce, +the only difficulty with which the Government had to contend. Want of +money is as bad and painful a thing to a State as to an individual, but +there are perhaps worse things than want of money, one of which is to be +deserted by your own friends and household. This was the position of the +Government of the Republic; no sooner was it involved in overwhelming +difficulties than its own subjects commenced to bait it, more especially +the English portion of its subjects. They complained to the English +authorities about the commandeering of members of their family or goods; +they petitioned the British Government to interfere, and generally made +themselves as unpleasant as possible to the local Authorities. Such a +course of action was perhaps natural, but it can hardly be said to be +either quite logical or just. The Transvaal Government had never asked +them to come and live in the country, and if they did so, it must be +remembered that many of the agitators had accumulated property, to leave +which would mean ruin; and they saw that, unless something was done, its +value would be destroyed. + +Under the pressure of all these troubles the Boers themselves split up +into factions, as they are always ready to do. The Dopper party +declared that they had had enough progress, and proposed the extremely +conservative Paul Kruger as President, Burgers' time having nearly +expired. Paul Kruger accepted the candidature, although he had +previously promised his support to Burgers, and distrust of each other +was added to the other difficulties of the Executive, the Transvaal +becoming a house very much divided against itself. Natives, Doppers, +Progressionists, Officials, English, were all pulling different ways, +and each striving for his own advantage. Anything more hopeless than +the position of the country on the 1st January 1877 it is impossible to +conceive. Enemies surrounded it; on every border there was the prospect +of a serious war. In the exchequer there was nothing but piles of +overdue bills. The President was helpless, and mistrustful of his +officers, and the officers were caballing against the President. All the +ordinary functions of Government had ceased, and trade was paralysed. +Now and then wild proposals were made to relieve the State of its +burdens, some of which partook of the nature of repudiation, but these +were the exception; the majority of the inhabitants, who would neither +fight nor pay taxes, sat still and awaited the catastrophe, utterly +careless of all consequences. + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE ANNEXATION + +_Anxiety of Lord Carnarvon--Despatch of Sir T. Shepstone as Special +Commissioner to the Transvaal--Sir T. Shepstone, his great experience +and ability--His progress to Pretoria and reception there--Feelings +excited by the arrival of the mission--The annexation _not_ a foregone +conclusion--Charge brought against Sir T. Shepstone of having called up +the Zulu army to sweep the Transvaal--Its complete falsehood--Cetywayo's +message to Sir T. Shepstone--Evidence on the matter summed up--General +desire of the natives for English rule--Habitual disregard of their +interests--Assembly of the Volksraad--Rejection of Lord Carnarvon's +Confederation Bill and of President Burgers' new constitution-- +President Burgers' speeches to the Raad--His posthumous statement +--Communication to the Raad of Sir T. Shepstone's intention to annex the +country--Despatch of Commission to inquire into the alleged peace with +Secocoeni--Its fraudulent character discovered--Progress of affairs +in the Transvaal--Paul Kruger and his party--Restlessness of +natives--Arrangements for the annexation--The annexation proclamation._ + +The state of affairs described in the previous chapter was one that +filled the Secretary of State for the Colonies with alarm. During his +tenure of office, Lord Carnarvon evidently had the permanent welfare +of South Africa much at heart, and he saw with apprehension that the +troubles that were brewing in the Transvaal were of a nature likely to +involve the Cape and Natal in a native war. Though there is a broad line +of demarcation between Dutch and English, it is not so broad but that +a victorious nation like the Zulus might cross it, and beginning by +fighting the Boer, might end by fighting the white man irrespective of +race. When the reader reflects how terrible would be the consequences of +a combination of native tribes against the Whites, and how easily such +a combination might at that time have been brought about in the first +flush of native successes, he will understand the anxiety with which all +thinking men watched the course of events in the Transvaal in 1876. + +At last they took such a serious turn that the Home Government saw that +some action must be taken if the catastrophe was to be averted, and +determined to despatch Sir Theophilus Shepstone as Special Commissioner +to the Transvaal, with powers, should it be necessary, to annex the +country to Her Majesty's dominions, "in order to secure the peace and +safety of Our said colonies and of Our subjects elsewhere." + +The terms of his Commission were unusually large, leaving a great deal +to his discretionary power. In choosing that officer for the execution +of a most difficult and delicate mission, the Government, doubtless, +made a very wise selection. Sir Theophilus Shepstone is a man of +remarkable tact and ability, combined with great openness and simplicity +of mind, and one whose name will always have a leading place in South +African history. During a long official lifetime he has had to do with +most of the native races in South Africa, and certainly knows them and +their ways better than any living man; whilst he is by them all regarded +with a peculiar and affectionate reverence. He is _par excellence_ their +great white chief and "father," and a word from him, even now that he +has retired from active life, still carries more weight than the formal +remonstrances of any governor in South Africa. + +With the Boers he is almost equally well acquainted, having known many +of them personally for years. He possesses, moreover, the rare power of +winning the regard and affection, as well as the respect, of those about +him in such a marked degree that those who have served him once would +go far to serve him again. Sir T. Shepstone, however, has enemies like +other people, and is commonly reported among them to be a disciple of +Machiavelli, and to have his mind steeped in all the darker wiles of +Kafir policy. The Annexation of the Transvaal is by them attributed to +a successful and vigorous use of those arts that distinguished the +diplomacy of two centuries ago. Falsehood and bribery are supposed to +have been the great levers used to effect the change, together with +threats of extinction at the hands of a savage and unfriendly nation. + +That the Annexation was a triumph of mind over matter is quite true, but +whether or not that triumph was unworthily obtained, I will leave those +who read this short chronicle of the events connected with it to judge. +I saw it somewhat darkly remarked in a newspaper the other day that the +history of the Annexation had evidently yet to be written; and I fear +that the remark represents the feeling of most people about the +event; implying as it did, that it was carried out, by means certainly +mysterious, and presumably doubtful. I am afraid that those who think +thus will be disappointed in what I have to say about the matter, since +I know that the means employed to bring the Boers-- + +"Fracti bello, fatisque repulsi"-- + +under her Majesty's authority were throughout as fair and honest as the +Annexation itself was, in my opinion, right and necessary. + +To return to Sir T. Shepstone. He undoubtedly had faults as a ruler, +one of the most prominent of which was that his natural mildness of +character would never allow him to act with severity even when severity +was necessary. The very criminals condemned to death ran a good chance +of reprieve when he had to sign their death-warrants. He had also +that worst of faults (so called), in one fitted by nature to become +great--want of ambition, a failing that in such a man marks him the +possessor of an even and a philosophic mind. It was no seeking of his +own that raised him out of obscurity, and when his work was done to +comparative obscurity he elected to return, though whether a man of his +ability and experience in South African affairs should, at the present +crisis, be allowed to remain there, is another question. + +On the 20th December 1876, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President Burgers, +informing him of his approaching visit to the Transvaal, to secure, if +possible, the adjustment of the existing troubles, and the adoption of +such measures as might be best calculated to prevent their recurrence in +the future. + +On his road to Pretoria, Sir Theophilus received a hearty welcome from +the Boer as well as the English inhabitants of the country. One of +these addresses to him says: "Be assured, high honourable Sir, that we +burghers, now assembled together, entertain the most friendly feeling +towards your Government, and that we shall agree with anything you may +do in conjunction with our Government for the progress of our State, the +strengthening against our native enemies, and for the general welfare of +all the inhabitants of the whole of South Africa. Welcome in Heidelberg, +and welcome in the Transvaal." + +At Pretoria the reception of the Special Commissioner was positively +enthusiastic; the whole town came out to meet him, and the horses having +been taken out of the carriage, he was dragged in triumph through the +streets. In his reply to the address presented to him, Sir Theophilus +shadowed forth the objects of his mission in these words: "Recent events +in this country have shown to all thinking men the absolute necessity +for closer union and more oneness of purpose among the Christian +Governments of the southern portion of this Continent: the best +interests of the native races, no less than the peace and prosperity +of the white, imperatively demand it, and I rely upon you and upon your +Government to co-operate with me in endeavouring to achieve the great +and glorious end of inscribing on a general South African banner the +appropriate motto--'Eendragt maakt magt' (Unity makes strength)." + +A few days after his arrival a commission was appointed, consisting of +Messrs. Henderson and Osborn, on behalf of the Special Commissioner, and +Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen, on behalf of the Transvaal Government, to +discuss the state of the country. This commission came to nothing, and +was on both sides nothing more than a bit of by-play. + +The arrival of the mission was necessarily regarded with mixed feelings +by the inhabitants of the Transvaal. By one party it was eagerly +greeted, viz., the English section of the population, who devoutly +hoped that it had come to annex the country. With the exception of the +Hollander element, the officials also were glad of its arrival, and +secretly hoped that the country would be taken over, when there would be +more chance of their getting their arrear pay. The better educated Boers +also were for the most part satisfied that there was no hope for the +country unless England helped it in some way, though they did not like +having to accept the help. But the more bigoted and narrow-minded among +them were undoubtedly opposed to English interference, and under their +leader, Paul Kruger, who was at the time running for the President's +chair, did their best to be rid of it. They found ready allies in the +Hollander clientele, with which Mr. Burgers had surrounded himself, +headed by the famous Dr. Jorissen, who was, like most of the rulers of +this singular State, an ex-clergyman, but now an Attorney-general, not +learned in the law. These men were for the most part entirely unfit for +the positions they held, and feared that in the event of the country +changing hands they might be ejected from them; and also, they did all +Englishmen the favour to regard them, with that particularly virulent +and general hatred which is a part of the secret creed of many +foreigners, more especially of such as are under our protection. As may +easily be imagined, what between all these different parties and the +presence of the Special Commissioner, there were certainly plenty of +intrigues going on in Pretoria during the first few months of 1877, +and the political excitement was very great. Nobody knew how far Sir T. +Shepstone was prepared to go, and everybody was afraid of putting out +his hand further than he could pull it back, and trying to make himself +comfortable on two stools at once. Members of the Volksraad and other +prominent individuals in the country who had during the day been +denouncing the Commissioner in no measured terms, and even proposing +that he and his staff should be shot as a warning to the English +Government, might be seen arriving at his house under cover of the +shades of evening, to have a little talk with him, and express the +earnest hope that it was his intention to annex the country as soon as +possible. It is necessary to assist at a peaceable annexation to learn +the depth of meanness human nature is capable of. + +In Pretoria, at any rate, the ladies were of great service to the cause +of the mission, since they were nearly all in favour of a change of +government, and, that being the case, they naturally soon brought their +husbands, brothers, and lovers to look at things from the same point +of view. It was a wise man who said that in any matter where it is +necessary to obtain the goodwill of a population you should win over the +women; that done, you need not trouble yourself about the men. + +Though the country was thus overflowing with political intrigues, +nothing of the kind went on in the Commissioner's camp. It was not he +who made the plots to catch the Transvaalers; on the contrary, they made +the plots to catch him. For several months all that he did was to sit +still and let the rival passions work their way, fighting what the Zulus +afterwards called the "fight of sit down." When anybody came to see him +he was very glad to meet them, pointed out the desperate condition of +the country, and asked them if they could suggest a remedy. And that was +about all he did do, beyond informing himself very carefully as to +all that was going on in the country, and the movements of the natives +within and outside its borders. There was no money spent on bribery, as +has been stated, though it is impossible to imagine a state of affairs +in which it would have been more easy to bribe, or in which it could +have been done with greater effect; unless indeed the promise that some +pension should be paid to President Burgers can be called a bribe, which +it was certainly never intended to be, but simply a guarantee that after +having spent all his private means on behalf of the State he should not +be left destitute. The statement that the Annexation was effected +under a threat that if the Government did not give its consent Sir T. +Shepstone would let loose the Zulus on the country is also a wicked and +malicious invention, but with this I shall deal more at length further +on. + +It must not, however, be understood that the Annexation was a foregone +conclusion, or that Sir T. Shepstone came up to the Transvaal with +the fixed intention of annexing the country without reference to its +position, merely with a view of extending British influence, or, as +has been absurdly stated, in order to benefit Natal. He had no fixed +purpose, whether it were necessary or no, of exercising the full powers +given to him by his commission; on the contrary, he was all along most +anxious to find some internal resources within the State by means of +which Annexation could be averted, and of this fact his various letters +and despatches give full proof. Thus, in his letter to President +Burgers, of the 9th April 1877, in which he announces his intention +of annexing the country, he says: "I have more than once assured your +Honour that if I could think of any plan by which the independence of +the State could be maintained by its own internal resources I would +most certainly not conceal that plan from you." It is also incidentally +remarkably confirmed by a passage in Mr. Burgers' posthumous defence, in +which he says: "Hence I met Shepstone alone in my house, and opened up +the subject of his mission. With a candour that astonished me, he avowed +that his purpose was to annex the country, as he had sufficient grounds +for it, unless I could so alter as to satisfy his Government. My plan of +a new constitution, modelled after that of America, of a standing police +force of two hundred mounted men, was then proposed. He promised to give +me time to call the Volksraad together, and to _abandon his design_ if +the Volksraad would adopt these measures, and the country be willing to +submit to them, and to carry them out." Further on he says: "In justice +to Shepstone I must say that I would not consider an officer of my +Government to have acted faithfully if he had not done what Shepstone +did." + +It has also been frequently alleged in England, and always seems to be +taken as the groundwork of argument in the matter of the Annexation, +that the Special Commissioner represented that the majority of the +inhabitants wished for the Annexation, and that it was sanctioned on +that ground. This statement shows the great ignorance that exists in +this country of South African affairs, an ignorance which in this case +has been carefully fostered by Mr. Gladstone's Government for party +purposes, they having found it necessary to assume, in order to make +their position in the matter tenable, that Sir T. Shepstone and other +Officials had been guilty of misrepresentation. Unfortunately, the +Government and its supporters have been more intent upon making out +their case than upon ascertaining the truth of their statements. If they +had taken the trouble to refer to Sir T. Shepstone's despatches, they +would have found that the ground on which the Transvaal was annexed was, +not because the majority of the inhabitants wished for it, but because +the State was drifting into anarchy, was bankrupt, and was about to be +destroyed by native tribes. They would further have found that Sir +T. Shepstone never represented that the majority of the Boers were in +favour of Annexation. What he did say was that most thinking men in the +country saw no other way out of the difficulty; but what proportion of +the Boers can be called "thinking men?" He also said, in the fifteenth +paragraph of his despatch to Lord Carnarvon of 6th March 1877, that +petitions signed by 2500 people, representing every class of the +community, out of a total adult population of 8000, had been presented +to the Government of the Republic, setting forth its difficulties and +dangers, and praying it "to treat with me for their amelioration or +removal." He also stated, and with perfect truth, that many more would +have signed had it not been for the terrorism that was exercised, and +that all the towns and villages in the country desired the change, which +was a patent fact. + +This is the foundation on which the charge of misrepresentation is +built--a charge which has been manipulated so skilfully, and with such a +charming disregard for the truth, that the British public has been duped +into believing it. When it is examined into, it vanishes into thin air. + +But a darker charge has been brought against the Special Commissioner--a +charge affecting his honour as a gentleman and his character as a +Christian; and, strange to say, has gained a considerable credence, +especially amongst a certain party in England. I allude to the statement +that he called up the Zulu army with the intention of sweeping the +Transvaal if the Annexation was objected to. I may state, from my own +personal knowledge, that the report is a complete falsehood, and that +no such threat was ever made, either by Sir T. Shepstone or by anybody +connected with him, and I will briefly prove what I say. + +When the mission first arrived at Pretoria, a message came from Cetywayo +to the effect that he had heard that the Boers had fired at "Sompseu" +(Sir T. Shepstone), and announcing his intention of attacking the +Transvaal if "his father" was touched. About the middle of March +alarming rumours began to spread as to the intended action of Cetywayo +with reference to the Transvaal; but as Sir T. Shepstone did not think +that the king would be likely to make any hostile movement whilst he +was in the country, he took no steps in the matter. Neither did the +Transvaal Government ask his advice and assistance. Indeed, a remarkable +trait in the Boers is their supreme self-conceit, which makes them +believe that they are capable of subduing all the natives in Africa, +and of thrashing the whole British army if necessary. Unfortunately, the +recent course of events has tended to confirm them in their opinion +as regards their white enemies. To return: towards the second week in +April, or the week before the proclamation of annexation was issued, +things began to look very serious; indeed, rumours that could hardly be +discredited reached the Special Commissioner that the whole of the Zulu +army was collected in a chain of Impis or battalions, with the intention +of bursting into the Transvaal and sweeping the country. Knowing +how terrible would be the catastrophe if this were to happen, Sir T. +Shepstone was much alarmed about the matter, and at a meeting with the +Executive Council of the Transvaal Government he pointed out to them +the great danger in which the country was placed. This was done in the +presence of several officers of his Staff, and it was on this friendly +exposition of the state of affairs that the charge that he had +threatened the country with invasion by the Zulus was based. On the 11th +of April, or the day before the Annexation, a message was despatched +to Cetywayo, telling him of the reports that had reached Pretoria, +and stating that if they were true he must forthwith give up all +such intentions, as the Transvaal would at once be placed under the +sovereignty of Her Majesty, and that if he had assembled any armies +for purposes of aggression they must be disbanded at once. Sir T. +Shepstone's message reached Zululand not a day too soon. Had the +Annexation of the Transvaal been delayed by a few weeks even--and this +is a point which I earnestly beg Englishmen to remember in connection +with that act--Cetywayo's armies would have entered the Transvaal, +carrying death before them, and leaving a wilderness behind them. + +Cetywayo's answer to the Special Commissioner's message will +sufficiently show, to use Sir Theophilus' own words in his despatch on +the subject, "the pinnacle of peril which the Republic and South Africa +generally had reached at the moment when the Annexation took place." He +says, "I thank my Father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) for his message. I +am glad that he has sent it, because the Dutch have tired me out, and +I intended to fight them once and once only, and to drive them over +the Vaal. Kabana (name of messenger), you see my Impis (armies) are +gathered. It was to fight the Dutch I called them together; now I +will send them back to their homes. Is it well that two men +('amadoda-amabili') should be made 'iziula' (fools)? In the reign of my +father Umpanda the Boers were constantly moving their boundary further +into my country. Since his death the same thing has been done. I had +therefore determined to end it once for all!" The message then goes on +to other matters, and ends with a request to be allowed to fight the +Amaswazi, because "they fight together and kill one another. This," says +Cetywayo naively, "is wrong, and I want to chastise them for it." + +This quotation will suffice to convince all reasonable men, putting +aside all other matters, from what imminent danger the Transvaal was +delivered by the much-abused Annexation. + +Some months after that event, however, it occurred to the ingenious +mind of some malicious individual in Natal that, properly used, much +political capital might be made out of this Zulu incident, and the story +that Cetywayo's army had been called up by Sir Theophilus himself +to overawe, and, if necessary, subdue the Transvaal, was accordingly +invented and industriously circulated. Although Sir T. Shepstone at +once caused it to be authoritatively contradicted, such an astonishing +slander naturally took firm root, and on the 12th April 1879 we have Mr. +M. W. Pretorius, one of the Boer leaders, publicly stating at a meeting +of the farmers that "previous to the Annexation Sir T. Shepstone had +threatened the Transvaal with an attack from the Zulus as an argument +for advancing the Annexation." Under such an imputation the Government +could no longer keep silence, and accordingly Sir Owen Lanyon, who was +then Administrator of the Transvaal, caused the matter to be officially +investigated, with these results, which are summed up by him in a letter +to Mr. Pretorius, dated 1st May 1879:-- + +1. The records of the Republican Executive Council contained no allusion +to any such statement. + +2. Two members of that Council filed statements in which they +unreservedly denied that Sir T. Shepstone used the words or threats +imputed to him. + +3. Two officers of Sir T. Shepstone's staff, who were always present +with him at interviews with the Executive Council, filed statements to +the same effect. + +"I have no doubt," adds Sir Owen Lanyon, "that the report has been +originated and circulated by some evil-disposed persons." + +In addition to this evidence we have a letter written to the Colonial +Office by Sir T. Shepstone, dated London, August 12, 1879, in which +he points out that Mr. Pretorius was not even present at any of the +interviews with the Executive Council on which occasion he accuses him +of having made use of the threats. He further shows that the use of such +a threat on his part would have been the depth of folly, and "knowingly +to court the instant and ignominious failure of my mission," because +the Boers were so persuaded of their own prowess that they could not be +convinced that they stood in any danger from native sources, and also +because "such play with such keen-edged tools as the excited passions of +savages are, and especially such savages as I knew the Zulus to be, is +not what an experience of forty-two years in managing them inclined me +to." And yet, in the face of all this accumulated evidence, this report +continues to be believed, that is, by those who wished to believe it. + +Such are the accusations that have been brought against the manner +of the Annexation and the Officer who carried it out, and never were +accusations more groundless. Indeed both for party purposes, and from +personal animus, every means, fair or foul, has been used to discredit +it and all connected with it. To take a single instance, one author +(Miss Colenso, p. 134, "History of the Zulu War") actually goes the +length of putting a portion of a speech made by President Burgers into +the mouth of Sir T. Shepstone, and then abusing him for his incredible +profanity. Surely this exceeds the limits of fair criticism. + +Before I go on to the actual history of the Annexation there is one +point I wish to submit to my reader. In England the change of Government +has always been talked of as though it only affected the forty thousand +white inhabitants of the country, whilst everybody seems to forget +that this same land had about a million human beings living on it, its +original owners, and only, unfortunately for themselves, possessing a +black skin, and therefore entitled to little consideration,--even at the +hands of the most philanthropic Government in the world. It never seems +to have occurred to those who have raised so much outcry on behalf of +the forty thousand Boers, to inquire what was thought of the matter by +the million natives. If they were to be allowed a voice in their own +disposal, the country was certainly annexed by the wish of a very large +majority of its inhabitants. It is true that Secocoeni, instigated +thereto by the Boers, afterwards continued the war against us, but, with +the exception of this one chief, the advent of our rule was hailed with +joy by every native in the Transvaal, and even he was glad of it at the +time. During our period of rule in the Transvaal the natives have had, +as they foresaw, more peace than at any time since the white man set +foot in the land. They have paid their taxes gladly, and there has been +no fighting among themselves; but since we have given up the country +we hear a very different tale. It is this million of men, women, and +children who, notwithstanding their black skins, live and feel, and have +intelligence as much as ourselves, who are the principal, because the +most numerous sufferers from Mr. Gladstone's conjuring tricks, that can +turn a Sovereign into a Suzerain as airily as the professor of magic +brings a litter of guinea-pigs out of a top hat. It is our falsehood +and treachery to them whom we took over "for ever," as we told them, and +whom we have now handed back to their natural enemies to be paid off for +their loyalty to the Englishman, that is the blackest stain in all this +black business, and that has destroyed our prestige, and caused us to be +looked on amongst them, for they do not hide their opinion, as "cowards +and liars." + +But very little attention, however, seems to have been paid to native +views or claims at any time in the Transvaal; indeed they have all along +been treated as serfs of the soil, to be sold with it, if necessary, to +a new master. It is true that the Government, acting under pressure +from the Aborigines Protection Society, made, on the occasion of the +Surrender, a feeble effort to secure the independence of some of the +native tribes; but when the Boer leaders told them shortly that they +would have nothing of the sort, and that, if they were not careful, they +would reoccupy Laing's Nek, the proposal was at once dropped, with many +assurances that no offence was intended. The worst of the matter is that +this treatment of our native subjects and allies will assuredly recoil +on the heads of future innocent Governments. + +Shortly after the appointment of the Joint-Commission alluded to at the +beginning of this chapter, President Burgers, who was now in possession +of the Special Commissioner's intentions, should he be unable to carry +out reforms sufficiently drastic to satisfy the English Government, +thought it best to call together the Volksraad. In the meantime, it had +been announced that the "rebel" Secocoeni had sued for peace and signed +a treaty declaring himself a subject of the Republic. I shall have to +enter into the question of this treaty a little further on, so I will +at present only say that it was the first business laid before the Raad, +and, after some discussion, ratified. Next in order to the Secocoeni +peace came the question of Confederation, as laid down in Lord +Carnarvon's Permissive Bill. This proposal was laid before them in an +earnest and eloquent speech by their President, who entreated them +to consider the dangerous position of the Republic, and to face their +difficulties like men. The question was referred to a committee, and +an adverse report being brought up, was rejected without further +consideration. It is just possible that intimidation had something to do +with the summary treatment of so important a matter, seeing that whilst +it was being argued a large mob of Boers, looking very formidable with +their sea-cow hide whips, watched every move of their representatives +through the windows of the Volksraad Hall. It was Mr. Chamberlain's +caucus system in practical and visible operation. + +A few days after the rejection of the Confederation Bill, President +Burgers, who had frequently alluded to the desperate condition of the +Republic, and stated that either some radical reform must be effected +or the country must come under the British flag, laid before the Raad a +brand new constitution of a very remarkable nature, asserting that they +must either accept it or lose their independence. + +The first part of this strange document dealt with the people and their +rights, which remained much as they were before, with the exception that +the secrecy of all letters entrusted to the post was to be inviolable. +The recognition of this right is an amusing incident in the history of a +free Republic. Under following articles the Volksraad was entrusted with +the charge of the native inhabitants of the State, the provision for the +administration of justice, the conduct of education, the regulation of +money-bills, &c. It is in the fourth chapter, however, that we come +to the real gist of the Bill, which was the endowment of the State +President with the authority of a dictator. Mr. Burgers thought to save +the State by making himself an absolute monarch. He was to be elected +for a period of seven years instead of five years, and to be eligible +for re-election. In him was vested the power of making all appointments +without reference to the legislature. All laws were to be drawn up by +him, and he was to have the right of veto on Volksraad resolutions, +which body he could summon and dissolve at will. Finally, his Executive +Council was to consist of heads of departments appointed by himself, and +of one member of the Volksraad. The Volksraad treated this Bill in much +the same way as they had dealt with the Permissive Confederation Bill, +gave it a casual consideration, and threw it out. + +The President, meanwhile, was doing his best to convince the Raad of +the danger of the country; that the treasury was empty, whilst duns were +pressing, that enemies were threatening on every side, and, finally, +that Her Majesty's Special Commissioner was encamped within a thousand +yards of them, watching their deliberations with some interest. He +showed them that it was impossible at once to scorn reform and reject +friendly offers, that it was doubtful if anything could save them, but +that if they took no steps they were certainly lost as a nation. The +"Fathers of the land," however, declined to dance to the President's +piping. Then he took a bolder line. He told them that a guilty nation +never can evade the judgment that follows its steps. He asked them +"conscientiously to advise the people not obstinately to refuse a union +with a powerful Government. He could not advise them to refuse such a +union. . . . He did not believe that a new constitution would save +them; for as little as the old constitution had brought them to ruin, so +little would a new constitution bring salvation. . . . If the citizens +of England had behaved towards the Crown as the burghers of this State +had behaved to their Government, England would never have stood so long +as she had." He pointed out to them their hopeless financial position. +"To-day," he said, "a bill for 1100 pounds was laid before me for +signature; but I would sooner have cut off my right hand than sign that +paper--(cheers)--for I have not the slightest ground to expect that, +when that bill becomes due, there will be a penny to pay it with." +And finally, he exhorted them thus: "Let them make the best of the +situation, and get the best terms they possibly could; let them agree to +join their hands to those of their brethren in the south, and then from +the Cape to the Zambesi there would be one great people. Yes, there was +something grand in that, grander even than their idea of a Republic, +something which ministered to their national feeling--(cheers)--and +would this be so miserable? Yes, this would be miserable for those who +would not be under the law, for the rebel and the revolutionist, but +welfare and prosperity for the men of law and order." + +These powerful words form a strong indictment against the Republic, +and from them there can be little doubt that President Burgers was +thoroughly convinced of the necessity and wisdom of the Annexation. It +is interesting to compare them, and many other utterances of his made at +this period, with the opinions he expresses in the posthumous document +recently published, in which he speaks somewhat jubilantly of the +lessons taught us on Laing's Nek and Majuba by such "an inherently +weak people as the Boers," and points to them as striking instances of +retribution. In this document he attributes the Annexation to the desire +to advance English supremacy in South Africa, and to lay hold of the way +to Central South Africa. It is, however, noticeable that he does not in +any way indicate how it could have been averted, and the State continue +to exist; and he seems all along to feel that his case is a weak one, +for in explaining, or attempting to explain, why he had never defended +himself from the charges brought against him in connection with the +Annexation, he says: "Had I not endured in silence, had I not borne +patiently all the accusations, but out of selfishness or fear told +the plain truth of the case, the Transvaal would never have had the +consideration it has now received from Great Britain. However unjust the +Annexation was, my self-justification would have _exposed the Boers to +such an extent_, and the state of the country in such a way, that it +would have deprived them both of the sympathy of the world and the +consideration of the English politicians." In other words, "If I had +told the truth about things as I should have been obliged to do +to justify myself, there would have been no more outcry about the +Annexation, because the whole world, even the English Radicals, would +have recognised how necessary it was, and what a fearful state the +country was in." + +But to let that pass, it is evident that President Burgers did not take +the same view of the Annexation in 1877 as he did in 1881, and indeed +his speeches to the Volksraad would read rather oddly printed in +parallel columns with his posthumous statement. The reader would be +forced to one of two conclusions, either on one of the two occasions he +is saying what he does not mean, or he must have changed his mind. As +I believe him to have been an honest man, I incline to the latter +supposition; nor do I consider it so very hard to account for, taking +into consideration his natural Dutch proclivities. In 1877 Burgers is +the despairing head of a State driving rapidly to ruin, if not to actual +extinction, when the strong hand of the English Government is held out +to him. What wonder that he accepts it gladly on behalf of his country, +which is by its help brought into a state of greater prosperity than +it has ever before known? In 1881 the wheel has gone round, and great +events have come about whilst he lies dying. The enemies of the Boers +have been destroyed, the powers of the Zulus and Secocoeni are no more; +the country has prospered under a healthy rule, and its finances have +been restored. More,--glad tidings have come from Mid-Lothian, to the +"rebel and the revolutionist," whose hopes were flagging, and eloquent +words have been spoken by the new English Dictator that have aroused +a great rebellion. And, to crown all, English troops have suffered one +massacre and three defeats, and England sues for peace from the South +African peasant, heedless of honour or her broken word, so that the +prayer be granted. With such events before him, that dying man may well +have found cause to change his opinion. Doubtless the Annexation was +wrong, since England disowns her acts; and may not that dream about +the great South African Republic come true after all? Has not the +pre-eminence of the Englishman received a blow from which it can never +recover, and is not his control over Boers and natives irredeemably +weakened? And must he,--Burgers,--go down to posterity as a Dutchman who +tried to forward the interests of the English party? No, doubtless the +Annexation was wrong; but it has done good, for it has brought about the +downfall of the English: and we will end the argument in the very words +of his last public utterance, with which he ends his statement: "South +Africa gained more from this, and has made a larger step forward in the +march of freedom than most people can conceive." + +Who shall say that he is wrong? the words of dying men are sometimes +prophetic! South Africa has made a great advance towards the "freedom" +of a Dutch Republic. + +This has been a digression, but I hope not an uninteresting one. To +return--on the 1st March, Sir T. Shepstone met the Executive Council, +and told them that in his opinion there was now but one remedy to be +adopted, and that was that the Transvaal should be united with English +Colonies of South Africa under one head, namely the Queen, saying at the +same time that the only thing now left to the Republic was to make the +best arrangements it could for the future benefit of its inhabitants, +and to submit to that which he saw to be, and every thinking man saw to +be, inevitable. So soon as this information was officially communicated +to the Raad, for a good proportion of its members were already +acquainted with it unofficially, it flew from a state of listless +indifference into vigorous and hasty action. The President was censured, +and a Committee was appointed to consider and report upon the situation, +which reported in favour of the adoption of Burgers' new constitution. +Accordingly, the greatest part of this measure, which had been +contemptuously rejected a few days before, was adopted almost without +question, and Mr. Paul Kruger was appointed Vice-President. On the +following day, a very drastic treason law was passed, borrowed from the +Statute book of the Orange Free State, which made all public expression +of opinion, if adverse to the Government, or in any way supporting the +Annexation party, high treason. This done, the Assembly prorogued itself +until--October 1881. + +During and after the sitting of the Raad, rumours arose that the Chief +Secocoeni's signature to the treaty of peace, ratified by that body, had +been obtained by misrepresentation. As ratified, this treaty consisted +of three articles, according to which Secocoeni consented, first to +become a subject of the Republic, and obey the laws of the country; +secondly, to agree to a certain restricted boundary line and, thirdly, +to pay 2000 head of cattle; which, considering he had captured quite +5000 head, was not exorbitant. + +Towards the end of February a written message was received from +Secocoeni by Sir T. Shepstone, dated after the signing of the supposed +treaty. The original, which was written in Sisutu, was a great +curiosity. The following is a correct translation:-- + + +"For Myn Heer Sheepstone,--I beg you, Chief, come help me, the Boers are +killing me, and I don't know the reasons why they should be angry with +me; Chief, I beg you come with Myn Heer Merensky.--I am Sikukuni." + + +This message was accompanied by a letter from Mr. Merensky, a well-known +and successful missionary, who had been for many years resident in +Secocoeni's country, in which he stated that he heard on very good +authority that Secocoeni had distinctly refused to agree to that article +of the treaty by which he became a subject of the State. He adds that he +cannot remain "silent while such tricks are played." + +Upon this information, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President Burgers, +stating that "if the officer in whom you have placed confidence has +withheld any portion of the truth from you, especially so serious a +portion of it, he is guilty of a wrong towards you personally, as +well as towards the Government, because he has caused you to assume an +untenable position," and suggesting that a joint commission should be +despatched to Secocoeni, to thoroughly sift the question in the interest +of all concerned. This suggestion was after some delay agreed to, and a +commission was appointed, consisting of Mr. Van Gorkom, a Hollander, +and Mr. Holtshausen, a member of the Executive Council, on behalf of the +Transvaal Government, and Mr. Osborn, R.M., and Captain Clarke, R.A., on +behalf of the Commissioner, whom I accompanied as Secretary. + +At Middelburg the native Gideon who acted as interpreter between +Commandant Ferreira, C.M.G. (the officer who negotiated the treaty on +behalf of the Boer Government), and Secocoeni was examined, and also two +natives, Petros and Jeremiah, who were with him, but did not actually +interpret. All these men persisted that Secocoeni had positively refused +to become a subject of the Republic, and only consented to sign the +treaty on the representations of Commandant Ferreira that it would only +be binding, as regards to the two articles about the cattle and the +boundary line. + +The Commission then proceeded to Secocoeni's town, accompanied by a +fresh set of interpreters, and had a long interview with Secocoeni. The +chief's Prime Minister or "mouth," Makurupiji, speaking in his presence, +and on his behalf and making use of the pronoun "I" before all the +assembled headmen of the tribe, gave an account of the interview between +Commandant Ferreira in the presence of that gentleman, who accompanied +the commission and Secocoeni, in almost the same words as had been used +by the interpreters at Middelburg. He distinctly denied having consented +to become a subject of the Republic or to stand under the law, and added +that he feared he "had touched the feather to" (signed) things that +he did not know of in the treaty. Commandant Ferreira then put some +questions, but entirely failed to shake the evidence; on the contrary, +he admitted by his questions that Secocoeni had not consented to become +a subject of the Republic. Secocoeni had evidently signed the piece of +paper under the impression that he was acknowledging his liability to +pay 2000 head of cattle, and fixing a certain portion of his boundary +line, and on the distinct understanding that he was not to become a +subject of the State. + +Now it was the Secocoeni war that had brought the English Mission into +the country, and if it could be shown that the Secocoeni war had come +to a successful termination, it would go far towards helping the Mission +out again. To this end, it was necessary that the Chief should declare +himself a subject of the State, and thereby, by implication acknowledge +himself to have been a rebel, and admit his defeat. All that was +required was a signature, and that once obtained the treaty was +published and submitted to the Raad for confirmation, without a whisper +being heard of the conditions under which this ignorant Basutu was +induced to sign. Had no Commission visited Secocoeni, this treaty would +afterwards have been produced against him in its entirety. Altogether, +the history of the Secocoeni Peace Treaty does not reassure one as +to the genuineness of the treaties which the Boers are continually +producing, purporting to have been signed by native chiefs, and as +a general rule presenting the State with great tracts of country in +exchange for a horse or a few oxen. However fond the natives may be of +their Boer neighbours, such liberality can scarcely be genuine. On the +other hand, it is so easy to induce a savage to sign a paper, or even, +if he is reticent, to make a cross for him, and once made, as we all +know, _litera scripa manet_, and becomes title to the lands. + +During the Secocoeni investigation, affairs in the Transvaal were +steadily drifting towards anarchy. The air was filled with rumours; +now it was reported that an outbreak was imminent amongst the English +population at the Gold Fields, who had never forgotten Von Schlickmann's +kind suggestion that they should be "subdued;" now it was said that +Cetywayo had crossed the border, and might shortly be expected at +Pretoria; now that a large body of Boers were on their road to shoot +the Special Commissioner, his twenty-five policemen and Englishmen +generally, and so on. + +Meanwhile, Paul Kruger and his party were not letting the grass grow +under their feet, but worked public feeling with great vigour, with the +double object of getting Paul made President and ridding themselves +of the English. Articles in his support were printed in the well-known +Dutch paper "Die Patriot," published in the Cape Colony, which are so +typical of the Boers and of the only literature that has the slightest +influence over them, that I will quote a few extracts from one of them. + +After drawing a very vivid picture of the wretched condition of the +country as compared to what it was when the Kafirs had "a proper +respect" for the Boers, before Burgers came into power, the article +proceeds to give the cause of this state of affairs. "God's word," it +says, "gives us the solution. Look at Israel, while the people have a +godly king, everything is prosperous, but under a godless prince +the land retrogrades, and the whole of the people must suffer. +Read Leviticus, chapter 26, with attention, &c. In the day of the +Voortrekkers (pioneers), a handful of men chased a thousand Kafirs and +made them run; so also in the Free State War (Deut. xxxii. 30; Jos. +xxiii. 10; Lev. xxvi. 8). But mark, now when Burgers became President, +he knows no Sabbath, he rides through the land in and out of town on +Sunday, he knows not the church and God's service (Lev. xxvi. 2-3) to +the scandal of pious people. And he formerly was a priest too. And what +is the consequence? No harvest (Lev. xxvi. 16), an army of 6,000 men +runs because one man falls (Lev. xxvi. 17, &c.) What is now the +remedy?" The remedy proves to be Paul Kruger, "because there is no other +candidate. Because our Lord clearly points him out to be the man, for +why is there no other candidate? Who arranged it this way?" Then follows +a rather odd argument in favour of Paul's election, "Because he himself +(P. Kruger) acknowledges in his own reply that he is _incompetent_, but +that all his ability is from our Lord. Because he is a warrior. Because +he is a Boer." Then Paul Kruger, the warrior and the Boer, is compared +to Joan of Arc, "a simple Boer girl who came from behind the sheep." The +Burghers of Transvaal are exhorted to acknowledge the hand of the Lord, +and elect Paul Kruger, or look for still heavier punishment. (Lev. xxvi. +18 _et seq_.) Next the "Patriot" proceeds to give a bit of advice to +"our candidate, Paul Kruger." He is to deliver the land from the Kafirs. +"The Lord has given you the heart of a warrior, arise and drive them," a +bit of advice quite suited to his well-known character. But this chosen +vessel was not to get all the loaves and fishes; on the contrary, as +soon as he had fulfilled his mission of "driving" the Kafirs, he was to +hand over his office to a "good" president. The article ends thus: "If +the Lord wills to use you now to deliver this land from its enemies, and +a day of peace and prosperity arises again, and you see that you are not +exactly the statesman to further govern the Republic, then it will be +your greatest honour to say, 'Citizens, I have delivered you from the +enemy, I am no statesman, but now you have peace and time to choose and +elect a _good_ President.'" + +An article such as the above is instructive reading as showing the low +calibre of the minds that are influenced by it. Yet such writings +and sermons have more power among the Boers than any other arguments, +appealing as they do to the fanaticism and vanity of their nature, which +causes them to believe that the Divinity is continually interfering on +their behalf at the cost of other people. It will be noticed that the +references given are all to the Old Testament, and nearly all refer to +acts of blood. + +These doctrines were not, however, at all acceptable to Burgers' party, +or the more enlightened members of the community, and so bitter did the +struggle of rival opinions become that there is very little doubt that +had the country not been annexed, civil war would have been added to its +other calamities. Meanwhile the natives were from day to day becoming +more restless, and messengers were constantly arriving at the Special +Commissioner's camp, begging that their tribe might be put under the +Queen, and stating that they would fight rather than submit any longer +to the Boers. + +At length on the 9th April, Sir T. Shepstone informed the Government +of the Republic that he was about to declare the Transvaal British +territory. He told them that he had considered and reconsidered his +determination, but that he could see no possible means within the State +by which it could free itself from the burdens that were sinking it +to destruction, adding that if he could have found such means he would +certainly not have hidden them from the Government. This intimation was +received in silence, though all the later proceedings with reference +to the Annexation were in reality carried out in concert with the +Authorities of the Republic. Thus on the 13th March the Government +submitted a paper of ten questions to Sir T. Shepstone as regards the +future condition of the Transvaal under English rule, whether the debts +of the State would be guaranteed, &c. To these questions replies were +given which were on the whole satisfactory to the Government. As these +replies formed the basis of the proclamation guarantees, it is not +necessary to enter into them. + +It was further arranged by the Republican Government that a formal +protest should be entered against the Annexation, which was accordingly +prepared and privately shown to the Special Commissioner. The annexation +proclamation was also shown to President Burgers, and a paragraph +eliminated at his suggestion. In fact, the Special Commissioner and the +President, together with most of his Executive, were quite at one as +regards the necessity of the proclamation being issued, their joint +endeavours being directed to the prevention of any disturbance, and to +secure a good reception for the change. + +At length, after three months of inquiry and negotiation, the +proclamation of annexation was on the 12th of April 1877 read by Mr. +Osborn, accompanied by some other gentlemen of Sir T. Shepstone's staff. +It was an anxious moment for all concerned. To use the words of the +Special Commissioner in his despatch home on the subject, "Every effort +had been made during the previous fortnight by, it is said, educated +Hollanders, and who had but lately arrived in the country to rouse the +fanaticism of the Boers and induce them to offer 'bloody' resistance to +what it was known I intended to do. The Boers were appealed to in the +most inflammatory language by printed manifestoes and memorials; . . . +it was urged that I had but a small escort which could easily be +overpowered." In a country so full of desperadoes and fanatical haters +of anything English, it was more than possible than though such an act +would have been condemned by the general sense of the country, a number +of men could easily be found who would think they were doing a righteous +act in greeting the "annexationists" with an ovation of bullets. I +do not mean that the anxiety was personal, because I do not think the +members of that small party set any higher value on their lives than +other people, but it was absolutely necessary for the success of the act +itself, and for the safety of the country, that not a single shot should +be fired. Had that happened it is probable that the whole country would +have been involved in confusion and bloodshed, the Zulus would have +broken in, and the Kafirs would have risen; in fact, to use Cetywayo's +words, "the land would have burned with fire." + +It will therefore be easily understood what an anxious hour that was +both for the Special Commissioner sitting up at Government House, and +for his Staff down on the Market Square, and how thankful they were +when the proclamation was received with hearty cheers by the crowd. Mr. +Burgers' protest, which was read immediately afterwards, was received in +respectful silence. + +And thus the Transvaal Territory passed for a while into the great +family of the English Colonies. I believe that the greatest political +opponent of the act will bear tribute to the very remarkable ability +with which it was carried out. When the variety and number of the +various interests that had to be conciliated, the obstinate nature of +the individuals who had to be convinced, as well as the innate hatred of +the English name and ways which had to be overcome to carry out this +act successfully, are taken into consideration: together with a thousand +other matters, the neglect of any one of which would have sufficed to +make failure certain, it will be seen what tact and skill, and knowledge +of human nature were required to execute so difficult a task. It must be +remembered that no force was used, and that there never was any threat +of force. The few troops that were to enter the Transvaal were four +weeks' march from Pretoria at the time. There was nothing whatsoever +to prevent the Boers putting a summary stop to the proceedings of the +Commissioner if they had thought fit. + +That Sir Theophilus played a bold and hazardous game nobody will deny, +but, like most players who combine boldness with coolness of head and +justice of cause, he won; and, without shedding a single drop of blood, +or even confiscating an acre of land, and at no cost, annexed a great +country, and averted a very serious war. That same country four years +later cost us a million of money, the loss of nearly a thousand men +killed and wounded, and the ruin of many more confiding thousands, to +surrender. It is true, however, that nobody can accuse the retrocession +of having been conducted with judgment or ability--very much the +contrary. + +There can be no more ample justification of the necessity of the issue +of the annexation proclamation than the proclamation itself-- + +First, it touches on the Sand River Convention of 1852, by which +independence was granted to the State, and shows that the "evident +objects and inciting motives" in granting such guarantee were to promote +peace, free-trade and friendly intercourse, in the hope and belief that +the Republic "would become a flourishing and self-sustaining State, a +source of strength and security to neighbouring European communities, +and a point from which Christianity and civilisation might rapidly +spread toward Central Africa." It goes on to show how these hopes have +been disappointed, and how that "increasing weakness in the State itself +on the one side, and more than corresponding growth of real strength +and confidence among the native tribes on the other have produced their +natural and inevitable consequence . . . that after more or less of +irritating conflict with aboriginal tribes to the north, there commenced +about the year 1867 gradual abandonment to the natives in that direction +of territory, settled by burghers of the Transvaal in well-built towns +and villages and on granted farms." + +It goes on to show that "this decay of power and ebb of authority in +the north, is being followed by similar processes in the south under +yet more dangerous circumstances. People of this State residing in +that direction have been compelled within the last three months, at the +bidding of native chiefs and at a moment's notice, to leave their farms +and homes, their standing crops . . . all to be taken possession +of by natives, but that the Government is more powerless than ever +to vindicate its assumed rights or to resist the declension that is +threatening its existence." It then recites how all the other colonies +and communities of South Africa have lost confidence in the State, +how it is in a condition of hopeless bankruptcy, and its commerce +annihilated whilst the inhabitants are divided into factions, and the +Government has fallen into "helpless paralysis." How also the prospect +of the election of a new President, instead of being looked forward to +with hope, would, in the opinion of all parties, be the signal for civil +war, anarchy, and bloodshed. How that this state of things affords the +very strongest temptation to the great neighbouring native powers to +attack the country, a temptation that they were only too ready and +anxious to yield to, and that the State was in far too feeble a +condition to repel such attacks, from which it had hitherto only been +saved by the repeated representations of the Government of Natal. The +next paragraphs I will quote as they stand, for they sum up the reasons +for the Annexation. + +"That the Secocoeni war, which would have produced but little effect +on a healthy constitution, has not only proved suddenly fatal to the +resources and reputation of the Republic, but has shown itself to be a +culminating point in the history of South Africa, in that a Makatee +or Basutu tribe, unwarlike and of no account in Zulu estimation, +successfully withstood the strength of the State, and disclosed for the +first time to the native powers outside the Republic, from the Zambesi +to the Cape, the great change that had taken place in the relative +strength of the white and black races, that this disclosure at once +shook the prestige of the white man in South Africa, and placed +every European community in peril, that this common danger has caused +universal anxiety, has given to all concerned the right to investigate +its cause, and to protect themselves from its consequences, and has +imposed the duty upon those who have the power to shield enfeebled +civilisation from the encroachments of barbarism and inhumanity." It +proceeds to point out that the Transvaal will be the first to suffer +from the results of its own policy, and that it is for every reason +perfectly impossible for Her Majesty's Government to stand by and see a +friendly white State ravaged, knowing that its own possessions will be +the next to suffer. That H. M. Government, being persuaded that the only +means to prevent such a catastrophe would be by the annexation of the +country, and, knowing that this was the wish of a large proportion of +the inhabitants of the Transvaal, the step must be taken. Next follows +the formal annexation. + +Together with the proclamation, an address was issued by Sir T. +Shepstone to the burghers of the State, laying the facts before them +in a friendly manner, more suited to their mode of thought than it was +possible to do in a formal proclamation. This document, the issue +of which was one of those touches that ensured the success of the +Annexation, was a powerful summing up in colloquial language of the +arguments used in the proclamation strengthened by quotations from the +speeches of the President. It ends with these words: "It remains only +for me to beg of you to consider and weigh what I have said calmly and +without undue prejudice. Let not mere feeling or sentiment prevail over +your judgment. Accept what Her Majesty's Government intends shall be, +and what you will soon find from experience, is a blessing not only to +you and your children, but to the whole of South Africa through you, and +I believe that I speak these words to you as a friend from my heart." + +Two other proclamations were also issued, one notifying the assumption +of the office of Administrator of the Government by Sir T. Shepstone, +and the other repealing the war-tax, which was doubtless an unequal and +oppressive impost. + +I have in the preceding pages stated all the principal grounds of the +Annexation and briefly sketched the history of that event. In the next +chapter I propose to follow the fortunes of the Transvaal under British +Rule. + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THE TRANSVAAL UNDER BRITISH RULE + +_Reception of the annexation--Major Clarke and the Volunteers-- +Effect of the annexation on credit and commerce--Hoisting of the Union +Jack--Ratification of the annexation by Parliament--Messrs. Kruger and +Jorissen's mission to England--Agitation against the annexation in the +Cape Colony--Sir T. Shepstone's tour--Causes of the growth of discontent +among the Boers--Return of Messrs. Jorissen and Kruger--The Government +dispenses with their services--Despatch of a second deputation to +England--Outbreak of war with Secocoeni--Major Clarke, R.A.--The Gunn +of Gunn plot--Mission of Captain Paterson and Mr. Sergeaunt +to Matabeleland--Its melancholy termination--The Isandhlwana +disaster--Departure of Sir T. Shepstone for England--Another Boer +meeting--The Pretoria Horse--Advance of the Boers on Pretoria--Arrival +of Sir B. Frere at Pretoria and dispersion of the Boers--Arrival of Sir +Garnet Wolseley--His proclamation--The Secocoeni expedition--Proceedings +of the Boers--Mr. Pretorius--Mr. Gladstone's Mid-Lothian speeches, their +effect--Sir G. Wolseley's speech at Pretoria, its good results--Influx +of Englishmen and cessation of agitation--Financial position of the +country after three years of British rule--Letter of the Boer leaders to +Mr. Courtney._ + +The news of the Annexation was received all over the country with a sigh +of relief, and in many parts of it with great rejoicings. At the Gold +Fields, for instance, special thanksgiving services were held, and "God +save the Queen" was sung in church. Nowhere was there the slightest +disturbance, but, on the contrary, addresses of congratulation and +thanks literally poured in by every mail, many of them signed by Boers +who have since been conspicuous for their bitter opposition to English +rule. At first, there was some doubt as to what would be the course +taken under the circumstances by the volunteers enlisted by the late +Republic. Major Clarke, R.A., was sent to convey the news, and to take +command of them, unaccompanied save by his Kafir servant. On arrival at +the principal fort, he at once ordered the Republican flag to be hauled +down and the Union Jack run up, and his orders were promptly obeyed. A +few days afterwards some members of the force thought better of it, and +having made up their minds to kill him, came to the tent where he was +sitting to carry out their purpose. On learning their kind intentions, +Major Clarke fixed his eye-glass in his eye, and, after steadily glaring +at them through it for some time, said, "You are all drunk, go back +to your tents." The volunteers, quite overcome by his coolness and +the fixity of his gaze, at once slipped off, and there was no further +trouble. About three weeks after the Annexation, the 1-13th Regiment +arrived at Pretoria, having been very well received all along the road +by the Boers, who came from miles round to hear the band play. Its entry +into Pretoria was quite a sight; the whole population turned out to meet +it; indeed the feeling of rejoicing and relief was so profound that when +the band began to play "God save the Queen" some of the women burst into +tears. + +Meanwhile the effect of the Annexation on the country was perfectly +magical. Credit and commerce were at once restored; the railway bonds +that were down to nothing in Holland rose with one bound to par, and +the value of landed property nearly doubled. Indeed it would have been +possible for any one, knowing what was going to happen, to have realised +large sums of money by buying land in the beginning of 1877, and selling +it shortly after the Annexation. + +On the 24th May, being Her Majesty's birthday, all the native chiefs +who were anywhere within reach, were summoned to attend the first formal +hoisting of the English flag. The day was a general festival, and the +ceremony was attended by a large number of Boers and natives in addition +to all the English. At mid-day, amidst the cheers of the crowd, the +salute of artillery, and the strains of "God save the Queen," the +Union Jack was run up a lofty flagstaff, and the Transvaal was formally +announced to be British soil. The flag was hoisted by Colonel Brooke, +R.E., and the present writer. Speaking for myself, I may say that it +was one of the proudest moments of my life. Could I have foreseen that +I should live to see that same flag, then hoisted with so much joyous +ceremony, within a few years shamefully and dishonourably hauled down +and buried,[*] I think it would have been the most miserable. + + [*] The English flag was during the signing of the + Convention at Pretoria formally buried by a large crowd of + Englishmen and loyal natives. + +The Annexation was as well received in England as it was in the +Transvaal. Lord Carnarvon wrote to Sir T. Shepstone to convey "the +Queen's entire approval of your conduct since you received Her Majesty's +commission, with a renewal of my own thanks on behalf of the Government +for the admirable prudence and discretion with which you have discharged +a great and unwonted responsibility." It was also accepted by Parliament +with very few dissentient voices, since it was not till afterwards, when +the subject became useful as an electioneering howl, that the Liberal +party, headed by our "powerful popular minister," discovered the deep +iniquity that had been perpetrated in South Africa. So satisfied were +the Transvaal Boers with the change that Messrs. Kruger, Jorissen, +and Bok, who formed the deputation to proceed to England and present +President Burgers' formal protest against the Annexation, found great +difficulty in raising one-half of the necessary expenses--something +under one thousand pounds--towards the cost of the undertaking. The +thirst for independence cannot have been very great when all the wealthy +burghers in the Transvaal put together would not subscribe a thousand +pounds towards retaining it. Indeed, at this time the members of the +deputation themselves seem to have looked upon their undertaking +as being both doubtful and undesirable, since they informed Sir T. +Shepstone that they were going to Europe to discharge an obligation +which had been imposed upon them, and if the mission failed, they would +have done their duty. Mr. Kruger said that if they did fail, he would be +found to be as faithful a subject under the new form of government as he +had been under the old; and Dr. Jorissen admitted with equal frankness +that "the change was inevitable, and expressed his belief that the +cancellation of it would be calamitous." + +Whilst the Annexation was thus well received in the country immediately +interested, a lively agitation was commenced in the Western Province of +the Cape Colony, a thousand miles away, with a view of inducing the +Home Government to repudiate Sir T. Shepstone's act. The reason of this +movement was that the Cape Dutch party, caring little or nothing for +the real interests of the Transvaal, did care a great deal about their +scheme to turn all the white communities of South Africa into a +great Dutch Republic, to which they thought the Annexation would be a +deathblow. As I have said elsewhere, it must be borne in mind that the +strings of the anti-annexation agitation have all along been pulled in +the Western Province, whilst the Transvaal Boers have played the parts +of puppets. The instruments used by the leaders of the movement in +the Cape were, for the most part, the discontented and unprincipled +Hollander element, a newspaper of an extremely abusive nature called the +"Volkstem," and another in Natal known as the "Natal Witness," lately +edited by the notorious Aylward, which has an almost equally unenviable +reputation. + +On the arrival of Messrs. Jorissen and Kruger in England, they were +received with great civility by Lord Carnarvon, who was, however, +careful to explain to them that the Annexation was irrevocable. In this +decision they cheerfully acquiesced, assuring his lordship of their +determination to do all they could to induce the Boers to accept the +new state of things, and expressing their desire to be allowed to serve +under the new Government. + +Whilst these gentlemen were thus satisfactorily arranging matters with +Lord Carnarvon, Sir T. Shepstone was making a tour round the country +which resembled a triumphal progress more than anything else. He was +everywhere greeted with enthusiasm by all classes of the community, +Boers, English, and natives, and numerous addresses were presented to +him couched in the warmest language, not only by Englishmen but also by +Boers. + +It is very difficult to reconcile the enthusiasm of a great number +of the inhabitants of the Transvaal for English rule, and the quite +acquiescence of the remainder, at this time, with the decidedly +antagonistic attitude assumed later on. It appears to me, however, that +there are several reasons that go far towards accounting for it. The +Transvaal, when we annexed it, was in the position of a man with a knife +at his throat, who is suddenly rescued by some one stronger than he, on +certain conditions which at the time he gladly accepts, but afterwards, +when the danger is passed, wishes to repudiate. In the same way the +inhabitants of the South African Republic, were in the time of need very +thankful for our aid, but after a while, when the recollection of their +difficulties had grown faint, when their debts had been paid and their +enemies defeated, they began to think that they would like to get rid of +us again, and start fresh on their own account, with a clean sheet. What +fostered agitation more than anything else, however, was the perfect +impunity in which it was allowed to be carried on. Had only a little +firmness and decision been shown in the first instance there would +have been no further trouble. We might have been obliged to confiscate +half-a-dozen farms, and perhaps imprison as many free burghers for a +few months, and there it would have ended. Neither Boers or natives +understand our namby-pamby way of playing at government; they put it +down to fear. What they want, and what they expect, is to be governed +with a just but a firm hand. Thus when the Boers found that they could +agitate with impunity, they naturally enough continued to agitate. +Anybody who knows them will understand that it was very pleasant to them +to find themselves in possession of that delightful thing, a grievance, +and, instead of stopping quietly at home on their farms, to feel obliged +to proceed, full of importance and long words, to a distant meeting, +there to spout and listen to the spouting of others. It is so much +easier to talk politics than to sow mealies. Some attribute the +discontent among the Boers to the postponement of the carrying out +of the annexation proclamation promises with reference to the free +institutions to be granted to the country, but in my opinion it had +little or nothing to do with it. The Boers never understood the question +of responsible government, and never wanted that institution; what +they did want was to be free of all English control, and this they said +twenty times in the most outspoken language. I think there is little +doubt the causes I have indicated are the real sources of the agitation, +though there must be added to them their detestation of our mode of +dealing with natives, and of being forced to pay taxes regularly, and +also the ceaseless agitation of the Cape wire-pullers, through their +agents the Hollanders, and their organs in the press. + +On the return of Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen to the Transvaal, the +latter gentleman resumed his duties as Attorney-General, on which +occasion, if I remember aright, I myself had the honour of administering +to him the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty, that he afterwards kept +so well. The former reported the proceedings of the deputation to a +Boer meeting, when he took a very different tone to that in which he +addressed Lord Carnarvon, announcing that if there existed a majority of +the people in favour of independence, he still was Vice-President of the +country. + +Both these gentlemen remained for some time in the pay of the British +Government, Mr. Jorissen as Attorney-General, and Mr. Kruger as member +of the Executive Council. The Government, however, at length found it +desirable to dispense with their services, though on different +grounds. Mr. Jorissen had, like several other members of the Republican +Government, been a clergyman, and was quite unfit to hold the post of +Attorney-General in an important colony like the Transvaal, where legal +questions were constantly arising requiring all the attention of a +trained mind; and after he had on several occasions been publicly +admonished from the bench, the Government retired him on liberal terms. +Needless to say, his opposition to English rule then became very bitter. +Mr. Kruger's appointment expired by law in November 1877, and the +Government did not think it advisable to re-employ him. The terms of his +letter of dismissal can be found on page 135 of Blue Book (c. 144), +and involving as they do a serious charge of misrepresentation in +money matters, are not very creditable to him. After this event he also +pursued the cause of independence with increased vigour. + +During the last months of 1877 and the first part of 1878 agitation +against British rule went on unchecked, and at last grew to alarming +proportions, so much so that Sir T. Shepstone, on his return from the +Zulu border in March 1878, where he had been for some months discussing +the vexed and dangerous question of the boundary line with the Zulus, +found it necessary to issue a stringent proclamation warning the +agitators that their proceedings and meetings were illegal, and would be +punished according to law. This document which was at the time vulgarly +known as the "Hold-your-jaw" proclamation, not being followed by action, +produced but little effect. + +On the 4th April 1878 another Boer meeting was convened, at which it was +decided to send a second deputation to England, to consist this time of +Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, with Mr. Bok as secretary. This deputation +proved as abortive as the first, Sir M. Hicks Beach assuring it, in a +letter dated 6th August 1878, that it is "impossible, for many reasons, +. . . . that the Queen's sovereignty should now be withdrawn." + +Whilst the Government was thus hampered by internal disaffection, it +had also many other difficulties on its hands. First, there was the Zulu +boundary question, which was constantly developing new dangers to the +country. Indeed, it was impossible to say what might happen in that +direction from one week to another. Nor were its relations with +Secocoeni satisfactory. It will be remembered that just before the +Annexation this chief had expressed his earnest wish to become a British +subject, and even paid over part of the fine demanded from him by the +Boer Government to the Civil Commissioner, Major Clarke. In March 1878, +however, his conduct towards the Government underwent a sudden +change, and he practically declared war. It afterwards appeared, from +Secocoeni's own statement, that he was instigated to this step by +a Boer, Abel Erasmus by name--the same man who was concerned in the +atrocities in the first Secocoeni war--who constantly encouraged him to +continue the struggle. I do not propose to minutely follow the course of +this long war, which, commencing in the beginning of 1878, did not come +to an end till after the Zulu war: when Sir Garnet Wolseley attacked +Secocoeni's stronghold with a large force of troops, volunteers, and +Swazi allies, and took it with great slaughter. The losses on our side +were not very heavy, so far as white men were concerned, but the Swazies +are reported to have lost 400 killed and 500 wounded. + +The struggle was, during the long period preceding the final attack, +carried on with great courage and ability by Major Clarke, R.A., C.M.G., +whose force, at the best of times, only consisted of 200 volunteers and +100 Zulus. With this small body of men he contrived, however, to keep +Secocoeni in check, and to take some important strongholds. It was +marked also by some striking acts of individual bravery, of which one, +performed by Major Clarke himself, whose reputation for cool courage and +presence of mind in danger is unsurpassed in South Africa, is worthy of +notice; and which, had public attention been more concentrated on the +Secocoeni war, would doubtless have won him the Victoria Cross. On one +occasion, on visiting one of the outlying forts, he found that a party +of hostile natives, who were coming down to the fort on the previous day +with a flag of truce, had been accidentally fired upon, and had at once +retreated. As his system in native warfare was always to try and inspire +his enemy with perfect faith in the honour of Englishmen, and their +contempt of all tricks and treachery even towards a foe, he was very +angry at this occurrence, and at once, unarmed and unattended save by +his native servant, rode up into the mountains to the kraal from which +the white flag party had come on the previous day, and apologised to +the Chief for what had happened. When I consider how very anxious +Secocoeni's natives were to kill or capture Clarke, whom they held in +great dread, and how terrible the end of so great a captain would in +all probability have been had he taken alive by these masters of refined +torture, I confess that I think this act of gentlemanly courage is one +of the most astonishing things I ever heard of. When he rode up those +hills he must have known that he was probably going to meet his death at +the hands of justly incensed savages. When Secocoeni heard of what Major +Clarke had done he was so pleased that he shortly afterwards released +a volunteer whom he had taken prisoner, and who would otherwise, in all +probability, have been tortured to death. I must add that Major Clarke +himself never reported to or alluded to this incident, but an account of +it can be found in a despatch written by Sir O. Lanyon to the Secretary +of State, dated 2d February 1880. + +Concurrently with, though entirely distinct from, the political +agitation that was being carried on among the Boers having for object +the restoration of independence, a private agitation was set on foot +by a few disaffected persons against Sir T. Shepstone, with the view +of obtaining his removal from office in favour of a certain Colonel +Weatherley. The details of this impudent plot are so interesting, and +the plot itself so typical of the state of affairs with which Sir T. +Shepstone had to deal, that I will give a short account of it. + +After the Annexation had taken place, there were naturally enough a good +many individuals who found themselves disappointed in the results so far +as they personally were concerned; I mean that they did not get so much +out of it as they expected. Among these was a gentleman called Colonel +Weatherley, who had come to the Transvaal as manager of a gold-mining +company, but getting tired of that had taken a prominent part in +the Annexation, and who, being subsequently disappointed about an +appointment, became a bitter enemy of the Administrator. I may say at +once that Colonel Weatherley seems to me to have been throughout the +dupe of the other conspirators. + +The next personage was a good-looking desperado, who called himself +Captain Gunn of Gunn, and who was locally somewhat irreverently known as +the very Gunn of very Gunn. This gentleman, whose former career had been +of a most remarkable order, was, on the annexation of the country, found +in the public prison charged with having committed various offences, but +on Colonel Weatherley's interesting himself strongly on his behalf, he +was eventually released without trial. On his release, he requested the +Administrator to publish a Government notice declaring him innocent of +the charges brought against him. This Sir T. Shepstone declined to do, +and so, to use his own words, in a despatch to the High Commissioner on +the subject, Captain Gunn of Gunn at once became "what in this country +is called a patriot." + +The third person concerned was a lawyer, who had got into trouble on the +Diamond Fields, and who felt himself injured because the rules of the +High Court did not allow him to practise as an advocate. The quartet +was made up by Mr. Celliers, the editor of the patriotic organ, the +"Volkstem," who, since he had lost the Government printing contract, +found that no language could be too strong to apply to the _personnel_ +of the Government, more especially its head. Of course, there was a lady +in it; what plot would be complete without? She was Mrs. Weatherley, +now, I believe, Mrs. Gunn of Gunn. These gentlemen began operations by +drawing up a long petition to Sir Bartle Frere as High Commissioner, +setting forth a string of supposed grievances, and winding up with a +request that the Administrator might be "promoted to some other +sphere of political usefulness." This memorial was forwarded by the +"committee," as they called themselves, to various parts of the country +for signature, but without the slightest success, the fact of the matter +being that it was not the Annexor but the Annexation that the Boers +objected to. + +At this stage in the proceedings Colonel Weatherley went to try and +forward the good cause with Sir Bartle Frere at the Cape. His letters to +Mrs. Weatherley from thence, afterwards put into Court in the celebrated +divorce case, contained many interesting accounts of his attempts in +that direction. I do not think, however, that he was cognisant of what +was being concocted by his allies in Pretoria, but being a very vain, +weak man, was easily deceived by them. With all his faults he was a +gentleman. As soon as he was gone a second petition was drawn up by the +"committee," showing "the advisability of immediately suspending our +present Administrator, and temporarily appointing and recommending for +Her Majesty's royal and favourable consideration an English gentleman of +high integrity and honour, in whom the country at large has respect and +confidence." + +The English gentleman of high integrity and honour of course proves to +be Colonel Weatherley, whose appointment is, further on, "respectfully +but earnestly requested," since he had "thoroughly gained the +affections, confidence, and respect of Boers, English, and other +Europeans in this country." But whilst it is comparatively easy to write +petitions, there is sometimes a difficulty in getting people to sign +them, as proved to be the case with reference to the documents under +consideration. When the "committee" and the employes in the office of +the "Volkstem" had affixed their valuable signatures it was found to +be impossible to induce anybody else to follow their example. Now, a +petition with some half dozen signatures attached would not, it was +obvious, carry much weight with the Imperial Government, and no more +could be obtained. + +But really great minds rise superior to such difficulties, and so did +the "committee," or some of them, or one of them. If they could not +get genuine signatures to their petitions, they could at any rate +manufacture them. This great idea once hit out, so vigorously was it +prosecuted that they, or some of them, or one of them, produced in a +very little while no less than 3883 signatures, of which sixteen were +proved to be genuine, five were doubtful, and all the rest fictitious. +But the gentleman, whoever he was, who was the working partner in the +scheme--and I may state, by way of parenthesis, that when Gunn of Gunn +was subsequently arrested, petitions in process of signature were found +under the mattress of his bed--calculated without his host. He either +did not know, or had forgotten, that on receipt of such documents by a +superior officer, they are at once sent to the officer accused to report +upon. This course was followed in the present case, and the petitions +were discovered to be gross impostures. The ingenuity exercised by their +author or authors was really very remarkable, for it must be remembered +that not one of the signatures was forged; they were all invented, and +had, of course, to be written in a great variety of hands. The plan +generally pursued was to put down the names of people living in the +country, with slight variations. Thus "De _V_illiers" became "De +_W_illiers," and "Van Z_y_l" "Van Z_u_l." I remember that my own name +appeared on one of the petitions with some slight alteration. Some of +the names were evidently meant to be facetious. Thus there was a "Jan +Verneuker," which means "John the Cheat." + +Of the persons directly or indirectly concerned in this rascally plot, +the unfortunate Colonel Weatherly subsequently apologised to Sir T. +Shepstone for his share in the agitation, and shortly afterwards died +fighting bravely on Kambula. Captain Gunn of Gunn and Mrs. Weatherley, +after having given rise to the most remarkable divorce case I ever +heard,--it took fourteen days to try--were, on the death of Colonel +Weatherley, united in the bonds of holy matrimony, and are, I believe, +still in Pretoria. The lawyer vanished I know not where, whilst Mr. +Celliers still continues to edit that admirably conducted journal the +"Volkstem;" nor, if I may judge from the report of a speech made by +him recently at a Boer festival, which, by the way, was graced by the +presence of our representative, Mr. Hudson, the British Resident: has +his right hand forgotten its cunning, or rather his tongue lost the use +of those peculiar and recherche epithets that used to adorn the columns +of the "Volkstem." I see that he, on this occasion, denounced the +English element as being "poisonous and dangerous" to a State, and +stated, amidst loud cheers, that "he despised" it. Mr. Cellier's lines +have fallen in pleasant places; in any other country he would long ago +have fallen a victim to the stern laws of libel. I recommend him to +the notice of enterprising Irish newspapers. Such is the freshness and +vigour of his style that I am confident he would make the fortune of any +Hibernian journal. + +Some little time after the Gunn of Gunn frauds a very sad incident +happened in connection with the Government of the Transvaal. Shortly +after the Annexation, the Home Government sent out Mr. Sergeaunt, +C.M.G., one of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, to report on the +financial condition of the country. He was accompanied, in an unofficial +capacity, amongst other gentlemen, by Captain Patterson and his son, +Mr. J Sergeaunt; and when he returned to England, these two gentlemen +remained behind to go on a shooting expedition. About this time Sir +Bartle Frere was anxious to send a friendly mission to Lo Bengula, +king of the Matabele, a branch of the Zulu tribe, living up towards +the Zambesi. This chief had been making himself unpleasant by causing +traders to be robbed, and it was thought desirable to establish friendly +relations with him, so it was suggested to Captain Patterson and Mr. +Sergeaunt that they should combine business with pleasure, and go on +a mission to Lo Bengula, an offer which they accepted, and shortly +afterwards started for Matabeleland with an interpreter and a few +servants. They reached their destination in safety; and having concluded +their business with the king, started on a visit to the Zambesi Falls +on foot, leaving the interpreter with the wagon. The falls were about +twelve days' walk from the king's kraal, and they were accompanied +thither by young Mr. Thomas, the son of the local missionary, two Kafir +servants, and twenty native bearers supplied by Lo Bengula. The next +thing that was heard of them was that they had all died through drinking +poisoned water, full details of the manner of their deaths being sent +down by Lo Bengula. + +In the first shock and confusion of such news it was not very +closely examined, at any rate by the friends of the dead men, but, on +reflection, there were several things about it that appeared strange. +For instance, it was well known that Captain Patterson had a habit, for +which indeed, we had often laughed at him, of, however thirsty he might +be, always having his water boiled when he was travelling, in order +to destroy impurities: and it seemed odd, that he should on this one +occasion, have neglected the precaution. Also, it was curious that the +majority of Lo Bengula's bearers appeared to have escaped, whereas all +the others were, without exception, killed; nor even in that district is +it usual to find water so bad that it will kill with the rapidity it had +been supposed to do in this case, unless indeed it had been designedly +poisoned. These doubts of the poisoning-by-water-story resolved +themselves into certainty when the waggon returned in charge of the +interpreter, when, by putting two and two together, we were able to +piece out the real history of the diabolical murder of our poor friends +with considerable accuracy, a story which shows what bloodthirsty +wickedness a savage is capable of when he fancies his interests are +threatened. + +It appeared that, when Captain Patterson first interviewed Lo Bengula, +he was not at all well received by him. I must, by way of explanation, +state that there exists a Pretender to his throne, Kruman by name, who, +as far as I can make out, is the real heir to the kingdom. This man +had, for some cause or other, fled the country, and for a time acted as +gardener to Sir T. Shepstone in Natal. At the date of Messrs. Patterson +and Sergeaunt's mission to Matabeleland he was living, I believe, in the +Transvaal. Captain Patterson, on finding himself so ill received by the +king, and not being sufficiently acquainted with the character of savage +chiefs, most unfortunately, either by accident or design, dropped some +hint in the course of conversation about this Kruman. From that moment, +Lo Bengula's conduct towards the mission entirely changed, and, dropping +his former tone, he became profusely civil; and from that moment, too, +he doubtless determined to kill them, probably fearing that they might +forward some scheme to oust him and place Kruman, on whose claim a large +portion of his people looked favourably, on the throne. + +When their business was done, and Captain Patterson told the king that +they were anxious, before returning, to visit the Zambesi Falls, he +readily fell in with their wish, but, in the first instance, refused +permission to young Thomas, the son of the missionary, to accompany +them, only allowing him to do so on the urgent representation of +Captain Patterson. The reason for this was, no doubt, that he had +kindly feelings towards the lad, and did not wish to include him in the +slaughter. + +Captain Patterson was a man of extremely methodical habits, and, amongst +other things, was in the habit of making notes of all that he did. His +note-book had been taken off his body, and sent down to Pretoria with +the other things. In it we found entries of his preparations for the +trip, including the number and names of the bearers provided by Lo +Bengula. We also found the chronicle of the first three days' journey, +and that of the morning of the fourth day, but there the record stopped. +The last entry was probably made a few minutes before he was killed; and +it is to be observed that there was no entry of the party having been +for several days without water, as stated by the messengers, and then +finding the poisoned water. + +This evidence by itself would not have amounted to much, but now comes +the curious part of the story, showing the truth of the old adage, +"Murder will out." It appears that when the waggon was coming down to +Pretoria in charge of the interpreter, it was outspanned one day outside +the borders of Lo Bengula's country, when some Kafirs--Bechuanas, I +think--came up, asked for some tobacco, and fell into conversation with +the driver, remarking that he had come up with a full waggon, and now he +went down with an empty one. The driver replied by lamenting the death +by poisoned water of his masters, whereupon one of the Kafirs told him +the following story:--He said that a brother of his was out hunting, a +little while back, in the desert for ostriches, with a party of other +Kafirs, when hearing shots fired some way off, they made for the spot, +thinking that white men were out shooting, and that they would be able +to beg meat. On reaching the spot, which was by a pool of water, they +saw the bodies of three white men lying on the ground, and also those of +a Hottentot and a Kafir, surrounded by an armed party of Kafirs. They +at once asked the Kafirs what they had been doing killing the white men, +and were told to be still, for it was by "order of the king." They +then learned the whole story. It appeared that the white men had made a +mid-day halt by the water, when one of the bearers, who had gone to the +edge of the pool, suddenly shouted to them to come and look at a great +snake in the water. Captain Patterson ran up, and, as he leaned over the +edge, was instantly killed by a blow with an axe; the others were then +shot and assegaied. The Kafir further described the clothes that his +brother had seen on the bodies, and also some articles that had been +given to his party by the murderers, that left little doubt as to the +veracity of his story. And so ended the mission to Matabeleland. + +No public notice was taken of the matter, for the obvious reason that +it was impossible to get at Lo Bengula to punish him; nor would it have +been easy to come by legal evidence to disprove the ingenious story +of the poisoned water, since anybody trying to reach the spot of the +massacre would probably fall a victim to some similar accident before +he got back again. It is devoutly to be hoped that the punishment he +deserves will sooner or later overtake the author of this devilish and +wholesale murder. + +The beginning of 1879 was signalised by the commencement of operations +in Zululand and by the news of the terrible disaster at Isandhlwana, +which fell on Pretoria like a thunderclap. It was not, however, any +surprise to those who were acquainted with Zulu tactics and with the +plan of attack adopted by the English commanders. In fact, I know +that one solemn warning of what would certainly happen to him, if he +persisted in his plan of advance, was addressed to Lord Chelmsford, +through the officer in command at Pretoria, by a gentlemen whose +position and long experience of the Zulus and their mode of attack +should have carried some weight. If it ever reached him, he took, to the +best of my recollection, no notice of it whatever. + +But though some such disaster was daily expected by a few, the majority +of both soldiers and civilians never dreamed of anything of the sort, +the general idea being that the conquest of Cetywayo was a very easy +undertaking: and the shock produced by the news of Isandhlwana was +proportionally great, especially as it reached Pretoria in a much +exaggerated form. I shall never forget the appearance of the town that +morning; business was entirely suspended, and the streets were filled +with knots of men talking, with scared faces, as well they might: for +there was scarcely anybody but had lost a friend, and many thought that +their sons or brothers were among the dead on that bloody field. Among +others, Sir T. Shepstone lost one son, and thought for some time that he +had lost three. + +Shortly after this event Sir T. Shepstone went to England to confer with +the Secretary of State on various matters connected with the Transvaal, +carrying with him the affection and respect of all who knew him, not +excepting the majority of the malcontent Boers. He was succeeded by +Colonel, now Sir Owen Lanyon, who was appointed to administer the +Government during the absence of Sir T. Shepstone. + +By the Boers, however, the news of our disaster was received with great +and unconcealed rejoicing, or at least by the irreconcilable portion of +that people. England's necessity was their opportunity, and one of which +they certainly meant to avail themselves. Accordingly, notices were sent +out summoning the burghers of the Transvaal to attend a mass meeting on +the 18th March, at a place about thirty miles from Pretoria. Emissaries +were also sent to native chiefs, to excite them to follow Cetywayo's +example, and massacre all the English within reach, of whom a man called +Solomon Prinsloo was one of the most active. The natives, however, +notwithstanding the threats used towards them, one and all declined the +invitation. + +It must not be supposed that all the Boers who attended these meetings +did so of their own free will; on the contrary, a very large number came +under compulsion, since they found that the English authorities were +powerless to give them protection. The recalcitrants were threatened +with all sorts of pains and penalties if they did not attend, a +favourite menace being that they should be made "biltong" of when the +country was given back (i.e., be cut into strips and hung in the sun to +dry). Few, luckily for themselves, were brave enough to tempt fortune by +refusing to come, but those who did, have had to leave the country +since the war. Whatever were the means employed, the result was an armed +meeting of about 3000 Boers, who evidently meant mischief. + +Just about this time a corps had been raised in Pretoria, composed, for +the most part, of gentlemen, and known as the Pretoria Horse; for the +purpose of proceeding to the Zulu border, where cavalry, especially +cavalry acquainted with the country, was earnestly needed. In the +emergency of the times officials were allowed to join this corps, +a permission of which I availed myself, and was elected one of the +lieutenants.[*] The corps was not, after all, allowed to go to Zululand +on account of the threatening aspect adopted by the Boers, against whom +it was retained for service. In my capacity as an officer of the corps I +was sent out with a small body of picked men, all good riders and light +weights, to keep up a constant communication between the Boer camp and +the Administrator, and found the work both interesting and exciting. My +head-quarters were at an inn about twenty-five miles from Pretoria, to +which our agents in the meeting used to come every evening and report +how matters were proceeding, whereupon, if the road was clear, +I despatched a letter to head-quarters; or, if I feared that the +messengers would be caught _en route_ by Boer patrols and searched, I +substituted different coloured ribbons according to what I wished to +convey. There was a relief hidden in the trees or rocks every six +miles, all day and most of the night, whose business it was to take the +despatch or ribbon and gallop on with it to the next station, in which +way we used to get the despatches into town in about an hour and a +quarter. + + [*] It is customary in South African volunteer forces to + allow the members to elect their own officers, provided the + men elected are such as the Government approves. This is + done, so that the corps may not afterwards be able to + declare that they have no confidence in their officers in + action, or to grumble at their treatment by them. + +On one or two occasions the Boers came to the inn and threatened to +shoot us, but as our orders were to do nothing unless our lives were +actually in danger, we took no notice. The officer who came out to +relieve me had not, however, been there more than a day or two before he +and all his troopers, were hunted back into Pretoria by a large mob of +armed Boers whom they only escaped by very hard riding. + +Meanwhile the Boers were by degrees drawing nearer and nearer to the +town, till at last they pitched their laagers within six miles, and +practically besieged it. All business was stopped, the houses were +loopholed and fortified, and advantageous positions were occupied by the +military and the various volunteer corps. The building, normally in +the occupation of the Government mules, fell to the lot of the Pretoria +Horse, and, though it was undoubtedly a post of honour, I honestly +declare that I have no wish to sleep for another month in a mule stable +that has not been cleaned out for several years. However, by sinking +a well, and erecting bastions and a staging for sharp-shooters, we +converted it into an excellent fortress, though it would not have been +of much use against artillery. Our patrols used to be out all night, +since we chiefly feared a night attack, and generally every preparation +was made to resist the onset that was hourly expected, and I believe +that it was that state of preparedness that alone prevented it. + +Whilst this meeting was going on, and when matters had come to a point +that seemed to render war inevitable, Sir B. Frere arrived at Pretoria +and had several interviews with the Boer leaders, at which they +persisted in demanding their independence, and nothing short of it. +After a great deal of talk the meeting finally broke up without any +actual appeal to arms, though it had, during its continuance, assumed +many of the rights of government, such as stopping post-carts and +individuals, and sending armed patrols about the country. The principal +reason of its break-up was that the Zulu war was now drawing to a close, +and the leaders saw that there would soon be plenty of troops available +to suppress any attempt at revolt, but they also saw to what lengths +they could go with impunity. They had for a period of nearly two months +been allowed to throw the whole country into confusion, to openly +violate the laws, and to intimidate and threaten Her Majesty's loyal +subjects with war and death. The lesson was not lost on them; but they +postponed action till a more favourable opportunity offered. + +Sir Bartle Frere before his departure took an opportunity at a public +dinner given him at Potchefstroom of assuring the loyal inhabitants of +the country that the Transvaal would never be given back. + +Meanwhile a new Pharaoh had arisen in Egypt, in the shape of Sir G. +Wolseley, and on the 29th June 1879 we find him communicating the fact +to Sir O. Lanyon in very plain language, telling him that he disapproved +of his course of action with regard to Secocoeni, and that "in future +you will please take orders only from me." + +As soon as Sir Garnet had completed his arrangements for the +pacification of Zululand, he proceeded to Pretoria, and having caused +himself to be sworn in as Governor, set vigorously to work. I must say +that in his dealings with the Transvaal he showed great judgment and a +keen appreciation of what the country needed, namely, strong government; +the fact of the matter being, I suppose, that being very popular with +the Home authorities he felt that he could more or less command their +support in what he did, a satisfaction not given to most governors, +who never know but that they may be thrown overboard in emergency, in +lighten the ship. + +One of his first acts was to issue a proclamation, stating that "Whereas +it appears that, notwithstanding repeated assurances of the contrary +given by Her Majesty's representatives in this territory, uncertainty or +misapprehension exists amongst some of Her Majesty's subjects as to +the intention of Her Majesty's Government regarding the maintenance of +British rule and sovereignty over the territory of the Transvaal: +and whereas it is expedient that all grounds for such uncertainty or +misapprehension should be removed once and for all beyond doubt or +question: now therefore I do hereby proclaim and make known, in the +name and on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, that it is the will and +determination of Her Majesty's Government that this Transvaal territory +shall be, _and shall continue to be for ever_, an integral portion of +Her Majesty's dominions in South Africa." + +Alas! Sir G. Wolseley's estimate of the value of a solemn pledge thus +made in the name of Her Majesty, whose word has hitherto been held to be +sacred, differed greatly to that of Mr. Gladstone and his Government. + +Sir Garnet Wolseley's operations against Secocoeni proved eminently +successful, and were the best arranged bit of native warfare that I have +yet heard of in South Africa. One blow was struck, and only one, but +that was crushing. Of course the secret of his success lay in the fact +that he had an abundance of force; but it was not ensured by that +alone, good management being very requisite in an affair of the sort, +especially where native allies have to be dealt with. The cost of the +expedition, not counting other Secocoeni war expenditure, amounted to +over 300,000 pounds, all of which is now lost to this country. + +Another step in the right direction undertaken by Sir Garnet was the +establishment of an Executive Council and also of a Legislative Council, +for the establishment of which Letters Patent were sent from Downing +Street in November 1880. + +Meanwhile the Boers, paying no attention to the latter proclamation, for +they guessed that it, like other proclamations in the Transvaal, would +be a mere _brutum fulmen_, had assembled for another mass meeting, at +which they went forward a step, and declared a Government which was to +treat with the English authorities. They had now learnt that they could +do what they liked with perfect impunity, provided they did not take +the extreme course of massacring the English. They had yet to learn that +they might even do that. At the termination of this meeting, a vote of +thanks was passed to "Mr. Leonard Courtney of London, and other members +of the British Parliament." It was wise of the Boer leaders to cultivate +Mr. Courtney of London. As a result of this meeting, Pretorius, one of +the principal leaders, and Bok, the secretary, were arrested on a +charge of treason, and underwent a preliminary examination; but as the +Secretary of State, Sir M. Hicks Beach, looked rather timidly on the +proceeding, and the local authorities were doubtful of securing a +verdict, the prosecution was abandoned, and necessarily did more harm +than good, being looked upon as another proof of the impotence of the +Government. + +Shortly afterwards, Sir G. Wolseley changed his tactics, and, instead +of attempting to imprison Pretorius, offered him a seat on the Executive +Council, with a salary attached. This was a much more sensible way +of dealing with him, and he at once rose to the bait, stating his +willingness to join the Government after a while, but that he could +not publicly do so at the moment lest he should lose his influence with +those who were to be brought round through him. It does not, however, +appear that Mr. Pretorius ever did actually join the Executive, probably +because he found public opinion too strong to allow him to do so. + +In December 1879, a new light broke upon the Boers, for, in the previous +month Mr. Gladstone had been delivering his noted attack on the policy +of the Conservative Government. Those Mid-Lothian speeches did harm, it +is said, in many parts of the world; but I venture to think that they +have proved more mischievous in South Africa than anywhere else; at any +rate, they have borne fruit sooner. It is not to be supposed that Mr. +Gladstone really cared anything about the Transvaal or its independence +when he was denouncing the hideous outrage that had been perpetrated +by the Conservative Government in annexing it. On the contrary, as he +acquiesced in the Annexation at the time (when Lord Kimberley stated +that it was evidently unavoidable), and declined to rescind it when he +came into power, it is to be supposed that he really approved of it, or +at the least looked on it as a necessary evil. However this may be, any +stick will do to beat a dog with, and the Transvaal was a convenient +point on which to attack the Government. He probably neither knew +nor cared what effect his reckless words might have on ignorant Boers +thousands of miles away; and yet, humanly speaking, many a man would +have been alive and strong to-day, whose bones now whiten the African +Veldt, had those words never been spoken. Then, for the first time, +the Boers learnt that, if they played their cards properly and put +on sufficient pressure, they would, in the event of the Liberal party +coming to office, have little difficulty in coercing it as they wished. + +There was a fair chance at the time of the utterance of the Mid-Lothian +speeches that the agitation would, by degrees, die away; Sir G. Wolseley +had succeeded in winning over Pretorius, and the Boers in general +were sick of mass meetings. Indeed, a memorial was addressed to Sir G. +Wolseley by a number of Boers in the Potchefstroom district, protesting +against the maintenance of the movement against Her Majesty's rule, +which, considering the great amount of intimidation exercised by the +malcontents, may be looked upon as a favourable sign. + +But when it slowly came to be understood among the Boers that a great +English Minister had openly espoused their cause, and that he would +perhaps soon be all-powerful, the moral gain to them was incalculable. +They could now go to the doubting ones and say,--we must be right about +the matter, because, putting our own feelings out of the question, +the great Gladstone says we are. We find the committee of the Boer +malcontents, at their meeting in March 1880, reading a letter to Mr. +Gladstone, "in which he was thanked for the great sympathy shown to +their fate," and a hope expressed that, if he succeeded in getting +power, he would not forget them. In fact, a charming unanimity prevailed +between our great Minister and the Boer rebels, for their interests were +the same, the overthrow of the Conservative Government. If, however, +every leader of the Opposition were to intrigue, or countenance +intrigues with those who are seeking to undermine the authority of Her +Majesty, whether they be Boers or Irishmen, in order to help himself to +power, the country might suffer in the long run. + +But whatever feelings may have prompted Her Majesty's opposition, the +Home Government, and their agent, Sir Garnet Wolseley, blew no uncertain +blast, if we may judge from their words and actions. Thus we find +Sir Garnet speaking as follows at a banquet given in his honour at +Pretoria:-- + +"I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating in +this way, for a change of Government in England may give them again +the old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance of English +politics than such an idea; I tell you that there is no Government, Whig +or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical, _who would dare under any +circumstances to give back this country_. They would not dare, because +the English people would not allow them. To give back the country, what +would it mean? To give it back to external danger, to the danger of +attack by hostile tribes on its frontier, and who, if the English +Government were removed for one day, would make themselves felt the +next. Not an official of Government paid for months; it would mean +national bankruptcy. No taxes being paid, the same thing recurring again +which had existed before would mean danger without, anarchy and civil +war within, every possible misery; the strangulation of trade, and the +destruction of property." + +It is very amusing to read this passage by the light of after events. +On other occasions Sir Garnet Wolseley will probably not be quite so +confident as to the future when it is to be controlled by a Radical +Government. + +This explicit and straightforward statement of Sir Garnet's produced +a great effect on the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal, which was +heightened by the publication of the following telegram from the +Secretary of State:--"You may fully confirm explicit statements made +from the time to time as to inability of Her Majesty's Government to +entertain _any proposal_ for withdrawal of the Queen's sovereignty." + +On the faith of these declarations many Englishmen migrated to the +Transvaal and settled there, whilst those who were in the country now +invested all their means, being confident that they would not lose +their property through its being returned to the Boers. The excitement +produced by Mr. Gladstone's speeches began to quiet down and be +forgotten for the time, arrear taxes were paid up by the malcontents, +and generally the aspect of affairs was such, in Sir Garnet Wolseley's +opinion, as justified him in writing, in April 1880, to the Secretary of +State expressing his belief that the agitation was dying out.[*] Indeed, +so sanguine was he on that point that he is reported to have advised the +withdrawal of the cavalry regiment stationed in the territory, a piece +of economy that was one of the immediate causes of the revolt. + +The reader will remember the financial condition of the country at the +time of the Annexation, which was one of utter bankruptcy. After three +years of British rule, however, we find, notwithstanding the constant +agitation that had been kept up, that the total revenue receipts for +the first quarter of 1879 and 1880 amounted to 22,773 pounds, and 44,982 +pounds respectively. That is to say, that, during the last year of +British rule, the revenue of the country more than doubled itself, and +amounted to about 160,000 pounds a-year, taking the quarterly returns at +the low average of 40,000 pounds. It must, however, be remembered that +this sum would have been very largely increased in subsequent years, +most probably doubled. At any rate the revenue would have been amply +sufficient to make the province one of the most prosperous in South +Africa, and to have enabled it to shortly repay all debts due to the +British Government, and further to provide for its own defence. Trade +also, which in April 1877, was completely paralysed, had increased +enormously. So early as the middle of 1879, the Committee of the +Transvaal Chamber of Commerce pointed out, in a resolution adopted by +them, that the trade of the country had in two years, risen from almost +nothing to the considerable sum of two millions sterling per annum, and +that it was entirely in the hands of those favourable to British rule. +They also pointed out that more than half the land tax was paid by +Englishmen, or other Europeans adverse to Boer Government. Land, too, +had risen greatly in value, of which I can give the following instance. +About a year after the Annexation I, together with a friend, bought a +little property on the outskirts of Pretoria, which, with a cottage +we put up on it, cost some 300 pounds. Just before the rebellion we +fortunately determined to sell it, and had no difficulty in getting 650 +pounds for it. I do not believe that it would now fetch a fifty pound +note. + + [*] In Blue Book No. (C. 2866) of September 1881, which is + descriptive of various events connected with the Boer + rising, is published, as an appendix, a despatch from Sir + Garnet Wolseley, dated October 1879. This despatch declares + the writer's opinion that the Boer discontent is on the + increase. Its publication thus--_apropos des bottes_--nearly + two years after it was written, is rather an amusing + incident. It certainly gives one the idea that Sir Garnet + Wolseley, fearing that his reputation for infallibility + might be attacked by scoffers for not having foreseen the + Boer rebellion, and perhaps uneasily conscious of other + despatches very different in tenor and subsequent in date: + and, mindful of the withdrawal of the cavalry regiment by + his advice, had caused it to be tacked on to the Blue Book + as a documentary "I told you so," and a proof that, whoever + else was blinded, he foresaw. It contains, however, the + following remarkable passage:--"Even were it not impossible, + for many other reasons, to contemplate a withdrawal of our + authority from the Transvaal, the position of insecurity in + which we should leave this loyal and important section of + the community (the English inhabitants), by exposing them to + the certain retaliation of the Boers, would constitute, in + my opinion, an insuperable obstacle to retrocession. + Subjected to the same danger, moreover, would be those of + the Boers, whose superior intelligence and courageous + character has rendered them loyal to our Government." + + As the Government took the trouble to publish the despatch, + it is a pity that they did not think fit to pay more + attention to its contents. + +I cannot conclude this chapter better than by drawing attention to a +charming specimen of the correspondence between the Boer leaders and +their friend Mr. Courtney. The letter in question, which is dated 26th +June, purports to be written by Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, but it is +obvious that it owes its origin to some member or members of the Dutch +party at the Cape, from whence, indeed, it is written. This is rendered +evident both by its general style, and also by the use of such terms +as "Satrap," and by references to Napoleon III. and Cayenne, about whom +Messrs. Kruger and Joubert know no more than they do of Peru and the +Incas. + +After alluding to former letters, the writers blow a blast of triumph +over the downfall of the Conservative Government, and then make a savage +attack on the reputation of Sir Bartle Frere. The "stubborn Satrap" is +throughout described as a liar, and every bad motive imputed to him. +Really, the fact that Mr. Courtney should encourage such epistles as +this is enough to give colour to the boast made by some of the leading +Boers, after the war, that they had been encouraged to rebel by a member +of the British Government. + +At the end of this letter, and on the same page of the Blue Book, is +printed the telegram recalling Sir Bartle Frere, dated 1st August 1880. +It really reads as though the second document was consequent to the +first. One thing is very clear, the feelings of Her Majesty's new +Government towards Sir Bartle Frere differed only in the method of their +expression, from those set forth by the Boer leaders in their letter +to Mr. Courtney, whilst their object, namely, to be rid of him, was +undoubtedly identical with that of the Dutch party in South Africa. + + + +CHAPTER V + +THE BOER REBELLION + +_Accession of Mr. Gladstone to power--His letters to the Boer leaders +and the loyals--His refusal to rescind the annexation--The Boers +encouraged by prominent members of the Radical party--The Bezuidenhout +incident--Despatch of troops to Potchefstroom--Mass meeting of the 8th +December 1880--Appointment of the Triumvirate and declaration of +the republic--Despatch of Boer proclamation to Sir O. Lanyon--His +reply--Outbreak of hostilities at Potchefstroom--Defence of the +court-house by Major Clarke--The massacre of the detachment of the 94th +under Colonel Anstruther--Dr. Ward--The Boer rejoicings--The Transvaal +placed under martial law--Abandonment of their homes by the people +of Pretoria--Sir Owen Lanyon's admirable defence organisation--Second +proclamation issued by the Boers--Its complete falsehood--Life at +Pretoria during the siege--Murders of natives by the Boers--Loyal +conduct of the native chiefs--Difficulty of preventing them from +attacking the Boers--Occupation of Lang's Nek by the Boers--Sir George +Colley's departure to Newcastle--The condition of that town--The attack +on Lang's Nek--Its desperate nature--Effect of victory on the Boers--The +battle at the Ingogo--Our defeat--Sufferings of the wounded--Major +Essex--Advance of the Boers into Natal--Constant alarms--Expected attack +on Newcastle--Its unorganised and indefensible condition--Arrival of the +reinforcements and retreat of the Boers to the Nek--Despatch of General +Wood to bring up more reinforcements--Majuba Hill--Our disaster, and +death of Sir George Colley--Cause of our defeat--A Boer version of the +disaster--Sir George Colley's tactics._ + +When the Liberal ministry became an accomplished fact instead of a happy +possibility, Mr. Gladstone did not find it convenient to adopt the line +of policy with reference to the Transvaal, that might have been expected +from his utterances whilst leader of the Opposition. On the contrary, he +declared in Parliament that the Annexation could not be cancelled, and +on the 8th June 1880 we find him, in answer to a Boer petition, written +with the object of inducing him to act up to the spirit of his words and +rescind the Annexation, writing thus:--"Looking to all circumstances, +both of the Transvaal and the rest of South Africa, and to the necessity +of preventing a renewal of disorders which might lead to disastrous +consequences, not only to the Transvaal, but to the whole of South +Africa, our judgment is, that the _Queen cannot be advised to relinquish +her sovereignty over the Transvaal;_ but, consistently with the +maintenance of that sovereignty, we desire that the white inhabitants of +the Transvaal should, without prejudice to the rest of the population, +enjoy the fullest liberty to manage their local affairs. We believe that +this liberty may be most easily and promptly conceded to the Transvaal +as a member of a South African confederation." + +Unless words have lost their signification, this passage certainly means +that the Transvaal must remain a British colony, but that England will +be prepared to grant it responsible government, more especially if it +will consent to a confederation scheme. Mr. Gladstone, however, in a +communication dated 1st June 1881, and addressed to the unfortunate +Transvaal loyals, for whom he expresses "respect and sympathy," +interprets his meaning thus: "It is stated, as I observe, that a promise +was given to me that the Transvaal should never be given back. There is +no mention of the terms or date of this promise. If the reference be +to my letter, of 8th June 1880, to Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, I do not +think the language of that letter justifies the description given. Nor +am I sure in what manner or to what degree the fullest liberty to manage +their local affairs, which I then said Her Majesty's Government desired +to confer on the white population of the Transvaal, differs from the +settlement now about being made in its bearing on the interests of those +whom your Committee represents." + +Such twisting of the meaning of words would, in a private person, be +called dishonest. It will also occur to most people that Mr. Gladstone +might have spared the deeply wronged and loyal subjects of Her Majesty +whom he was addressing, the taunt he levels at them in the second +paragraph I have quoted. If asked, he would no doubt say that he had not +the slightest intention of laughing at them; but when he deliberately +tells them that it makes no difference to their interests whether they +remain Her Majesty's subjects under a responsible Government, or become +the servants of men who were but lately in arms against them and Her +Majesty's authority, he is either mocking them, or offering an insult to +their understandings. + +By way of comment on his remarks, I may add that he had, in a letter +replying to a petition from these same loyal inhabitants, addressed +to him in May 1880, informed them that he had already told the Boer +representatives that the Annexation could not be rescinded. Although +Mr. Gladstone is undoubtedly the greatest living master of the art of +getting two distinct and opposite sets of meanings out of one set of +words, it would try even his ingenuity to make out, to the satisfaction +of an impartial mind, that he never gave any pledge about the retention +of the Transvaal. + +Indeed, it is from other considerations clear that he had no intention +of giving up the country to the Boers, whose cause he appears to have +taken up solely for electioneering purposes. Had he meant to do so, +he would have carried out his intention on succeeding to office, and, +indeed, as things have turned out, it is deeply to be regretted that he +did not; for, bad as such a step would have been, it would at any rate +have had a better appearance than our ultimate surrender after three +defeats. It would also have then been possible to secure the repayment +of some of the money owing to this country, and to provide for the +proper treatment of the natives, and the compensation of the loyal +inhabitants who could no longer live there: since it must naturally have +been easier to make terms with the Boers before they had defeated our +troops. + +On the other hand, we should have missed the grandest and most +soul-stirring display of radical theories, practically applied, that +has as yet lightened the darkness of this country. But although Mr. +Gladstone gave his official decision against returning the country, +there seems to be little doubt that communications on the subject were +kept up with the Boer leaders through some prominent members of the +Radical party, whom, it was said, went so far as to urge the Boers to +take up arms against us. When Mr. White came to this country on behalf +of the loyalists, after the surrender, he stated that this was so at a +public meeting, and said further that he had in his possession proofs of +his statements. He even went so far as to name the gentleman he accused, +and to challenge him to deny it. I have not been able to gather that Mr. +White's statements were contradicted. + +However this may be, after a pause, agitation in the Transvaal suddenly +recommenced with redoubled vigour. It began through a man named +Bezuidenhout, who refused to pay his taxes. Thereupon a waggon was +seized in execution under the authority of the court and put up to +auction, but its sale was prevented by a crowd of rebel Boers, who +kicked the auctioneer off the waggon and dragged the vehicle away. This +was on the 11th November 1880. When this intelligence reached Pretoria, +Sir Owen Lanyon sent down a few companies of the 21st Regiment, under +the command of Major Thornhill, to support the Landdrost in arresting +the rioters, and appointed Captain Raaf, C.M.G., to act as special +messenger to the Landdrost's Court at Potchefstroom, with authority +to enrol special constables to assist him to carry out the arrests. +On arrival at Potchefstroom Captain Raaf found that, without an armed +force, it was quite impossible to effect any arrest. On the 26th +November Sir Owen Lanyon, realising the gravity of the situation, +telegraphed to Sir George Colley, asking that the 58th Regiment should +be sent back to the Transvaal. Sir George replied that he could ill +spare it on account of "daily expected outbreak of Pondos and possible +appeal for help from Cape Colony," and that the Government must be +supported by the loyal inhabitants. + +It will be seen that the Boers had, with some astuteness, chosen a very +favourable time to commence operations. The hands of the Cape Government +were full with the Basutu war, so no help could be expected from it. Sir +G. Wolseley had sent away the only cavalry regiment that remained in the +country, and lastly, Sir Owen Lanyon had quite recently allowed a body +of 300 trained volunteers, mostly, if not altogether, drawn from among +the loyalists, to be raised for service in the Basutu war, a serious +drain upon the resources of a country so sparsely populated as the +Transvaal. + +Meanwhile a mass meeting had been convened by the Boers for the 8th +January to consider Mr. Gladstone's letter, but the Bezuidenhout +incident had the effect of putting forward the date of assembly by a +month, and it was announced that it would be held on the 8th December. +Subsequently the date was shifted to the 15th, and then back again +to the 8th. Every effort was made, by threats of future vengeance, to +secure the presence of as many burghers as possible; attempts were +also made to persuade the native chiefs to send representatives, and to +promise to join in an attack on the English. These entirely failed. The +meeting was held at a place called Paarde Kraal, and resulted in the +sudden declaration of the Republic and the appointment of the famous +triumvirate Kruger, Joubert, and Pretorius. It then moved into +Heidelberg, a little town about sixty miles from Pretoria, and on +the 16th December the Republic was formally proclaimed in a long +proclamation, containing a summary of the events of the few preceding +years, and declaring the arrangements the malcontents were willing to +make with the English authorities. The terms offered in this document +are almost identical with those finally accepted by Her Majesty's +Government, with the exception that in the proclamation of the 16th +December the Boer leaders declare their willingness to enter into +confederation, and to guide their native policy by general rules adopted +in concurrence "with the Colonies and States of South Africa." This was +a more liberal offer than that which we ultimately agreed to, but then +the circumstances had changed. + +This proclamation was forwarded to Sir Owen Lanyon with a covering +letter, in which the following words occur:--"We declare in the most +solemn manner that we have no desire to spill blood, and that from our +side we do not wish war. It lies in your hands to force us to appeal +to arms in self-defence. . . . . We expect your answer within twice +twenty-four hours." + +I beg to direct particular attention to these paragraphs, as they have a +considerable interest in view of what followed. + +The letter and proclamation reached Government House, Pretoria, at +10.30 on the evening of Friday the 17th December. Sir Owen Lanyon's +proclamation, written in reply, was handed to the messenger at noon on +Sunday, 19th December, or within about thirty-six hours of his arrival, +and could hardly have reached the rebel camp, sixty miles off, before +dawn the next day, the 20th December, on which day, at about one +o'clock, a detachment of the 94th was ambushed and destroyed on the +road between Middelburg and Pretoria, about eighty miles off, by a force +despatched from Heidelburg for that purpose some days before. On the +16th December, or the _same day_ on which the Triumvirate had despatched +the proclamation to Pretoria containing their terms, and expressing in +the most solemn manner that they had no desire to shed blood, a large +Boer force was attacking Potchefstroom. + +So much then for the sincerity of the professions of their desire to +avoid bloodshed. + +The proclamation sent by Sir O. Lanyon in reply recited in its preamble +the various acts of which the rebels had been guilty, including that +of having "wickedly sought to incite the said loyal native inhabitants +throughout the province to take up arms against Her Majesty's +Government," announced that matters had now been put into the hands of +the officer commanding Her Majesty's troops, and promised pardon to all +who would disperse to their homes. + +It was at Potchefstroom, which town had all along been the nursery of +the rebellion, that actual hostilities first broke out. Potchefstroom as +a town is much more Boer in its sympathies than Pretoria, which is, +or rather was, almost purely English. Sir Owen Lanyon had, as stated +before, sent a small body of soldiers thither to support the civil +authorities, and had also appointed Major Clarke, C.M.G., an officer +of noted coolness and ability, to act as Special Commissioner for the +district. + +Major Clarke's first step was to try, in conjunction with Captain Raaf, +to raise a corps of volunteers, in which he totally failed. Those of the +townsfolk who were not Boers at heart had too many business relations +with the surrounding farmers, and perhaps too little faith in the +stability of English rule after Mr. Gladstone's utterances, to allow +them to indulge in patriotism. At the time of the outbreak, between +seventy and eighty thousand sterling was owing to firms in Potchefstroom +by neighbouring Boers, a sum amply sufficient to account for their +lukewarmness in the English cause. Subsequent events have shown that the +Potchefstroom shopkeepers were wise in their generation. + +On the 15th December a large number of Boers came into the town and took +possession of the printing-office in order to print the proclamation +already alluded to. Major Clarke made two attempts to enter the office +and see the leaders, but without success. + +On the 16th a Boer patrol fired on some of the mounted infantry, and the +fire was returned. These were the first shots fired during the war, and +they were fired by Boers. Orders were thereupon signalled to Clarke by +Lieutenant-Colonel Winsloe, 21st Regiment, now commanding at the fort +which he afterwards defended so gallantly, that he was to commence +firing. Clarke was in the Landdrost's office on the Market Square with a +force of about twenty soldiers under Captain Falls and twenty civilians +under Captain Raaf, C.M.G., a position but ill-suited for defensive +purposes, from whence fire was accordingly opened, the Boers taking up +positions in the surrounding houses commanding the office. Shortly after +the commencement of the fighting, Captain Falls was shot dead whilst +talking to Major Clarke, the latter having a narrow escape, a bullet +grazing his head just above the ear. The fighting continued during +the 17th and till the morning of the 18th, when the Boers succeeded in +firing the roof, which was of thatch, by throwing fire-balls on to +it. Major Clarke then addressed the men, telling them that, though +personally he did not care about his own life, he did not see that +they could serve any useful purpose by being burned alive, so he should +surrender, which he did, with a loss of about six killed and wounded. +The camp meanwhile had repulsed with loss the attack made on it, and was +never again directly attacked. + +Whilst these events were in progress at Potchefstroom, a much more awful +tragedy was in preparation on the road between Middelburg and Pretoria. + +On the 23rd November Colonel Bellairs, at the request of Sir Owen +Lanyon, directed a concentration on Pretoria of most of the few soldiers +that there were in the territory, in view of the disturbed condition of +the country. In accordance with these orders, Colonel Anstruther +marched from Lydenburg, a town about 180 miles from Pretoria, on the 5th +December, with the headquarters and two companies of the 94th Regiment, +being a total of 264 men, three women, and two children, and the +disproportionately large train of thirty-four ox-waggons, or an +ox-waggon capable of carrying five thousand pounds' weight to every +eight persons. And here I may remark that it is this enormous amount of +baggage, without which it appears to be impossible to move the smallest +body of men, that renders infantry regiments almost useless for service +in South Africa except for garrisoning purposes. Both Zulus and Boers +can get over the ground at thrice the pace possible to the unfortunate +soldier, and both races despise them accordingly. The Zulus call our +infantry "pack oxen." In this particular instance, Colonel Anstruther's +defeat, or rather, annihilation, is to a very great extent referable to +his enormous baggage train; since, in the first place, had he not lost +valuable days in collecting more waggons, he would have been safe in +Pretoria before danger arose. It must also be acknowledged that his +arrangements on the line of march were somewhat reckless, though it can +hardly be said that he was ignorant of his danger. Thus we find that +Colonel Bellairs wrote to Colonel Anstruther, warning him of the +probability of an attack, and impressing on him the necessity of keeping +a good look-out, the letter being received and acknowledged by the +latter on the 17th December. + +To this warning was added a still more impressive one, that came to +my knowledge privately. A gentleman well known to me received, on the +morning after the troops had passed through the town of Middelburg on +their way to Pretoria, a visit from an old Boer with whom he was on +friendly terms, who had purposely come to tell him that a large patrol +was out to ambush the troops on the Pretoria road. My informant having +convinced himself of the truth of the statement, at once rode after +the soldiers, and catching them up some distance from Middelburg, told +Colonel Anstruther what he had heard, imploring him, he said, with +all the energy he could command, to take better precautions against +surprise. The Colonel, however, laughed at his fears, and told him that +if the Boers came "he would frighten them away with the big drum." + +At one o'clock on Sunday, the 20th December, the column was marching +along about a mile and a half from a place known as Bronker's Spruit, +and thirty-eight miles from Pretoria, when suddenly a large number of +mounted Boers were seen in loose formation on the left side of the road. +The band was playing at the time, and the column was extended over more +than half a mile, the rear-guard being about a hundred yards behind +the last waggon. The band stopped playing on seeing the Boers, and the +troops halted, when a man was seen advancing with a white flag, whom +Colonel Anstruther went out to meet, accompanied by Conductor Egerton, +a civilian. They met about one hundred and fifty yards from the column, +and the man gave Colonel Anstruther a letter, which announced the +establishment of the South African Republic, stated that until they +heard Lanyon's reply to their proclamation they did not know if they +were at war or not; that, consequently, they could not allow any +movements of troops which would be taken as a declaration of war. This +letter was signed by Joubert, one of the Triumvirate. Colonel Anstruther +replied that he was ordered to Pretoria, and to Pretoria he must go. + +Whilst this conference was going on, the Boers, of whom there were +quite five hundred, had gradually closed round the column, and took up +positions behind rocks and trees which afforded them excellent cover, +whilst the troops were on a bare plain, and before Colonel Anstruther +reached his men a murderous fire was poured in upon them from all sides. +The fire was hotly returned by the soldiers. Most of the officers were +struck down by the first volley, having, no doubt, been picked out by +the marksmen. The firing lasted about fifteen minutes, and at the end of +that time seven out of the nine officers were down killed and wounded; +an eighth (Captain Elliot), one of two who escaped untouched, being +reserved for an even more awful fate. The majority of the men were also +down, and had the hail of lead continued much longer it is clear that +nobody would have been left. Colonel Anstruther, who was lying badly +wounded in five places, seeing what a hopeless state affairs were in, +ordered the bugler to sound the cease firing, and surrendered. One of +the three officers who were not much hurt was, most providentially, Dr. +Ward, who had but a slight wound in the thigh; all the others, except +Captain Elliot and one lieutenant, were either killed or died from +the effects of their wounds. There were altogether 56 killed and 101 +wounded, including a woman, Mrs. Fox. Twenty more afterwards died of +their wounds. The Boer loss appears to have been very small. + +After the fight Conductor Egerton, with a sergeant, was allowed to walk +into Pretoria to obtain medical assistance, the Boers refusing to give +him a horse, or even to allow him to use his own. The Boer leader also +left Dr. Ward eighteen men and a few stores for the wounded, with which +he made shift as best he could. Nobody can read this gentleman's report +without being much impressed with the way in which, though wounded +himself, he got through his terrible task of, without assistance, +attending to the wants of 101 sufferers. Beginning the task at two P.M., +it took him till six the next morning before he had seen the last man. +It is to be hoped that his services have met with some recognition. Dr. +Ward remained near the scene of the massacre with his wounded men till +the declaration of peace, when he brought them down to Maritzburg, +having experienced great difficulty in obtaining food for them during so +many weeks. + +This is a short account of what I must, with reluctance, call a most +cruel and carefully planned massacre. I may mention that a Zulu driver, +who was with the rear-guard, and escaped into Natal, stated that the +Boers shot all the wounded men who formed that body. His statement was +to a certain extent borne out by the evidence of one of the survivors, +who stated that all the bodies found in that part of the field (nearly +three-quarters of a mile away from the head of the column), had a bullet +hole through the head or breast in addition to their other wounds. + +The Administrator in the Transvaal in council thus comments on the +occurrence in an official minute:--"The surrounding and gradual hemming +in under a flag of truce of a force, and the selection of spots from +which to direct their fire, as in the case of the unprovoked attack by +the rebels upon Colonel Anstruther's force, is a proceeding of which +very few like incidents can be mentioned in the annals of civilised +warfare." + +The Boer leaders, however, were highly elated at their success, +and celebrated it in a proclamation of which the following is an +extract:--"Inexpressible is the gratitude of the burghers for this +blessing conferred on them. Thankful to the brave General F. Joubert and +his men who have upheld the honour of the Republic on the battlefield. +Bowed down in the dust before Almighty God, who had thus stood by them, +and, with a loss of over a hundred of the enemy, only allowed two of +ours to be killed." + +In view of the circumstances of the treacherous hemming in and +destruction of this small body of unprepared men, most people would +think this language rather high-flown, not to say blasphemous. + +On the news of this disaster reaching Pretoria, Sir Owen Lanyon issued +a proclamation placing the country under martial law. As the town +was large, straggling, and incapable of defence, all the inhabitants, +amounting to over four thousand souls, were ordered up to camp, where +the best arrangements possible were made for their convenience. In these +quarters they remained for three months, driven from their comfortable +homes, and cheerfully enduring all the hardships, want, and discomforts +consequence on their position, whilst they waited in patience for the +appearance of that relieving column that never came. People in England +hardly understand what these men and women went through because they +chose to remain loyal. Let them suppose that all the inhabitants of an +ordinary English town, with the exception of the class known as poor +people, which can hardly be said to exist in a colony, were at an hour's +notice ordered--all, the aged, and the sick, delicate women, and tiny +children--to leave their homes to the mercy of the enemy, and crowd up +in a little space under shelter of a fort, with nothing but canvas tents +or sheds to cover them from the fierce summer suns and rains, and the +coarsest rations to feed them; whilst the husbands and brothers were +daily engaged with a cunning and dangerous enemy, and sometimes brought +home wounded or dead. They will, then, have some idea of what was gone +through by the loyal people of Pretoria, in their weak confidence in the +good faith of the English Government. + +The arrangements made for the defence of the town were so ably and +energetically carried out by Sir Owen Lanyon, assisted by the military +officers, that no attack upon it was ever attempted. It seems to me that +the organisation that could provide for the penning up of four thousand +people for months, and carry it out without the occurrence of a single +unpleasantness or expression of discontent, must have had something +remarkable about it. Of course, it would have been impossible without +the most loyal co-operation on the part of those concerned. Indeed, +everybody in the town lent a helping hand; judges served out rations, +members of the Executive inspected nuisances, and so forth. There was +only one instance of "striking;" and then, of all people in the world, +it was the five civil doctors who, thinking it a favourable opportunity +to fleece the Government, combined to demand five guineas a-day each +for their services. I am glad to say that they did not succeed in their +attempt at extortion. + +On the 23d December, the Boer leaders issued a second proclamation in +reply to that of Sir O. Lanyon of the 18th, which is characterised by +an utter absence of regard for the truth, being, in fact, nothing but +a tissue of impudent falsehoods. It accuses Sir O. Lanyon of having +bombarded women and children, of arming natives against the Boers, +and of firing on the Boers without declaring war. Not one of these +accusations has any foundation in fact, as the Boers well knew; but +they also knew that Sir Owen, being shut up in Pretoria, was not in a +position to rebut their charges, which they hoped might, to some extent, +be believed, and create sympathy for them in other parts of the world. +This was the reason for the issue of the proclamation, which well +portrays the character of its framers. + +Life at Pretoria was varied by occasional sorties against the Boer +laagers, situated at different points in the neighbourhood, generally +about six or eight miles from the town. These expeditions were carried +out with considerable success, though with some loss, the heaviest +incurred being when the Boers, having treacherously hoisted the white +flag, opened a heavy fire on the Pretoria forces, as soon as they, +beguiled into confidence, emerged from their cover. In the course of the +war, one in every four of the Pretoria mounted volunteers was killed or +wounded. + +But perhaps the most serious of all the difficulties the Government had +to meet, was that of keeping the natives in check. As has before been +stated they were devotedly attached to our rule, and, during the three +years of its continuance, had undergone what was to them a strange +experience, they had neither been murdered, beaten, or enslaved. +Naturally they were in no hurry to return to the old order of things, in +which murder, flogging, and slavery were events of everyday occurrence. +Nor did the behaviour of the Boers on the outbreak of the war tend +to reconcile them to any such idea. Thus we find that the farmers had +pressed a number of natives from Waterberg into one of their laagers +(Zwart Koppies); two of them tried to run away, a Boer saw them and +shot them both. Again, on the 7th January a native reported to the +authorities at Pretoria that he and some others were returning from the +Diamond Fields driving some sheep. A Boer came and asked them to sell +the sheep. They refused, whereupon he went away, but returning with some +other Dutchmen fired on the Kafirs, killing one. + +On the 2d January information reached Pretoria that on the 26th December +some Boers fired on some natives who were resting outside Potchefstroom +and killed three; the rest fled, whereupon the Boers took the cattle +they had with them. + +On the 11th January some men, who had been sent from Pretoria with +despatches for Standerton, were taken prisoners. Whilst prisoners they +saw ten men returning from the Fields stopped by the Boers and ordered +to come to the laager. They refused and ran away, were fired on, five +being killed and one getting his arm broken. + +These are a few instances of the treatment meted out to the unfortunate +natives, taken at haphazard from the official reports. There are plenty +more of the same nature if anybody cares to read them. + +As soon as the news of the rising reached them, every chief of any +importance sent in to offer aid to Government, and many of them, +especially Montsoia, our old ally in the Keate Award district, took the +loyals of the neighbourhood under their protection. Several took charge +of Government property and cattle during the disturbances, and one +had four or five thousand pounds in gold, the product of a recently +collected tax given him to take care of by the Commissioner of his +district, who was afraid that the money would be seized by the Boers. +In every instance the property entrusted to their charge was returned +intact. The loyalty of all the native chiefs under very trying +circumstances (for the Boers were constantly attempting to cajole or +frighten them into joining them) is a remarkable proof of the great +affection of the Kafirs, more especially those of the Basutu tribes, +who love peace better than war, for the Queen's rule. The Government of +Pretoria need only have spoken one word, to set an enormous number of +armed men in motion against the Boers, with the most serious results to +the latter. Any other Government in the world would, in its extremity, +have spoken that word, but, fortunately for the Boers, it is against +English principles to set black against white under any circumstances. + +Besides the main garrison at Pretoria there were forts defended by +soldiery and loyals at the following places:--Potchefstroom, Rustenburg, +Lydenburg, Marabastad, and Wakkerstroom, none of which were taken by the +Boers.[*] + + [*] Colonel Winsloe, however, being short of provisions, was + beguiled by the fraudulent representations and acts of the + Boer commander into surrendering the fort at Potchefstroom + during the armistice. + +One of the first acts of the Triumvirate was to despatch a large force +from Heidelberg with orders to advance into Natal Territory, and seize +the pass over the Drakensberg known as Lang's Nek, so as to dispute the +advance of any relieving column. This movement was promptly executed, +and strong Boer troops patrolled Natal country almost up to Newcastle. + +The news of the outbreak, followed as it was by that of the Bronker's +Spruit massacre, and Captain Elliot's murder, created a great excitement +in Natal. All available soldiers were at once despatched up country, +together with a naval brigade, who, on arrival at Newcastle, brought up +the strength of the Imperial troops of all arms to about a thousand men. +On the 10th January Sir George Colley left Maritzburg to join the force +at Newcastle, but at this time nobody dreamt that he meant to attack the +Nek with such an insignificant column. It was known that the loyals +and troops who were shut up in the various towns in the Transvaal +had sufficient provisions to last for some months, and that there was +therefore nothing to necessitate a forlorn hope. Indeed the possibility +of Sir George Colley attempting to enter the Transvaal was not even +speculated upon until just before his advance, it being generally +considered as out of the question. + +The best illustration I can give of the feeling that existed about the +matter is to quote my own case. I had been so unfortunate as to land in +Natal with my wife and servants just as the Transvaal troubles began, +my intention being to proceed to a place I had near Newcastle. For some +weeks I remained in Maritzburg, but finding that the troops were to +concentrate on Newcastle, and being besides heartily wearied of the +great expense and discomfort of hotel life in that town, I determined +to go on up country, looking on it as being as safe as any place in the +Colony. Of course the possibility of Sir George attacking the Nek before +the arrival of the reinforcements did not enter into my calculations, as +I thought it a venture that no sensible man would undertake. On the day +of my start, however, there was a rumour about the town that the General +was going to attack the Boer position. Though I did not believe it, +I thought it as well to go and ask the Colonial Secretary, Colonel +Mitchell, privately, if there was any truth in it, adding that if +there was, as I had a pretty intimate knowledge of the Boers and their +shooting powers, and what the inevitable result of such a move would be, +I should certainly prefer, as I had ladies with me, to remain where I +was. Colonel Mitchell told me frankly that he knew no more about Sir +George's plans than I did; but he added I might be sure that so able and +prudent a soldier would not do anything rash. His remark concurred with +my own opinion; so I started, and on arrival at Newcastle a week later +was met by the intelligence that Sir George had advanced that morning to +attack the Nek. To return was almost impossible, since both horses +and travellers were pretty nearly knocked up. Also, anybody who has +travelled with his family in summer-time over the awful track of +alternate slough and boulders between Maritzburg and Newcastle, known in +the Colony as a road, will understand, that at the time, the adventurous +voyagers would far rather risk being shot than face a return journey. + +The only thing to do under the circumstances was to await the course +of events, which were now about to develop themselves with startling +rapidity. The little town of Newcastle was at this time an odd sight, +and remained so all through the war. The hotels were crowded to +overflowing with refugees, and on every spare patch of land were erected +tents, mud huts, canvas houses, and every kind of covering that could +be utilised under the pressure of necessity, to house the many homeless +families who had succeeded in effecting their escape from the Transvaal, +many of whom were reduced to great straits. + +On the morning of the 28th January, anybody listening attentively in the +neighbourhood of Newcastle could hear the distant boom of heavy guns. We +were not kept long in suspense, for in the afternoon news arrived +that Sir George had attacked the Nek, and failed with heavy loss. +The excitement in the town was intense, for, in addition to other +considerations, the 58th Regiment, which had suffered most, had been +quartered there for some time, and both the officers and men were +personally known to the inhabitants. + +The story of the fight is well known, and needs little repetition, and a +sad story it is. The Boers, who at that time were some 2000 strong, were +posted and entrenched on steep hills, against which Sir George Colley +hurled a few hundred soldiers. It was a forlorn hope, but so gallant +was the charge, especially that of the mounted squadron led by Major +Bronlow, that at one time it nearly succeeded. But nothing could stand +under the withering fire from the Boer schanses, and as regards the foot +soldiers, they never had a chance. Colonel Deane tried to take them up +the hill with a rush, with the result that by the time they reached the +top, some of the men were actually sick from exhaustion, and none could +hold a rifle steady. There on the bare hill-top, they crouched and lay, +while the pitiless fire from redoubt and rock lashed them like hail, +till at last human nature could bear it no longer, and what was left of +them retired slowly down the slope. But for many, that gallant charge +was their last earthly action. As they charged they fell, and where they +fell they were afterwards buried. The casualties, killed and wounded, +amounted to 195, which, considering the small number of troops engaged +in the actual attack, is enormously heavy, and shows more plainly than +words can tell, the desperate nature of the undertaking. Amongst the +killed were Colonel Deane, Major Poole, Major Hingeston, and Lieutenant +Elwes. Major Essex was the only staff officer engaged who escaped, +the same officer who was one of the fortunate four who lived through +Isandhlwana. On this occasion his usual good fortune attended him, +for though his horse was killed and his helmet knocked off, he was not +touched. The Boer loss was very trivial. + +Sir George Colley, in his admirably lucid despatch about this occurrence +addressed to the Secretary of State for War, does not enter much into +the question as to the motives that prompted him to attack, simply +stating that his object was to relieve the besieged towns. He does not +appear to have taken into consideration, what was obvious to anybody who +knew the country and the Boers, that even if he had succeeded in forcing +the Nek, in itself almost an impossibility, he could never have operated +with any success in the Transvaal with so small a column, without +cavalry, and with an enormous train of waggons. He would have been +harassed day and night by the Boer skirmishers, his supplies cut off, +and his advance made practically impossible. Also the Nek would have +been re-occupied behind him, since he could not have detached sufficient +men to hold it, and in all probability Newcastle, his base of supplies, +would have fallen into the hands of the enemy. + +The moral effect of our defeat on the Boers was very great. Up to this +time there had been many secret doubts amongst a large section of them +as to what the upshot of an encounter with the troops might be; and with +this party, in the same way that defeat, or even the anxiety of waiting +to be attacked, would have turned the scale one way, victory turned it +the other. It gave them unbounded confidence in their own superiority, +and infused a spirit of cohesion and mutual reliance into their ranks +which had before been wanting. Waverers wavered no longer, but gave a +loyal adherence to the good cause, and, what was still more acceptable, +large numbers of volunteers,--whatever President Brand may say to the +contrary,--poured in from the Orange Free State. + +What Sir George Colley's motive was in making so rash a move is, of +course, quite inexplicable to the outside observer. It was said at the +time in Natal that he was a man with a theory: namely, that small bodies +of men properly handled were as useful and as likely to obtain the +object in view as a large force. Whether or no this was so, I am not +prepared to say; but it is undoubtedly the case that very clever men +have sometimes very odd theories, and it may be that he was a striking +instance in point. + +For some days after the battle at Lang's Nek affairs were quiet, and +it was hoped that they would remain so till the arrival of the +reinforcements, which were on their way out. The hope proved a vain +one. On the 7th February it was reported that the escort proceeding +from Newcastle to the General's camp with the post, a distance of about +eighteen miles, had been fired on and forced to return. + +On the 8th, about mid-day, we were all startled by the sound of +fighting, proceeding apparently from a hill known as Scheins Hoogte, +about ten miles from Newcastle. It was not know that the General +contemplated any move, and everybody was entirely at a loss to know what +was going on, the general idea being, however, that the camp near Lang's +Nek had been abandoned, and that Sir George was retiring on Newcastle. + +The firing grew hotter and hotter, till at last it was perfectly +continuous, the cannon evidently being discharged as quickly as they +could be loaded, whilst their dull booming was accompanied by the +unceasing crash and roll of the musketry. Towards three o'clock the +firing slackened, and we thought it was all over, one way or the other, +but about five o'clock it broke out again with increased vigour. At dusk +it finally ceased. About this time some Kafirs came to my house and told +us that an English force was hemmed in on a hill this side of the +Ingogo River, that they were fighting bravely, but that "their arms were +tired," adding that they thought they would be all killed at night. + +Needless to say we spent that night with heavy hearts, expecting every +minute to hear the firing begin again, and ignorant of what fate had +befallen our poor soldiers on the hill. Morning put an end to our +suspense, and we then learnt that we had suffered what, under the +circumstances, amounted to a crushing defeat. It appears that Sir George +had moved out with a force of five companies of the 60th Regiment, two +guns, and a few mounted men, to, in his own words, "patrol the road, +and meet and escort some waggons expected from Newcastle." As soon as +he passed the Ingogo he was surrounded by a body of Boers sent after him +from Lang's Nek, on a small triangular plateau, and sharply assailed +on all sides. With a break of about two hours, from three to five, the +assault was kept up till nightfall, with very bad results so far as we +were concerned, seeing that out of a body of about 500 men, over 150 +were killed and wounded. The reinforcements sent for from the camp +apparently did not come into action. For some unexplained reason the +Boers did not follow up their attack that night, perhaps because they +did not think it possible that our troops could effect their escape back +to the camp, and considered that the next morning would be soon enough +to return and finish the business. The General, however, determined to +get back, and scratch teams of such mules, riding-horses, and oxen as +had lived through the day being harnessed to the guns, the dispirited +and exhausted survivors of the force managed to ford the Ingogo, now +swollen by rain which had fallen in the afternoon, poor Lieutenant +Wilkinson, the Adjutant of the 60th, losing his life in the operation, +and to struggle through the dense darkness back to camp. + +On the hill-top they had lately held, the dead lay thick. There, too, +exposed to the driving rain and bitter wind lay the wounded, many of +whom would be dead before the rising of the morrow's sun. It must, +indeed, have been a sight never to be forgotten by those who saw it. The +night--I remember well--was cold and rainy, the great expanses of hill +and plain being sometimes lit by the broken gleams of an uncertain moon, +and sometimes plunged into intensest darkness by the passing of a heavy +cloud. Now and again flashes of lightning threw every crag and outline +into vivid relief, and the deep muttering of distant thunder made the +wild gloom more solemn. Then a gust of icy wind would come tearing down +the valleys to be followed by a pelting thunder shower--and thus the +night wore away. + +When one reflects what discomfort, and even danger, an ordinary healthy +person would suffer if left after a hard day's work to lie all night in +the rain and wind on the top of a stony mountain, without food, or +even water to assuage his thirst, it becomes to some degree possible to +realise what the sufferings of our wounded after the battle of Ingogo +must have been. Those who survived were next day taken to the hospital +at Newcastle. + +What Sir George Colley's real object was in exposing himself to the +attack has never transpired. It can hardly have been to clear the road, +as he says in his despatch, because the road was not held by the enemy, +but only visited occasionally by their patrols. The result of the battle +was to make the Boers, whose losses were trifling, more confident than +ever, and to greatly depress our soldiers. Sir George had now lost +between three and four hundred men, out of his column of little over +a thousand, which was thereby entirely crippled. Of his staff Officers +Major Essex now alone survived, his usual good fortune having carried +him safe through the battle of Ingogo. What makes his repeated escapes +the more remarkable is that he was generally to be found in the heaviest +firing. A man so fortunate as Major Essex ought to be rewarded for his +good fortune if for no other reason, though, if reports are true, +there would be no need to fall back on that to find grounds on which to +advance a soldier who has always borne himself so well. + +Another result of the Ingogo battle was that the Boers, knowing that we +had no force to cut them off, and always secure of a retreat into +the Free State, passed round Newcastle in Free State Territory, and +descended from fifteen hundred to two thousand strong into Natal for the +purpose of destroying the reinforcements which were now on their way up +under General Wood. This was on the 11th of February, and from that date +till the 18th, the upper districts of Natal were in the hands of the +enemy, who cut the telegraph wires, looted waggons, stole herds of +cattle and horses, and otherwise amused themselves at the expense of Her +Majesty's subjects in Natal. + +It was a very anxious time for those who knew what Boers are capable of, +and had women and children to protect, and who were never sure if their +houses would be left standing over their heads from one day to another. + +Every night we were obliged to place out Kafirs as scouts to give us +timely warning of the approach of marauding parties, and to sleep with +loaded rifles close to our hands, and sometimes, when things looked very +black, in our clothes, with horses ready saddled in the stable. Nor were +our fears groundless, for one day a patrol of some five hundred Boers +encamped on the next place, which by the way belonged to a Dutchman, +and stole all the stock on it, the property of an Englishman. They also +intercepted a train of waggons, destroyed the contents, and burnt them. +Numerous were the false alarms it was our evil fortune to experience. +For instance, one night I was sitting in the drawing-room reading, about +eleven o'clock, with a door leading on to the verandah slightly ajar, +for the night was warm, when suddenly I heard myself called by name in +a muffled voice, and asked if the place was in the possession of the +Boers. Looking towards the door I saw a full-cocked revolver coming +round the corner, and on opening it in some alarm, I could indistinctly +discern a line of armed figures in a crouching attitude stretching along +the verandah into the garden beyond. It turned out to be a patrol of +the mounted police, who had received information that a large number of +Boers had seized the place and had come to ascertain the truth of the +report. As we gathered from them that the Boers were certainly near, we +did not pass a very comfortable night. + +Meanwhile, we were daily expecting to hear that the troops had been +attacked along the line of march, and knowing the nature of the country +and the many opportunities it affords for ambuscading and destroying one +of our straggling columns encumbered with innumerable waggons, we had +the worst fears for the result. At length a report reached us to the +effect that the reinforcements were expected on the morrow, and that +they were not going to cross the Ingagaan at the ordinary drift, which +was much commanded by hills, but at a lower drift on our own place, +about three miles from Newcastle, which was only slightly commanded. We +also heard that it was the intention of the Boers to attack them at this +point and to fall back on my house and the hills beyond. Accordingly, we +thought it about time to retreat, and securing a few valuables such as +plate, we made our way into the town, leaving the house and its contents +to take their chance. At Newcastle an attack was daily expected, if for +no other reason, to obtain possession of the stores collected there. + +The defences of the place were, however, in a wretched condition, +no proper outlook was kept, and there was an utter want of effective +organisation. The military element at the camp had enough to do to look +after itself, and did not concern itself with the safety of the town; +and the mounted police--a Colonial force paid by the Colony--had been +withdrawn from the little forts round Newcastle, as the General wanted +them for other purposes, and a message sent that the town must defend +its own forts. There were, it is true, a large number of able-bodied men +in the place who were willing to fight, but they had no organisation. +The very laager was not finished until the danger was past. + +Then there was a large party who were for surrendering the town to the +Boers, because if they fought it might afterwards injure their trade. +With this section of the population the feeling of patriotism was +strong, no doubt, but that of pocket was stronger. I am convinced that +the Boers would have found the capture of Newcastle an easy task, and I +confess that what I then saw did not inspire me with great hopes of the +safety of the Colony when it gets responsible government, and has to +depend for protection on burgher forces. Colonial volunteer forces are, +I think, as good troops as any in the world; but an unorganised colonial +mob, pulled this way and that by different sentiments and interests, +is as useless as any other mob, with the difference that it is more +impatient of control. + +For some unknown reason the Boer leaders providentially changed their +minds about attacking the reinforcements, and their men were withdrawn +to the Nek as swiftly and silently as they had been advanced, and on +the 17th February the reinforcements marched into Newcastle to the very +great relief of the inhabitants, who had been equally anxious for their +own safety and that of the troops. Personally, I was never in my life +more pleased to see Her Majesty's uniform; and we were equally rejoiced +on returning home to find that nothing had been injured. After this we +had quiet for a while. + +On the 21st February, we heard that two fresh regiments had been sent up +to the camp at Lang's Nek, and that General Wood had been ordered down +country by Sir George Colley to bring up more reinforcements. This item +of news caused much surprise, as nobody could understand, why, now that +the road was clear, and that there was little chance of its being again +blocked, a General should be sent down to do work, which could, to all +appearance, have been equally well done by the Officers in command +of the reinforcing regiments, with the assistance of their transport +riders. It was, however, understood that an agreement had been entered +into between the two Generals, that no offensive operations should be +undertaken till Wood returned. + +With the exception of occasional scares, there was no further excitement +till Sunday the 27th February, when, whilst sitting on the verandah +after lunch, I thought I heard the sound of distant artillery. Others +present differed with me, thinking the sound was caused by thunder, but +as I adhered to my opinion, we determined to ride into town and see. +On arrival there, we found the place full of rumours, from which we +gathered that some fresh disaster had occurred: and that messages were +pouring down the wires from Mount Prospect camp. We then went on to +camp, thinking that we should learn more there, but they knew nothing +about it, several officers asking us what new "shave" we had got hold +of. A considerable number of troops had been marched from Newcastle that +morning to go to Mount Prospect, but when it was realised that something +had occurred, they were stopped, and marched back again. Bit by bit we +managed to gather the truth. At first we heard that our men had made a +most gallant resistance on the hill, mowing down the advancing enemy by +hundreds, till at last, their ammunition failing, they fought with +their bayonets, using stones and meat tins as missiles. I wish that our +subsequent information had been to the same effect. + +It appears that on the evening of the 26th, Sir George Colley, after +mess, suddenly gave orders for a force of a little over six hundred men, +consisting of detachments from no less than three different regiments, +the 58th, 60th, 92d, and the Naval Brigade, to be got ready for an +expedition, without revealing his plans to anybody, until late in the +afternoon: and then without more ado, marched them up to the top of +Majuba--a great square-topped mountain to the right of, and commanding +the Boer position at Lang's Nek. The troops reached the top about three +in the morning, after a somewhat exhausting climb, and were stationed at +different points of the plateau in a scientific way. Whilst the darkness +lasted, they could, by the glittering of the watch-fires, trace from +this point of vantage the position of the Boer laagers that lay 2000 +yards beneath them, whilst the dawn of day revealed every detail of the +defensive works, and showed the country lying at their feet like a map. + +On arrival at the top, it was represented to the General that a rough +entrenchment should be thrown up, but he would not allow it to be done +on account of the men being wearied with their marching up. This was a +fatal mistake. Behind an entrenchment, however slight, one would think +that 600 English soldiers might have defied the whole Boer army, and +much more the 200 or 300 men by whom they were hunted down Majuba. It +appears that about 10.15 A.M. Colonel Steward and Major Fraser +again went to General Colley "to arrange to start the sailors on an +entrenchment" . . . "Finding the ground so exposed, the General did not +give orders to entrench." + +As soon as the Boers found out that the hill was in the occupation of +the English, their first idea was to leave the Nek, and they began +to inspan with that object, but discovering that there were no guns +commanding them, they changed their mind, and set to work to storm the +hill instead. As far as I have been able to gather, the number of Boers +who took the mountain was about 300, or possibly 400; I do not think +there were more than that. The Boers themselves declare solemnly that +they were only 100 strong, but this I do not believe. They slowly +advanced up the hill till about 11.30, when the real attack began, +the Dutchmen coming on more rapidly and confidently, and shooting with +ever-increasing accuracy, as they found our fire quite ineffective. + +About a quarter to one, our men retreated to the last ridge, and General +Colley was shot through the head. After this, the retreat became a rout, +and the soldiers rushed pell-mell down the precipitous sides of the +hill, the Boers knocking them over by the score as they went, till they +were out of range. A few were also, I heard, killed by the shells from +the guns that were advanced from the camp to cover the retreat, but as +this does not appear in the reports, perhaps it is not true. Our loss +was about 200 killed and wounded, including Sir George Colley, Drs. +Landon and Cornish, and Commander Romilly, who was shot with an +explosive bullet, and died after some days' suffering. When the wounded +Commander was being carried to a more sheltered spot, it was with great +difficulty that the Boers were prevented from massacring him as he lay, +they being under the impression that he was Sir Garnet Wolseley. As was +the case at Ingogo, the wounded were left on the battlefield all night +in very inclement weather, to which some of them succumbed. It is +worthy of note that after the fight was over, they were treated with +considerable kindness by the Boers. + +Not being a soldier, of course I cannot venture to give any military +reasons as to how it was, that what was after all a considerable force, +was so easily driven from a position of great natural strength; but +I think I may, without presumption, state my opinion was to the real +cause, which was the villanous shooting of the British soldier. Though +the troops did not, as was said at the time, run short of ammunition, +it is clear that they fired away a great many rounds at men who, in +storming the hill, must necessarily have exposed themselves more or +less, of whom they managed to hit--certainly not more than six or +seven,--which was the outside of the Boer casualties. From this it is +clear that they can neither judge distance nor hit a moving object, nor +did they probably know that when shooting down hill it is necessary to +aim low. Such shooting as the English soldier is capable of may be +very well when he has an army to aim at, but it is useless in guerilla +warfare against a foe skilled in the use of the rifle and the art of +taking shelter. + +A couple of months after the storming of Majuba, I, together with a +friend, had a conversation with a Boer, a volunteer from the Free State +in the late war, and one of the detachment that stormed Majuba, who gave +us a circumstantial account of the attack with the greatest willingness. +He said that when it was discovered that the English had possession +of the mountain, they thought that the game was up, but after a while +bolder counsels prevailed, and volunteers were called for to storm the +hill. Only seventy men could be found to perform the duty, of whom he +was one. They started up the mountain in fear and trembling, but soon +found that every shot passed over their heads, and went on with greater +boldness. Only three men, he declared, were hit on the Boer side; +one was killed, one was hit in the arm, and he himself was the third, +getting his face grazed by a bullet, of which he showed us the scar. He +stated that the first to reach the top ridge was a boy of twelve, and +that as soon as the troops saw them they fled, when, he said, he paid +them out for having nearly killed him, knocking them over one after +another "like bucks" as they ran down the hill, adding that it was +"alter lecker" (very nice). He asked us how many men we had lost during +the war, and when we told him about seven hundred killed and wounded, +laughed in our faces, saying he knew that our dead amounted to several +thousands. On our assuring him that this was not the case, he replied, +"Well, don't let's talk of it any more, because we are good friends now, +and if we go on you will lie, and I shall lie, and then we shall +get angry. The war is over now, and I don't want to quarrel with the +English; if one of them takes off his hat to me I always acknowledge +it." He did not mean any harm in talking thus; it is what Englishmen +have to put up with now in South Africa; the Boers have beaten us, and +act accordingly. + +This man also told us that the majority of the rifles they picked up +were sighted for 400 yards, whereas the latter part of the fighting had +been carried on within 200. + +Sir George Colley's death was much lamented in the Colony, where he was +deservedly popular; indeed, anybody who had the honour of knowing that +kind-hearted gentleman, could not do otherwise than deeply regret his +untimely end. What his motive was in occupying Majuba in the way he did, +has never, so far as I am aware, transpired. The move, in itself, would +have been an excellent one, had it been made in force, or accompanied +by a direct attack on the Nek--but, as undertaken, seems to have been +objectless. There were, of course, many rumours as to the motives that +prompted his action, of which the most probable seems to be that, being +aware of what the Home Government intended to do with reference to the +Transvaal, he determined to strike a blow to try and establish British +Supremacy first, knowing how mischievous any apparent surrender would +be. Whatever his faults may have been as a General, he was a brave man, +and had the honour of his country much at heart. + +It was also said by soldiers who saw him the night the troops marched +up Majuba, that the General was "not himself," and it was hinted that +continual anxiety and the chagrin of failure had told upon his mind. As +against this, however, must be set the fact that his telegrams to the +Secretary of State for War, the last of which he must have despatched +only about half-an-hour before he was shot, are cool and collected, +and written in the same unconcerned tone,--as though he were a +critical spectator of an interesting scene--that characterises all his +communications, more especially his despatches. They at any rate give no +evidence of shaken nerve or unduly excited brain, nor can I see that +any action of his with reference to the occupation of Majuba is out of +keeping with the details of his generalship upon other occasions. He was +always confident to rashness, and possessed by the idea that every +man in the ranks was full of as high a spirit, and as brave as he was +himself. Indeed most people will think, that so far from its being a +rasher action, the occupation of Majuba, bad generalship as it seems, +was a wiser move than either the attack on the Nek or the Ingogo fiasco. + +But at the best, all his movements are difficult to be understand by +a civilian, though they may, for ought we know, have been part of an +elaborate plan, perfected in accordance with the rules of military +science, of which, it is said, he was a great student. + + + +CHAPTER VI + +THE RETROCESSION OF THE TRANSVAAL + +_The Queen's Speech--President Brand and Lord Kimberley--Sir Henry de +Villiers--Sir George Colley's plan--Paul Kruger's offer--Sir George +Colley's remonstrance--Complimentary telegrams--Effect of Majuba on the +Boers and English Government--Collapse of the Government--Reasons of +the Surrender--Professional sentimentalists--The Transvaal Independence +Committee--Conclusion of the armistice--The preliminary peace--Reception +of the news in Natal--Newcastle after the declaration of peace--Exodus +of the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal--The value of property in +Pretoria--The Transvaal officials dismissed--The Royal Commission--Mode +of trial of persons accused of atrocities--Decision of the Commission +and its results--The severance of territory question--Arguments _pro_ +and _con_--Opinion of Sir E. Wood--Humility of the Commissioners and +its cause--Their decision on the Keate award question--The Montsoia +difficulty--The compensation and financial clauses of the report of the +Commission--The duties of the British Resident--Sir E. Wood's dissent +from the report of the Commission--Signing of the Convention--Burial of +the Union Jack--The native side of the question--Interview between +the Commissioners and the native chiefs--Their opinion of the +surrender--Objections of the Boer Volksraad to the Convention--Mr. +Gladstone temporises--The ratification--Its insolent tone--Mr. +Hudson, the British Resident--The Boer festival--The results of +the Convention--The larger issue of the matter--Its effect on the +Transvaal--Its moral aspects--Its effect on the native mind._ + +When Parliament met in January 1881, the Government announced, through +the mediumship of the Queen's Speech, that it was their intention to +vindicate Her Majesty's authority in the Transvaal. I have already +briefly described the somewhat unfortunate attempts to gain this end by +force of arms: and I now propose to follow the course of the diplomatic +negotiations entered into by the Ministry with the same object. + +As soon as the hostilities in the Transvaal took a positive form, +causing great dismay among the Home authorities, whose paths, as we all +know, are the paths of peace--at any price; and whilst, in the first +confusion of calamity, they knew not where to turn, President Brand +stepped upon the scene in the character of "Our Mutual Friend," and, by +the Government at any rate, was rapturously welcomed. + +This gentleman has for many years been at the head of the Government of +the Orange Free State, whose fortunes he had directed with considerable +ability. He is a man of natural talent and kind-hearted disposition, and +has the advancement of the Boer cause in South Africa much at heart. The +rising in the Transvaal was an event that gave him a great and threefold +opportunity: first, of interfering with the genuinely benevolent object +of checking bloodshed; secondly, of advancing the Dutch cause throughout +South Africa under the cloak of amiable neutrality, and striking a +dangerous blow at British supremacy over the Dutch and British prestige +with the natives; and, thirdly, of putting the English Government under +a lasting obligation to him. Of this opportunity he has availed himself +to the utmost in each particular. + +So soon as things began to look serious, Mr. Brand put himself into +active telegraphic communication with the various British authorities +with the view of preventing bloodshed by inducing the English Government +to accede to the Boer demands. He was also earnest in his declarations +that the Free State was not supporting the Transvaal; which, considering +that it was practically the insurgent base of supplies, where they had +retired their women, children, and cattle, and that it furnished them +with a large number of volunteers, was perhaps straining the truth. + +About this time also we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing to Mr. Brand +that "if _only_ the Transvaal Boers will desist from armed opposition to +the Queen's authority," he thinks some arrangement might be made. This +is the first indication made public of what was passing in the minds +of Her Majesty's Government, on whom its radical supporters were now +beginning to put the screw, to induce or threaten them into submitting +to the Boer demands. + +Again, on the 11th January, the President telegraphed to Lord Kimberley +through the Orange Free State Consul in London, suggesting that Sir +H. de Villiers, the Chief Justice at the Cape, should be appointed a +Commissioner to go to the Transvaal to settle matters. Oddly enough, +about the same time the same proposition emanated from the Dutch party +in the Cape Colony, headed by Mr. Hofmeyer, a coincidence that inclines +one to the opinion that these friends of the Boers had some further +reason for thus urging Sir Henry de Villiers' appointment as +Commissioner beyond his apparent fitness for the post, of which his +high reputation as a lawyer and in his private capacity was a sufficient +guarantee. + +The explanation is not hard to find, the fact being that, rightly or +wrongly, Sir Henry de Villiers, who is himself of Dutch descent, is +noted throughout South Africa for his sympathies with the Boer cause, +and both President Brand and the Dutch party in the Cape shrewdly +suspected, that, if the settling of differences were left to his +discretion, the Boers and their interests would receive very gentle +handling. The course of action adopted by him, when he became a member +of the Royal Commission, went far to support this view, for it will be +noticed in the Report of the Commissioners that in every single point he +appears to have taken the Boer side of the contention. Indeed so blind +was he to their faults, that he would not even admit that the horrible +Potchefstroom murders and atrocities, which are condemned both by Sir H. +Robinson and Sir Evelyn Wood in language as strong as the formal terms +of a report will allow, were acts contrary to the rules of civilised +warfare. If those acts had been perpetrated by Englishmen on Boers, or +even on natives, I venture to think Sir Henry de Villiers would have +looked at them in a very different light. + +In the same telegram in which President Brand recommends the appointment +of Sir Henry de Villiers, he states that the allegations made by the +Triumvirate in the proclamation in which they accused Sir Owen Lanyon +of committing various atrocities, deserve to be investigated, as they +maintain that the collision was commenced by the authorities. Nobody +knew better than Mr. Brand that any English official would be quite +incapable of the conduct ascribed to Sir Owen Lanyon, whilst, even +if the collision had been commenced by the authorities, which as it +happened it was not, they would under the circumstances have been amply +justified in so commencing it. This remark by President Brand in his +telegram was merely an attempt to throw an air of probability over a +series of slanderous falsehoods. + +Messages of this nature continued to pour along the wires from day +to day, but the tone of those from the Colonial Office grew gradually +humbler; thus we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing on the 8th February, +that if the Boers would desist from armed opposition all reasonable +guarantees would be given as to their treatment after submission, and +that a scheme would be framed for the "permanent friendly settlement of +difficulties." It will be seen that the Government had already begun +to water the meaning of their declaration that they would vindicate Her +Majesty's authority. No doubt Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. Courtney, and their +followers, had given another turn to the Radical screw. + +It is, however, clear that at this time no idea of the real aims of the +Government had entered into the mind of Sir George Colley, since on the +7th February he telegraphed home a plan which he proposed to adopt on +entering the Transvaal, which included a suggestion that he should grant +a complete amnesty only to those Boers who would sign a declaration of +loyalty. + +In answer to this he was ordered to do nothing of the sort, but to +promise protection to everybody and refer everything home. + +Then came the battle of Ingogo, which checked for the time the flow of +telegrams, or rather varied their nature, for those despatched during +the next few days deal with the question of reinforcements. On the 13th +February, however, negotiations were reopened by Paul Kruger, one of +the Triumvirate, who offered, if all the troops were ordered to withdraw +from the Transvaal to give them a free passage through the Nek, to +disperse the Boers and to consent to the appointment of a Commission. + +The offer was jumped at by Lord Kimberley, who, without making reference +to the question of withdrawing the soldiers, offered, if only the Boers +would disperse, to appoint a Commission with extensive powers to develop +the "permanent friendly settlement" scheme. The telegram ends thus: +"Add, that if this proposal is accepted, you now are authorised to agree +to suspension of hostilities on our part." This message was sent to +General Wood, because the Boers had stopped the communications with +Colley. On the 19th, Sir George Colley replies in these words, which +show his astonishment at the policy adopted by the Home Government, and +which, in the opinion of most people, redound to his credit-- + +"Latter part of your telegram to Wood not understood. There can be no +hostilities if no resistance is made, but am I to leave Lang's Nek in +Natal territory in Boer occupation, and our garrisons isolated and short +of provisions, or occupy former and relieve latter?" Lord Kimberley +hastens to reply that the garrisons must be left free to provision +themselves, "but we do not mean that you should march to the relief of +garrisons or occupy Lang's Nek, if an arrangement proceeds." + +It will be seen that the definition of what vindication of Her Majesty's +authority consisted grew broader and broader; it now included the right +of the Boers to continue to occupy their positions in the Colony of +Natal. + +Meanwhile the daily fire of complimentary messages was being kept up +between President Brand and Lord Kimberley, who alternatively gave +"sincere thanks to Lord Kimberley" and "fully appreciated the friendly +spirit" of President Brand, till on the 21st February the latter +telegraphs through Colley: "Hope of amicable settlement by negotiation, +but this will be greatly facilitated if somebody on spot and friendly +disposed to both, could by personal communication with both endeavour +to smooth difficulties. Offers his services to Her Majesty's Government, +and Kruger and Pretorius and Joubert are willing." Needless to say his +services were accepted. + +Presently, however, on 27th February, Sir George Colley made his last +move, and took possession of Majuba. His defeat and death had the effect +of causing another temporary check in the peace negotiations, whilst Sir +Frederick Roberts with ample reinforcements was despatched to Natal. +It had the further effect of increasing the haughtiness of the Boer +leaders, and infusing a corresponding spirit of pliability or generosity +into the negotiations of Her Majesty's Government. + +Thus on 2d March, the Boers, through President Brand and Sir Evelyn +Wood, inform the Secretary of State for the Colonies, that they are +willing to negotiate, but decline to submit or cease opposition. Sir +Evelyn Wood, who evidently did not at all like the line of policy +adopted by the Government, telegraphed that he thought the best thing +to do would be for him to engage the Boers, and disperse them _vi et +armis_, without any guarantees, "considering the disasters we have +sustained," and that he should, "if absolutely necessary," be empowered +to promise life and property to the leaders, but that they should be +banished from the country. In answer to this telegram, Lord Kimberley +informs him that Her Majesty's Government will amnesty _everybody_ +except those who have committed acts contrary to the rules of civilised +warfare, and that they will agree to anything, and appoint a Commission +to carry out the details, and "be ready for friendly communications with +_any persons_ appointed by the Boers." + +Thus was Her Majesty's authority finally re-established in the +Transvaal. + +It was not a very grand climax, nor the kind of arrangement to which +Englishmen are accustomed, but perhaps, considering the circumstances, +and the well-known predilections of those who made the settlement, it +was as much as could be expected. + +The action of the Government must not be considered, as though they were +unfettered in their judgment; it can never be supposed that they acted +as they did, because they thought such action right or even wise, +for that would be to set them down as men of a very low order of +intelligence, which they certainly are not. + +It is clear that no set of sensible men, who had after much +consideration given their decision that under all the circumstances, +the Transvaal must remain British territory, and who, on a revolt +subsequently breaking out in that territory, had declared that Her +Majesty's rule must be upheld, would have, putting aside all +other circumstances, deliberately stultified themselves by almost +unconditionally, and of their own free will, abandoning the country, +and all Her Majesty's subjects living in it. That would be to pay a +poor tribute to their understanding, since it is clear that if reasons +existed for retaining the Transvaal before the war, as they were +satisfied there did, those reasons would exist with still greater force +after a war had been undertaken and three crushing defeats sustained, +which if left unavenged must, as they knew, have a most disastrous +effect on our prestige throughout the South African continent. + +I prefer to believe that the Government was coerced into acting as +it did by Radical pressure, both from outside, and from its immediate +supporters in the House, and that it had to choose between making an +unconventional surrender in the Transvaal and losing the support of +a very powerful party. Under these circumstances it, being Liberal in +politics, naturally followed its instincts, and chose surrender. + +If such a policy was bad in itself, and necessarily mischievous in its +consequences, so much the worse for those who suffered by it; it was +clear that the Government could not be expected to lose votes in order +to forward the true interests of countries so far off as the South +African Colonies, which had had the misfortune to be made a party +question of, and must take the consequences. + +There is no doubt that the interest brought to bear on the Government +was very considerable, for not only had they to deal with their own +supporters, and with the shadowy caucus that was ready to let the lash +of its displeasure descend even on the august person of Mr. Gladstone, +should he show signs of letting slip so rich an opportunity for the +vindication of the holiest principles of advanced Radicalism, but +also with the hydra-headed crowd of visionaries and professional +sentimentalists who swarm in this country, and who are always ready +to take up any cause, from that of Jumbo, or of a murderer, to that of +oppressed peoples, such as the Bulgarians, or the Transvaal Boers. + +These gentlemen, burning with zeal, and filled with that confidence +which proverbially results from the hasty assimilation of imperfect +and erroneous information, found in the Transvaal question a great +opportunity of making a noise: and--as in a disturbed farmyard the bray +of the domestic donkey, ringing loud and clear among the utterances of +more intelligent animals, overwhelms and extinguishes them--so, and +with like effect, amongst the confused sound of various English +opinions about the Boer rising, rose the trumpet-note of the Transvaal +Independence Committee and its supporters. + +As we have seen, they did not sound in vain. + +On the 6th of March an armistice with the Boers had been entered into +by Sir Evelyn Wood, which was several times prolonged, up to the 21st +March, when Sir Evelyn Wood concluded a preliminary peace with the Boer +leaders, which, under certain conditions, guaranteed the restoration of +the country within six months, and left all other points to be decided +by a Royal Commission. + +The news of this peace was at first received in the Colony in the +silence of astonishment. Personally, I remember, I would not believe +that it was true. It seemed to us, who had been witnesses of what had +passed, and knew what it all meant, something so utterly incredible that +we thought there must be a mistake. + +If there had been any one redeeming circumstance about it, if the +English arms had gained a single decisive victory, it might have been +so, but it was hard for Englishmen, just at first, to understand that +not only had the Transvaal been to all appearance wrested from them by +force of arms, but that they were henceforth to be subject, as they well +knew would be the case, to the coarse insults of victorious Boers, and +the sarcasms of keener-witted Kafirs. + +People in England seem to fancy that when men go to the Colonies they +lose all sense of pride in their country, and think of nothing but their +own advantage. I do not think that this is the case, indeed, I believe +that, individual for individual, there exists a greater sense of +loyalty, and a deeper pride in their nationality, and in the proud name +of England, among Colonists, than among Englishmen proper. Certainly +the humiliation of the Transvaal surrender was more keenly felt in South +Africa than it was at home; but, perhaps, the impossibility of +imposing upon people in that country with the farrago of nonsense about +blood-guiltiness and national morality, which was made such adroit use +of at home, may have made the difference. + +I know that personally I would not have believed it possible that I +could feel any public event so keenly as I did this; indeed, I quickly +made up my mind that if the peace was confirmed, the neighbourhood +of the Transvaal would be no fit or comfortable residence for an +Englishman, and that I would, at any cost, leave the country,--which I +accordingly did. + +Newcastle was a curious sight the night after the peace was declared, +every hotel and bar was crowded with refugees, who were trying to +relieve their feelings, by cursing the name of Gladstone, with a vigour, +originality, and earnestness, that I have never heard equalled; and +declaring in ironical terms how proud they were to be citizens of +England--a country that always kept its word. Then they set to work +with many demonstrations of contempt to burn the effigy of the Right +Honourable Gentleman at the head of Her Majesty's Government, an +example, by the way, that was followed throughout South Africa. + +Even Sir Evelyn Wood, who is very popular in the Colony, was hissed +as he walked through the town, and great surprise was expressed that +a soldier who came out expressly to fight the Boers, should consent +to become the medium of communication in such a dirty business. And, +indeed, there was some excuse for all this bitterness, for the news +meant ruin to very many. + +But if people in Natal and at the Cape received the news with +astonishment, how shall I describe its effect upon the unfortunate loyal +inhabitants in the Transvaal, on whom it burst like a thunderbolt? + +They did not say much however, and indeed, there was nothing to be said, +they simply began to pack up such things as they could carry with them, +and to leave the country, which they well knew would henceforth be +utterly untenable for Englishmen or English sympathisers. In a few weeks +they came pouring down through Newcastle by hundreds; it was the +most melancholy exodus that can be imagined. There were people of all +classes, officials, gentlefolk, work-people, and loyal Boers, but +they had a connecting link; they had all been loyal, and they were all +ruined. + +Most of these people had gone to the Transvaal since it became a British +Colony, and invested all they had in it, and now their capital was lost +and their labour rendered abortive; indeed, many of them whom one had +known as well to do in the Transvaal, came down to Natal hardly knowing +how they would feed their families next week. + +It must be understood that so soon as the Queen's sovereignty was +withdrawn the value of landed and house property in the Transvaal went +down to nothing, and has remained there ever since. Thus a fair-sized +house in Pretoria brought in a rental varying from ten to twenty pounds +a month during British occupation, but after the declaration of peace, +owners of houses were glad to get people to live in them to keep them +from falling into ruin. Those who owned land or had invested money in +businesses suffered in the same way; their property remains, neither +profitable or saleable, and they themselves are precluded by their +nationality from living on it, the art of "Boycotting" not being +peculiar to Ireland. + +Nor were they the only sufferers, the officials, many of whom had taken +to the Government service as a permanent profession, in which they +expected to pass their lives, were suddenly dismissed, mostly with a +small gratuity, which would about suffice to pay their debts, and told +to find their living as best they could. It was indeed a case of _vae +victis_,--woe to the conquered loyalists.[*] + + [*] The following extract is clipped from a recent issue of + the "Transvaal Advertiser." It describes the present + condition of Pretoria:-- + + "The streets grown over with rank vegetation, the water- + furrows uncleaned and unattended, emitting offensive and + unhealthy stenches, the houses showing evident signs of + dilapidation and decay, the side paths, in many places, + dangerous to pedestrians; in fact, everything the eye can + rest upon indicates the downfall which has overtaken this + once prosperous city. The visitor can, if he be so minded, + betake himself to the outskirts and suburbs, where he will + perceive the same sad evidences of neglect, public grounds + unattended, roads uncared for, mills and other public works + crumbling into ruin. These palpable signs of decay most + strongly impress him. A blight seems to have come over this + lately fair and prosperous town. Rapidly it is becoming a + 'deserted village,' a 'city of the dead.'" + +The Commission appointed by Her Majesty's Government consisted of Sir +Hercules Robinson, Sir Henry de Villiers, and Sir Evelyn Wood, President +Brand being also present in his capacity of friend of both parties, +and to their discretion were left the settlement of all outstanding +questions. Amongst these, were the mode of trial of those persons who +had been guilty of acts contrary to the rules of civilised warfare, the +question of severance of territory from the Transvaal on the Eastern +boundary, the settlement of the boundary in the Keate-Award districts, +the compensation for losses sustained during the war, the functions of +the British Resident, and other matters. Their place of meeting was at +Newcastle in Natal, and from thence they proceeded to Pretoria. + +The first question of importance that came before the Commission was +the mode of trial to be adopted in the cases of those persons accused +of acts contrary to the usages of civilised warfare, such as murder. +The Attorney-General for the Transvaal strongly advised that a special +Tribunal should be constituted to try these cases, principally because +"after a civil war in which all the inhabitants of a country, with very +few exceptions, have taken part, a jury of fair and impartial men, truly +unbiassed, will be very difficult to get together." It is satisfactory +to know that the Commissioners gave this somewhat obvious fact "their +grave consideration," which, according to their Report, resulted in +their determining to let the cases go before the ordinary court, and be +tried by a jury, because in referring them to a specially constituted +court which would have done equal justice without fear or favour, +"the British Government would have made for itself, among the Dutch +population of South Africa, a name for vindictive oppression, which no +generosity in other affairs could efface." + +There is more in this determination of the Commissioners, or rather of +the majority of them--for Sir E. Wood, to his credit be it said, refused +to agree in their decision--than meets the eye, the fact of the matter +being that it was privately well known to them, that, though the Boer +leaders might be willing to allow a few of the murderers to undergo the +form of a trial, neither they nor the Boers themselves, meant to +permit the farce to go any further. Had the men been tried by a special +tribunal they would in all probability have been condemned to death, and +then would have come the awkward question of carrying out the sentence +on individuals whose deeds were looked on, if not with general approval, +at any rate without aversion by the great mass of their countrymen. In +short, it would probably have become necessary either to reprieve them +or to fight the Boers again, since it was very certain that they +would not have allowed them to be hung. Therefore the majority of +the Commissioners, finding themselves face to face with a dead wall, +determined to slip round it instead of boldly climbing it, by referring +the cases to the Transvaal High Court, cheerfully confident of what the +result must be. + +After all, the matter was, much cry about little wool, for of all the +crimes committed by the Boers--a list of some of which will be found in +the Appendix to this book--in only three cases were a proportion of the +perpetrators produced and put through the form of trial. Those three +were, the dastardly murder of Captain Elliot, who was shot by his Boer +escort while crossing the Vaal river on parole; the murder of a man +named Malcolm, who was kicked to death in his own house by Boers, who +afterwards put a bullet through his head to make the job "look better;" +and the murder of a doctor named Barber, who was shot by his escort on +the border of the Free State. A few of the men concerned in the first +two of these crimes were tried in Pretoria: and it was currently +reported at that time, that in order to make their acquittal certain +our Attorney-General received instructions not to exercise his right of +challenging jurors on behalf of the Crown. Whether or not this is true +I am not prepared to say, but I believe it is a fact that he did +not exercise that right, though the counsel of the prisoners availed +themselves of it freely, with the result that in Elliot's case, the jury +was composed of eight Boers and one German, nine being the full South +African jury. The necessary result followed; in both cases the prisoners +were acquitted in the teeth of the evidence. Barber's murderers were +tried in the Free State, and were, as might be expected, acquitted. + +Thus it will be seen that of all the perpetrators of murder and other +crimes during the course of the war not one was brought to justice. + +The offence for which their victims died was, in nearly every case, that +they had served, were serving, or were loyal to Her Majesty the Queen. +In no single case has England exacted retribution for the murder of +her servants and citizens; but nobody can read through the long list +of these dastardly slaughters without feeling that they will not go +unavenged. The innocent blood that has been shed on behalf of this +country, and the tears of children and widows now appeal to a higher +tribunal than that of Mr. Gladstone's Government, and assuredly they +will not appeal in vain. + +The next point of importance dealt with by the Commission was the +question whether or no any territory should be severed from the +Transvaal, and kept under English rule for the benefit of the native +inhabitants. Lord Kimberley, acting under pressure put upon him by +members of the Aborigines Protection Society, instructed the Commission +to consider the advisability of severing the districts of Lydenburg and +Zoutpansberg, and also a strip of territory bordering on Zululand and +Swazieland from the Transvaal, so as to place the inhabitants of the +first two districts out of danger of maltreatment by the Boers, and to +interpose a buffer between Zulus, and Swazies, and Boer aggression, and +_vice versa_. + +The Boer leaders had, it must be remembered, acquiesced in the principle +of such a separation in the preliminary peace signed by Sir Evelyn Wood +and themselves. The majority of the Commission, however (Sir Evelyn Wood +dissenting), finally decided against the retention of either of these +districts, a decision which I think was a wise one, though I arrive +at that conclusion on very different grounds to those adopted by the +majority of the Commission. + +Personally, I cannot see that it is the duty of England to play +policeman to the whole world. To have retained these native districts +would have been to make ourselves responsible for their good government, +and to have guaranteed them against Boer encroachment, which I do not +think that we were called upon to do. It is surely not incumbent +upon us, having given up the Transvaal to the Boers, to undertake the +management of the most troublesome part of it, the Zulu border. Besides, +bad as the abandonment of the Transvaal is, I think that if it was to +be done at all, it was best to do it thoroughly, since to have kept some +natives under our protection, and to have handed over the rest to the +tender mercies of the Boers, would only be to render our injustice more +obvious, whilst weakening the power of the natives themselves to combine +in self-defence; since those under our protection would naturally have +little sympathy with their more unfortunate brethren--their interests +and circumstances being different. + +The Commission do not seem to have considered the question from these +points of view, but putting them on one side, there are many other +considerations connected with it, which are ably summed up in their +Report. Amongst these is the danger of disturbances commenced between +Zulus or Swazies and Boers, spreading into Natal, and the probability +of the fomenting of disturbances amongst the Zulus by Boers. The great +argument for the retention of some territory, if only as a symbol that +the English had not been driven out of the country, is, however, +set forth in the forty-sixth paragraph of the Report, which runs as +follows:--"The moral considerations that determine the actions of +civilised Governments are not easily understood by barbarians, in whose +eyes successful force is alone the sign of superiority, and it +appeared possible that the surrender by the British Crown of one of its +possessions to those who had been in arms against it, might be looked +upon by the natives in no other way than as a token of the defeat and +decay of the British Power, and that thus a serious shock might be given +to British authority in South Africa, and the capacity of Great Britain +to govern and direct the vast native population within and without her +South African dominions--a capacity resting largely on the renown of her +name--might be dangerously impaired." + +These words coming from so unexpected a source do not, though couched +in such mild language, hide the startling importance of the question +discussed. On the contrary, they accurately and with double weight +convey the sense and gist of the most damning argument against the +policy of the retrocession of the Transvaal in its entirety; and +proceeding from their own carefully chosen commissioners, can hardly +have been pleasant reading to Lord Kimberley and his colleagues. + +The majority of the Commission then proceeds to set forth the arguments +advanced by the Boers against the retention of any territory, which +appear to have been chiefly of a sentimental character, since we are +informed that "the people, it seemed certain, would not have valued the +restoration of a mutilated country. Sentiment in a great measure had +led them to insurrection, and the force of such it was impossible to +disregard." Sir E. Wood in his dissent, states, that he cannot even +agree with the premises of his colleagues' argument, since he is +convinced that it was not sentiment that had led to the outbreak, but a +"general and rooted aversion to taxation." If he had added, and a hatred +not only of English rule, but of all rule, he would have stated the +complete cause of the Transvaal rebellion. In the next paragraph of +the Report, however, we find the real cause of the pliability of the +Commission in the matter, which is the same that influenced them in +their decision about the mode of trial of the murderers and other +questions:--they feared that the people would appeal to arms if they +decided against their wishes. + +Discreditable and disgraceful as it may seem, nobody can read this +Report without plainly seeing that the Commissioners were, in treating +with the Boers on these points, in the position of ambassadors from a +beaten people getting the best terms they could. Of course, they well +knew that this was not the case, but whatever the Boer leaders may have +said, the Boers themselves did not know this, or even pretend to look at +the matter in any other light. When we asked for the country back, said +they, we did not get it; after we had three times defeated the English +we did get it; the logical conclusion from the facts being that we got +it because we defeated the English. This was their tone, and it is not +therefore surprising that whenever the Commission threatened to decide +anything against them, they, with a smile, let it know that if it did, +they would be under the painful necessity of re-occupying Lang's Nek. +It was never necessary to repeat the threat, since the majority of the +Commission would thereupon speedily find a way to meet the views of the +Boer representatives. + +Sir Evelyn Wood, in his dissent, thus correctly sums up the matter:--"To +contend that the Royal Commission ought not to decide contrary to the +wishes of the Boers, because such decision might not be accepted, is +to deny to the Commission the very power of decision that it was agreed +should be left in its hands." Exactly so. But it is evident that the +Commission knew its place, and so far from attempting to exercise any +"power of decision," it was quite content with such concessions as +it could obtain by means of bargaining. Thus, as an additional reason +against the retention of any territory, it is urged that if this +territory was retained "the majority of your Commissioners . . . would +have found themselves in no favourable position for obtaining the +concurrence of the Boer leaders as to other matters." In fact, Her +Majesty's Commission appointed, or supposed to be appointed, to do +Her Majesty's will and pleasure, shook in its shoes before men who had +lately been rebels in arms against Her authority, and humbly submitted +itself to their dicta. + +The majority of the Commission went on to express their opinion, that +by giving away about the retention of territory they would be able to +obtain better terms for the natives generally, and larger powers for the +British Resident. But, as Sir Evelyn Wood points out in his Report, they +did nothing of the sort, the terms of the agreement about the Resident +and other native matters being all consequent on and included in the +first agreement of peace. Besides, they seem to have overlooked the +fact that such concessions as they did obtain are only on paper, and +practically worthless, whilst all _bona fide_ advantages remained with +the Boers. + +The decision of the Commissioners in the question of the Keate Award, +which next came under their consideration, appears to have been a +judicious one, being founded on the very careful Report of Colonel +Moysey, R.E., who had been for many months collecting information on the +spot. The Keate Award Territory is a region lying to the south-west +of the Transvaal, and was, like many other districts in that country, +originally in the possession of natives, of the Baralong and Batlapin +tribes. Individual Boers having, however, _more suo_ taken possession +of tracts of land in the district, difficulties speedily arose +between their Government and the native chiefs, and in 1871 Mr. Keate, +Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, was by mutual consent called in to +arbitrate on the matter. His decision was entirely in favour of the +natives, and was accordingly promptly and characteristically repudiated +by the Boer Volksraad. From that time till the rebellion the question +remained unsettled, and was indeed a very thorny one to deal with. The +Commission, acting on the principle _in medio tutissimus ibis_, drew a +line through the midst of the disputed territory, or, in other words, +set aside Mr. Keate's award and interpreted the dispute in favour of the +Boers. + +This decision was accepted by all parties at the time, but it has not +resulted in the maintenance of peace. The principal Chief, Montsoia, is +an old ally and staunch friend of the English, a fact which the Boers +were not able to forget or forgive, and they appear to have stirred +up rival Chiefs to attack him, and to have allowed volunteers from +the Transvaal to assist them. Montsoia has also enlisted some white +volunteers, and several fights have taken place, in which the loss of +life has been considerable. Whether or no the Transvaal Government +is directly concerned it is impossible to say, but from the fact that +cannon are said to have been used against Montsoia it would appear +that it is, since private individuals do not, as a rule, own Armstrong +guns.[*] + + [*] I beg to refer any reader interested in this matter to + the letter of "Transvaal" to the "Standard," which I have + republished in the Appendix to this book. + +Amongst the questions remaining for the consideration of the +Commissioners was that of what compensation should be given for losses +during the war. Of course, the great bulk of the losses sustained +were of an indirect nature, resulting from the necessary and enormous +depreciation in the value of land and other property, consequent on the +retrocession. Into this matter the Home Government declined to enter, +thereby saving its pocket at the price of its honour, since it was upon +English guarantees that the country would remain a British possession, +that the majority of the unfortunate loyals invested their money in +it. It was, however, agreed by the Commission (Sir H. de Villiers +dissenting) that the Boers should be liable for compensation in +cases where loss had been sustained through commandeering seizure, +confiscation, destruction, or damage of property. The sums awarded under +these heads have already amounted to about 110,000 pounds, which sum has +been defrayed by the Imperial Government, the Boer authorities stating +that they were not in a position to pay it. + +In connection with this matter, I will pass to the Financial clauses of +the Report. When the country was annexed, the public debt amounted +to 301,727 pounds. Under British rule this debt was liquidated to +the extent of 150,000 pounds, but the total was brought up by a +Parliamentary grant, a loan from the Standard Bank, and sundries to +390,404 pounds, which represented the public debt of the Transvaal on +the 31st December 1880. This was further increased by moneys advanced by +the Standard Bank and English Exchequer during the war, and till the +8th August 1881, during which time the country yielded no revenue, to +457,393 pounds. To this must be added an estimated sum of 200,000 pounds +for compensation charges, pension allowances, &c., and a further sum of +383,000 pounds, the cost of the successful expedition against Secocoeni, +that of the unsuccessful one being left out of account, bringing up the +total public debt to over a million, of which about 800,000 pounds is +owing to this country. + +This sum, with the characteristic liberality that distinguished them in +their dealings with the Boers, but which was not so marked where loyals +were concerned, the Commissioners (Sir Evelyn Wood dissenting) reduced +by a stroke of the pen to 265,000 pounds, thus entirely remitting an +approximate sum of 500,000 pounds, or 600,000 pounds. To the sum of +265,000 pounds still owing, must be added say another 150,000 pounds +for sums lately advanced to pay the compensation claims, bringing up the +actual amount now owing to England to something under half a million, of +which I say with confidence she will never see a single 10,000 pounds. +As this contingency was not contemplated, or if contemplated, not +alluded to by the Royal Commission, provision was made for a sinking +fund, by means of which the debt, which is a second charge on the +revenues of the States, is to be extinguished in twenty-five years. + +It is a strange instance of the proverbial irony of fate, that whilst +the representatives of the Imperial Government were thus showering gifts +of hundreds of thousands of pounds upon men who had spurned the benefits +of Her Majesty's rule, made war upon her forces, and murdered her +subjects, no such consideration was extended to those who had remained +loyal to her throne. Their claims for compensation were passed by +unheeded; and looking from the windows of the room in which they sat in +Newcastle, the members of the Commission might have seen them flocking +down from a country that could no longer be their home; those that +were rich among them made poor, and those that were poor reduced to +destitution. + +The only other point which it will be necessary for me to touch on in +connection with this Report is the duties of the British Resident and +his relations to the natives. He was to be invested as representative of +the Suzerain with functions for securing the execution of the terms +of peace as regards: (1.) The control of the foreign relations of the +State; (2.) The control of the frontier affairs of the State; and (3.) +The protection of the interests of the natives in the State. + +As regards the first of these points, it was arranged that the interests +of subjects of the Transvaal should be left in the hands of Her +Majesty's representatives abroad. Since Boers are, of all people in the +world, the most stay-at-home, our ambassadors and consuls are not likely +to be troubled much on their account. With reference to the second +point, the Commission made stipulations that would be admirable if there +were any probability of their being acted up to. The Resident is +to report any encroachment on native territory by Boers to the High +Commissioner, and when the Resident and the Boer Government differ, +the decision of the Suzerain is to be final. This is a charming way of +settling difficulties, but the Commission forgets to specify how the +Suzerain's decision is to be enforced. After what has happened, it can +hardly have relied on awe of the name of England to bring about the +desired obedience! + +But besides thus using his beneficent authority to prevent subjects of +the Transvaal from trespassing on their neighbour's land, the Resident +is to exercise a general supervision over the interests of all the +natives in the country. Considering that they number about a million, +and are scattered over a territory larger than France, one would think +that this duty alone would have taken up the time of any ordinary +man; and, indeed, Sir Evelyn Wood was in favour of the appointment of +sub-residents to assist him. The majority of the Commission refused, +however, to listen to any such suggestion--believing, they said, "that +the least possible interference with the independent Government of the +State would be the wisest." Quite so, but I suppose it never occurred +to them to ask the natives what their views of the matter were! The +Resident was also to be a member of a Native Location Committee, which +was at some future time, to provide land for natives to live on. + +In perusing this Report it is easy to follow with more or less accuracy +the individual bent of its framers. Sir Hercules Robinson figures +throughout as a man who has got a disagreeable business to carry out, +in obedience to instructions that admit of no trifling with, and who has +set himself to do the best he can for his country, and those who suffer +through his country's policy, whilst obeying those instructions. He has +evidently choked down his feelings and opinions as an individual, and +turned himself into an official machine, merely registering in detail +the will of Lord Kimberley. With Sir Henry de Villiers the case is very +different, one feels throughout that the task is to him a congenial one, +and that the Boer cause has in him an excellent friend. Indeed, had he +been an advocate of their cause instead of a member of the Commission, +he could not have espoused their side on every occasion with greater +zeal. According to him they were always in the right, and in them he +could find no guile. Mr. Hofmeyer and President Brand exercised a wise +discretion from their own point of view, when they urged his appointment +as Special Commissioner. I now come to Sir Evelyn Wood, who was in the +position of an independent Englishman, neither prejudiced in favour +of the Boers, or the reverse, and on whom, as a military man, Lord +Kimberley would find it difficult to put the official screw. The results +of his happy position are obvious in the paper attached to the end of +the Report, and signed by him, in which he totally and entirely differs +from the majority of the Commission on every point of importance. Most +people will think that this very outspoke and forcible dissent deducts +somewhat from the value of the Report, and throws a shadow of doubt on +the wisdom of its provisions. + +The formal document of agreement between Her Majesty's Government and +the Boer leaders, commonly known as the Convention, was signed by both +parties at Pretoria on the afternoon of the 3d August 1881, in the same +room in which, nearly four years before, the Annexation Proclamation was +signed by Sir T. Shepstone. + +Whilst this business was being transacted in Government House, a curious +ceremony was going on just outside, and within sight of the windows. +This was the ceremonious burial of the Union Jack, which was followed to +the grave by a crowd of about 2000 loyalists and native chiefs. On the +outside of the coffin was written the word "Resurgam," and an eloquent +oration was delivered over the grave. Such demonstrations are, no +doubt, foolish enough, but they are not entirely without political +significance. + +But a more unpleasant duty awaited the Commissioners than that of +attaching their signatures to a document,--consisting of the necessity +of conveying Her Majesty's decision as to the retrocession, to about a +hundred native Chiefs, until now Her Majesty's subjects, who had been +gathered together to hear it. It must be borne in mind that the natives +had not been consulted as to the disposal of the country, although they +outnumber the white people in the proportion of twenty to one, and that, +beyond some worthless paper stipulations, nothing had been done for +their interests. + +Personally, I must plead guilty to what I know is by many, especially +by those who are attached to the Boer cause, considered as folly if not +worse, namely, a sufficient interest in the natives, and sympathy with +their sufferings to bring me to the conclusion, that in acting thus we +have inflicted a cruel injustice upon them. It seems to me, that as +they were the original owners of the soil, they were entitled to some +consideration in the question of its disposal, and consequently and +incidentally, of their own. I am aware that it is generally considered +that the white man has a right to the black man's possessions and land, +and that it is his high and holy mission to exterminate the wretched +native and take his place. But with this conclusion I venture to differ. +So far as my own experience of natives has gone, I have found that in +all the essential qualities of mind and body, they very much resemble +white men, with the exception that they are, as a race, quicker-witted, +more honest, and braver, than the ordinary run of white men. Of them +might be aptly quoted the speech Shakespeare puts into Shylock's mouth: +"Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, +affections, passions?" In the same way I ask, Has a native no feelings +or affections? does he not suffer when his parents are shot, or his +children stolen, or when he is driven a wanderer from his home? Does he +not know fear, feel pain, affection, hate and gratitude? Most certainly +he does; and this being so, I cannot believe that the Almighty, who +made both white and black, gave to the one race the right or mission of +exterminating, or even of robbing or maltreating the other, and calling +the process the advance of civilisation. It seems to me, that on only +one condition, if at all, have we the right to take the black man's +land; and that is, that we provide them with an equal and a just +Government, and allow no maltreatment of them, either as individuals or +tribes: but, on the contrary, do our best to elevate them, and wean them +from savage customs. Otherwise, the practice is surely undefensible. + +I am aware, however, that with the exception of a small class, these +are sentiments which are not shared by the great majority of the public, +either at home or abroad. Indeed, it can be plainly seen how little +sympathy they command, from the fact that but scanty remonstrance +was raised at the treatment meted out to our native subjects in the +Transvaal, when they were, to the number of nearly a million, +handed over from the peace, justice, and security, that on the whole +characterise our rule, to a state of things, and possibilities of wrong +and suffering which I will not try to describe. + +To the chiefs thus assembled Sir Hercules Robinson, as President of the +Royal Commission, read a statement, and then retired, refusing to allow +them to speak in answer. The statement informed the natives that "Her +Majesty's Government, with that sense of justice which befits a great +and powerful nation," had returned the country to the Boers, "whose +representatives, Messrs. Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert, I now," said +Sir Hercules, "have much pleasure in introducing to you." If reports are +true, the native Chiefs had, many of them personally, and all of them by +reputation, already the advantage of a very intimate acquaintance with +all three of these gentlemen, so that an introduction was somewhat +superfluous. + +Sir Hercules went on to explain to them that locations would be allotted +to them at some future time; that a British Resident would be appointed, +whose especial charge they would be, but that they must bear in mind +that he was not the ruler of the country, but the Government, "subject +to Her Majesty's suzerain rights." Natives were, no doubt, expected to +know by intuition what suzerain rights are. The statement then goes on +to give them good advice as to the advantages of indulging in manual +labour when asked to do so by the Boers, and generally to show them how +bright and happy is the future that lies before them. Lest they should +be too elated by such good tidings, they are, however, reminded that it +will be necessary to retain the law relating to passes, which is, in +the hands of a people like the Boers, about as unjust a regulation as +a dominant race can invent for the oppression of a subject people, and +had, in the old days of the Republic, been productive of much hardship. +The statement winds up by assuring them that their "interests will never +be forgotten or neglected by Her Majesty's Government." Having read the +document the Commission hastily withdrew, and after their withdrawal +the Chiefs were "allowed" to state their opinions to the Secretary for +Native Affairs. + +In availing themselves of this permission, it is noticeable that no +allusion was made to all the advantages they were to reap under +the Convention, nor did they seem to attach much importance to the +appointment of the British Resident. On the contrary, all their +attention was given to the great fact that the country had been ceded +to the Boers, and that they were no longer the Queen's subjects. We +are told, in Mr. Shepstone's Report, that they "got very excited," and +"asked whether it was thought that they had no feelings or hearts, that +they were thus treated as a stick or piece of tobacco, which could be +passed from hand to hand without question." Umgombarie, a Zoutpansberg +Chief, said, "I am Umgombarie. I have fought with the Boers, and have +many wounds, and they know that what I say is true. . . . I will never +consent to place myself under their rule. I belong to the English +Government. I am not a man who eats with both sides of his jaw at once; +I only use one side. I am English, I have said." Silamba said, "I belong +to the English. I will never return under the Boers. You see me, a man +of my rank and position, is it right that such as I should be seized +and laid on the ground and flogged, as has been done to me and other +chiefs?" + +Sinkanhla said: "We hear and yet do not hear, we cannot understand. We +are troubling you, Chief, by talking in this way; we hear the Chiefs say +that the Queen took the country because the people of the country wished +it, and again that the majority of the owners of the country did not +wish their rule, and that therefore the country was given back. We +should like to have the man pointed out from among us black people who +objects to the rule of the Queen. We are the real owners of the country; +we were here when the Boers came, and without asking leave, settled down +and treated us in every way badly. The English Government then came and +took the country; we have now had four years of rest and peaceful +and just rule. We have been called here to-day, and are told that the +country, our country, has been given to the Boers by the Queen. This is +a thing which surprises us. Did the country, then, belong to the Boers? +Did it not belong to our fathers and forefathers before us, long before +the Boers came here? We have heard that the Boers' country is at the +Cape. If the Queen wishes to give them their land, why does she not give +them back the Cape?" + +I have quoted this speech at length, because, although made by a +despised native, it sets forth their case more powerfully and in happier +language than I can do. + +Umyethile said: "We have no heart for talking. I have returned to the +country from Sechelis, where I had to fly from Boer oppression. Our +hearts are black and heavy with grief to-day at the news told us, we are +in agony, our intestines are twisting and writhing inside of us, just as +you see a snake do when it is struck on the head. . . . We do not know +what has become of us, but we feel dead; it may be that the Lord may +change the nature of the Boers, and that we will not be treated like +dogs and beasts of burden as formerly, but we have no hope of such a +change, and we leave you with heavy hearts and great apprehension as +to the future." In his Report, Mr. Shepstone (the Secretary for Native +Affairs) says: "One chief, Jan Sibilo, who has been, he informed me, +personally threatened with death by the Boers after the English leave, +could not restrain his feelings, but cried like a child." + +I have nothing to add to these extracts, which are taken from many such +statements. They are the very words of the persons most concerned, and +will speak for themselves. + +The Convention was signed on the 3d August 1881, and was to be formally +ratified by a Volksraad or Parliament of the Burghers within three +months of that date, in default of which it was to fall to the ground +and become null and void. + +Anybody who has followed the course of affairs with reference to the +retrocession of the Transvaal, or who has even taken the trouble to read +through this brief history, will probably come to the conclusion that, +under all the circumstances, the Boers had got more than they could +reasonably expect. Not so, however, the Boers themselves. On the 28th +September the newly-elected Volksraad referred the Convention to a +General Committee to report on, and on the 30th September the Report +was presented. On the 3d October a telegram was despatched through +the British Resident to "His Excellency W. E. Gladstone," in which the +Volksraad states that the Convention is not acceptable-- + +(1.) Because it is in conflict with the Sand River Treaty of 1852. + +(2.) Because it violates the peace agreement entered into with Sir +Evelyn Wood, in confidence of which the Boers laid down their arms. + +The Volksraad consequently declared that modifications were desirable, +and that certain articles _must_ be altered. + +To begin with, they declare that the "conduct of foreign relations does +not appertain to the Suzerain, only supervision," and that the articles +bearing on these points must consequently be modified. They next attack +the native question, stating that "the Suzerain has not the right to +interfere with our Legislature," and state that they cannot agree to +Article 3, which gives the Suzerain a right of veto on Legislation +connected with the natives, to Article 13, by virtue of which natives +are to be allowed to acquire land, and to the last part of Article +26, by which it is provided that whites of alien race living in the +Transvaal shall not be taxed in excess of the taxes imposed on Transvaal +citizens. + +They further declare that it is "infra dignitatem" for the President of +the Transvaal to be a member of a Commission. This refers to the Native +Location Commission, on which he is, in the terms of the Convention, +to sit, together with the British Resident, and a third person jointly +appointed. + +They next declare that the amount of the debt for which the Commission +has made them liable should be modified. Considering that England had +already made them a present of from 600,000 pounds to 800,000 pounds, +this is a most barefaced demand. Finally, they state that "Articles 15, +16, 26, and 27, are superfluous, and only calculated to wound our sense +of honour" (sic). + +Article 15 enacts that no slavery or apprenticeship shall be tolerated. + +Article 16 provides for religious toleration. + +Article 26 provides for the free movement, trading, and residence of all +persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of the +Transvaal. + +Article 27 gives to all the right of free access to the Courts of +Justice. + +Putting the "sense of honour" of the Transvaal Volksraad out of the +question, past experience has but too plainly proved that these Articles +are by no means superfluous. + +In reply to this message, Sir Hercules Robinson telegraphs to the +British Resident on the 21st October in the following words:-- + +"Having forwarded Volksraad Resolution of 15th to Earl of Kimberley, I +am desired to instruct you in reply to repeat to the Triumvirate +that Her Majesty's Government cannot entertain any proposals for a +modification of the Convention _until after it has been ratified_, and +the necessity for further concession proved by experience." + +I wish to draw particular attention to the last part of this message, +which is extremely typical of the line of policy adopted throughout +in the Transvaal business. The English Government dared not make any +further concession to the Boers, because they felt that they had already +strained the temper of the country almost to breaking in the matter. On +the other hand, they were afraid that if they did not do something, the +Boers would tear up the Convention, and they would find themselves face +to face with the old difficulty. Under these circumstances, they have +fallen back upon their temporising and un-English policy, which leaves +them a back-door to escape through, whatever turn things take. Should +the Boers now suddenly turn round and declare, which is extremely +probable, that they repudiate their debt to us, or that they are sick +of the presence of a British Resident, the Government will be able +to announce that "the necessity for further concession" has now been +"proved by experience," and thus escape the difficulty. In short, this +telegram has deprived the Convention of whatever finality it may have +possessed, and made it, as a document, as worthless as it is as a +practical settlement. That this is the view taken of it by the Boers +themselves, is proved by the text of the Ratification which followed on +the receipt of this telegram. + +The tone of this document throughout is, in my opinion, considering from +whom it came, and against whom it is directed, very insolent. And it +amply confirms what I have previously said, that the Boers looked upon +themselves as a victorious people making terms with those they have +conquered. The Ratification leads off thus: "The Volksraad is not +satisfied with this Convention, and considers that the members of the +Triumvirate performed a fervent act of love for the Fatherland when +they upon their own responsibility signed such an unsatisfactory state +document." This is damning with faint praise indeed. It then goes on to +recite the various points of object, stating that the answers from the +English Government proved that they were well founded. "The English +Government," it says, "acknowledges indirectly by this answer (the +telegram of 21st October, quoted above) that the difficulties raised +by the Volksraad are neither fictitious nor unfounded, inasmuch _as it +desires from us the concession_ that we, the Volksraad, shall submit +it to a practical test." It will be observed that English is here +represented as begging the favour of a trial of her conditions from the +Volksraad of the Transvaal Boers. The Ratification is in these words: +"Therefore it is that the Raad here unanimously resolves not to go into +further discussion of the Convention, _and maintaining all objections +to the Convention_ as made before the Royal Commission or stated in the +Raad, and for the purpose of showing to everybody that the love of peace +and unity inspires us, _for the time and provisionally_ submitting the +articles of the Convention to a practical test, _hereby complying with +the request of the English Government_ contained in the telegram of the +13th October 1881, proceeds to ratify the Convention." + +It would have been interesting to have seen how such a Ratification as +this, which is no Ratification but an insult, would have been accepted +by Lord Beaconsfield. I think that within twenty-four hours of its +arrival in Downing Street, the Boer Volksraad would have received a +startling answer. But Lord Beaconsfield is dead, and by his successor it +was received with all due thankfulness and humility. His words, however, +on this subject still remain to us, and even his great rival might +have done well to listen to them. It was in the course of what was, I +believe, the last speech he made in the House of Lords, that speaking +about the Transvaal rising, he warned the Government that it was a very +dangerous thing to make peace with rebellious subjects in arms against +the authority of the Queen. The warning passed unheeded, and the peace +was made in the way I have described. + +As regards the Convention itself, it will be obvious to the reader that +the Boers have not any intention of acting up to its provisions, mild +as they are, if they can possibly avoid them, whilst, on the other hand, +there is no force at hand to punish their disregard or breach. It is all +very well to create a Resident with extensive powers; but how is he to +enforce his decisions? What is he to do if his awards are laughed at and +made a mockery of, as they are and will be? The position of Mr. Hudson +at Pretoria is even worse than that of Mr. Osborn in Zululand. For +instance, the Convention specifies in the first article that the +Transvaal is to be known as the Transvaal State. The Boer Government +have, however, thought fit to adopt the name of "South African Republic" +in all public documents. Mr. Hudson was accordingly directed to +remonstrate, which he did in a feeble way; his remonstrance was politely +acknowledged, but the country is still officially called the South +African Republic, the Convention and Mr. Hudson's remonstrations +notwithstanding. Mr. Hudson, however, appears to be better suited to +the position than would have been the case had an Englishman, pure and +simple, been appointed, since it is evident that things that would +have struck the latter as insults to the Queen he represented, and his +country generally, are not so understood by him. In fact, he admirably +represents his official superiors in his capacity of swallowing rebuffs, +and when smitten on one cheek delightedly offering the other. + +Thus we find him attending a Boer meeting of thanksgiving for the +success that had waited on their arms and the recognition of their +independence, where most people will consider he was out of place. To +this meeting, thus graced by his presence, an address was presented by +a branch of the Africander Bond, a powerful institution, having for its +object the total uprootal of English rule and English customs in South +Africa, to which he must have listened with pleasure. In it he, in +common with other members of the meeting, is informed that "you took +up the sword and struck the Briton with such force" that "the Britons +through fear revived that sense of justice to which they could not be +brought by petitions," and that the "day will soon come that we shall +enter with you on one arena for the entire independence of South +Africa," i.e., independence from English rule. + +On the following day the Government gave a dinner, to which all those +who had done good service during the late hostilities were invited, the +British Resident being apparently the only Englishman asked. Amongst the +other celebrities present I notice the name of Buskes. This man, who +is an educated Hollander, was the moving spirit of the Potchefstroom +atrocities; indeed, so dark is his reputation that the Royal Commission +refused to transact business with him, or to admit him into their +presence. Mr. Hudson was not so particular. And now comes the most +extraordinary part of the episode. At the dinner it was necessary that +the health of Her Majesty as Suzerain should be proposed, and with +studied insolence this was done last of all the leading political +toasts, and immediately after that of the Triumvirate. Notwithstanding +this fact, and that the toast was couched by Mr. Joubert, who stated +that "he would not attempt to explain what a Suzerain was," in what +appear to be semi-ironical terms, we find that Mr. Hudson "begged to +tender his thanks to the Honourable Mr. Joubert for the kind way in +which he proposed the toast." + +It may please Mr. Hudson to see the name of the Queen thus +metaphorically dragged in triumph at the chariot wheels of the +Triumvirate, but it is satisfactory to know that the spectacle is not +appreciated in England: since, on a question in the House of Lords, by +the Earl of Carnarvon, who characterised it as a deliberate insult, Lord +Kimberley replied that the British Resident had been instructed that +in future he was not to attend public demonstrations unless he had +previously informed himself that the name of Her Majesty would be +treated with proper respect. Let us hope that this official reprimand +will have its effect, and that Mr. Hudson will learn therefrom that +there is such a thing as _trop de zele_--even in a good cause. + +The Convention is now a thing of the past, the appropriate rewards have +been lavishly distributed to its framers, and President Brand has at +last prevailed upon the Volksraad of the Orange Free State to allow him +to become a Knight Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George,--the +same prize looked forward to by our most distinguished public servants +at the close of the devotion of their life to the service of their +country. But its results are yet to come--though it would be difficult +to forecast the details of their development. One thing, however, is +clear: the signing of that document signalised an entirely new departure +in South African affairs, and brought us within a measurable distance +of the abandonment, for the present at any rate, of the supremacy of +English rule in South Africa. + +This is the larger issue of the matter, and it is already bearing fruit. +Emboldened by their success in the Transvaal, the Dutch party at the +Cape are demanding, and the demand is to be granted, that the Dutch +tongue be admitted _pari passu_ with English, as the official language +in the Law Courts and the House of Assembly. When a country thus +consents to use a foreign tongue equally with its own, it is a sure +sign that those who speak it are rising to power. But "the Party" +looks higher than this, and openly aims at throwing off English rule +altogether, and declaring South Africa a great Dutch republic. The +course of events is favourable to their aspiration. Responsible +Government is to be granted to Natal, which country not being strong +enough to stand alone in the face of the many dangers that surround her, +will be driven into the arms of the Dutch party to save herself from +destruction. It will be useless for her to look for help from England, +and any feelings of repugnance she may feel to Boer rule will soon be +choked by necessity, and a mutual interest. It is, however, possible +that some unforeseen event, such as the advent to power of a strong +Conservative Ministry, may check the tide that now sets so strongly in +favour of Dutch supremacy. + +It seems to me, however, to be a question worthy of the consideration +of those who at present direct the destinies of the Empire, whether it +would not be wise, as they have gone so far, to go a little further and +favour a scheme for the total abandonment of South Africa, retaining +only Table Bay. If they do not, it is now quite within the bounds of +sober possibility that they may one day have to face a fresh Transvaal +rebellion, only on a ten times larger scale, and might find it difficult +to retain even Table Bay. If, on the other hand, they do, I believe +that all the White States in South Africa will confederate of their own +free-will, under the pressure of the necessity for common action, and +the Dutch element being preponderant, at once set to work to exterminate +the natives on general principles, in much the same way, and from much +the same motives that a cook exterminates black beetles, because she +thinks them ugly, and to clear the kitchen. + +I need hardly say that such a policy is not one that commands my +sympathy, but Her Majesty's Government having put their hand to the +plough, it is worth their while to consider it. It would at any rate +be in perfect accordance with their declared sentiments, and command an +enthusiastic support from their followers. + +As regards the smaller and more immediate issue of the retrocession, +namely, its effect on the Transvaal itself, it cannot be other than +evil. The act is, I believe, quite without precedent in our history, +and it is difficult to see, looking at it from those high grounds of +national morality assumed by the Government, what greater arguments +can be advanced in its favour, than could be found to support the +abandonment of,--let us say,--Ireland. Indeed a certain parallel +undoubtedly exists between the circumstances of the two countries. +Ireland was, like the Transvaal, annexed, though a long time ago, and +has continually agitated for its freedom. The Irish hate us, so did the +Boers. In Ireland, Englishmen are being shot, and England is running the +awful risk of bloodguiltiness, as it did in the Transvaal. In Ireland, +smouldering revolution is being fanned into flame by Mr. Gladstone's +speeches and acts, as it was in the Transvaal. In Ireland, as in the +Transvaal, there exists a strong loyal class that receives insults +instead of support from the Government, and whose property, as was the +case there, is taken from them without compensation, to be flung as a +sop to stop the mouths of the Queen's enemies. And so I might go on, +finding many such similarities of circumstances, but my parallel, like +most parallels, must break down at last. Thus--it mattered little to +England whether or no she let the Transvaal go, but to let Ireland go +would be more than even Mr. Gladstone dare attempt. + +Somehow, if you follow these things far enough, you always come +to vulgar first principles. The difference between the case of the +Transvaal and that of Ireland is a difference not of justice but of +cause, for both causes are equally unjust or just according as they +are viewed, but of mere common expediency. Judging from the elevated +standpoint of the national morality theory however, which, as we know, +soars above such truisms as the foolish statement that force is a +remedy, or that if you wish to retain your prestige you must not allow +defeats to pass unavenged, I cannot see why, if it was righteous to +abandon the Transvaal, it would not be equally righteous to abandon +Ireland! + +As for the Transvaal, that country is not to be congratulated on its +success, for it has destroyed all its hopes of permanent peace, has +ruined its trade and credit, and has driven away the most useful and +productive class in the community. The Boers, elated by their success in +arms, will be little likely to settle down to peaceable occupations, +and still less likely to pay their taxes, which, indeed, I hear they +are already refusing to do. They have learnt how easily even a powerful +Government can be upset, and the lesson is not likely to be forgotten, +for want of repetition to their own weak one. + +Already the Transvaal Government hardly knows which way to turn for +funds, and is, perhaps fortunately for itself, quite unable to borrow, +through want of credit. + +As regards the native question, I agree with Mr. H. Shepstone, who, +in his Report on this subject, says that he does not believe that the +natives will inaugurate any action against the Boers, so long as the +latter do not try to collect taxes, or otherwise interfere with them. +But if the Boer Government is to continue to exist, it will be bound +to raise taxes from the natives, since it cannot collect much from its +white subjects. The first general attempt of the sort will be the signal +for active resistance on the part of the natives, whom, if they act +without concert, the Boers will be able to crush in detail, though with +considerable loss. If, on the other hand, they should have happened, +during the last few years, to have learnt the advantages of combination, +as is quite possible, perhaps they will crush the Boers. + +The only thing that is at present certain about the matter is that there +will be bloodshed, and that before long. For instance, the Montsoia +difficulty in the Keate Award has in it the possibilities of a serious +war, and there are plenty such difficulties ready to spring into life +within and without the Transvaal. + +In all human probability it will take but a small lapse of time for +the Transvaal to find itself in the identical position from which we +relieved it by the Annexation. + +What course events will then take it is impossible to say. It may be +found desirable to re-annex the country, though, in my opinion, +that would be, after all that has passed, an unfortunate step; its +inhabitants may be cut up piecemeal by a combined movement of native +tribes, as they would have been, had they not been rescued by the +English Government in 1877, or it is possible that the Orange Free State +may consent to take the Transvaal under its wing: who can say? There is +only one thing that our recently abandoned possession can count on for +certain, and that is trouble, both from its white subjects, and the +natives, who hate the Boers with a bitter and a well-earned hatred. + +The whole question, can, so far as its moral aspect is concerned, be +summed up in a few words. + +Whether or no the Annexation was a necessity at the moment of its +execution,--which I certainly maintain it was--it received the +unreserved sanction of the Home Authorities, and the relations of +Sovereign and subject, with all the many and mutual obligations involved +in that connection, were established between the Queen of England and +every individual of the motley population of the Transvaal. Nor was this +change an empty form, for, to the largest proportion of that population, +this transfer of allegiance brought with it a priceless and a vital +boon. To them it meant--freedom and justice--for where, on any portion +of this globe over which the British ensign floats, does the law even +wink at cruelty or wrong? + +A few years passed away, and a small number of the Queen's subjects in +the Transvaal rose in rebellion against Her authority, and inflicted +some reverses on Her arms. Thereupon, in spite of the reiterated pledges +given to the contrary--partly under stress of defeat, and partly +in obedience to the pressure of "advanced views"--the country was +abandoned, and the vast majority who had remained faithful to the Crown, +was handed to the cruel despotism of the minority who had rebelled +against it. + +Such an act of treachery to those to whom we were bound with double +chains--by the strong ties of a common citizenship, and by those claims +to England's protection from violence and wrong which have hitherto +been wont to command it, even where there was no duty to fulfil, and +no authority to vindicate--stands--I believe--without parallel on our +records, and marks a new departure in our history. + +I cannot end these pages without expressing my admiration of the +extremely able way in which the Boers managed their revolt, when once +they felt that, having undertaken the thing, it was a question of +life and death with them. It shows that they have good stuff in them +somewhere, which, under the firm but just rule of Her Majesty, might +have been much developed, and it makes it the more sad that they should +have been led to throw off that rule, and have been allowed to do so by +an English Government. + +In conclusion, there is one point that I must touch on, and that is the +effect of the retrocession on the native mind, which I can only describe +as most disastrous. The danger alluded to in the Report of the Royal +Commission has been most amply realised, and the prevailing belief in +the steadfastness of our policy, and the inviolability of our plighted +word, which has hitherto been the great secret of our hold on the +Kafirs, has been rudely shaken. The motives that influenced, or are said +to have influenced, the Government in their act, are naturally quite +unintelligible to savages, however clever, who do believe that force +is a remedy, and who have seen the inhabitants of a country ruled by +England, defeat English soldiers and take possession of it, whilst those +who remained loyal to England were driven out of it. It will not be +wonderful if some of them, say the natives of Natal, deduce therefrom +conclusions unfavourable to loyalty, and evince a desire to try the same +experiment. + +It is, however, unprofitable to speculate on the future, which must be +left to unfold itself. + +The curtain is, so far as this country is concerned, down for the moment +on the South African stage; when it rises again, there is but too much +reason to fear that it will reveal a state of confusion, which, unless +it is more wisely and consistently dealt with in the future than it has +been in the past, may develop into chaos. + + + + +APPENDIX + + + +I + +THE POTCHEFSTROOM ATROCITIES, &C. + +There were more murders and acts of cruelty committed during the war +at Potchefstroom, where the behaviour of the Boers was throughout both +deceitful and savage, than at any other place. + +When the fighting commenced a number of ladies and children, the wives +and children of English residents, took refuge in the fort. Shortly +after it had been invested they applied to be allowed to return to their +homes in the town till the war was over. The request was refused by the +Boer commander, who said that as they had gone there, they might stop +and "perish" there. One poor lady, the wife of a gentleman well known in +the Transvaal, was badly wounded by having the point of a stake, which +had been cut in two by a bullet, driven into her side. She was at the +time in a state of pregnancy, and died some days afterwards in great +agony. Her little sister was shot through the throat, and several other +women and children suffered from bullet wounds, and fever arising from +their being obliged to live for months exposed to rain and heat, with +insufficient food. + +The moving spirit of all the Potchefstroom atrocities was a cruel wretch +of the name of Buskes, a well-educated man, who, as an advocate of the +High Court, had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. + +One deponent swears that he saw this Buskes wearing Captain Fall's +diamond ring, which he had taken from Sergeant Ritchie, to whom it was +handed to be sent to England, and also that he had possessed himself +of the carriages and other goods belonging to prisoners taken by the +Boers.[*] Another deponent (whose name is omitted in the Blue Book for +precautionary reasons) swears, "That on the next night the patrol again +came to my house accompanied by one Buskes, who was secretary of the +Boer Committee, and again asked where my wife and daughter were. I +replied, in bed; and Buskes then said, 'I must see for myself.' I +refused to allow him, and he forced me, with a loaded gun held to my +breast, to open the curtains of the bed, when he pulled the bedclothes +half off my wife, and altogether off my daughter. I then told him if I +had a gun I would shoot him. He placed a loaded gun at my breast, when +my wife sprang out of bed and got between us." + + [*] Buskes was afterwards forced to deliver up the ring. + +I remember hearing at the time that this Buskes (who is a good musician) +took one of his victims, who was on the way to execution, into the +chapel and played the "Dead March in Saul," or some such piece, over him +on the organ. + +After the capture of the Court House a good many Englishmen fell into +the hands of the Boers. Most of these were sentenced to hard labour and +deprivation of "civil rights." The sentence was enforced by making them +work in the trenches under a heavy fire from the fort. One poor fellow, +F. W. Finlay by name, got his head blown off by a shell from his own +friends in the fort, and several loyal Kafirs suffered the same fate. +After these events the remaining prisoners refused to return to the +trenches till they had been "tamed" by being thrashed with the butt end +of guns, and by threats of receiving twenty-five lashes each. + +But their fate, bad as it was, was not so awful as that suffered by Dr. +Woite and J. Van der Linden. + +Dr. Woite had attended the Boer meeting which was held before the +outbreak, and written a letter from thence to Major Clarke, in which he +had described the talk of the Boers as silly bluster. He was not a paid +spy. This letter was, unfortunately for him, found in Major Clarke's +pocket-book, and because of it he was put through a form of trial, taken +out and shot dead, all on the same day. He left a wife and large family, +who afterwards found their way to Natal in a destitute condition. + +The case of Van der Linden is somewhat similar. He was one of Raaf's +Volunteers, and as such had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. +In the execution of his duty he made a report to his commanding officer +about the Boer meeting, and which afterwards fell into the hands of the +Boers. On this he was put through the form of trial, and, though in +the service of the Queen, was found guilty of treason and condemned to +death. One of his judges, a little less stony-hearted than the rest, +pointed out that "when the prisoner committed the crime martial law had +not yet been proclaimed, nor the State," but it availed him nothing. He +was taken out and shot. + +A Kafir named Carolus was also put through the form of trial and shot, +for no crime at all that I can discover. + +Ten unarmed Kafir drivers, who had been sent away from the fort, were +shot down in cold blood by a party of Boers. Several witnesses depose to +having seen their remains lying together close to Potchefstroom. + +Various other Kafirs were shot. None of the perpetrators of these crimes +were brought to justice. The Royal Commission comments on these acts as +follows:-- + +"In regard to the deaths of Woite, Van de Linden, and Carolus, the +Boer leaders do not deny the fact that those men had been executed, but +sought to justify it. The majority of your Commissioners felt bound to +record their opinion that the taking of the lives of these men was an +act contrary to the rules of civilised warfare. Sir H. de Villiers was +of opinion that the executions in these cases, having been ordered by +properly constituted Court Martial of the Boers' forces after due trial, +did not fall under the cognisance of your Commissioners. + +"Upon the case of William Finlay the majority of your Commissioners felt +bound to record the opinion that the sacrifice of Finlay's life, through +forced labour under fire in the trenches, was an act contrary to the +rules of civilised warfare. _Sir H. de Villiers did not feel justified +by the facts of the case in joining in this expression of opinion_ +(sic). As to the case of the Kafir Andries, your Commissioners decided +that, although the shooting of this man appeared to them, from the +information laid before them, to be not in accordance with the rules of +civilised warfare, under all the circumstances of the case, it was not +desirable to insist upon a prosecution. + +"The majority of your Commissioners, although feeling it a duty to +record emphatically their disapproval of the acts that resulted in +the deaths of Woite, Van der Linden, Finlay, and Carolus, yet found it +impossible to bring to justice the persons guilty of these acts." + +It will be observed that Sir H. de Villiers does not express any +disapproval, emphatic or otherwise, of these wicked murders. + +But Potchefstroom did not enjoy a monopoly of murder. + +In December 1880, Captain Elliot, who was a survivor from the Bronker +Spruit massacre, and Captain Lambart, who had been taken prisoner by the +Boers whilst bringing remounts from the Free State, were released from +Heidelberg on parole on condition that they left the country. An escort +of two men brought them to a drift of the Vaal river, where they refused +to cross, because they could not get their cart through, the river being +in flood. The escort then returned to Heidelberg and reported that the +officers would not cross. A civil note was then sent back to Captains +Elliot and Lambart, signed by P. J. Joubert, telling them "to pass the +Vaal river immediately by the road that will be shown to you." What +secret orders, if any, were sent with this letter has never transpired; +but I decline to believe that, either in this or in Barber's case, the +Boer escort took upon themselves the responsibility of murdering their +prisoners, without authority of some kind for the deed. + +The men despatched from Heidelberg with the letter found Lambert and +Elliot wandering about and trying to find the way to Standerton. They +presented the letter, and took them towards a drift in the Vaal. Shortly +before they got there the prisoners noticed that their escort had been +reinforced. It would be interesting to know, if these extra men were not +sent to assist in the murder, how and why they turned up as they did and +joined themselves to the escort. The prisoners were taken to an old and +disused drift of the Vaal river and told to cross. It was now dark, and +the river was much swollen with rain; in fact, impassable for the cart +and horses. Captains Elliot and Lambart begged to be allowed to outspan +till the next morning, but were told that they must cross, which they +accordingly attempted to do. A few yards from the bank the cart stuck on +a rock, and whilst in this position the Boer escort poured a volley into +it. Poor Elliot was instantly killed, one bullet fracturing his skull, +another passing through the back, a third shattering the right thigh, +and a fourth breaking the left wrist. The cart was also riddled, but, +strange to say, Captain Lambert was untouched, and succeeded in swimming +to the further bank, the Boers firing at him whenever the flashes of +lightning revealed his whereabouts. After sticking some time in the mud +of the bank he managed to effect his escape, and next day reached the +house of an Englishman called Groom, living in the Free State, and from +thence made his way to Natal. + +Two of the murderers were put through a form of trial, after the +conclusion of peace, and acquitted. + +The case of the murder of Dr. Barber is of a somewhat similar character +to that of Elliot, except that there is in this case a curious piece of +indirect evidence that seems to connect the murder directly with Piet +Joubert, one of the Triumvirate. + +In the month of February 1881, two Englishmen came to the Boer laager +at Lang's Nek to offer their services as doctors. Their names were Dr. +Barber, who was well known to the Boers, and his assistant, Mr. Walter +Dyas, and they came, not from Natal, but the Orange Free State. On +arrival at the Boer camp they were at first well received, but after +a little while seized, searched, and tied up all night to a disselboom +(pole of a waggon). Next morning they were told to mount their horses, +and started from the camp escorted by two men who were to take them over +the Free State line. + +When they reached the Free State line the Boers told them to get off +their horses, which they were ordered to bring back to the camp. They +did so, bade good-day to their escort, and started to walk on towards +their destination. When they had gone about forty yards Dyas heard the +report of a rifle, and Barber called out, "My God, I am shot!" and fell +dead. + +Dyas went down on his hands and knees and saw one of the escort +deliberately aim at him. He then jumped up, and ran dodging from right +to left, trying to avoid the bullet. Presently the man fired, and he +felt himself struck through the thigh. He fell with his face to the men, +and saw his would-be assassin put a fresh cartridge into his rifle and +aim at him. Turning his face to the ground he awaited his death, but the +bullet whizzed past his head. He then saw the men take the horses and go +away, thinking they had finished him. After waiting a while he managed +to get up, and struggled to a house not far off, where he was kindly +treated and remained till he recovered. + +Some time after this occurrence a Hottentot, named Allan Smith, made +a statement at Newcastle, from which it appears that he had been taken +prisoner by the Boers and made to work for them. One night he saw Barber +and Dyas tied to the disselboom, and overheard the following, which I +will give in his own words:-- + +"I went to a fire where some Boers were sitting; among them was +a low-sized man, moderately stout, with a dark-brown full beard, +apparently about thirty-five years of age. I do not know his name. _He +was telling his comrades that he had brought an order from Piet Joubert_ +to Viljoen, to take the two prisoners to the Free State line _and shoot +them there_. He said, in the course of conversation, 'Piet Joubert het +gevraacht waarom was de mensche neet dood geschiet toen hulle bijde +eerste laager gekom het.' ('Piet Joubert asked why were the men not shot +when they came to the first laager.') They then saw me at the fire, and +one of them said, 'You must not talk before that fellow; he understands +what you say, and will tell everybody.' + +"Next morning Viljoen told me to go away, and gave me a pass into the +Free State. He said (in Dutch), 'you must not drive for any Englishmen +again. If we catch you doing so we will shoot you, and if you do not go +away quick, and we catch you hanging about when we bring the two men to +the line, we will shoot you too.'" + +Dyas, who escaped, made an affidavit with reference to this statement in +which he says, "I have read the foregoing affidavit of Allan Smith, +and I say that the person described in the third paragraph thereof as +bringing orders from Piet Joubert to Viljoen, corresponds with one of +the Boers who took Dr. Barber and myself to the Free State, and to the +best of my belief he is the man who shot Dr. Barber." + +The actual murderers were put on their trial in the Free State, and, of +course, acquitted. In his examination at the trial, Allan Smith says, +"It was a young man who said that Joubert had given orders that Barber +had to be shot. . . . It was not at night, but in the morning early, +when the young man spoke about Piet Joubert's order." + +Most people will gather, from what I have quoted, that there exists a +certain connection between the dastardly murder of Dr. Barber (and the +attempted murder of Mr. Dyas), and Piet Joubert, one of that "able" +Triumvirate of which Mr. Gladstone speaks so highly. + +I shall only allude to one more murder, though more are reported to have +occurred, amongst them--that of Mr. Malcolm, who was kicked to death by +Boers,--and that is Mr. Green's. + +Mr. Green was an English gold-digger, and was travelling along the main +road to his home at Spitzcop. The road passed close by the military camp +at Lydenburg, into which he was called. On coming out he went to a Boer +patrol with a flag of truce, and whilst talking to them was shot dead. +The Rev. J. Thorne, the English clergyman at Lydenburg, describes this +murder in an affidavit in the following words:-- + +"That I was the clergyman who got together a party of Englishmen and +brought down the body of Mr. Green who was murdered by the Boers and +buried it. I have ascertained the circumstances of the murder, which +were as follows:--Mr. Green was on his way to the gold-fields. As he was +passing the fort, he was called in by the officers, and sent out again +with a message to the Boer commandant. Immediately on leaving the camp, +he went to the Boer guard opposite with a flag of truce in his hand; +while parleying with the Boers, who proposed to make a prisoner of him, +he was shot through the head." + +No prosecution was instituted in this case. Mr. Green left a wife and +children in a destitute condition. + + + +II + +PLEDGES GIVEN BY MR. GLADSTONE'S GOVERNMENT AS TO THE RETENTION OF THE +TRANSVAAL AS A BRITISH COLONY + +The following extracts from the speeches, despatches, and telegrams +of members of the present Government, with reference to the proposed +retrocession of the Transvaal, are not without interest:-- + +During the month of May 1880, Lord Kimberley despatched a telegram +to Sir Bartle Frere, in which the following words occur: "_Under +no circumstances can the Queen's authority in the Transvaal be +relinquished._" + +In a despatch dated 20th May, and addressed to Sir Bartle Frere, Lord +Kimberley says, "That the sovereignty of the Queen in the Transvaal +could not be relinquished." + +In a speech in the House of Lords on the 24th May 1880, Lord Kimberley +said:-- + +"There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding; it was +impossible to say what calamities such a step as receding might not +cause. We had, at the cost of much blood and treasure, restored peace, +and the effect of our now reversing our policy would be to leave the +province in a state of anarchy, and possibly to cause an internecine +war. For such a risk he could not make himself responsible. The number +of the natives in the Transvaal was estimated at about 800,000, and +that of the whites less than 50,0000. Difficulties with the Zulus and +frontier tribes would again arise, and, looking as they must to South +Africa as a whole, the Government, after a careful consideration of +the question, came to the conclusion _that we could not relinquish +the Transvaal_. Nothing could be more unfortunate than uncertainty in +respect to such a matter." + +On the 8th June 1880, Mr. Gladstone, in reply to a Boer memorial, wrote +as follows:-- + +"It is undoubtedly a matter for much regret that it should, since the +Annexation, have appeared that so large a number of the population of +Dutch origin in the Transvaal are opposed to the annexation of that +territory, but it is impossible now to consider that question as if it +were presented for the first time. We have to do with a state of things +which has existed for a considerable period, during which _obligations +have been contracted, especially, though not exclusively, towards +the native population, which cannot be set aside_. Looking to all the +circumstances, both of the Transvaal and the rest of South Africa, and +to the necessity of preventing a renewal of disorders, which might lead +to disastrous consequences, not only to the Transvaal but to the whole +of South Africa, _our judgment is that the Queen cannot be advised to +relinquish the Transvaal_." + +Her Majesty's Speech, delivered in Parliament on the 6th January 1881, +contains the following words: "A rising in the Transvaal has recently +imposed upon me the duty of _vindicating my authority_." + +These extracts are rather curious reading in face of the policy adopted +by the Government, after our troops had been defeated. + + + +III + +THE CASE OF INDABEZIMBI + +This is a case which came under my own notice. The complainant is now +a tenant of my own. When Indabezimbi appeared before Mr. Cochrane and +myself, his appearance fully bore out his description of the assault +made upon him. We did everything in our power to help him to recover his +son and his property, but without effect. The matter was fully reported +to Sir Hercules Robinson and Sir E. Wood, and a question was asked on +the subject in the House of Commons. I append Mr. Courtney's answer. +This case, which is perfectly authentic, will prove instructive reading, +as showing the treatment the Kafir must expect at the hands of the Boer, +now that he is no longer protected by us. It must be remembered that the +vast majority of such incidents are never heard of. The Kafirs suffer, +and are still. The assault and robbery of Indabezimbi took place in +Natal territory. + + +Statement of Indabezimbi + +"I used to work on Mr. Robson's son's place, and on his death I went to +Meyer's (in the Utrecht district of the Transvaal) about a year ago. I +took all my property with me. There lived on the farm old Isaac Meyer, +Solomon Meyer, who died during the war, young Isaac Meyer, Jan Meyer, +Martinus Meyer, also a man called Cornelius, a 'bijwooner,' who loved in +Solomon's place after he died. + +"According to custom, I sent my son to work for old Isaac Meyer, as +I lived on his place. When the war began all the Meyer family moved +further into the Transvaal, my son going with them as herd. I went up +to Klip River with them as driver, where the river forms the boundary +between the Free State and Transvaal. I returned at once, leaving my son +with the Meyers. He was a small boy about twelve years of age. At the +termination of the war the Meyers sent for me to drive them down. I met +them a day's journey this side of Klip River. I asked them where my son +was. Old Isaac Meyer told me he had sent him to look for horses; he did +not return; and another boy was sent who brought the horses. The horses +were found close by. No one went to look for my son. I asked old Isaac +Meyer for leave to go and offer a reward amongst the Kafirs for my son. +He refused, saying I must drive him home, and then he would give me a +pass to come back and look for him. On our arrival at the farm I and my +wife again applied to old Isaac Meyer to be allowed to go and see about +my son. He refused, saying I must first shear the sheep. I replied that +he well knew that I could not shear sheep. I said, 'How can I work when +my heart is sore for my son?' Meyer said again that I must wait awhile +as the rivers were full. I said how could that matter, seeing that both +in coming and going with the waggons we crossed no rivers? As he refused +me a pass, I started without one to seek my son. On arrival at Mavovo's +kraal I met my brother, who told me that I must go no further, or the +Boers would shoot me. Having no pass I returned. On my return my wives +told me that the Meyers had come every morning to look for me with +guns to shoot me, telling them that 'it was now no longer the days for +sjamboking (flogging with hide whips) the natives, but the days for +shooting them.' On hearing this I collected my goods, and by morning +had everything on the Natal side of the Buffalo River--on Natal ground. +About mid-day Martinus Meyer overtook us by Degaza's kraal and asked +me what I was doing on the Natal side of the river. I told him I was +leaving for Natal, because I found it altogether too hot for me in +the Transvaal. He said that if I came back he would make everything +comfortable. I refused. He then attacked me with a knobkerrie, and would +have killed me had not one of my wives, seeing that I was badly hurt, +knocked him down with a piece of iron. Martinus then mounted his +horse and galloped off. I then got on my horse and fled. My wives +hid themselves. In the afternoon there came to the waggon Jan Meyer, +Martinus Meyer, young Isaac Meyer, and the man called Cornelius. They +hunted all about for us with the object of shooting us, as they told +Degaza's Kafirs. My wives then saw them inspan the waggon and take +everything away. I had a waggon, twelve oxen, four cows, and a mare, +also a box containing two hundred pounds in gold, a telescope, clothes, +and other things. My wives found the box broken on the ground and all +the contents gone. Forty sacks of grain belonging to me were also taken. +I was robbed of everything I had, with the exception of the horse I +escaped on. The waggon was one I hired from my brother (a relation); the +oxen were my own brother's. Eighty pounds of the money I got from the +Standard Bank in Newcastle for oxen sold to the owner of the store on +the Ingagane Drift. The rest I had accumulated in fees from doctoring. I +am a doctor amongst my own people. I come now to ask you to allow me to +settle on your land as a refugee. + +"(Signed) Indabezimbi, his X mark. + +"This statement was made by Indabezimbi at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, +on the Seventeenth of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one, in the +presence of the undersigned witnesses. + +"(Signed) H. Rider Haggard. +A. H. D. Cochrane. +J. H. Gay Roberts. + +"N.B.--The outrage of which Indabezimbi has here given an account +occurred within a week of the present date, August 17th, 1881." + + +Statement of the woman Nongena, Wife of Indabezimbi + +"My master's name is Isaac Meyer; he lives in the Transvaal, south of +Utrecht. We have lived on the farm about a year. On the farm lived also +Jan Meyer, Martinus Meyer, and young Isaac Meyer, sons of old Isaac +Meyer. There was also another man on the farm, whose name I do not know. +When the waggon went up with the Meyers' family to the centre of the +Transvaal, when the late war broke out, my husband drove old Isaac +Meyer's waggon, and my son Ungazaan also went to drive on stock. After +my husband had driven the waggon to its destination in the Transvaal he +returned to the kraal, leaving his son Ungazaan with the Meyers. After +the war was over my husband was sent for by the Meyers to drive back +the waggons. On arrival of the Meyers at the farm I found my husband +had returned, but my son was left behind. I asked my master where my son +was; my master replied, 'He did not know, he had sent to boy to bring up +horses, but he had not brought them.' Another boy was sent who brought +the horses. He said he had not seen the boy Ungazaan since he left to +look for the horses, as they had left the place the morning after the +boy was missing. My husband asked for a pass to go back and look for +the boy; Meyer refused, and my husband went without one to look for +Ungazaan, my son. He returned without the boy, owing, he said, to the +want of a pass. My husband dared not go into the country without a pass. +During my husband's absence, the three sons of old Isaac Meyer, namely, +Martinus, Jan, and Isaac, came every morning to search for my husband, +saying, 'We will kill him, he leaves our work to go without our leave +for look for the boy.' They came once with sjamboks, but afterwards with +guns, saying they would kill him if they found him. On hearing this my +husband said, 'We cannot then stay here longer.' He then went at once +and borrowed a waggon and twelve oxen, and during the night we packed +the waggon three times, and took three loads across the Buffalo River +to Degaza's kraal, which is on Natal ground, forty sacks of grain, 200 +pounds in a box, with clothes and other things, also mats and skins, and +four head of cattle and a horse. All these things were at Degaza's kraal +before sunrise the next morning. The Induna Kabane, at the magistrate's +office at Newcastle, knows of the money, and from whence it came. All +the money is our money. + +"About mid-day on the day after the night we moved, Martinus came on +horseback to us at Degaza's kraal, and I saw him beating my husband with +a kerrie; he hit him also in the mouth with his fist. He hit my husband +on the head with a kerrie; he beat my husband on the foot when he was +trying to creep away in a hut, and would have killed him had not one of +his wives named Camgagaan hit Martinus on the head with a piece of iron. +Martinus, on recovery, rode away; my husband also fled on a horse. + +"I with the other wives fled, and hid ourselves close by in the grass +and stones. Presently we saw from our own hiding-place three white men, +armed with guns, seeking for us. Their names were Martinus Meyer, Jan +Meyer, and Isaac Meyer, all three sons of old Isaac Meyer. They sought +us in vain. From our hiding-place we heard the waggon driven away; and +later, when we went back to Degaza's kraal, they told us that the Meyers +had inspanned the waggon, and had returned with it to the Transvaal side +of the Buffalo River. The names of those who saw the Boers go away with +the waggon are Gangtovo, Capaches, Nomatonga, Nomamane, and others. +The Boers took away on the waggon that night all the last load we had +brought over from the Transvaal, together with all our clothes; and +some of the sacks first brought over were loaded up, all our cattle were +taken, and our box was broken, and the 200 pounds taken away. We found +the pieces of the box on the ground when we came from our hiding-place. +We then fled. The people at Degaza's kraal told us that the Boers had +said that they would return, and take away that which they were forced +to leave behind when they took the first load. We have since heard from +Degaza that the Boers came back again and took what remained of our +property at Degaza's kraal. Degaza saw the Boers take the things +himself. + +"This is all I know of the facts. The assaults and robbery took place, +as near as I can say, about fourteen days ago." + +(Signed) Nongena, her X mark. + +Gagaoola, also wife of Indabezimbi, states:--"I have heard all that +Nongena has told you. Her words are true; I was present when the assault +and robbery took place." + +(Signed) Gagaoola, her X mark. + +These statements were made to us at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, on the +Twenty-second of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one. + +A. H. D. Cochrane. + +H. Rider Haggard. + +(Signed) Ayah, her X mark, +Interpreter. + + +Indabezimbi + +"Mr. Alderman Fowler asked the Under Secretary of State for the +Colonies, whether the British Resident at Pretoria had brought under +the notice of the Transvaal Government the circumstances of an outrage +committed in August last, by a party of Boers, on the person and +property of a Kafir named Indabezimbi, who was at that time residing in +Natal; and whether any steps had been taken by the authorities of the +Transvaal either to institute a judicial inquiry into the matter, or to +surrender the offenders to the Government of Natal. + +"Mr. Courtney.--On the 13th of October the British Resident reported +that, according to promise, the Government has caused an investigation +to be made at Utrecht, and informed him that the result was somewhat +to invalidate the statement of Indabezimbi; but that the documents +connected with the investigation at Utrecht would speedily be forwarded +to him with a view to correspondence through him with the Natal +Government. No further communication has been received. It must be +observed that, in the absence of any extradition convention, a judicial +inquiry in this case is practically impossible, the outrage, whatever +it was, having been committed in Natal, and the offenders being in +the Transvaal. Her Majesty's Government are taking active steps to +re-establish a system of extradition, in pursuance of Article 29, of the +Convention. The despatches on this subject will be given to Parliament +when the correspondence is completed." + + + +IV + +A BOER ADVERTISEMENT + +It may be interesting to Englishmen to know what treatment is meted out +to such of their fellow-countrymen as have been bold enough, or forced +by necessity, to remain in the Transvaal since the retrocession. The +following is a translation of an advertisement recently published in the +"Volkstem," a Transvaal paper, and is a fair sample of what "loyalists" +have to expect. + + +"WARNING + +"We, the undersigned Burghers of the Ward Aapies river, hereby warn all +loyal persons who have registered themselves with the British Resident, +that they are not to come into our houses, or into our farms, and still +less to offer to shake hands. They can greet us at a distance on the +road _like Kafirs_, and those who act contrary to this notice can expect +the result." + + +Presumably "the result" that the Englishman who takes the liberty +to offer to shake hands with a Boer can expect, is to be beaten or +murdered. This notice is signed by the Justice of the Peace or "Veld +Cornet" of the district. Anybody who knows the estimation in which a +Kafir is held by the Boers will understand its peculiar insolence. + + + +V + +"TRANSVAAL'S" LETTER TO THE "STANDARD" + +The following letter appeared in the issue of the "Standard" of the 31st +May 1882, and is dated Pretoria, 27th April. It is signed "Transvaal," +probably because the author, were he to put his name at the foot of so +candid a document, would find himself in much the same position as that +occupied at the present moment by an Irish landlord who has outraged the +susceptibilities of the Land League. He would be rigorously "boycotted," +and might, in the event of any disturbance, be made into a target. The +Transvaal Boers are very sensitive to criticism, especially where their +native policy is concerned. I take the liberty to reprint the letter +here, partly because I feel sure that I will be forwarding the wishes +of the writer by assisting to give publicity to his facts, and partly +on account of the striking and recent confirmation it affords, on every +point, to my remarks on the same subject:-- + +"Sir,--In calling your attention to what is going on on the +south-western border of the Transvaal, I may possibly tell you of some +things which you may already have heard of, for in the present isolated +condition of the country, without telegraphs, and with a very imperfect +postal system, added to the jealousy of the Boer Government in keeping +their actions secret from the outside world, it is not only very +difficult to get at the truth of what is happening, but the people in +one portion of the country are in many cases totally ignorant of what is +going on in another. Nevertheless, I feel it incumbent on me to call +the attention of the English people, through your widely circulating +journal, to what has come under my observation with reference to the +disgraceful native war which is, and has been, raging on the south-west +border of this country. + +"During the late Boer war, you may be aware of the fact that a very +large number, if not all, of the natives, were strongly in favour of +the English Government, and only awaited the signal from it to rush upon +their old oppressors. But the natives, although forbidden by the English +Government from joining with them against the Boers (it is hardly +necessary to say that had it not been for this the war would have had a +very different ending), nevertheless afforded an asylum and protection +to the lives and property of refugee Englishmen and loyalists. Notable +among these natives was a Chief named Montsiou, whose tribe is situated +just outside the borders of the Transvaal to the south-west. This +Chief and his people received numbers of refugees who fled to them for +protection from the rapacity of the Boers, and watched over them and +their property throughout the war. For this offence the Boers swore to +be revenged on him, and hardly was the war finished when they commenced +commandeering in the Potchefstroom district, under the pretence of +protecting their borders, but with the ostensible purpose of inflicting +chastisement on this loyal Chief; and, the better to effect their +purpose, they allied themselves with a neighbouring Chief, who had some +old grudge against him, and, by promises of assistance and hopes of +plunder, induced him to commence a war, under cover of which they could +join, and thus effect the purpose they had in view. + +"The Chiefs whom the Boers had instigated to harass Montsiou got +the worst of it, and the action of the Boers, who were actively +commandeering in the Potchefstroom (district?), under Commandant Cronge, +was brought to the notice of the Royal Commission through complaints +made by loyal Boers, and resulted in an inquiry into the subject, which +showed that his opponent was the aggressor, and was acting under the +advice of and assistance from the Boers. The Royal Commission managed to +patch matters up, but no sooner were their labours over, and the country +fairly handed over to the Boers, than Moshete and Masouw, instigated by +the Boers, commenced again harassing Montsiou, with the avowed purpose +of bringing on a war, and so far succeeded as to oblige Montsiou to take +up arms in self-defence. + +"From that time forward the war has gone on increasing in dimensions, +until other Chiefs have been drawn into it, and the Boer volunteers +fighting against Montsiou and Monkoroane are almost equal in numbers to +the natives. The Boers, while doing all they can to crush Montsiou on +account of the protection he afforded loyalists during the late war +against the English Government, are careful not to do it in an official +way, because that might cause trouble with England, whereas, by +aiding and assisting it privately, they could do quite as much without +incurring responsibility. You may naturally ask how I know all this, and +what proofs I can advance in support of it. Some time after the Royal +Commission had left the country, and the war had commenced again, Piet +Joubert, who is Commandant-General, went down to the border with the +object of putting an end to the war. This, I presume, he did for the +sake of appearances, for it is well known that he entertains a strong +hatred against those natives who in any way showed a partiality for +British rule; and when it is remembered that Piet Joubert's journey did +not result in a cessation of hostilities, but in an increase, and that +ever since his journey the war has increased in area and in numbers, +and that in no single instance has a Boer volunteer been prevented +from crossing the border, or ammunition for use against Montsiou been +stopped, the sincerity of his intentions may well be doubted. + +"Then, again, officers in the Boer Jagers went about Pretoria +endeavouring to obtain volunteers to fight against Montsiou, saying +that they were to have some months' leave from the Government, and that +subscriptions would be raised to assist those men who had no private +means. This took place almost immediately after Piet Joubert's return +from the border, and while he was in Pretoria, and the general opinion +was that he was at the bottom of it; but as it became rather more public +than was intended, the British Resident was obliged to take notice of +it, and the result was that the Boers, though in general treating the +British Resident with little consideration, thought it wisest to carry +on their operations in a more private manner, more especially as their +object could be attained quite as effectually in this way. + +"While the Boers are assisting Moshete and Masouw by every means in +their power, with the sole object of crushing Montsiou and Monkoroane, +another loyal Chief, the Colonial Government, no doubt under +instructions from home, are doing their best to prevent volunteers or +ammunition reaching them, and have already rested men in Kimberley, who +have been trying to raise volunteers to go to their assistance. + +"The result of this is, that the loyal Chiefs are suffering under +a double disadvantage; for while their enemies are receiving every +assistance, they are blockaded on all sides, and, through the action +of the English Government in preventing them obtaining assistance, are +rapidly falling a prey to the Boers. Those only who know anything of the +Boer method of warfare against natives will know what this means; and in +spite of the Boer Government doing all they can to keep things +secret, horrible tales of the cruelties perpetrated by them leak out +occasionally. + +"It seems to me a disgraceful thing, and a stain on the honour of +England, that these loyal Chiefs and their tribes should be robbed, +plundered, and shot down like dogs, simply because they afforded +protection to the lives and property of Englishmen during the late +war, and yet these things are going on and are being perpetrated on the +border of England's Colonies. If England will not step in and insist on +the Boers putting a stop to this murderous war, then in God's name +let her not prevent these poor natives from obtaining ammunition and +assistance to enable them to defend their country. They succoured our +countrymen, and if we cannot succour them, the least we can do is not to +interfere to prevent them from protecting themselves! + +"Of course, it suits the Boer Government to make out that they have +nothing to do with the war, and cannot prevent Boer Volunteers from +fighting these Chiefs; and so long as the English Government rests +satisfied with these answers, so long will this disgraceful state of +things go on. Let the English Government be firm, however, and insist +on the Boers taking no part in this war, and it will cease--a sure proof +that the Boer Government have the power to stop it if they have the +will. + +"Not only are the Boers wreaking vengeance upon Montsiou and Monkoroane, +but a friend of theirs, a Chief of the name of Kalafin, whose tribe is +situated in the Zeerust district, Transvaal, has been robbed by them of +everything he possessed. This Chief had English sympathies; and as he +presumed to build a wall round his town he gave the Boers the excuse +they wanted. He was ordered to take the wall down, which he did, at the +same time proving that he only built it to prevent his cattle straying +among the huts. He was then ordered to come to Pretoria, which he did +accordingly. He was then ordered to pay a fine of three thousand cattle, +which fine he paid. No sooner was this done than the Boers, bent on +his ruin, raised the fine to ten thousand head. The poor Chief in vain +pleaded his inability to pay. It was the old story of the wolf and the +lamb. Because he couldn't pay, the Boers construed it into an act of +disobedience, and at once ordered their men to go in and take everything +he possessed. This tribe is small and weak, which the Boers well knew. +Eye-witnesses of what followed say it was a heartrending sight. The +women, with children in their arms, pleaded in vain to the Boers to +leave them something or they would starve, but the latter only jeered +at them. What these poor people will do God only knows, for the Boers +stripped them of every living thing they possessed, and with the +proceeds of this robbery the Boer Government intend to replenish their +coffers. + +"The British Resident, Mr. Hudson, it is believed, shuts his eyes to +many things. No doubt his is a difficult position to fill; and doubtless +he is aware that, if he reports everything to the English Government, +the Boers have it in their power to make his position anything but a +pleasant one. In any case, the English portion of the community here, +while admitting his good qualities socially, have little confidence in +him officially. + +"My object in writing this letter, however, is not so much to show what +a disgraceful state the Government is in, as to try and awaken sympathy +in the breasts of my countrymen for the cause of these loyal Chiefs. +While the Government are writing despatches to the British Resident, +these Chiefs and their people are being ruined past remedying." + + + +VI + +A VISIT TO THE CHIEF SECOCOENI[*] + + [*] This paper was written just before the Annexation of the + Transvaal in 1877. + +Towards the end of March I had occasion to visit the Basuto chief +Secocoeni, in his native stronghold beyond the Loolu Berg, a range to +the north-east of Pretoria, about 250 miles away; and as this journey +was typical of travelling in the wilds of South Africa, an account of it +may prove interesting. + +It is perhaps necessary to explain, for the benefit of those who are not +acquainted with South African politics, that Secocoeni is the chieftain +who has been at war with the late Transvaal Republic, who drove back its +forces, capturing some 7000 head of cattle. It is from this raid that +the present state of affairs has arisen; so that this obscure chief, +with his 9000 warriors, has materially affected the future destinies of +South Africa. Negotiations of peace had been set on foot, and it was +in connection with these delicate matters that the journey was to be +undertaken. + +"Going to Secocoeni at this time of year! Ah!" said one gentleman. +"Well, look here. I sent five natives through that country in this same +month (March) last year; out of those five, three died of the fever, and +the other two just got through with their lives. I only tell you, you +know, that you may take precautions. This is a bad fever year." However, +fever or no fever, we had to go. As it was necessary to travel rapidly, +we could only take four riding-horses, three for ourselves and the +fourth for a Zulu named "Lankiboy," who also led a pack-horse, +and carried an enormous "knob-kerry," or shillelagh, stuck in his +button-hole, as though it were a wedding-bouquet. + +Behind our saddles were fastened our saddle-bags, containing a change +of clothing, and in front we strapped a rug and a mackintosh. +Our commissariat consisted of four tins of potted ham, and our +medicine-chest of some quinine, Cockle's pills, and a roll of +sticking-plaster, which, with a revolver and a hunting-knife or two, +completed our equipment. + +We knew little of our route save that our destination lay due east, so +due east we steered. After riding for about twenty miles, and crossing +the Mahaliesburg range, that stretches away north for hundreds of miles, +we came to a Boer's house, where we off-saddled to feed our horses. It +must be understood that the Boers were the one certain difficulty, and +one of the possible dangers, to be encountered on our road, for at no +time are they are pleasant people to deal with, and just now they are +remarkably unpleasant towards Englishmen. + +For instance, at this first house, we managed to get some forage for our +horses, before our scowling host found out who we were, but not a bit +could we get to eat. "Have you no bread, myn Heer?" "We have no bread +to spare." "Have you any eggs?" "We have no eggs." "Can you let us +have some milk?" "Susan, have you got any milk to give these carles +(fellows)?" Finally, we succeeded in buying three cups of milk for a +shilling, "as a favour," and that is all we got from sunrise to sunset. + +Riding, on empty stomachs, for another sixty miles over the plains, we +came to a Boer's house where we had to sleep. Just before we reached the +door, I noticed what I have often seen since, some graves in a row, with +heaps of stones piled over them. It appears that these people do not +care about bring buried in consecrated ground, their only anxiety being +to be put in a coffin, and they are generally laid to rest near to their +doors. There is neither railing nor headstone, and no trees or flowers, +those green emblematic garments with which civilised people try to hide +the ugliness of death. I remember once seeing several graves within two +or three yards of the public road, so that in a year or so the waggons +will be rumbling over the heads of those who lie beneath. + +When you ride up to a Boer's house, the etiquette is to wait until some +member of the family asks you to off-saddle, and then you must go in +and shake hands with every one, a most disagreeable custom. None of the +women--who are very plain--rise to meet one, they just hold out their +hands. This house was a fair specimen of the sort of habitation indulged +in by the ordinary Boer. The main room was about eighteen feet square, +with that kind of door which allows the upper half to open whilst the +lower remains shut, such as is used in stables in England. The flooring +is made of cow-dung, into which peach stones are trodden at the +threshold, in order to prevent its wearing away. The furniture consists +of a deal table and some chairs, rather nearly made of strips of hide +fastened to a wooden frame. There is no ceiling, but only beams, to +which are fastened strips of "biltong," or game's flesh, dried in the +sun. Out of this room open one or two more, in which the whole family +sleep, without much attempt at privacy. + +Sitting about the room were two or three young mothers, without +stockings and nursing babies; in the corner, on a chair, made twice as +large as any of the others, reposed the mother of the family, a woman of +large size. The whole house was pervaded by a sickly odour, like that of +a vault, whilst the grime and filth of it baffle description. And this +was the place we had to eat and sleep in. However, there was no help for +it; the only thing to do was to light one's pipe, and smoke. After an +hour or so, supper was put upon the table, consisting of a bowl full of +boiled bones, a small stack of mealie cobs, and, be it added, some good +bread-and-butter. The eating arrangements of these people are certainly +very trying. The other day we had to eat our dinner in a Boer's house, +with a reeking ox-hide, just torn from the animal, lying on the floor +beside us, together with portions of the poor beast's head whose flesh +we were eating. However, on this occasion we were spared the ox-hide, +and, being very hungry, managed to put up with the other discomforts. +After a long grace our suppers were served out to us. I remember I got +an enormous bone with but little flesh on it, which, if I may form an +opinion from its great size and from a rapid anatomical survey, must +have been the tibia of an ox. A young Boer sat opposite to me--a +wonderful fellow. He got through several mealie cobs (and large ones +too) whilst I was eating half a one. His method was peculiar, and shows +what practice can do. He shoved a mealie cob into his mouth, gave it +a bite and a wrench, just like one of those patent American threshing +machines, brought the cob out perfectly clear of grain, and took +another. After the supper was over, we had another long grace ending +with: "voor spijze en drunk de Heer ik dank" (for food and drink the +Lord I thank). + +After supper we went outside in order to escape the feet-washing +ceremony (all in the same water) which this "simple pastoral people" +are said to indulge in, and which they might expect the "uitlander" +(stranger) to enter into with enthusiasm. When we came back, we +found that the women--who, by-the-by, do not eat till the men have +finished--had done their meal, and gone to bed, having first made us up +a luxurious couch on the floor, consisting of a filthy feather-bed, and +an equally filthy blanket. My heart misgave me when I looked at that +bed. It may have been fancy, but once or twice I thought it moved. +However, there was no choice, unless we chose to sit up all night; so in +we got, looking for all the world like three big sun-burned dolls put +to bed by some little girl. I, as the youngest, blew out the light, and +then!--from every side _they_ came. Up one's arms, up one's legs, +down one's back they scampered, till life became a burden. Sleep was +impossible; one could only lie awake and calculate the bites per minute, +and the quantity of blood one would lose before daybreak. Cold as it +was, I would have turned out and slept in the veldt, only my rug was +over my two companions as well as myself, so I could not take it. I have +slept in a good many different places, and in very fairly uncomfortable +places, but I never had such a night before. + +At the first grey dawn of morning the old "frau" came stumbling out of +the bedroom, and sat down without ceremony in her big chair. Waiting +till she thought that we had reached a sufficiently advanced stage in +our toilette--and her idea of what that was must have been a strange +one--she shouted out to her daughters that they could "com," and in they +all came. Very glad were we when we had paid our bill, which was a heavy +one, and were in the saddle once more, riding through the cold morning +mist that lay in masses on all the ridges of the hills like snow on +mountains. + +It was needful to start early, for we had more than sixty miles to +cover, and our ponies had done a good journey the day before. The work +that one can get out of these ponies is marvellous. There was my pony, +"Mettle," who had my eleven stone to carry, to say nothing of the +saddle, heavy saddle-bags, and a roll of rugs, who came in at the end +of his journey as fresh as paint. We cantered easily over the great +high-veldt prairies, now and then passing clumps of trees, outposts +of the bush-veldt. These enormous plains, notwithstanding their dreary +vastness, have a wild beauty of their own. The grass is what is called +sour grass, and has a peculiar blue tinge, but stock do not like it so +well as the low-veldt grass, which is sweeter, and fattens them more +quickly, though it does not put them in such good fettle. The rock here +is all white sandstone, and thinly overlaps an enormous bed of coal, +cropping up from beneath the water-washed surface. At this time of year +there are very few beasts or birds of any sort to be seen, though in the +winter the veldt is one moving mass of "trek" or migratory game. + +Our destination that day was Botsabelo, the most important +mission-station, and one of the very few successful ones, in +South-Eastern Africa. As we neared it, the country gradually broke into +hills of peculiar and beautiful formation, which rendered the last two +hours of our ride, in the dark, through an unknown country, rather a +difficult job. However, we stumbled through streams, and over boulders, +and about nine o'clock were lucky enough to come right upon the station, +where we were most kindly received by Dr. Merensky. The station itself +stands on the brow of a hill surrounded by gardens and orchards; beneath +it lie slope and mountain, stream and valley, over which are dotted +numbers of kraals, to say nothing of three or four substantial houses +occupied by the assistant missionary and German artisans. Near Dr. +Merensky's house stands the church, by far the best I have seen in the +Transvaal, and there is also a store with some well-built workshops +around it. All the neighbouring country belongs to the station, which +is, in fact, like a small independent State, 40,000 acres in extent. +On a hill-top overshadowing the station, are placed the fortifications, +consisting of thick walls running in a circle with upstanding towers, +in which stand one or two cannon; but it all reminds one more of an old +Norman keep, with its village clustered in its protecting shadow, than +of a modern mission establishment. + +Dr. Merensky commenced his labours in Secocoeni's country, but was +forced to fly from thence by night, with his wife and new-born baby, +to escape being murdered by that Chief's orders, who, like most Kafir +potentates, has an intense aversion to missionaries. Twelve years ago he +established this station, and, gathering his scattered converts around +him, defied Secocoeni to drive him thence. Twice that Chief has sent out +a force to sweep him away, and murder his people, and twice they have +come and looked, and, like false Sextus, turned back again. The Boers, +too, have more than once threatened to destroy him, for it is unpleasant +to them to have so intelligent a witness in their midst, but they have +never dared to try. The place is really impregnable to Basutus and +Boers; Zulus might carry it, with their grand steady rush, but it would +be at a terrible sacrifice of life. In fact, Dr. Merensky has been +forced, by the pressure of circumstances, to teach his men the use of a +rifle, as well as the truths of Christianity; to trust in God, but also +to "keep their powder dry." At a few minutes' notice he can turn out 200 +well-armed natives, ready for offence or defence; and the existence +of such a stronghold is of great advantage to the few English in the +neighbourhood, for the Boers know well that should they attack them +they might draw down the vengeance of Dr. Merensky's formidable body of +Christian soldiers. + +We only passed one night at Botsabelo, and next morning went on to +Middelburg, or Nazareth, which is an hour's ride from the station. Here, +too, we met with a warm welcome from the handful of English residents, +but we were eager to push on as rapidly as possible, for our kind +friends told us that it would be impossible to proceed to Secocoeni's on +horseback, because of the deadly nature of the country for horses. So +we had to hire an ox-waggon, which they provisioned for us, and, much to +our disgust (as we were pressed for time), were obliged to fall back on +that dilatory method of travelling. + +We decided that we would take the three oldest and least valuable horses +with us, in order to proceed with them from Fort Weeber, which was our +next point, to Secocoeni's town, whither waggons could not reach. Few +English readers are aware that there is a mysterious disease +among horses in South Africa, peculiar to the country, called +"horse-sickness." During the autumn season it carries off thousands of +horses annually, though some are good and others bad years--a bad fever +year being generally a bad horse-sickness year also, and _vice versa_. +A curious feature about it is, that as the veldt gets "tamed," that is, +fed off by domesticated animals, the sickness gradually disappears. +No cure has yet been discovered for it, and very few horses pull +through--perhaps, five per cent. These are called "salted horses," and +are very valuable; as, although they are not proof against the disease, +they are not so liable to take it. A salted horse may be known by the +peculiar looseness and roughness of his skin, and also by a +certain unmistakable air of depression, as though he felt that the +responsibilities of life pressed very heavily upon him. He is like a man +who has dearly bought his experience; he can never forget the terrible +lesson taught in the buying. + +On the fourth day from our start we left Middelburg, and, taking a +north-east course from this outpost of civilisation, overtook the +waggon, and camped, after a twenty miles' trek, just on the edge of the +bush-veldt. We had two young Boers to drive our waggons--terrible louts. +However, they understood how to drive a waggon, and whilst one of them +drove, the other would sit for hours, with a vacant stare on his face, +thinking. It is a solemn fact that, from the time we left Middelburg +till the time we returned, neither of those fellows touched water, that +is, to wash themselves. The only luxury in the shape of comforts of the +toilette which they allowed themselves was a comb with a brass back, +carefully tied to the roof of the waggon with two strips of ox-hide +thick enough to have held a hundredweight of lead. I don't think they +ever used it--it was too great a luxury for general use--but they would +occasionally untie it and look at it. Our own outfit in the waggon was +necessarily scanty, consisting of a few iron pots and plates, a kettle, +some green blankets, a lantern, and an old anti-friction grease-can used +for water, which gave it a fine flavour of waggon-wheels. We also had +a "cartle," or wooden frame, across which were stretched strips of hide +fitted into the waggon about two feet above the floor, and intended to +sleep on; but the less said about that the better. + +After we left the great high-veldt plains, over which the fresh breeze +was sweeping, we dropped down into a beautiful bush-clad valley with +mountains on either side. It was like making a sudden descent into the +tropics. Not a breath of wind stirred the trees, and the sun shone with +a steady burning heat. Scarcely a sound broke the silence, save the +murmur of the river we crossed and recrossed, the occasional pipe of a +bird, and the melancholy cry, half sigh, half bark, of an old baboon, +who was swinging himself along, indignant at our presence. + +If the sights and sounds were beautiful, the sun was hot, and the road +fearful, and we were indeed glad when we reached "Whitehead's Cobalt +Mine," and were most kindly received by the gentlemen who superintend +the works. The house used to belong to some Boer, who had deserted +the place, but left behind him a beautiful orchard of orange and peach +trees. The place is very feverish and unhealthy, and the white ants +so troublesome that everything has to be stood in sardine tins full of +ashes. + +On our way from the house we went to see the cobalt mine, which is on +a hillside a mile away. It has only been established about three years, +and has existed hitherto under the greatest difficulties as regards +labour, transport, machinery, danger from surrounding native tribes, +&c.; but it has already, the proprietor informed me, reduced the price +of cobalt--the blue dye used to colour such things as the willow-pattern +plates--by one-half in the English market, bringing it down from +somewhere about 140 pounds to 80 pounds a ton. We were very much +astonished to see the amount of work which had been done, as we expected +to find a pit such as the Kafirs work for copper, but instead of that +there was a large slanting shaft quite a hundred yards long, to say +nothing of various openings out of it following branch leads of ore. +There is also a vertical shaft one hundred feet deep, through which the +ore comes up, and by which one can ascend and descend in a bucket. After +we emerged from this awful hole, we went into another, a drive running +straight into the mountain for more than three hundred feet, following a +vein of black oxide of cobalt, which is much more valuable than the ore; +and, though the vein is rarely more than a foot in thickness, pays +very well. Leaving the mine, we rode on past some old Kafir +copper-workings--circular pits--which must have been abandoned, to judge +from their appearance, a hundred years ago, till we came to the banks +of the great "Olifants'" or "Elephants'" river. This magnificent stream, +though it is unnavigable owing to frequent rapids, has stretches miles +long, down which a man-of-war could steam, and after its junction with +the Elands' River it grows larger and larger till, pursuing a north-east +course, it at length falls into the mighty Limpopo. It is a very +majestic but somewhat sluggish stream, and its water is not very good. +You cannot see the river till you are right upon it, owing to the great +trees with which its steep banks are fringed, and in the early morning +it is quite hidden from bank to bank by a dense mass of billows of white +mist, indescribably strange to look upon. + +But, beautiful as this country is, it is most unhealthy for man and +beast. The close odour, the long creeping lines of mist, the rich rank +vegetation, the steady heat of day and night, all say one word, "fever," +and fever of the most virulent type. The traveller through this sort of +country is conscious of a latent fear lest he should some day begin to +feel hot when he ought to be cold, and cold when he ought to be hot, and +so be stricken down, to rise prematurely old, or perhaps to die, and be +buried in a lonely grave covered with stones to keep off the jackals. +We were travelling in the very worst fever-month, March, when the summer +vegetation is commencing to rot, and throw off its poisonous steam. What +saved us here and afterwards, at Secocoeni's, was our temperate living, +hard exercise, and plenty of quinine and tobacco-smoke. + +All the country through which we were passing is good game-veldt, but we +saw very little and killed nothing. This was chiefly owing to the fact +that we did not dare go out of hearing of the waggon-wheels, for fear +of getting lost in the bush, a thing very easily done. A few years back +this veldt swarmed with big game, with elephants and giraffes, and +they are even now occasionally seen. We managed now and again to get +a glimpse of some of the beautiful "Impala" buck, or of a small lot of +blue wilderbeestes vanishing between the trees, like a troop of wild +horses. There are still plenty of lions about, but we did not hear any: +whether it was that they had gone to the high-veldt after the cattle, or +that they do not roar so much in summer, I do not know. Perhaps it is as +well that we did not, for the roar of a lion is very generally followed +by what the Dutch call a "skrech." After roaring once or twice to wake +the cattle up, and make them generally uneasy, the lion stations himself +about twenty yards to the windward of the waggon. The oxen get wind of +him and promptly "skrech," that is, break their rims and run madly into +the veldt. This is just what the lion wants, for now he can pick out a +fat ox and quietly approach him from the other side till he is within +springing distance. He then jumps upon him, crushes his neck with one +bite, and eats him at his leisure. + +And so we trekked on through the sunrise, through the burning mid-day +and glowing sunsets, steering by the sun and making our own road; now +through tambouki grass higher than the oxen, and now through dense bush, +till at length, one day, we said good-bye to the Olifants' just where +the Elands' River flows into it, and turned our faces eastward. This +course soon brought us on to higher ground and away from the mimosa, +which loves the low, hot valleys, into the region of the sugar bush, +which thrives upon the hill-sides. This sugar bush is a very handsome +and peculiar plant, with soft thick leaves, standing about twenty feet +high. It bears a brush-like flower, each of which in the Cape Colony +contains half a teaspoonful of delicious honey; but, curiously enough, +though in other respects the tree is precisely similar, this is not the +case in the Transvaal or Natal. At the proper season the Cape farmers +go out with buckets and shake the flowers till they have collected +sufficient honey to last them for the winter, a honey more fragrant than +that made by bees. + +After a long ride over the open, which must once have been thickly +populated, to judge from the number of remains of kraals, we came at +length to Fort Weeber. The fort is very badly situated in the hollow of +a plain, and so surrounded by fine hills that it is entirely commanded. +It consists of a single sod wall about two feet thick and five high, +capped with loose stones, whilst at two of the corners stand, on raised +platforms, a six-pounder and a three-pounder Whitworth gun. Inside the +wall are built rows of mud huts, which are occupied by the garrison, +leaving an open square, in the midst of which is placed the magazine. We +found the garrison in a wretched condition. They have not received any +pay except Government "good-fors" (promissory notes, generally known as +"good-for-nothings"), so they are in a state of abject poverty; whilst +they are rendered harmless as regards offensive operations, by the +death, from horse-sickness, of eighty-two of the ninety horses +they owned. However, the officers and garrison gave us a very grand +reception. As we rode up, they fired a salute of twelve guns, and then, +after we had dismounted and been received by the officers, we were taken +through a lane made by the garrison drawn up in a double line, and, just +as we got to the middle, "bang" went the eighty rifles over our +heads. Then an address was read (the volunteers are great people for +addresses), but a more practical welcome soon followed in the shape of a +good dinner. + +Next morning we started, a party of seven, including the interpreter, +to ride over the Loolu Berg to Secocoeni's, a distance of about +thirty-eight miles. + +For the first five miles we passed through the most curious granite +formation, a succession of small hills entirely composed of rounded +boulders of granite, weighing from five to 1000 tons, and looking +exactly like piles of gigantic snow-balls hurled together by some mighty +hand. The granite formation prevails in all this part of the country, +and individual boulders sometimes take very curious shapes; for +instance, in the bush-veldt we passed a great column towering high above +the trees, composed of six boulders getting smaller and smaller from +the base up, and each accurately balanced on the one beneath it. Then +we crossed the range of hills which overlooks the fort, and passing +Secocoeni's old kraal where he used to live before he retreated to his +fastnesses, we arrived at a great alluvial valley nine miles broad, on +the other side of which rises the Loolu. It was on this plain that the +only real fight between the volunteers and Secocoeni's men took place, +when the former managed to get between the Basutus and the hills, +and shot them down like game, killing over 200 men. Leaving the +battle-field, where the skeletons still lie, a little to our right, we +crossed the plain and came to the foot of the Loolu, all along the base +of which stand neat villages inhabited by Secocoeni's people. Some of +these villages have been burnt by the volunteers, and the remainder are +entirely deserted, their inhabitants having built fresh huts among the +rocks in almost inaccessible places. The appearance of these white huts +peeping out all over the black rocks was very curious, and reminded one +of the Swiss chalets. + +By the stream that runs along past the villages we off-saddled, as both +ourselves and our horses were nearly exhausted by the burning heat; but +as there was not much time to lose, after a short rest we started off +again, and rode on over a bed of magnetic iron lying on the ground in +great lumps of almost pure metal, until we came to a stretch of what +looked remarkably like gold-bearing quartz, and then to a limestone +formation. The whole country is evidently rich beyond measure in +minerals. All this time we were passing through scenery inexpressibly +wild and grand, and when we had arrived at the highest spot of the pass, +it reached a climax of savage beauty. About forty miles in front of us +towered up another magnificent range of blue-tinged mountains known as +the Blue Berg, whilst all around us rose great bush-clad hills, opening +away in every direction towards gorgeous-coloured valleys. The scene was +so grand and solemn that I do not think it lies in the power of words to +describe it. + +Here we had to dismount to descend a most fearful precipitous path +consisting of boulders piled together in the wildest confusion, from +one to another of which we had to jump, driving the horses before us. +Half-way down we off-saddled to rest ourselves, and as we did so we +noticed that the gall was running from one of the horses' noses. We knew +too well what was the matter, and so left him there to die during the +night. This horse was by far the finest we had with us, and his owner +used to boast that the poor beast had often carried him, a heavy man, +from his house to Pretoria, a distance of nearly ninety miles, in +one day. He was also a "salted" horse. It is a curious thing that the +sickness generally kills the best horses first. + +After a short rest we started on again, and at the end of another hour +reached the bottom of the pass. From thence we rode along a gulley, that +alternately narrowed and widened, till at length it brought us right on +to Secocoeni's beautiful, fever-stricken home. + +All three of us had seen a good deal of scenery in different parts +of the world, and one of the party was intimately acquainted with the +finest spots in South Africa, but we were forced to admit that we had +never seen anything half so lovely as Secocoeni's valley. We had seen +grander views, indeed the scene from the top of the pass was grander, +but never anything that so nearly approached perfection in detail. +Beautiful it was, beautiful beyond measure, but it was the sort of +beauty under whose veil are hidden fever and death. And so we pushed on, +through the still hot eventide, till at length we came to the gates +of the town, where we found "Makurupiji," Secocoeni's "mouth" or prime +minister, who had evidently been informed of our coming by his spies +waiting to receive us.[*] + +[*] Makurupiji committed suicide after the town had been stormed, +preferring death to imprisonment. + +Conducted by this grandee, we went on past the Chief's kraals, down to +the town, whence flocked men, women, and children, to look on the white +lords; all in a primitive state of dress, consisting of a strip of skin +tied round the middle, and the women with their hair powdered with some +preparation of iron, which gave it a metallic blue tinge. + +At length we stopped just opposite a beautiful fortified kopje[*] +perforated by secret caves where the ammunition of the tribe is hidden. +No stranger is allowed to enter these caves, or even to ascend the +kopje, though they do not object to one's inspecting some of the other +fortifications. Dismounting from our wearied horses, we passed through a +cattle kraal and came into the presence of "Swasi," Secocoeni's uncle, +a fat old fellow who was busily engaged in braying a skin. Nearly every +male Basutu one meets, be he high or low, is braying a hide of some +sort, either by rubbing or by masticating it. It is a curious sight to +come across some twenty of these fellows, every one of them twisting or +chewing away. + + [*] Afterwards stormed in the attack on Secocoeni's town by + Sir Garnet Wolseley. + +Swasi was a sort of master of the household; his duty it was to receive +strangers and see that they were properly looked after; so, after +shaking hands with us furiously (he was a wonderful fellow to shake +hands), he conducted us to our hut. It stood in a good-sized courtyard +beautifully paved with a sort of concrete of limestone which looked very +clean and white, and surrounded by a hedge of reeds and sticks tightly +tied together, inside which ran a slightly raised bench, also made of +limestone. The hut itself was neatly thatched, the thatch projecting +several feet, so as to form a covering to a narrow verandah that ran all +round it. Inside it was commodious, and ornamented after the Egyptian +style with straight and spiral lines, painted on with some kind of red +ochre, and floored with a polished substance. Certainly these huts are +as much superior to those of the Zulus as those who dwell in them are +inferior to that fine race. What the Basutus gain in art and handiness +they lose in manliness and gentlemanly feeling. + +We had just laid ourselves down on the grass mats in the courtyard--for +it was too hot to go into the hut--thoroughly exhausted with our day's +work and the heat, when in came two men, each of them dragging a fine +indigenous sheep. They were accompanied by Makurupiji, who brought us a +message from Secocoeni to the effect that he, the Chief, sent to greet +us, the great Chiefs; that he sent us also a morsel to eat, lest we +should be hungry in his house. It was but a morsel--it should have been +an ox, for great Chiefs should eat much meat--but he himself was pinched +with hunger, his belt was drawn very tight by the Boers. He was poor, +and so his gift was poor; still, he would see if to-morrow he could find +a beast that had something besides the skin on its bones, that he might +offer it to us. After this magniloquent address the poor animals were +trundled out by the other gate to have their throats cut. + +After getting some supper and taking our quinine, we turned in and +slept that night in the best way that the heat would let us, rising next +morning with the vain hope of getting a bathe. Of all the discomforts +we experienced at Secocoeni's, the scarcity and badness of the water was +the worst. Bad water, when you are in a hotbed of fever, is a terrible +privation. And so we had to go unwashed, with the exception of having a +little water poured over our hands out of gourds. We must have presented +a curious sight at breakfast that morning. Before us knelt a sturdy +Kafir, holding a stick in each hand, on which were respectively speared +a leg and a side of mutton, from which we cut off great hunks with our +hunting-knives, and, taking them in our fingers, devoured them like +beasts of prey. If we got a bit we did not like, our mode of dispensing +of it was simple and effective. We threw it to one of the natives +standing round us, among whom was the heir-apparent, who promptly +gobbled it up. + +Breakfast finished, a message came from Secocoeni asking for spirits to +drink. But we were not to be taken in in this way, for we knew well that +if we sent the Chief spirits we should get no business done that day, +and we did not care to run the risk of fever by stopping longer than we +could help; so we sent back a message to the effect that business +must come first and spirits afterwards. The head men, who brought this +message, said that they could perfectly understand our objection, as far +as Secocoeni and ourselves were concerned, since we had to talk, but +as they had only to sit still and listen there could be no possible +objection to their having something to drink. This argument was +ingenious, but we did not see the force of it, as our stock of spirits, +which we had brought more for medicine than anything else, was very +limited. Still, we were obliged to promise them a "tot" after the +talking was over, in order to keep them civil. + +Our message had the desired effect, for presently Secocoeni sent to say +that it was now time to talk, and that his head men would lead us +to him. So we started up, accompanied by "Makurupiji," "Swasi," and +"Galook," the general of his forces, a fat fellow with a face exactly +like a pig. The sun beat down with such tremendous force that, though +we had only three-quarters of a mile to walk, we felt quite tired by +the time we reached the Chief's kraals. Passing through several cattle +kraals, we came to a shed under which sat the heir-apparent dressed in +a gorgeous blanket with his court around him. Leaving him, we entered an +inner cattle kraal, where, in one corner, stood a large, roughly-built +shed, under the shade of which squatted over a hundred of the head men +of the tribe, gathered together by Secocoeni to "witness."[*] + + [*] As each chief came up to the meeting-place he would pass + before the enclosure where Secocoeni was sitting and salute + him, by softly striking the hands together, and saying + something that sounded like "Marema." + +Opening out of this kraal was the chief's private enclosure, where stood +his huts. As we drew near, Secocoeni, who had inspired such terror into +the bold Burghers of the Republic, the chief of nine thousand warriors, +the husband of sixty-four wives, the father of a hundred children, rose +from the ox-hide on which he was seated, under the shade of a tree, and +came to the gate to meet us. And a queer sight this potentate was as +he stood there shaking hands through the gate. Of middle age, about +forty-five years of age, rather fat, with a flat nose, and small, +twinkling, black eyes, he presented an entirely hideous and +semi-repulsive appearance. His dress consisted of a cotton blanket +over which was thrown a tiger-skin kaross, and on his head was stuck +an enormous old white felt hat, such as the Boers wear, and known as a +"wilderbeeste chaser." + +After we had been duly introduced, he retreated to his ox-hide, and we +went and squatted down among the head men. Secocoeni took no active +part in the proceedings that followed; he sat in his enclosure and +occasionally shouted out some instructions to Makurupiji, who was +literally his "mouth," speaking for him and making use of the pronoun +"I." During the four hours or so that we were there Secocoeni never +stopped chewing an intoxicating green leaf, very much resembling that of +the pomegranate, of which he occasionally sent us some. + +After the business of the Commission had come to an end, and some of our +party started on their homeward journey, we were detained by Secocoeni, +who wished to see us privately. He sent for us to his private enclosure, +and we sat down on his ox-hide with him and one or two head men. It was +very curious to see this wily old savage shoving a handful of leaves +into his mouth, and giving his head a shake, and then making some shrewd +remark which went straight to the bottom of whatever question was in +hand. At length we bade Secocoeni good-bye, having promised to deliver +all his respectful messages to our chief, and, thoroughly wearied, +arrived at our own hut. Tired as we were, we thought it would be better +to start for the fort at once, rather than risk the fever for another +night. So we made up our minds to a long moonlight ride, and, saddling +up, got out of Secocoeni's town about 3.30 P.M., having looked our last +upon this beautiful fever-trap, which only wants water scenery to make +it absolutely perfect. Half-way up, we saw the poor horse we had left +sick the day before, lying dead, with dry foam all round his mouth, +and half his skin taken off by some passing Basutu. A couple of hundred +yards farther on we found another dying, left by the party who had +started before us. It was in truth a valley of the shadow of death. +Luckily our horses lasted us back to the fort, but one died there, and +the other two are dead since. + +Beautiful as was the scene by day, in the light of the full moon it was +yet more surpassingly lovely. It was solemn, weird. Every valley became +a mysterious deep, and every hill, stone, and tree shone with that cold +pale lustre which the moon alone can throw. Silence reigned, the silence +of the dead, broken only once or twice by the wild whistling challenge +of one of Secocoeni's warriors as he came bounding down the rocks, +to see who we were that passed. The effect of the fires by the huts, +perched among the rocks at the entrance to the pass, was very strange +and beautiful, reminding one of the midnight fires of the Gnomes in the +fairy tales. + +And so we rode on, hour after hour, through the night, till we well-nigh +fell asleep in our saddles, and at length, about two o'clock in the +morning, we reached the waggons to find the young Boers fast asleep +in our bed. We kicked them out, and, after swallowing some biscuits, +tumbled in ourselves for the few hours' rest which we so sadly needed. + +On the following morning, Thursday, two of the party bade farewell to +our hosts at the fort and started on one of the quickest possible treks, +leaving our companion to proceed across country to the fort established +by President Burgers, or "Porocororo," as the Basutus call him, at +Steelport. + +We returned to Middelburg by an entirely different route from that +by which we came. Leaving the valley of the Olifants to our right, we +trekked along the high-veldt, and thus avoided all the fever country. +Roughly speaking, we had about 120 miles of country to get over to reach +Middelburg, and we determined to do this in three days and two nights, +so as to get in on the Saturday night, as we were much pressed for time. +Now, according to English ideas, it is no great thing to travel 120 +miles in three days; but it is six days' journey in an ox-waggon over +bad country, and we were going to do it in half that time by doubling +the speed. + +Of course, to do this we had to trek night and day. For instance, on the +first day we inspanned at 10.30 A.M. and trekked till within an hour +of sundown; at sundown we inspanned, and with one outspan trekked till +sunrise; outspanned for two hours, and on again, being seventeen and +a half hours under the yoke out of the twenty-four, and covering +fifty-five miles. Of course, one cannot do this sort of travelling for +more than two or three days without killing the oxen; as it was, towards +the end, as soon as the yokes were lifted off, the poor beasts dropped +down as though they were shot, and most of them went lame. Another +great disadvantage is that one suffers very much from want of sleep. The +jolting of the springless machine, as it lumbered over rocks a foot high +and through deep spruits or streams, brought our heads down with such a +fearful jar on the saddle-bags that we used for pillows, that all sleep +was soon knocked out of them; or, even if we were lucky enough to be +crossing a stretch of tolerably smooth ground, there was a swaying +motion that rubbed one's face up and down till the skin was nearly +worn through, polishing the saddle-bags to such an extent that we might +almost have used them for looking-glasses as well as pillows. + +At Secocoeni's kraal we had engaged two boys to carry our packs as far +as the fort, who, on their arrival, were so well satisfied with the way +in which we treated them that they requested to be allowed to proceed +with us. These young barbarians, who went respectively by the names of +"Nojoke" and "Scowl," as being the nearest approach in English to their +Sisutu names, were the greatest possible source of amusement to us, +with their curious ways.[*] I never saw such fellows to sleep; it is +a positive fact that Nojoke used frequently to take his rest coiled up +like a boa constrictor in a box at the end of the waggon, in which box +stood three iron pots with their sharp legs sticking up. On those legs +he peacefully slumbered when the waggon was going over ground that +prohibited our even stopping in it. "Scowl" was not a nice boy to look +at, for his naked back was simply cut to pieces and covered with huge +weals, of which everybody, doubtless, thought we were the cause. On +inquiring how he came to get such a tremendous thrashing, it turned +out that these Basutus have a custom of sending young men of a certain +age[+] out in couples, each armed with a good "sjambok" (a whip cut from +the hide of a sea-cow), to thrash one another till one gives in, and +that it was in one of these encounters that the intelligent Scowl got +so lacerated; but, as he remarked with a grin, "_My_ back is nothing, the +chiefs should see that of the other boy." + + [*] Of these two lads, Nojoke subsequently turned out + worthless, and went to the Diamond Fields, whilst Scowl + became an excellent servant, until he took to wearing a + black coat, and turned Christian, when he shortly afterwards + developed into a drunkard and a thief. + + [+] The age of puberty. + +We spent one night at Middelburg, and next morning, bidding adieu to our +kind English friends, started for Pretoria, taking care to end our first +day's journey at a house where an Englishman lived, so as to ensure a +clean shakedown. Here we discovered that the horse I was riding (the +sole survivor of the five we had started with) had got the sickness, +and so we had to leave him and hire another. This horse, by the by, +recovered, which is the only instance of an animal's conquering the +disease which has yet come under my observation. We hired the new horse +from a Boer, who charged us exactly three times its proper price, +and then preached us a sermon quite a quarter of an hour long on +his hospitality, his kindness of heart, and his willingness to help +strangers. I must tell you that, just as we were going to sleep the +night before, a stranger had come and asked for a shakedown, which was +given to him in the same room. We had risen before daybreak, and my +companion was expatiating to me, in clear and forcible language, on the +hypocrisy and scoundrelism of this Boer, when suddenly a sleepy voice +out of the darkness murmured thickly, "I say, stranger, guess you +shouldn't lose your temper; guess that 'ere Boer is acting after the +manner of human natur'." And then the owner of the voice turned over and +went to sleep again. + +We had over sixty miles to ride that day, and it must have been about +eight o'clock at night, on the sixteenth day of our journey, when +we reached Pretoria and rode straight up to our camp, where we were +heartily greeted. I am sure that some of our friends must have felt a +little disappointed at seeing us arrive healthy and fat, without a sign +of fever, after all their melancholy predictions. It would not have been +"human natur'" if they had not. When we got to the camp, I called out +to Masooku, my Zulu servant, to come and take the horses. Next moment +I heard a rush and a scuttle in the tent like the scrimmage in a +rabbit-burrow when one puts in the ferrets, and Masooku shouted out in +Zulu, "He has come back! by Chaka's head, I swear it! It is his voice, +his own voice, that calls me; my father's, my chief's!" + +And so ended one of the hardest and most interesting journeys +imaginable--a journey in which the risk only added to the pleasure. +Still, I should not care to make it again at the same time of year. + + + +VII + +A ZULU WAR-DANCE + +In all that world-wide empire which the spirit of the English +colonisation has conquered from out of the realms of the distant and +unknown, and added year by year to the English dominions, it is doubtful +whether there be any one spot of corresponding area, presenting so many +large questions, social and political, as the colony of Natal. Wrested +some thirty years ago from the patriarchal Boers, and peopled by a few +scattered scores of adventurous emigrants, Natal has with hard toil +gained for itself a precarious foothold hardly yet to be called an +existence. Known chiefly to the outside world as the sudden birthplace +of those tremendous polemical missiles which battered so fiercely, +some few years ago, against the walls of the English Church, it is now +attracting attention to the shape and proportion of that unsolved riddle +of the future, the Native Question. In those former days of rude and +hand-to-mouth legislation, when the certain evil of the day had to be +met and dealt with before the possible evil of the morrow, the seeds of +great political trouble were planted in the young colony, seeds whose +fruit is fast ripening before our eyes. + +When the strong aggressive hand of England has grasped some fresh +portion of the earth's surface, there is yet a spirit of justice in +her heart and head which prompts the question, among the first of such +demands, as to how best and most fairly to deal by the natives of +the newly-acquired land. In earlier times, when steam was not, and +telegraphs and special correspondents were equally unknown agencies for +getting at the truth of things, this question was more easily answered +across a width of dividing ocean or continent. Then distant action might +be prompt and sharp on emergency, and no one would be the wiser. But of +late years, owing to these results of civilisation, harsh measures have, +by the mere pressure of public opinion, and without consideration +of their necessity in the eyes of the colonists, been set aside as +impracticable and inhuman. In the case of Natal, most of the early +questions of possession and right were settled, sword in hand, by the +pioneer Dutch, who, after a space of terrible warfare, drove back the +Zulus over the Tugela, and finally took possession of the land. But they +did not hold it long. The same hateful invading Englishman, with his new +ideas and his higher forms of civilisation, who had caused them to quit +the "Old Colony," the land of their birth, came and drove them, _vi +et armis_, from the land of their adoption. And it was not long before +these same English became lords of this red African soil, from the coast +up to the Drakensberg. Still there were difficulties; for although the +new-comers might be lords of the soil, there remained yet a remnant, +and a very troublesome remnant, of its original and natural masters: +shattered fragments of the Zulu power in Natal, men who had once swept +over the country in the army of Chaka the Terrible, Chaka of the Short +Spear, but who had remained behind in the fair new land, when Chaka's +raids had been checked by the white man and his deadly weapons. +Remnants, too, of conquered aboriginal tribes, who had found even +Chaka's rule easier than that of their own chieftains, swelled the +amount to a total of some 100,000 souls. + +One of the first acts of the English Government, when it took up the +reins, was to allot to each of these constituent fragments a large +portion of the land. This might perhaps have been short-sighted +legislation, but it arose from the necessity of the moment. According +to even the then received ideas of colonisation and its duties, it +was hardly possible--danger apart--to drive all the natives over +the frontier, so they were allowed to stay and share the rights and +privileges of British subjects. But the evil did not stop there. Ere +long some political refugees, defeated in battle, fled before the +avenging hand of the conqueror, and craved place and protection from the +Government of Natal. It was granted; and the principle once established, +body after body of men poured in: for, in stepping over the boundary +line, they left the regions of ruin and terrible death, and entered +those of peace, security, and plenty. + +Thus it is that the native population of Natal, fed from within and +without, has in thirty years increased enormously in number. Secluded +from the outside world in his location, the native has lived in peace +and watched his cattle grow upon a thousand hills. His wealth has become +great and his wives many. He no longer dreads swift "death by order +of the king," or by word of the witch-doctor. No "impi," or native +regiment, can now sweep down on him and "eat him up," that is, carry off +his cattle, put his kraal to the flames, and himself, his people, his +wives, and children to the assegai. For the first time in the story of +the great Kafir race, he can, when he rises in the morning, be sure that +he will not sleep that night, stiff, in a bloody grave. He has tasted +the blessings of peace and security, and what is the consequence? He has +increased and multiplied until his numbers are as grains of sand on the +sea-shore. Overlapping the borders of his location, he squats on private +lands, he advances like a great tidal wave, he cries aloud for room, +more room. This is the trouble which stares us in the face, looming +larger and more distinct year by year; the great over-growing problem +which thoughtful men fear must one day find a sudden and violent +solution. Thus it comes to pass that there hangs low on the horizon of +South Africa the dark cloud of the Native Question. How and when it will +burst no man can pretend to say, but some time and in some way burst it +must, unless means of dispersing it can be found. + +There is now at work among the Kafir population the same motive power +which has raised in turn all white nations, and, having built them up +to a certain height, has then set to work to sap them until they have +fallen--the power of civilisation. Hand in hand the missionary and the +trader have penetrated the locations. The efforts of the teacher have +met with but a partial success. "A Christian may be a good man in his +way, but he is a Zulu spoiled," said Cetywayo, King of the Zulus, when +arguing the question of Christianity with the Secretary for Native +Affairs; and such is, not altogether wrongly, the general feeling of +the natives. With the traders it has been different. Some have dealt +honestly--and more, it is to be feared, dishonestly--not only with those +with whom they have had dealings, but with their fellow-subjects and +their Government. It is these men chiefly who have, in defiance of the +law, supplied the natives with those two great modern elements of danger +and destruction, the gin-bottle and the rifle. The first is as yet +injurious only to the recipients, but it will surely react on those who +have taught them its use; the danger of possessing the rifle may come +home to us any day and at any moment. + +Civilisation, it would seem, when applied to black races, produces +effects diametrically opposite to those we are accustomed to observe +in white nations: it debases before it can elevate; and as regards the +Kafirs it is doubtful, and remains to be proved, whether it has much +power to elevate them at all. Take the average Zulu warrior, and it +will be found that, in his natural state, his vices are largely +counter-balanced by his good qualities. In times of peace he is a +simple, pastoral man, leading a good-humoured easy life with his wives +and his cattle, perfectly indolent and perfectly happy. He is a kind +husband and a kinder father; he never disowns his poor relations; his +hospitality is extended alike to white and black; he is open in his +dealings and faithful to his word, and his honesty is a proverb in the +land. True, if war breaks out and the thirst for slaughter comes upon +him, he turns into a different man. When the fierce savage spirit is +once aroused, blood alone will cool it. But even then he has virtues. If +he is cruel, he is brave in the battle; if he is reckless of the lives +of others, he regards not his own; and when death comes, he meets +it without fear, and goes to the spirits of his fathers boldly, as a +warrior should. And now reverse the picture, and see him in the dawning +light of that civilisation which, by intellect and by nature, he is some +five centuries behind. See him, ignoring its hidden virtues, eagerly +seize and graft its most prominent vices on to his own besetting sins. +Behold him by degrees adding cunning to his cruelty, avarice to his love +of possession, replacing his bravery by coarse bombast and insolence, +and his truth by lies. Behold him inflaming all his passions with the +maddening drink of the white man, and then follow him through many +degrees of degradation until he falls into crime and ends in a jail. +Such are, in only too many instances, the consequences of this +partial civilisation, and they are not even counterbalanced, except in +individual cases, by the attempt to learn the truths of a creed which +he cannot, does not, pretend to understand. And if this be the result +in the comparatively few individuals who have been brought under these +influences, it may be fair to argue that it will differ only in degree, +not in kind, when the same influences are brought to bear on the same +material in corresponding proportions. Whatever may or may not be the +effects of our partial civilisation when imperfectly and spasmodically +applied to the vast native population of South Africa, one thing must, +in course of time, result from it. The old customs, the old forms, the +old feelings, must each in turn die away. The outer expression of these +will die first, and it will not be long before the very memory of +them will fade out of the barbaric heart. The rifle must replace, and, +indeed, actually has replaced, the assegai and the shield, and portions +of the cast-off uniforms of all the armies of Europe are to be seen +where, until lately, the bronze-like form of the Kafir warrior went +naked as on the day he was born. But so long as native customs and +ceremonies still linger in some of the more distant locations, so long +will they exercise a certain attraction for dwellers amid tamer scenes. +It is therefore from a belief in the magnetism of contrast that the +highly-civilised reader is invited to come to where he can still meet +the barbarian face to face and witness that wild ceremony, half jest, +half grim earnest--a Zulu war dance. + +It was the good fortune of the writer of this sketch to find himself, +some years ago, travelling through the up-country districts of Natal, +in the company of certain high officials of the English Government. The +journey dragged slowly enough by waggon, and some monotonous weeks had +passed before we pitched our camp, one drizzling gusty night, on a high +plateau, surrounded by still loftier hills. A wild and dismal place +it looked in the growing dusk of an autumn evening, nor was it more +suggestively cheerful when we rode away from it next morning in the +sunshine, leaving the waggons to follow slowly. Our faces were set +towards a great mountain, towering high above its fellows, called +Pagadi's Kop--Pagadi being a powerful chief who had fled from the Zulus +in the early days of the colony, and had ever since dwelt loyally and +peacefully here in this wild place, beneath the protection of the Crown. +Messengers had been duly sent to inform him that he was to receive +the honour of a visit, for your true savage never likes to be taken by +surprise. Other swift-footed runners had come back with the present of +a goat, and the respectful answer, so Oriental in its phraseology, that +"Pagadi was old, he was infirm, yet he would arise and come to greet his +lords." Every mile or so of our slow progress a fresh messenger would +spring up before us suddenly, as though he had started out of the earth +at our feet, and prefixing his greeting with the royal salute, given +with up-raised arm, "Bayete! Bayete!"--a salutation only accorded to +Zulu royalty, to the governors of the different provinces, and to Sir +T. Shepstone, the Secretary for Native Affairs--he would deliver his +message or his news and fall into the rear. Presently came one saying, +"Pagadi is very old and weak; Pagadi is weary; let his lords forgive him +if he meet them not this day. To-morrow, when the sun is high, he will +come to their place of encampment and greet his lords and hold festival +before them. But let his lords, the white lords of all the land from the +Great Mountain to the Black Water, go up to his kraal, and let them +take the biggest hut and drink of the strongest beer. There his son, the +chief that is to be, and all his wives, shall greet them; let his lords +be honoured by Pagadi, through them." An acknowledgment was sent, and we +still rode on, beginning the ascent of the formidable stronghold, on the +flat top of which was placed the chief's kraal. A hard and stiff climb +it was, up a bridle path with far more resemblance to a staircase than a +road. But if the road was bad, the scenery and the vegetation were wild +and beautiful in the extreme. Now we came to a deep "kloof" or cleft +in the steep mountain-side, at the bottom of which, half hidden by the +masses of ferns and rich rank greenery, trickled a little stream; now +to an open space of rough ground, covered only with huge, weather-washed +boulders. A little further on lay a Kafir mealie-garden, where the +tall green stalks were fairly bent to the ground by the weight of the +corn-laden heads, and beyond that, again, a park-like slope of grassy +veldt. And ever, when we looked behind us, the vast undulating plain +over which we had come stretched away in its mysterious silence, till it +blended at length with the soft blue horizon. + +At last, after much hard and steady climbing, we reached the top and +stood upon a perfectly level space ten or twelve acres in extent, +exactly in the centre of which was placed the chief's kraal. Before we +dismounted we rode to the extreme western edge of the plateau, to look +at one of the most perfectly lovely views it is possible to imagine. It +was like coming face to face with great primeval Nature, not Nature +as we civilised people know her, smiling in corn-fields, waving in +well-ordered woods, but Nature as she was on the morrow of the Creation. +There, to our left, cold and grey and grand, rose the great peak, +flinging its dark shadow far beyond its base. Two thousand feet and more +beneath us lay the valley of the Mooi river, with the broad tranquil +stream flashing silver through its midst. Over against us rose another +range of towering hills, with sudden openings in their blue depths +through which could be seen the splendid distances of a champaign +country. Immediately at our feet, and seeming to girdle the great gaunt +peak, lay a deep valley, through which the Little Bushman's River forced +its shining way. All around rose the great bush-clad hills, so green, so +bright in the glorious streaming sunlight, and yet so awfully devoid of +life, so solemnly silent. It was indeed a sight never to be forgotten, +this wide panoramic out-look, with its towering hills, its smiling +valleys, its flashing streams, its all-pervading sunlight, and its deep +sad silence. But it was not always so lifeless and so still. Some few +years ago those hills, those plains, those rivers were teeming each with +their various creatures. But a short time since, and standing here +at eventide, the traveller could have seen herds of elephants cooling +themselves yonder after their day's travel, whilst the black-headed +white-tusked sea-cow rose and plunged in the pool below. That bush-clad +hill was the favourite haunt of droves of buffaloes and elands, and on +that plain swarmed thousands upon thousands of springbok and of quagga, +of hartebeest and of oribi. All alien life must cease before the white +man, and so these wild denizens of forest, stream, and plain have passed +away never to return. + +Turning at length from the contemplation of a scene so new and so +surprising, we entered the stockade of the kraal. These kraals consist +of a stout outer palisade, and then, at some distance from the first, +a second enclosure, between which the cattle are driven at night, or in +case of danger. At the outer entrance we were met by the chief's eldest +son, a finely-built man, who greeted us with much respect and conducted +us through rows of huts to the dwelling-places of the chief's family, +fenced off from the rest by a hedge of Tambouki grass. In the centre +of these stood Pagadi's hut, which was larger and more finely woven and +thatched than the rest. It is impossible to describe these huts better +than by saying that they resemble enormous straw beehives of the +old-fashioned pattern. In front of the hut were grouped a dozen or so +of women clad in that airiest of costumes, a string of beads. They were +Pagadi's wives, and ranged from the first shrivelled-up wife of his +youth to the plump young damsel bought last month. The spokeswoman +of the party, however, was not one of the wives, but a daughter +of Pagadi's, a handsome girl, tall, and splendidly formed, with a +finely-cut face. This prepossessing young lady entreated her lords to +enter, which they did, in a very unlordly way, on their hands and knees. +So soon as the eye became accustomed to the cool darkness of the hut, it +was sufficiently interesting to notice the rude attempts at comfort with +which it was set forth. The flooring, of a mixture of clay and cow-dung, +looked exactly like black marble, so smooth and polished had it been +made, and on its shining, level surface couches of buckskin and gay +blankets were spread in an orderly fashion. Some little three-legged +wooden sleeping-pillows and a few cooking-pots made up its sole +furniture besides. In one corner rested a bundle of assegais and +war-shields, and opposite the door were ranged several large calabashes +full of "twala" or native beer. The chief's son and all the women +followed us into the hut. The ladies sat themselves down demurely in a +double row opposite to us, but the young chieftain crouched in a distant +corner apart and played with his assegais. We partook of the beer and +exchanged compliments, almost Oriental in their dignified courtesy, in +the soft and liquid Zulu language, but not for long, for we still had +far to ride. The stars were shining in southern glory before we reached +the place of our night's encampment, and supper and bed were even more +than usually welcome. There is a pleasure in the canvas-sheltered meal, +in the after-pipe and evening talk of the things of the day that has +been and those of the day to come, here, amid these wild surroundings, +which is unfelt and unknown in scenes of greater comfort and higher +civilisation. There is a sense of freshness and freedom in the +wind-swept waggon-bed that is not to be exchanged for the softest couch +in the most luxurious chamber. And when at length the morning comes, +sweet in the scent of flowers, and glad in the voice of birds, it finds +us ready to greet it, not hiding it from us with canopy and blind, as is +the way of cities. + +The scene of the coming spectacle of this bright new day lies spread +before us, and certainly no spot could have been better chosen for +dramatic effect. In front of the waggons is a large, flat, open space, +backed by bold rising ground with jutting crags and dotted clumps of +luxuriant vegetation. All around spreads the dense thorn-bush, allowing +but of one way of approach, from the left. During the morning we could +hear snatches of distant chants growing louder and louder as time wore +on, and could catch glimpses of wild figures threading the thorns, +warriors hastening to the meeting-place. All through the past night the +farmers for miles around had been aroused by the loud insistent cries +of the chief's messengers as they flitted far and wide, stopping but a +moment wherever one of their tribe sojourned, and bidding him come, and +bring plume and shield, for Pagadi had need of him. This day, we may be +sure, the herds are left untended, the mealie-heads ungathered, for the +herdsmen and the reapers have come hither to answer to the summons of +their chief. Little reck they whether it be for festival or war; he +needs them, and has called them, and that is enough. Higher and higher +rose the fitful distant chant, but no one could be seen. Suddenly there +stood before us a creature, a woman, who, save for the colour of her +skin, might have been the original of any one of Macbeth's "weird +sisters." Little, withered, and bent nearly double by age, her activity +was yet past comprehension. Clad in a strange jumble of snake-skins, +feathers, furs, and bones, a forked wand in her outstretched hand, she +rushed to and fro before the little group of white men. Her eyes gleamed +like those of a hawk through her matted hair, and the genuineness of her +frantic excitement was evident by the quivering flesh and working face, +and the wild, spasmodic words she spoke. The spirit at least of her +rapid utterances may thus be rendered:-- + +"Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, ai. Oh, ye warriors that shall dance before the +great ones of the earth, come! Oh, ye dyers of spears, ye plumed suckers +of blood, come! I, the Isanusi, I, the witch-finder, I, the wise woman, +I, the seer of strange sights, I, the reader of dark thoughts, call ye! +Come, ye fierce ones; come, ye brave ones, come, and do honour to the +white lords! Ah, I hear ye! Ah, I smell ye! Ah, I see ye; ye come, ye +come!" + +Hardly had her invocation trailed off into the "Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, ai," +with which it had opened, when there rushed over the edge of the hill, +hard by, another figure scarcely less wild, but not so repulsive in +appearance. This last was a finely-built warrior arrayed in the full +panoply of savage war. With his right hand he grasped his spears, and +on his left hung his large black ox-hide shield, lined on its inner side +with spare assegais. From the "man's" ring round his head arose a single +tall grey plume, robbed from the Kafir crane. His broad shoulders were +bare, and beneath the arm-pits was fastened a short garment of strips of +skin, intermixed with ox-tails of different colours. From his waist hung +a rude kilt made chiefly of goat's hair, whilst round the calf of the +right leg was fixed a short fringe of black ox-tails. As he stood before +us with lifted weapon and outstretched shield, his plume bending to the +breeze, and his savage aspect made more savage still by the graceful, +statuesque pose, the dilated eye and warlike mould of the set features, +as he stood there, an emblem and a type of the times and the things +which are passing away, his feet resting on ground which he held on +sufferance, and his hands grasping weapons impotent as a child's +toy against those of the white man,--he who was the rightful lord of +all,--what reflections did he not induce, what a moral did he not teach! + +The warrior left us little time, however, for either reflections or +deductions, for, striking his shield with his assegai, he rapidly poured +forth this salutation:-- + +"Bayete, Bayete, O chief from the olden times, O lords and chief of +chiefs! Pagadi, the son of Masingorano, the great chief, the leader of +brave ones, the son of Ulubako, greets you. Pagadi is humble before you; +he comes with warrior and with shield, but he comes to lay them at your +feet. O father of chiefs, son of the great Queen over the water, is +it permitted that Pagad' approach you? Ou, I see it is, your face is +pleasant; Bayete, Bayete!" + +He ends, and, saluting again, springs forward, and, flying hither and +thither, chants the praises of his chief. "Pagadi," he says, "Pagad', +chief and father of the Amocuna, is coming. Pagad', the brave in battle, +the wise in council, the slayer of warriors; Pagad' who slew the tiger +in the night time; Pagadi, the rich in cattle, the husband of many +wives, the father of many children. Pagad' is coming, but not alone; he +comes surrounded with his children, his warriors. He comes like a king +at the head of his brave children. Pagadi's soldiers are coming; his +soldiers who know well how to fight; his soldiers and his captains who +make the hearts of brave men to sink down; his shakers of spears; his +quaffers of blood. Pagad' and his soldiers are coming; tremble all ye, +ou, ou, ou!" + +As the last words die on his lips the air is filled with a deep, +murmuring sound like distant thunder; it swells and rolls, and finally +passes away to give place to the noise of the rushing of many feet. Over +the brow of the hill dashes a compact body of warriors, running swiftly +in lines of four, with their captain at their head, all clad in the same +wild garb as the herald. Each bears a snow-white shield carried on the +slant, and above each warrior's head rises a grey heron's plume. These +are the advance-guard, formed of the "greys" or veteran troops. As they +come into full view the shields heave and fall, and then from every +throat bursts the war-song of the Zulus. Passing us swiftly, they +take up their position in a double line on our right, and stand there +solemnly chanting all the while. Another rush of feet, and another +company flits over the hill towards us, but they bear coal-black +shields, and the drooping plumes are black as night; they fall into +position next the firstcomers, and take up the chant. Now they come +faster and faster, but all through the same gap in the bush. The red +shields, the dun shields, the mottled shields, the yellow shields, +follow each other in quick but regular succession, till at length there +stands before us a body of some five hundred men, presenting, in their +savage dress, their various shields and flashing spears, as wild a +spectacle as it is possible to conceive. + +But it is not our eyes only that are astonished, for from each of those +five hundred throats there swells a chant never to be forgotten. +From company to company it passes, that wild, characteristic song, so +touching in its simple grandeur, so expressive in its deep, pathetic +volume. The white men who listened had heard the song of choirs ringing +down resounding aisles, they had been thrilled by the roll of oratorios +pealing in melody, beautiful and complex, through the grandest of man's +theatres, but never till now had they heard music of voices so weird, +so soft and yet so savage, so simple and yet so all-expressive of the +fiercest passions known to the human heart. Hark! now it dies; lower and +lower it sinks, it grows faint, despairing: "Why does he not come, our +chief, our lord? Why does he not welcome his singers? Ah! see, they +come, the heralds of our lord! our chief is coming to cheer his +praisers, our chief is coming to lead his warriors." Again it rises +and swells louder and louder, a song of victory and triumph. It rolls +against the mountains, it beats against the ground: "He is coming, he is +here, attended by his chosen. Now we shall go forth to slay; now shall +we taste of the battle." Higher yet and higher, till at length the +chief, Pagadi, swathed in war-garments of splendid furs, preceded by +runners and accompanied by picked warriors, creeps slowly up. He is +old and tottering, and of an unwieldy bulk. Two attendants support +him, whilst a third bears his shield, and a fourth (oh bathos!) a +cane-bottomed chair. One moment the old man stands and surveys his +warriors and listens to the familiar war-cry. As he stands, his face +is lit with the light of battle, the light of remembered days. The +tottering figure straightens itself, the feeble hand becomes strong once +more. With a shout, the old man shakes off his supporters and grasps his +shield, and then, forgetting his weakness and his years, he rushes to +his chieftain's place in the centre of his men. And as he comes the +chant grows yet louder, the time yet faster, till it rises, and rings, +and rolls, no longer a chant, but a war-cry, a paean of power. Pagadi +stops and raises his hand, and the place is filled with a silence that +may be felt. But not for long. The next moment five hundred shields +are tossed aloft, five hundred spears flash in the sunshine, and with a +sudden roar, forth springs the royal salute, "Bayete!" + +The chief draws back and gives directions to his _indunas_, his +thinkers, his wise ones, men distinguished from their fellows by the +absence of shield and plume; the _indunas_ pass on the orders to the +captains, and at once the so-called dance begins. First they manoeuvre +a little in absolute silence, and changing their position with wonderful +precision and rapidity; but as their blood warms there comes a sound as +of the hissing of ten thousand snakes, and they charge and charge again. +A pause, and the company of "greys" on our right, throwing itself into +open order, flits past us like so many vultures to precipitate itself +with a wild, whistling cry on an opposing body which rushed to meet +it. They join issue, they grapple; on them swoops another company, then +another and another, until nothing is to be distinguished except a mass +of wild faces heaving; of changing forms rolling and writhing, twisting +and turning, and, to all appearances, killing and being killed, whilst +the whole air is pervaded with a shrill, savage sibillation. It is not +always the same cry; now it is the snorting of a troop of buffaloes, now +the shriek of the eagle as he seizes his prey, anon the terrible cry +of the "night-prowler," the lion, and now--more thrilling than all--the +piercing wail of a woman. But whatever the cry, the cadence rises and +falls in perfect time and unanimity; no two mix with one another so as +to mar the effect of each. + +Again the combatants draw back and pause, and then forth from the ranks +springs a chosen warrior, and hurls himself on an imaginary foe. He +darts hither and thither with wild activity, he bounds five feet into +the air like a panther, he twists through the grass like a snake, and, +finally, making a tremendous effort, he seems to slay his airy opponent, +and sinks exhausted to the ground. The onlookers mark their approval +or disapproval of the dancer's feats by the rising and falling of the +strange whistling noise which, without the slightest apparent movement +of face or lip, issues from each mouth. Warrior after warrior comes +forth in turn from the ranks and does battle with his invisible foe, and +receives his meed of applause. The last warrior to spring forward with a +wild yell is the future chief, Pagadi's son and successor, our friend +of yesterday. He stands, with his shield in one hand and his lifted +battle-axe--borne by him alone--in the other, looking proudly around, +and rattling his lion-claw necklets, whilst from every side bursts forth +a storm of sibillating applause, not from the soldiers only, but from +the old men, women, and children. Through all his fierce pantomimic +dance it continues, and when he has ended it redoubles, then dies away, +but only to burst out again and again with unquenchable enthusiasm. + +In order, probably, to give the warriors a brief breathing space, +another song is now set up, and it is marvellous the accuracy and +knowledge of melody with which the parts are sung, like a glee of catch, +the time being kept by a conductor, who rushes from rank to rank beating +time with a wand. Yet it is hardly like chanting, rather like a weird, +sobbing melody, with tones in it which range from the deepest bass to +the shrillest treble. It ends in a long sigh, and then follows a scene, +a tumult, a melee, which hardly admits of a description in words. The +warriors engage in a mimic combat, once more they charge, retreat, +conquer, and are defeated, all in turns. In front of them, exciting them +to new exertions, with word and gesture, undulate in a graceful dance +of their own the "intombis," the young beauties of the tribe, with green +branches in their hands, and all their store of savage finery glittering +on their shapely limbs. Some of these maidens are really handsome, +and round them again dance the children, armed with mimic spears and +shields. Wild as seems the confusion, through it all, even the moments +of highest excitement, some sort of rough order is maintained; more, +it would seem, by mutual sounds than by word of command or sense of +discipline. + +Even a Zulu warrior must, sooner or later, grow weary, and at length +the signal is given for the dance to end. The companies are drawn up in +order again, and receive the praise and thanks of those in whose honour +they had been called together. To these compliments they reply in a +novel and imposing fashion. At a given signal each man begins to softly +tap his ox-hide shield with the handle of his spear, producing a sound +somewhat resembling the murmur of the distant sea. By slow degrees it +grows louder and louder, till at length it rolls and re-echoes from the +hills like thunder, and comes to its conclusion with a fierce, quick +rattle. This is the royal war-salute of the Zulus, and is but rarely +to be heard. One more sonorous salute with voice and hand, and then the +warriors disappear as they came, dropping swiftly and silently over the +brow of the hill in companies. In a few moments no sign or vestige +of dance or dancers remained, save, before our eyes, the well-trodden +ground, a few lingering girls laden with large calabashes of beer, and +in our ears some distant dying snatches of chants. The singers were on +their joyful way to slay and devour the oxen provided as a stimulus and +reward for them by their chief's liberality. + +When the last dusky figure had topped the rising ground over which the +homeward path lay, and had stood out for an instant against the flaming +background of the western sun, and then dropped, as it were, back into +its native darkness beyond those gates of fire, the old chief drew near. +He had divested himself of his heavy war-dress, and sat down amicably +amongst us. + +"Ah," he said, taking the hand of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, and +addressing him by his native name, "Ah! t'Sompseu, t'Sompseu, the +seasons are many since first I held this your hand. Then we two were +young, and life lay bright before us, and now you have grown great, and +are growing grey, and I have grown very old! I have eaten the corn of my +time, till only the cob is left for me to suck, and, _ow_, it is bitter. +But it is well that I should grasp this your hand once more, oh, holder +of the Spirit of Chaka,[*] before I sit down and sleep with my fathers. +_Ow_, I am glad." + + [*] The reader must bear in mind that the Zulu warrior is + buried sitting and in full war-dress. Chaka, or T'chaka, was + the founder of the Zulu power. + +Imposing as was this old-time war-dance, it is not difficult to imagine +the heights to which its savage grandeur must have swelled when it was +held--as was the custom at each new year--at the kraal of Cetywayo, +King of the Zulus. Then 30,000 warriors took part in it, and a tragic +interest was added to the fierce spectacle by the slaughter of many men. +It was, in fact, a great political opportunity for getting rid of the +"irreconcilable" element from council and field. Then, in the moment of +wildest enthusiasm, the witch-finder darted forward and lightly touched +with a switch some doomed man, sitting, it may be, quietly among the +spectators, or capering with his fellow-soldiers. Instantly he was led +away, and his place knew him no more. + +Throughout the whole performance there was one remarkable and genuine +feature, the strong personal attachment of each member of the tribe +to its chief--not only to the fine old chief, Pagadi, their leader in +former years, but to the head and leader for the years to come. + +It must be remembered that this system of chieftainship and its +attendant law is, to all the social bearings of South African native +life, what the tree is to its branches; it has grown through long, long +ages amid a people slow to forget old traditions, and equally slow to +receive new ideas; dependent on it are all the native's customs, all his +keen ideas of right and justice; in it lies embodied his history of the +past, and from it springs his hope for the future. Surely even the most +uncompromising of those marching under the banner of civilisation +must hesitate before they condemn this deep-rooted system to instant +uprootal.[*] The various influences of the white man have eaten into the +native system as rust into iron, and their action will never cease till +all be destroyed. The bulwarks of barbarism, its minor customs and minor +laws, are gone, or exist only in name; but its two great principles, +polygamy and chieftainship, yet flourish and are strong. Time will undo +his work, and find for these also a place among forgotten things. And it +is the undoubted duty of us English, who absorb people and territories +in the high name of civilisation, to be true to our principles and our +aim, and aid the great destroyer by any and every safe and justifiable +means. But between the legitimate means and the rash, miscalculating +uprootal of customs and principles, which are not the less venerable and +good in their way because they do not accord with our own present ideas, +there is a great gulf fixed. Such an uprootal might precipitate an +outburst of the very evils it aims at destroying. + + [*] I do not wish the remarks in this paper, which was + written some years ago, to be taken as representing my + present views on the Natal native question, formed after a + longer and more intimate acquaintance with its + peculiarities, for which I beg to refer the reader to the + chapter on Natal.--Author. + +What the ultimate effect of our policy will be, when the leaven has +leavened the whole, when the floodgates are lifted, and this vast native +population (which, contrary to all ordinary precedent, does _not_ +melt away before the sun of the white man's power) is let loose in its +indolent thousands, unrestrained, save by the bonds of civilised law, +who can presume to say? But this is not for present consideration. +Subject to due precautions, the path of progress must of necessity be +followed, and the results of such following left in the balancing hands +of Fate and the future. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cetywayo and his White Neighbours, by +H. Rider Haggard + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + +***** This file should be named 8667.txt or 8667.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + http://www.gutenberg.org/8/6/6/8667/ + +Produced by John Bickers; Dagny; David Widger + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Cetywayo and his White Neighbours + Remarks on Recent Events in Zululand, Natal, and the Transvaal + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: August, 2005 [EBook #8667] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on July 31, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers and Dagny + + + + +CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS +By H. Rider Haggard + +First Published 1882. + +Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@ihug.co.nz + and Dagny, dagnypg@hotmail.com + + + + CETYWAYO + + AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + + OR, + + REMARKS ON RECENT EVENTS IN ZULULAND, + NATAL, AND THE TRANSVAAL. + + BY + + H. RIDER HAGGARD + + + + "I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating + in this way, for a change of Government in England may give them + again the old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance + of English politics than such an idea. I tell you there is no + Government--Whig or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical--who + would dare, under any circumstances, to give back this country + (the Transvaal). They would not dare, because the English people + would not allow them."--(/Extract from Speech of Sir Garnet + Wolseley, delivered at a Public Banquet in Pretoria, on the 17th + December 1879./) + + "There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding (from + the Transvaal); it was impossible to say what calamities such a + step as receding might not cause. . . . For such a risk he could + not make himself responsible. . . . Difficulties with the Zulu and + the frontier tribes would again arise, and looking as they must to + South Africa as a whole, the Government, after a careful + consideration of the question, came to the conclusion that we + could not relinquish the Transvaal."--(/Extract from Speech of + Lord Kimberley in the House of Lords, 24th May 1880. H. P. D., + vol. cclii., p. 208./) + + + + PREPARER'S NOTE + + This text was prepared from an 1882 edition published by Trubner & + Co., Ludgate Hill, London. + + + + INTRODUCTION + +The writer on Colonial Affairs is naturally, to some extent, +discouraged by the knowledge that the subject is an unattractive one +to a large proportion of the reading public. It is difficult to get up +anything beyond a transient interest in the affairs of our Colonial +dependencies; indeed, I believe that the mind of the British public +was more profoundly moved by the exodus of Jumbo, than it would be +were one of them to become the scene of some startling catastrophe. +This is the more curious, inasmuch as, putting aside all sentimental +considerations, which indeed seem to be out of harmony with the age we +live in: the trade done, even with such comparatively insignificant +colonies as our South African possessions, amounts to a value of many +millions of pounds sterling per annum. Now, as the preachers of the +new gospel that hails from Birmingham and Northampton have frequently +told us, trade is the life-blood of England, and must be fostered at +any price. It is therefore surprising that, looking on them in the +light of a commercial speculation, in which aspect (saith the +preacher) they are alone worthy of notice, a keener interest is not +taken in the well-being and development of the Colonies. We have only +to reflect to see how great are the advantages that the Mother Country +derives from the possession of her Colonial Empire; including, as they +do, a home for her surplus children, a vast and varied market for her +productions, and a wealth of old-fashioned loyalty and deep attachment +to the Old Country--"home," as it is always called--which, even if it +is out of date, might prove useful on emergency. It seems therefore, +almost a pity that some Right Honourable Gentlemen and their followers +should adopt the tone they do with reference to the Colonies. After +all, there is an odd shuffling of the cards going on now in England; +and great as she is, her future looks by no means sunny. Events in +these latter days develop themselves very quickly; and though the idea +may, at the present moment, seem absurd, surely it is possible that, +what between the rapid spread of Radical ideas, the enmity of Ireland, +the importation of foreign produce, and the competition of foreign +trade, to say nothing of all the unforeseen accidents and risks of the +future, the Englishmen of, say, two generations hence, may not find +their country in her present proud position. Perhaps, and stranger +things have happened in the history of the world, she may by that time +be under the protection of those very Colonies for which their +forefathers had such small affection. + +The position of South Africa with reference to the Mother Country is +somewhat different to that of her sister Colonies, in that she is +regarded, not so much with apathy tinged with dislike, as with +downright disgust. This feeling has its foundation in the many +troubles and expenses in which this country has been recently +involved, through local complications in the Cape, Zululand, and the +Transvaal: and indeed is little to be wondered at. But, whilst a large +portion of the press has united with a powerful party of politicians +in directing a continuous stream of abuse on to the heads of the white +inhabitants of South Africa, whom they do not scruple to accuse of +having created the recent disturbances in order to reap a money profit +from them: it does not appear to have struck anybody that the real +root of this crop of troubles might, after all, be growing nearer +home. The truth of the matter is, that native and other problems in +South Africa have, till quite lately, been left to take their chance, +and solve themselves as best they might; except when they have, in a +casual manner, been made the /corpus vile/ of some political +experiment. It was during this long period of inaction, when each +difficulty--such as the native question in Natal--was staved off to be +dealt with by the next Government, that the seed was sown of which we +are at present reaping the fruit. In addition to this, matters have +recently been complicated by the elevation of South African affairs to +the dignity of an English party question. Thus, the Transvaal +Annexation was made use of as a war-cry in the last general election, +a Boer rebellion was thereby encouraged, which resulted in a complete +reversal of our previous policy. + +Now, if there is any country dependent on England that requires the +application to the conduct of its affairs of a firm, considered, and +consistent policy, that country is South Africa. Boers and Natives are +quite incapable of realising the political necessities of any of our +parties, or of understanding why their true interests should be +sacrificed in order to minister to those necessities. It is our +wavering and uncertain policy, as applied to peoples, who look upon +every hesitating step as a sign of fear and failing dominion, that, in +conjunction with previous postponement and neglect, has really caused +our troubles in South Africa. For so long as the affairs of that +country are influenced by amateurs and sentimentalists, who have no +real interest in it, and whose knowledge of its circumstances and +conditions of life is gleaned from a few blue-books, superficially got +up to enable the reader to indite theoretical articles to the +"Nineteenth Century," or deliver inaccurate speeches in the House of +Commons--for so long will those troubles continue. + +If I may venture to make a suggestion, the affairs of South Africa +should be controlled by a Board or Council, like that which formerly +governed India, composed of moderate members of both parties, with an +admixture of men possessing practical knowledge of the country. I do +not know if any such arrangement would be possible under our +constitution, but the present system of government, by which the +control of savage races fluctuates in obedience of every variation of +English party politics, is most mischievous in its results. + +The public, however, is somewhat tired of South Africa, and the reader +may, perhaps, wonder why he should be troubled with more literature on +the subject. I can assure him that these pages are not written in +order to give me an opportunity of airing my individual experiences or +ideas. Their object is shortly--(1.) To give a true history of the +events attendant on the Annexation of the Transvaal, which act has so +frequently been assigned to the most unworthy motives, and has never +yet been fairly described by any one who was in a position to know the +facts; (2.) To throw as much publicity as possible on the present +disgraceful state of Zululand, resulting from our recent settlement in +that country; (3.) To show all interested in the Kafir races what has +been the character of our recent surrender in the Transvaal, and what +its effect will be on our abandoned native subjects living in that +country. + +It may, perhaps, seem an odd statement, considering that I have lived +in various parts of South Africa for about six years, and have, +perhaps, enjoyed exceptional advantage in forming my opinions, when I +say that my chief fear in publishing the present volume, is lest my +knowledge of my subject in all its bearings should not be really equal +to the task. It is, I know, the fashion to treat South African +difficulties as being simple of solution. Thus it only took Sir Garnet +Wolseley a few weeks to understand the whole position of Zulu affairs, +and to execute his memorable settlement of that country: whilst +eminent writers appear to be able, in scampering from Durban /via/ +Kimberley to Cape Town in a post-cart, to form decided opinions upon +every important question in South Africa. The power of thus rapidly +assimilating intricate knowledge, and of seeing straight through a +wall whilst ordinary individuals are still criticising the bricks, is +no doubt one of the peculiar privileges of genius--which is, perhaps +fortunately for South Africa--rare. To the common run of mind, +however, the difficulty of forming a sound and accurate judgment on +the interlacing problems that disclose themselves to the student of +the politics of South-Eastern Africa, is exceedingly great and the +work of years. + +But although it is by no means perfect, I think that my knowledge of +these problems and of their imminent issues is sufficiently intimate +to justify me in making a prophecy--namely, that unless the native and +other questions of South-Eastern Africa are treated with more honest +intelligence, and on a more settled plan than it has hitherto been +thought necessary to apply to them, the British taxpayer will find +that he has /by no means/ heard the last of that country and its wars. + +There is one more point to which, although it hardly comes within the +scope of this volume, I have made some allusion, and which I venture +to suggest deserves the consideration of thinking Englishmen. I refer +to the question of the desirability of allowing the Dutch in South +Africa, who are already numerically the strongest, to continue to +advance with such rapid strides towards political supremacy. That the +object of this party is to reduce Englishmen and English ideas to a +subordinate position in the State, if not actually to rid itself of +our rule and establish a republic, there is no manner of doubt. +Indeed, there exists a powerful organisation, the Africander Bond, +which has its headquarters in the Cape, and openly devotes its +energies to forwarding these ends, by offering a sturdy opposition to +the introduction of English emigrants and the use of the English +language, whilst striving in every way to excite class prejudices and +embitter the already strained relations between Englishman and Boer. +In considering this question, it is as well not to lose sight of the +fact that the Dutch are as a body, at heart hostile to our rule, +chiefly because they cannot tolerate our lenient behaviour to the +native races. Should they by any chance cease to be the subjects of +England, they will, I believe, become her open enemies. This of itself +would be comparatively unimportant, were it not for the fact that, in +the event of the blocking of the Suez Canal, it would be, to say the +least, inconvenient that the Cape should be in the hands of a hostile +population. + +In conclusion, I wish to state that this book is not written for any +party purpose. I have tried to describe a state of affairs which has +for the most part come under my own observation, and events in which I +have been interested, and at times engaged. That the naked truths of +such a business as the Transvaal surrender, or of the present +condition of Zululand, are unpleasant reading for an Englishman, there +is no doubt; but, so far as these pages are concerned, they owe none +of their ugliness to undue colouring or political bias. + +Windham Club, St. James' Square, + June 1882. + + + + + + CETYWAYO + + AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + + + + + CETYWAYO AND THE ZULU SETTLEMENT + + Claims of affairs of Zululand to attention--Proposed visit of + Cetywayo to England--Chaka--His method of government--His death-- + Dingaan--Panda--Battle of the Tugela--John Dunn--Nomination of + Cetywayo--His coronation--His lady advocates--Their attacks on + officials--Was Cetywayo bloodthirsty?--Cause of the Zulu war--Zulu + military system--States of feeling amongst the Zulus previous to + the war--Cetywayo's position--His enemies--His intentions on the + Transvaal--Their frustration by Sir T. Shepstone--Cetywayo's + interview with Mr. Fynney--His opinion of the Boers--The + annexation in connection with the Zulu war--The Natal colonists + and the Zulu war--Sir Bartle Frere--The Zulu war--Cetywayo's half- + heartedness--Sir Garnet Wolseley's settlement--Careless selection + of chiefs--The Sitimela plot--Chief John Dunn--Appointment of Mr. + Osborn as British Resident--His difficult position--Folly and + cruelty of our settlement--Disappointment of the Zulus--Object and + result of settlement--Slaughter in Zululand--Cetywayo's son-- + Necessity of proper settlement of Zululand--Should Cetywayo be + restored? + +Zululand and the Zulu settlement still continue to receive some +attention from the home public, partly because those responsible for +the conduct of affairs are not quite at ease about it, and partly +because of the agitation in this country for the restoration of +Cetywayo. + +There is no doubt that the present state of affairs in Zululand is a +subject worthy of close consideration, not only by those officially +connected with them, but by the public at large. Nobody, either at +home or in the colonies, wishes to see another Zulu war, or anything +approaching to it. Unless, however, the affairs of Zululand receive a +little more attention, and are superintended with a little more +humanity and intelligence than they are at present, the public will +sooner or later be startled by some fresh catastrophe. Then will +follow the usual outcry, and the disturbance will be attributed to +every cause under the sun except the right one--want of common +precautions. + +The Zulu question is a very large one, and I only propose discussing +so much of it as necessary to the proper consideration of the proposed +restoration of Cetywayo to his throne. + +The king is now coming to England,[*] where he will doubtless make a +very good impression, since his appearance is dignified, and his +manners, as is common among Zulus of high rank, are those of a +gentleman. It is probable that his visit will lead to a popular +agitation in his favour, and very possibly to an attempt on the part +of the English Government to reinstate him in his kingdom. Already +Lady Florence Dixie waves his banner, and informs the public through +the columns of the newspapers how good, how big, and how beautiful he +is, and "F. W. G. X." describes in enthusiastic terms his pearl-like +teeth. But as there are interests involved in the question of his +reinstatement which are, I think, more important than Cetywayo's +personal proportions of mind or body, and as the results of such a +step would necessarily be very marked and far-reaching, it is as well +to try and understand the matter in all its bearing before anything is +done. + +[*] Since the above was written the Government have at the last moment + decided to postpone Cetywayo's visit to this country, chiefly on + account of the political capital which was being made out of the + event by agitators in Zululand. The project of bringing the king + to England does not, however, appear to have been abandoned. + +There has been a great deal of special pleading about Cetywayo. Some +writers, swayed by sentiment, and that spirit of partisanship that the +sight of royalty in distress always excites, whitewash him in such a +persistent manner that their readers are left under the impression +that the ex-king is a model of injured innocence and virtue. Others +again, for political reasons, paint him very black, and predict that +his restoration would result in the destruction, or at the least, +disorganisation, of our South African empire. The truth in this, as in +the majority of political controversies, lies somewhere between these +two extremes, though it is difficult to say exactly where. + +To understand the position of Cetywayo both with reference to his +subjects and the English Government, it will be necessary to touch, +though briefly, on the history of Zululand since it became a nation, +and also on the principal events of the ex-king's reign. + +Chaka, Cetywayo's great uncle, was the first Zulu king, and doubtless +one of the most remarkable men that has ever filled a throne since the +days of the Pharaohs. When he came to his chieftainship, about 1813, +the Zulu people consisted of a single small tribe; when his throne +became vacant in 1828, their name had become a living terror, and they +were the greatest Black power in South Africa. The invincible armies +of this African Attila had swept north and south, east and west, had +slaughtered more than a million human beings, and added vast tracts of +country to his dominions. Wherever his warriors went, the blood of +men, women, and children was poured out without stay or stint; indeed +he reigned like a visible Death, the presiding genius of a saturnalia +of slaughter. + +His methods of government and warfare were peculiar and somewhat +drastic, but most effective. As he conquered a tribe, he enrolled its +remnants in his army, so that they might in their turn help to conquer +others. He armed his regiments with the short stabbing assegai, +instead of the throwing assegai which they had been accustomed to use, +and kept them subject to an iron discipline. If a man was observed to +show the slightest hesitation about coming to close quarters with the +enemy, he was executed as soon as the fight was over. If a regiment +had the misfortune to be defeated, whether by its own fault or not, it +would on its return to headquarters find that a goodly proportion of +the wives and children belonging to it had been beaten to death by +Chaka's orders, and that he was waiting their arrival to complete his +vengeance by dashing out their brains. The result was, that though +Chaka's armies were occasionally annihilated, they were rarely +defeated, and they never ran away. I will not enter in the history of +his numerous cruelties, and indeed they are not edifying. Amongst +other things, like Nero, he killed his own mother, and then caused +several persons to be executed because they did not show sufficient +sorrow at her death. + +At length, in 1828, he too suffered the fate he had meted out to so +many, and was killed by his brothers, Dingaan and Umhlangan, by the +hands of one Umbopa. He was murdered in his hut, and as his life +passed out of him he is reported to have addressed these words to his +brothers, who were watching his end: "What! do you stab me, my +brothers, dogs of mine own house, whom I have fed? You hope to be +kings; but though you do kill me, think not that your line shall reign +for long. I tell you that I hear the sound of the feet of the great +white people, and that this land shall be trodden by them." He then +expired, but his last words have always been looked upon as a prophecy +by the Zulus, and indeed they have been partly fulfilled. + +Having in his turn killed Umhlangan, his brother by blood and in +crime, Dingaan took possession of the throne. He was less pronounced +than Chaka in his foreign policy, though he seems to have kept up the +family reputation as regards domestic affairs. It was he who, +influenced, perhaps, by Chaka's dying prophecy about white men, +massacred Retief, the Boer leader, and his fifty followers, in the +most treacherous manner, and then falling on the emigrant Boers in +Natal, murdered men, women, and children to the number of nearly six +hundred. There seems, however, to have been but little love lost +between any of the sons of Usengangacona (the father of Chaka, +Dingaan, Umhlangan, and Panda), for in due course Panda, his brother, +conspired with the Boers against Dingaan, and overthrew him with their +assistance. Dingaan fled, and was shortly afterwards murdered in +Swaziland, and Panda ascended the throne in 1840. + +Panda was a man of different character to the remainder of his race, +and seems to have been well content to reign in peace, only killing +enough people to keep up his authority. Two of his sons, Umbelazi and +Cetywayo, of whom Umbelazi was the elder and Panda's favourite, began, +as their father grew old, to quarrel about the succession to the +crown. On the question being referred to Panda, he is reported to have +remarked that when two young cocks quarrelled the best thing they +could do was to fight it out. Acting on this hint, each prince +collected his forces, Panda sending down one of his favourite +regiments to help Umbelazi. The fight took place in 1856 on the banks +of the Tugela. A friend of the writer, happening to be on the Natal +side of the river the day before the battle, and knowing it was going +to take place, swam his horse across in the darkness, taking his +chance of the alligators, and hid in some bush on a hillock commanding +the battlefield. It was a hazardous proceeding, but the sight repaid +the risk, though he describes it as very awful, more especially when +the regiment of veterans sent by Panda joined in the fray. It came up +at the charge, between two and three thousand strong, and was met near +his hiding-place by one of Cetywayo's young regiments. The noise of +the clash of their shields was like the roar of the sea, but the old +regiment, after a struggle in which men fell thick and fast, +annihilated the other, and passed on with thinned ranks. Another of +Cetywayo's regiments took the place of the one that had been +destroyed, and this time the combat was fierce and long, till victory +again declared for the veterans' spears. But they had brought it dear, +and were in no position to continue their charge; so the leaders of +that brave battalion formed its remnants into a ring, and, like the +Scotch at Flodden-- + + + "The stubborn spearmen still made good + The dark, impenetrable wood; + Each stepping where his comrade stood + The instant that he fell," + + +till there were none left to fall. The ground around them was piled +with dead. + +But this gallant charge availed Umbelazi but little, and by degrees +Cetywayo's forces pressed his men back to the banks of the Tugela, and +finally into it. Thousands fell upon the field and thousands perished +in the river. When my friend swam back that night, he had nothing to +fear from the alligators: they were too well fed. Umbelazi died on the +battlefield of a broken heart, at least it is said that no wound could +be found on his person. He probably expired in a fit brought on by +anxiety of mind and fatigue. A curious story is told of Cetywayo with +reference to his brother's death. After the battle was over a Zulu +from one of his own regiments presented himself before him with many +salutations, saying, "O prince! now canst thou sleep in peace, for +Umbelazi is dead." "How knowest thou that he is dead?" said Cetywayo. +"Because I slew him with my own hand," replied the Zulu. "Thou dog!" +said the prince, "thou hast dared to lift thy hand against the blood +royal, and now thou makest it a matter of boasting. Wast thou not +afraid? By Chaka's head thou shalt have thy reward. Lead him away." +And the Zulu, who was but lying after all, having possessed himself of +the bracelets off the dead prince's body, was instantly executed. The +probability is that Cetywayo acted thus more from motives of policy +than from affection to his brother, whom indeed he hoped to destroy. +It did not do to make too light of the death of an important prince: +Umbelazi's fate to-day might be Cetywayo's fate to-morrow. This story +bears a really remarkable resemblance to that of the young man who +slew Saul, the Lord's anointed, and suffered death on account thereof +at the hands of David. + +This battle is also memorable as being the occasion of the first +public appearance of Mr. John Dunn, now the most important chief in +Zululand, and, be it understood, the unknown quantity in all future +transactions in that country. At that time Dunn was a retainer of +Umbelazi's, and fought on his side in the Tugela battle. After the +fight, however, he went over to Cetywayo and became his man. From that +time till the outbreak of the Zulu war he remained in Zululand as +adviser to Cetywayo, agent for the Natal Government, and purveyor of +firearms to the nation at large. As soon as Cetywayo got into trouble +with the Imperial Government, Dunn, like a prudent man, deserted him +and came over to us. In reward Sir Garnet Wolseley advanced him to the +most important chieftainship in Zululand, which he hopes to make a +stepping-stone to the vacant throne. His advice was largely followed +by Sir Garnet in the bestowal of the other chieftainships, and was +naturally not quite disinterested. He has already publicly announced +his intention of resisting the return of the king, his old master, by +force of arms, should the Government attempt to reinstate him. + +A period of sixteen years elapsed before Cetywayo reaped the fruits of +the battle of the Tugela by succeeding to the throne on the death of +his father, Panda, the only Zulu monarch who has as yet come to his +end by natural causes. + +In 1861, however, Cetywayo was, at the instance of the Natal +Government, formally nominated heir to the throne by Mr. Shepstone, it +being thought better that a fixed succession should be established +with the concurrence of the Natal Government than that matters should +be left to take their chance on Panda's death. Mr. Shepstone +accomplished his mission successfully, though at great personal risk. +For some unknown reason, Cetywayo, who was blown up with pride, was at +first adverse to being thus nominated, and came down to the royal +kraal with three thousand armed followers, meaning, it would see, to +kill Mr. Shepstone, whom he had never before met. Panda, the old king, +had an inkling of what was to happen, but was powerless to control his +son, so he confined himself to addressing the assembled multitude in +what I have heard Sir Theophilus Shepstone say was the most eloquent +and touching speech he ever listened to, the subject being the duties +of hospitality. He did not at the time know how nearly the speech +concerned him, or that its object was to preserve his life. This, +however, soon became manifest when, exception being taken to some +breech of etiquette by one of his servants, he was surrounded by a mob +of shouting savages, whose evident object was to put an end to him and +those with him. For two hours he remained sitting there, expecting +that every moment would be his last, but showing not the slightest +emotion, till at length he got an opportunity of speaking, when he +rose and said, "I know that you mean to kill me; it is an easy thing +to do; but I tell you Zulus, that for every drop of my blood that +falls to the ground, a hundred men will come out of the sea yonder, +from the country of which Natal is one of the cattle-kraals, and will +bitterly avenge me." As he spoke he turned and pointed towards the +ocean, and so intense was the excitement that animated it, that the +whole great multitude turned with him and stared towards the horizon, +as though they expected to see the long lines of avengers creeping +across the plains. Silence followed his speech; his imperturbability +and his well-timed address had saved his life. From that day his name +was a power in the land.[*] + +[*] A very good description of this scene was published in the /London + Quarterly Review/ in 1878. The following is an extract: + + "In the centre of those infuriated savages he (Mr. Shepstone) sat + for more than two hours outwardly calm, giving confidence to his + solitary European companion by his own quietness, only once + saying, 'Why, Jem, you're afraid,' and imposing restraint on his + native attendants. Then, when they had shouted, as Cetywayo + himself said in our hearing, 'till their throats were so sore that + they could shout no more,' they departed. But Sompseu (Mr. + Shepstone) had conquered. Cetywayo, in describing the scene to us + and our companion on a visit to him a short time afterwards, said, + 'Sompseu is a great man: no man but he could have come through + that day alive.' Similar testimony we have had from some of the + Zulu assailants, from the native attendants, and the companion + above mentioned. Next morning Cetywayo humbly begged an interview, + which was not granted but on terms of unqualified submission. From + that day Cetywayo has submitted to British control in the measure + in which it has been exercised, and has been profuse in his + expressions of respect and submission to Mr. T. Shepstone; but in + his heart, as occasional acts and speeches show, he writhes under + the restraint, and bitterly hates the man who imposed it." + +It was on this occasion that a curious incident occurred which +afterwards became of importance. Among the Zulus there exists a +certain salute, "Bayete," which it is the peculiar and exclusive +privilege of Zulu royalty to receive. The word means, or is supposed +to mean, "Let us bring tribute." On Mr. Shepstone's visit the point +was raised by the Zulu lawyers as to what salute he should receive. It +was not consistent with their ideas that the nominator of their future +king should be greeted with any salute inferior to the Bayete, and +this, as plain Mr. Shepstone, it was impossible to give him. The +difficulty was obvious, but the Zulu mind proved equal to it. He was +solemnly announced to be a Zulu king, and to stand in the place of the +great founder of their nation, Chaka. Who was so fit to proclaim the +successor to the throne as the great predecessor of the prince +proclaimed? To us this seems a strange, not to say ludicrous, way of +settling a difficulty, but there was nothing in it repugnant to Zulu +ideas. Odd as it was, it invested Mr. Shepstone with all the +attributes of a Zulu king, such as the power to make laws, order +executions, &c., and those attributes in the eyes of Zulus he still +retains. + +In 1873 messengers came down from Zululand to the Natal Government, +bringing with them the "king's head," that is, a complimentary present +of oxen, announcing the death of Panda. "The nation," they said, "was +wandering; it wanders and wanders, and wanders again;" the spirit of +the king had departed from them; his words had ceased, and "none but +children were left." The message ended with a request that Mr. +Shepstone, as Cetywayo's "father," should come and instal him on the +throne. A month or two afterwards there came another message, again +requesting his attendance; and on the request being refused by the +Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, there came a third message, to which the +Natal Government returned a favourable answer. + +Accordingly Mr. Shepstone proceeded to Zululand, and on the 3rd +September 1873 proclaimed Cetywayo king with all due pomp and +ceremony. It was on this occasion that, in the presence of, and with +the enthusiastic assent of, both king and people, Mr. Shepstone, +"standing in the place of Cetywayo's father, and so representing the +nation," enunciated the four following articles, with a view to +putting an end to the continual slaughter that darkens the history of +Zululand:-- + +1. That the indiscriminate shedding of blood shall cease in the land. + +2. That no Zulu shall be condemned without open trial, and the public +examination of witnesses for and against, and that he shall have a +right to appeal to the king. + +3. That no Zulu's life shall be taken without the previous knowledge +and consent of the king, after such trial has taken place, and the +right of appeal has been allowed to be exercised. + +4. That for minor crimes the loss of property, all or a portion, shall +be substituted for the punishment of death. + +Nobody will deny that these were admirable regulations, and that they +were received as such at the time by the Zulu king and people. But +there is no doubt that their ready acceptance by the king was a +sacrifice to his desire to please "his father Sompseu" (Mr. Shepstone) +and the Natal Government, with both of which he was particularly +anxious to be on good terms. He has never adhered to these coronation +regulations, or promises, as they have been called, and the +probability is that he never intended to adhere to them. However this +may be, I must say that personally I have been unable to share the +views of those who see in the breach of these so-called promises a +justification of the Zulu war. After all, what do they amount to, and +what guarantee was there for their fulfilment? They merely represent a +very laudable attempt on the part of the Natal Government to keep a +restraining hand on Zulu cruelty, and to draw the bonds of friendship +as tight as the idiosyncrasies of a savage state would allow. The +Government of Natal had no right to dictate the terms to a Zulu king +on which he was to hold his throne. The Zulu nation was an independent +nation, and had never been conquered or annexed by Natal. If the +Government of that colony was able by friendly negotiation to put a +stop to Zulu slaughter, it was a matter for congratulation on +humanitarian grounds; but it is difficult to follow the argument that +because it was not able, or was only partially able, to do so, +therefore England was justified in making war on the Zulus. On the +other hand, it is perfectly ludicrous to observe the way in which +Cetywayo's advocates overshoot the mark in arguing this and similar +points; especially his lady advocates, whose writings upon these +subjects bear about the same resemblance to the truth that the speech +to the jury by the counsel for the defence in a hopeless murder case +does to the summing up of the judge. Having demonstrated that the +engagements entered into by Cetywayo meant nothing, they will proceed +to show that, even if they did, cold-blooded murder, when perpetrated +by a black paragon like Cetywayo, does not amount to a great offence. +In the mouths of these gentle apologists for slaughter, massacre +masquerades under the name of "executions," and is excused on the plea +of being, "after all," only the enforcement of "an old custom." Again, +the employment of such phrases, in a solemn answer to a remonstrance +from the Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, as "I do kill; but do not +consider that I have done anything yet in the way of killing. . . . I +have not yet begun; I have yet to kill," are shown to mean nothing at +all, and to be "nothing more than the mere irritation of the +moment."[*] Perhaps those of Cetywayo's subjects who suffered on +account of this mere momentary irritation took a more serious view of +it. It is but fair to the particular authority from whom I quote (Miss +Colenso's "History of the Zulu War," pp. 230-231) to state that she +considers this reply from the "usually courteous and respectful king" +as "no doubt petulant and wanting in due respect." Considering that +the message in question (which can be read in the footnote) was a +point-blank defiance of Sir Henry Bulwer, admitting that there had +been slaughter, but that it was nothing compared to what was coming, +most people will not think Miss Colenso's description of it too +strong. + +[*] The following is the text of the message:-- + + "Did I ever tell Mr. Shepstone I would not kill? Did he tell the + white people that I made such an arrangement? Because if he did he + has deceived them. I do kill; but do not consider that I have done + anything yet in the way of killing. Why do the white people start + at nothing? I have not yet begun; I have yet to kill; it is the + custom of our nation, and I shall not depart from it. Why does the + Governor of Natal speak to me about my laws? Do I go to Natal and + dictate to him about his laws? I shall not agree to any laws or + rules from Natal, and by doing so throw the large kraal which I + govern into the water. My people will not listen unless they are + killed; and while wishing to be friends with the English, I do not + agree to give my people over to be governed by laws sent to me by + them. Have I not asked the English to allow me to wash my spears + since the death of my father 'Umpandi,' and they have kept playing + with me all this time, treating me like a child? Go back and tell + the English that I shall now act on my own account, and if they + wish me to agree to their laws, I shall leave and become a + wanderer; but before I go it will be seen, as I shall not go + without having acted. Go back and tell the white men this, and let + them hear it well. The Governor of Natal and I are equal; he is + Governor of Natal, and I am Governor here." + +To admit that the Zulu king has the right to kill as many of his +subjects as he chooses, so long as they will tolerate being killed, is +one thing, but it is certainly surprising to find educated Europeans +adopting a line of defence of these proceedings on his behalf that +amounts to a virtual expression of approval, or at least of easy +toleration. Has philanthropy a deadening effect on the moral sense, +that the people who constitute themselves champions for the +unfortunate Zulu king and the oppressed Boers cannot get on to their +hobbies without becoming blind to the difference between right and +wrong? Really an examination of the utterances of these champions of +oppressed innocence would almost lead one to that conclusion. On the +one hand they suppress and explain away facts, and on the other supply +their want of argument by reckless accusations and vicious attacks on +the probity of such of their fellow-Englishmen, especially if in +office, as have had the misfortune to pursue a course of action or to +express opinions not pleasing to them or their proteges. For instance, +an innocent and unenlightened reader of the very interesting work from +which I have just quoted probably lays it down with the conviction +that both Sir Bartle Frere and Sir Theophilus Shepstone are very +wicked men and full of bad motives, and will wonder how a civilised +Government could employ such monsters of bloodthirsty duplicity. As he +proceeds he will also find that there is not much to be said for the +characters of either Sir Garnet Wolseley or Lord Chelmsford; whilst as +regards such small fry as Mr. John Shepstone, the present Secretary of +Native Affairs in Natal, after passing through Miss Colenso's mill +their reputations come out literally in rags and tatters. He will be +shocked to find that not only did one and all of these gentlemen make +gross errors of judgment, but, trusted and distinguished servants of +their country as they are, they were one and all actuated by dark +personal motives that will not bear examination. + +Heaven help the members of the Shepstone family when they fall into +the hands of the gentler but more enthusiastic sex, for Miss Colenso +is not their only foe. In a recent publication called a "Defence of +Zululand and its Kings," Lady Florence Dixie gibbets Mr. Henrique +Shepstone, and points him out to be execrated by a Cetywayo- +worshipping public, because the ex-king is to be sent to England in +his charge; when, according to Lady Dixie, he will certainly be +scoundrel enough to misinterpret all that Cetywayo says for his own +ends, and will thereby inflict a "cruel wrong" upon him, and render +his visit to England "perfectly meaningless." Perhaps it has never +occurred to Lady Dixie that this is a very serious charge to bring +against an honourable man, whose reputation is probably as dear to him +as the advancement of Cetywayo's cause is to her. It is all very well +to be enthusiastic, but ladies should remember that there are other +people in the world to be considered beside Cetywayo. + +As regards the question of Cetywayo's bloodthirstiness, which is so +strenuously denied by his apologists, I cannot say that a careful +study of the blue books bearing on the subject brings me to the same +conclusion. It is true that there is not much information on the +point, for the obvious reason that the history of slaughters in +Zululand in the vast majority of cases only reached Natal in the form +of rumours, which nobody thought it worth while to report. There were +no newspaper correspondents in Zululand. There is not, however, any +doubt that Cetywayo was in the habit of killing large numbers of +people; indeed it was a matter of the commonest notoriety; nor, as +will be seen from the message I have transcribed, did he himself deny +it, when, being angry, he spoke the truth. At the same time that this +message was sent, we find Mr. Osborn, then resident magistrate at +Newcastle in Natal, who is certainly not given to exaggeration, +writing to the Secretary for Native Affairs thus:--"From all I have +been able to learn, Cetywayo's conduct has been, and continues to be, +disgraceful. He is putting people to death in a shameful manner, +especially girls. The dead bodies are placed by his order in the +principal paths, especially where the paths intersect each other +(cross roads). A few of the parents of the young people so killed +buried the bodies, and thus brought Cetywayo's wrath on themselves, +resulting not only on their own death, but destruction of the whole +family. . . . It is really terrible that such horrible savagery could +take place on our own borders. . . . Uhamu reproved Cetywayo the other +day, reminded him of his promises to Mr. Shepstone, and begged him to +spare the people. This advice, as could be expected, was not +relished." + +Again, Mr. Fynney, in his report of his visit to Zululand in 1877, +states that though the king and his "indunas" (councillors) denied +that men were killed without trial, the people told a very different +tale. Thus he says, "In every instance, where I had so far gained the +confidence of the Zulus as to cause them to speak freely, was I +assured of the truthfulness of the statement that the king, Cetywayo, +caused his people to be put to death in great numbers; and when I +remarked that of course he did so after a fair and proper trial, in +some cases my remark was greeted with a suppressed laugh or a smile. +Some remarked, 'Yes, a trial of bullets;' others, 'Yes, we get a +trial, but that means surrounding the kraal at daybreak and shooting +us down like cattle.' One asked me what the Government in Natal +intended doing, or what was thought in Natal about the killing, +saying, 'It was not in the night that Sompseu spoke, but in the +sunshine; the king was not alone, but his people were around him, and +the ears of all Zululand heard these words, and the hearts of all +Zulus were joyful, and in gladness they lifted up their hands saying: +The mouth of our white father has spoken good words; he has cautioned +his child in the presence of his people, and a good sun has risen this +day over Zululand! How is it now? Has the king listened? Does he hold +fast those words? No! not one. The promises he made are all broken. +What does Sompseu say to this? You should dine at my kraal yonder for +a few days, and see the izizi (cattle and other property of people who +have been killed) pass, and you would then see with your own eyes how +a case is tried.'" Farther on Mr. Fynney says, "When a charge is made +against a Zulu, the question is generally asked, 'Has he any cattle?' +and if answered in the affirmative, there is little chance of escape. +Instances of killing occurred while I was in Zululand, and to my +knowledge no trial was allowed. An armed party was despatched on the +morning I left Ondine, and, as I was informed, to kill." + +There is no reason to suppose that Mr. Fynney was in any way +prejudiced in making these remarks; on the contrary, he was simply +carrying out an official mission, and reporting for the general +information of the Governments of Natal and the Transvaal. It is, +however, noticeable that neither these nor similar passages are ever +alluded to by Cetywayo's advocates, whose object seems to be rather to +suppress the truth than to put it fairly before the public, if by such +suppression they think they can advance the cause of the ex-king. + +The whole matter of Cetywayo's private policy, however, appears to me +to be very much beside the question. Whether or no he slaughtered his +oppressed subjects in bygone years, which there is no doubt he did, is +not our affair, since we were not then, as we are now, responsible for +the good government of Zululand; and seeing the amount of slaughter +that goes on under our protectorate, it ill becomes us to rake up +these things against Cetywayo. What we have to consider is his foreign +policy, not the domestic details of his government.[*] + +[*] A gentleman, who has recently returned from travelling in + Zululand, relates the following story as nearly as possible in the + words in which it was told to him by a well-known hunter in + Zululand, Piet Hogg by name, now residing near Dundee on the Zulu + border. The story is a curious one as illustrative of Zulu + character, and scarcely represents Cetywayo in as amiable a light + as one might wish. Piet Hogg and my informant were one day talking + about the king when the former said, "I was hunting and trading in + Zululand, and was at a military kraal occupied by Cetywayo, where + I saw a Basuto who had been engaged by the king to instruct his + people in building houses, that were to be /square/ instead of + circular (as are all Zulu buildings), for which his pay was to be + thirty head of cattle. The Basuto came to Cetywayo in my presence, + and said that the square buildings were made; he now wished to + have his thirty head of cattle and to depart. Cetywayo having + obtained what he required, began to think the man overpaid, so + said, 'I have observed that you like ---- (a Zulu woman belonging + to the kraal); suppose you take her instead of the thirty head of + cattle.' Now this was a very bad bargain for the Basuto, as the + woman was not worth more, in Zulu estimation, than ten head of + cattle; but the Basuto, knowing with whom he had to deal, thought + it might be better to comply with the suggestion rather than + insist upon his rights, and asked to be allowed till the next + morning to consider the proposal. After he had been dismissed on + this understanding, Cetywayo sent for the woman, and accused her + of misconduct with the Basuto, the punishment of which, if proved, + would be death. She denied this vehemently, with protestations and + tears. He insisted, but, looking up at a tree almost denuded of + leaves which grew close by, said, significantly, 'Take care that + not a leaf remains on that tree by the morning.' The woman + understood the metaphor, and in an hour or two, aided by other + strapping Zulu females, attacked the unfortunate Basuto and killed + him with clubs. But Cetywayo having thus, like the monkey in the + fable, employed a cat's paw to do his dirty work, began to think + the Basuto's untimely death might have an ugly appearance in my + eyes, so gave orders in my presence that, as a punishment, six of + the women who had killed the Basuto should also be put to death. + This was too much for me, knowing as I did, all that had passed. I + reproached Cetywayo for his cruelty, and declared I would leave + Zululand without trading there, and without making him the present + he expected. I also said I should take care the great English + 'Inkose' (the Governor of Natal) should hear of his conduct and + the reason of my return. Cetywayo was then on friendly terms with + the English, and being impressed by my threats, he reconsidered + his orders, and spared the lives of the women." + +I do not propose to follow out all the details of the boundary dispute +between Cetywayo and the Transvaal, or to comment on the different +opinions held on the point by the various authorities, English and +Zulu. The question has been, for the moment, settled by the Transvaal +Convention, and is besides a most uninteresting one to the general +reader. + +Nor shall I enter into a discussion concerning the outrages on which +Sir Bartle Frere based his ultimatum previous to the Zulu war. They +were after all insignificant, although sufficient to serve as a /casus +belli/ to a statesman determined to fight. The Zulu war was, in the +opinion of Sir B. Frere, necessary in self-defence, which is the first +principle of existence. If it admits of justification, it is on the +ground that the Zulu army was a menace to the white population of +South Africa, and that it was therefore necessary to destroy it, lest +at some future time it should destroy the whites. It is ridiculous to +say that the capture of two Zulu women in Natal and their subsequent +murder, or the expulsion on political grounds of a few missionaries, +justified us in breaking up a kingdom and slaughtering ten thousand +men. Sir Bartle Frere declared war upon the Zulus because he was +afraid, and had good reason to be afraid, that if he did not, Cetywayo +would before long sweep either the Transvaal or Natal; whilst, on the +other hand, the Zulus fought us because our policy was too +philanthropic to allow them to fight anybody else. This statement may +appear strange, but a little examination into Zulu character and +circumstances will, I think, show it to be correct. + +It must be remembered that for some years before Panda's death the +Zulus had not been engaged in any foreign war. When Cetywayo ascended +the throne, it was the general hope and expectation of the army, and +therefore of the nation, that this period of inaction would come to an +end, and that the new king would inaugurate an active foreign policy. +They did not greatly care in what direction the activity developed +itself, provided it did develop. It must also be borne in mind that +every able-bodied man in the Zulu country was a member of a regiment, +even the lads being attached to regiments as carriers, and the women +being similarly enrolled, though they did not fight. The Zulu military +system was the universal-service system of Germany brought to an +absolute perfection, obtained by subordinating all the ties and duties +of civil life to military ends. Thus, for instance, marriage could not +be contracted at will, but only by the permission of the king, which +was generally delayed until a regiment was well advanced in years, +when a number of girls were handed over to it to take to wife. This +regulation came into force because it was found that men without home +ties were more ferocious and made better soldiers, and the result of +these harsh rules was that the Zulu warrior, living as he did under +the shadow of a savage discipline, for any breach of which there was +but one punishment, death, can hardly be said to have led a life of +domestic comfort, such as men of all times and nations have thought +their common right. But even a Zulu must have some object in life, +some shrine at which to worship, some mistress of his affections. Home +he had none, religion he had none, mistress he had none, but in their +stead he had his career as a warrior, and his hope of honour and +riches to be gained by the assegai. His home was on the war-track with +his regiment, his religion the fierce denunciation of the isanusi,[*] +and his affections were fixed on the sudden rush of battle, the red +slaughter, and the spoils of the slain. "War," says Sir T. Shepstone, +in a very remarkable despatch written about a year before the outbreak +of the Zulu war, "is the universal cry among the soldiers, who are +anxious to live up to their traditions, . . . . and the idea is +gaining ground among the people that their nation has outlived the +object of its existence." Again he says, "The engine (the Zulu +military organisation) has not ceased to exist or to generate its +forces, although the reason or excuse for its existence has died away: +these forces have continued to accumulate and are daily accumulating +without safety-valve or outlet." + +[*] /Witch-doctor./ These persons are largely employed in Zululand to + smell out witches who are supposed to have bewitched others, and + are of course very useful as political agents. Any person + denounced by them is at once executed. A friend of the writer's + was once present at a political smelling-out on a large scale, and + describes it as a very curious and unpleasant scene. The men, of + whom there were some thousands, were seated in a circle, as pale + with terror as Zulus can be. Within the circle were several witch + doctors; one of whom amidst his or her incantations would now and + again step forward and touch some unfortunate man with a forked + stick. The victim was instantly led away a few paces and his neck + twisted. The circle awaited each denunciation in breathless + expectation, for not a man among them knew whose turn it might be + next. On another occasion, an unfortunate wretch who had been + similarly condemned by an isanusi rushed up to the same + gentleman's waggon and besought shelter. He was hidden under some + blankets, but presently his pursuers arrived, and insisted upon + his being handed over. All possible resistance was made, until the + executioners announced that they would search the waggon and kill + him there. It was then covenanted that he should have a start in + the race for life. He was, however, overtaken and killed. These + instances will show how dark and terrible is the Zulu superstition + connected with witchcraft, and what a formidable weapon it becomes + in the hands of the king or chief. + +Desirable as such a state of feeling may be in an army just leaving +for the battlefield, it is obvious that for some fifty thousand men, +comprising the whole manhood of the nation, to be continually on the +boil with sanguinary animosity against the human race in general, is +an awkward element to fit into the peaceable government of a state. + +Yet this was doubtless the state of affairs with which Cetywayo had to +contend during the latter years of his reign. He found himself +surrounded by a great army, in a high state of efficiency and warlike +preparation, proclaiming itself wearied with camp life, and clamouring +to be led against an enemy, that it might justify its traditions and +find employment for its spears. Often and often he must have been +sorely puzzled to find excuses wherewithal to put it off. Indeed his +position was both awkward and dangerous: on the one hand was Scylla in +the shape of the English Government, and on the other the stormy and +uncertain Charybdis of his clamouring regiments. Slowly the idea must +have began to dawn upon him that unless he found employment for the +army, which, besides being disgusted with his inactivity, was somewhat +wearied with his cruelties, for domestic slaughter had ceased to +divert and had begun to irritate: the army, or some enterprising +members of it, might put it beyond his power ever to find employment +for it at all, and bring one of his brothers to rule in his stead. + +And yet who was he to fight, if fight he must? There were three +possible enemies--1. The Swazis; 2. The Transvaal Boers; 3. The +English. + +Although the English may have held a place on Cetywayo's list as +possible foes, there is no ground for supposing that, until shortly +before the war, he had any wish to fight with us. Indeed, whereas +their hatred of the Boers was pronounced, and openly expressed, both +the Zulu king and people always professed great respect for +Englishmen, and even a certain amount of liking and regard. + +Therefore, when Cetywayo had to settle on an enemy to attack, it was +not the English that he chose, but the Swazis, whose territory +adjoined his own, lying along the borders of the Transvaal towards +Delagoa Bay. The Swazis are themselves Zulus, and Cetywayo claimed +certain sovereign rights over them, which, however, they refused to +recognise. They are a powerful tribe, and can turn out about 10,000 +fighting men, quite enough for Cetywayo's young warriors to try their +mettle on. Still the king does not appear to have wished to undertake +the war without first obtaining the approval of the Natal Government, +to whom he applied several times for permission "to wash his spears," +saying that he was but half a king until he had done so. The Natal +Government, however, invariably replied that he was on no account to +do anything of the sort. This shows the inconveniences of possessing a +complimentary feudal hold over a savage potentate, the shadow of power +without the reality. The Governor of Natal could not in decency +sanction such a proceeding as a war of extermination against the +Swazis, but if it had occurred without his sanction, the Swazis would +have suffered no doubt, but the Zulu spears would have been +satisfactorily washed, and there would have been no Zulu war. As it +is, Englishmen have been killed instead of Swazis. + +Thwarted in his designs on the Swazis, Cetywayo next turned his +attention to the Transvaal Boers. The Zulus and the Boers had never +been good friends since the days of the massacre of Retief, and of +late years their mutual animosity had been greatly increased owing to +their quarrels about the boundary question previously alluded to. This +animosity reached blood-heat when the Boer Government, acting with the +arrogance it always displayed towards natives, began to lay its +commands upon Cetywayo about his relations with the Amaswazi, the +alleged trespassing on Boer territory, and other matters. The +arrogance was all the more offensive because it was impotent. The +Boers were not in a position to undertake the chastisement of the +Zulus. But the king and council of Zululand now determined to try +conclusions with the Transvaal on the first convenient opportunity, +and this time without consulting the Government of Natal. The +opportunity soon occurred. Secocoeni, the powerful chief of the +Bapedi, one of the tribes whose territories border on the Transvaal, +came to a difference with the Boers over another border question. +There is good ground for supposing that Cetywayo incited him to +withstand the Boer demands; it is certain that during the course of +the war that followed he assisted him with advice, and more +substantially still, with Zulu volunteers. + +To be brief, the Secocoeni war resulted in the discomfiture of the +Transvaal forces. Another result of this struggle was to throw the +whole state into the most utter confusion, of which the Dutch +burghers, always glad of an opportunity to defy the law, took +advantage to refuse to pay taxes. National bankruptcy ensued, and +confusion grew worse confounded. + +Cetywayo took note of all this, and saw that now was his opportunity +to attack. The Boers had suffered both in morale and prestige from +their defeat by Secocoeni, who was still in arms against them; whilst +the natives were proportionately elated by their success over the +dreaded white men. There was, he knew well, but little chance of a +rapid concentration to resist a sudden raid, especially when made by +such a powerful army, or rather chain of armies, as he could set in +motion. Everything favoured the undertaking; indeed, humanly speaking, +it is difficult to see what could have saved the greater part of the +population of the Transvaal from sudden extinction, if a kind +Providence had not just then put it into the head of Lord Carnarvon to +send out Sir T. Shepstone as Special Commissioner to their country. +When Cetywayo heard that his father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) was +going up to the Transvaal, he held his hand, sent out spies, and +awaited the course of events. The following incident will show with +what interest he was watching what took place. At the Vaal River a +party of Boers met the Special Commissioner and fired salutes to +welcome him. It was immediately reported to Cetywayo by his spies that +the Boers had fired over Sir T. Shepstone's waggon. Shortly afterwards +a message arrived at Pretoria from Cetywayo to inquire into the truth +of the story, coolly announcing his intention of sweeping the +Transvaal if it were true that "his father" had been fired at. In a +conversation with Mr. Fynney after the Annexation Cetywayo alludes to +his intentions in these words:-- + +"I heard that the Boers were not treating him (Sompseu) properly, and +that they intended to put him in a corner. If they had done so I +should not have waited for anything more. /Had but one shot been +fired/, I should have said, 'What more do I wait for? they have +touched my father.' I should have poured my men over the land, and I +can tell you, son of Mr. Fynney, the land would have burned with +fire." This will show how eagerly Cetywayo was searching for an excuse +to commence his attack on the Transvaal. When the hope of finding a +pretext in the supposed firing at Sir T. Shepstone or any incident of +a similar nature faded away, he appears to have determined to carry +out his plans without any immediate pretext, and to make a /casus +belli/ of his previous differences with the Government of the +Republic. Accordingly he massed his impis (army corps) at different +points along the Transvaal border, where they awaited the signal to +advance and sweep the country. Information of Cetywayo's doings and of +his secret plans reached Pretoria shortly before the Annexation, and +confirmed the mind of the Special Commissioner as to the absolute +necessity of that measure to save the citizens of the Republic from +coming to a violent end, and South Africa from being plunged into a +native war of unexampled magnitude. The day before the Annexation took +place, when it was quite certain that it would take place, a message +was sent to Cetywayo by Sir T. Shepstone telling him of what was about +to happen, and telling him too in the sternest and most +straightforward language, that the Transvaal had become the Queen's +land like Natal, and that he must no more think of attacking it than +he would of attacking Natal. Cetywayo on receiving the message at once +disbanded his armies and sent them to their kraals. "Kabuna," he said +to the messenger, "my impis were gathered; now at my father's (Sir T. +Shepstone's) bidding I send them back to their homes." + +This fact, namely, that at the bidding of his old mentor Sir T. +Shepstone, Cetywayo abandoned his long-cherished plans, and his +undoubted opportunity of paying off old scores with the Boers in a +most effectual manner, and gave up a policy that had so many charms +for him, must be held by every unprejudiced man to speak volumes in +his favour. It must be remembered that it was not merely to oblige his +"father Sompseu" that he did this, but to meet the wishes of the +English Government, and the act shows how anxious he was to retain the +friendship and fall in with the views of that Government. Evidently +Cetywayo had no animosity against us in April 1877. + +In his interview with Mr. Fynney, Cetywayo speaks out quite frankly as +to what his intentions had been; he says, "I know all about the +soldiers being on their way up, but I would have asked Sompseu to +allow the soldiers to stand on one side for just a little while, only +a little, and see what my men could do. It would have been unnecessary +for the Queen's people to trouble. My men were all ready, and how big +must that stone have been, with my father Sompseu digging at one side +and myself at the other, that would not have toppled over? Even though +the size of that mountain (pointing to a mountain range), we could put +it on its back. Again I say I am glad to know the Transvaal is +English ground; perhaps now there may be rest." + +This and other passages show beyond all doubt from what an awful +catastrophe the Transvaal was saved by the Annexation. That Cetywayo +personally detested the Boers is made clear by his words to Mr. +Fynney. "'The Boers,' he says, 'are a nation of liars; they are a bad +people, bad altogether. I do not want them near my people; they lie +and claim what is not theirs, and ill-use my people. Where is Thomas?' +(President Burgers). I informed him that Mr. Burgers had left the +Transvaal. 'Then let them pack up and follow Thomas,' said he. 'Let +them go. The Queen does not want such people as those about her land. +What can the Queen make of them or do with them? Their evil ways +puzzled both Thomas and Rudolph, Landdrost of Utrecht; they will not +be quiet.'" + +It is very clear that if Cetywayo had been left to work his will, a +great many of the Boers would have found it necessary to "pack up and +follow Thomas," whilst many more would have never needed to pack +again. + +I am aware that attempts have been made to put another explanation on +Cetywayo's warlike preparations against the Boers. It has been said +that the Zulu army was called up by Sir T. Shepstone to coerce the +Transvaal. It is satisfactory to be able, from intimate personal +knowledge, to give unqualified denial to that statement, which is a +pure invention, as indeed is easily proved by clear evidence, which I +have entered into in another part of this book. Cetywayo played for +his own hand all along, and received neither commands nor hints from +the Special Commissioner to get his army together. Indeed, when Sir T. +Shepstone discovered what was going on, he suffered great anxiety lest +some catastrophe should occur before he was in a position to prevent +it. Nothing short of the Annexation could have saved the Transvaal at +that moment, and the conduct of the Boers after the danger had been +taken on to the shoulders of the Imperial Government is a startling +instance of national ingratitude. + +Here again the Zulu king was brought face to face with the ubiquitous +British Government, and that too at a particularly aggravating moment. +He was about to commence his attack when he was met with a polite, +"Hands off; this is British territory." No wonder that we find him in +despair renewing his prayer that Sompseu will allow him to make "one +little raid only, one small swoop," and saying that "it is the custom +of our country, when a new king is placed over the nation, to wash +their spears, and it has been done in the case of all former kings of +Zululand. I am no king, but sit in a heap. I cannot be a king till I +have washed my assegais." All of which is doubtless very savage and +very wrong, but such is the depravity of human nature, that there is +something taking about it for all that. + +It was at this period of the history of South Africa that many people +think we made our crowning mistake. We annexed the Transvaal, say +they, six months too soon. As things have turned out, it would have +been wiser to have left Zulus and Transvaal Boers to try conclusions, +and done our best to guard our own frontiers. There is no doubt that +such a consummation of affairs would have cleared the political +atmosphere wonderfully; the Zulus would have got enough fighting to +last them some time, and the remainder of the Boers would have +entreated our protection and become contented British subjects; there +would have been no Isandhlwana and no Majuba Hill. But to these I say +who could foresee the future, and who, in the then state of kindly +feeling towards the Boers, could wish to leave them, and all the +English mixed up with them, to undergo, unprepared as they were, the +terrible experience of a Zulu invasion? Besides, what guarantee was +there that the slaughter would stop in the Transvaal, or that the +combat would not have developed into a war of races throughout South +Africa? Even looking at the matter in the light of after events, it is +difficult to regret that humanity was on this occasion allowed to take +precedence of a more cold-blooded policy. If the opponents of the +Annexation, or even the members of the Transvaal Independence +Committee, knew what a Zulu invasion meant, they would scarcely have +been so bitter about that act. + +From the time of the Annexation it was a mere matter of opinion as to +which direction the Zulu explosion would take. The safety-valves were +loaded whilst the pressure daily increased, and all acquainted with +the people knew that it must come sooner or later. + +Shortly after the Transvaal became British territory the old Zulu +boundary question came to the fore again and was made more complicated +than ever by Sir T. Shepstone, who had hitherto favoured the Zulu +claims, taking the Boer side of the controversy, after examination of +the locality and of persons acquainted with the details of the matter. +There was nothing wonderful in this change of opinion, though of +course it was attributed to various motives by advocates of the Zulu +claims, and there is no doubt that Cetywayo himself did not at all +like it, and, excited thereto by vexation and the outcry of his +regiments, adopted a very different and aggressive tone in his +communications with the English authorities. Indeed his irritation +against the Boers and everybody connected with them was very great. +Probably if he had been left alone he would in time have carried out +his old programme, and attacked the Transvaal. But, fortunately for +the Transvaal, which, like sailors and drunken men, always seems to +have had a special Providence taking care of it: at this juncture Sir +Bartle Frere appeared upon the scene, and after a few preliminaries +and the presentation of a strong ultimatum, which was quite +impracticable so far as Cetywayo was concerned, since it demanded what +it was almost impossible for him to concede--the disbandment of his +army--invaded Zululand. + +It is generally supposed that the Natal colonists had a great deal to +do with making the Zulu war, but this is not the case. It is quite +true that they were rejoiced at the prospect of the break-up of +Cetywayo's power, because they were very much afraid of him and of his +"celibate man-slaying machine," which, under all the circumstances, is +not wonderful. But the war was a distinctly Imperial war, made by an +Imperial officer, without consultation with Colonial authorities, on +Imperial grounds, viz., because Cetywayo menaced Her Majesty's power +in South Africa. Of course, if there had been no colonies there would +have been no war, but in that way only are they responsible for it. +Natal, however, has not grudged to pay 250,000 pounds towards its +expenses, which is a great deal more than it can afford, and, +considering that the foolish settlement made by Sir Garnet Wolseley is +almost sure to involve the colony in trouble, quite as much as should +be asked. + +The fact of the matter was, that Sir Bartle Frere was a statesman who +had the courage of his convictions; he saw that a Zulu disturbance of +one kind or another was inevitable, so he boldly took the initiative. +If things had gone right with him, as he supposed they would, praise +would have been lavished on him by the Home authorities, and he would +have been made a peer, and perhaps Governor-General of India to boot; +but he reckoned without his Lord Chelmsford, and the element of +success which was necessary to gild his policy in the eyes of the home +public was conspicuous by its absence. As it was, no language was +considered to be too bad to apply to this "imperious proconsul" who +had taken upon himself to declare a war. If it is any consolation to +him, he has at any rate the gratitude of the South African Colonies, +not so much for what he has done, for that is being carefully +nullified by the subsequent action of the Home Government, but +because, believing his policy to be right, he had the boldness to +carry it out at the risk of his official reputation. Sir Bartle Frere +took a larger view of the duties of the governor of a great dependency +than to constitute himself the flickering shadow of the Secretary of +State in Downing Street, who, knowing little of the real interests of +the colony, is himself only the reflection of those that hold the +balance of power, to whom the subject is one of entire indifference, +provided that there is nothing to pay. + +The details of the Zulu war are matters of melancholy history, which +it is useless to recapitulate here. With the exception of the affair +at Rorke's Drift, there is nothing to be proud of in connection with +it, and a great deal to be ashamed of, more especially its final +settlement. There is, however, one point that I wish to submit to the +consideration of my readers, and that is, that Cetywayo was never +thoroughly in earnest about the war. If he had been in earnest, if he +had been determined to put out his full strength, he would certainly +have swept Natal from end to end after his victory at Isandhlwana. +There was no force to prevent his doing so: on the contrary, it is +probable that if he had advanced a strong army over the border, a +great number of the Natal natives would have declared in his favour +through fear of his vengeance, or at the least would have remained +neutral. He had ample time at his disposal to have executed the +manoeuvre twice over before the arrival of the reinforcements, of +which the results must have been very dreadful, and yet he never +destroyed a single family. The reason he has himself given for this +conduct is that he did not wish to irritate the white man; that he had +not made the war, and was only anxious to defend his country. + +When the fighting came to an end after the battle of Ulundi, there +were two apparent courses open to us to take. One was to take over the +country and rule it for the benefit of the Zulus, and the other to +enforce the demands in Sir Bartle Frere's ultimatum, and, taking such +guarantees as circumstances would admit of, leave Cetywayo on the +throne. Instead of acting on either of these plans, however, Sir +Garnet Wolseley proceeded, in the face of an extraordinary consensus +of adverse opinion, which he treated with calm contempt, to execute +what has proved to be a very cruel settlement. Sir Garnet Wolseley has +the reputation of being an extremely able man, and it is only fair to +him to suppose that he was not the sole parent of this political +monster, by which all the blood and treasure expended on the Zulu war +were made of no account, but that it was partially dictated to him by +authorities at home, who were anxious to gratify English opinion, and +partly ignorant, partly careless of the consequences. At the same +time, it is clear that he is responsible for the details of the +scheme, since immediately after the capture of Cetywayo he writes a +despatch about them which was considered so important, that a member +of his staff was sent to England in charge of it. In this document he +informs the Secretary of State that Cetywayo's rule was resolutely +built up "without any of the ordinary and lawful foundations of +authority, and by the mere vigour and vitality of an individual +character." It is difficult to understand what Sir Garnet means in +this passage. If the fact of being the rightful and generally accepted +occupant of the throne is not an "ordinary and lawful foundation of +authority," what is? As regards Cetywayo having built up his rule by +the "mere vigour and vitality of an individual character," he is +surely in error. Cetywayo's position was not different to that of his +immediate predecessors. If Sir Garnet had applied the remark to Chaka, +the first king, to the vigour and vitality of whose individual +character Zululand owes its existence as a nation, it would have been +more appropriate. The despatch goes on to announce that he has made up +his mind to divide the country into thirteen portions, in order to +prevent the "possibility of any reunion of its inhabitants under one +rule," and ends in these words: "I have laboured with the great aim of +establishing for Her Majesty's subjects in South Africa, both white +and coloured, as well as for this spirited people against whom +unhappily we have been involved in war, the enduring foundations of +peace, happiness and prosperity." The spirited people were no doubt +vastly thankful, but the white man, reading such a passage as this, +and knowing the facts of the case, will only recognise Sir Garnet +Wolseley's admirable talent for ironical writing. + +Sir Garnet entered into an agreement with each of his kinglets, who, +amongst other things, promised that they would not make war without +the sanction of the British Government. He also issued a paper of +instructions to the gentleman who was first appointed British Resident +(who, by the way, very soon threw up his post in despair). From this +document we learn that all the ex-king's brothers are to "be under the +eye of the chief John Dunn," but it is chiefly remarkable for the +hostility it evinces to all missionary enterprise. The Resident is +instructed to "be careful to hold yourself entirely aloof from all +missionary or proselytising enterprises," and that "grants of land by +former kings to missionaries cannot be recognised by the British +Government," although Sir Garnet will allow missionaries to live in +the country if the chief of the district does not object. These +instructions created some adverse comment in England, with the result +that, in the supplementary instructions issued on the occasion of Mr. +Osborn's appointment as Resident, they were somewhat modified. In the +despatch to the Secretary of State in which he announces the new +appointment, Sir Garnet says that Mr. Osborn is to be the "councillor, +guide, and friend" of the native chiefs, and that to his "moral +influence" "we should look I think for the spread of civilisation and +the propagation of the Gospel." What a conglomeration of duties,--at +once "prophet, priest, and king!" Poor Mr. Osborn! + +Of the chiefs appointed under this unfortunate settlement, some were +so carelessly chosen that they have no authority whatsoever over the +districts to which they were appointed, their nominal subjects +preferring to remain under the leadership of their hereditary chief. +Several of Sir Garnet's little kings cannot turn out an hundred men, +whilst the hereditary chief, who has no official authority, can bring +up three or four thousand. Thus, for instance, a territory was given +to a chief called Infaneulela. The retainers of this gentleman live in +a kraal of five or six huts on the battlefield of Ulundi. A chief +called Dilligane, to whom the district should have been given, is +practically head man of the district, and takes every possible +opportunity of defying the nominee chief, Infaneulela, who is not +acknowledged by the people. Another case is that of Umgitchwa, to whom +a territory was given. In this instance there are two brothers, +Umgitchwa and Somhlolo, born of different mothers. Umgitchwa is the +elder, but Somhlolo is the son of a daughter of the king, and +therefore, according to Zulu custom, entitled to succeed to the +chieftainship. Somhlolo was disinherited by Sir Garnet on account of +his youth (he is about twenty-five and has many wives). But an ancient +custom is not to be thus abrogated by a stroke of the pen, and +Somhlolo is practically chief of the district. Fighting is imminent +between the two brothers. + +A third case is that of Hlubi, who, though being a good, well-meaning +man, is a Basuto, and being a foreigner, has no influence over the +Zulus under him. + +A fourth instance is that of Umlandela, an old and infirm Zulu, who +was made chief over a large proportion of the Umtetwa tribe on the +coast of Zululand. His appointment was a fatal mistake, and has +already led to much bloodshed under the following curious +circumstances, which are not without interest, as showing the +intricacy of Zulu plots. + +The Umtetwas were in the days of Chaka a very powerful tribe, but +suffered the same fate at his hands as did every other that ventured +to cross spears with him. They were partially annihilated, and whilst +some of the survivors, of whom the Umtetwas in Zululand are the +descendants, were embodied in the Zulu regiments, others were +scattered far and wide. Branches of this important tribe exist as far +off as the Cape Colony. Dingiswayo, who was the chief of the Umtetwas +when Chaka conquered the tribe, fled after his defeat into Basutoland, +and is supposed to have died there. After the Zulu war Sir G. Wolseley +divided the Umtetwa into two districts, appointing an Umtetwa chief +named Somkeli ruler over one, and Umlandela over the other. + +Umlandela, being a Zulu and worn with age, has never had any authority +over his nominal subjects, and has been anxious to rid himself of the +danger and responsibility of his chieftainship by transferring it on +to the shoulders of Mr. John Dunn, whose territory adjoins his own, +and who would be, needless to say, nothing loth to avail himself of +the opportunity of increasing his taxable area. Whilst this intrigue +was in progress all Zululand was convulsed with the news of our defeat +by the Boers and the consequent surrender of the Transvaal. It was +commonly rumoured that our forces were utterly destroyed, and that the +Boers were now the dominant Power. Following on the heels of this +intelligence was a rumour to the effect that Cetywayo was coming back. +These two reports, both of which had a foundation of truth, had a very +bad effect on the vulgar mind in Zululand, and resulted in the setting +in motion of a variety of plots, of which the following was the most +important. + +The Umtetwa tribe is among those who are not anxious for the return of +Cetywayo, but see in the present state of affairs an opportunity of +regaining the power they possessed before the days of Chaka. If they +were to have a king over Zululand they determined that it should be an +Umtetwa king, and Somkeli, one of the chiefs appointed by Sir Garnet, +was the man who aimed at the throne. He was not, however, anxious to +put out his hand at first further than he could draw it back, so he +adopted a very ingenious expedient. It will be remembered that the old +Chief Dingiswayo fled to Basutoland, where he is reported to have +married. It occurred to Somkeli that if he could produce a descendant +or a pseudo-descendant of Dingiswayo he would have no difficulty in +beginning operations by dispossessing Umlandela of his territory in +favour of the supposed lawful heir. In fact he wanted a cat to pull +the chestnuts out of the fire for him, who could easily be got rid of +afterwards. Accordingly one Sitimela was produced who is supposed to +be an escaped convict from Natal, who gave out that he was a grandson +of Dingiswayo by a Basuto woman, and a great medicine-man, able to +kill everybody by a glance of his eye. + +To this impostor adherents flocked from all parts of Zululand, and +Umlandela flying for his life into John Dunn's territory, Sitimela +seized upon the chieftainship. The Resident thereupon ordered him to +appear before him, but he, as might be expected, refused to come. As +it was positively necessary to put an end to the plot by some means, +since its further development would have endangered and perhaps +destroyed the weak-knee'd Zulu settlement, Mr. Osborn determined to +proceed to the scene of action. Mahomet would not go to the mountain, +so the mountain had to go to Mahomet. On arrival he pitched his tents +half way between the camps of Sitimela and John Dunn, who had +Umlandela under his charge, and summoned Somkeli, the author of the +plot, to appear before him. Ten days elapsed before the summons was +obeyed. During this time, and indeed until they finally escaped, the +Resident and his companion could not even venture to the spring, which +was close at hand, to wash, for fear of being assassinated. All day +long they could see lines of armed men swarming over the hills round +them, and hear them yelling their war-songs. At length Somkeli +appeared, accompanied by over a thousand armed warriors. He was +ordered to withdraw his forces from Sitimela's army and go home. He +went home, but did not withdraw his forces. The next day Sitimela +himself appeared before the Resident. He was ordered to come with ten +men: he came with two thousand all armed, wild with excitement and +"moutied" (medicined). To make this medicine they had killed and +pounded up a little cripple boy and several of Umlandela's wives. It +afterwards transpired that the only reason Sitimela did not then and +there kill the Resident was that he (Mr. Osborn) had with him several +chiefs who were secretly favourable to Sitimela's cause, and if he had +killed him he would, according to Zulu custom, have had to kill them +too. Mr. Osborn ordered Sitimela to disperse his forces or take the +consequences, and waited a few days for him to do so; but seeing no +signs of his compliance, he then ordered the neighbouring chiefs to +fall on him, and at length withdrew from his encampment,--none too +soon. That very night a party of Sitimela's men came down to kill him, +and finding the tent in which he and his companions had slept +standing, stabbed at its supposed occupants through the canvas. + +Sitimela was defeated by the forces ordered out by the Resident with a +loss of about 500 men. It is, however, worthy of note, and shows how +widespread was the conspiracy, that out of all the thousands promised, +Mr. Osborn was only able to call out two thousand men. + +The appointment, however, that has occasioned the most criticism is +that of John Dunn, who got the Benjamin share of Zululand in +preference to his brother chiefs. The converting of an Englishman into +a Zulu chief is such a very odd proceeding that it is difficult to +know what to think of it. John Dunn is an ambitious man, and most +probably has designs on the throne; he is also a man who understands +the value of money, of which he makes a great deal out of his +chieftainship. At the same time, it is clear that, so far as it goes, +his rule is better than that of the other chiefs; he has a uniform tax +fixed, and has even done something in the way of starting schools and +making roads. From all that I have been able to gather, his popularity +and influence with the Zulus are overrated, though he has lived +amongst them so many years, and taken so many of their women to wife. +His appointment was a hazardous experiment, and in the long run is +likely to prove a mischievous one, since any attempted amendment of +the settlement will be violently resisted by him on the ground of +vested interests. Also, if white men are set over Zulus at all, they +should be /gentlemen/ in the position of government officers, not +successful adventurers. + +Perhaps the only wise thing done in connection with the settlement was +the appointment of Mr. Osborn, C.M.G., as British Resident. It is not +easy to find a man fitted for that difficult and dangerous position, +for the proper filling of which many qualifications are required. +Possessed of an intimate knowledge of the Zulus, their language, and +their mode of thought and life, and being besides a very able and +energetic officer, Mr. Osborn would have saved the settlement from +breaking down if anybody could have saved it. As it is, by the +exercise of ceaseless energy and at great personal risk, he has +preserved it from total collapse. Of the dangers and anxieties to +which he is exposed, the account I have given of the Sitimela incident +is a sufficient example. He is, in fact, nothing but a shadow, for he +has no force at his command to ensure obedience to his decisions, or +to prevent civil war; and in Zululand, oddly enough, force is a +remedy. Should one chief threaten the peace of the country, he can +only deal with him by calling on another chief for aid, a position +that is neither dignified nor right. What is worst of all is that the +Zulus are beginning to discover what a shadow he is, and with this +weakened position he has to pit his single brains against all the +thousand and one plots which are being woven throughout Zululand. The +whole country teems with plots. Mnyamane, the late Prime Minister, and +one of the ablest, and perhaps the most influential man in Zululand, +is plotting for the return of Cetywayo. Bishop Colenso, again, is as +usual working his own wires, and creating agitations to forward his +ends, whatever they may be at the moment. John Dunn, on the other +hand, is plotting to succeed Cetywayo, and so on /ad infinitum/. Such +is the state of affairs with which our unfortunate Resident has to +contend. Invested with large imaginary powers, he has in reality +nothing but his personal influence and his own wits to help him. He +has no white man to assist him, but living alone in a broken-down +tent and some mud huts built by his son's hands (for the Government +have never kept their promise to put him up a house), in the midst of +thousands of restless and scheming savages, amidst plots against the +peace and against his authority, he has to do the best he can to carry +out an impracticable settlement, and to maintain the character of +English justice and the honour of the English name. Were Mr. Osborn to +throw up his post or to be assassinated, the authorities would find it +difficult to keep the whole settlement from collapsing like a card +castle. + +Nobody who understood Zulu character and aspirations could ever have +executed such a settlement as Sir Garnet Wolseley's, unless he did it +in obedience to some motive or instructions that it was not advisable +to publish. It is true that Sir Garnet's experience of the Zulus was +extremely small, and that he put aside the advice of those who did +know them with that contempt with which he is wont to treat colonists +and their opinions. Sir Garnet Wolseley does not like colonial people, +possibly because they have signally failed to appreciate heaven-born +genius in his person, or his slap-dash drumhead sort of way of +settling the fate of countries, and are, indeed, so rude as to openly +say, that, in their opinion, he did more mischief in Africa in a few +months, than it would take an ordinary official a lifetime to +accomplish. + +However this may be, stop his ears as much as he might, Sir Garnet +cannot have been entirely blind to the import of what he was doing, +and the only explanation of his action is that he entered on it more +with the idea of flattering and gratifying English public opinion, +than of doing his best for the Zulus or the white Colonists on their +borders. A great outcry had been raised at home, where, in common with +most South African affairs, the matter was not thoroughly understood, +against the supposed intended annexation of Zululand for the benefit +of "greedy colonists." It was argued that colonists were anxious for +the annexation in order that they might get the land to speculate +with, and doubtless this was, in individual instances, true. I fully +agree with those who think that it would be unwise to throw open +Zululand to the European settler, not on account of the Zulus, who +would benefit by the change, but because the result would be a state +of affairs similar to that in Natal, where there are a few white men +surrounded by an ever-growing mass of Kafirs. But there is a vast +difference between Annexation proper and the Protectorate it was our +duty to establish over the natives. Such an arrangement would have +presented few difficulties, and have brought with it many advantages. +White men could have been forbidden to settle in the country. A small +hut-tax, such as the Zulus would have cheerfully paid, would have +brought in forty or fifty thousand a year, an ample sum to defray the +expenses of the Resident and sub-Residents: the maintenance of an +adequate native force to keep order: and even the execution of +necessary public works. It is impossible to overrate the advantages +that must have resulted both to the Zulus and their white neighbours +from the adoption of this obvious plan, among them being lasting peace +and security to life and property; or to understand the folly and +cruelty that dictated the present arrangement, or rather want of +arrangement. Not for many years has England missed such an opportunity +of doing good, not only at no cost, but with positive advantage to +herself. Did we owe nothing to this people whose kingdom we had broken +up, and whom we had been shooting down by thousands? They may well +ask, as they do continually, what they have done that we should treat +them as we have and are doing? + +It cannot be too clearly understood, that, when the Zulus laid down +their arms they did so, hoping and believing that they would be taken +over by the English Government, which, having been fairly beaten by +it, they now looked on as their head or king, and be ruled like their +brethren in Natal. They expected to have to pay taxes and to have +white magistrates placed over them, and they or the bulk of them +looked forward to the change with pleasure. It must be remembered that +when once they have found their master, there exists no more law- +abiding people in the world than the Zulus, provided they are ruled +firmly, and above all justly. Believing that such a rule would fall to +their lot they surrendered when they did. How great, then, must their +surprise have been when they found, that without their wishes being +consulted in the matter, their own hereditary king was to be sent +away, and thirteen little kings set up in his place, with, strangest +of all, a white man as chief little king, whilst the British +Government contented itself with placing a Resident in the country, to +watch the troubles that must ensue. + +Such a settlement as this could only have one object and one result, +neither of which is at all creditable to the English people. The Zulus +were parcelled out among thirteen chiefs, in order that their strength +might be kept down by internecine war and mutual distrust and +jealousy: and, as though it were intended to render this result more +certain, territories were chucked about in the careless way I have +described, whilst central authority was abolished, and the vacant +throne is dangled before all eyes labelled "the prize of the +strongest." Of course Sir Garnet's paper agreements with the chiefs +were for the most part disregarded from the first. For instance, every +chief has his army and uses it too. In Zululand bloodshed is now a +thing of every-day occurrence, and the whole country is torn by fear, +uncertainly, and consequent want.[*] The settlement is bearing its +legitimate fruit; some thousands of Zulus have already been killed in +direct consequence of it, and more will doubtless follow. And this is +the outcome of all the blood and treasure spent over the Zulu war! +Well, we have settled Zululand on the most approved principles, and +thank Heaven, British influence has not been extended! + +[*] A severe famine is said to be imminent in Zululand. + +To show that I am not singular in my opinion as to the present state +of Zululand, I may be allowed to quote a few short extracts taken at +random, from half-a-dozen numbers of the "Natal Mercury." Talking of +the Zulu settlement terms as dictated by Sir G. Wolseley, the leading +article of the issue 21st November 1881 says:--"It will at once be +apparent that these terms have in several cases been flagrantly +violated, especially as regards clauses of 2, 3, 4, and 6. This last +will assuredly be broken again and yet again, so long as the British +Resident occupies the position of an official mollusc. The chiefs +themselves perceive and admit the evils that must arise out of the +absence of any effective central authority. These evils are so +obvious, they were so generally recognised at the outset as being +inherent in the scheme, that we might almost suppose their occurrence +had been deliberately anticipated as a desired outcome of the +settlement. The morality of such a line of policy would be precisely +on a par with that which is involved in the proposal to reinstate +Cetywayo as a means of dealing with the Boers. The creation of +thirteen kinglets in order that they might destroy each other, is as +humane and high-minded an effort of statesmanship as would be the +restoration of a banished king in order that he might eat up a people +to whom the same power has just given back their independence. To the +simple colonial mind such deep designs of Machiavellian statecraft are +as hateful as they are inhuman and dishonest." + +A correspondent of the "Mercury" in Zululand writes under date of 13th +October:-- + +"I send a line at the last moment to say that things are going from +bad to worse at railway speed. Up to the arrival of Sir Evelyn Wood, +the chiefs did not fully realise that they were really independent at +all. Now they do, and if I mistake not, like a beggar on horseback +will ride to the devil sharp. Oham has begun by killing a large number +of the Amagalusi people. My information is derived from native +sources, and may be somewhat exaggerated. It is that the killed at +Isandhlwana were few compared with those killed by Uhamu a few days +ago. Usibebu also and Undabuka are, I am told, on the point of coming +to blows; and if they do that it will be worse still, for Undabuka +will find supporters throughout the length and breadth of Zululand. +Undabuka, the full brother of the ex-king, is the protege of the +Bishop of Natal. The Bishop, I find, has again sent one of his agents +(Amajuba by name) calling for another deputation. The deputation is +now on its way to Natal, and that, I understand, against the express +refusal of the Resident to allow it." In the issue of 14th November is +published a letter from Mr. Nunn, a gentleman well known in Zululand, +from which, as it is too long to quote in its entirety, I give a few +extracts:--"/Oham's Camp, Oct.15./--The Zulus cannot comprehend the +Transvaal affair, and it has been industriously circulated among them +that the English have been beaten and forced to give back the +Transvaal. They do not understand gracious acts of restoration after +we have been beaten. Four times this year has Umnyamana called his +army together and menaced Oham, who has several times had to have +parties of his followers sleeping around his kraal in the hills +adjacent, so as to give him timely notice to fly. When Oham left his +kraal for the purpose of attending the meeting at Inslasatye, the same +day the whole of the Maquilisini Tribe came on to the hills adjacent +to Oham's kraal, the 'Injamin,' and threatened that district. This has +been the case on two or three former occasions, and simultaneously +Umnyamana's tribe and Undabuka's followers always flew to arms, thus +threatening on all sides. . . . Trading is and has been for months +entirely suspended in this district. The fields are unplanted, no +ploughs or Kafir-picks at work--all are in a state of excitement, not +knowing the moment a collision may take place. Hunger will stare many +in the face next year, and all the men yelling to their chiefs to be +let loose and put an end to this state of uncertainty." + +Mr. Nunn encloses an account by an eye-witness of a battle which took +place on the 2d October 1881 between Oham's army and the Maquilisini +Tribe. The following is an extract:--"On the 2nd there was a heavy +mist, and on moving forward the mounted party found themselves in the +midst of the enemy (the Maquilisini), and on hearing a cry to stab the +horses, they rode through them with no casualty (except one horse +slightly wounded with a bullet). The army, moving in a half circle, +now became generally engaged in a hand-to-hand fight, and our men were +checked and annoyed by a number of the enemy armed with guns, who were +in a stone-kraal and kept up a constant fire. Amatonga, now at the +head of the mounted party, charged and drove the enemy out of the +kraal, from which they three several times charged the enemy on the +flank, assisted by a small infantry party, and cut paths through their +ranks. The fight, which had now lasted nearly an hour, commenced to +flag, and Oham's army making a sudden rush entirely routed the enemy, +and the carnage lasted to the Bevan river, the boundary of the +Transvaal. No women or children were killed, but out of an army of +about 1500 of the enemy but few escaped" (sic) . . . . "The men, as +they were being killed, repeatedly exclaimed, 'We are dying through +Umnyamana and Umlabaku.'" + +In the "Natal Mercury" of the 13th March occurs the following:-- + +"/Zulu Country./--As to the state of the country it is something we +cannot describe; everything is upside down, and the chiefs appointed +by the government are mere nobodies, and have not any power over their +own people. Even the Resident is in a false position, and seems +perfectly powerless to act either way. We had one row, just arriving +at a kraal in time to save it from being eaten up. Witchcraft and +killing, one of the pretences on which the English made war, are of +every-day occurrence, and fifty times worse than they were before the +war. Oham and Tibysio (?) keep their men continually in the field, +consequently those districts are at present in a state of famine." + +Sir Garnet Wolseley executed the Zulu settlement on the 1st September +1879. The above extracts will suffice to show the state of the country +after it has been working for little more than two years. They will +also, I believe, suffice to convince any just and impartial mind that +I do not exaggerate when I say that it is an abomination and a +disgrace to England. The language may be strong, but when one hears of +1500 unfortunates (nearly twice as many as we lost at Isandhlwana) +being slaughtered in a single intertribal broil, it is time to use +strong language. It is not as though this were an unexpected or an +unavoidable development of events, every man who knew the Zulus +predicted the misery that must result from such a settlement, but +those who directed their destinies turned a deaf ear to all warnings. +They did not wish to hear. + +And now we are told that civil war is imminent between the Cetywayo or +anti-settlement party, and what I must, for want of a better name, +call the John Dunn party, or those who have acquired interests under +the settlement, and who for various reasons wish to see Cetywayo's +face no more. If this occurs, and it will occur unless the Government +makes up its mind to do something before long, the slaughter, not only +of men but also of women and children, will be enormous; fugitives +will pour into Natal, followed perhaps by their pursuers, and for +aught we know the war may spread into our own dominions. We are a +philanthropic people, very, when Bulgarians are concerned, or when the +subject is one that piques the morbid curiosity, or is the rage of the +moment, and the subject of addresses from great and eloquent speakers. +But we can sit still, and let such massacres as these take place, when +we have but to hold up our hand to stop them. When occasionally the +veil is lifted a little, and the public hears of "fresh fighting in +Zululand;" a question is asked in the House; Mr. Courtney, as usual, +has no information, but generally discredits the report, and it is put +aside as "probably not true." I am well aware that of the few who read +these words, many will discredit them, or say that they are written +for some object, or for party purposes. But it is not the case; they +are written in the interest of the truth, and in the somewhat faint +hope that they may awaken a portion of the public, however small, to a +knowledge of our responsibilities to the unfortunate Zulus. For try to +get rid of it as we may, those responsibilities rest upon our +shoulders. When we conquered the Zulu nation and sent away the Zulu +king, we undertook, morally at any rate, to provide for the future +good government of the country; otherwise, the Zulu war was unjust +indeed. If we continue to fail, as we have hitherto, to carry out our +responsibilities as a humane and Christian nation ought to do, our +lapse from what is right will certainly recoil upon our own heads, +and, in the stern lessons of future troubles and disasters, we shall +learn that Providence with the nation, as with the individual, makes a +neglected duty its own avenger. We have sown the wind, let us be +careful lest we reap the whirlwind. + +It is very clear that things cannot remain in their present condition. +If they do, it is probable that the Resident will sooner or later be +assassinated; not from any personal motives, but as a political +necessity, and some second Chaka will rise up and found a new Zulu +dynasty, sweeping away our artificial chiefs and divisions like +cobwebs. This idea seems to have penetrated into Lord Kimberley's +official mind, since in his despatch of instructions to Sir H. Bulwer, +written in February last, he says, "Probably if the chiefs are left to +themselves after a period more or less prolonged of war and anarchy, +some man will raise himself to the position of supreme chief." The +prospect of war and anarchy in Zululand does not, however, trouble +Lord Kimberley at all; in fact, the whole despatch is typical to a +degree of the Liberal Colonial policy. Lord Kimberley admits that what +little quiet the country has enjoyed under the settlement, "was due to +a mistaken belief on the part of the Zulus that the British Government +was ruling them, or would rule them through the Resident." He +evidently clearly sees all the evils and bloodshed that are resulting +and that must result from the present state of affairs; indeed he +recapitulates them, and then ends up by even refusing to allow such +slight measures of relief as the appointment of sub-Residents to be +carried out, although begged for by the chiefs, on the ground that it +might extend British influence. Of the interests of the Zulus himself +he is quite careless. The whole despatch can be summed up thus: "If +you can find any method to improve the state of affairs which will not +subject us to the smallest cost, risk, or responsibility, you can +employ it; if not, let them fight it out." Perhaps Lord Kimberley may +live (officially) long enough to find out that meanness and +selfishness do not always pay, and that it is not always desirable, +thus to sacrifice the respect, and crush the legitimate aspirations of +a generous people. + +Unless something is done before long, it is possible that John Dunn +may succeed after a bloody war in securing the throne; but this would +not prove a permanent arrangement, since he is now getting on in life +and has no son to carry on the dynasty. Another possibility, and one +that is not generally known, at any rate in this country, though it is +perhaps the most probable of all, is this. Cetywayo has left a son in +Zululand, who is being carefully educated under the care of Mnyamane, +the late King's Prime Minister. The boy is now about 16 years of age, +and is reported to possess very good abilities, and is the trump card +that Mnyamane will play as soon as the time is ripe. This young man is +the hereditary heir to the Zulu crown, and it is more than probable +that if he is proclaimed king the vast majority of the nation will +rally round him and establish him firmly on his throne. There is +little use in keeping Cetywayo confined whilst his son is at large. +The lad should have been brought to England and educated, so that he +might at some future time have assisted in the civilisation of his +country: as it is, he is growing up in a bad school. + +And now I come to the root of the whole matter, the question whether +or no, under all these circumstances, it is right or desirable to +re-establish Cetywayo on the throne of Zululand. In considering this +question, I think that Cetywayo's individuality ought to be out on one +side, however much we may sympathise with his position, as I confess I +do to some extent myself. After all, Cetywayo is only one man, whereas +the happiness, security, and perhaps the lives of many thousands are +involved in the issue of the question. In coming to any conclusion in +the matter it is necessary to keep in view the intentions of the +Government as regards our future connection with Zululand. If the +Government intends to do its duty and rule Zululand as it ought to be +ruled, by the appointment of proper magistrates, the establishment of +an adequate force, and the imposition of the necessary taxes; then it +would be the height of folly to permit Cetywayo to return, since his +presence would defeat the scheme. It must be remembered that there is +as yet nothing whatsoever to prevent this plan being carried out. It +would be welcomed with joy by the large majority of both Zulus and +Colonists. It would also solve the problem of the increase of the +native population of Natal, which is assuming the most alarming +proportions, since Zululand, being very much underpopulated, it would +be easy, were that country once quietly settled, to draft the majority +of the Natal Zulus back into it. This is undoubtedly the best course, +and indeed the only right course; but it does not at all follow that +it will be taken, since governments are unfortunately more concerned +at the prospect of losing votes than with the genuine interests of +their dependencies. The proper settlement of Zululand would not be +popular amongst a large class in this country, and therefore it is not +likely to be carried out, however right and necessary it may be. + +If nothing is going to be done, then it becomes a question whether or +no Cetywayo should be sent back. + +The large majority of the Natalians consider that his restoration +would be an act of suicidal folly, and their opinion is certainly +entitled to great weight, since they are after all the people +principally concerned. The issue of the experiment would be a matter +of comparative indifference to people living 7000 miles away, but is +naturally regarded with some anxiety by those who have their homes on +the borders of Zululand. It is very well to sympathise with savage +royalty in distress, but it must be borne in mind that there are +others to be considered besides the captive king. Many of the Zulus, +for instance, are by no means anxious to see him again, since they +look forward with just apprehension to the line of action he may take +with those who have not shown sufficient anxiety for his return, or +have in other ways incurred his resentment. One thing is clear, to +send the king back to Zululand is to restore the /status in quo/ as it +was before the war. There can be no half measures about it, no more +worthless paper stipulations; a Zulu king must either be allowed to +rule in his own fashion or not at all. The war would go for nothing, +and would doubtless have to be fought over again with one of +Cetywayo's successors. + +Also it must be remembered that it is one thing to talk of restoring +Cetywayo, and another to carry his restoration into effect. It would +not simply be a question of turning him down on the borders of +Zululand, and letting him find his own way back to his throne, for +such a proceeding would be the signal for the outbreak of civil war. +It is not to be supposed that John Dunn, and those whose interests are +identical with Dunn's, would allow the ex-king to reseat himself on +the throne without a struggle; indeed the former has openly declared +his intention of resisting the attempt by force of arms if necessary. +He is by no means anxious to give up the 15,000 pounds a year his +hut-tax brings in, and all the contingent profits and advantages of +his chieftainship. If we wish to restore Cetywayo we must first depose +Dunn; in fact, we must be ready to support his restoration by force of +arms. + +As regards Cetywayo himself, I cannot share the opinion of those who +think that he would be personally dangerous. He has learnt his lesson, +and would not be anxious to try conclusions with the English again; +indeed, I believe he would prove a staunch ally. But supposing him +re-established on the throne, how long would it be before a +revolution, or the hand of the assassin, to say nothing of the +ordinary chances of nature, put an end to him, and how do we know that +his successor in power would share his views? + +Cetywayo's rule, bad as it was, was perhaps preferable to the reign of +terror that we have established, under the name of a settlement. But +that we can still remedy if we choose to do so, whereas, if we once +restore Cetywayo, all power over the Zulus passes out of our hands. + +We have many interests to consider in South Africa, all of which will +be more or less affected by our action in this matter. On the whole, I +am of opinion that the Government that replaces Cetywayo on the throne +of his fathers will undertake a very grave responsibility, and must be +prepared to deal with many resulting complications, not the least of +which will be the utter exasperation of the white inhabitants of +Natal. + + + + + NATAL AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT + + Natal--Causes of increase of the native population--Happy + condition of the Natal Zulus--Polygamy--Its results on population + --The impossibility of eradicating it--Relations between a Zulu + and his wives--Connection between polygamy and native law-- + Missionary work amongst the Zulus--Its failure--Reasons of its + failure--Early days of Natal--Growth of the native question-- + Coming struggle between white and black over the land question-- + Difficulty of civilising the Zulu--Natal as a black settlement-- + The constitution of Natal--Request for responsible government--Its + refusal--The request renewed and granted--Terms and reason of Lord + Kimberley's offer--Infatuation of responsible government party in + Natal--Systematic abuse of colonists in England--Colonial + speculators--Grievances against the Imperial Government--Sir Henry + Bulwer--Uncertain future of Natal--Its available force--Exterior + dangers--The defence question shirked by the "party of progress"-- + The confederation question--The difficulty of obtaining desirable + immigrants--The only real key to the Natal native question--Folly + of accepting self-government till it is solved. + +Natal has an area of about 18,000 square miles, and its present +population is, roughly, 25,000 whites and 400,000 natives of the Zulu +race. When, in 1843, it first became a British colony, the number of +natives living within its borders was very small, and they were for +the most part wanderers, fragmentary remnants of the tribes that Chaka +had destroyed. I shall probably be under, rather than over the mark, +if I say, that the Zulu population of the colony has multiplied itself +by ten during the last thirty years. Two causes have combined to bring +about this extraordinary increase; firstly, wholesale immigration from +the surrounding territories; and secondly, the practice of polygamy. + +This immigration has been due to a great want of foresight, or want of +knowledge, on the part of the Home authorities, who have allowed it to +go on without check or hindrance till it has, in conjunction with its +twin evil polygamy, produced the state of affairs it is my object to +describe. Ever since its first establishment as a colony Natal has +been turned into a city of refuge for the native inhabitants of +Zululand, the Transvaal, Swaziland, and elsewhere. If news came to a +Zulu chief that his king purposed to eat him up, he at once fled +across the Tugela with his wives and followers and settled in Natal. +If the Boers or Swazis destroyed a tribe, the remnant found its way to +Natal. + +That country, indeed, is to the South African native a modern Isles of +the Blest. Once across the border line, and, whatever his crime, he is +in a position to defy his worst enemy, and can rest secure in the +protection of the Home and local Governments, and of the enactments +specially passed to protect him and his privileges. The Government +allots him land, or if it does not he squats on private land: bringing +with him his own peculiar and barbarous customs. In all the world I do +not know a race more favoured by circumstances than the Natal Zulus. +They live on the produce of the fields that their wives cultivate, or +rather scratch, doing little or no work, and having no occasion to do +any. They are very rich, and their taxes are a mere trifle, fifteen +shillings per annum for each hut. They bear no share of the curse that +comes to all other men as a birthright; they need not labour. +Protected by a powerful Government, they do not fear attack from +without, or internal disorder. What all men desire, riches and women, +are theirs in abundance, and even their children, the objects of so +much expense and sore perplexity to civilised parents, are to them a +source of wealth. Their needs are few; a straw hut, corn for food, and +the bright sun. They are not even troubled with the thought of a +future life, but, like the animals, live through their healthy, happy +days, and at last, in extreme old age, meet a death which for them has +no terrors, because it simply means extinction. When compared to that +of civilised races, or even of their own brethren in the interior, +their lot is indeed a happy one. + +But the stream of immigration, continuous though it has been, would +not by itself have sufficed to bring up the native population to its +present enormous total, without the assistance of the polygamous +customs of the immigrants. + +I believe that inquirers have ascertained, that, as a general rule, +the practice of polygamy has not the effect of bringing about an +abnormal growth of population. However this may be elsewhere, in +Natal, owing in great measure to the healthy customs of the Zulu +race,[*] the rate of increase is unprecedented. Many writers and other +authorities consider polygamy as an institution, to be at once wicked +and disgusting. As to its morality, it is a point upon which it is +difficult to express any opinion, nor, indeed, does the question enter +into the scope of what I have to say; but it must be remembered that +in the case of the Zulu his whole law and existence is mixed up with +the institution, and that it is necessary to him to repair the gaps +made in his ranks by war. Violent anti-polygamists in this country +always make a strong point of the cruelty it is supposed to involve to +the women, and talk about the "violation of their holiest feelings." +As a matter of fact, sad as it may appear, the Zulu women are much +attached to the custom, nor would they, as a general rule, consent to +marry a man who only purposed taking one wife. There are various +reasons for this: for instance, the first wife is a person of +importance, and takes precedence of all the others, a fact as much +appreciated by the Zulu woman as by the London lady. Again, the more +wives there are, the more wealth it brings into the family, since in +the ordinary course of nature more wives mean more female children, +who, when they come to a marriageable age, mean in their turn at least +ten cows each (the Government price for a wife). The amount thus +obtained is placed to the credit of the estate of the mother of the +girl married, and for this reason all Zulu women are extremely anxious +to have children, especially female children. Finally, the liking of +Zulu women for the custom is bred in them. It has been going on for +countless generations, and it is probable that it will go on for so +long as the race endures. Nations do not change such habits unless the +change is forced on them, with the alternative of extermination. + +[*] As soon as a Zulu woman is discovered to be pregnant, her husband + ceases to cohabit with her, nor does he live with her again until + the child is weaned, eighteen months, and sometimes two years, + after its birth. + +Polygamy will never be eradicated by moral persuasion, because, even +if a native could be brought to think it wrong, which is in itself +impossible, its abolition would affect his interests irredeemably. A +Zulu's wives are also his servants; they plough his land and husband +his grain, in addition to bearing his children. Had he but one wife +most of her time would be taken up with the latter occupation, and +then the mealie-planting and gathering would necessarily fall to the +lot of the husband, a state of affairs he would never consent to. +Again, if monogamy were established, girls would lose their value, and +a great source of wealth would be destroyed. It must, however, be +understood that Zulu girls are not exactly sold; the cows received by +the parents are by a legal fiction supposed to be a gift presented, +not a price paid. Should the wife subsequently run away, they are, I +believe, returnable. + +On these subjects, as is not to be wondered at when so many interests +are concerned, the Zulu law is a little intricate. The cleverest +counsel in the Temple could not give an opinion on such a case as the +following:-- + +A. has four wives and children by Nos. 1 and 3. On his death his +brother, B., a rich man, takes over his wives and property, and has +children by each of the four women. He has also children by other +wives. On his death, in extreme old age, how should the property be +divided amongst the descendants of the various marriages? + +It is clear that if such a case as this is to be dealt with at all it +must be under native law, and this is one of the great dangers of +polygamy. Once rooted in a state it necessitates a double system of +laws, since civilised law is quite unable to cope with the cases daily +arising from its practice. It is sometimes argued that the law +employed is a matter of indifference, provided that substantial +justice is done, according to the ideas of people concerned, and this +is doubtless very true if it is accepted as a fact that the Zulu +population of Natal is always to remain in its present condition of +barbarism. To continue to administer their law is to give it the +sanction of the white man's authority, and every day that it is so +administered makes it more impossible to do away with it. I say "more +impossible" advisedly, because I believe its abrogation is already +impossible. There is no satisfactory way out of the difficulty, +because it has its roots in, and draws its existence from, the +principle of polygamy, which I believe will last while the people +last. + +Some rely on the Missionary to effect this stupendous change, and turn +a polygamous people into monogamists. But it is a well-known fact that +the missionaries produce no more permanent effect on the Zulu mind +than a child does on the granite rock which he chips at with a chisel. +How many real Christians are there in Zululand and Natal, and of that +select and saintly band how many practise monogamy? But very few, and +among those few there is a large proportion of bad characters, men who +have adopted Christianity as a last resource. I mean no disrespect to +the missionaries, many of whom are good men, doing their best under +the most unpromising conditions, though some are simply traders and +political agitators. But the fact remains the same. Christianity makes +no appreciable progress amongst the Zulu natives, whilst, on the other +hand, no one having any experience in the country will, if he can +avoid it, have a so-called Christian Kafir in his house, because the +term is but too frequently synonymous with that of drunkard and thief. +I do not wish it to be understood that it is the fact of his +Christianity that so degrades the Zulu, because I do not think it has +anything to do with it. It is only that the novice, standing on the +threshold of civilisation, as a rule finds the vices of the white man +more congenial than his virtues. + +The Zulus are as difficult to convince of the truths of Christianity +as were the Jews, whom they so much resemble in their customs. They +have a natural disinclination to believe that which they cannot see, +and, being constitutionally very clever and casuistical, are prepared +to argue each individual point with an ability very trying to +missionaries. It was one of these Zulus, known as the Intelligent +Zulu, but in reality no more intelligent than his fellows, whose +shrewd remarks first caused doubts to arise in the mind of Bishop +Colenso, and through him in those of thousands of others. + +Another difficulty in the way of the Missionary is, that he is obliged +to insist on the putting away of surplus wives, and thus to place +himself out of court at the outset. It is quite conceivable that in +the opinion of wild and savage men, it is preferable to let the new +teaching alone, rather than to adopt it at the cost of such a radical +change in their domestic arrangements. As a case in point I may quote +that of Hlubi, the Basutu appointed chief of one of the divisions of +Zululand, by Sir G. Wolseley. Hlubi is at heart a Christian, and a +good man, and anxious to be baptized. The missionaries, however, +refuse to baptize him, because he has two wives. Hlubi therefore +remains a heathen, saying, not unnaturally, that he feels it would be +impossible for him to put away a woman with whom he has lived for so +many years. + +Whilst polygamy endures Christianity will advance with but small +strides. It seems to me that we are beginning at the wrong end. We +must civilise first and Christianise afterwards. As well try to sow +corn among rocks and look to gather a full crop, as expect the words +of Grace and Divine love to bear fruit in the hearts of a people whose +forefathers have for countless generations been men of blood, whose +prized traditions are one long story of slaughter, and who, if they +are now at peace are, as it were, only gathering strength for a surer +spring. First, the soil must be prepared before the seed is sown. + +To do this there is but one way. Abolish native customs and laws, +especially polygamy, and bring our Zulu subjects within the pale of +our own law. Deprive them of their troops of servants in the shape of +wives, and thus force them to betake themselves to honest labour like +the rest of mankind. + +There is only one objection in the way of the realisation of this +scheme, which would, doubtless, bring about, in the course of a +generation, a much better state of things, and gather many thousand +converts into the fold of the Church; and that is, the opportunity +has, so far as Natal is concerned, been missed--the time has gone by +when it could have been carried out. To young countries, as to young +men, there come sometimes opportunities of controlling their future +destinies which, if not seized at the moment, pass away for ever, or +only to return after long and troubled years. Natal has had her +chance, and it has gone away from her, though through no fault of her +own. If, when the colony was first settled, the few natives who then +lived there had been forced to conform to the usages of civilised life +or to quit its borders; if refugees had been refused admission save on +the same terms, it would not occupy the very serious position it does +at the present moment. + +To understand the situation into which Natal has drifted with +reference to its native inhabitants, it is necessary to premise that +that country has hitherto had practically no control over its own +affairs, more especially as regards native legislation. + +In its early days it was a happy, quiet place, a favoured clime, where +the traveller or settler could find good shooting, cheap labour, and +cheap living. No enemy threatened its rest, and the natives were +respectful and peaceful in their behaviour. But it was in those days +that the native difficulty, that Upas tree that now overshadows and +poisons the whole land, took root; for slowly, from all parts, all +through that quiet time, by ones, by tens, by hundreds, refugees were +flowing in, and asking and receiving land to settle on from the +Government. + +It is not, however, to be supposed that the local officials did not +perceive the gathering danger, since it has again and again been +pointed out to different Secretaries of State, and again and again +been ignored by them, or put off for the consideration of their +successors. Hand-to-mouth legislation has always been the +characteristic of our rule in South Africa. On one occasion Sir +Theophilus, then Mr. Shepstone, went so far as to offer to personally +draw off a large portion of the native population, and settle them on +some vacant territory bordering on the Cape Colony, but the suggestion +was not acceded to, for fear lest the execution of the scheme should +excite disturbances amongst the natives of the Cape. Thus year after +year has passed away--plan after plan has been put aside,--and nothing +has been done. + +In the colony a great deal of abuse is poured out on the head of Sir +T. Shepstone, to whom the present native situation is unjustly +attributed by a certain party of politicians. Sir T. Shepstone was for +very many years Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, but until he +came to England, shortly before the termination of his official +career, he was personally unknown to the Colonial Office, and had no +influence there. It was totally out of his power to control the policy +of the Home Government with reference to the Natal natives; he could +only take things as he found them, and make the best of such materials +as came to his hand. As he could not keep the natives out of the +colony or prevent polygamy, he did what he could towards making them +loyal and contented subjects. How well he succeeded, and with what +consummate tact and knowledge he must have exercised his authority, is +shown by the fact that in all these years there has been but one +native disturbance, namely that of Langalibalele, and by the further +fact that the loyalty of the Natal Zulus stood the strain of the Zulu +war. Also, there never has been, and probably never will be, another +white man so universally beloved and reverenced by the natives +throughout the length and breadth of South Africa. + +But Sir T. Shepstone's influence for good will pass away, as all +purely personal influence must, and meanwhile, what is the situation? +On the one hand, there is a very slowly increasing, scattered, and +mixed population of about 25,000 whites, capable, at the outside, of +putting a force of 4000 men in the field. On the other, there is a +warlike native population, united by the ties of race and common +interests, numbering at the present moment between 400,000 and +500,000, and increasing by leaps and bounds: capable of putting quite +80,000 warriors into the field, and possessing, besides, numerous +strongholds called locations. At present these two rival populations +live side by side in peace and amity, though at heart neither loves +the other. The two races are so totally distinct that it is quite +impossible for them to have much community of feeling; they can never +mingle; their ideas are different, their objects are different, and in +Natal their very law is different. Kafirs respect and like individual +Englishmen, but I doubt whether they are particularly fond of us as a +race, though they much prefer us to any other white men, and are +devoted to our rule, so long as it is necessary to them. The average +white man, on the other hand, detests the Kafir, and looks on him as a +lazy good-for-nothing, who ought to work for him and will not work for +him, whilst he is quite incapable of appreciating his many good +points. It is an odd trait about Zulus that only gentlemen, in the +true sense of the word, can win their regard, or get anything out of +them. + +It is obvious that, sooner or later, these two races must come into +contact, the question being how long the present calm will last. To +this question I will venture to suggest an answer,--I believe the +right one. It will last until the native gets so cramped for room that +he has no place left to settle on, except the white man's lands. The +white man will then try to turn him off, whereupon the native will +fall back on the primary resource of killing him, and possessing +himself of the land by force. This plan, simultaneously carried out on +a large scale, would place the colony at the mercy of its native +inhabitants. + +Nor is the time so very far distant when Englishmen and Zulus will +stand face to face over this land question. In the early days of the +colony, locations were established in the mountainous districts, +because they were comparatively worthless, and the natives were +settled in them by tribes. Of what goes on in these locations very +little is known, except that they are crowded, and that the +inhabitants are as entirely wedded to their savage customs as their +forefathers were before them. As there is no more room in the +locations, many thousands of Kafirs have settled upon private lands, +sometimes with and sometimes without the leave of the owners. But, for +many reasons, this is a state of affairs that cannot go on for ever. +In a few years, the private lands will be filled up, as well as the +locations, and what then? + +Zulus are a people who require a very large quantity of land, since +they possess great numbers of cattle which must have grazing room. +Also their cultivation being of the most primitive order, and +consisting as it does of picking out the very richest patches of land, +and cropping them till they are exhausted, all ordinary land being +rejected as too much trouble to work, the possession, or the right of +usor, of several hundred acres is necessary to the support of a single +family. Nor, if we may judge from precedent, and its well-marked +characteristics, is it to be supposed that this race will at the pinch +suit itself to circumstances, take up less land, and work harder. +Zulus would rather fight to the last than discard a cherished and an +ancient custom. Savages they are, and savages they will remain, and in +the struggle between them and civilisation it is possible that they +may be conquered, but I do not believe that they will be converted. +The Zulu Kafir is incompatible with civilisation. + +It will be seen, from what I have said, that Natal might more properly +be called a Black settlement than an English colony. Looking at it +from the former point of view, it is a very interesting experiment. +For the first time probably since their race came into existence, Zulu +natives have got a chance given them of increasing and multiplying +without being periodically decimated by the accidents of war, whilst +at the same time enjoying the protection of a strong and a just +government. It remains to be seen what use they will make of their +opportunity. That they will avail themselves of it for the purposes of +civilising themselves I do not believe; but it seems to me possible +that they will learn from the white man the advantages of combination, +and aim at developing themselves into a powerful and united black +nation. + +It is in the face of this state of things that Lord Kimberley now +proposes to grant responsible government to the white inhabitants of +Natal, should they be willing to accept it, providing that it is to +carry with it the responsibility of ruling the natives, and further, +of defending the colony from the attacks of its neighbours, whether +white or coloured. + +Natal has hitherto been ruled under a hybrid constitution, which, +whilst allowing the Legislative Assembly of the colony to pass laws, +&c., reserves all real authority to the Crown. There has, however, +been for some years past a growing agitation amongst a proportion of +its inhabitants, instituted with the object of inducing the Home +Government to concede practical independence to the colony, Her +Majesty having on several occasions been petitioned on the subject by +the Legislative Council. On the 13th February 1880, Sir G. Wolseley, +who was at the time Governor of Natal, wrote what I can only call, a +very intemperate despatch to the Secretary of State, commenting on the +prayer for responsible government, which he strongly condemned. He +also took the opportunity to make a series of somewhat vicious attacks +on the colonists in general, whose object in asking for independence +was, he implied, to bring the black man in relations of "appropriate +servitude to his white superior." It would appear, however, from words +used by him towards the end of his despatch, that the real reason of +his violence was, that he feared, that one of the first acts of the +Natal Parliament would be to put an end to his settlement in Zululand, +which was and is the laughing-stock of the colony. He was probably +right in this supposition. The various charges he brings against the +colonists are admirably and conclusively refuted in a minute adopted +by the Legislative Council of Natal, dated 20th December 1880. + +In a despatch, dated 15th March 1881, Lord Kimberley refuses to accede +to the request for the grant of Responsible Government. + +On the 28th of December, the Legislative Council again petitioned the +Crown on the subject, and forward to Lord Kimberley a report of a +Select committee appointed to consider the matter, in which the +following words occur:-- + +"Your committee hold that while the colony may well be held +responsible for its defence from such aggression as may be caused by +the acts or policy of a responsible government, it cannot justly be +saddled with the obligation to meet acts of aggression from bordering +territories that have arisen out of the circumstances or measures over +which such government have had no control; although, as a matter of +fact, the brunt of defence (must be borne?) in the first instance by +the colonists. The Council, therefore, neither exercises, nor desires +to exercise, any control over territories adjacent to or bordering on +the colony; for the preservation of its own internal peace and order +the colony is prepared to provide. The duty of protecting the colony +from external foes, whether by sea or land, devolves on the Empire as +a whole, otherwise to be a section of that Empire constitutes no real +privilege." + +To this report, somewhat to the surprise of the Natalians, Lord +Kimberley returned, in a despatch addressed to Sir H. Bulwer, on the +occasion of his departure to take up the Governorship of Natal, and +dated 2d February 1882, a most favourable reply. In fact, he is so +obliging as to far exceed the wishes of the Natalians, as expressed in +the passage just quoted, and to tell them that Her Majesty's +Government is not only ready to give them responsible government, but +that it will expect them to defend their own frontiers, independently +of any assistance from the Imperial Government. He further informs +them that the Imperial troops will be withdrawn, and that the only +responsibility Her Majesty's Government will retain with reference to +the colony will be that of its defence against aggression by foreign +powers. + +This sudden change of face on the part of the Imperial Government, +which had up till now flatly refused to grant /any measure/ of self- +government to Natal, may at first seem rather odd, but on examination +it will be found to be quite in accordance with the recently developed +South African policy of Mr. Gladstone's Government. There is little +doubt that it is an article of faith among the Liberal party that the +less the mother-country has to do with her colonies, and more +especially her South African colonies, the better. A grand step was +made in the direction of the abandonment of our South African Empire +when we surrendered the Transvaal to the Boers, and it is clear that +if our troops can be withdrawn from Natal and all responsibility for +the safety of that colony put an end to, the triumph of self- +effacement will be still more complete. But there is another and more +immediate reason for Lord Kimberley's generous offer. He knows, no one +better, that the policy pursued in South Africa, both as regards the +Transvaal and Zululand, must produce its legitimate fruit--bloodshed-- +before very long. He, or rather his Government, is consequently +anxious to cut the connection before anything of the sort occurs, when +they will be able to attribute the trouble, whatever it is, to the +ill-advised action of the Colonial Legislature. + +What is still more strange, however, is that the colonists, having +regard to the position they occupy with reference to the Kafirs that +surround them, to whom they bear the same relative proportion that the +oases do in the desert, or the islands of an archipelago to the ocean +that washes their shores, should wish for such a dangerous boon as +that of self-government, if indeed they really do wish it. When I +lived in Natal, I often heard the subject discussed, and watched the +Legislative Council pass its periodical resolutions about it, but I +confess I always looked on the matter as being more or less of a +farce. There exists, however, in Natal a knot of politicians who are +doubtless desirous of the change, partly because they think that it +would be really beneficial, and partly because they are possessed by a +laudable ambition to fill the high positions of Prime Minister, +Treasurer, &c., in the future Parliament. But these gentlemen for the +most part live in towns, where they are comparatively safe should a +native rising occur. I have not noticed the same enthusiasm for +responsible government among those Natalians who live up country in +the neighbourhood of the locations. + +Still there does exist a considerable party who are in favour of the +change, a party that has recently sprung into existence. Many things +have occurred within the last few years to irritate and even +exasperate people in Natal with the Imperial Government, and generally +with the treatment that they have received at our hands. For instance, +colonists are proverbially sensitive, and it is therefore rather hard +that every newspaper correspondent or itinerant bookmaker who comes to +their shores, should at once proceed to print endless letters and +books abusing them without mercy. The fact of the matter is that these +gentlemen come, and put up at the hotels and pot-shops, where they +meet all the loafers and bad characters in the country, whom they take +to be specimens of the best class of colonists, whom they describe +accordingly as the "riddlings of society." Into the quiet, +respectable, and happy homes that really give the tone to the colony +they do not enter. + +It is also a favourite accusation to bring against the people of Natal +that they make the South African wars in order to make money out of +them. For instance, in a leading article of one of the principal +English journals, it was stated not long ago, that the murmurs of the +colonists at being forced to eat the bread of humiliation in the +Transvaal matter, arose from no patriotic feeling, but from sorrow at +the early termination of a war out of which they hoped to suck no +small advantage. This statement is quite untrue. + +No doubt a great deal of money has been made out of the wars by a few +colonial speculators, some of it, maybe, dishonestly; but this is not +an unusual occurrence in a foreign war. Was no money made dishonestly +by English speculators and contractors in the Crimean War? Cannot +Manchester boast manufacturers ready to supply our enemies,--for cash +payments,--with guns to shoot us with, or any other material of war? + +It is not to be supposed that because a few speculators made fortunes +out of the Commissariat that the whole colony participated in the +spoils of the various wars. On the contrary, the marjority of its +inhabitants have suffered very largely. Not only have they run +considerable personal risk, but since, and owing to, the Zulu and Boer +wars the cost of living has almost, if not quite doubled, which, +needless to say, has not been the case with their incomes. It is +therefore particularly cruel that Natal should be gibbeted as the +abode of scoundrels of the worst sort, men prepared to bring about +bloodshed in order to profit by it. Sir Garnet Wolseley, however, +found in this report of colonial dishonesty a convenient point of +vantage from which to attack the colonists generally, and in his +despatch about responsible government we may be sure he did not spare +them. The Legislative Council thus comments on his remarks: "To +colonists a war means the spreading among them of distress, alarm, and +confusion, peril to life and property in outlying districts, the +arrest of progress, and general disorganisation. . . . The Council +regard with pain and indignation the uncalled-for and cruel stigma +thus cast upon the colonists by Sir Garnet Wolseley." + +At first sight these accusations may not appear to have much to do +with the question of whether or no the colonists should accept +responsible government, but in reality they have, inasmuch as they +create a feeling of soreness that inclines the Natalians to get rid of +Imperial interference and the attendant criticism at any price. + +More substantial grievances against the English Government are the +present condition of the native problem, which the colonists justly +attribute to Imperial mismanagement, and that triumph of genius, Sir +Garnet Wolseley's settlement in Zululand. They see these evils, which +they know were preventable, growing more formidable day by day, and +they imagine, or some of them do, that if they had free institutions +it would still be in their power to stop that growth. + +The whole question has now been referred to the colony, which is to +elect a fresh Legislative Assembly on the issue of responsible +government. The struggle between "the party of progress," i.e., the +responsible government section, and the reactionists, or those who are +prepared to dispense with "freedom," provided they can be sure of +safety, is being carried on keenly, and at present it is doubtful +which side will have a majority. I do not, however, believe that the +majority of any Council returned will consent to accept Lord +Kimberley's proposal as it stands; to walk into a parlour in which the +spider is so very obvious, and to deliberately undertake the +guardianship of all the Imperial interests in South-Eastern Africa. If +they do, they will, in my opinion, deserve all they will get.[*] + +[*] Since this chapter was written the Natal constituencies have, as I + thought probable, declared against the acceptance of Lord + Kimberley's offer in its present form, by returning a majority of + anti-responsible Government men. It is, however, probable that the + new Legislative Council will try to re-open negotiations on a + different, or, at any rate, a modified basis. + +The Natalians are fortunate at the present crisis in having, by dint +of vigorous agitation against the appointment of Mr. Sendall, a +gentleman selected by Lord Kimberley to govern them, obtained the +reappointment of their former Governor, Sir Henry Bulwer. Sir Henry, +during his first tenure of office, lost credit with the South African +colonists on account of his lukewarmness with reference to the Zulu +war, but the course of events has gone far towards justifying his +views. He is one of the most hard-working and careful Governors that +Natal has ever had, and, perhaps, the most judicious. Of a temperate +and a cautious mind, he may be more safely trusted to pilot a country +so surrounded with difficulties and dangers as Natal is, than most +men, and it is to be hoped that the application to the questions of +the day, of the strong common sense that he possesses in such an +eminent degree, may have a cooling effect on the hot heads and excited +imaginations of the "party of progress." + +In considering the pros and cons of the responsible government +question, it must be steadily kept in sight that Natal is not likely +to be a country with a peaceful future. To begin with, she has her +native inhabitants to deal with. To-day they number, say 450,000, +fifteen or twenty years hence they will number a million, or perhaps +more. These men are no longer the docile overgrown children they were +twenty years ago. The lessons of our performances in the Zulu and Boer +wars, more especially the latter, have not been lost upon them, and +they are beginning to think that the white man, instead of being the +unconquerable demigod they thought him, is somewhat of a humbug. +Pharaoh, we know, grew afraid of the Israelites; Natal, with a much +weaker power at command than that of Pharaoh, has got to cope with a +still more dangerous element, and one that cannot be induced to depart +into the wilderness. + +And after all what does the power of Natal amount to? Let us be +liberal, and say six thousand men, it is the outside. In the event of +a native rising, or any other serious war, I believe that of this +number, at least two thousand would make themselves scarce. There +exists in all colonies a floating element of individuals who have +drifted there for the purpose of making money, but who have no real +affection for the (temporary) country of their adoption. Their capital +is, as a rule, small and easily realised, and the very last thing that +they would think of doing, would be to engage in a deadly life or +death struggle, on behalf of a land that they only look on as a milch +cow, out of which their object is to draw as much as possible. On the +contrary, they would promptly seek another cow, leaving the old one to +the tender mercies of the butcher. + +Their defection would leave some 4000 men to cope with the difficulty, +whatever it was, of which number at least 1000 would be ineffective +from age and various other causes, whilst of the remainder, quite 1000 +would be obliged to remain where they were to protect women and +children in outlying districts. This would leave a total effective +force of 2000 men, or, deducting 500 for garrison purposes, of 1500 +ready to take the field. But it would take some time to collect, arm, +and equip even this number, and in the meanwhile, in the case of a +sudden and preconcerted native rising, half the inhabitants of the +colony would be murdered in detail. + +But Natalians have got other dangers to fear besides those arising +from the presence of this vast mass of barbarism in their midst. After +a period of anarchy a new king may possess himself of the throne of +Zululand, and it is even possible that he might, under circumstances +that will arise hereafter, lead his armies into Natal, and create a +difficulty with which the 1500 available white men would find it +difficult to cope. Or the Boers of the Orange Free State and Transvaal +may get tired of paying customs dues at Durban, and march 5000 men +down to take possession of the port! Perhaps Natal might provide +herself with an effective force by enrolling an army of 10,000 or +20,000 Kafirs, but it seems to me that the proceeding would be both +uncertain and expensive, and, should the army take it into its head to +mutiny, very dangerous to boot. + +It is a noticeable fact that those who so ardently advocate the +acceptance of Lord Kimberley's offer, in all their speeches, +addresses, and articles, almost entirely shirk this question of +defence, which is, after all, the root of the matter. I have formed my +estimate of the number of men forthcoming in time of danger, on the +supposition that a burgher law was in force in Natal, that is, that +every man remaining in the country should be obliged to take a part in +its defence. But they do not even hint at a burgher law--in fact, they +repudiate the idea, because they know that it would not be tolerated. +The universal service system is not the Natalian's idea of happiness. +They simply avoid the question, calling it the "defence bugbear," and +assume that it will all be arranged in some unforeseen way. + +The only suggestion that I have yet seen as regards the arrangements +for the future defence of the colony should it become independent, is +a somewhat ominous one, namely:--that Natal should enter into a close +alliance, offensive and defensive, with the Transvaal and the Orange +Free State. But, as the advocates of "freedom" would soon find, the +Orange Free State (for even if willing to help them, the Transvaal +will for some years have enough to do with its own affairs) will not +come forward for nothing. There would first have to be a few business +formalities with reference to the customs dues collected in Durban, on +goods passing through to the interior, which yield the bulk of the +Natal revenue: and possibly, some concessions to Boer public opinion +as regards the English mode of dealing with the Natal natives. I +incline to the opinion that in relying on the assistance of the Boers +in time of trouble the inhabitants of Natal would be leaning on a +broken reed. They are more likely to find them in arms against them +than fighting on their side. + +The party of progress also talks much about the prospects of +confederation with the Cape, if once they get responsible government. +Most people, however, will think that the fact of their being +independent, and therefore responsible for their own defence, will +hardly prove an inducement to the Cape to offer to share those +responsibilities. The only confederation possible to Natal as a self- +governing community will be a Boer confederation, to which it may be +admitted--on certain terms. Another cry is that the moment responsible +government is established immigrants will flow into the country, and +thus restore the balance of races. I take the liberty to doubt the +truth of this supposition. The intending emigrant from Europe does +not, it is true, understand the ins and outs of the Natal native +question, but he does now that it is a place where there are wars and +rumours of wars, and where he might possibly be killed, and the result +is that he wisely goes to some other colony, that has equal advantages +to offer and no Kafirs. To suppose that the emigrant would go to Natal +when he came to understand that it was an independent settlement of a +few white men, living in the midst of a mass of warlike Kafirs, when +Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, are all holding +out their arms to him, is to suppose him a bigger fool than he is. At +the best of times Natal is not likely to attract many desirable +emigrants: under a responsible government I do not believe that it +will attract any. + +It seems to me, that there is only one condition of affairs under +which it would be at all possible for the Natalians to assume the +responsibilities of self-government with any safety, and that is when +the great bulk of the native population has been removed back to +whence it came--Zululand. Causes of a diametrically opposite nature to +those that have been at work among the natives of Natal, have been in +operation amongst their brethren in Zululand. In Natal, peace, +polygamy, plenty and immigration have bred up an enormous native +population. In Zululand, war, private slaughter by the king's order, +and the severe restrictions put upon marriage, have kept down the +increase of the race; also an enormous number of individuals have fled +from the one country into the other. I do not suppose that the +population of Zululand amounts, at the present moment, to much more +than half that of Natal. + +In this state of affairs lies the only real key to the Natal native +difficulty. Let Zululand be converted into a black colony under +English control, and its present inhabitants be established in +suitable locations; then let all the natives of Natal, with the +exception of those who choose to become monogamists and be subject to +civilised law, be moved into Zululand, and also established in +locations. There would be plenty of room for them all. Of course there +would be difficulties in the way of the realisation of this scheme, +but I do not think that they would prove insuperable. It is probable, +however, that it would require a show of force before the Natal +natives would consent to budge. Indeed, it is absurd to suppose, that +anything would induce them to leave peaceful Natal, and plunge into +the seething cauldron of bloodshed, extortion, and political plots +that we have cooked up in Zululand under the name of a settlement. +Proper provisions must first be made for the government of the +country, and security to life and property made certain. Till this is +done, no natives in their senses will return to Zululand. + +Till this is done, too, or till some other plan is discovered by means +of which the native difficulty can be effectively dealt with, the +Natalians will indeed be foolish if they discard the protection of +England, and accept the fatal boon of self-government. If they do, +their future career may be brilliant; but I believe that it will be +brief. + +It is no answer to urge that at present the natives seem quite quiet, +and that there is no indication of disturbance. + +History tells us that before the destruction of doomed Pompeii, +Vesuvius was very still; only day by day the dark cloud hanging over +the mountain's summit grew denser and blacker. We know what happened +to Pompeii. + +I do not wish to suggest anything unpleasant, far from it; but +sometimes, I cannot help thinking, that it is perhaps a matter worth +the consideration of the Natalians, whether it might not be as well, +instead of talking about responsible government: to improve upon the +example of the inhabitants of Pompeii, and take to their ships +/before/ the volcano begins to work. + +It seems to me that there is an ugly cloud gathering on the political +horizon in Natal. + + + + + THE TRANSVAAL + + + + CHAPTER I + + ITS INHABITANTS, LAWS, AND CUSTOMS + + Invasion by Mosilikatze--Arrival of the emigrant Boers-- + Establishment of the South African republic--The Sand River + convention--Growth of the territory of the republic--The native + tribes surrounding it--Capabilities of the country--Its climate-- + Its inhabitants--The Boers--Their peculiarities and mode of life-- + Their abhorrence of settled government and payment of taxes--The + Dutch patriotic party--Form of government previous to the + annexation--Courts of law--The commando system--Revenue + arrangements--Native races in the Transvaal. + +The Transvaal is a country without a history. Its very existence was +hardly known of until about fifty years ago. Of its past we know +nothing. The generations who peopled its great plains have passed +utterly out of the memory and even the traditions of man, leaving no +monument to mark that they have existed, not even a tomb. + +During the reign of Chaka, 1813-1828, whose history has been sketched +in a previous chapter, one of his most famous generals, Mosilikatze, +surnamed the Lion, seceded from him with a large number of his +soldiers, and striking up in a north-westerly direction, settled in or +about what is now the Morico district of the Transvaal. The country +through which Mosilikatze passed was at that time thickly populated +with natives of the Basutu or Macatee race, whom the Zulus look upon +with great contempt. Mosilikatze expressed the feelings of his tribe +in a practical manner, by massacring every living soul of them that +came within his reach. That the numbers slaughtered were very great, +the numerous ruins of Basutu kraals all over the country testify. + +It was Chaka's intention to follow up Mosilikatze and destroy him, but +he was himself assassinated before he could do so. Dingaan, his +successor, however, carried out his brother's design, and despatched a +large force to punish him. This army, after marching over 300 miles, +burst upon Mosilikatze, drove him back with slaughter, and returned +home triumphant. The invasion is important, because the Zulus claim +the greater part of the Transvaal territory by virtue of it. + +About the time that Mosilikatze was conquered, 1835-1840, the +discontented Boers were leaving the Cape Colony exasperated at the +emancipation of the slaves by the Imperial authorities. First they +made their way to Natal, but being followed thither by the English +flag they travelled further inland over the Vaal River and founded the +town of Mooi River Dorp or Potchefstroom. Here they were joined by +other malcontents from the Orange Sovereignty, which, although +afterwards abandoned, was at that time a British possession. Acting +upon + + + The good old rule, the simple plan + Of let him take who has the power, + And let him keep who can, + + +the Boers now proceeded to possess themselves of as much territory as +they wanted. Nor was this a difficult task. The country was, as I have +said, peopled by Macatees, who are a poor-spirited race as compared to +the Zulus, and had had what little courage they possessed crushed out +of them by the rough handling they had received at the hands of +Mosilikatze and Dingaan. The Boers, they argued, could not treat them +worse than the Zulus had done. Occasionally a Chief, bolder than the +rest, would hold out, and then such an example was made of him and his +people that few cared to follow in his footsteps. + +As soon as the Boers were fairly settled in their new home, they began +to think about setting up a Government. First they tried a system of +Commandants, with a Commandant-general, but this does not seem to have +answered. Next, those of their number who lived in Lydenburg district +(where the gold fields now are) set up a Republic, with a President +and Volksraad, or popular assembly. This example was followed by the +other white inhabitants of the country, who formed another Republic +and elected another President, with Pretoria for their capital. The +two republics were subsequently incorporated. + +In 1852 the Imperial authorities, having regard to the expense of +maintaining an effective government over an unwilling people in an +undeveloped and half-conquered country, concluded a convention with +the emigrant Boers "beyond the Vaal River." The following were the +principal stipulations of this convention, drawn up between Major Hogg +and Mr. Owen, Her Majesty's Assistant-Commissioners for the settling +and adjusting of the affairs of the eastern and north-eastern +boundaries of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope on the one part, and +a deputation representative of the emigrant farmers north of the Vaal +River on the other. It was guaranteed "in the fullest manner on the +part of the British Government to the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal +River the right to manage their own affairs, and to govern themselves +according to their own laws, without any interference on the part of +the British Government, and that no encroachment shall be made by the +said Government on the territory beyond to the north of the Vaal +River, with the further assurance that the warmest wish of the British +Government is to promote peace, free trade, and friendly intercourse +with the emigrant farmers now inhabiting, or who hereafter may inhabit +that country, it being understood that this system of non-interference +is binding on both parties." + +Next were disclaimed, on behalf of the British Government, "all +alliances whatever and with whomsoever of the coloured nations to the +north of the Vaal River." + +It was also agreed "that no slavery is or shall be permitted or +practised in the country to the north of the Vaal River by the +emigrant farmers." + +It was further agreed "that no objection shall be made by any British +authority against the emigrant Boers purchasing their supplies of +ammunition in any of the British colonies and possessions of South +Africa; it being mutually understood that all trade in ammunition with +the native tribes is prohibited both by the British Government and the +emigrant farmers on both sides of the Vaal River." + +These were the terms of this famous convention, which is as slipshod +in its diction as it is vague in its meaning. What, for instance, is +meant by the territory to the north of the Vaal River? According to +the letter of the agreement, Messrs. Hogg and Owen ceded all the +territory between the Vaal and Egypt. This historical document was the +Charta of the new-born South African Republic. Under its provisions, +the Boers, now safe from interference on the part of the British, +established their own Government and promulgated their "Grond Wet," or +Constitution. + +The history of the Republic between 1852 and 1876 is not very +interesting, and is besides too wearisome to enter into here. It +consists of an oft-told tale of civil broils, attacks on native +tribes, and encroachment on native territories. Until shortly before +the Annexation, every burgher was, on coming of age, entitled to +receive from the Government 6000 acres of land. As these rights were +in the early days of the Republic frequently sold to speculators for +such trifles as a bottle of brandy or half a dozen of beer, and as the +seller still required his 6000 acres: for a Boer considers it beneath +his dignity to settle on less, it is obvious that it required a very +large country to satisfy all demands. To meet these demands, the +territories of the Republic had to be stretched like an elastic band, +and they were stretched accordingly,--at the expense of the natives. +The stretching process was an ingenious one, and is very well +described in a minute written by Mr. Osborn, the late Magistrate at +Newcastle, dated 22d September, 1876, in these words:-- + +"The Boers, as they have done in other cases and are still doing, +encroached by degrees on native territory, commencing by obtaining +permission to graze stock upon portions of it at certain seasons of +the year, followed by individual graziers obtaining from native +headmen a sort of right or license to squat upon certain defined +portions, ostensibly in order to keep other Boer squatters away from +the same land. These licenses, temporarily intended as friendly or +neighbourly acts by unauthorised headmen, after a few seasons of +occupation by the Boer, are construed by him as title, and his +permanent occupation ensues. Damage for trespass is levied by him from +the very man from whom he obtained the right to squat, to which the +natives submit out of fear of the matter reaching the ears of the +paramount chief, who would in all probability severely punish them for +opening the door to encroachment by the Boer. After a while, however, +the matter comes to a crisis in consequence of the incessant disputes +between the Boers and the natives; one or other of the disputants lays +the case before the paramount chief, who, when hearing both parties, +is literally frightened with violence and threats by the Boer into +granting him the land. Upon this the usual plan followed by the Boer +is at once to collect a few neighbouring Boers, including a field +cornet, or even an acting provisional field cornet, appointed by the +field cornet or provisional cornet, the latter to represent the +Government, although without instructions authorising him to act in +the matter. A few cattle are collected among themselves, which the +party takes to the chief, and his signature is obtained to a written +document alienating to the Republican Boers a large slice of all his +territory. The contents of this document are, as far as I can make +out, never clearly or intelligibly explained to the chief who signs +and accepts of the cattle under the impression that it is all in +settlement of hire for the grazing licenses granted by his headmen. +This, I have no hesitation in saying, is the usual method by which the +Boers obtain what they call cessions to them of territories by native +chiefs. In Secocoeni's case they allege that his father Sequati cedes +to them the whole of his territory (hundreds of square miles) for a +hundred head of cattle." + +So rapidly did this progress go on that the little Republic to the +"North of the Vaal River," had at the time of the Annexation grown +into a country of the size of France. Its boundaries had only been +clearly defined where they abutted on neighbouring White Communities, +or on the territories of great native powers, on which the Government +had not dared to infringe to any marked degree, such as those of Lo +Bengula's people in the north. But wheresoever on the State's borders +there had been no white Power to limit its advances, or where the +native tribes had found themselves too isolated or too weak to resist +aggressions, there the Republic had by degrees encroached and extended +the shadow, if not the substance, of its authority. + +The Transvaal has a boundary line of over 1,600 miles in +circumference, and of this a large portion is disputed by different +native tribes. Speaking generally, the territory lies between the 22 +and 28 degrees of South Latitude and the 25 and 32 degrees of East +Longitude, or between the Orange Free State, Natal and Griqualand West +on the south, and the Limpopo River on the north; and between the +Lebombo mountains on the east, and the Kalihari desert on the west. On +the north of its territory live three great tribes, the Makalaka, the +Matabele (descendants of the Zulus who deserted Chaka under +Mosilikatze) and the Matyana. These tribes are all warlike. On the +west, following the line down to the Diamond Field territory, are the +Sicheli, the Bangoaketsi, the Baralong and the Koranna tribes. Passing +round by Griqualand West, the Free State, and Natal, we reach Zululand +on the south-east corner; then come the Lebombo mountains on the east, +separating the Transvaal from Amatonga land, and from the so-called +Portuguese possessions, which are entirely in the hands of native +tribes, most of them subject to the great Zulu chief, Umzeila, who has +his stronghold in the north-east. + +It will be observed that the country is almost surrounded by native +tribes. Besides these there are about one million native inhabitants +living within its borders. In one district alone, Zoutpansberg, it is +computed that there are 364,250 natives, as compared to about 750 +whites. + +If a beautiful and fertile country were alone necessary to make a +state and its inhabitants happy and prosperous, happiness and +prosperity would rain upon the Transvaal and the Dutch Boers. The +capabilities of this favoured land are vast and various. Within its +borders are to be found highlands and lowlands, vast stretches of +rolling veldt like gigantic sheep downs, hundreds of miles of swelling +bushland, huge tracts of mountainous country, and even little glades +spotted with timber that remind one of an English park. There is every +possible variety of soil and scenery. Some districts will grow all +tropical produce, whilst others are well suited for breeding sheep, +cattle and horses. Most of the districts will produce wheat and all +other cereals in greater perfection and abundance than any of the +other South African colonies. Two crops of cereals may be obtained +from the soil every year, and both the vine and tobacco are cultivated +with great success. Coffee, sugar-cane and cotton have been grown with +profit in the northern parts of the State. Also the undeveloped +mineral wealth of the country is very great. Its known minerals are +gold, copper, lead, cobalt, iron, coal, tin and plumbago: copper and +iron having long been worked by the natives. Altogether there is +little doubt that the Transvaal is the richest of all the South +African states, and had it remained under English rule it would, with +the aid of English enterprise and capital, have become a very wealthy +and prosperous country. However there is little chance of that now. + +Perhaps the greatest charm of the Transvaal lies in its climate, which +is among the best in the world, and in all the southern districts very +healthy. During the winter months, that is from April to October, +little or no rain falls, and the climate is cold and bracing. In +summer it is rather warm, but not overpoweringly hot, the thermometer +at Pretoria averaging from 65 to 73 degrees, and in the winter from 59 +to 56 degrees. The population of the Transvaal is estimated at about +40,000 whites, mostly of Dutch origin, consisting of about thirty vast +families: and one million natives. There are several towns, the +largest of which are Pretoria and Potchefstroom. + +Such is the country that we annexed in 1877, and were drummed out of +in 1881. Now let us turn to its inhabitants. It has been the fashion +to talk of the Transvaal as though nobody but Boers lived in it. In +reality the inhabitants were divided into three classes: 1. Natives; +2. Boers; 3. English. I say were divided, because the English class +can now hardly be said to exist, the country having been made too hot +to hold it, since the war. The natives stand in the proportion of +nearly twenty to one to the whites. The Boers were in their turn much +more numerous than the English, but the latter owned nearly all the +trading establishments in the country, and also a very large amount of +property. + +The Transvaal Boers have been very much praised up by members of the +Government in England, and others who are anxious to advance their +interests, as against English interests. Mr. Gladstone, indeed, can +hardly find words strong enough to express his admiration of their +leaders, those "able men," since they inflicted a national humiliation +on us; and doubtless they are a people with many good points. That +they are not devoid of sagacity can be seen by the way they have dealt +with the English Government. + +The Boers are certainly a peculiar people, though they can hardly be +said to be "zealous of good works." They are very religious, but their +religion takes it colour from the darkest portions of the Old +Testament; lessons of mercy and gentleness are not at all to their +liking, and they seldom care to read the Gospels. What they delight in +are the stories of wholesale butchery by the Israelites of old; and in +their own position they find a reproduction of that of the first +settlers in the Holy Land. Like them they think they are entrusted by +the Almighty with the task of exterminating the heathen native tribes +around them, and are always ready with a scriptural precedent for +slaughter and robbery. The name of the Divinity is continually on +their lips, sometimes in connection with very doubtful statements. +They are divided into three sects, none of which care much for the +other two. These are the Doppers, who number about half the +population, the Orthodox Reform, and the Liberal Reform, which is the +least numerous. Of these three sects, the Doppers are by far the most +uncompromising and difficult to deal with. They much resemble the +puritans of Charles the First's time, of the extreme Hew-Agag-in- +pieces stamp. + +It is difficult to agree with those who call the Boers cowards, an +accusation which the whole of their history belies. A Boer does not +like fighting if he can avoid it, because he sets a high value on his +own life; but if he is cornered, he will fight as well as anybody +else. The Boers fought well enough, in the late war, though that, it +is true, is no great criterion of courage, since they were throughout +flushed with victory, and, owing to the poor shooting of the British +troop, in but little personal danger. One very unpleasant +characteristic they have, and that is an absence of regard for the +truth, especially where land is concerned. Indeed the national +characteristic is crystallised into a proverb, "I am no slave to my +word." It has several times happened to me, to see one set of highly +respectable witnesses in a land case, go into the box and swear +distinctly that they saw a beacon placed on a certain spot, whilst an +equal number on the other side will swear that they saw it placed a +mile away. Filled as they are with a land hunger, to which that of the +Irish peasant is a weak and colourless sentiment, there is little that +they will not do to gratify their taste. It is the subject of constant +litigation amongst them, and it is by no means uncommon for a Boer to +spend several thousand pounds in lawsuits over a piece of land not +worth as many hundreds. + +Personally Boers are fine men, but as a rule ugly. Their women-folk +are good-looking in early life, but get very stout as they grow older. +They, in common with most of their sex, understand how to use their +tongues; indeed, it is said, that it was the women who caused the +rising against the English Government. None of the refinements of +civilisation enter into the life of an ordinary Boer. He lives in a +way that would shock an English labourer at twenty-five shillings the +week, although he is very probably worthy fifteen or twenty thousand +pounds. His home is but too frequently squalid and filthy to an +extraordinary degree. He himself has no education, and does not care +that his children should receive any. He lives by himself in the +middle of a great plot of land, his nearest neighbour being perhaps +ten or twelve miles away, caring but little for the news of the +outside world, and nothing for its opinions, doing very little work, +but growing daily richer through the increase of his flocks and herds. +His expenses are almost nothing, and as he gets older, wealth +increases upon him. The events in his life consist of an occasional +trip on "commando," against some native tribe, attending a few +political meetings, and the journeys he makes with his family to the +nearest town, some four times a year, in order to be present at +"Nachtmaal" or communion. Foreigners, especially Englishmen, he +detests, but he is kindly and hospitable to his own people. Living +isolated as he does, the lord of a little kingdom, he naturally comes +to have a great idea of himself, and a corresponding contempt for all +the rest of mankind. Laws and taxes are things distasteful to him, and +he looks upon it as an impertinence that any court should venture to +call him to account for his doings. He is rich and prosperous, and the +cares of poverty, and all the other troubles that fall to the lot of +civilised men, do not affect him. He has no romance in him, nor any of +the higher feelings and aspirations that are found in almost every +other race; in short, unlike the Zulu he despises, there is little of +the gentleman in his composition, though he is at times capable of +acts of kindness and even generosity. His happiness is to live alone +in the great wilderness, with his children, his men-servants and his +maid-servants, his flocks and his herds, the monarch of all he +surveys. If civilisation presses him too closely, his remedy is a +simple one. He sells his farm, packs up his goods and cash in his +waggon, and starts for regions more congenially wild. Such are some of +the leading characteristics of that remarkable product of South +Africa, the Transvaal Boer, who resembles no other white man in the +world. + +Perhaps, however, the most striking of all his oddities is his +abhorrence of all government, more especially if that government be +carried out according to English principles. The Boers have always +been more or less in rebellion; they rebelled against the rule of the +Company when the Cape belonged to Holland, they rebelled against the +English Government in the Cape, they were always in a state of semi- +rebellion against their own government in the Transvaal, and now they +have for the second time, with the most complete success, rebelled +against the English Government. The fact of the matter is that the +bulk of their number hate all Governments, because Governments enforce +law and order, and they hate the English Government worst of all, +because it enforces law and order most of all. It is not liberty they +long for, but license. The "sturdy independence" of the Boer resolves +itself into a determination not to have his affairs interfered with by +any superior power whatsoever, and not to pay taxes if he can possibly +avoid it. But he has also a specific cause of complaint against the +English Government, which would alone cause him to do his utmost to +get rid of it, and that is its mode of dealing with natives, which is +radically opposite to his own. This is the secret of Boer patriotism. +To understand it, it must be remembered that the Englishman and the +Boer look at natives from a different point of view. The Englishman, +though he may not be very fond of him, at any rate regards the Kafir +as a fellow human being with feelings like his own. The average Boer +does not. He looks upon the "black creature" as having been delivered +into his hand by the "Lord" for his own purposes, that is, to shoot +and enslave. He must not be blamed too harshly for this, for, besides +being naturally of a somewhat hard disposition, hatred of the native +is hereditary, and is partly induced by the history of many a bloody +struggle. Also the native hates the Boer fully as much as the Boer +hates the native, though with better reason. Now native labour is a +necessity to the Boer, because he will not as a rule do hard manual +labour himself, and there must be some one to plant and garner the +crops, and herd the cattle. On the other hand, the natives are not +anxious to serve the Boers, which means little or no pay and plenty of +thick stick, and sometimes worse. The result of this state of affairs +is that the Boer often has to rely on forced labour to a very great +extent. But this is a thing that an English Government will not +tolerate, and the consequence is that under its rule he cannot get the +labour that is necessary to him. + +Then there is the tax question. If he lives under the English flag the +money has to be paid regularly, but under his own Government he pays +or not as he likes. It was this habit of his of refusing payment of +taxes that brought the Republic into difficulties in 1877, and that +will ere long bring it into trouble again. He cannot understand that +cash is necessary to carry on a Government, and looks upon a tax as +though it were so much money stolen from him. These things are the +real springs of the "sturdy independence" and the patriotism of the +ordinary Transvaal farmer. Doubtless, there are some who are really +patriotic; for instance, one of their leaders, Paul Kruger. But with +the majority, patriotism is only another word for unbounded license +and forced labour. + +These remarks must not be taken to apply to the Cape Boers, who are a +superior class of men, since they, living under a settled and +civilised Government, have been steadily improving, whilst their +cousins, living every man for his own hand, have been deteriorating. +The old Voortrekkers, the fathers and grandfathers of the Transvaal +Boer of to-day, were, without doubt, a very fine set of men, and +occasionally you may in the Transvaal meet individuals of the same +stamp whom it is a pleasure to know. But these are generally men of a +certain age with some experience of the world; the younger men are +very objectionable in their manners. + +The real Dutch Patriotic party is not to be found in the Transvaal, +but in the Cape Colony. Their object, which, as affairs now are, is +well within the bounds of possibility, is by fair means or foul to +swamp the English element in South Africa, and to establish a great +Dutch Republic. It was this party, which consists of clever and well +educated men, who raised the outcry against the Transvaal Annexation, +because it meant an enormous extension of English influence, and who +had the wit, by means of their emissaries and newspapers, to work upon +the feeling of the ignorant Transvaal farmers until they persuaded +them to rebel; and finally, to avail themselves of the yearnings of +English radicalism for the disruption of the Empire and the +minimisation of British authority, to get the Annexation cancelled. +All through this business the Boers have more or less danced in +obedience to strings pulled at Cape Town, and it is now said that one +of the chief wire-pullers, Mr. Hofmeyer, is to be asked to become +President of the Republic. These men are the real patriots of South +Africa, and very clever ones too, not the Transvaal Boers, who vapour +about their blood and their country and the accursed Englishman to +order, and are in reality influenced by very small motives, such as +the desire to avoid payment of taxes, or to hunt away a neighbouring +Englishman, whose civilisation and refinement are as offensive as his +farm is desirable. Such are the Dutch inhabitants of the Transvaal. I +will now give a short sketch of their institutions as they were before +the Annexation, and to which the community has reverted since its +recision, with, I believe, but few alterations. + +The form of government is republican, and to all intents and purposes, +manhood suffrage prevails, supreme power resting in the people. The +executive power of the State centres in a President elected by the +people to hold office for a term of five years, every voter having a +voice in his election. He is assisted in the execution of his duties +by an Executive Council, consisting of the State Secretary and such +other three members as are selected for that purpose by the +legislative body, the Volksraad. The State Secretary holds office for +four years, and is elected by the Volksraad. The members of the +Executive all have seats in the Volksraad, but have no votes. The +Volksraad is the legislative body of the State, and consists of forty- +two members. The country is divided into twelve electoral districts, +each of which has the right to return three members; the Gold Fields +have also the right of electing two members, and the four principal +towns, one member each. There is no power in the State competent to +either prorogue or dissolve the Volksraad except that body itself, so +that an appeal to the country on a given subject or policy is +impossible without its concurrence. Members are elected for four +years, but half retire by rotation every two years, the vacancies +being filled by re-elections. Members must have been voters for three +years, and be not less than thirty years of age, must belong to a +Protestant Church, be resident in the country, and owners of immovable +property therein. A father and son cannot sit in the same Raad, +neither can seats be occupied by coloured persons, bastards, or +officials. + +For each electoral district there is a magistrate or Landdrost whose +duties are similar to those of a Civil Commissioner. These districts +are again subdivided into wards presided over by field cornets, who +exercise judicial powers in minor matters, and in times of war have +considerable authority. The Roman Dutch law is the common law of the +country, as it is of the colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal, +and of the Orange Free State. + +Prior to the Annexation justice was administered in a very primitive +fashion. First, there was the Landdrosts' Court, from which an appeal +lay to a court consisting of the Landdrost and six councillors elected +by the public. This was a court of first instance as well as a court +of appeal. Then there was a Supreme Court, consisting of three +Landdrosts from three different districts, and a jury of twelve +selected from the burghers of the State. There was no appeal from this +court, but cases have sometimes been brought under the consideration +of the Volksraad as the supreme power. It is easy to imagine what the +administration of justice was like when the presidents of all the law +courts in the country were elected by the mob, not on account of their +knowledge of the law, but because they were popular. Suitors before +the old Transvaal courts found the law surprisingly uncertain. A High +Court of Justice was, however, established after the Annexation, and +has been continued by the Volksraad, but an agitation is being got up +against it, and it will possibly be abolished in favour of the old +system. + +In such a community as that of the Transvaal Boers, the question of +public defence was evidently of the first importance. This is provided +for under what is known as the Commando system. The President, with +the concurrence of the Executive Council, has the right of declaring +war, and of calling up a Commando, in which the burghers are placed +under the field cornets and commandants. These last are chosen by the +field cornets for each district, and a Commandant-general is chosen by +the whole laager or force, but the President is the Commander-in-Chief +of the army. All the inhabitants of the state between sixteen and +sixty, with a few exceptions, are liable for service. Young men under +eighteen, and men over fifty, are only called out under circumstances +of emergency. Members of the Volksraad, officials, clergymen, and +school-teachers are exempt from personal service, unless martial law +is proclaimed, but must contribute an amount not exceeding 15 pounds +towards the expense of the war. All legal proceedings in civil cases +are suspended against persons on commando, no summonses can be made +out, and as soon as martial law is proclaimed no legal execution can +be prosecuted, the pounds are closed, and transfer dues payments are +suspended, until after thirty days from the recall of the proclamation +of martial law. Owners of land residing beyond the borders of the +Republic are also liable, in addition to the ordinary war tax, to +place a fit and proper substitute at the disposal of the Government, +or otherwise to pay a fine of 15 pounds. The first levy of the +burghers is, of men from eighteen to thirty-four years of age; the +second, thirty-four to fifty; and the third, from sixteen to eighteen, +and from fifty to sixty years. Every man is bound to provide himself +with clothing, a gun, and ammunition, and there must be enough waggons +and oxen found between them to suffice for their joint use. Of the +booty taken, one quarter goes to Government and the rest to the +burghers. The most disagreeable part of the commandeering system is, +however, yet to come; personal service is not all that the resident in +the Transvaal Republic has to endure. The right is vested in field +cornets to commandeer articles as well as individuals, and to call +upon inhabitants to furnish requisites for the commando. As may be +imagined, it goes very hard on these occasions with the property of +any individual whom the field cornet may not happen to like. + +Each ward is expected to turn out its contingent ready and equipped +for war, and this can only be done by seizing goods right and left. +One unfortunate will have to find a waggon, another to deliver his +favourite span of trek oxen, another his riding-horse, or some +slaughter cattle, and so on. Even when the officer making the levy is +desirous of doing his duty as fairly as he can, it is obvious that +very great hardships must be inflicted under such a system. +Requisitions are made more with regard to what is wanted, than with a +view to an equitable distribution of demands; and like the Jews in the +time of the Crusades, he who has got most must pay most, or take the +consequences, which may be unpleasant. Articles which are not +perishable, such as waggons, are supposed to be returned, but if they +come back at all they are generally worthless. + +In case of war, the native tribes living within the borders of the +State are also expected to furnish contingents, and it is on them that +most of the hard work of the campaign generally falls. They are put in +the front of the battle, and have to do the hand-to-hand fighting, +which, however, if of the Zulu race, they do not object to. + +The revenue of the State is so arranged that the burden of it should +fall as much as possible on the trading community and as little as +possible on the farmer. It is chiefly derived from licenses on trades, +professions, and callings, 30s. per annum quit-rent on farms, transfer +dues and stamps, auction dues, court fees, and contributions from such +native tribes as can be made to pay them. Since we have given up the +country, the Volksraad has put a very heavy tax on all imported goods, +hoping thereby to beguile the Boers into paying taxes without knowing +it, and at the same time strike a blow at the trading community, which +is English in its proclivities. The result has been to paralyse what +little trade there was left in the country, and to cause great +dissatisfaction amongst the farmers, who cannot understand why, now +that the English are gone, they should have to pay twice as much for +their sugar and coffee as they have been accustomed to do. + + +I will conclude this chapter with a few words about the natives, who +swarm in and around the Transvaal. They can be roughly divided into +two great races, the Amazulu and their offshoots, and the Macatee or +Basutu tribes. All those of Zulu blood, including the Swazies, +Mapock's Kafirs, the Matabele, the Knobnodes, and others are very +warlike in disposition, and men of fine physique. The Basutus (who +must not be confounded with the Cape Basutus), however, differ from +these tribes in every respect, including their language, which is +called Sisutu, the only mutual feeling between the two races being +their common detestation of the Boers. They do not love war; in fact, +they are timid and cowardly by nature, and only fight when they are +obliged to. Unlike the Zulus, they are much addicted to the arts of +peace, show considerable capacities for civilisation, and are even +willing to become Christians. There would have been a far better field +for the Missionary in the Transvaal than in Zululand and Natal. +Indeed, the most successful mission station I have seen in Africa is +near Middelburg, under the control of Mr. Merensky. In person the +Basutus are thin and weakly when compared to the stalwart Zulu, and it +is their consciousness of inferiority both to the white men, and their +black brethren, that, together with their natural timidity, makes them +submit as easily as they do to the yoke of the Boer. + + + + CHAPTER II + + EVENTS PRECEDING THE ANNEXATION + + Mr. Burgers elected president--His character and aspirations--His + pension from the English Government--His visit to England--The + railway loan--Relations of the republic with native tribes--The + pass laws--Its quarrel with Cetywayo--Confiscation of native + territory by the Keate award--Treaty with the Swazi king--The + Secocoeni war--Capture of Johannes' stronghold by the Swazi allies + --Attack on Secocoeni's mountain--Defeat and dispersion of the + Boers--Elation of the natives--Von Schlickmann's volunteers-- + Cruelties perpetrated--Abel Erasmus--Treatment of natives by Boers + --Public meeting at Potchefstroom in 1768--The slavery question-- + Some evidence on the subject--Pecuniary position of the Transvaal + prior to the annexation--Internal troubles--Divisions amongst the + Boers--Hopeless condition of the country. + +In or about the year 1872, the burghers of the Republic elected Mr. +Burgers their President. This remarkable man was a native of the Cape +Colony, and passed the first sixteen or seventeen years of his life, +he once informed me, on a farm herding sheep. He afterwards became a +clergyman noted for the eloquence of his preaching, but his ideas +proving too broad for his congregation, he resigned his cure, and in +an evil moment for himself took to politics. + +President Burgers was a man of striking presence and striking talents, +especially as regards his oratory, which was really of a very high +class, and would have commanded attention in our own House of Commons. +He possessed, however, a mind of that peculiarly volatile order, that +is sometimes met with in conjunction with great talents, and which +seems to be entirely without ballast. His intellect was of a balloon- +like nature, and as incapable of being steered. He was always soaring +in the clouds, and, as is natural to one in that elevated position, +taking a very different and more sanguine view of affairs to that +which men of a more lowly, and perhaps a more practical, turn of mind +would do. + +But notwithstanding his fly-away ideas, President Burgers was +undoubtedly a true patriot, labouring night and day for the welfare of +the state of which he had to undertake the guidance: but his +patriotism was too exalted for his surroundings. He wished to elevate +to the rank of a nation a people who had not got the desire to be +elevated; with this view he contracted railway loans, made wars, +minted gold, &c., and then suddenly discovered that the country +refused to support him. In short, he was made of a very different clay +to that of the people he had to do with. He dreamt of a great Dutch +Republic "with eight millions of inhabitants," doing a vast trade with +the interior through the Delagoa Bay Railway. They, on the other hand, +cared nothing about republics or railways, but fixed their affections +on forced labour and getting rid of the necessity of paying taxes--and +so between them the Republic came to grief. But it must be borne in +mind that President Burgers was throughout actuated by good motives; +he did his best by a stubborn and stiff-necked people; and if he +failed, as fail he did, it was more their fault than his. As regards +the pension he received from the English Government, which has so +often been brought up against him, it was after all no more than his +due after five years of arduous work. If the Republic had continued to +exist, it is to be presumed that they would have made some provision +for their old President, more especially as he seems to have exhausted +his private means in paying the debts of the country. Whatever may be +said of some of the other officials of the Republic, its President +was, I believe, an honest man. + +In 1875, Mr. Burgers proceeded to Europe, having, he says in a +posthumous document recently published, been empowered by the +Volksraad "to carry out my plans for the development of the country, +by opening up a direct communication for it, free from the trammels of +British ports and influence." According to this document, during his +absence, two powerful parties, viz., "the faction of unprincipled +fortune-hunters, rascals, and runaways on the one hand, and the +faction of the extreme orthodox party in a certain branch of the Dutch +Reform Church on the other, began to co-operate against the Government +of the Republic and me personally. . . . . . Ill as I was, and +contrary to the advice of my medical men, I proceeded to Europe, in +the beginning of 1875, to carry out my project, and no sooner was my +back turned on the Transvaal, than the conspiring elements began to +act. The new coat of arms and flag adopted in the Raad by an almost +unanimous vote were abolished. The laws for a free and secular +education were tampered with, and my resistance to a reckless +inspection and disposal of Government lands, still occupied by +natives, was openly defied. The Raad, filled up to a large extent with +men of ill repute, who, under the cloak of progress and favour to the +Government view, obtained their seats, was too weak to cope with the +skill of the conspirators, and granted leave to the acting President +to carry out measures diametrically opposed to my policy. /Native +lands/ were inspected and given out to a few speculators, who held +large numbers of claims to lands which were destined for citizens, and +so a war was prepared for me, on my return from Europe, which I could +not avert." This extract is interesting, as showing the state of +feeling existing between the President and his officers previous to +the outbreak of the Secocoeni war. It also shows how entirely he was +out of sympathy with the citizens, seeing that as soon as his back was +turned, they, with Mr. Joubert and Paul Kruger at their head, at once +undid all the little good he had done. + +When Mr. Burgers got to England, he found that city capitalists would +have nothing whatever to say to his railway scheme. In Holland, +however, he succeeded in getting 90,000 pounds of the 300,000 pounds +he wished to borrow at a high rate of interest, and by passing a bond +on five hundred government farms. This money was immediately invested +in a railway plant, which, when it arrived at Delagoa Bay, had to be +mortgaged to pay the freight on it, and that was the end of the +Delagoa Bay railway scheme, except that the 90,000 pounds is, I +believe, still owing to the confiding shareholders in Holland. + +On his return to the Transvaal the President was well received, and +for a month or so all went smoothly. But the relations of the Republic +with the surrounding native tribes had by this time become so bad that +an explosion was imminent somewhere. In the year 1874 the Volksraad +raised the price of passes under the iniquitous pass law, by which +every native travelling through the territory was made to pay from 1 +pound to five pounds. In case of non-payment the native was made +subject to a fine of from 1 pound to 10 pounds, and to a beating of +from "ten to twenty-five lashes." He was also to go into service for +three months, and have a certificate thereof, for which he must pay +five shillings; the avowed object of the law being to obtain a supply +of Kafir labour. This was done in spite of the earnest protest of the +President, who gave the Raad distinctly to understand that by +accepting this law they would, in point of fact, annul treaties +concluded with the chiefs on the south-western borders. It was not +clear, however, if this amended pass law ever came into force. It is +to be hoped it did not, for even under the old law natives were +shamefully treated by the Boers, who would pretend that they were +authorised by the Government to collect the tax; the result being that +the unfortunate Kafir was frequently obliged to pay twice over. +Natives had such a horror of the pass laws of the country, that when +travelling to the Diamond Fields to work they would frequently go +round some hundreds of miles rather than pass through the Transvaal. + +That the Volksraad should have thought it necessary to enact such a +law in order that the farmers should obtain a supply of Kafir labour +in a territory that had nearly a million of native inhabitants, who, +unlike the Zulus, are willing to work if only they meet with decent +treatment, is in itself an instructive commentary on the feelings +existing between the Boer master and Kafir servant. + +But besides the general quarrel with the Kafir race in its entirety, +which the Boers always have on hand, they had just then several +individual differences, in each of which there lurked the +possibilities of disturbance. + +To begin with, their relations with Cetywayo were by no means +amicable. During Mr. Burgers' absence the Boer Government, then under +the leadership of P. J. Joubert, sent Cetywayo a very stern message--a +message that gives the reader the idea that Mr. Joubert was ready to +enforce it with ten thousand men. After making various statements and +demands with reference to the Amaswazi tribe, the disputed boundary +line, &c., it ends thus:-- + +"Although the Government of the South African Republic has never +wished, and does not now desire, that serious disaffection and +animosities should exist between you and them, yet it is not the less +of the greatest consequence and importance for you earnestly to weigh +these matters and risks, and to satisfy them; the more so, if you on +your side also wish that peace and friendship shall be maintained +between you and us." + +The Secretary for Native Affairs for Natal comments on this message in +these words: "The tone of this message to Cetywayo is not very +friendly, it has the look of an ultimatum, and if the Government of +the Transvaal were in circumstances different to what it is, the +message would suggest an intention to coerce if the demands it conveys +are not at once complied with; but I am inclined to the opinion that +no such intention exists, and that the transmission of a copy of the +message to the Natal Government is intended as a notification that the +Transvaal Government has proclaimed the territory hitherto in dispute +between it and the Zulus to be Republican territory, and that the +Republic intends to occupy it." + +In the territories marked out by a decision known as the Keate Award, +in which Lieutenant-Governor Keate of Natal, at the request of both +parties, laid down the boundary line between the Boers and certain +native tribes, the Boer Government carried it with a yet higher hand, +insomuch as the natives of those districts, being comparatively +unwarlike, were less likely to resist. + +On the 18th August 1875, Acting President Joubert issued a +proclamation by which a line was laid down far to the southward of +that marked out by Mr. Keate, and consequently included more territory +within the elastic boundaries of the Republic. A Government notice of +the same date invites all claiming lands now declared to belong to the +Republic, to send in their claims to be settled by a land commission. + +On the 6th March 1876, another chief in the same neighbourhood +(Montsoia) writes to the Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West in +these terms:-- + +"My Friend,--I wish to acquaint you with the doings of some people +connected with the Boers. A man-servant of mine has been severely +injured in the head by one of the Boers' servants, which has proved +fatal. Another of my people has been cruelly treated by a Boer tying a +rein about his neck, and then mounting his horse and dragging him +about the place. My brother Molema, who is the bearer of this, will +give you full particulars." + +Molema explains the assaults thus: "The assaulted man is not dead; his +skull was fractured. The assault was committed by a Boer named Wessels +Badenhorst, who shamefully ill-treated the man, beat him till he +fainted, and, on his revival, fastened a rim around his neck, and made +him run to the homestead by the side of his (Badenhorst's) horse +cantering. At the homestead he tied him to the waggon-wheel, and +flogged him again till Mrs. Badenhorst stopped her husband." + +Though it will be seen that the Boers were on good terms neither with +the Zulus nor the Keate Award natives, they still had one Kafir ally, +namely, Umbandeni, the Amaswazi king. This alliance was concluded +under circumstances so peculiar that they are worthy of a brief +recapitulation. It appears that in the winter of the year 1875 Mr. +Rudolph, the Landdrost of Utrecht, went to Swazieland, and, imitating +the example of the Natal Government with Cetywayo, crowned Umbandeni +king, on behalf of the Boer Government. He further made a treaty of +alliance with him, and promised him a commando to help him in case of +his being attacked by the Zulus. Now comes the curious part of the +story. On the 18th May 1876, a message came from this same Umbandeni +to Sir H. Bulwer, of which the following is an extract:--"We are sent +by our king to thank the Government of Natal for the information sent +to him last winter by that Government, and conveyed by Mr. Rudolph, of +the intended attack on his people by the Zulus. We are further +instructed by the king to thank the Natal Government for the influence +it used to stop the intended raid, and for instructing a Boer commando +to go to his country to render him assistance in case of need; and +further for appointing Mr. Randolph at the head of the commando to +place him (Umbandeni) as king over the Amaswazi, and to make a treaty +with him and his people on behalf of the Natal Government. . . . . . +The Transvaal Government has asked Umbandeni to acknowledge himself a +subject of the Republic, but he has distinctly refused to do so." In a +minute written on this subject, the Secretary for Native Affairs for +Natal says, "No explanation or assurance was sufficient to convince +them (Umbandeni's messengers) that they had on that occasion made +themselves subjects of the South African Republic; they declared it +was not their wish or intention to do so, and that they would refuse +to acknowledge a position into which they had been unwittingly +betrayed." I must conclude this episode by quoting the last paragraph +of Sir H. Bulwer's covering despatch, because it concerns larger +issues than the supposed treaty: "It will not be necessary that I +should at present add any remarks to those contained in the minute for +the Secretary for Native Affairs, but I would observe that the +situation arising out of the relations of the Government of the South +African Republic with the neighbouring states is so complicated, and +presents so many elements of confusion and of danger to the peace of +this portion of South Africa, that I trust some way may be found to an +early settlement of questions that ought not, in my opinion, to be +left alone, as so many have been left, to take the chance of the +future." + +And now I come to the last and most imminent native difficulty that at +the time faced the Republic. On the borders of Lydenburg district +there lived a powerful chief named Secocoeni. Between this chief and +the Transvaal Government difficulties arose in the beginning of 1876 +on the usual subject--land. The Boers declared that they had bought +the land from the Swazies, who had conquered portions of the country, +and that the Swazies offered to make it "clean from brambles," i.e., +kill everybody living on it; but that they (the Boers) said that they +were to let them be, that they might be their servants. The Basutus, +on the other hand, said that no such sale ever took place, and, even +if it did take place, it was invalid, because the Swazies were not in +occupation of the land, and therefore could not sell it. It was a +Christian Kafir called Johannes, a brother of Secocoeni, who was the +immediate cause of the war. This Johannes used to live at a place +called Botsobelo, the mission-station of Mr. Merensky, but moved to a +stronghold on the Spekboom river, in the disputed territory. The Boers +sent to him to come back, but he refused, and warned the Boers off his +land. Secocoeni was then appealed to, but declared that the land +belonged to his tribe, and would be occupied by Johannes. He also told +the Boers "that he did not wish to fight, but that he was quite ready +to do so if they preferred it." Thereupon the Transvaal Government +declared war, although it does not appear that the natives committed +any outrage or acts of hostility before the declaration. As regards +the Boers' right to Secocoeni's country, Sir H. Barkly sums up the +question thus, in a despatch addressed to President Burgers, dated +28th Nov. 1876:--"On the whole, it seems perfectly clear, and I feel +bound to repeat it, that Sikukuni was neither /de jure/ or /de facto/ +a subject of the Republic when your Honour declared war against him in +June last." As soon as war had been declared, the clumsy commando +system was set working, and about 2500 white men collected; the +Swazies also were applied to to send a contingent, which they did, +being only too glad of the opportunity of slaughter. + +At first all went well, and the President, who accompanied the +commando in person, succeeded in reducing a mountain stronghold, +which, in his high-flown way, he called a "glorious victory" over a +"Kafir Gibraltar." + +On the 14th July another engagement took place, when the Boers and +Swazies attacked Johannes' stronghold. The place was taken with +circumstances of great barbarity by the Swazies, for when the signal +was given to advance the Boers did not move. Nearly all the women were +killed, and the brains of the children were dashed out against the +stones; in one instance, before the captive mother's face. Johannes +was badly wounded, and died two days afterwards. When he was dying he +said to his brother, "I am going to die. I am thankful I do not die by +the hands of these cowardly Boers, but by the hand of a black and +courageous nation like myself . . ." He then took leave of his people, +told his brother to read the Bible, and expired. The Swazies were so +infuriated at the cowardice displayed by the Boers on this occasion +that they returned home in great dudgeon. + +On the 2nd of August Secocoeni's mountain, which is a very strong +fortification, was attacked in two columns, or rather an attempt was +made to attack it, for when it came to the pinch only about forty men, +mostly English and Germans, would advance. Thereupon the whole +commando retreated with great haste, the greater part of it going +straight home. In vain the President entreated them to shoot him +rather than desert him; they had had enough of Secocoeni and his +stronghold, and home they went. The President then retreated with what +few men he had left to Steelport, where he built a fort, and from +thence returned to Pretoria. The news of the collapse of the commando +was received throughout the Transvaal, and indeed the whole of South +Africa, with the greatest dismay. For the first time in the history of +that country the white man had been completely worsted by a native +tribe, and that tribe wretched Basutus, people whom the Zulus call +their "dogs." It was glad tidings to every native from the Zambesi to +the Cape, who learnt thereby that the white man was not so invincible +as he used to be. Meanwhile the inhabitants of Lydenburg were filled +with alarm, and again and again petitioned the Governors of the Cape +and Natal for assistance. Their fears were, however, to a great extent +groundless, for, with the exception of occasional cattle-lifting, +Secocoeni did not follow up his victory. + +On the 4th September the President opened the special sitting of the +Volksraad, and presented to that body a scheme for the establishment +of a border force to take the place of the commando system, announcing +that he had appointed a certain Captain Von Schlickmann to command it. +He also requested the Raad to make some provision for the expenses of +the expedition, which they had omitted to do in their former sitting. + +Captain Von Schlickmann determined to carry on the war upon a +different system. He got together a band of very rough characters on +the Diamond Fields, and occupied the fort built by the President, from +whence he would sally out from time to time and destroy kraals. He +seems, if we may believe the reports in the blue books and the stories +of eye-witnesses, to have carried on his proceedings in a somewhat +savage way. The following is an extract from a private letter written +by one of his volunteers:-- + +"About daylight we came across four Kafirs. Saw them first, and +charged in front of them to cut off their retreat. Saw they were +women, and called out not to fire. In spite of that, one of the poor +things got her head blown off (a d----d shame). . . . Afterwards two +women and a baby were brought to the camp prisoners. The same night +they were taken out by our Kafirs and murdered in cold blood by the +order of ----. Mr. ---- and myself strongly protested against it, but +without avail. I never heard such a cowardly piece of business in my +life. No good will come of it, you may depend. . . . ---- says he +would cut all the women and children's throats he catches. Told him +distinctly he was a d----d coward." + +Schlickmann was, however, a mild-mannered man when compared to a +certain Abel Erasmus, afterwards denounced at a public dinner by Sir +Garnet Wolseley as a "fiend in human form." This gentleman, in the +month of October, attacked a friendly kraal of Kafirs. The incident is +described thus in a correspondent's letter:-- + +"The people of the kraals, taken quite by surprise, fled when they saw +their foes, and most of them took shelter in the neighbouring bush. +Two or three men were distinctly seen in their flight from the kraal, +and one of them is known to have been wounded. According to my +informant the remainder were women and children, who were pursued into +the bush, and there, all shivering and shrieking, were put to death by +the Boers' Kafirs, some being shot, but the majority stabbed with +assegais. After the massacre he counted thirteen women and three +children, but he says he did not see the body of a single man. Another +Kafir said, pointing to a place in the road where the stones were +thickly strewn, 'the bodies of the women and children lay like these +stones.' The Boer before mentioned, who has been stationed outside, +has told one of his own friends, whom he thought would not mention it, +that the shrieks were fearful to hear." + +Several accounts of, or allusion to, this atrocity can be found in the +blue books, and I may add that it, in common with others of the same +stamp, was the talk of the country at the time. + +I do not relate these horrors out of any wish to rake up old stories +to the prejudice of the Boers, but because I am describing the state +of the country before the Annexation, in which they form an +interesting and important item. Also, it is as well that people in +England should know into what hands they have delivered over the +native tribes who trusted in their protection. What happened in 1876 +is probably happening again now, and will certainly happen again and +again. The character of the Transvaal Boer and his sentiments towards +the native races have not modified during the last five years, but, on +the contrary, a large amount of energy, which has been accumulating +during the period of British protection, will now be expended on their +devoted heads. + +As regards the truth of these atrocities, the majority of them are +beyond the possibility of doubt; indeed, to the best of my knowledge, +no serious attempt has ever been made to refute such of them as have +come into public notice, except in a general way, for party purposes. +As, however, they may be doubted, I will quote the following extract +from a despatch written by Sir H. Barkly to Lord Carnarvon, dated 18th +December 1876:-- + +"As Von Schlickmann has since fallen fighting bravely, it is not +without reluctance that I join in affixing this dark stain on his +memory, but truth compels me to add the following extract from a +letter which I have since received from one whose name (which I +communicate to your Lordship privately) forbids disbelief: 'There is +no longer the /slightest doubt/ as to the murder of the two women and +the child at Steelport by the direct order of Schlickmann, and in the +attack on the kraal near which these women were captured (or some +attack about that period) he ordered his men to cut the throats of all +the wounded! This is no mere report; it is positively true.'" He +concludes by expressing a hope that the course of events will enable +Her Majesty's Government to take such steps "as will terminate this +wanton and useless bloodshed, and prevent the recurrence of the +/scenes of injustice, cruelty, and rapine which abundant evidence is +every day forthcoming to prove have rarely ceased to disgrace the +Republics beyond the Vaal ever since they first sprang into +existence./"[*] + +[*] The italics are my own.--Author. + +These are strong words, but none too strong for the facts of the case. +Injustice, cruelty, and rapine have always been the watchwords of the +Transvaal Boers. The stories of wholesale slaughter in the earlier +days of the Republic are very numerous. One of the best known of those +shocking occurrences took place in the Zoutpansberg war in 1865. On +this occasion a large number of Kafirs took refuge in caves, where the +Boers smoked them to death. Some years afterwards Dr. Wangeman, whose +account is, I believe, thoroughly reliable, describes the scene of +their operations in these words:-- + +"The roof of the first cave was black with smoke; the remains of the +logs which were burnt lay at the entrance. The floor was strewn with +hundreds of skulls and skeletons. In confused heaps lay karosses, +kerries, assegais, pots, spoons, snuff-boxes, and the bones of men, +giving one the impression that this was the grave of a whole people. +Some estimate the number of those who perished here from twenty to +thirty thousand. This is, I believe, too high. In the one chamber +there were from two hundred to three hundred skeletons; the other +chambers I did not visit." + +In 1868 a public meeting was held at Potchefstroom to consider the war +then going on with the Zoutpansberg natives. According to the report +of the proceedings, the Rev. Mr. Ludorf said that "on a particular +occasion a number of native children, who were too young to be +removed, had been collected in a heap, covered with long grass, and +burned alive. Other atrocities had also been committed, but these were +too horrible to relate." When called upon to produce his authority for +this statement, Mr. Ludorf named his authority "in a solemn +declaration to the State Attorney." At this same meeting Mr. J. G. +Steyn, who had been Landdrost of Potchefstroom, said "there now was +innocent blood on our hands which had not yet been avenged, and the +curse of God rested on the land in consequence." Mr. Rosalt remarked +that "it was a singular circumstance that in the different colonial +Kafir wars, as also in the Basutu wars, one did not hear of destitute +children being found by the commandoes, and asked how it was that +every petty commando that took the field in this Republic invariably +found numbers of destitute children. He gave it as his opinion that +the present system of apprenticeship was an essential cause of our +frequent hostilities with the natives." Mr. Jan Talyard said, +"Children were forcibly taken from their parents, and were then called +destitute and apprenticed." Mr. Daniel Van Nooren was heard to say, +"If they had to clear the country, and could not have the children +they found, he would shoot them." Mr. Field-Cornet Furstenburg stated +"that when he was at Zoutpansberg with his burghers, the chief Katse- +Kats was told to come down from the mountains; that he sent one of his +subordinates as a proof of amity; that whilst a delay of five days was +guaranteed by Commandant Paul Kruger, who was then in command, orders +were given at the same time to attack the natives at break of day, +which was accordingly done, but which resulted in total failure." +Truly, this must have been an interesting meeting. + +Before leaving these unsavoury subjects, I must touch on the question +of slavery. It has been again and again denied, on behalf of the +Transvaal Boers, that slavery existed in the Republic. Now, this is, +strictly speaking, true; slavery did not exist, but apprenticeship did +--the rose was called by another name, that is all. The poor destitute +children who were picked up by kindhearted Boers, after the +extermination of their parents, were apprenticed to farmers till they +came of age. It is a remarkable fact that these children never +attained their majority. You might meet oldish men in the Transvaal +who were not, according to their masters' reckoning, twenty-one years +of age. The assertion that slavery did not exist in the Transvaal is +only made to hoodwink the English public. I have known men who have +owned slaves, and who have seen whole waggon-loads of "black ivory," +as they were called, sold for about 15 pounds a-piece. I have at this +moment a tenant, Carolus by name, on some land I own in Natal, now a +well-to-do man, who was for many years--about twenty, if I remember +right--a Boer slave. During those years, he told me, he worked from +morning till night, and the only reward he received was two calves. He +finally escaped into Natal. + +If other evidence is needed it is not difficult to find, so I will +quote a little. On the 22d August 1876 we find Khama, king of the +Bamangwato, one of the most worthy chiefs in South Africa, sending a +message to "Victoria, the great Queen of the English people," in these +words:-- + +"I write to you, Sir Henry, in order that your Queen may preserve for +me my country, it being in her hands. The Boers are coming into it, +and I do not like them. Their actions are cruel among us black people. +We are like money, they sell us and our children. I ask Her Majesty to +pity me, and to hear that which I write quickly. I wish to hear upon +what conditions Her Majesty will receive me, and my country and my +people, under her protection. I am weary with fighting. I do not like +war, and I ask Her Majesty to give me peace. I am very much distressed +that my people are being destroyed by war, and I wish them to obtain +peace. I ask Her Majesty to defend me, as she defends all her people. +There are three things which distress me very much--war, selling +people, and drink. All these things I shall find in the Boers, and it +is these things which destroy people to make an end of them in the +country. /The custom of the Boers has always been to cause people to +be sold, and to-day they are still selling people./ Last year I saw +them pass with two waggons full of people whom they had bought at the +river at Tanane" (Lake Ngate). + +The Special Correspondence of the "Cape Argus," a highly respectable +journal, writes thus on the 28th November 1876:--"The Boer from whom +this information was gleaned has furnished besides some facts which +may not be uninteresting, as a commentary on the repeated denials by +Mr. Burgers of the existence of slavery. During the last week slaves +have been offered for sale on his farm. The captives have been taken +from Secocoeni's country by Mapoch's people, and are being exchanged +at the rate of a child for a heifer. He also assures us that the whole +of the Highveld is bring replenished with Kafir children, whom the +Boers have been lately purchasing from the Swazies at the rate of a +horse for a child. I should like to see this man and his father as +witnesses before an Imperial Commission. He let fall one or two +incidents of the past which were brought to mind by the occurrences of +the present. In 1864, he says, 'The Swazies accompanied the Boers +against Males. The Boers did nothing but stand by and witness the +fearful massacre. The men and women were also murdered. One poor woman +sat clutching her baby of eight days old. The Swazies stabbed her +through the body, and when she found that she could not live, she +wrung the baby's neck with her own hands to save it from future +misery. On the return of that Commando the children who became too +weary to continue the journey were killed on the road. The survivors +were sold as slaves to the farmers.'" + +The same gentleman writes in the issue of the 12th December as +follows:--"The whole world may know it, for it is true, and +investigation will only bring out the horrible details, that through +the whole course of this Republic's existence it has acted in +contravention of the Sand River Treaty; and slavery has occurred not +only here and there in isolated cases, but as an unbroken practice, +and has been one of the peculiar institutions of the country, mixed up +with all its social and political life. It has been at the root of +most of its wars. It has been carried on regularly even in times of +peace. It has been characterised by all those circumstances which have +so often roused the British nation to an indignant protest, and to +repeated efforts to banish the slave trade from the world. The Boers +have not only fallen on unsuspecting kraals simply for the purpose of +obtaining the women and children and cattle, but they have carried on +a traffic through natives who have kidnapped the children of their +weaker neighbours, and sold them to the white man. Again, the Boers +have sold and exchanged their victims among themselves. Waggon-loads +of slaves have been conveyed from one end of the country to the other +for sale, and that with the cognisance of, and for the direct +advantage of, the highest officials of the land. The writer has +himself seen in a town, situated in the south of the Republic, the +children who had been brought down from a remote northern district. +One fine morning, in walking through the streets, he was struck with +the number of little black strangers standing about certain houses, +and wondered where they could have come from. He learnt a few hours +later that they were part of loads which were disposed of on the +outskirts of the town the day before. The circumstances connected with +some of these kidnapping excursions are appalling, and the barbarities +practised by cruel masters upon some of these defenceless creatures +during the course of their servitude are scarcely less horrible than +those reported from Turkey. It is no disgrace in this country for an +official to ride a fine horse which was got for two Kafir children, to +procure whom the father and mother were shot. No reproach is inherited +by the mistress who, day after day, tied up her female servant in an +agonising posture, and had her beaten until there was no sound part in +her body, securing her in the stocks during the intervals of torture. +That man did not lose caste who tied up another woman and had her +thrashed until she brought forth at the whipping-post. These are +merely examples of thousands of cases which could be proved were an +Imperial Commission to sit, and could the wretched victims of a +prolonged oppression recover sufficiently from the dread of their old +tyrants to give a truthful report." + +To come to some evidence more recently adduced. On the 9th May 1881, +an affidavit was sworn to by the Rev. John Thorne, curate of St. John +the Evangelist, Lydenburg, Transvaal, and presented to the Royal +Commission appointed to settle Transvaal affairs, in which he +states:--"That I was appointed to the charge of a congregation in +Potchefstroom, about thirteen years ago, when the Republic was under +the presidency of Mr. Pretorius.[*] I remember noticing one morning, +as I walked through the streets, a number of young natives, whom I +knew to be strangers. I inquired where they came from. I was told that +they had just been brought from Zoutpansberg. This was the locality +from which slaves were chiefly brought at that time, and were traded +for under the name of 'Black Ivory.' One of these natives belonged to +Mr. Munich, the State Attorney. It was a matter of common remark at +that time, that the President of the Republic was himself one of the +greatest dealers in slaves." In the fourth paragraph of the same +affidavit Mr. Thorne says, "That the Rev. Doctor Nachtigal, of the +Berlin Missionary Society, was the interpreter for Shatane's people in +the private office of Mr. Roth, and, at the close of the interview, +told me what had occurred. On my expressing surprise, he went on to +relate that he had information on native matters which would surprise +me more. He then produced the copy of a register, kept in the +landdrost's office, of men, women, and children, to the number of four +hundred and eighty (480), who had been disposed of by one Boer to +another for a consideration. In one case an ox was given in exchange, +in another goats, in a third a blanket, and so forth. Many of these +natives he (Mr. Nachtigal) knew personally. The copy was certified as +true and correct by an official of the Republic, and I would mention +his name now, only that I am persuaded that it would cost the man his +life if his act became known to the Boers." + +[*] One of the famous Triumvirate. + +On the 16th May 1881, a native, named Frederick Molepo, was examined +by the Royal Commission. The following are extracts from his +examination:-- + +"(Sir E. Wood.) Are you a Christian?--Yes. + +"(Sir H. de Villiers.) How long were you a slave?--Half a year. + +"How do you know that you were a slave? Might you not have been an +apprentice?--No, I was not apprenticed. + +"How do you know?--They got me from my parents, and ill-treated me. + +"(Sir E. Wood.) How many times did you get the stick?--Every day. + +"(Sir H. de Villiers.) What did the Boers do with you when they caught +you?--They sold me. + +"How much did they sell you for?--One cow and a big pot." + +On the 28th May 1881, amongst the other documents handed in for the +consideration of the Royal Commission, is the statement of a headman, +whose name it has been considered advisable to omit in the blue book +for fear the Boers should take vengeance on him. He says, "I say, that +if the English Government dies I shall die too; I would rather die +than be under the Boer Government. I am the man who helped to make +bricks for the church you see now standing in the square here +(Pretoria), as a slave without payment. As a representative of my +people I am still obedient to the English Government, and willing to +obey all commands from them, even to die for their cause in this +country, rather than submit to the Boers. + +"I was under Shambok, my chief, who fought the Boers formerly, but he +left us, and we were /put up to auction/ and sold among the Boers. I +want to state this myself to the Royal Commission in Newcastle. I was +bought by Fritz Botha and sold by Frederick Botha, who was then veld +cornet (justice of the peace) of the Boers."[*] + +[*] I have taken the liberty to quote all these extracts exactly as + they stand in the original, instead of weaving their substance + into my narrative, in order that I may not be accused, as so often + happens to authors who write upon this subject, of having + presented a garbled version of the truth. The original of every + extract is to be found in blue books presented to Parliament. I + have thought it best to confine myself to these, and avoid + repeating stories of cruelties and slavery, however well + authenticated, that have come to my knowledge privately, such + stories being always more or less open to suspicion. + +It would be easy to find more reports of the slave-trading practices +of the Boers, but as the above are fair samples it will not be +necessary to do so. My readers will be able from them to form some +opinion as to whether or not slavery or apprenticeship existed in the +Transvaal. If they come to the conclusion that it did, it must be +borne in mind that what existed in the past will certainly exist again +in the future. Natives are not now any fonder of working for Boers +than they were a few years back, and Boers must get labour somehow. +If, on the other hand, it did not exist, then the Boers are a grossly +slandered people, and all writers on the subject, from Livingstone +down, have combined to take away their character. + +Leaving native questions for the present, we must now return to the +general affairs of the country. When President Burgers opened the +special sitting of the Volksraad, on the 4th September, he appealed, +it will be remembered, to that body for pecuniary aid to liquidate the +expenses of the war. This appeal was responded to by the passing of a +war tax, under which every owner of a farm was to pay 10 pounds, the +owner of half a farm 5 pounds, and so on. The tax was not a very just +one, since it fell with equal weight on the rich man, who held twenty +farms, and the poor man, who held but one. Its justice or injustice +was, however, to a great extent immaterial, since the free and +independent burghers, including some of the members of the Volksraad +who had imposed it, promptly refused to pay it, or indeed, whilst they +were about it, any other tax. As the Treasury was already empty, and +creditors were pressing, this refusal was most ill-timed, and things +began to look very black indeed. Meanwhile, in addition to the +ordinary expenditure, and the interest payable on debts, money had to +be found to pay Von Schlickmann's volunteers. As there was no cash in +the country, this was done by issuing Government promissory notes, +known as "goodfors," or vulgarly as "good for nothings," and by +promising them all booty, and to each man a farm of two thousand +acres, lying east and north-east of the Loolu mountains; in other +words, in Secocoeni's territory, which did not belong to the +Government to give away. The officials were the next to suffer, and +for six months before the Annexation these unfortunate individuals +lived as best they could, for they certainly got no salary, except in +the case of a postmaster, who was told to help himself to his pay in +stamps. The Government issued large numbers of bills, but the banks +refused to discount them, and in some cases the neighbouring Colonies +had to advance money to the Transvaal post-cart contractors, who were +carrying the mails, as a matter of charity. The Government even +mortgaged the great salt-pan near Pretoria for the paltry sum of 400 +pounds, whilst the leading officials of the Government were driven to +pledging their own private credit in order to obtain the smallest +article necessary to its continuance. In fact, to such a pass did +things come that when the country was annexed a single threepenny bit +(which had doubtless been overlooked) was found in the Treasury chest, +together with acknowledgments of debts to the extent of nearly 300,000 +pounds. + +Nor was the refusal to pay taxes, which they were powerless to +enforce, the only difficulty with which the Government had to contend. +Want of money is as bad and painful a thing to a State as to an +individual, but there are perhaps worse things than want of money, one +of which is to be deserted by your own friends and household. This was +the position of the Government of the Republic; no sooner was it +involved in overwhelming difficulties than its own subjects commenced +to bait it, more especially the English portion of its subjects. They +complained to the English authorities about the commandeering of +members of their family or goods; they petitioned the British +Government to interfere, and generally made themselves as unpleasant +as possible to the local Authorities. Such a course of action was +perhaps natural, but it can hardly be said to be either quite logical +or just. The Transvaal Government had never asked them to come and +live in the country, and if they did so, it must be remembered that +many of the agitators had accumulated property, to leave which would +mean ruin; and they saw that, unless something was done, its value +would be destroyed. + +Under the pressure of all these troubles the Boers themselves split up +into factions, as they are always ready to do. The Dopper party +declared that they had had enough progress, and proposed the extremely +conservative Paul Kruger as President, Burgers' time having nearly +expired. Paul Kruger accepted the candidature, although he had +previously promised his support to Burgers, and distrust of each other +was added to the other difficulties of the Executive, the Transvaal +becoming a house very much divided against itself. Natives, Doppers, +Progressionists, Officials, English, were all pulling different ways, +and each striving for his own advantage. Anything more hopeless than +the position of the country on the 1st January 1877 it is impossible +to conceive. Enemies surrounded it; on every border there was the +prospect of a serious war. In the exchequer there was nothing but +piles of overdue bills. The President was helpless, and mistrustful of +his officers, and the officers were caballing against the President. +All the ordinary functions of Government had ceased, and trade was +paralysed. Now and then wild proposals were made to relieve the State +of its burdens, some of which partook of the nature of repudiation, +but these were the exception; the majority of the inhabitants, who +would neither fight nor pay taxes, sat still and awaited the +catastrophe, utterly careless of all consequences. + + + + CHAPTER III + + THE ANNEXATION + + Anxiety of Lord Carnarvon--Despatch of Sir T. Shepstone as Special + Commissioner to the Transvaal--Sir T. Shepstone, his great + experience and ability--His progress to Pretoria and reception + there--Feelings excited by the arrival of the mission--The + annexation /not/ a foregone conclusion--Charge brought against Sir + T. Shepstone of having called up the Zulu army to sweep the + Transvaal--Its complete falsehood--Cetywayo's message to Sir T. + Shepstone--Evidence on the matter summed up--General desire of the + natives for English rule--Habitual disregard of their interests-- + Assembly of the Volksraad--Rejection of Lord Carnarvon's + Confederation Bill and of President Burgers' new constitution-- + President Burgers' speeches to the Raad--His posthumous statement + --Communication to the Raad of Sir T. Shepstone's intention to + annex the country--Despatch of Commission to inquire into the + alleged peace with Secocoeni--Its fraudulent character discovered + --Progress of affairs in the Transvaal--Paul Kruger and his party + --Restlessness of natives--Arrangements for the annexation--The + annexation proclamation. + +The state of affairs described in the previous chapter was one that +filled the Secretary of State for the Colonies with alarm. During his +tenure of office, Lord Carnarvon evidently had the permanent welfare +of South Africa much at heart, and he saw with apprehension that the +troubles that were brewing in the Transvaal were of a nature likely to +involve the Cape and Natal in a native war. Though there is a broad +line of demarcation between Dutch and English, it is not so broad but +that a victorious nation like the Zulus might cross it, and beginning +by fighting the Boer, might end by fighting the white man irrespective +of race. When the reader reflects how terrible would be the +consequences of a combination of native tribes against the Whites, and +how easily such a combination might at that time have been brought +about in the first flush of native successes, he will understand the +anxiety with which all thinking men watched the course of events in +the Transvaal in 1876. + +At last they took such a serious turn that the Home Government saw +that some action must be taken if the catastrophe was to be averted, +and determined to despatch Sir Theophilus Shepstone as Special +Commissioner to the Transvaal, with powers, should it be necessary, to +annex the country to Her Majesty's dominions, "in order to secure the +peace and safety of Our said colonies and of Our subjects elsewhere." + +The terms of his Commission were unusually large, leaving a great deal +to his discretionary power. In choosing that officer for the execution +of a most difficult and delicate mission, the Government, doubtless, +made a very wise selection. Sir Theophilus Shepstone is a man of +remarkable tact and ability, combined with great openness and +simplicity of mind, and one whose name will always have a leading +place in South African history. During a long official lifetime he has +had to do with most of the native races in South Africa, and certainly +knows them and their ways better than any living man; whilst he is by +them all regarded with a peculiar and affectionate reverence. He is +/par excellence/ their great white chief and "father," and a word from +him, even now that he has retired from active life, still carries more +weight than the formal remonstrances of any governor in South Africa. + +With the Boers he is almost equally well acquainted, having known many +of them personally for years. He possesses, moreover, the rare power +of winning the regard and affection, as well as the respect, of those +about him in such a marked degree that those who have served him once +would go far to serve him again. Sir T. Shepstone, however, has +enemies like other people, and is commonly reported among them to be a +disciple of Machiavelli, and to have his mind steeped in all the +darker wiles of Kafir policy. The Annexation of the Transvaal is by +them attributed to a successful and vigorous use of those arts that +distinguished the diplomacy of two centuries ago. Falsehood and +bribery are supposed to have been the great levers used to effect the +change, together with threats of extinction at the hands of a savage +and unfriendly nation. + +That the Annexation was a triumph of mind over matter is quite true, +but whether or not that triumph was unworthily obtained, I will leave +those who read this short chronicle of the events connected with it to +judge. I saw it somewhat darkly remarked in a newspaper the other day +that the history of the Annexation had evidently yet to be written; +and I fear that the remark represents the feeling of most people about +the event; implying as it did, that it was carried out, by means +certainly mysterious, and presumably doubtful. I am afraid that those +who think thus will be disappointed in what I have to say about the +matter, since I know that the means employed to bring the Boers-- + + "Fracti bello, fatisque repulsi"-- + +under her Majesty's authority were throughout as fair and honest as +the Annexation itself was, in my opinion, right and necessary. + +To return to Sir T. Shepstone. He undoubtedly had faults as a ruler, +one of the most prominent of which was that his natural mildness of +character would never allow him to act with severity even when +severity was necessary. The very criminals condemned to death ran a +good chance of reprieve when he had to sign their death-warrants. He +had also that worst of faults (so called), in one fitted by nature to +become great--want of ambition, a failing that in such a man marks him +the possessor of an even and a philosophic mind. It was no seeking of +his own that raised him out of obscurity, and when his work was done +to comparative obscurity he elected to return, though whether a man of +his ability and experience in South African affairs should, at the +present crisis, be allowed to remain there, is another question. + +On the 20th December 1876, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President +Burgers, informing him of his approaching visit to the Transvaal, to +secure, if possible, the adjustment of the existing troubles, and the +adoption of such measures as might be best calculated to prevent their +recurrence in the future. + +On his road to Pretoria, Sir Theophilus received a hearty welcome from +the Boer as well as the English inhabitants of the country. One of +these addresses to him says: "Be assured, high honourable Sir, that we +burghers, now assembled together, entertain the most friendly feeling +towards your Government, and that we shall agree with anything you may +do in conjunction with our Government for the progress of our State, +the strengthening against our native enemies, and for the general +welfare of all the inhabitants of the whole of South Africa. Welcome +in Heidelberg, and welcome in the Transvaal." + +At Pretoria the reception of the Special Commissioner was positively +enthusiastic; the whole town came out to meet him, and the horses +having been taken out of the carriage, he was dragged in triumph +through the streets. In his reply to the address presented to him, Sir +Theophilus shadowed forth the objects of his mission in these words: +"Recent events in this country have shown to all thinking men the +absolute necessity for closer union and more oneness of purpose among +the Christian Governments of the southern portion of this Continent: +the best interests of the native races, no less than the peace and +prosperity of the white, imperatively demand it, and I rely upon you +and upon your Government to co-operate with me in endeavouring to +achieve the great and glorious end of inscribing on a general South +African banner the appropriate motto--'Eendragt maakt magt' (Unity +makes strength)." + +A few days after his arrival a commission was appointed, consisting of +Messrs. Henderson and Osborn, on behalf of the Special Commissioner, +and Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen, on behalf of the Transvaal +Government, to discuss the state of the country. This commission came +to nothing, and was on both sides nothing more than a bit of by-play. + +The arrival of the mission was necessarily regarded with mixed +feelings by the inhabitants of the Transvaal. By one party it was +eagerly greeted, viz., the English section of the population, who +devoutly hoped that it had come to annex the country. With the +exception of the Hollander element, the officials also were glad of +its arrival, and secretly hoped that the country would be taken over, +when there would be more chance of their getting their arrear pay. The +better educated Boers also were for the most part satisfied that there +was no hope for the country unless England helped it in some way, +though they did not like having to accept the help. But the more +bigoted and narrow-minded among them were undoubtedly opposed to +English interference, and under their leader, Paul Kruger, who was at +the time running for the President's chair, did their best to be rid +of it. They found ready allies in the Hollander clientele, with which +Mr. Burgers had surrounded himself, headed by the famous Dr. Jorissen, +who was, like most of the rulers of this singular State, an +ex-clergyman, but now an Attorney-general, not learned in the law. +These men were for the most part entirely unfit for the positions they +held, and feared that in the event of the country changing hands they +might be ejected from them; and also, they did all Englishmen the +favour to regard them, with that particularly virulent and general +hatred which is a part of the secret creed of many foreigners, more +especially of such as are under our protection. As may easily be +imagined, what between all these different parties and the presence of +the Special Commissioner, there were certainly plenty of intrigues +going on in Pretoria during the first few months of 1877, and the +political excitement was very great. Nobody knew how far Sir T. +Shepstone was prepared to go, and everybody was afraid of putting out +his hand further than he could pull it back, and trying to make +himself comfortable on two stools at once. Members of the Volksraad +and other prominent individuals in the country who had during the day +been denouncing the Commissioner in no measured terms, and even +proposing that he and his staff should be shot as a warning to the +English Government, might be seen arriving at his house under cover of +the shades of evening, to have a little talk with him, and express the +earnest hope that it was his intention to annex the country as soon as +possible. It is necessary to assist at a peaceable annexation to learn +the depth of meanness human nature is capable of. + +In Pretoria, at any rate, the ladies were of great service to the +cause of the mission, since they were nearly all in favour of a change +of government, and, that being the case, they naturally soon brought +their husbands, brothers, and lovers to look at things from the same +point of view. It was a wise man who said that in any matter where it +is necessary to obtain the goodwill of a population you should win +over the women; that done, you need not trouble yourself about the +men. + +Though the country was thus overflowing with political intrigues, +nothing of the kind went on in the Commissioner's camp. It was not he +who made the plots to catch the Transvaalers; on the contrary, they +made the plots to catch him. For several months all that he did was to +sit still and let the rival passions work their way, fighting what the +Zulus afterwards called the "fight of sit down." When anybody came to +see him he was very glad to meet them, pointed out the desperate +condition of the country, and asked them if they could suggest a +remedy. And that was about all he did do, beyond informing himself +very carefully as to all that was going on in the country, and the +movements of the natives within and outside its borders. There was no +money spent on bribery, as has been stated, though it is impossible to +imagine a state of affairs in which it would have been more easy to +bribe, or in which it could have been done with greater effect; unless +indeed the promise that some pension should be paid to President +Burgers can be called a bribe, which it was certainly never intended +to be, but simply a guarantee that after having spent all his private +means on behalf of the State he should not be left destitute. The +statement that the Annexation was effected under a threat that if the +Government did not give its consent Sir T. Shepstone would let loose +the Zulus on the country is also a wicked and malicious invention, but +with this I shall deal more at length further on. + +It must not, however, be understood that the Annexation was a foregone +conclusion, or that Sir T. Shepstone came up to the Transvaal with the +fixed intention of annexing the country without reference to its +position, merely with a view of extending British influence, or, as +has been absurdly stated, in order to benefit Natal. He had no fixed +purpose, whether it were necessary or no, of exercising the full +powers given to him by his commission; on the contrary, he was all +along most anxious to find some internal resources within the State by +means of which Annexation could be averted, and of this fact his +various letters and despatches give full proof. Thus, in his letter to +President Burgers, of the 9th April 1877, in which he announces his +intention of annexing the country, he says: "I have more than once +assured your Honour that if I could think of any plan by which the +independence of the State could be maintained by its own internal +resources I would most certainly not conceal that plan from you." It +is also incidentally remarkably confirmed by a passage in Mr. Burgers' +posthumous defence, in which he says: "Hence I met Shepstone alone in +my house, and opened up the subject of his mission. With a candour +that astonished me, he avowed that his purpose was to annex the +country, as he had sufficient grounds for it, unless I could so alter +as to satisfy his Government. My plan of a new constitution, modelled +after that of America, of a standing police force of two hundred +mounted men, was then proposed. He promised to give me time to call +the Volksraad together, and to /abandon his design/ if the Volksraad +would adopt these measures, and the country be willing to submit to +them, and to carry them out." Further on he says: "In justice to +Shepstone I must say that I would not consider an officer of my +Government to have acted faithfully if he had not done what Shepstone +did." + +It has also been frequently alleged in England, and always seems to be +taken as the groundwork of argument in the matter of the Annexation, +that the Special Commissioner represented that the majority of the +inhabitants wished for the Annexation, and that it was sanctioned on +that ground. This statement shows the great ignorance that exists in +this country of South African affairs, an ignorance which in this case +has been carefully fostered by Mr. Gladstone's Government for party +purposes, they having found it necessary to assume, in order to make +their position in the matter tenable, that Sir T. Shepstone and other +Officials had been guilty of misrepresentation. Unfortunately, the +Government and its supporters have been more intent upon making out +their case than upon ascertaining the truth of their statements. If +they had taken the trouble to refer to Sir T. Shepstone's despatches, +they would have found that the ground on which the Transvaal was +annexed was, not because the majority of the inhabitants wished for +it, but because the State was drifting into anarchy, was bankrupt, and +was about to be destroyed by native tribes. They would further have +found that Sir T. Shepstone never represented that the majority of the +Boers were in favour of Annexation. What he did say was that most +thinking men in the country saw no other way out of the difficulty; +but what proportion of the Boers can be called "thinking men?" He also +said, in the fifteenth paragraph of his despatch to Lord Carnarvon of +6th March 1877, that petitions signed by 2500 people, representing +every class of the community, out of a total adult population of 8000, +had been presented to the Government of the Republic, setting forth +its difficulties and dangers, and praying it "to treat with me for +their amelioration or removal." He also stated, and with perfect +truth, that many more would have signed had it not been for the +terrorism that was exercised, and that all the towns and villages in +the country desired the change, which was a patent fact. + +This is the foundation on which the charge of misrepresentation is +built--a charge which has been manipulated so skilfully, and with such +a charming disregard for the truth, that the British public has been +duped into believing it. When it is examined into, it vanishes into +thin air. + +But a darker charge has been brought against the Special Commissioner +--a charge affecting his honour as a gentleman and his character as a +Christian; and, strange to say, has gained a considerable credence, +especially amongst a certain party in England. I allude to the +statement that he called up the Zulu army with the intention of +sweeping the Transvaal if the Annexation was objected to. I may state, +from my own personal knowledge, that the report is a complete +falsehood, and that no such threat was ever made, either by Sir T. +Shepstone or by anybody connected with him, and I will briefly prove +what I say. + +When the mission first arrived at Pretoria, a message came from +Cetywayo to the effect that he had heard that the Boers had fired at +"Sompseu" (Sir T. Shepstone), and announcing his intention of +attacking the Transvaal if "his father" was touched. About the middle +of March alarming rumours began to spread as to the intended action of +Cetywayo with reference to the Transvaal; but as Sir T. Shepstone did +not think that the king would be likely to make any hostile movement +whilst he was in the country, he took no steps in the matter. Neither +did the Transvaal Government ask his advice and assistance. Indeed, a +remarkable trait in the Boers is their supreme self-conceit, which +makes them believe that they are capable of subduing all the natives +in Africa, and of thrashing the whole British army if necessary. +Unfortunately, the recent course of events has tended to confirm them +in their opinion as regards their white enemies. To return: towards +the second week in April, or the week before the proclamation of +annexation was issued, things began to look very serious; indeed, +rumours that could hardly be discredited reached the Special +Commissioner that the whole of the Zulu army was collected in a chain +of Impis or battalions, with the intention of bursting into the +Transvaal and sweeping the country. Knowing how terrible would be the +catastrophe if this were to happen, Sir T. Shepstone was much alarmed +about the matter, and at a meeting with the Executive Council of the +Transvaal Government he pointed out to them the great danger in which +the country was placed. This was done in the presence of several +officers of his Staff, and it was on this friendly exposition of the +state of affairs that the charge that he had threatened the country +with invasion by the Zulus was based. On the 11th of April, or the day +before the Annexation, a message was despatched to Cetywayo, telling +him of the reports that had reached Pretoria, and stating that if they +were true he must forthwith give up all such intentions, as the +Transvaal would at once be placed under the sovereignty of Her +Majesty, and that if he had assembled any armies for purposes of +aggression they must be disbanded at once. Sir T. Shepstone's message +reached Zululand not a day too soon. Had the Annexation of the +Transvaal been delayed by a few weeks even--and this is a point which +I earnestly beg Englishmen to remember in connection with that act-- +Cetywayo's armies would have entered the Transvaal, carrying death +before them, and leaving a wilderness behind them. + +Cetywayo's answer to the Special Commissioner's message will +sufficiently show, to use Sir Theophilus' own words in his despatch on +the subject, "the pinnacle of peril which the Republic and South +Africa generally had reached at the moment when the Annexation took +place." He says, "I thank my Father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) for his +message. I am glad that he has sent it, because the Dutch have tired +me out, and I intended to fight them once and once only, and to drive +them over the Vaal. Kabana (name of messenger), you see my Impis +(armies) are gathered. It was to fight the Dutch I called them +together; now I will send them back to their homes. Is it well that +two men ('amadoda-amabili') should be made 'iziula' (fools)? In the +reign of my father Umpanda the Boers were constantly moving their +boundary further into my country. Since his death the same thing has +been done. I had therefore determined to end it once for all!" The +message then goes on to other matters, and ends with a request to be +allowed to fight the Amaswazi, because "they fight together and kill +one another. This," says Cetywayo naively, "is wrong, and I want to +chastise them for it." + +This quotation will suffice to convince all reasonable men, putting +aside all other matters, from what imminent danger the Transvaal was +delivered by the much-abused Annexation. + +Some months after that event, however, it occurred to the ingenious +mind of some malicious individual in Natal that, properly used, much +political capital might be made out of this Zulu incident, and the +story that Cetywayo's army had been called up by Sir Theophilus +himself to overawe, and, if necessary, subdue the Transvaal, was +accordingly invented and industriously circulated. Although Sir T. +Shepstone at once caused it to be authoritatively contradicted, such +an astonishing slander naturally took firm root, and on the 12th April +1879 we have Mr. M. W. Pretorius, one of the Boer leaders, publicly +stating at a meeting of the farmers that "previous to the Annexation +Sir T. Shepstone had threatened the Transvaal with an attack from the +Zulus as an argument for advancing the Annexation." Under such an +imputation the Government could no longer keep silence, and +accordingly Sir Owen Lanyon, who was then Administrator of the +Transvaal, caused the matter to be officially investigated, with these +results, which are summed up by him in a letter to Mr. Pretorius, +dated 1st May 1879:-- + +1. The records of the Republican Executive Council contained no +allusion to any such statement. + +2. Two members of that Council filed statements in which they +unreservedly denied that Sir T. Shepstone used the words or threats +imputed to him. + +3. Two officers of Sir T. Shepstone's staff, who were always present +with him at interviews with the Executive Council, filed statements to +the same effect. + +"I have no doubt," adds Sir Owen Lanyon, "that the report has been +originated and circulated by some evil-disposed persons." + +In addition to this evidence we have a letter written to the Colonial +Office by Sir T. Shepstone, dated London, August 12, 1879, in which he +points out that Mr. Pretorius was not even present at any of the +interviews with the Executive Council on which occasion he accuses him +of having made use of the threats. He further shows that the use of +such a threat on his part would have been the depth of folly, and +"knowingly to court the instant and ignominious failure of my +mission," because the Boers were so persuaded of their own prowess +that they could not be convinced that they stood in any danger from +native sources, and also because "such play with such keen-edged tools +as the excited passions of savages are, and especially such savages as +I knew the Zulus to be, is not what an experience of forty-two years +in managing them inclined me to." And yet, in the face of all this +accumulated evidence, this report continues to be believed, that is, +by those who wished to believe it. + +Such are the accusations that have been brought against the manner of +the Annexation and the Officer who carried it out, and never were +accusations more groundless. Indeed both for party purposes, and from +personal animus, every means, fair or foul, has been used to discredit +it and all connected with it. To take a single instance, one author +(Miss Colenso, p. 134, "History of the Zulu War") actually goes the +length of putting a portion of a speech made by President Burgers into +the mouth of Sir T. Shepstone, and then abusing him for his incredible +profanity. Surely this exceeds the limits of fair criticism. + +Before I go on to the actual history of the Annexation there is one +point I wish to submit to my reader. In England the change of +Government has always been talked of as though it only affected the +forty thousand white inhabitants of the country, whilst everybody +seems to forget that this same land had about a million human beings +living on it, its original owners, and only, unfortunately for +themselves, possessing a black skin, and therefore entitled to little +consideration,--even at the hands of the most philanthropic Government +in the world. It never seems to have occurred to those who have raised +so much outcry on behalf of the forty thousand Boers, to inquire what +was thought of the matter by the million natives. If they were to be +allowed a voice in their own disposal, the country was certainly +annexed by the wish of a very large majority of its inhabitants. It is +true that Secocoeni, instigated thereto by the Boers, afterwards +continued the war against us, but, with the exception of this one +chief, the advent of our rule was hailed with joy by every native in +the Transvaal, and even he was glad of it at the time. During our +period of rule in the Transvaal the natives have had, as they foresaw, +more peace than at any time since the white man set foot in the land. +They have paid their taxes gladly, and there has been no fighting +among themselves; but since we have given up the country we hear a +very different tale. It is this million of men, women, and children +who, notwithstanding their black skins, live and feel, and have +intelligence as much as ourselves, who are the principal, because the +most numerous sufferers from Mr. Gladstone's conjuring tricks, that +can turn a Sovereign into a Suzerain as airily as the professor of +magic brings a litter of guinea-pigs out of a top hat. It is our +falsehood and treachery to them whom we took over "for ever," as we +told them, and whom we have now handed back to their natural enemies +to be paid off for their loyalty to the Englishman, that is the +blackest stain in all this black business, and that has destroyed our +prestige, and caused us to be looked on amongst them, for they do not +hide their opinion, as "cowards and liars." + +But very little attention, however, seems to have been paid to native +views or claims at any time in the Transvaal; indeed they have all +along been treated as serfs of the soil, to be sold with it, if +necessary, to a new master. It is true that the Government, acting +under pressure from the Aborigines Protection Society, made, on the +occasion of the Surrender, a feeble effort to secure the independence +of some of the native tribes; but when the Boer leaders told them +shortly that they would have nothing of the sort, and that, if they +were not careful, they would reoccupy Laing's Nek, the proposal was at +once dropped, with many assurances that no offence was intended. The +worst of the matter is that this treatment of our native subjects and +allies will assuredly recoil on the heads of future innocent +Governments. + +Shortly after the appointment of the Joint-Commission alluded to at +the beginning of this chapter, President Burgers, who was now in +possession of the Special Commissioner's intentions, should he be +unable to carry out reforms sufficiently drastic to satisfy the +English Government, thought it best to call together the Volksraad. In +the meantime, it had been announced that the "rebel" Secocoeni had +sued for peace and signed a treaty declaring himself a subject of the +Republic. I shall have to enter into the question of this treaty a +little further on, so I will at present only say that it was the first +business laid before the Raad, and, after some discussion, ratified. +Next in order to the Secocoeni peace came the question of +Confederation, as laid down in Lord Carnarvon's Permissive Bill. This +proposal was laid before them in an earnest and eloquent speech by +their President, who entreated them to consider the dangerous position +of the Republic, and to face their difficulties like men. The question +was referred to a committee, and an adverse report being brought up, +was rejected without further consideration. It is just possible that +intimidation had something to do with the summary treatment of so +important a matter, seeing that whilst it was being argued a large mob +of Boers, looking very formidable with their sea-cow hide whips, +watched every move of their representatives through the windows of the +Volksraad Hall. It was Mr. Chamberlain's caucus system in practical +and visible operation. + +A few days after the rejection of the Confederation Bill, President +Burgers, who had frequently alluded to the desperate condition of the +Republic, and stated that either some radical reform must be effected +or the country must come under the British flag, laid before the Raad +a brand new constitution of a very remarkable nature, asserting that +they must either accept it or lose their independence. + +The first part of this strange document dealt with the people and +their rights, which remained much as they were before, with the +exception that the secrecy of all letters entrusted to the post was to +be inviolable. The recognition of this right is an amusing incident in +the history of a free Republic. Under following articles the Volksraad +was entrusted with the charge of the native inhabitants of the State, +the provision for the administration of justice, the conduct of +education, the regulation of money-bills, &c. It is in the fourth +chapter, however, that we come to the real gist of the Bill, which was +the endowment of the State President with the authority of a dictator. +Mr. Burgers thought to save the State by making himself an absolute +monarch. He was to be elected for a period of seven years instead of +five years, and to be eligible for re-election. In him was vested the +power of making all appointments without reference to the legislature. +All laws were to be drawn up by him, and he was to have the right of +veto on Volksraad resolutions, which body he could summon and dissolve +at will. Finally, his Executive Council was to consist of heads of +departments appointed by himself, and of one member of the Volksraad. +The Volksraad treated this Bill in much the same way as they had dealt +with the Permissive Confederation Bill, gave it a casual +consideration, and threw it out. + +The President, meanwhile, was doing his best to convince the Raad of +the danger of the country; that the treasury was empty, whilst duns +were pressing, that enemies were threatening on every side, and, +finally, that Her Majesty's Special Commissioner was encamped within a +thousand yards of them, watching their deliberations with some +interest. He showed them that it was impossible at once to scorn +reform and reject friendly offers, that it was doubtful if anything +could save them, but that if they took no steps they were certainly +lost as a nation. The "Fathers of the land," however, declined to +dance to the President's piping. Then he took a bolder line. He told +them that a guilty nation never can evade the judgment that follows +its steps. He asked them "conscientiously to advise the people not +obstinately to refuse a union with a powerful Government. He could not +advise them to refuse such a union. . . . He did not believe that a +new constitution would save them; for as little as the old +constitution had brought them to ruin, so little would a new +constitution bring salvation. . . . If the citizens of England had +behaved towards the Crown as the burghers of this State had behaved to +their Government, England would never have stood so long as she had." +He pointed out to them their hopeless financial position. "To-day," he +said, "a bill for 1100 pounds was laid before me for signature; but I +would sooner have cut off my right hand than sign that paper--(cheers) +--for I have not the slightest ground to expect that, when that bill +becomes due, there will be a penny to pay it with." And finally, he +exhorted them thus: "Let them make the best of the situation, and get +the best terms they possibly could; let them agree to join their hands +to those of their brethren in the south, and then from the Cape to the +Zambesi there would be one great people. Yes, there was something +grand in that, grander even than their idea of a Republic, something +which ministered to their national feeling--(cheers)--and would this +be so miserable? Yes, this would be miserable for those who would not +be under the law, for the rebel and the revolutionist, but welfare and +prosperity for the men of law and order." + +These powerful words form a strong indictment against the Republic, +and from them there can be little doubt that President Burgers was +thoroughly convinced of the necessity and wisdom of the Annexation. It +is interesting to compare them, and many other utterances of his made +at this period, with the opinions he expresses in the posthumous +document recently published, in which he speaks somewhat jubilantly of +the lessons taught us on Laing's Nek and Majuba by such "an inherently +weak people as the Boers," and points to them as striking instances of +retribution. In this document he attributes the Annexation to the +desire to advance English supremacy in South Africa, and to lay hold +of the way to Central South Africa. It is, however, noticeable that he +does not in any way indicate how it could have been averted, and the +State continue to exist; and he seems all along to feel that his case +is a weak one, for in explaining, or attempting to explain, why he had +never defended himself from the charges brought against him in +connection with the Annexation, he says: "Had I not endured in +silence, had I not borne patiently all the accusations, but out of +selfishness or fear told the plain truth of the case, the Transvaal +would never have had the consideration it has now received from Great +Britain. However unjust the Annexation was, my self-justification +would have /exposed the Boers to such an extent/, and the state of the +country in such a way, that it would have deprived them both of the +sympathy of the world and the consideration of the English +politicians." In other words, "If I had told the truth about things as +I should have been obliged to do to justify myself, there would have +been no more outcry about the Annexation, because the whole world, +even the English Radicals, would have recognised how necessary it was, +and what a fearful state the country was in." + +But to let that pass, it is evident that President Burgers did not +take the same view of the Annexation in 1877 as he did in 1881, and +indeed his speeches to the Volksraad would read rather oddly printed +in parallel columns with his posthumous statement. The reader would be +forced to one of two conclusions, either on one of the two occasions +he is saying what he does not mean, or he must have changed his mind. +As I believe him to have been an honest man, I incline to the latter +supposition; nor do I consider it so very hard to account for, taking +into consideration his natural Dutch proclivities. In 1877 Burgers is +the despairing head of a State driving rapidly to ruin, if not to +actual extinction, when the strong hand of the English Government is +held out to him. What wonder that he accepts it gladly on behalf of +his country, which is by its help brought into a state of greater +prosperity than it has ever before known? In 1881 the wheel has gone +round, and great events have come about whilst he lies dying. The +enemies of the Boers have been destroyed, the powers of the Zulus and +Secocoeni are no more; the country has prospered under a healthy rule, +and its finances have been restored. More,--glad tidings have come +from Mid-Lothian, to the "rebel and the revolutionist," whose hopes +were flagging, and eloquent words have been spoken by the new English +Dictator that have aroused a great rebellion. And, to crown all, +English troops have suffered one massacre and three defeats, and +England sues for peace from the South African peasant, heedless of +honour or her broken word, so that the prayer be granted. With such +events before him, that dying man may well have found cause to change +his opinion. Doubtless the Annexation was wrong, since England disowns +her acts; and may not that dream about the great South African +Republic come true after all? Has not the pre-eminence of the +Englishman received a blow from which it can never recover, and is not +his control over Boers and natives irredeemably weakened? And must he, +--Burgers,--go down to posterity as a Dutchman who tried to forward +the interests of the English party? No, doubtless the Annexation was +wrong; but it has done good, for it has brought about the downfall of +the English: and we will end the argument in the very words of his +last public utterance, with which he ends his statement: "South Africa +gained more from this, and has made a larger step forward in the march +of freedom than most people can conceive." + +Who shall say that he is wrong? the words of dying men are sometimes +prophetic! South Africa has made a great advance towards the "freedom" +of a Dutch Republic. + +This has been a digression, but I hope not an uninteresting one. To +return--on the 1st March, Sir T. Shepstone met the Executive Council, +and told them that in his opinion there was now but one remedy to be +adopted, and that was that the Transvaal should be united with English +Colonies of South Africa under one head, namely the Queen, saying at +the same time that the only thing now left to the Republic was to make +the best arrangements it could for the future benefit of its +inhabitants, and to submit to that which he saw to be, and every +thinking man saw to be, inevitable. So soon as this information was +officially communicated to the Raad, for a good proportion of its +members were already acquainted with it unofficially, it flew from a +state of listless indifference into vigorous and hasty action. The +President was censured, and a Committee was appointed to consider and +report upon the situation, which reported in favour of the adoption of +Burgers' new constitution. Accordingly, the greatest part of this +measure, which had been contemptuously rejected a few days before, was +adopted almost without question, and Mr. Paul Kruger was appointed +Vice-President. On the following day, a very drastic treason law was +passed, borrowed from the Statute book of the Orange Free State, which +made all public expression of opinion, if adverse to the Government, +or in any way supporting the Annexation party, high treason. This +done, the Assembly prorogued itself until--October 1881. + +During and after the sitting of the Raad, rumours arose that the Chief +Secocoeni's signature to the treaty of peace, ratified by that body, +had been obtained by misrepresentation. As ratified, this treaty +consisted of three articles, according to which Secocoeni consented, +first to become a subject of the Republic, and obey the laws of the +country; secondly, to agree to a certain restricted boundary line and, +thirdly, to pay 2000 head of cattle; which, considering he had +captured quite 5000 head, was not exorbitant. + +Towards the end of February a written message was received from +Secocoeni by Sir T. Shepstone, dated after the signing of the supposed +treaty. The original, which was written in Sisutu, was a great +curiosity. The following is a correct translation:-- + + + "For Myn Heer Sheepstone,--I beg you, Chief, come help me, the + Boers are killing me, and I don't know the reasons why they should + be angry with me; Chief, I beg you come with Myn Heer Merensky.--I + am Sikukuni." + + +This message was accompanied by a letter from Mr. Merensky, a well- +known and successful missionary, who had been for many years resident +in Secocoeni's country, in which he stated that he heard on very good +authority that Secocoeni had distinctly refused to agree to that +article of the treaty by which he became a subject of the State. He +adds that he cannot remain "silent while such tricks are played." + +Upon this information, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President Burgers, +stating that "if the officer in whom you have placed confidence has +withheld any portion of the truth from you, especially so serious a +portion of it, he is guilty of a wrong towards you personally, as well +as towards the Government, because he has caused you to assume an +untenable position," and suggesting that a joint commission should be +despatched to Secocoeni, to thoroughly sift the question in the +interest of all concerned. This suggestion was after some delay agreed +to, and a commission was appointed, consisting of Mr. Van Gorkom, a +Hollander, and Mr. Holtshausen, a member of the Executive Council, on +behalf of the Transvaal Government, and Mr. Osborn, R.M., and Captain +Clarke, R.A., on behalf of the Commissioner, whom I accompanied as +Secretary. + +At Middelburg the native Gideon who acted as interpreter between +Commandant Ferreira, C.M.G. (the officer who negotiated the treaty on +behalf of the Boer Government), and Secocoeni was examined, and also +two natives, Petros and Jeremiah, who were with him, but did not +actually interpret. All these men persisted that Secocoeni had +positively refused to become a subject of the Republic, and only +consented to sign the treaty on the representations of Commandant +Ferreira that it would only be binding, as regards to the two articles +about the cattle and the boundary line. + +The Commission then proceeded to Secocoeni's town, accompanied by a +fresh set of interpreters, and had a long interview with Secocoeni. +The chief's Prime Minister or "mouth," Makurupiji, speaking in his +presence, and on his behalf and making use of the pronoun "I" before +all the assembled headmen of the tribe, gave an account of the +interview between Commandant Ferreira in the presence of that +gentleman, who accompanied the commission and Secocoeni, in almost the +same words as had been used by the interpreters at Middelburg. He +distinctly denied having consented to become a subject of the Republic +or to stand under the law, and added that he feared he "had touched +the feather to" (signed) things that he did not know of in the treaty. +Commandant Ferreira then put some questions, but entirely failed to +shake the evidence; on the contrary, he admitted by his questions that +Secocoeni had not consented to become a subject of the Republic. +Secocoeni had evidently signed the piece of paper under the impression +that he was acknowledging his liability to pay 2000 head of cattle, +and fixing a certain portion of his boundary line, and on the distinct +understanding that he was not to become a subject of the State. + +Now it was the Secocoeni war that had brought the English Mission into +the country, and if it could be shown that the Secocoeni war had come +to a successful termination, it would go far towards helping the +Mission out again. To this end, it was necessary that the Chief should +declare himself a subject of the State, and thereby, by implication +acknowledge himself to have been a rebel, and admit his defeat. All +that was required was a signature, and that once obtained the treaty +was published and submitted to the Raad for confirmation, without a +whisper being heard of the conditions under which this ignorant Basutu +was induced to sign. Had no Commission visited Secocoeni, this treaty +would afterwards have been produced against him in its entirety. +Altogether, the history of the Secocoeni Peace Treaty does not +reassure one as to the genuineness of the treaties which the Boers are +continually producing, purporting to have been signed by native +chiefs, and as a general rule presenting the State with great tracts +of country in exchange for a horse or a few oxen. However fond the +natives may be of their Boer neighbours, such liberality can scarcely +be genuine. On the other hand, it is so easy to induce a savage to +sign a paper, or even, if he is reticent, to make a cross for him, and +once made, as we all know, /litera scripa manet/, and becomes title to +the lands. + +During the Secocoeni investigation, affairs in the Transvaal were +steadily drifting towards anarchy. The air was filled with rumours; +now it was reported that an outbreak was imminent amongst the English +population at the Gold Fields, who had never forgotten Von +Schlickmann's kind suggestion that they should be "subdued;" now it +was said that Cetywayo had crossed the border, and might shortly be +expected at Pretoria; now that a large body of Boers were on their +road to shoot the Special Commissioner, his twenty-five policemen and +Englishmen generally, and so on. + +Meanwhile, Paul Kruger and his party were not letting the grass grow +under their feet, but worked public feeling with great vigour, with +the double object of getting Paul made President and ridding +themselves of the English. Articles in his support were printed in the +well-known Dutch paper "Die Patriot," published in the Cape Colony, +which are so typical of the Boers and of the only literature that has +the slightest influence over them, that I will quote a few extracts +from one of them. + +After drawing a very vivid picture of the wretched condition of the +country as compared to what it was when the Kafirs had "a proper +respect" for the Boers, before Burgers came into power, the article +proceeds to give the cause of this state of affairs. "God's word," it +says, "gives us the solution. Look at Israel, while the people have a +godly king, everything is prosperous, but under a godless prince the +land retrogrades, and the whole of the people must suffer. Read +Leviticus, chapter 26, with attention, &c. In the day of the +Voortrekkers (pioneers), a handful of men chased a thousand Kafirs and +made them run; so also in the Free State War (Deut. xxxii. 30; Jos. +xxiii. 10; Lev. xxvi. 8). But mark, now when Burgers became President, +he knows no Sabbath, he rides through the land in and out of town on +Sunday, he knows not the church and God's service (Lev. xxvi. 2-3) to +the scandal of pious people. And he formerly was a priest too. And +what is the consequence? No harvest (Lev. xxvi. 16), an army of 6,000 +men runs because one man falls (Lev. xxvi. 17, &c.) What is now the +remedy?" The remedy proves to be Paul Kruger, "because there is no +other candidate. Because our Lord clearly points him out to be the +man, for why is there no other candidate? Who arranged it this way?" +Then follows a rather odd argument in favour of Paul's election, +"Because he himself (P. Kruger) acknowledges in his own reply that he +is /incompetent/, but that all his ability is from our Lord. Because +he is a warrior. Because he is a Boer." Then Paul Kruger, the warrior +and the Boer, is compared to Joan of Arc, "a simple Boer girl who came +from behind the sheep." The Burghers of Transvaal are exhorted to +acknowledge the hand of the Lord, and elect Paul Kruger, or look for +still heavier punishment. (Lev. xxvi. 18 /et seq/.) Next the "Patriot" +proceeds to give a bit of advice to "our candidate, Paul Kruger." He +is to deliver the land from the Kafirs. "The Lord has given you the +heart of a warrior, arise and drive them," a bit of advice quite +suited to his well-known character. But this chosen vessel was not to +get all the loaves and fishes; on the contrary, as soon as he had +fulfilled his mission of "driving" the Kafirs, he was to hand over his +office to a "good" president. The article ends thus: "If the Lord +wills to use you now to deliver this land from its enemies, and a day +of peace and prosperity arises again, and you see that you are not +exactly the statesman to further govern the Republic, then it will be +your greatest honour to say, 'Citizens, I have delivered you from the +enemy, I am no statesman, but now you have peace and time to choose +and elect a /good/ President.'" + +An article such as the above is instructive reading as showing the low +calibre of the minds that are influenced by it. Yet such writings and +sermons have more power among the Boers than any other arguments, +appealing as they do to the fanaticism and vanity of their nature, +which causes them to believe that the Divinity is continually +interfering on their behalf at the cost of other people. It will be +noticed that the references given are all to the Old Testament, and +nearly all refer to acts of blood. + +These doctrines were not, however, at all acceptable to Burgers' +party, or the more enlightened members of the community, and so bitter +did the struggle of rival opinions become that there is very little +doubt that had the country not been annexed, civil war would have been +added to its other calamities. Meanwhile the natives were from day to +day becoming more restless, and messengers were constantly arriving at +the Special Commissioner's camp, begging that their tribe might be put +under the Queen, and stating that they would fight rather than submit +any longer to the Boers. + +At length on the 9th April, Sir T. Shepstone informed the Government +of the Republic that he was about to declare the Transvaal British +territory. He told them that he had considered and reconsidered his +determination, but that he could see no possible means within the +State by which it could free itself from the burdens that were sinking +it to destruction, adding that if he could have found such means he +would certainly not have hidden them from the Government. This +intimation was received in silence, though all the later proceedings +with reference to the Annexation were in reality carried out in +concert with the Authorities of the Republic. Thus on the 13th March +the Government submitted a paper of ten questions to Sir T. Shepstone +as regards the future condition of the Transvaal under English rule, +whether the debts of the State would be guaranteed, &c. To these +questions replies were given which were on the whole satisfactory to +the Government. As these replies formed the basis of the proclamation +guarantees, it is not necessary to enter into them. + +It was further arranged by the Republican Government that a formal +protest should be entered against the Annexation, which was +accordingly prepared and privately shown to the Special Commissioner. +The annexation proclamation was also shown to President Burgers, and a +paragraph eliminated at his suggestion. In fact, the Special +Commissioner and the President, together with most of his Executive, +were quite at one as regards the necessity of the proclamation being +issued, their joint endeavours being directed to the prevention of any +disturbance, and to secure a good reception for the change. + +At length, after three months of inquiry and negotiation, the +proclamation of annexation was on the 12th of April 1877 read by Mr. +Osborn, accompanied by some other gentlemen of Sir T. Shepstone's +staff. It was an anxious moment for all concerned. To use the words of +the Special Commissioner in his despatch home on the subject, "Every +effort had been made during the previous fortnight by, it is said, +educated Hollanders, and who had but lately arrived in the country to +rouse the fanaticism of the Boers and induce them to offer 'bloody' +resistance to what it was known I intended to do. The Boers were +appealed to in the most inflammatory language by printed manifestoes +and memorials; . . . . it was urged that I had but a small escort +which could easily be overpowered." In a country so full of +desperadoes and fanatical haters of anything English, it was more than +possible than though such an act would have been condemned by the +general sense of the country, a number of men could easily be found +who would think they were doing a righteous act in greeting the +"annexationists" with an ovation of bullets. I do not mean that the +anxiety was personal, because I do not think the members of that small +party set any higher value on their lives than other people, but it +was absolutely necessary for the success of the act itself, and for +the safety of the country, that not a single shot should be fired. Had +that happened it is probable that the whole country would have been +involved in confusion and bloodshed, the Zulus would have broken in, +and the Kafirs would have risen; in fact, to use Cetywayo's words, +"the land would have burned with fire." + +It will therefore be easily understood what an anxious hour that was +both for the Special Commissioner sitting up at Government House, and +for his Staff down on the Market Square, and how thankful they were +when the proclamation was received with hearty cheers by the crowd. +Mr. Burgers' protest, which was read immediately afterwards, was +received in respectful silence. + +And thus the Transvaal Territory passed for a while into the great +family of the English Colonies. I believe that the greatest political +opponent of the act will bear tribute to the very remarkable ability +with which it was carried out. When the variety and number of the +various interests that had to be conciliated, the obstinate nature of +the individuals who had to be convinced, as well as the innate hatred +of the English name and ways which had to be overcome to carry out +this act successfully, are taken into consideration: together with a +thousand other matters, the neglect of any one of which would have +sufficed to make failure certain, it will be seen what tact and skill, +and knowledge of human nature were required to execute so difficult a +task. It must be remembered that no force was used, and that there +never was any threat of force. The few troops that were to enter the +Transvaal were four weeks' march from Pretoria at the time. There was +nothing whatsoever to prevent the Boers putting a summary stop to the +proceedings of the Commissioner if they had thought fit. + +That Sir Theophilus played a bold and hazardous game nobody will deny, +but, like most players who combine boldness with coolness of head and +justice of cause, he won; and, without shedding a single drop of +blood, or even confiscating an acre of land, and at no cost, annexed a +great country, and averted a very serious war. That same country four +years later cost us a million of money, the loss of nearly a thousand +men killed and wounded, and the ruin of many more confiding thousands, +to surrender. It is true, however, that nobody can accuse the +retrocession of having been conducted with judgment or ability--very +much the contrary. + +There can be no more ample justification of the necessity of the issue +of the annexation proclamation than the proclamation itself-- + +First, it touches on the Sand River Convention of 1852, by which +independence was granted to the State, and shows that the "evident +objects and inciting motives" in granting such guarantee were to +promote peace, free-trade and friendly intercourse, in the hope and +belief that the Republic "would become a flourishing and self- +sustaining State, a source of strength and security to neighbouring +European communities, and a point from which Christianity and +civilisation might rapidly spread toward Central Africa." It goes on +to show how these hopes have been disappointed, and how that +"increasing weakness in the State itself on the one side, and more +than corresponding growth of real strength and confidence among the +native tribes on the other have produced their natural and inevitable +consequence. . . . that after more or less of irritating conflict with +aboriginal tribes to the north, there commenced about the year 1867 +gradual abandonment to the natives in that direction of territory, +settled by burghers of the Transvaal in well-built towns and villages +and on granted farms." + +It goes on to show that "this decay of power and ebb of authority in +the north, is being followed by similar processes in the south under +yet more dangerous circumstances. People of this State residing in +that direction have been compelled within the last three months, at +the bidding of native chiefs and at a moment's notice, to leave their +farms and homes, their standing crops. . . . . all to be taken +possession of by natives, but that the Government is more powerless +than ever to vindicate its assumed rights or to resist the declension +that is threatening its existence." It then recites how all the other +colonies and communities of South Africa have lost confidence in the +State, how it is in a condition of hopeless bankruptcy, and its +commerce annihilated whilst the inhabitants are divided into factions, +and the Government has fallen into "helpless paralysis." How also the +prospect of the election of a new President, instead of being looked +forward to with hope, would, in the opinion of all parties, be the +signal for civil war, anarchy, and bloodshed. How that this state of +things affords the very strongest temptation to the great neighbouring +native powers to attack the country, a temptation that they were only +too ready and anxious to yield to, and that the State was in far too +feeble a condition to repel such attacks, from which it had hitherto +only been saved by the repeated representations of the Government of +Natal. The next paragraphs I will quote as they stand, for they sum up +the reasons for the Annexation. + +"That the Secocoeni war, which would have produced but little effect +on a healthy constitution, has not only proved suddenly fatal to the +resources and reputation of the Republic, but has shown itself to be a +culminating point in the history of South Africa, in that a Makatee or +Basutu tribe, unwarlike and of no account in Zulu estimation, +successfully withstood the strength of the State, and disclosed for +the first time to the native powers outside the Republic, from the +Zambesi to the Cape, the great change that had taken place in the +relative strength of the white and black races, that this disclosure +at once shook the prestige of the white man in South Africa, and +placed every European community in peril, that this common danger has +caused universal anxiety, has given to all concerned the right to +investigate its cause, and to protect themselves from its +consequences, and has imposed the duty upon those who have the power +to shield enfeebled civilisation from the encroachments of barbarism +and inhumanity." It proceeds to point out that the Transvaal will be +the first to suffer from the results of its own policy, and that it is +for every reason perfectly impossible for Her Majesty's Government to +stand by and see a friendly white State ravaged, knowing that its own +possessions will be the next to suffer. That H. M. Government, being +persuaded that the only means to prevent such a catastrophe would be +by the annexation of the country, and, knowing that this was the wish +of a large proportion of the inhabitants of the Transvaal, the step +must be taken. Next follows the formal annexation. + +Together with the proclamation, an address was issued by Sir T. +Shepstone to the burghers of the State, laying the facts before them +in a friendly manner, more suited to their mode of thought than it was +possible to do in a formal proclamation. This document, the issue of +which was one of those touches that ensured the success of the +Annexation, was a powerful summing up in colloquial language of the +arguments used in the proclamation strengthened by quotations from the +speeches of the President. It ends with these words: "It remains only +for me to beg of you to consider and weigh what I have said calmly and +without undue prejudice. Let not mere feeling or sentiment prevail +over your judgment. Accept what Her Majesty's Government intends shall +be, and what you will soon find from experience, is a blessing not +only to you and your children, but to the whole of South Africa +through you, and I believe that I speak these words to you as a friend +from my heart." + +Two other proclamations were also issued, one notifying the assumption +of the office of Administrator of the Government by Sir T. Shepstone, +and the other repealing the war-tax, which was doubtless an unequal +and oppressive impost. + +I have in the preceding pages stated all the principal grounds of the +Annexation and briefly sketched the history of that event. In the next +chapter I propose to follow the fortunes of the Transvaal under +British Rule. + + + + CHAPTER IV + + THE TRANSVAAL UNDER BRITISH RULE + + Reception of the annexation--Major Clarke and the Volunteers-- + Effect of the annexation on credit and commerce--Hoisting of the + Union Jack--Ratification of the annexation by Parliament--Messrs. + Kruger and Jorissen's mission to England--Agitation against the + annexation in the Cape Colony--Sir T. Shepstone's tour--Causes of + the growth of discontent among the Boers--Return of Messrs. + Jorissen and Kruger--The Government dispenses with their services + --Despatch of a second deputation to England--Outbreak of war with + Secocoeni--Major Clarke, R.A.--The Gunn of Gunn plot--Mission of + Captain Paterson and Mr. Sergeaunt to Matabeleland--Its melancholy + termination--The Isandhlwana disaster--Departure of Sir T. + Shepstone for England--Another Boer meeting--The Pretoria Horse-- + Advance of the Boers on Pretoria--Arrival of Sir B. Frere at + Pretoria and dispersion of the Boers--Arrival of Sir Garnet + Wolseley--His proclamation--The Secocoeni expedition--Proceedings + of the Boers--Mr. Pretorius--Mr. Gladstone's Mid-Lothian speeches, + their effect--Sir G. Wolseley's speech at Pretoria, its good + results--Influx of Englishmen and cessation of agitation-- + Financial position of the country after three years of British + rule--Letter of the Boer leaders to Mr. Courtney. + +The news of the Annexation was received all over the country with a +sigh of relief, and in many parts of it with great rejoicings. At the +Gold Fields, for instance, special thanksgiving services were held, +and "God save the Queen" was sung in church. Nowhere was there the +slightest disturbance, but, on the contrary, addresses of +congratulation and thanks literally poured in by every mail, many of +them signed by Boers who have since been conspicuous for their bitter +opposition to English rule. At first, there was some doubt as to what +would be the course taken under the circumstances by the volunteers +enlisted by the late Republic. Major Clarke, R.A., was sent to convey +the news, and to take command of them, unaccompanied save by his Kafir +servant. On arrival at the principal fort, he at once ordered the +Republican flag to be hauled down and the Union Jack run up, and his +orders were promptly obeyed. A few days afterwards some members of the +force thought better of it, and having made up their minds to kill +him, came to the tent where he was sitting to carry out their purpose. +On learning their kind intentions, Major Clarke fixed his eye-glass in +his eye, and, after steadily glaring at them through it for some time, +said, "You are all drunk, go back to your tents." The volunteers, +quite overcome by his coolness and the fixity of his gaze, at once +slipped off, and there was no further trouble. About three weeks after +the Annexation, the 1-13th Regiment arrived at Pretoria, having been +very well received all along the road by the Boers, who came from +miles round to hear the band play. Its entry into Pretoria was quite a +sight; the whole population turned out to meet it; indeed the feeling +of rejoicing and relief was so profound that when the band began to +play "God save the Queen" some of the women burst into tears. + +Meanwhile the effect of the Annexation on the country was perfectly +magical. Credit and commerce were at once restored; the railway bonds +that were down to nothing in Holland rose with one bound to par, and +the value of landed property nearly doubled. Indeed it would have been +possible for any one, knowing what was going to happen, to have +realised large sums of money by buying land in the beginning of 1877, +and selling it shortly after the Annexation. + +On the 24th May, being Her Majesty's birthday, all the native chiefs +who were anywhere within reach, were summoned to attend the first +formal hoisting of the English flag. The day was a general festival, +and the ceremony was attended by a large number of Boers and natives +in addition to all the English. At mid-day, amidst the cheers of the +crowd, the salute of artillery, and the strains of "God save the +Queen," the Union Jack was run up a lofty flagstaff, and the Transvaal +was formally announced to be British soil. The flag was hoisted by +Colonel Brooke, R.E., and the present writer. Speaking for myself, I +may say that it was one of the proudest moments of my life. Could I +have foreseen that I should live to see that same flag, then hoisted +with so much joyous ceremony, within a few years shamefully and +dishonourably hauled down and buried,[*] I think it would have been +the most miserable. + +[*] The English flag was during the signing of the Convention at + Pretoria formally buried by a large crowd of Englishmen and loyal + natives. + +The Annexation was as well received in England as it was in the +Transvaal. Lord Carnarvon wrote to Sir T. Shepstone to convey "the +Queen's entire approval of your conduct since you received Her +Majesty's commission, with a renewal of my own thanks on behalf of the +Government for the admirable prudence and discretion with which you +have discharged a great and unwonted responsibility." It was also +accepted by Parliament with very few dissentient voices, since it was +not till afterwards, when the subject became useful as an +electioneering howl, that the Liberal party, headed by our "powerful +popular minister," discovered the deep iniquity that had been +perpetrated in South Africa. So satisfied were the Transvaal Boers +with the change that Messrs. Kruger, Jorissen, and Bok, who formed the +deputation to proceed to England and present President Burgers' formal +protest against the Annexation, found great difficulty in raising one- +half of the necessary expenses--something under one thousand pounds-- +towards the cost of the undertaking. The thirst for independence +cannot have been very great when all the wealthy burghers in the +Transvaal put together would not subscribe a thousand pounds towards +retaining it. Indeed, at this time the members of the deputation +themselves seem to have looked upon their undertaking as being both +doubtful and undesirable, since they informed Sir T. Shepstone that +they were going to Europe to discharge an obligation which had been +imposed upon them, and if the mission failed, they would have done +their duty. Mr. Kruger said that if they did fail, he would be found +to be as faithful a subject under the new form of government as he had +been under the old; and Dr. Jorissen admitted with equal frankness +that "the change was inevitable, and expressed his belief that the +cancellation of it would be calamitous." + +Whilst the Annexation was thus well received in the country +immediately interested, a lively agitation was commenced in the +Western Province of the Cape Colony, a thousand miles away, with a +view of inducing the Home Government to repudiate Sir T. Shepstone's +act. The reason of this movement was that the Cape Dutch party, caring +little or nothing for the real interests of the Transvaal, did care a +great deal about their scheme to turn all the white communities of +South Africa into a great Dutch Republic, to which they thought the +Annexation would be a deathblow. As I have said elsewhere, it must be +borne in mind that the strings of the anti-annexation agitation have +all along been pulled in the Western Province, whilst the Transvaal +Boers have played the parts of puppets. The instruments used by the +leaders of the movement in the Cape were, for the most part, the +discontented and unprincipled Hollander element, a newspaper of an +extremely abusive nature called the "Volkstem," and another in Natal +known as the "Natal Witness," lately edited by the notorious Aylward, +which has an almost equally unenviable reputation. + +On the arrival of Messrs. Jorissen and Kruger in England, they were +received with great civility by Lord Carnarvon, who was, however, +careful to explain to them that the Annexation was irrevocable. In +this decision they cheerfully acquiesced, assuring his lordship of +their determination to do all they could to induce the Boers to accept +the new state of things, and expressing their desire to be allowed to +serve under the new Government. + +Whilst these gentlemen were thus satisfactorily arranging matters with +Lord Carnarvon, Sir T. Shepstone was making a tour round the country +which resembled a triumphal progress more than anything else. He was +everywhere greeted with enthusiasm by all classes of the community, +Boers, English, and natives, and numerous addresses were presented to +him couched in the warmest language, not only by Englishmen but also +by Boers. + +It is very difficult to reconcile the enthusiasm of a great number of +the inhabitants of the Transvaal for English rule, and the quite +acquiescence of the remainder, at this time, with the decidedly +antagonistic attitude assumed later on. It appears to me, however, +that there are several reasons that go far towards accounting for it. +The Transvaal, when we annexed it, was in the position of a man with a +knife at his throat, who is suddenly rescued by some one stronger than +he, on certain conditions which at the time he gladly accepts, but +afterwards, when the danger is passed, wishes to repudiate. In the +same way the inhabitants of the South African Republic, were in the +time of need very thankful for our aid, but after a while, when the +recollection of their difficulties had grown faint, when their debts +had been paid and their enemies defeated, they began to think that +they would like to get rid of us again, and start fresh on their own +account, with a clean sheet. What fostered agitation more than +anything else, however, was the perfect impunity in which it was +allowed to be carried on. Had only a little firmness and decision been +shown in the first instance there would have been no further trouble. +We might have been obliged to confiscate half-a-dozen farms, and +perhaps imprison as many free burghers for a few months, and there it +would have ended. Neither Boers or natives understand our namby-pamby +way of playing at government; they put it down to fear. What they +want, and what they expect, is to be governed with a just but a firm +hand. Thus when the Boers found that they could agitate with impunity, +they naturally enough continued to agitate. Anybody who knows them +will understand that it was very pleasant to them to find themselves +in possession of that delightful thing, a grievance, and, instead of +stopping quietly at home on their farms, to feel obliged to proceed, +full of importance and long words, to a distant meeting, there to +spout and listen to the spouting of others. It is so much easier to +talk politics than to sow mealies. Some attribute the discontent among +the Boers to the postponement of the carrying out of the annexation +proclamation promises with reference to the free institutions to be +granted to the country, but in my opinion it had little or nothing to +do with it. The Boers never understood the question of responsible +government, and never wanted that institution; what they did want was +to be free of all English control, and this they said twenty times in +the most outspoken language. I think there is little doubt the causes +I have indicated are the real sources of the agitation, though there +must be added to them their detestation of our mode of dealing with +natives, and of being forced to pay taxes regularly, and also the +ceaseless agitation of the Cape wire-pullers, through their agents the +Hollanders, and their organs in the press. + +On the return of Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen to the Transvaal, the +latter gentleman resumed his duties as Attorney-General, on which +occasion, if I remember aright, I myself had the honour of +administering to him the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty, that he +afterwards kept so well. The former reported the proceedings of the +deputation to a Boer meeting, when he took a very different tone to +that in which he addressed Lord Carnarvon, announcing that if there +existed a majority of the people in favour of independence, he still +was Vice-President of the country. + +Both these gentlemen remained for some time in the pay of the British +Government, Mr. Jorissen as Attorney-General, and Mr. Kruger as member +of the Executive Council. The Government, however, at length found it +desirable to dispense with their services, though on different +grounds. Mr. Jorissen had, like several other members of the +Republican Government, been a clergyman, and was quite unfit to hold +the post of Attorney-General in an important colony like the +Transvaal, where legal questions were constantly arising requiring all +the attention of a trained mind; and after he had on several occasions +been publicly admonished from the bench, the Government retired him on +liberal terms. Needless to say, his opposition to English rule then +became very bitter. Mr. Kruger's appointment expired by law in +November 1877, and the Government did not think it advisable to +re-employ him. The terms of his letter of dismissal can be found on +page 135 of Blue Book (c. 144), and involving as they do a serious +charge of misrepresentation in money matters, are not very creditable +to him. After this event he also pursued the cause of independence +with increased vigour. + +During the last months of 1877 and the first part of 1878 agitation +against British rule went on unchecked, and at last grew to alarming +proportions, so much so that Sir T. Shepstone, on his return from the +Zulu border in March 1878, where he had been for some months +discussing the vexed and dangerous question of the boundary line with +the Zulus, found it necessary to issue a stringent proclamation +warning the agitators that their proceedings and meetings were +illegal, and would be punished according to law. This document which +was at the time vulgarly known as the "Hold-your-jaw" proclamation, +not being followed by action, produced but little effect. + +On the 4th April 1878 another Boer meeting was convened, at which it +was decided to send a second deputation to England, to consist this +time of Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, with Mr. Bok as secretary. This +deputation proved as abortive as the first, Sir M. Hicks Beach +assuring it, in a letter dated 6th August 1878, that it is +"impossible, for many reasons, . . . . that the Queen's sovereignty +should now be withdrawn." + +Whilst the Government was thus hampered by internal disaffection, it +had also many other difficulties on its hands. First, there was the +Zulu boundary question, which was constantly developing new dangers to +the country. Indeed, it was impossible to say what might happen in +that direction from one week to another. Nor were its relations with +Secocoeni satisfactory. It will be remembered that just before the +Annexation this chief had expressed his earnest wish to become a +British subject, and even paid over part of the fine demanded from him +by the Boer Government to the Civil Commissioner, Major Clarke. In +March 1878, however, his conduct towards the Government underwent a +sudden change, and he practically declared war. It afterwards +appeared, from Secocoeni's own statement, that he was instigated to +this step by a Boer, Abel Erasmus by name--the same man who was +concerned in the atrocities in the first Secocoeni war--who constantly +encouraged him to continue the struggle. I do not propose to minutely +follow the course of this long war, which, commencing in the beginning +of 1878, did not come to an end till after the Zulu war: when Sir +Garnet Wolseley attacked Secocoeni's stronghold with a large force of +troops, volunteers, and Swazi allies, and took it with great +slaughter. The losses on our side were not very heavy, so far as white +men were concerned, but the Swazies are reported to have lost 400 +killed and 500 wounded. + +The struggle was, during the long period preceding the final attack, +carried on with great courage and ability by Major Clarke, R.A., +C.M.G., whose force, at the best of times, only consisted of 200 +volunteers and 100 Zulus. With this small body of men he contrived, +however, to keep Secocoeni in check, and to take some important +strongholds. It was marked also by some striking acts of individual +bravery, of which one, performed by Major Clarke himself, whose +reputation for cool courage and presence of mind in danger is +unsurpassed in South Africa, is worthy of notice; and which, had +public attention been more concentrated on the Secocoeni war, would +doubtless have won him the Victoria Cross. On one occasion, on +visiting one of the outlying forts, he found that a party of hostile +natives, who were coming down to the fort on the previous day with a +flag of truce, had been accidentally fired upon, and had at once +retreated. As his system in native warfare was always to try and +inspire his enemy with perfect faith in the honour of Englishmen, and +their contempt of all tricks and treachery even towards a foe, he was +very angry at this occurrence, and at once, unarmed and unattended +save by his native servant, rode up into the mountains to the kraal +from which the white flag party had come on the previous day, and +apologised to the Chief for what had happened. When I consider how +very anxious Secocoeni's natives were to kill or capture Clarke, whom +they held in great dread, and how terrible the end of so great a +captain would in all probability have been had he taken alive by these +masters of refined torture, I confess that I think this act of +gentlemanly courage is one of the most astonishing things I ever heard +of. When he rode up those hills he must have known that he was +probably going to meet his death at the hands of justly incensed +savages. When Secocoeni heard of what Major Clarke had done he was so +pleased that he shortly afterwards released a volunteer whom he had +taken prisoner, and who would otherwise, in all probability, have been +tortured to death. I must add that Major Clarke himself never reported +to or alluded to this incident, but an account of it can be found in a +despatch written by Sir O. Lanyon to the Secretary of State, dated 2d +February 1880. + +Concurrently with, though entirely distinct from, the political +agitation that was being carried on among the Boers having for object +the restoration of independence, a private agitation was set on foot +by a few disaffected persons against Sir T. Shepstone, with the view +of obtaining his removal from office in favour of a certain Colonel +Weatherley. The details of this impudent plot are so interesting, and +the plot itself so typical of the state of affairs with which Sir T. +Shepstone had to deal, that I will give a short account of it. + +After the Annexation had taken place, there were naturally enough a +good many individuals who found themselves disappointed in the results +so far as they personally were concerned; I mean that they did not get +so much out of it as they expected. Among these was a gentleman called +Colonel Weatherley, who had come to the Transvaal as manager of a +gold-mining company, but getting tired of that had taken a prominent +part in the Annexation, and who, being subsequently disappointed about +an appointment, became a bitter enemy of the Administrator. I may say +at once that Colonel Weatherley seems to me to have been throughout +the dupe of the other conspirators. + +The next personage was a good-looking desperado, who called himself +Captain Gunn of Gunn, and who was locally somewhat irreverently known +as the very Gunn of very Gunn. This gentleman, whose former career had +been of a most remarkable order, was, on the annexation of the +country, found in the public prison charged with having committed +various offences, but on Colonel Weatherley's interesting himself +strongly on his behalf, he was eventually released without trial. On +his release, he requested the Administrator to publish a Government +notice declaring him innocent of the charges brought against him. This +Sir T. Shepstone declined to do, and so, to use his own words, in a +despatch to the High Commissioner on the subject, Captain Gunn of Gunn +at once became "what in this country is called a patriot." + +The third person concerned was a lawyer, who had got into trouble on +the Diamond Fields, and who felt himself injured because the rules of +the High Court did not allow him to practise as an advocate. The +quartet was made up by Mr. Celliers, the editor of the patriotic +organ, the "Volkstem," who, since he had lost the Government printing +contract, found that no language could be too strong to apply to the +/personnel/ of the Government, more especially its head. Of course, +there was a lady in it; what plot would be complete without? She was +Mrs. Weatherley, now, I believe, Mrs. Gunn of Gunn. These gentlemen +began operations by drawing up a long petition to Sir Bartle Frere as +High Commissioner, setting forth a string of supposed grievances, and +winding up with a request that the Administrator might be "promoted to +some other sphere of political usefulness." This memorial was +forwarded by the "committee," as they called themselves, to various +parts of the country for signature, but without the slightest success, +the fact of the matter being that it was not the Annexor but the +Annexation that the Boers objected to. + +At this stage in the proceedings Colonel Weatherley went to try and +forward the good cause with Sir Bartle Frere at the Cape. His letters +to Mrs. Weatherley from thence, afterwards put into Court in the +celebrated divorce case, contained many interesting accounts of his +attempts in that direction. I do not think, however, that he was +cognisant of what was being concocted by his allies in Pretoria, but +being a very vain, weak man, was easily deceived by them. With all his +faults he was a gentleman. As soon as he was gone a second petition +was drawn up by the "committee," showing "the advisability of +immediately suspending our present Administrator, and temporarily +appointing and recommending for Her Majesty's royal and favourable +consideration an English gentleman of high integrity and honour, in +whom the country at large has respect and confidence." + +The English gentleman of high integrity and honour of course proves to +be Colonel Weatherley, whose appointment is, further on, "respectfully +but earnestly requested," since he had "thoroughly gained the +affections, confidence, and respect of Boers, English, and other +Europeans in this country." But whilst it is comparatively easy to +write petitions, there is sometimes a difficulty in getting people to +sign them, as proved to be the case with reference to the documents +under consideration. When the "committee" and the employes in the +office of the "Volkstem" had affixed their valuable signatures it was +found to be impossible to induce anybody else to follow their example. +Now, a petition with some half dozen signatures attached would not, it +was obvious, carry much weight with the Imperial Government, and no +more could be obtained. + +But really great minds rise superior to such difficulties, and so did +the "committee," or some of them, or one of them. If they could not +get genuine signatures to their petitions, they could at any rate +manufacture them. This great idea once hit out, so vigorously was it +prosecuted that they, or some of them, or one of them, produced in a +very little while no less than 3883 signatures, of which sixteen were +proved to be genuine, five were doubtful, and all the rest fictitious. +But the gentleman, whoever he was, who was the working partner in the +scheme--and I may state, by way of parenthesis, that when Gunn of Gunn +was subsequently arrested, petitions in process of signature were +found under the mattress of his bed--calculated without his host. He +either did not know, or had forgotten, that on receipt of such +documents by a superior officer, they are at once sent to the officer +accused to report upon. This course was followed in the present case, +and the petitions were discovered to be gross impostures. The +ingenuity exercised by their author or authors was really very +remarkable, for it must be remembered that not one of the signatures +was forged; they were all invented, and had, of course, to be written +in a great variety of hands. The plan generally pursued was to put +down the names of people living in the country, with slight +variations. Thus "De /V/illiers" became "De /W/illiers," and "Van +Z/y/l" "Van Z/u/l." I remember that my own name appeared on one of the +petitions with some slight alteration. Some of the names were +evidently meant to be facetious. Thus there was a "Jan Verneuker," +which means "John the Cheat." + +Of the persons directly or indirectly concerned in this rascally plot, +the unfortunate Colonel Weatherly subsequently apologised to Sir T. +Shepstone for his share in the agitation, and shortly afterwards died +fighting bravely on Kambula. Captain Gunn of Gunn and Mrs. Weatherley, +after having given rise to the most remarkable divorce case I ever +heard,--it took fourteen days to try--were, on the death of Colonel +Weatherley, united in the bonds of holy matrimony, and are, I believe, +still in Pretoria. The lawyer vanished I know not where, whilst Mr. +Celliers still continues to edit that admirably conducted journal the +"Volkstem;" nor, if I may judge from the report of a speech made by +him recently at a Boer festival, which, by the way, was graced by the +presence of our representative, Mr. Hudson, the British Resident: has +his right hand forgotten its cunning, or rather his tongue lost the +use of those peculiar and recherche epithets that used to adorn the +columns of the "Volkstem." I see that he, on this occasion, denounced +the English element as being "poisonous and dangerous" to a State, and +stated, amidst loud cheers, that "he despised" it. Mr. Cellier's lines +have fallen in pleasant places; in any other country he would long ago +have fallen a victim to the stern laws of libel. I recommend him to +the notice of enterprising Irish newspapers. Such is the freshness and +vigour of his style that I am confident he would make the fortune of +any Hibernian journal. + +Some little time after the Gunn of Gunn frauds a very sad incident +happened in connection with the Government of the Transvaal. Shortly +after the Annexation, the Home Government sent out Mr. Sergeaunt, +C.M.G., one of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, to report on the +financial condition of the country. He was accompanied, in an +unofficial capacity, amongst other gentlemen, by Captain Patterson and +his son, Mr. J Sergeaunt; and when he returned to England, these two +gentlemen remained behind to go on a shooting expedition. About this +time Sir Bartle Frere was anxious to send a friendly mission to Lo +Bengula, king of the Matabele, a branch of the Zulu tribe, living up +towards the Zambesi. This chief had been making himself unpleasant by +causing traders to be robbed, and it was thought desirable to +establish friendly relations with him, so it was suggested to Captain +Patterson and Mr. Sergeaunt that they should combine business with +pleasure, and go on a mission to Lo Bengula, an offer which they +accepted, and shortly afterwards started for Matabeleland with an +interpreter and a few servants. They reached their destination in +safety; and having concluded their business with the king, started on +a visit to the Zambesi Falls on foot, leaving the interpreter with the +wagon. The falls were about twelve days' walk from the king's kraal, +and they were accompanied thither by young Mr. Thomas, the son of the +local missionary, two Kafir servants, and twenty native bearers +supplied by Lo Bengula. The next thing that was heard of them was that +they had all died through drinking poisoned water, full details of the +manner of their deaths being sent down by Lo Bengula. + +In the first shock and confusion of such news it was not very closely +examined, at any rate by the friends of the dead men, but, on +reflection, there were several things about it that appeared strange. +For instance, it was well known that Captain Patterson had a habit, +for which indeed, we had often laughed at him, of, however thirsty he +might be, always having his water boiled when he was travelling, in +order to destroy impurities: and it seemed odd, that he should on this +one occasion, have neglected the precaution. Also, it was curious that +the majority of Lo Bengula's bearers appeared to have escaped, whereas +all the others were, without exception, killed; nor even in that +district is it usual to find water so bad that it will kill with the +rapidity it had been supposed to do in this case, unless indeed it had +been designedly poisoned. These doubts of the poisoning-by-water-story +resolved themselves into certainty when the waggon returned in charge +of the interpreter, when, by putting two and two together, we were +able to piece out the real history of the diabolical murder of our +poor friends with considerable accuracy, a story which shows what +bloodthirsty wickedness a savage is capable of when he fancies his +interests are threatened. + +It appeared that, when Captain Patterson first interviewed Lo Bengula, +he was not at all well received by him. I must, by way of explanation, +state that there exists a Pretender to his throne, Kruman by name, +who, as far as I can make out, is the real heir to the kingdom. This +man had, for some cause or other, fled the country, and for a time +acted as gardener to Sir T. Shepstone in Natal. At the date of Messrs. +Patterson and Sergeaunt's mission to Matabeleland he was living, I +believe, in the Transvaal. Captain Patterson, on finding himself so +ill received by the king, and not being sufficiently acquainted with +the character of savage chiefs, most unfortunately, either by accident +or design, dropped some hint in the course of conversation about this +Kruman. From that moment, Lo Bengula's conduct towards the mission +entirely changed, and, dropping his former tone, he became profusely +civil; and from that moment, too, he doubtless determined to kill +them, probably fearing that they might forward some scheme to oust him +and place Kruman, on whose claim a large portion of his people looked +favourably, on the throne. + +When their business was done, and Captain Patterson told the king that +they were anxious, before returning, to visit the Zambesi Falls, he +readily fell in with their wish, but, in the first instance, refused +permission to young Thomas, the son of the missionary, to accompany +them, only allowing him to do so on the urgent representation of +Captain Patterson. The reason for this was, no doubt, that he had +kindly feelings towards the lad, and did not wish to include him in +the slaughter. + +Captain Patterson was a man of extremely methodical habits, and, +amongst other things, was in the habit of making notes of all that he +did. His note-book had been taken off his body, and sent down to +Pretoria with the other things. In it we found entries of his +preparations for the trip, including the number and names of the +bearers provided by Lo Bengula. We also found the chronicle of the +first three days' journey, and that of the morning of the fourth day, +but there the record stopped. The last entry was probably made a few +minutes before he was killed; and it is to be observed that there was +no entry of the party having been for several days without water, as +stated by the messengers, and then finding the poisoned water. + +This evidence by itself would not have amounted to much, but now comes +the curious part of the story, showing the truth of the old adage, +"Murder will out." It appears that when the waggon was coming down to +Pretoria in charge of the interpreter, it was outspanned one day +outside the borders of Lo Bengula's country, when some Kafirs-- +Bechuanas, I think--came up, asked for some tobacco, and fell into +conversation with the driver, remarking that he had come up with a +full waggon, and now he went down with an empty one. The driver +replied by lamenting the death by poisoned water of his masters, +whereupon one of the Kafirs told him the following story:--He said +that a brother of his was out hunting, a little while back, in the +desert for ostriches, with a party of other Kafirs, when hearing shots +fired some way off, they made for the spot, thinking that white men +were out shooting, and that they would be able to beg meat. On +reaching the spot, which was by a pool of water, they saw the bodies +of three white men lying on the ground, and also those of a Hottentot +and a Kafir, surrounded by an armed party of Kafirs. They at once +asked the Kafirs what they had been doing killing the white men, and +were told to be still, for it was by "order of the king." They then +learned the whole story. It appeared that the white men had made a +mid-day halt by the water, when one of the bearers, who had gone to +the edge of the pool, suddenly shouted to them to come and look at a +great snake in the water. Captain Patterson ran up, and, as he leaned +over the edge, was instantly killed by a blow with an axe; the others +were then shot and assegaied. The Kafir further described the clothes +that his brother had seen on the bodies, and also some articles that +had been given to his party by the murderers, that left little doubt +as to the veracity of his story. And so ended the mission to +Matabeleland. + +No public notice was taken of the matter, for the obvious reason that +it was impossible to get at Lo Bengula to punish him; nor would it +have been easy to come by legal evidence to disprove the ingenious +story of the poisoned water, since anybody trying to reach the spot of +the massacre would probably fall a victim to some similar accident +before he got back again. It is devoutly to be hoped that the +punishment he deserves will sooner or later overtake the author of +this devilish and wholesale murder. + +The beginning of 1879 was signalised by the commencement of operations +in Zululand and by the news of the terrible disaster at Isandhlwana, +which fell on Pretoria like a thunderclap. It was not, however, any +surprise to those who were acquainted with Zulu tactics and with the +plan of attack adopted by the English commanders. In fact, I know that +one solemn warning of what would certainly happen to him, if he +persisted in his plan of advance, was addressed to Lord Chelmsford, +through the officer in command at Pretoria, by a gentlemen whose +position and long experience of the Zulus and their mode of attack +should have carried some weight. If it ever reached him, he took, to +the best of my recollection, no notice of it whatever. + +But though some such disaster was daily expected by a few, the +majority of both soldiers and civilians never dreamed of anything of +the sort, the general idea being that the conquest of Cetywayo was a +very easy undertaking: and the shock produced by the news of +Isandhlwana was proportionally great, especially as it reached +Pretoria in a much exaggerated form. I shall never forget the +appearance of the town that morning; business was entirely suspended, +and the streets were filled with knots of men talking, with scared +faces, as well they might: for there was scarcely anybody but had lost +a friend, and many thought that their sons or brothers were among the +dead on that bloody field. Among others, Sir T. Shepstone lost one +son, and thought for some time that he had lost three. + +Shortly after this event Sir T. Shepstone went to England to confer +with the Secretary of State on various matters connected with the +Transvaal, carrying with him the affection and respect of all who knew +him, not excepting the majority of the malcontent Boers. He was +succeeded by Colonel, now Sir Owen Lanyon, who was appointed to +administer the Government during the absence of Sir T. Shepstone. + +By the Boers, however, the news of our disaster was received with +great and unconcealed rejoicing, or at least by the irreconcilable +portion of that people. England's necessity was their opportunity, and +one of which they certainly meant to avail themselves. Accordingly, +notices were sent out summoning the burghers of the Transvaal to +attend a mass meeting on the 18th March, at a place about thirty miles +from Pretoria. Emissaries were also sent to native chiefs, to excite +them to follow Cetywayo's example, and massacre all the English within +reach, of whom a man called Solomon Prinsloo was one of the most +active. The natives, however, notwithstanding the threats used towards +them, one and all declined the invitation. + +It must not be supposed that all the Boers who attended these meetings +did so of their own free will; on the contrary, a very large number +came under compulsion, since they found that the English authorities +were powerless to give them protection. The recalcitrants were +threatened with all sorts of pains and penalties if they did not +attend, a favourite menace being that they should be made "biltong" of +when the country was given back (i.e., be cut into strips and hung in +the sun to dry). Few, luckily for themselves, were brave enough to +tempt fortune by refusing to come, but those who did, have had to +leave the country since the war. Whatever were the means employed, the +result was an armed meeting of about 3000 Boers, who evidently meant +mischief. + +Just about this time a corps had been raised in Pretoria, composed, +for the most part, of gentlemen, and known as the Pretoria Horse; for +the purpose of proceeding to the Zulu border, where cavalry, +especially cavalry acquainted with the country, was earnestly needed. +In the emergency of the times officials were allowed to join this +corps, a permission of which I availed myself, and was elected one of +the lieutenants.[*] The corps was not, after all, allowed to go to +Zululand on account of the threatening aspect adopted by the Boers, +against whom it was retained for service. In my capacity as an officer +of the corps I was sent out with a small body of picked men, all good +riders and light weights, to keep up a constant communication between +the Boer camp and the Administrator, and found the work both +interesting and exciting. My head-quarters were at an inn about +twenty-five miles from Pretoria, to which our agents in the meeting +used to come every evening and report how matters were proceeding, +whereupon, if the road was clear, I despatched a letter to head- +quarters; or, if I feared that the messengers would be caught /en +route/ by Boer patrols and searched, I substituted different coloured +ribbons according to what I wished to convey. There was a relief +hidden in the trees or rocks every six miles, all day and most of the +night, whose business it was to take the despatch or ribbon and gallop +on with it to the next station, in which way we used to get the +despatches into town in about an hour and a quarter. + +[*] It is customary in South African volunteer forces to allow the + members to elect their own officers, provided the men elected are + such as the Government approves. This is done, so that the corps + may not afterwards be able to declare that they have no confidence + in their officers in action, or to grumble at their treatment by + them. + +On one or two occasions the Boers came to the inn and threatened to +shoot us, but as our orders were to do nothing unless our lives were +actually in danger, we took no notice. The officer who came out to +relieve me had not, however, been there more than a day or two before +he and all his troopers, were hunted back into Pretoria by a large mob +of armed Boers whom they only escaped by very hard riding. + +Meanwhile the Boers were by degrees drawing nearer and nearer to the +town, till at last they pitched their laagers within six miles, and +practically besieged it. All business was stopped, the houses were +loopholed and fortified, and advantageous positions were occupied by +the military and the various volunteer corps. The building, normally +in the occupation of the Government mules, fell to the lot of the +Pretoria Horse, and, though it was undoubtedly a post of honour, I +honestly declare that I have no wish to sleep for another month in a +mule stable that has not been cleaned out for several years. However, +by sinking a well, and erecting bastions and a staging for sharp- +shooters, we converted it into an excellent fortress, though it would +not have been of much use against artillery. Our patrols used to be +out all night, since we chiefly feared a night attack, and generally +every preparation was made to resist the onset that was hourly +expected, and I believe that it was that state of preparedness that +alone prevented it. + +Whilst this meeting was going on, and when matters had come to a point +that seemed to render war inevitable, Sir B. Frere arrived at Pretoria +and had several interviews with the Boer leaders, at which they +persisted in demanding their independence, and nothing short of it. +After a great deal of talk the meeting finally broke up without any +actual appeal to arms, though it had, during its continuance, assumed +many of the rights of government, such as stopping post-carts and +individuals, and sending armed patrols about the country. The +principal reason of its break-up was that the Zulu war was now drawing +to a close, and the leaders saw that there would soon be plenty of +troops available to suppress any attempt at revolt, but they also saw +to what lengths they could go with impunity. They had for a period of +nearly two months been allowed to throw the whole country into +confusion, to openly violate the laws, and to intimidate and threaten +Her Majesty's loyal subjects with war and death. The lesson was not +lost on them; but they postponed action till a more favourable +opportunity offered. + +Sir Bartle Frere before his departure took an opportunity at a public +dinner given him at Potchefstroom of assuring the loyal inhabitants of +the country that the Transvaal would never be given back. + +Meanwhile a new Pharaoh had arisen in Egypt, in the shape of Sir G. +Wolseley, and on the 29th June 1879 we find him communicating the fact +to Sir O. Lanyon in very plain language, telling him that he +disapproved of his course of action with regard to Secocoeni, and that +"in future you will please take orders only from me." + +As soon as Sir Garnet had completed his arrangements for the +pacification of Zululand, he proceeded to Pretoria, and having caused +himself to be sworn in as Governor, set vigorously to work. I must say +that in his dealings with the Transvaal he showed great judgment and a +keen appreciation of what the country needed, namely, strong +government; the fact of the matter being, I suppose, that being very +popular with the Home authorities he felt that he could more or less +command their support in what he did, a satisfaction not given to most +governors, who never know but that they may be thrown overboard in +emergency, in lighten the ship. + +One of his first acts was to issue a proclamation, stating that +"Whereas it appears that, notwithstanding repeated assurances of the +contrary given by Her Majesty's representatives in this territory, +uncertainty or misapprehension exists amongst some of Her Majesty's +subjects as to the intention of Her Majesty's Government regarding the +maintenance of British rule and sovereignty over the territory of the +Transvaal: and whereas it is expedient that all grounds for such +uncertainty or misapprehension should be removed once and for all +beyond doubt or question: now therefore I do hereby proclaim and make +known, in the name and on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, that it is +the will and determination of Her Majesty's Government that this +Transvaal territory shall be, /and shall continue to be for ever/, an +integral portion of Her Majesty's dominions in South Africa." + +Alas! Sir G. Wolseley's estimate of the value of a solemn pledge thus +made in the name of Her Majesty, whose word has hitherto been held to +be sacred, differed greatly to that of Mr. Gladstone and his +Government. + +Sir Garnet Wolseley's operations against Secocoeni proved eminently +successful, and were the best arranged bit of native warfare that I +have yet heard of in South Africa. One blow was struck, and only one, +but that was crushing. Of course the secret of his success lay in the +fact that he had an abundance of force; but it was not ensured by that +alone, good management being very requisite in an affair of the sort, +especially where native allies have to be dealt with. The cost of the +expedition, not counting other Secocoeni war expenditure, amounted to +over 300,000 pounds, all of which is now lost to this country. + +Another step in the right direction undertaken by Sir Garnet was the +establishment of an Executive Council and also of a Legislative +Council, for the establishment of which Letters Patent were sent from +Downing Street in November 1880. + +Meanwhile the Boers, paying no attention to the latter proclamation, +for they guessed that it, like other proclamations in the Transvaal, +would be a mere /brutum fulmen/, had assembled for another mass +meeting, at which they went forward a step, and declared a Government +which was to treat with the English authorities. They had now learnt +that they could do what they liked with perfect impunity, provided +they did not take the extreme course of massacring the English. They +had yet to learn that they might even do that. At the termination of +this meeting, a vote of thanks was passed to "Mr. Leonard Courtney of +London, and other members of the British Parliament." It was wise of +the Boer leaders to cultivate Mr. Courtney of London. As a result of +this meeting, Pretorius, one of the principal leaders, and Bok, the +secretary, were arrested on a charge of treason, and underwent a +preliminary examination; but as the Secretary of State, Sir M. Hicks +Beach, looked rather timidly on the proceeding, and the local +authorities were doubtful of securing a verdict, the prosecution was +abandoned, and necessarily did more harm than good, being looked upon +as another proof of the impotence of the Government. + +Shortly afterwards, Sir G. Wolseley changed his tactics, and, instead +of attempting to imprison Pretorius, offered him a seat on the +Executive Council, with a salary attached. This was a much more +sensible way of dealing with him, and he at once rose to the bait, +stating his willingness to join the Government after a while, but that +he could not publicly do so at the moment lest he should lose his +influence with those who were to be brought round through him. It does +not, however, appear that Mr. Pretorius ever did actually join the +Executive, probably because he found public opinion too strong to +allow him to do so. + +In December 1879, a new light broke upon the Boers, for, in the +previous month Mr. Gladstone had been delivering his noted attack on +the policy of the Conservative Government. Those Mid-Lothian speeches +did harm, it is said, in many parts of the world; but I venture to +think that they have proved more mischievous in South Africa than +anywhere else; at any rate, they have borne fruit sooner. It is not to +be supposed that Mr. Gladstone really cared anything about the +Transvaal or its independence when he was denouncing the hideous +outrage that had been perpetrated by the Conservative Government in +annexing it. On the contrary, as he acquiesced in the Annexation at +the time (when Lord Kimberley stated that it was evidently +unavoidable), and declined to rescind it when he came into power, it +is to be supposed that he really approved of it, or at the least +looked on it as a necessary evil. However this may be, any stick will +do to beat a dog with, and the Transvaal was a convenient point on +which to attack the Government. He probably neither knew nor cared +what effect his reckless words might have on ignorant Boers thousands +of miles away; and yet, humanly speaking, many a man would have been +alive and strong to-day, whose bones now whiten the African Veldt, had +those words never been spoken. Then, for the first time, the Boers +learnt that, if they played their cards properly and put on sufficient +pressure, they would, in the event of the Liberal party coming to +office, have little difficulty in coercing it as they wished. + +There was a fair chance at the time of the utterance of the Mid- +Lothian speeches that the agitation would, by degrees, die away; Sir +G. Wolseley had succeeded in winning over Pretorius, and the Boers in +general were sick of mass meetings. Indeed, a memorial was addressed +to Sir G. Wolseley by a number of Boers in the Potchefstroom district, +protesting against the maintenance of the movement against Her +Majesty's rule, which, considering the great amount of intimidation +exercised by the malcontents, may be looked upon as a favourable sign. + +But when it slowly came to be understood among the Boers that a great +English Minister had openly espoused their cause, and that he would +perhaps soon be all-powerful, the moral gain to them was incalculable. +They could now go to the doubting ones and say,--we must be right +about the matter, because, putting our own feelings out of the +question, the great Gladstone says we are. We find the committee of +the Boer malcontents, at their meeting in March 1880, reading a letter +to Mr. Gladstone, "in which he was thanked for the great sympathy +shown to their fate," and a hope expressed that, if he succeeded in +getting power, he would not forget them. In fact, a charming unanimity +prevailed between our great Minister and the Boer rebels, for their +interests were the same, the overthrow of the Conservative Government. +If, however, every leader of the Opposition were to intrigue, or +countenance intrigues with those who are seeking to undermine the +authority of Her Majesty, whether they be Boers or Irishmen, in order +to help himself to power, the country might suffer in the long run. + +But whatever feelings may have prompted Her Majesty's opposition, the +Home Government, and their agent, Sir Garnet Wolseley, blew no +uncertain blast, if we may judge from their words and actions. Thus we +find Sir Garnet speaking as follows at a banquet given in his honour +at Pretoria:-- + +"I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating in +this way, for a change of Government in England may give them again +the old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance of English +politics than such an idea; I tell you that there is no Government, +Whig or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical, /who would dare under +any circumstances to give back this country/. They would not dare, +because the English people would not allow them. To give back the +country, what would it mean? To give it back to external danger, to +the danger of attack by hostile tribes on its frontier, and who, if +the English Government were removed for one day, would make themselves +felt the next. Not an official of Government paid for months; it would +mean national bankruptcy. No taxes being paid, the same thing +recurring again which had existed before would mean danger without, +anarchy and civil war within, every possible misery; the strangulation +of trade, and the destruction of property." + +It is very amusing to read this passage by the light of after events. +On other occasions Sir Garnet Wolseley will probably not be quite so +confident as to the future when it is to be controlled by a Radical +Government. + +This explicit and straightforward statement of Sir Garnet's produced a +great effect on the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal, which was +heightened by the publication of the following telegram from the +Secretary of State:--"You may fully confirm explicit statements made +from the time to time as to inability of Her Majesty's Government to +entertain /any proposal/ for withdrawal of the Queen's sovereignty." + +On the faith of these declarations many Englishmen migrated to the +Transvaal and settled there, whilst those who were in the country now +invested all their means, being confident that they would not lose +their property through its being returned to the Boers. The excitement +produced by Mr. Gladstone's speeches began to quiet down and be +forgotten for the time, arrear taxes were paid up by the malcontents, +and generally the aspect of affairs was such, in Sir Garnet Wolseley's +opinion, as justified him in writing, in April 1880, to the Secretary +of State expressing his belief that the agitation was dying out.[*] +Indeed, so sanguine was he on that point that he is reported to have +advised the withdrawal of the cavalry regiment stationed in the +territory, a piece of economy that was one of the immediate causes of +the revolt. + +The reader will remember the financial condition of the country at the +time of the Annexation, which was one of utter bankruptcy. After three +years of British rule, however, we find, notwithstanding the constant +agitation that had been kept up, that the total revenue receipts for +the first quarter of 1879 and 1880 amounted to 22,773 pounds, and +44,982 pounds respectively. That is to say, that, during the last year +of British rule, the revenue of the country more than doubled itself, +and amounted to about 160,000 pounds a-year, taking the quarterly +returns at the low average of 40,000 pounds. It must, however, be +remembered that this sum would have been very largely increased in +subsequent years, most probably doubled. At any rate the revenue would +have been amply sufficient to make the province one of the most +prosperous in South Africa, and to have enabled it to shortly repay +all debts due to the British Government, and further to provide for +its own defence. Trade also, which in April 1877, was completely +paralysed, had increased enormously. So early as the middle of 1879, +the Committee of the Transvaal Chamber of Commerce pointed out, in a +resolution adopted by them, that the trade of the country had in two +years, risen from almost nothing to the considerable sum of two +millions sterling per annum, and that it was entirely in the hands of +those favourable to British rule. They also pointed out that more than +half the land tax was paid by Englishmen, or other Europeans adverse +to Boer Government. Land, too, had risen greatly in value, of which I +can give the following instance. About a year after the Annexation I, +together with a friend, bought a little property on the outskirts of +Pretoria, which, with a cottage we put up on it, cost some 300 pounds. +Just before the rebellion we fortunately determined to sell it, and +had no difficulty in getting 650 pounds for it. I do not believe that +it would now fetch a fifty pound note. + +[*] In Blue Book No. (C. 2866) of September 1881, which is descriptive + of various events connected with the Boer rising, is published, as + an appendix, a despatch from Sir Garnet Wolseley, dated October + 1879. This despatch declares the writer's opinion that the Boer + discontent is on the increase. Its publication thus--/apropos des + bottes/--nearly two years after it was written, is rather an + amusing incident. It certainly gives one the idea that Sir Garnet + Wolseley, fearing that his reputation for infallibility might be + attacked by scoffers for not having foreseen the Boer rebellion, + and perhaps uneasily conscious of other despatches very different + in tenor and subsequent in date: and, mindful of the withdrawal of + the cavalry regiment by his advice, had caused it to be tacked on + to the Blue Book as a documentary "I told you so," and a proof + that, whoever else was blinded, he foresaw. It contains, however, + the following remarkable passage:--"Even were it not impossible, + for many other reasons, to contemplate a withdrawal of our + authority from the Transvaal, the position of insecurity in which + we should leave this loyal and important section of the community + (the English inhabitants), by exposing them to the certain + retaliation of the Boers, would constitute, in my opinion, an + insuperable obstacle to retrocession. Subjected to the same + danger, moreover, would be those of the Boers, whose superior + intelligence and courageous character has rendered them loyal to + our Government." + + As the Government took the trouble to publish the despatch, it is + a pity that they did not think fit to pay more attention to its + contents. + +I cannot conclude this chapter better than by drawing attention to a +charming specimen of the correspondence between the Boer leaders and +their friend Mr. Courtney. The letter in question, which is dated 26th +June, purports to be written by Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, but it is +obvious that it owes its origin to some member or members of the Dutch +party at the Cape, from whence, indeed, it is written. This is +rendered evident both by its general style, and also by the use of +such terms as "Satrap," and by references to Napoleon III. and +Cayenne, about whom Messrs. Kruger and Joubert know no more than they +do of Peru and the Incas. + +After alluding to former letters, the writers blow a blast of triumph +over the downfall of the Conservative Government, and then make a +savage attack on the reputation of Sir Bartle Frere. The "stubborn +Satrap" is throughout described as a liar, and every bad motive +imputed to him. Really, the fact that Mr. Courtney should encourage +such epistles as this is enough to give colour to the boast made by +some of the leading Boers, after the war, that they had been +encouraged to rebel by a member of the British Government. + +At the end of this letter, and on the same page of the Blue Book, is +printed the telegram recalling Sir Bartle Frere, dated 1st August +1880. It really reads as though the second document was consequent to +the first. One thing is very clear, the feelings of Her Majesty's new +Government towards Sir Bartle Frere differed only in the method of +their expression, from those set forth by the Boer leaders in their +letter to Mr. Courtney, whilst their object, namely, to be rid of him, +was undoubtedly identical with that of the Dutch party in South +Africa. + + + + CHAPTER V + + THE BOER REBELLION + + Accession of Mr. Gladstone to power--His letters to the Boer + leaders and the loyals--His refusal to rescind the annexation--The + Boers encouraged by prominent members of the Radical party--The + Bezuidenhout incident--Despatch of troops to Potchefstroom--Mass + meeting of the 8th December 1880--Appointment of the Triumvirate + and declaration of the republic--Despatch of Boer proclamation to + Sir O. Lanyon--His reply--Outbreak of hostilities at Potchefstroom + --Defence of the court-house by Major Clarke--The massacre of the + detachment of the 94th under Colonel Anstruther--Dr. Ward--The + Boer rejoicings--The Transvaal placed under martial law-- + Abandonment of their homes by the people of Pretoria--Sir Owen + Lanyon's admirable defence organisation--Second proclamation + issued by the Boers--Its complete falsehood--Life at Pretoria + during the siege--Murders of natives by the Boers--Loyal conduct + of the native chiefs--Difficulty of preventing them from attacking + the Boers--Occupation of Lang's Nek by the Boers--Sir George + Colley's departure to Newcastle--The condition of that town--The + attack on Lang's Nek--Its desperate nature--Effect of victory on + the Boers--The battle at the Ingogo--Our defeat--Sufferings of the + wounded--Major Essex--Advance of the Boers into Natal--Constant + alarms--Expected attack on Newcastle--Its unorganised and + indefensible condition--Arrival of the reinforcements and retreat + of the Boers to the Nek--Despatch of General Wood to bring up more + reinforcements--Majuba Hill--Our disaster, and death of Sir George + Colley--Cause of our defeat--A Boer version of the disaster--Sir + George Colley's tactics. + +When the Liberal ministry became an accomplished fact instead of a +happy possibility, Mr. Gladstone did not find it convenient to adopt +the line of policy with reference to the Transvaal, that might have +been expected from his utterances whilst leader of the Opposition. On +the contrary, he declared in Parliament that the Annexation could not +be cancelled, and on the 8th June 1880 we find him, in answer to a +Boer petition, written with the object of inducing him to act up to +the spirit of his words and rescind the Annexation, writing thus:-- +"Looking to all circumstances, both of the Transvaal and the rest of +South Africa, and to the necessity of preventing a renewal of +disorders which might lead to disastrous consequences, not only to the +Transvaal, but to the whole of South Africa, our judgment is, that the +/Queen cannot be advised to relinquish her sovereignty over the +Transvaal;/ but, consistently with the maintenance of that +sovereignty, we desire that the white inhabitants of the Transvaal +should, without prejudice to the rest of the population, enjoy the +fullest liberty to manage their local affairs. We believe that this +liberty may be most easily and promptly conceded to the Transvaal as a +member of a South African confederation." + +Unless words have lost their signification, this passage certainly +means that the Transvaal must remain a British colony, but that +England will be prepared to grant it responsible government, more +especially if it will consent to a confederation scheme. Mr. +Gladstone, however, in a communication dated 1st June 1881, and +addressed to the unfortunate Transvaal loyals, for whom he expresses +"respect and sympathy," interprets his meaning thus: "It is stated, as +I observe, that a promise was given to me that the Transvaal should +never be given back. There is no mention of the terms or date of this +promise. If the reference be to my letter, of 8th June 1880, to +Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, I do not think the language of that letter +justifies the description given. Nor am I sure in what manner or to +what degree the fullest liberty to manage their local affairs, which I +then said Her Majesty's Government desired to confer on the white +population of the Transvaal, differs from the settlement now about +being made in its bearing on the interests of those whom your +Committee represents." + +Such twisting of the meaning of words would, in a private person, be +called dishonest. It will also occur to most people that Mr. Gladstone +might have spared the deeply wronged and loyal subjects of Her Majesty +whom he was addressing, the taunt he levels at them in the second +paragraph I have quoted. If asked, he would no doubt say that he had +not the slightest intention of laughing at them; but when he +deliberately tells them that it makes no difference to their interests +whether they remain Her Majesty's subjects under a responsible +Government, or become the servants of men who were but lately in arms +against them and Her Majesty's authority, he is either mocking them, +or offering an insult to their understandings. + +By way of comment on his remarks, I may add that he had, in a letter +replying to a petition from these same loyal inhabitants, addressed to +him in May 1880, informed them that he had already told the Boer +representatives that the Annexation could not be rescinded. Although +Mr. Gladstone is undoubtedly the greatest living master of the art of +getting two distinct and opposite sets of meanings out of one set of +words, it would try even his ingenuity to make out, to the +satisfaction of an impartial mind, that he never gave any pledge about +the retention of the Transvaal. + +Indeed, it is from other considerations clear that he had no intention +of giving up the country to the Boers, whose cause he appears to have +taken up solely for electioneering purposes. Had he meant to do so, he +would have carried out his intention on succeeding to office, and, +indeed, as things have turned out, it is deeply to be regretted that +he did not; for, bad as such a step would have been, it would at any +rate have had a better appearance than our ultimate surrender after +three defeats. It would also have then been possible to secure the +repayment of some of the money owing to this country, and to provide +for the proper treatment of the natives, and the compensation of the +loyal inhabitants who could no longer live there: since it must +naturally have been easier to make terms with the Boers before they +had defeated our troops. + +On the other hand, we should have missed the grandest and most soul- +stirring display of radical theories, practically applied, that has as +yet lightened the darkness of this country. But although Mr. Gladstone +gave his official decision against returning the country, there seems +to be little doubt that communications on the subject were kept up +with the Boer leaders through some prominent members of the Radical +party, whom, it was said, went so far as to urge the Boers to take up +arms against us. When Mr. White came to this country on behalf of the +loyalists, after the surrender, he stated that this was so at a public +meeting, and said further that he had in his possession proofs of his +statements. He even went so far as to name the gentleman he accused, +and to challenge him to deny it. I have not been able to gather that +Mr. White's statements were contradicted. + +However this may be, after a pause, agitation in the Transvaal +suddenly recommenced with redoubled vigour. It began through a man +named Bezuidenhout, who refused to pay his taxes. Thereupon a waggon +was seized in execution under the authority of the court and put up to +auction, but its sale was prevented by a crowd of rebel Boers, who +kicked the auctioneer off the waggon and dragged the vehicle away. +This was on the 11th November 1880. When this intelligence reached +Pretoria, Sir Owen Lanyon sent down a few companies of the 21st +Regiment, under the command of Major Thornhill, to support the +Landdrost in arresting the rioters, and appointed Captain Raaf, +C.M.G., to act as special messenger to the Landdrost's Court at +Potchefstroom, with authority to enrol special constables to assist +him to carry out the arrests. On arrival at Potchefstroom Captain Raaf +found that, without an armed force, it was quite impossible to effect +any arrest. On the 26th November Sir Owen Lanyon, realising the +gravity of the situation, telegraphed to Sir George Colley, asking +that the 58th Regiment should be sent back to the Transvaal. Sir +George replied that he could ill spare it on account of "daily +expected outbreak of Pondos and possible appeal for help from Cape +Colony," and that the Government must be supported by the loyal +inhabitants. + +It will be seen that the Boers had, with some astuteness, chosen a +very favourable time to commence operations. The hands of the Cape +Government were full with the Basutu war, so no help could be expected +from it. Sir G. Wolseley had sent away the only cavalry regiment that +remained in the country, and lastly, Sir Owen Lanyon had quite +recently allowed a body of 300 trained volunteers, mostly, if not +altogether, drawn from among the loyalists, to be raised for service +in the Basutu war, a serious drain upon the resources of a country so +sparsely populated as the Transvaal. + +Meanwhile a mass meeting had been convened by the Boers for the 8th +January to consider Mr. Gladstone's letter, but the Bezuidenhout +incident had the effect of putting forward the date of assembly by a +month, and it was announced that it would be held on the 8th December. +Subsequently the date was shifted to the 15th, and then back again to +the 8th. Every effort was made, by threats of future vengeance, to +secure the presence of as many burghers as possible; attempts were +also made to persuade the native chiefs to send representatives, and +to promise to join in an attack on the English. These entirely failed. +The meeting was held at a place called Paarde Kraal, and resulted in +the sudden declaration of the Republic and the appointment of the +famous triumvirate Kruger, Joubert, and Pretorius. It then moved into +Heidelberg, a little town about sixty miles from Pretoria, and on the +16th December the Republic was formally proclaimed in a long +proclamation, containing a summary of the events of the few preceding +years, and declaring the arrangements the malcontents were willing to +make with the English authorities. The terms offered in this document +are almost identical with those finally accepted by Her Majesty's +Government, with the exception that in the proclamation of the 16th +December the Boer leaders declare their willingness to enter into +confederation, and to guide their native policy by general rules +adopted in concurrence "with the Colonies and States of South Africa." +This was a more liberal offer than that which we ultimately agreed to, +but then the circumstances had changed. + +This proclamation was forwarded to Sir Owen Lanyon with a covering +letter, in which the following words occur:--"We declare in the most +solemn manner that we have no desire to spill blood, and that from our +side we do not wish war. It lies in your hands to force us to appeal +to arms in self-defence. . . . . We expect your answer within twice +twenty-four hours." + +I beg to direct particular attention to these paragraphs, as they have +a considerable interest in view of what followed. + +The letter and proclamation reached Government House, Pretoria, at +10.30 on the evening of Friday the 17th December. Sir Owen Lanyon's +proclamation, written in reply, was handed to the messenger at noon on +Sunday, 19th December, or within about thirty-six hours of his +arrival, and could hardly have reached the rebel camp, sixty miles +off, before dawn the next day, the 20th December, on which day, at +about one o'clock, a detachment of the 94th was ambushed and destroyed +on the road between Middelburg and Pretoria, about eighty miles off, +by a force despatched from Heidelburg for that purpose some days +before. On the 16th December, or the /same day/ on which the +Triumvirate had despatched the proclamation to Pretoria containing +their terms, and expressing in the most solemn manner that they had no +desire to shed blood, a large Boer force was attacking Potchefstroom. + +So much then for the sincerity of the professions of their desire to +avoid bloodshed. + +The proclamation sent by Sir O. Lanyon in reply recited in its +preamble the various acts of which the rebels had been guilty, +including that of having "wickedly sought to incite the said loyal +native inhabitants throughout the province to take up arms against Her +Majesty's Government," announced that matters had now been put into +the hands of the officer commanding Her Majesty's troops, and promised +pardon to all who would disperse to their homes. + +It was at Potchefstroom, which town had all along been the nursery of +the rebellion, that actual hostilities first broke out. Potchefstroom +as a town is much more Boer in its sympathies than Pretoria, which is, +or rather was, almost purely English. Sir Owen Lanyon had, as stated +before, sent a small body of soldiers thither to support the civil +authorities, and had also appointed Major Clarke, C.M.G., an officer +of noted coolness and ability, to act as Special Commissioner for the +district. + +Major Clarke's first step was to try, in conjunction with Captain +Raaf, to raise a corps of volunteers, in which he totally failed. +Those of the townsfolk who were not Boers at heart had too many +business relations with the surrounding farmers, and perhaps too +little faith in the stability of English rule after Mr. Gladstone's +utterances, to allow them to indulge in patriotism. At the time of the +outbreak, between seventy and eighty thousand sterling was owing to +firms in Potchefstroom by neighbouring Boers, a sum amply sufficient +to account for their lukewarmness in the English cause. Subsequent +events have shown that the Potchefstroom shopkeepers were wise in +their generation. + +On the 15th December a large number of Boers came into the town and +took possession of the printing-office in order to print the +proclamation already alluded to. Major Clarke made two attempts to +enter the office and see the leaders, but without success. + +On the 16th a Boer patrol fired on some of the mounted infantry, and +the fire was returned. These were the first shots fired during the +war, and they were fired by Boers. Orders were thereupon signalled to +Clarke by Lieutenant-Colonel Winsloe, 21st Regiment, now commanding at +the fort which he afterwards defended so gallantly, that he was to +commence firing. Clarke was in the Landdrost's office on the Market +Square with a force of about twenty soldiers under Captain Falls and +twenty civilians under Captain Raaf, C.M.G., a position but ill-suited +for defensive purposes, from whence fire was accordingly opened, the +Boers taking up positions in the surrounding houses commanding the +office. Shortly after the commencement of the fighting, Captain Falls +was shot dead whilst talking to Major Clarke, the latter having a +narrow escape, a bullet grazing his head just above the ear. The +fighting continued during the 17th and till the morning of the 18th, +when the Boers succeeded in firing the roof, which was of thatch, by +throwing fire-balls on to it. Major Clarke then addressed the men, +telling them that, though personally he did not care about his own +life, he did not see that they could serve any useful purpose by being +burned alive, so he should surrender, which he did, with a loss of +about six killed and wounded. The camp meanwhile had repulsed with +loss the attack made on it, and was never again directly attacked. + +Whilst these events were in progress at Potchefstroom, a much more +awful tragedy was in preparation on the road between Middelburg and +Pretoria. + +On the 23rd November Colonel Bellairs, at the request of Sir Owen +Lanyon, directed a concentration on Pretoria of most of the few +soldiers that there were in the territory, in view of the disturbed +condition of the country. In accordance with these orders, Colonel +Anstruther marched from Lydenburg, a town about 180 miles from +Pretoria, on the 5th December, with the headquarters and two companies +of the 94th Regiment, being a total of 264 men, three women, and two +children, and the disproportionately large train of thirty-four ox- +waggons, or an ox-waggon capable of carrying five thousand pounds' +weight to every eight persons. And here I may remark that it is this +enormous amount of baggage, without which it appears to be impossible +to move the smallest body of men, that renders infantry regiments +almost useless for service in South Africa except for garrisoning +purposes. Both Zulus and Boers can get over the ground at thrice the +pace possible to the unfortunate soldier, and both races despise them +accordingly. The Zulus call our infantry "pack oxen." In this +particular instance, Colonel Anstruther's defeat, or rather, +annihilation, is to a very great extent referable to his enormous +baggage train; since, in the first place, had he not lost valuable +days in collecting more waggons, he would have been safe in Pretoria +before danger arose. It must also be acknowledged that his +arrangements on the line of march were somewhat reckless, though it +can hardly be said that he was ignorant of his danger. Thus we find +that Colonel Bellairs wrote to Colonel Anstruther, warning him of the +probability of an attack, and impressing on him the necessity of +keeping a good look-out, the letter being received and acknowledged by +the latter on the 17th December. + +To this warning was added a still more impressive one, that came to my +knowledge privately. A gentleman well known to me received, on the +morning after the troops had passed through the town of Middelburg on +their way to Pretoria, a visit from an old Boer with whom he was on +friendly terms, who had purposely come to tell him that a large patrol +was out to ambush the troops on the Pretoria road. My informant having +convinced himself of the truth of the statement, at once rode after +the soldiers, and catching them up some distance from Middelburg, told +Colonel Anstruther what he had heard, imploring him, he said, with all +the energy he could command, to take better precautions against +surprise. The Colonel, however, laughed at his fears, and told him +that if the Boers came "he would frighten them away with the big +drum." + +At one o'clock on Sunday, the 20th December, the column was marching +along about a mile and a half from a place known as Bronker's Spruit, +and thirty-eight miles from Pretoria, when suddenly a large number of +mounted Boers were seen in loose formation on the left side of the +road. The band was playing at the time, and the column was extended +over more than half a mile, the rear-guard being about a hundred yards +behind the last waggon. The band stopped playing on seeing the Boers, +and the troops halted, when a man was seen advancing with a white +flag, whom Colonel Anstruther went out to meet, accompanied by +Conductor Egerton, a civilian. They met about one hundred and fifty +yards from the column, and the man gave Colonel Anstruther a letter, +which announced the establishment of the South African Republic, +stated that until they heard Lanyon's reply to their proclamation they +did not know if they were at war or not; that, consequently, they +could not allow any movements of troops which would be taken as a +declaration of war. This letter was signed by Joubert, one of the +Triumvirate. Colonel Anstruther replied that he was ordered to +Pretoria, and to Pretoria he must go. + +Whilst this conference was going on, the Boers, of whom there were +quite five hundred, had gradually closed round the column, and took up +positions behind rocks and trees which afforded them excellent cover, +whilst the troops were on a bare plain, and before Colonel Anstruther +reached his men a murderous fire was poured in upon them from all +sides. The fire was hotly returned by the soldiers. Most of the +officers were struck down by the first volley, having, no doubt, been +picked out by the marksmen. The firing lasted about fifteen minutes, +and at the end of that time seven out of the nine officers were down +killed and wounded; an eighth (Captain Elliot), one of two who escaped +untouched, being reserved for an even more awful fate. The majority of +the men were also down, and had the hail of lead continued much longer +it is clear that nobody would have been left. Colonel Anstruther, who +was lying badly wounded in five places, seeing what a hopeless state +affairs were in, ordered the bugler to sound the cease firing, and +surrendered. One of the three officers who were not much hurt was, +most providentially, Dr. Ward, who had but a slight wound in the +thigh; all the others, except Captain Elliot and one lieutenant, were +either killed or died from the effects of their wounds. There were +altogether 56 killed and 101 wounded, including a woman, Mrs. Fox. +Twenty more afterwards died of their wounds. The Boer loss appears to +have been very small. + +After the fight Conductor Egerton, with a sergeant, was allowed to +walk into Pretoria to obtain medical assistance, the Boers refusing to +give him a horse, or even to allow him to use his own. The Boer leader +also left Dr. Ward eighteen men and a few stores for the wounded, with +which he made shift as best he could. Nobody can read this gentleman's +report without being much impressed with the way in which, though +wounded himself, he got through his terrible task of, without +assistance, attending to the wants of 101 sufferers. Beginning the +task at two P.M., it took him till six the next morning before he had +seen the last man. It is to be hoped that his services have met with +some recognition. Dr. Ward remained near the scene of the massacre +with his wounded men till the declaration of peace, when he brought +them down to Maritzburg, having experienced great difficulty in +obtaining food for them during so many weeks. + +This is a short account of what I must, with reluctance, call a most +cruel and carefully planned massacre. I may mention that a Zulu +driver, who was with the rear-guard, and escaped into Natal, stated +that the Boers shot all the wounded men who formed that body. His +statement was to a certain extent borne out by the evidence of one of +the survivors, who stated that all the bodies found in that part of +the field (nearly three-quarters of a mile away from the head of the +column), had a bullet hole through the head or breast in addition to +their other wounds. + +The Administrator in the Transvaal in council thus comments on the +occurrence in an official minute:--"The surrounding and gradual +hemming in under a flag of truce of a force, and the selection of +spots from which to direct their fire, as in the case of the +unprovoked attack by the rebels upon Colonel Anstruther's force, is a +proceeding of which very few like incidents can be mentioned in the +annals of civilised warfare." + +The Boer leaders, however, were highly elated at their success, and +celebrated it in a proclamation of which the following is an +extract:--"Inexpressible is the gratitude of the burghers for this +blessing conferred on them. Thankful to the brave General F. Joubert +and his men who have upheld the honour of the Republic on the +battlefield. Bowed down in the dust before Almighty God, who had thus +stood by them, and, with a loss of over a hundred of the enemy, only +allowed two of ours to be killed." + +In view of the circumstances of the treacherous hemming in and +destruction of this small body of unprepared men, most people would +think this language rather high-flown, not to say blasphemous. + +On the news of this disaster reaching Pretoria, Sir Owen Lanyon issued +a proclamation placing the country under martial law. As the town was +large, straggling, and incapable of defence, all the inhabitants, +amounting to over four thousand souls, were ordered up to camp, where +the best arrangements possible were made for their convenience. In +these quarters they remained for three months, driven from their +comfortable homes, and cheerfully enduring all the hardships, want, +and discomforts consequence on their position, whilst they waited in +patience for the appearance of that relieving column that never came. +People in England hardly understand what these men and women went +through because they chose to remain loyal. Let them suppose that all +the inhabitants of an ordinary English town, with the exception of the +class known as poor people, which can hardly be said to exist in a +colony, were at an hour's notice ordered--all, the aged, and the sick, +delicate women, and tiny children--to leave their homes to the mercy +of the enemy, and crowd up in a little space under shelter of a fort, +with nothing but canvas tents or sheds to cover them from the fierce +summer suns and rains, and the coarsest rations to feed them; whilst +the husbands and brothers were daily engaged with a cunning and +dangerous enemy, and sometimes brought home wounded or dead. They +will, then, have some idea of what was gone through by the loyal +people of Pretoria, in their weak confidence in the good faith of the +English Government. + +The arrangements made for the defence of the town were so ably and +energetically carried out by Sir Owen Lanyon, assisted by the military +officers, that no attack upon it was ever attempted. It seems to me +that the organisation that could provide for the penning up of four +thousand people for months, and carry it out without the occurrence of +a single unpleasantness or expression of discontent, must have had +something remarkable about it. Of course, it would have been +impossible without the most loyal co-operation on the part of those +concerned. Indeed, everybody in the town lent a helping hand; judges +served out rations, members of the Executive inspected nuisances, and +so forth. There was only one instance of "striking;" and then, of all +people in the world, it was the five civil doctors who, thinking it a +favourable opportunity to fleece the Government, combined to demand +five guineas a-day each for their services. I am glad to say that they +did not succeed in their attempt at extortion. + +On the 23d December, the Boer leaders issued a second proclamation in +reply to that of Sir O. Lanyon of the 18th, which is characterised by +an utter absence of regard for the truth, being, in fact, nothing but +a tissue of impudent falsehoods. It accuses Sir O. Lanyon of having +bombarded women and children, of arming natives against the Boers, and +of firing on the Boers without declaring war. Not one of these +accusations has any foundation in fact, as the Boers well knew; but +they also knew that Sir Owen, being shut up in Pretoria, was not in a +position to rebut their charges, which they hoped might, to some +extent, be believed, and create sympathy for them in other parts of +the world. This was the reason for the issue of the proclamation, +which well portrays the character of its framers. + +Life at Pretoria was varied by occasional sorties against the Boer +laagers, situated at different points in the neighbourhood, generally +about six or eight miles from the town. These expeditions were carried +out with considerable success, though with some loss, the heaviest +incurred being when the Boers, having treacherously hoisted the white +flag, opened a heavy fire on the Pretoria forces, as soon as they, +beguiled into confidence, emerged from their cover. In the course of +the war, one in every four of the Pretoria mounted volunteers was +killed or wounded. + +But perhaps the most serious of all the difficulties the Government +had to meet, was that of keeping the natives in check. As has before +been stated they were devotedly attached to our rule, and, during the +three years of its continuance, had undergone what was to them a +strange experience, they had neither been murdered, beaten, or +enslaved. Naturally they were in no hurry to return to the old order +of things, in which murder, flogging, and slavery were events of +everyday occurrence. Nor did the behaviour of the Boers on the +outbreak of the war tend to reconcile them to any such idea. Thus we +find that the farmers had pressed a number of natives from Waterberg +into one of their laagers (Zwart Koppies); two of them tried to run +away, a Boer saw them and shot them both. Again, on the 7th January a +native reported to the authorities at Pretoria that he and some others +were returning from the Diamond Fields driving some sheep. A Boer came +and asked them to sell the sheep. They refused, whereupon he went +away, but returning with some other Dutchmen fired on the Kafirs, +killing one. + +On the 2d January information reached Pretoria that on the 26th +December some Boers fired on some natives who were resting outside +Potchefstroom and killed three; the rest fled, whereupon the Boers +took the cattle they had with them. + +On the 11th January some men, who had been sent from Pretoria with +despatches for Standerton, were taken prisoners. Whilst prisoners they +saw ten men returning from the Fields stopped by the Boers and ordered +to come to the laager. They refused and ran away, were fired on, five +being killed and one getting his arm broken. + +These are a few instances of the treatment meted out to the +unfortunate natives, taken at haphazard from the official reports. +There are plenty more of the same nature if anybody cares to read +them. + +As soon as the news of the rising reached them, every chief of any +importance sent in to offer aid to Government, and many of them, +especially Montsoia, our old ally in the Keate Award district, took +the loyals of the neighbourhood under their protection. Several took +charge of Government property and cattle during the disturbances, and +one had four or five thousand pounds in gold, the product of a +recently collected tax given him to take care of by the Commissioner +of his district, who was afraid that the money would be seized by the +Boers. In every instance the property entrusted to their charge was +returned intact. The loyalty of all the native chiefs under very +trying circumstances (for the Boers were constantly attempting to +cajole or frighten them into joining them) is a remarkable proof of +the great affection of the Kafirs, more especially those of the Basutu +tribes, who love peace better than war, for the Queen's rule. The +Government of Pretoria need only have spoken one word, to set an +enormous number of armed men in motion against the Boers, with the +most serious results to the latter. Any other Government in the world +would, in its extremity, have spoken that word, but, fortunately for +the Boers, it is against English principles to set black against white +under any circumstances. + +Besides the main garrison at Pretoria there were forts defended by +soldiery and loyals at the following places:--Potchefstroom, +Rustenburg, Lydenburg, Marabastad, and Wakkerstroom, none of which +were taken by the Boers.[*] + +[*] Colonel Winsloe, however, being short of provisions, was beguiled + by the fraudulent representations and acts of the Boer commander + into surrendering the fort at Potchefstroom during the armistice. + +One of the first acts of the Triumvirate was to despatch a large force +from Heidelberg with orders to advance into Natal Territory, and seize +the pass over the Drakensberg known as Lang's Nek, so as to dispute +the advance of any relieving column. This movement was promptly +executed, and strong Boer troops patrolled Natal country almost up to +Newcastle. + +The news of the outbreak, followed as it was by that of the Bronker's +Spruit massacre, and Captain Elliot's murder, created a great +excitement in Natal. All available soldiers were at once despatched up +country, together with a naval brigade, who, on arrival at Newcastle, +brought up the strength of the Imperial troops of all arms to about a +thousand men. On the 10th January Sir George Colley left Maritzburg to +join the force at Newcastle, but at this time nobody dreamt that he +meant to attack the Nek with such an insignificant column. It was +known that the loyals and troops who were shut up in the various towns +in the Transvaal had sufficient provisions to last for some months, +and that there was therefore nothing to necessitate a forlorn hope. +Indeed the possibility of Sir George Colley attempting to enter the +Transvaal was not even speculated upon until just before his advance, +it being generally considered as out of the question. + +The best illustration I can give of the feeling that existed about the +matter is to quote my own case. I had been so unfortunate as to land +in Natal with my wife and servants just as the Transvaal troubles +began, my intention being to proceed to a place I had near Newcastle. +For some weeks I remained in Maritzburg, but finding that the troops +were to concentrate on Newcastle, and being besides heartily wearied +of the great expense and discomfort of hotel life in that town, I +determined to go on up country, looking on it as being as safe as any +place in the Colony. Of course the possibility of Sir George attacking +the Nek before the arrival of the reinforcements did not enter into my +calculations, as I thought it a venture that no sensible man would +undertake. On the day of my start, however, there was a rumour about +the town that the General was going to attack the Boer position. +Though I did not believe it, I thought it as well to go and ask the +Colonial Secretary, Colonel Mitchell, privately, if there was any +truth in it, adding that if there was, as I had a pretty intimate +knowledge of the Boers and their shooting powers, and what the +inevitable result of such a move would be, I should certainly prefer, +as I had ladies with me, to remain where I was. Colonel Mitchell told +me frankly that he knew no more about Sir George's plans than I did; +but he added I might be sure that so able and prudent a soldier would +not do anything rash. His remark concurred with my own opinion; so I +started, and on arrival at Newcastle a week later was met by the +intelligence that Sir George had advanced that morning to attack the +Nek. To return was almost impossible, since both horses and travellers +were pretty nearly knocked up. Also, anybody who has travelled with +his family in summer-time over the awful track of alternate slough and +boulders between Maritzburg and Newcastle, known in the Colony as a +road, will understand, that at the time, the adventurous voyagers +would far rather risk being shot than face a return journey. + +The only thing to do under the circumstances was to await the course +of events, which were now about to develop themselves with startling +rapidity. The little town of Newcastle was at this time an odd sight, +and remained so all through the war. The hotels were crowded to +overflowing with refugees, and on every spare patch of land were +erected tents, mud huts, canvas houses, and every kind of covering +that could be utilised under the pressure of necessity, to house the +many homeless families who had succeeded in effecting their escape +from the Transvaal, many of whom were reduced to great straits. + +On the morning of the 28th January, anybody listening attentively in +the neighbourhood of Newcastle could hear the distant boom of heavy +guns. We were not kept long in suspense, for in the afternoon news +arrived that Sir George had attacked the Nek, and failed with heavy +loss. The excitement in the town was intense, for, in addition to +other considerations, the 58th Regiment, which had suffered most, had +been quartered there for some time, and both the officers and men were +personally known to the inhabitants. + +The story of the fight is well known, and needs little repetition, and +a sad story it is. The Boers, who at that time were some 2000 strong, +were posted and entrenched on steep hills, against which Sir George +Colley hurled a few hundred soldiers. It was a forlorn hope, but so +gallant was the charge, especially that of the mounted squadron led by +Major Bronlow, that at one time it nearly succeeded. But nothing could +stand under the withering fire from the Boer schanses, and as regards +the foot soldiers, they never had a chance. Colonel Deane tried to +take them up the hill with a rush, with the result that by the time +they reached the top, some of the men were actually sick from +exhaustion, and none could hold a rifle steady. There on the bare +hill-top, they crouched and lay, while the pitiless fire from redoubt +and rock lashed them like hail, till at last human nature could bear +it no longer, and what was left of them retired slowly down the slope. +But for many, that gallant charge was their last earthly action. As +they charged they fell, and where they fell they were afterwards +buried. The casualties, killed and wounded, amounted to 195, which, +considering the small number of troops engaged in the actual attack, +is enormously heavy, and shows more plainly than words can tell, the +desperate nature of the undertaking. Amongst the killed were Colonel +Deane, Major Poole, Major Hingeston, and Lieutenant Elwes. Major Essex +was the only staff officer engaged who escaped, the same officer who +was one of the fortunate four who lived through Isandhlwana. On this +occasion his usual good fortune attended him, for though his horse was +killed and his helmet knocked off, he was not touched. The Boer loss +was very trivial. + +Sir George Colley, in his admirably lucid despatch about this +occurrence addressed to the Secretary of State for War, does not enter +much into the question as to the motives that prompted him to attack, +simply stating that his object was to relieve the besieged towns. He +does not appear to have taken into consideration, what was obvious to +anybody who knew the country and the Boers, that even if he had +succeeded in forcing the Nek, in itself almost an impossibility, he +could never have operated with any success in the Transvaal with so +small a column, without cavalry, and with an enormous train of +waggons. He would have been harassed day and night by the Boer +skirmishers, his supplies cut off, and his advance made practically +impossible. Also the Nek would have been re-occupied behind him, since +he could not have detached sufficient men to hold it, and in all +probability Newcastle, his base of supplies, would have fallen into +the hands of the enemy. + +The moral effect of our defeat on the Boers was very great. Up to this +time there had been many secret doubts amongst a large section of them +as to what the upshot of an encounter with the troops might be; and +with this party, in the same way that defeat, or even the anxiety of +waiting to be attacked, would have turned the scale one way, victory +turned it the other. It gave them unbounded confidence in their own +superiority, and infused a spirit of cohesion and mutual reliance into +their ranks which had before been wanting. Waverers wavered no longer, +but gave a loyal adherence to the good cause, and, what was still more +acceptable, large numbers of volunteers,--whatever President Brand may +say to the contrary,--poured in from the Orange Free State. + +What Sir George Colley's motive was in making so rash a move is, of +course, quite inexplicable to the outside observer. It was said at the +time in Natal that he was a man with a theory: namely, that small +bodies of men properly handled were as useful and as likely to obtain +the object in view as a large force. Whether or no this was so, I am +not prepared to say; but it is undoubtedly the case that very clever +men have sometimes very odd theories, and it may be that he was a +striking instance in point. + +For some days after the battle at Lang's Nek affairs were quiet, and +it was hoped that they would remain so till the arrival of the +reinforcements, which were on their way out. The hope proved a vain +one. On the 7th February it was reported that the escort proceeding +from Newcastle to the General's camp with the post, a distance of +about eighteen miles, had been fired on and forced to return. + +On the 8th, about mid-day, we were all startled by the sound of +fighting, proceeding apparently from a hill known as Scheins Hoogte, +about ten miles from Newcastle. It was not know that the General +contemplated any move, and everybody was entirely at a loss to know +what was going on, the general idea being, however, that the camp near +Lang's Nek had been abandoned, and that Sir George was retiring on +Newcastle. + +The firing grew hotter and hotter, till at last it was perfectly +continuous, the cannon evidently being discharged as quickly as they +could be loaded, whilst their dull booming was accompanied by the +unceasing crash and roll of the musketry. Towards three o'clock the +firing slackened, and we thought it was all over, one way or the +other, but about five o'clock it broke out again with increased +vigour. At dusk it finally ceased. About this time some Kafirs came to +my house and told us that an English force was hemmed in on a hill +this side of the Ingogo River, that they were fighting bravely, but +that "their arms were tired," adding that they thought they would be +all killed at night. + +Needless to say we spent that night with heavy hearts, expecting every +minute to hear the firing begin again, and ignorant of what fate had +befallen our poor soldiers on the hill. Morning put an end to our +suspense, and we then learnt that we had suffered what, under the +circumstances, amounted to a crushing defeat. It appears that Sir +George had moved out with a force of five companies of the 60th +Regiment, two guns, and a few mounted men, to, in his own words, +"patrol the road, and meet and escort some waggons expected from +Newcastle." As soon as he passed the Ingogo he was surrounded by a +body of Boers sent after him from Lang's Nek, on a small triangular +plateau, and sharply assailed on all sides. With a break of about two +hours, from three to five, the assault was kept up till nightfall, +with very bad results so far as we were concerned, seeing that out of +a body of about 500 men, over 150 were killed and wounded. The +reinforcements sent for from the camp apparently did not come into +action. For some unexplained reason the Boers did not follow up their +attack that night, perhaps because they did not think it possible that +our troops could effect their escape back to the camp, and considered +that the next morning would be soon enough to return and finish the +business. The General, however, determined to get back, and scratch +teams of such mules, riding-horses, and oxen as had lived through the +day being harnessed to the guns, the dispirited and exhausted +survivors of the force managed to ford the Ingogo, now swollen by rain +which had fallen in the afternoon, poor Lieutenant Wilkinson, the +Adjutant of the 60th, losing his life in the operation, and to +struggle through the dense darkness back to camp. + +On the hill-top they had lately held, the dead lay thick. There, too, +exposed to the driving rain and bitter wind lay the wounded, many of +whom would be dead before the rising of the morrow's sun. It must, +indeed, have been a sight never to be forgotten by those who saw it. +The night--I remember well--was cold and rainy, the great expanses of +hill and plain being sometimes lit by the broken gleams of an +uncertain moon, and sometimes plunged into intensest darkness by the +passing of a heavy cloud. Now and again flashes of lightning threw +every crag and outline into vivid relief, and the deep muttering of +distant thunder made the wild gloom more solemn. Then a gust of icy +wind would come tearing down the valleys to be followed by a pelting +thunder shower--and thus the night wore away. + +When one reflects what discomfort, and even danger, an ordinary +healthy person would suffer if left after a hard day's work to lie all +night in the rain and wind on the top of a stony mountain, without +food, or even water to assuage his thirst, it becomes to some degree +possible to realise what the sufferings of our wounded after the +battle of Ingogo must have been. Those who survived were next day +taken to the hospital at Newcastle. + +What Sir George Colley's real object was in exposing himself to the +attack has never transpired. It can hardly have been to clear the +road, as he says in his despatch, because the road was not held by the +enemy, but only visited occasionally by their patrols. The result of +the battle was to make the Boers, whose losses were trifling, more +confident than ever, and to greatly depress our soldiers. Sir George +had now lost between three and four hundred men, out of his column of +little over a thousand, which was thereby entirely crippled. Of his +staff Officers Major Essex now alone survived, his usual good fortune +having carried him safe through the battle of Ingogo. What makes his +repeated escapes the more remarkable is that he was generally to be +found in the heaviest firing. A man so fortunate as Major Essex ought +to be rewarded for his good fortune if for no other reason, though, if +reports are true, there would be no need to fall back on that to find +grounds on which to advance a soldier who has always borne himself so +well. + +Another result of the Ingogo battle was that the Boers, knowing that +we had no force to cut them off, and always secure of a retreat into +the Free State, passed round Newcastle in Free State Territory, and +descended from fifteen hundred to two thousand strong into Natal for +the purpose of destroying the reinforcements which were now on their +way up under General Wood. This was on the 11th of February, and from +that date till the 18th, the upper districts of Natal were in the +hands of the enemy, who cut the telegraph wires, looted waggons, stole +herds of cattle and horses, and otherwise amused themselves at the +expense of Her Majesty's subjects in Natal. + +It was a very anxious time for those who knew what Boers are capable +of, and had women and children to protect, and who were never sure if +their houses would be left standing over their heads from one day to +another. + +Every night we were obliged to place out Kafirs as scouts to give us +timely warning of the approach of marauding parties, and to sleep with +loaded rifles close to our hands, and sometimes, when things looked +very black, in our clothes, with horses ready saddled in the stable. +Nor were our fears groundless, for one day a patrol of some five +hundred Boers encamped on the next place, which by the way belonged to +a Dutchman, and stole all the stock on it, the property of an +Englishman. They also intercepted a train of waggons, destroyed the +contents, and burnt them. Numerous were the false alarms it was our +evil fortune to experience. For instance, one night I was sitting in +the drawing-room reading, about eleven o'clock, with a door leading on +to the verandah slightly ajar, for the night was warm, when suddenly I +heard myself called by name in a muffled voice, and asked if the place +was in the possession of the Boers. Looking towards the door I saw a +full-cocked revolver coming round the corner, and on opening it in +some alarm, I could indistinctly discern a line of armed figures in a +crouching attitude stretching along the verandah into the garden +beyond. It turned out to be a patrol of the mounted police, who had +received information that a large number of Boers had seized the place +and had come to ascertain the truth of the report. As we gathered from +them that the Boers were certainly near, we did not pass a very +comfortable night. + +Meanwhile, we were daily expecting to hear that the troops had been +attacked along the line of march, and knowing the nature of the +country and the many opportunities it affords for ambuscading and +destroying one of our straggling columns encumbered with innumerable +waggons, we had the worst fears for the result. At length a report +reached us to the effect that the reinforcements were expected on the +morrow, and that they were not going to cross the Ingagaan at the +ordinary drift, which was much commanded by hills, but at a lower +drift on our own place, about three miles from Newcastle, which was +only slightly commanded. We also heard that it was the intention of +the Boers to attack them at this point and to fall back on my house +and the hills beyond. Accordingly, we thought it about time to +retreat, and securing a few valuables such as plate, we made our way +into the town, leaving the house and its contents to take their +chance. At Newcastle an attack was daily expected, if for no other +reason, to obtain possession of the stores collected there. + +The defences of the place were, however, in a wretched condition, no +proper outlook was kept, and there was an utter want of effective +organisation. The military element at the camp had enough to do to +look after itself, and did not concern itself with the safety of the +town; and the mounted police--a Colonial force paid by the Colony--had +been withdrawn from the little forts round Newcastle, as the General +wanted them for other purposes, and a message sent that the town must +defend its own forts. There were, it is true, a large number of able- +bodied men in the place who were willing to fight, but they had no +organisation. The very laager was not finished until the danger was +past. + +Then there was a large party who were for surrendering the town to the +Boers, because if they fought it might afterwards injure their trade. +With this section of the population the feeling of patriotism was +strong, no doubt, but that of pocket was stronger. I am convinced that +the Boers would have found the capture of Newcastle an easy task, and +I confess that what I then saw did not inspire me with great hopes of +the safety of the Colony when it gets responsible government, and has +to depend for protection on burgher forces. Colonial volunteer forces +are, I think, as good troops as any in the world; but an unorganised +colonial mob, pulled this way and that by different sentiments and +interests, is as useless as any other mob, with the difference that it +is more impatient of control. + +For some unknown reason the Boer leaders providentially changed their +minds about attacking the reinforcements, and their men were withdrawn +to the Nek as swiftly and silently as they had been advanced, and on +the 17th February the reinforcements marched into Newcastle to the +very great relief of the inhabitants, who had been equally anxious for +their own safety and that of the troops. Personally, I was never in my +life more pleased to see Her Majesty's uniform; and we were equally +rejoiced on returning home to find that nothing had been injured. +After this we had quiet for a while. + +On the 21st February, we heard that two fresh regiments had been sent +up to the camp at Lang's Nek, and that General Wood had been ordered +down country by Sir George Colley to bring up more reinforcements. +This item of news caused much surprise, as nobody could understand, +why, now that the road was clear, and that there was little chance of +its being again blocked, a General should be sent down to do work, +which could, to all appearance, have been equally well done by the +Officers in command of the reinforcing regiments, with the assistance +of their transport riders. It was, however, understood that an +agreement had been entered into between the two Generals, that no +offensive operations should be undertaken till Wood returned. + +With the exception of occasional scares, there was no further +excitement till Sunday the 27th February, when, whilst sitting on the +verandah after lunch, I thought I heard the sound of distant +artillery. Others present differed with me, thinking the sound was +caused by thunder, but as I adhered to my opinion, we determined to +ride into town and see. On arrival there, we found the place full of +rumours, from which we gathered that some fresh disaster had occurred: +and that messages were pouring down the wires from Mount Prospect +camp. We then went on to camp, thinking that we should learn more +there, but they knew nothing about it, several officers asking us what +new "shave" we had got hold of. A considerable number of troops had +been marched from Newcastle that morning to go to Mount Prospect, but +when it was realised that something had occurred, they were stopped, +and marched back again. Bit by bit we managed to gather the truth. At +first we heard that our men had made a most gallant resistance on the +hill, mowing down the advancing enemy by hundreds, till at last, their +ammunition failing, they fought with their bayonets, using stones and +meat tins as missiles. I wish that our subsequent information had been +to the same effect. + +It appears that on the evening of the 26th, Sir George Colley, after +mess, suddenly gave orders for a force of a little over six hundred +men, consisting of detachments from no less than three different +regiments, the 58th, 60th, 92d, and the Naval Brigade, to be got ready +for an expedition, without revealing his plans to anybody, until late +in the afternoon: and then without more ado, marched them up to the +top of Majuba--a great square-topped mountain to the right of, and +commanding the Boer position at Lang's Nek. The troops reached the top +about three in the morning, after a somewhat exhausting climb, and +were stationed at different points of the plateau in a scientific way. +Whilst the darkness lasted, they could, by the glittering of the +watch-fires, trace from this point of vantage the position of the Boer +laagers that lay 2000 yards beneath them, whilst the dawn of day +revealed every detail of the defensive works, and showed the country +lying at their feet like a map. + +On arrival at the top, it was represented to the General that a rough +entrenchment should be thrown up, but he would not allow it to be done +on account of the men being wearied with their marching up. This was a +fatal mistake. Behind an entrenchment, however slight, one would think +that 600 English soldiers might have defied the whole Boer army, and +much more the 200 or 300 men by whom they were hunted down Majuba. It +appears that about 10.15 A.M. Colonel Steward and Major Fraser again +went to General Colley "to arrange to start the sailors on an +entrenchment" . . . "Finding the ground so exposed, the General did +not give orders to entrench." + +As soon as the Boers found out that the hill was in the occupation of +the English, their first idea was to leave the Nek, and they began to +inspan with that object, but discovering that there were no guns +commanding them, they changed their mind, and set to work to storm the +hill instead. As far as I have been able to gather, the number of +Boers who took the mountain was about 300, or possibly 400; I do not +think there were more than that. The Boers themselves declare solemnly +that they were only 100 strong, but this I do not believe. They slowly +advanced up the hill till about 11.30, when the real attack began, the +Dutchmen coming on more rapidly and confidently, and shooting with +ever-increasing accuracy, as they found our fire quite ineffective. + +About a quarter to one, our men retreated to the last ridge, and +General Colley was shot through the head. After this, the retreat +became a rout, and the soldiers rushed pell-mell down the precipitous +sides of the hill, the Boers knocking them over by the score as they +went, till they were out of range. A few were also, I heard, killed by +the shells from the guns that were advanced from the camp to cover the +retreat, but as this does not appear in the reports, perhaps it is not +true. Our loss was about 200 killed and wounded, including Sir George +Colley, Drs. Landon and Cornish, and Commander Romilly, who was shot +with an explosive bullet, and died after some days' suffering. When +the wounded Commander was being carried to a more sheltered spot, it +was with great difficulty that the Boers were prevented from +massacring him as he lay, they being under the impression that he was +Sir Garnet Wolseley. As was the case at Ingogo, the wounded were left +on the battlefield all night in very inclement weather, to which some +of them succumbed. It is worthy of note that after the fight was over, +they were treated with considerable kindness by the Boers. + +Not being a soldier, of course I cannot venture to give any military +reasons as to how it was, that what was after all a considerable +force, was so easily driven from a position of great natural strength; +but I think I may, without presumption, state my opinion was to the +real cause, which was the villanous shooting of the British soldier. +Though the troops did not, as was said at the time, run short of +ammunition, it is clear that they fired away a great many rounds at +men who, in storming the hill, must necessarily have exposed +themselves more or less, of whom they managed to hit--certainly not +more than six or seven,--which was the outside of the Boer casualties. +From this it is clear that they can neither judge distance nor hit a +moving object, nor did they probably know that when shooting down hill +it is necessary to aim low. Such shooting as the English soldier is +capable of may be very well when he has an army to aim at, but it is +useless in guerilla warfare against a foe skilled in the use of the +rifle and the art of taking shelter. + +A couple of months after the storming of Majuba, I, together with a +friend, had a conversation with a Boer, a volunteer from the Free +State in the late war, and one of the detachment that stormed Majuba, +who gave us a circumstantial account of the attack with the greatest +willingness. He said that when it was discovered that the English had +possession of the mountain, they thought that the game was up, but +after a while bolder counsels prevailed, and volunteers were called +for to storm the hill. Only seventy men could be found to perform the +duty, of whom he was one. They started up the mountain in fear and +trembling, but soon found that every shot passed over their heads, and +went on with greater boldness. Only three men, he declared, were hit +on the Boer side; one was killed, one was hit in the arm, and he +himself was the third, getting his face grazed by a bullet, of which +he showed us the scar. He stated that the first to reach the top ridge +was a boy of twelve, and that as soon as the troops saw them they +fled, when, he said, he paid them out for having nearly killed him, +knocking them over one after another "like bucks" as they ran down the +hill, adding that it was "alter lecker" (very nice). He asked us how +many men we had lost during the war, and when we told him about seven +hundred killed and wounded, laughed in our faces, saying he knew that +our dead amounted to several thousands. On our assuring him that this +was not the case, he replied, "Well, don't let's talk of it any more, +because we are good friends now, and if we go on you will lie, and I +shall lie, and then we shall get angry. The war is over now, and I +don't want to quarrel with the English; if one of them takes off his +hat to me I always acknowledge it." He did not mean any harm in +talking thus; it is what Englishmen have to put up with now in South +Africa; the Boers have beaten us, and act accordingly. + +This man also told us that the majority of the rifles they picked up +were sighted for 400 yards, whereas the latter part of the fighting +had been carried on within 200. + +Sir George Colley's death was much lamented in the Colony, where he +was deservedly popular; indeed, anybody who had the honour of knowing +that kind-hearted gentleman, could not do otherwise than deeply regret +his untimely end. What his motive was in occupying Majuba in the way +he did, has never, so far as I am aware, transpired. The move, in +itself, would have been an excellent one, had it been made in force, +or accompanied by a direct attack on the Nek--but, as undertaken, +seems to have been objectless. There were, of course, many rumours as +to the motives that prompted his action, of which the most probable +seems to be that, being aware of what the Home Government intended to +do with reference to the Transvaal, he determined to strike a blow to +try and establish British Supremacy first, knowing how mischievous any +apparent surrender would be. Whatever his faults may have been as a +General, he was a brave man, and had the honour of his country much at +heart. + +It was also said by soldiers who saw him the night the troops marched +up Majuba, that the General was "not himself," and it was hinted that +continual anxiety and the chagrin of failure had told upon his mind. +As against this, however, must be set the fact that his telegrams to +the Secretary of State for War, the last of which he must have +despatched only about half-an-hour before he was shot, are cool and +collected, and written in the same unconcerned tone,--as though he +were a critical spectator of an interesting scene--that characterises +all his communications, more especially his despatches. They at any +rate give no evidence of shaken nerve or unduly excited brain, nor can +I see that any action of his with reference to the occupation of +Majuba is out of keeping with the details of his generalship upon +other occasions. He was always confident to rashness, and possessed by +the idea that every man in the ranks was full of as high a spirit, and +as brave as he was himself. Indeed most people will think, that so far +from its being a rasher action, the occupation of Majuba, bad +generalship as it seems, was a wiser move than either the attack on +the Nek or the Ingogo fiasco. + +But at the best, all his movements are difficult to be understand by a +civilian, though they may, for ought we know, have been part of an +elaborate plan, perfected in accordance with the rules of military +science, of which, it is said, he was a great student. + + + + CHAPTER VI + + THE RETROCESSION OF THE TRANSVAAL + + The Queen's Speech--President Brand and Lord Kimberley--Sir Henry + de Villiers--Sir George Colley's plan--Paul Kruger's offer--Sir + George Colley's remonstrance--Complimentary telegrams--Effect of + Majuba on the Boers and English Government--Collapse of the + Government--Reasons of the Surrender--Professional sentimentalists + --The Transvaal Independence Committee--Conclusion of the + armistice--The preliminary peace--Reception of the news in Natal-- + Newcastle after the declaration of peace--Exodus of the loyal + inhabitants of the Transvaal--The value of property in Pretoria-- + The Transvaal officials dismissed--The Royal Commission--Mode of + trial of persons accused of atrocities--Decision of the Commission + and its results--The severance of territory question--Arguments + /pro/ and /con/--Opinion of Sir E. Wood--Humility of the + Commissioners and its cause--Their decision on the Keate award + question--The Montsoia difficulty--The compensation and financial + clauses of the report of the Commission--The duties of the British + Resident--Sir E. Wood's dissent from the report of the Commission + --Signing of the Convention--Burial of the Union Jack--The native + side of the question--Interview between the Commissioners and the + native chiefs--Their opinion of the surrender--Objections of the + Boer Volksraad to the Convention--Mr. Gladstone temporises--The + ratification--Its insolent tone--Mr. Hudson, the British Resident + --The Boer festival--The results of the Convention--The larger + issue of the matter--Its effect on the Transvaal--Its moral + aspects--Its effect on the native mind. + +When Parliament met in January 1881, the Government announced, through +the mediumship of the Queen's Speech, that it was their intention to +vindicate Her Majesty's authority in the Transvaal. I have already +briefly described the somewhat unfortunate attempts to gain this end +by force of arms: and I now propose to follow the course of the +diplomatic negotiations entered into by the Ministry with the same +object. + +As soon as the hostilities in the Transvaal took a positive form, +causing great dismay among the Home authorities, whose paths, as we +all know, are the paths of peace--at any price; and whilst, in the +first confusion of calamity, they knew not where to turn, President +Brand stepped upon the scene in the character of "Our Mutual Friend," +and, by the Government at any rate, was rapturously welcomed. + +This gentleman has for many years been at the head of the Government +of the Orange Free State, whose fortunes he had directed with +considerable ability. He is a man of natural talent and kind-hearted +disposition, and has the advancement of the Boer cause in South Africa +much at heart. The rising in the Transvaal was an event that gave him +a great and threefold opportunity: first, of interfering with the +genuinely benevolent object of checking bloodshed; secondly, of +advancing the Dutch cause throughout South Africa under the cloak of +amiable neutrality, and striking a dangerous blow at British supremacy +over the Dutch and British prestige with the natives; and, thirdly, of +putting the English Government under a lasting obligation to him. Of +this opportunity he has availed himself to the utmost in each +particular. + +So soon as things began to look serious, Mr. Brand put himself into +active telegraphic communication with the various British authorities +with the view of preventing bloodshed by inducing the English +Government to accede to the Boer demands. He was also earnest in his +declarations that the Free State was not supporting the Transvaal; +which, considering that it was practically the insurgent base of +supplies, where they had retired their women, children, and cattle, +and that it furnished them with a large number of volunteers, was +perhaps straining the truth. + +About this time also we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing to Mr. Brand +that "if /only/ the Transvaal Boers will desist from armed opposition +to the Queen's authority," he thinks some arrangement might be made. +This is the first indication made public of what was passing in the +minds of Her Majesty's Government, on whom its radical supporters were +now beginning to put the screw, to induce or threaten them into +submitting to the Boer demands. + +Again, on the 11th January, the President telegraphed to Lord +Kimberley through the Orange Free State Consul in London, suggesting +that Sir H. de Villiers, the Chief Justice at the Cape, should be +appointed a Commissioner to go to the Transvaal to settle matters. +Oddly enough, about the same time the same proposition emanated from +the Dutch party in the Cape Colony, headed by Mr. Hofmeyer, a +coincidence that inclines one to the opinion that these friends of the +Boers had some further reason for thus urging Sir Henry de Villiers' +appointment as Commissioner beyond his apparent fitness for the post, +of which his high reputation as a lawyer and in his private capacity +was a sufficient guarantee. + +The explanation is not hard to find, the fact being that, rightly or +wrongly, Sir Henry de Villiers, who is himself of Dutch descent, is +noted throughout South Africa for his sympathies with the Boer cause, +and both President Brand and the Dutch party in the Cape shrewdly +suspected, that, if the settling of differences were left to his +discretion, the Boers and their interests would receive very gentle +handling. The course of action adopted by him, when he became a member +of the Royal Commission, went far to support this view, for it will be +noticed in the Report of the Commissioners that in every single point +he appears to have taken the Boer side of the contention. Indeed so +blind was he to their faults, that he would not even admit that the +horrible Potchefstroom murders and atrocities, which are condemned +both by Sir H. Robinson and Sir Evelyn Wood in language as strong as +the formal terms of a report will allow, were acts contrary to the +rules of civilised warfare. If those acts had been perpetrated by +Englishmen on Boers, or even on natives, I venture to think Sir Henry +de Villiers would have looked at them in a very different light. + +In the same telegram in which President Brand recommends the +appointment of Sir Henry de Villiers, he states that the allegations +made by the Triumvirate in the proclamation in which they accused Sir +Owen Lanyon of committing various atrocities, deserve to be +investigated, as they maintain that the collision was commenced by the +authorities. Nobody knew better than Mr. Brand that any English +official would be quite incapable of the conduct ascribed to Sir Owen +Lanyon, whilst, even if the collision had been commenced by the +authorities, which as it happened it was not, they would under the +circumstances have been amply justified in so commencing it. This +remark by President Brand in his telegram was merely an attempt to +throw an air of probability over a series of slanderous falsehoods. + +Messages of this nature continued to pour along the wires from day to +day, but the tone of those from the Colonial Office grew gradually +humbler; thus we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing on the 8th February, +that if the Boers would desist from armed opposition all reasonable +guarantees would be given as to their treatment after submission, and +that a scheme would be framed for the "permanent friendly settlement +of difficulties." It will be seen that the Government had already +begun to water the meaning of their declaration that they would +vindicate Her Majesty's authority. No doubt Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. +Courtney, and their followers, had given another turn to the Radical +screw. + +It is, however, clear that at this time no idea of the real aims of +the Government had entered into the mind of Sir George Colley, since +on the 7th February he telegraphed home a plan which he proposed to +adopt on entering the Transvaal, which included a suggestion that he +should grant a complete amnesty only to those Boers who would sign a +declaration of loyalty. + +In answer to this he was ordered to do nothing of the sort, but to +promise protection to everybody and refer everything home. + +Then came the battle of Ingogo, which checked for the time the flow of +telegrams, or rather varied their nature, for those despatched during +the next few days deal with the question of reinforcements. On the +13th February, however, negotiations were reopened by Paul Kruger, one +of the Triumvirate, who offered, if all the troops were ordered to +withdraw from the Transvaal to give them a free passage through the +Nek, to disperse the Boers and to consent to the appointment of a +Commission. + +The offer was jumped at by Lord Kimberley, who, without making +reference to the question of withdrawing the soldiers, offered, if +only the Boers would disperse, to appoint a Commission with extensive +powers to develop the "permanent friendly settlement" scheme. The +telegram ends thus: "Add, that if this proposal is accepted, you now +are authorised to agree to suspension of hostilities on our part." +This message was sent to General Wood, because the Boers had stopped +the communications with Colley. On the 19th, Sir George Colley replies +in these words, which show his astonishment at the policy adopted by +the Home Government, and which, in the opinion of most people, redound +to his credit-- + +"Latter part of your telegram to Wood not understood. There can be no +hostilities if no resistance is made, but am I to leave Lang's Nek in +Natal territory in Boer occupation, and our garrisons isolated and +short of provisions, or occupy former and relieve latter?" Lord +Kimberley hastens to reply that the garrisons must be left free to +provision themselves, "but we do not mean that you should march to the +relief of garrisons or occupy Lang's Nek, if an arrangement proceeds." + +It will be seen that the definition of what vindication of Her +Majesty's authority consisted grew broader and broader; it now +included the right of the Boers to continue to occupy their positions +in the Colony of Natal. + +Meanwhile the daily fire of complimentary messages was being kept up +between President Brand and Lord Kimberley, who alternatively gave +"sincere thanks to Lord Kimberley" and "fully appreciated the friendly +spirit" of President Brand, till on the 21st February the latter +telegraphs through Colley: "Hope of amicable settlement by +negotiation, but this will be greatly facilitated if somebody on spot +and friendly disposed to both, could by personal communication with +both endeavour to smooth difficulties. Offers his services to Her +Majesty's Government, and Kruger and Pretorius and Joubert are +willing." Needless to say his services were accepted. + +Presently, however, on 27th February, Sir George Colley made his last +move, and took possession of Majuba. His defeat and death had the +effect of causing another temporary check in the peace negotiations, +whilst Sir Frederick Roberts with ample reinforcements was despatched +to Natal. It had the further effect of increasing the haughtiness of +the Boer leaders, and infusing a corresponding spirit of pliability or +generosity into the negotiations of Her Majesty's Government. + +Thus on 2d March, the Boers, through President Brand and Sir Evelyn +Wood, inform the Secretary of State for the Colonies, that they are +willing to negotiate, but decline to submit or cease opposition. Sir +Evelyn Wood, who evidently did not at all like the line of policy +adopted by the Government, telegraphed that he thought the best thing +to do would be for him to engage the Boers, and disperse them /vi et +armis/, without any guarantees, "considering the disasters we have +sustained," and that he should, "if absolutely necessary," be +empowered to promise life and property to the leaders, but that they +should be banished from the country. In answer to this telegram, Lord +Kimberley informs him that Her Majesty's Government will amnesty +/everybody/ except those who have committed acts contrary to the rules +of civilised warfare, and that they will agree to anything, and +appoint a Commission to carry out the details, and "be ready for +friendly communications with /any persons/ appointed by the Boers." + +Thus was Her Majesty's authority finally re-established in the +Transvaal. + +It was not a very grand climax, nor the kind of arrangement to which +Englishmen are accustomed, but perhaps, considering the circumstances, +and the well-known predilections of those who made the settlement, it +was as much as could be expected. + +The action of the Government must not be considered, as though they +were unfettered in their judgment; it can never be supposed that they +acted as they did, because they thought such action right or even +wise, for that would be to set them down as men of a very low order of +intelligence, which they certainly are not. + +It is clear that no set of sensible men, who had after much +consideration given their decision that under all the circumstances, +the Transvaal must remain British territory, and who, on a revolt +subsequently breaking out in that territory, had declared that Her +Majesty's rule must be upheld, would have, putting aside all other +circumstances, deliberately stultified themselves by almost +unconditionally, and of their own free will, abandoning the country, +and all Her Majesty's subjects living in it. That would be to pay a +poor tribute to their understanding, since it is clear that if reasons +existed for retaining the Transvaal before the war, as they were +satisfied there did, those reasons would exist with still greater +force after a war had been undertaken and three crushing defeats +sustained, which if left unavenged must, as they knew, have a most +disastrous effect on our prestige throughout the South African +continent. + +I prefer to believe that the Government was coerced into acting as it +did by Radical pressure, both from outside, and from its immediate +supporters in the House, and that it had to choose between making an +unconventional surrender in the Transvaal and losing the support of a +very powerful party. Under these circumstances it, being Liberal in +politics, naturally followed its instincts, and chose surrender. + +If such a policy was bad in itself, and necessarily mischievous in its +consequences, so much the worse for those who suffered by it; it was +clear that the Government could not be expected to lose votes in order +to forward the true interests of countries so far off as the South +African Colonies, which had had the misfortune to be made a party +question of, and must take the consequences. + +There is no doubt that the interest brought to bear on the Government +was very considerable, for not only had they to deal with their own +supporters, and with the shadowy caucus that was ready to let the lash +of its displeasure descend even on the august person of Mr. Gladstone, +should he show signs of letting slip so rich an opportunity for the +vindication of the holiest principles of advanced Radicalism, but also +with the hydra-headed crowd of visionaries and professional +sentimentalists who swarm in this country, and who are always ready to +take up any cause, from that of Jumbo, or of a murderer, to that of +oppressed peoples, such as the Bulgarians, or the Transvaal Boers. + +These gentlemen, burning with zeal, and filled with that confidence +which proverbially results from the hasty assimilation of imperfect +and erroneous information, found in the Transvaal question a great +opportunity of making a noise: and--as in a disturbed farmyard the +bray of the domestic donkey, ringing loud and clear among the +utterances of more intelligent animals, overwhelms and extinguishes +them--so, and with like effect, amongst the confused sound of various +English opinions about the Boer rising, rose the trumpet-note of the +Transvaal Independence Committee and its supporters. + +As we have seen, they did not sound in vain. + +On the 6th of March an armistice with the Boers had been entered into +by Sir Evelyn Wood, which was several times prolonged, up to the 21st +March, when Sir Evelyn Wood concluded a preliminary peace with the +Boer leaders, which, under certain conditions, guaranteed the +restoration of the country within six months, and left all other +points to be decided by a Royal Commission. + +The news of this peace was at first received in the Colony in the +silence of astonishment. Personally, I remember, I would not believe +that it was true. It seemed to us, who had been witnesses of what had +passed, and knew what it all meant, something so utterly incredible +that we thought there must be a mistake. + +If there had been any one redeeming circumstance about it, if the +English arms had gained a single decisive victory, it might have been +so, but it was hard for Englishmen, just at first, to understand that +not only had the Transvaal been to all appearance wrested from them by +force of arms, but that they were henceforth to be subject, as they +well knew would be the case, to the coarse insults of victorious +Boers, and the sarcasms of keener-witted Kafirs. + +People in England seem to fancy that when men go to the Colonies they +lose all sense of pride in their country, and think of nothing but +their own advantage. I do not think that this is the case, indeed, I +believe that, individual for individual, there exists a greater sense +of loyalty, and a deeper pride in their nationality, and in the proud +name of England, among Colonists, than among Englishmen proper. +Certainly the humiliation of the Transvaal surrender was more keenly +felt in South Africa than it was at home; but, perhaps, the +impossibility of imposing upon people in that country with the farrago +of nonsense about blood-guiltiness and national morality, which was +made such adroit use of at home, may have made the difference. + +I know that personally I would not have believed it possible that I +could feel any public event so keenly as I did this; indeed, I quickly +made up my mind that if the peace was confirmed, the neighbourhood of +the Transvaal would be no fit or comfortable residence for an +Englishman, and that I would, at any cost, leave the country,--which I +accordingly did. + +Newcastle was a curious sight the night after the peace was declared, +every hotel and bar was crowded with refugees, who were trying to +relieve their feelings, by cursing the name of Gladstone, with a +vigour, originality, and earnestness, that I have never heard +equalled; and declaring in ironical terms how proud they were to be +citizens of England--a country that always kept its word. Then they +set to work with many demonstrations of contempt to burn the effigy of +the Right Honourable Gentleman at the head of Her Majesty's +Government, an example, by the way, that was followed throughout South +Africa. + +Even Sir Evelyn Wood, who is very popular in the Colony, was hissed as +he walked through the town, and great surprise was expressed that a +soldier who came out expressly to fight the Boers, should consent to +become the medium of communication in such a dirty business. And, +indeed, there was some excuse for all this bitterness, for the news +meant ruin to very many. + +But if people in Natal and at the Cape received the news with +astonishment, how shall I describe its effect upon the unfortunate +loyal inhabitants in the Transvaal, on whom it burst like a +thunderbolt? + +They did not say much however, and indeed, there was nothing to be +said, they simply began to pack up such things as they could carry +with them, and to leave the country, which they well knew would +henceforth be utterly untenable for Englishmen or English +sympathisers. In a few weeks they came pouring down through Newcastle +by hundreds; it was the most melancholy exodus that can be imagined. +There were people of all classes, officials, gentlefolk, work-people, +and loyal Boers, but they had a connecting link; they had all been +loyal, and they were all ruined. + +Most of these people had gone to the Transvaal since it became a +British Colony, and invested all they had in it, and now their capital +was lost and their labour rendered abortive; indeed, many of them whom +one had known as well to do in the Transvaal, came down to Natal +hardly knowing how they would feed their families next week. + +It must be understood that so soon as the Queen's sovereignty was +withdrawn the value of landed and house property in the Transvaal went +down to nothing, and has remained there ever since. Thus a fair-sized +house in Pretoria brought in a rental varying from ten to twenty +pounds a month during British occupation, but after the declaration of +peace, owners of houses were glad to get people to live in them to +keep them from falling into ruin. Those who owned land or had invested +money in businesses suffered in the same way; their property remains, +neither profitable or saleable, and they themselves are precluded by +their nationality from living on it, the art of "Boycotting" not being +peculiar to Ireland. + +Nor were they the only sufferers, the officials, many of whom had +taken to the Government service as a permanent profession, in which +they expected to pass their lives, were suddenly dismissed, mostly +with a small gratuity, which would about suffice to pay their debts, +and told to find their living as best they could. It was indeed a case +of /vae victis/,--woe to the conquered loyalists.[*] + +[*] The following extract is clipped from a recent issue of the + "Transvaal Advertiser." It describes the present condition of + Pretoria:-- + + "The streets grown over with rank vegetation, the water-furrows + uncleaned and unattended, emitting offensive and unhealthy + stenches, the houses showing evident signs of dilapidation and + decay, the side paths, in many places, dangerous to pedestrians; + in fact, everything the eye can rest upon indicates the downfall + which has overtaken this once prosperous city. The visitor can, if + he be so minded, betake himself to the outskirts and suburbs, + where he will perceive the same sad evidences of neglect, public + grounds unattended, roads uncared for, mills and other public + works crumbling into ruin. These palpable signs of decay most + strongly impress him. A blight seems to have come over this lately + fair and prosperous town. Rapidly it is becoming a 'deserted + village,' a 'city of the dead.'" + +The Commission appointed by Her Majesty's Government consisted of Sir +Hercules Robinson, Sir Henry de Villiers, and Sir Evelyn Wood, +President Brand being also present in his capacity of friend of both +parties, and to their discretion were left the settlement of all +outstanding questions. Amongst these, were the mode of trial of those +persons who had been guilty of acts contrary to the rules of civilised +warfare, the question of severance of territory from the Transvaal on +the Eastern boundary, the settlement of the boundary in the Keate- +Award districts, the compensation for losses sustained during the war, +the functions of the British Resident, and other matters. Their place +of meeting was at Newcastle in Natal, and from thence they proceeded +to Pretoria. + +The first question of importance that came before the Commission was +the mode of trial to be adopted in the cases of those persons accused +of acts contrary to the usages of civilised warfare, such as murder. +The Attorney-General for the Transvaal strongly advised that a special +Tribunal should be constituted to try these cases, principally because +"after a civil war in which all the inhabitants of a country, with +very few exceptions, have taken part, a jury of fair and impartial +men, truly unbiassed, will be very difficult to get together." It is +satisfactory to know that the Commissioners gave this somewhat obvious +fact "their grave consideration," which, according to their Report, +resulted in their determining to let the cases go before the ordinary +court, and be tried by a jury, because in referring them to a +specially constituted court which would have done equal justice +without fear or favour, "the British Government would have made for +itself, among the Dutch population of South Africa, a name for +vindictive oppression, which no generosity in other affairs could +efface." + +There is more in this determination of the Commissioners, or rather of +the majority of them--for Sir E. Wood, to his credit be it said, +refused to agree in their decision--than meets the eye, the fact of +the matter being that it was privately well known to them, that, +though the Boer leaders might be willing to allow a few of the +murderers to undergo the form of a trial, neither they nor the Boers +themselves, meant to permit the farce to go any further. Had the men +been tried by a special tribunal they would in all probability have +been condemned to death, and then would have come the awkward question +of carrying out the sentence on individuals whose deeds were looked +on, if not with general approval, at any rate without aversion by the +great mass of their countrymen. In short, it would probably have +become necessary either to reprieve them or to fight the Boers again, +since it was very certain that they would not have allowed them to be +hung. Therefore the majority of the Commissioners, finding themselves +face to face with a dead wall, determined to slip round it instead of +boldly climbing it, by referring the cases to the Transvaal High +Court, cheerfully confident of what the result must be. + +After all, the matter was, much cry about little wool, for of all the +crimes committed by the Boers--a list of some of which will be found +in the Appendix to this book--in only three cases were a proportion of +the perpetrators produced and put through the form of trial. Those +three were, the dastardly murder of Captain Elliot, who was shot by +his Boer escort while crossing the Vaal river on parole; the murder of +a man named Malcolm, who was kicked to death in his own house by +Boers, who afterwards put a bullet through his head to make the job +"look better;" and the murder of a doctor named Barber, who was shot +by his escort on the border of the Free State. A few of the men +concerned in the first two of these crimes were tried in Pretoria: and +it was currently reported at that time, that in order to make their +acquittal certain our Attorney-General received instructions not to +exercise his right of challenging jurors on behalf of the Crown. +Whether or not this is true I am not prepared to say, but I believe it +is a fact that he did not exercise that right, though the counsel of +the prisoners availed themselves of it freely, with the result that in +Elliot's case, the jury was composed of eight Boers and one German, +nine being the full South African jury. The necessary result followed; +in both cases the prisoners were acquitted in the teeth of the +evidence. Barber's murderers were tried in the Free State, and were, +as might be expected, acquitted. + +Thus it will be seen that of all the perpetrators of murder and other +crimes during the course of the war not one was brought to justice. + +The offence for which their victims died was, in nearly every case, +that they had served, were serving, or were loyal to Her Majesty the +Queen. In no single case has England exacted retribution for the +murder of her servants and citizens; but nobody can read through the +long list of these dastardly slaughters without feeling that they will +not go unavenged. The innocent blood that has been shed on behalf of +this country, and the tears of children and widows now appeal to a +higher tribunal than that of Mr. Gladstone's Government, and assuredly +they will not appeal in vain. + +The next point of importance dealt with by the Commission was the +question whether or no any territory should be severed from the +Transvaal, and kept under English rule for the benefit of the native +inhabitants. Lord Kimberley, acting under pressure put upon him by +members of the Aborigines Protection Society, instructed the +Commission to consider the advisability of severing the districts of +Lydenburg and Zoutpansberg, and also a strip of territory bordering on +Zululand and Swazieland from the Transvaal, so as to place the +inhabitants of the first two districts out of danger of maltreatment +by the Boers, and to interpose a buffer between Zulus, and Swazies, +and Boer aggression, and /vice versa/. + +The Boer leaders had, it must be remembered, acquiesced in the +principle of such a separation in the preliminary peace signed by Sir +Evelyn Wood and themselves. The majority of the Commission, however +(Sir Evelyn Wood dissenting), finally decided against the retention of +either of these districts, a decision which I think was a wise one, +though I arrive at that conclusion on very different grounds to those +adopted by the majority of the Commission. + +Personally, I cannot see that it is the duty of England to play +policeman to the whole world. To have retained these native districts +would have been to make ourselves responsible for their good +government, and to have guaranteed them against Boer encroachment, +which I do not think that we were called upon to do. It is surely not +incumbent upon us, having given up the Transvaal to the Boers, to +undertake the management of the most troublesome part of it, the Zulu +border. Besides, bad as the abandonment of the Transvaal is, I think +that if it was to be done at all, it was best to do it thoroughly, +since to have kept some natives under our protection, and to have +handed over the rest to the tender mercies of the Boers, would only be +to render our injustice more obvious, whilst weakening the power of +the natives themselves to combine in self-defence; since those under +our protection would naturally have little sympathy with their more +unfortunate brethren--their interests and circumstances being +different. + +The Commission do not seem to have considered the question from these +points of view, but putting them on one side, there are many other +considerations connected with it, which are ably summed up in their +Report. Amongst these is the danger of disturbances commenced between +Zulus or Swazies and Boers, spreading into Natal, and the probability +of the fomenting of disturbances amongst the Zulus by Boers. The great +argument for the retention of some territory, if only as a symbol that +the English had not been driven out of the country, is, however, set +forth in the forty-sixth paragraph of the Report, which runs as +follows:--"The moral considerations that determine the actions of +civilised Governments are not easily understood by barbarians, in +whose eyes successful force is alone the sign of superiority, and it +appeared possible that the surrender by the British Crown of one of +its possessions to those who had been in arms against it, might be +looked upon by the natives in no other way than as a token of the +defeat and decay of the British Power, and that thus a serious shock +might be given to British authority in South Africa, and the capacity +of Great Britain to govern and direct the vast native population +within and without her South African dominions--a capacity resting +largely on the renown of her name--might be dangerously impaired." + +These words coming from so unexpected a source do not, though couched +in such mild language, hide the startling importance of the question +discussed. On the contrary, they accurately and with double weight +convey the sense and gist of the most damning argument against the +policy of the retrocession of the Transvaal in its entirety; and +proceeding from their own carefully chosen commissioners, can hardly +have been pleasant reading to Lord Kimberley and his colleagues. + +The majority of the Commission then proceeds to set forth the +arguments advanced by the Boers against the retention of any +territory, which appear to have been chiefly of a sentimental +character, since we are informed that "the people, it seemed certain, +would not have valued the restoration of a mutilated country. +Sentiment in a great measure had led them to insurrection, and the +force of such it was impossible to disregard." Sir E. Wood in his +dissent, states, that he cannot even agree with the premises of his +colleagues' argument, since he is convinced that it was not sentiment +that had led to the outbreak, but a "general and rooted aversion to +taxation." If he had added, and a hatred not only of English rule, but +of all rule, he would have stated the complete cause of the Transvaal +rebellion. In the next paragraph of the Report, however, we find the +real cause of the pliability of the Commission in the matter, which is +the same that influenced them in their decision about the mode of +trial of the murderers and other questions:--they feared that the +people would appeal to arms if they decided against their wishes. + +Discreditable and disgraceful as it may seem, nobody can read this +Report without plainly seeing that the Commissioners were, in treating +with the Boers on these points, in the position of ambassadors from a +beaten people getting the best terms they could. Of course, they well +knew that this was not the case, but whatever the Boer leaders may +have said, the Boers themselves did not know this, or even pretend to +look at the matter in any other light. When we asked for the country +back, said they, we did not get it; after we had three times defeated +the English we did get it; the logical conclusion from the facts being +that we got it because we defeated the English. This was their tone, +and it is not therefore surprising that whenever the Commission +threatened to decide anything against them, they, with a smile, let it +know that if it did, they would be under the painful necessity of +re-occupying Lang's Nek. It was never necessary to repeat the threat, +since the majority of the Commission would thereupon speedily find a +way to meet the views of the Boer representatives. + +Sir Evelyn Wood, in his dissent, thus correctly sums up the matter:-- +"To contend that the Royal Commission ought not to decide contrary to +the wishes of the Boers, because such decision might not be accepted, +is to deny to the Commission the very power of decision that it was +agreed should be left in its hands." Exactly so. But it is evident +that the Commission knew its place, and so far from attempting to +exercise any "power of decision," it was quite content with such +concessions as it could obtain by means of bargaining. Thus, as an +additional reason against the retention of any territory, it is urged +that if this territory was retained "the majority of your +Commissioners . . . would have found themselves in no favourable +position for obtaining the concurrence of the Boer leaders as to other +matters." In fact, Her Majesty's Commission appointed, or supposed to +be appointed, to do Her Majesty's will and pleasure, shook in its +shoes before men who had lately been rebels in arms against Her +authority, and humbly submitted itself to their dicta. + +The majority of the Commission went on to express their opinion, that +by giving away about the retention of territory they would be able to +obtain better terms for the natives generally, and larger powers for +the British Resident. But, as Sir Evelyn Wood points out in his +Report, they did nothing of the sort, the terms of the agreement about +the Resident and other native matters being all consequent on and +included in the first agreement of peace. Besides, they seem to have +overlooked the fact that such concessions as they did obtain are only +on paper, and practically worthless, whilst all /bona fide/ advantages +remained with the Boers. + +The decision of the Commissioners in the question of the Keate Award, +which next came under their consideration, appears to have been a +judicious one, being founded on the very careful Report of Colonel +Moysey, R.E., who had been for many months collecting information on +the spot. The Keate Award Territory is a region lying to the south- +west of the Transvaal, and was, like many other districts in that +country, originally in the possession of natives, of the Baralong and +Batlapin tribes. Individual Boers having, however, /more suo/ taken +possession of tracts of land in the district, difficulties speedily +arose between their Government and the native chiefs, and in 1871 Mr. +Keate, Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, was by mutual consent called in +to arbitrate on the matter. His decision was entirely in favour of the +natives, and was accordingly promptly and characteristically +repudiated by the Boer Volksraad. From that time till the rebellion +the question remained unsettled, and was indeed a very thorny one to +deal with. The Commission, acting on the principle /in medio +tutissimus ibis/, drew a line through the midst of the disputed +territory, or, in other words, set aside Mr. Keate's award and +interpreted the dispute in favour of the Boers. + +This decision was accepted by all parties at the time, but it has not +resulted in the maintenance of peace. The principal Chief, Montsoia, +is an old ally and staunch friend of the English, a fact which the +Boers were not able to forget or forgive, and they appear to have +stirred up rival Chiefs to attack him, and to have allowed volunteers +from the Transvaal to assist them. Montsoia has also enlisted some +white volunteers, and several fights have taken place, in which the +loss of life has been considerable. Whether or no the Transvaal +Government is directly concerned it is impossible to say, but from the +fact that cannon are said to have been used against Montsoia it would +appear that it is, since private individuals do not, as a rule, own +Armstrong guns.[*] + +[*] I beg to refer any reader interested in this matter to the letter + of "Transvaal" to the "Standard," which I have republished in the + Appendix to this book. + +Amongst the questions remaining for the consideration of the +Commissioners was that of what compensation should be given for losses +during the war. Of course, the great bulk of the losses sustained were +of an indirect nature, resulting from the necessary and enormous +depreciation in the value of land and other property, consequent on +the retrocession. Into this matter the Home Government declined to +enter, thereby saving its pocket at the price of its honour, since it +was upon English guarantees that the country would remain a British +possession, that the majority of the unfortunate loyals invested their +money in it. It was, however, agreed by the Commission (Sir H. de +Villiers dissenting) that the Boers should be liable for compensation +in cases where loss had been sustained through commandeering seizure, +confiscation, destruction, or damage of property. The sums awarded +under these heads have already amounted to about 110,000 pounds, which +sum has been defrayed by the Imperial Government, the Boer authorities +stating that they were not in a position to pay it. + +In connection with this matter, I will pass to the Financial clauses +of the Report. When the country was annexed, the public debt amounted +to 301,727 pounds. Under British rule this debt was liquidated to the +extent of 150,000 pounds, but the total was brought up by a +Parliamentary grant, a loan from the Standard Bank, and sundries to +390,404 pounds, which represented the public debt of the Transvaal on +the 31st December 1880. This was further increased by moneys advanced +by the Standard Bank and English Exchequer during the war, and till +the 8th August 1881, during which time the country yielded no revenue, +to 457,393 pounds. To this must be added an estimated sum of 200,000 +pounds for compensation charges, pension allowances, &c., and a +further sum of 383,000 pounds, the cost of the successful expedition +against Secocoeni, that of the unsuccessful one being left out of +account, bringing up the total public debt to over a million, of which +about 800,000 pounds is owing to this country. + +This sum, with the characteristic liberality that distinguished them +in their dealings with the Boers, but which was not so marked where +loyals were concerned, the Commissioners (Sir Evelyn Wood dissenting) +reduced by a stroke of the pen to 265,000 pounds, thus entirely +remitting an approximate sum of 500,000 pounds, or 600,000 pounds. To +the sum of 265,000 pounds still owing, must be added say another +150,000 pounds for sums lately advanced to pay the compensation +claims, bringing up the actual amount now owing to England to +something under half a million, of which I say with confidence she +will never see a single 10,000 pounds. As this contingency was not +contemplated, or if contemplated, not alluded to by the Royal +Commission, provision was made for a sinking fund, by means of which +the debt, which is a second charge on the revenues of the States, is +to be extinguished in twenty-five years. + +It is a strange instance of the proverbial irony of fate, that whilst +the representatives of the Imperial Government were thus showering +gifts of hundreds of thousands of pounds upon men who had spurned the +benefits of Her Majesty's rule, made war upon her forces, and murdered +her subjects, no such consideration was extended to those who had +remained loyal to her throne. Their claims for compensation were +passed by unheeded; and looking from the windows of the room in which +they sat in Newcastle, the members of the Commission might have seen +them flocking down from a country that could no longer be their home; +those that were rich among them made poor, and those that were poor +reduced to destitution. + +The only other point which it will be necessary for me to touch on in +connection with this Report is the duties of the British Resident and +his relations to the natives. He was to be invested as representative +of the Suzerain with functions for securing the execution of the terms +of peace as regards: (1.) The control of the foreign relations of the +State; (2.) The control of the frontier affairs of the State; and (3.) +The protection of the interests of the natives in the State. + +As regards the first of these points, it was arranged that the +interests of subjects of the Transvaal should be left in the hands of +Her Majesty's representatives abroad. Since Boers are, of all people +in the world, the most stay-at-home, our ambassadors and consuls are +not likely to be troubled much on their account. With reference to the +second point, the Commission made stipulations that would be admirable +if there were any probability of their being acted up to. The Resident +is to report any encroachment on native territory by Boers to the High +Commissioner, and when the Resident and the Boer Government differ, +the decision of the Suzerain is to be final. This is a charming way of +settling difficulties, but the Commission forgets to specify how the +Suzerain's decision is to be enforced. After what has happened, it can +hardly have relied on awe of the name of England to bring about the +desired obedience! + +But besides thus using his beneficent authority to prevent subjects of +the Transvaal from trespassing on their neighbour's land, the Resident +is to exercise a general supervision over the interests of all the +natives in the country. Considering that they number about a million, +and are scattered over a territory larger than France, one would think +that this duty alone would have taken up the time of any ordinary man; +and, indeed, Sir Evelyn Wood was in favour of the appointment of sub- +residents to assist him. The majority of the Commission refused, +however, to listen to any such suggestion--believing, they said, "that +the least possible interference with the independent Government of the +State would be the wisest." Quite so, but I suppose it never occurred +to them to ask the natives what their views of the matter were! The +Resident was also to be a member of a Native Location Committee, which +was at some future time, to provide land for natives to live on. + +In perusing this Report it is easy to follow with more or less +accuracy the individual bent of its framers. Sir Hercules Robinson +figures throughout as a man who has got a disagreeable business to +carry out, in obedience to instructions that admit of no trifling +with, and who has set himself to do the best he can for his country, +and those who suffer through his country's policy, whilst obeying +those instructions. He has evidently choked down his feelings and +opinions as an individual, and turned himself into an official +machine, merely registering in detail the will of Lord Kimberley. With +Sir Henry de Villiers the case is very different, one feels throughout +that the task is to him a congenial one, and that the Boer cause has +in him an excellent friend. Indeed, had he been an advocate of their +cause instead of a member of the Commission, he could not have +espoused their side on every occasion with greater zeal. According to +him they were always in the right, and in them he could find no guile. +Mr. Hofmeyer and President Brand exercised a wise discretion from +their own point of view, when they urged his appointment as Special +Commissioner. I now come to Sir Evelyn Wood, who was in the position +of an independent Englishman, neither prejudiced in favour of the +Boers, or the reverse, and on whom, as a military man, Lord Kimberley +would find it difficult to put the official screw. The results of his +happy position are obvious in the paper attached to the end of the +Report, and signed by him, in which he totally and entirely differs +from the majority of the Commission on every point of importance. Most +people will think that this very outspoke and forcible dissent deducts +somewhat from the value of the Report, and throws a shadow of doubt on +the wisdom of its provisions. + +The formal document of agreement between Her Majesty's Government and +the Boer leaders, commonly known as the Convention, was signed by both +parties at Pretoria on the afternoon of the 3d August 1881, in the +same room in which, nearly four years before, the Annexation +Proclamation was signed by Sir T. Shepstone. + +Whilst this business was being transacted in Government House, a +curious ceremony was going on just outside, and within sight of the +windows. This was the ceremonious burial of the Union Jack, which was +followed to the grave by a crowd of about 2000 loyalists and native +chiefs. On the outside of the coffin was written the word "Resurgam," +and an eloquent oration was delivered over the grave. Such +demonstrations are, no doubt, foolish enough, but they are not +entirely without political significance. + +But a more unpleasant duty awaited the Commissioners than that of +attaching their signatures to a document,--consisting of the necessity +of conveying Her Majesty's decision as to the retrocession, to about a +hundred native Chiefs, until now Her Majesty's subjects, who had been +gathered together to hear it. It must be borne in mind that the +natives had not been consulted as to the disposal of the country, +although they outnumber the white people in the proportion of twenty +to one, and that, beyond some worthless paper stipulations, nothing +had been done for their interests. + +Personally, I must plead guilty to what I know is by many, especially +by those who are attached to the Boer cause, considered as folly if +not worse, namely, a sufficient interest in the natives, and sympathy +with their sufferings to bring me to the conclusion, that in acting +thus we have inflicted a cruel injustice upon them. It seems to me, +that as they were the original owners of the soil, they were entitled +to some consideration in the question of its disposal, and +consequently and incidentally, of their own. I am aware that it is +generally considered that the white man has a right to the black man's +possessions and land, and that it is his high and holy mission to +exterminate the wretched native and take his place. But with this +conclusion I venture to differ. So far as my own experience of natives +has gone, I have found that in all the essential qualities of mind and +body, they very much resemble white men, with the exception that they +are, as a race, quicker-witted, more honest, and braver, than the +ordinary run of white men. Of them might be aptly quoted the speech +Shakespeare puts into Shylock's mouth: "Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not +a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?" In the +same way I ask, Has a native no feelings or affections? does he not +suffer when his parents are shot, or his children stolen, or when he +is driven a wanderer from his home? Does he not know fear, feel pain, +affection, hate and gratitude? Most certainly he does; and this being +so, I cannot believe that the Almighty, who made both white and black, +gave to the one race the right or mission of exterminating, or even of +robbing or maltreating the other, and calling the process the advance +of civilisation. It seems to me, that on only one condition, if at +all, have we the right to take the black man's land; and that is, that +we provide them with an equal and a just Government, and allow no +maltreatment of them, either as individuals or tribes: but, on the +contrary, do our best to elevate them, and wean them from savage +customs. Otherwise, the practice is surely undefensible. + +I am aware, however, that with the exception of a small class, these +are sentiments which are not shared by the great majority of the +public, either at home or abroad. Indeed, it can be plainly seen how +little sympathy they command, from the fact that but scanty +remonstrance was raised at the treatment meted out to our native +subjects in the Transvaal, when they were, to the number of nearly a +million, handed over from the peace, justice, and security, that on +the whole characterise our rule, to a state of things, and +possibilities of wrong and suffering which I will not try to describe. + +To the chiefs thus assembled Sir Hercules Robinson, as President of +the Royal Commission, read a statement, and then retired, refusing to +allow them to speak in answer. The statement informed the natives that +"Her Majesty's Government, with that sense of justice which befits a +great and powerful nation," had returned the country to the Boers, +"whose representatives, Messrs. Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert, I +now," said Sir Hercules, "have much pleasure in introducing to you." +If reports are true, the native Chiefs had, many of them personally, +and all of them by reputation, already the advantage of a very +intimate acquaintance with all three of these gentlemen, so that an +introduction was somewhat superfluous. + +Sir Hercules went on to explain to them that locations would be +allotted to them at some future time; that a British Resident would be +appointed, whose especial charge they would be, but that they must +bear in mind that he was not the ruler of the country, but the +Government, "subject to Her Majesty's suzerain rights." Natives were, +no doubt, expected to know by intuition what suzerain rights are. The +statement then goes on to give them good advice as to the advantages +of indulging in manual labour when asked to do so by the Boers, and +generally to show them how bright and happy is the future that lies +before them. Lest they should be too elated by such good tidings, they +are, however, reminded that it will be necessary to retain the law +relating to passes, which is, in the hands of a people like the Boers, +about as unjust a regulation as a dominant race can invent for the +oppression of a subject people, and had, in the old days of the +Republic, been productive of much hardship. The statement winds up by +assuring them that their "interests will never be forgotten or +neglected by Her Majesty's Government." Having read the document the +Commission hastily withdrew, and after their withdrawal the Chiefs +were "allowed" to state their opinions to the Secretary for Native +Affairs. + +In availing themselves of this permission, it is noticeable that no +allusion was made to all the advantages they were to reap under the +Convention, nor did they seem to attach much importance to the +appointment of the British Resident. On the contrary, all their +attention was given to the great fact that the country had been ceded +to the Boers, and that they were no longer the Queen's subjects. We +are told, in Mr. Shepstone's Report, that they "got very excited," and +"asked whether it was thought that they had no feelings or hearts, +that they were thus treated as a stick or piece of tobacco, which +could be passed from hand to hand without question." Umgombarie, a +Zoutpansberg Chief, said, "I am Umgombarie. I have fought with the +Boers, and have many wounds, and they know that what I say is true. +. . . I will never consent to place myself under their rule. I belong +to the English Government. I am not a man who eats with both sides of +his jaw at once; I only use one side. I am English, I have said." +Silamba said, "I belong to the English. I will never return under the +Boers. You see me, a man of my rank and position, is it right that +such as I should be seized and laid on the ground and flogged, as has +been done to me and other chiefs?" + +Sinkanhla said: "We hear and yet do not hear, we cannot understand. We +are troubling you, Chief, by talking in this way; we hear the Chiefs +say that the Queen took the country because the people of the country +wished it, and again that the majority of the owners of the country +did not wish their rule, and that therefore the country was given +back. We should like to have the man pointed out from among us black +people who objects to the rule of the Queen. We are the real owners of +the country; we were here when the Boers came, and without asking +leave, settled down and treated us in every way badly. The English +Government then came and took the country; we have now had four years +of rest and peaceful and just rule. We have been called here to-day, +and are told that the country, our country, has been given to the +Boers by the Queen. This is a thing which surprises us. Did the +country, then, belong to the Boers? Did it not belong to our fathers +and forefathers before us, long before the Boers came here? We have +heard that the Boers' country is at the Cape. If the Queen wishes to +give them their land, why does she not give them back the Cape?" + +I have quoted this speech at length, because, although made by a +despised native, it sets forth their case more powerfully and in +happier language than I can do. + +Umyethile said: "We have no heart for talking. I have returned to the +country from Sechelis, where I had to fly from Boer oppression. Our +hearts are black and heavy with grief to-day at the news told us, we +are in agony, our intestines are twisting and writhing inside of us, +just as you see a snake do when it is struck on the head. . . . We do +not know what has become of us, but we feel dead; it may be that the +Lord may change the nature of the Boers, and that we will not be +treated like dogs and beasts of burden as formerly, but we have no +hope of such a change, and we leave you with heavy hearts and great +apprehension as to the future." In his Report, Mr. Shepstone (the +Secretary for Native Affairs) says: "One chief, Jan Sibilo, who has +been, he informed me, personally threatened with death by the Boers +after the English leave, could not restrain his feelings, but cried +like a child." + +I have nothing to add to these extracts, which are taken from many +such statements. They are the very words of the persons most +concerned, and will speak for themselves. + +The Convention was signed on the 3d August 1881, and was to be +formally ratified by a Volksraad or Parliament of the Burghers within +three months of that date, in default of which it was to fall to the +ground and become null and void. + +Anybody who has followed the course of affairs with reference to the +retrocession of the Transvaal, or who has even taken the trouble to +read through this brief history, will probably come to the conclusion +that, under all the circumstances, the Boers had got more than they +could reasonably expect. Not so, however, the Boers themselves. On the +28th September the newly-elected Volksraad referred the Convention to +a General Committee to report on, and on the 30th September the Report +was presented. On the 3d October a telegram was despatched through the +British Resident to "His Excellency W. E. Gladstone," in which the +Volksraad states that the Convention is not acceptable-- + +(1.) Because it is in conflict with the Sand River Treaty of 1852. + +(2.) Because it violates the peace agreement entered into with Sir +Evelyn Wood, in confidence of which the Boers laid down their arms. + +The Volksraad consequently declared that modifications were desirable, +and that certain articles /must/ be altered. + +To begin with, they declare that the "conduct of foreign relations +does not appertain to the Suzerain, only supervision," and that the +articles bearing on these points must consequently be modified. They +next attack the native question, stating that "the Suzerain has not +the right to interfere with our Legislature," and state that they +cannot agree to Article 3, which gives the Suzerain a right of veto on +Legislation connected with the natives, to Article 13, by virtue of +which natives are to be allowed to acquire land, and to the last part +of Article 26, by which it is provided that whites of alien race +living in the Transvaal shall not be taxed in excess of the taxes +imposed on Transvaal citizens. + +They further declare that it is "infra dignitatem" for the President +of the Transvaal to be a member of a Commission. This refers to the +Native Location Commission, on which he is, in the terms of the +Convention, to sit, together with the British Resident, and a third +person jointly appointed. + +They next declare that the amount of the debt for which the Commission +has made them liable should be modified. Considering that England had +already made them a present of from 600,000 pounds to 800,000 pounds, +this is a most barefaced demand. Finally, they state that "Articles +15, 16, 26, and 27, are superfluous, and only calculated to wound our +sense of honour" (sic). + +Article 15 enacts that no slavery or apprenticeship shall be +tolerated. + +Article 16 provides for religious toleration. + +Article 26 provides for the free movement, trading, and residence of +all persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of +the Transvaal. + +Article 27 gives to all the right of free access to the Courts of +Justice. + +Putting the "sense of honour" of the Transvaal Volksraad out of the +question, past experience has but too plainly proved that these +Articles are by no means superfluous. + +In reply to this message, Sir Hercules Robinson telegraphs to the +British Resident on the 21st October in the following words:-- + +"Having forwarded Volksraad Resolution of 15th to Earl of Kimberley, I +am desired to instruct you in reply to repeat to the Triumvirate that +Her Majesty's Government cannot entertain any proposals for a +modification of the Convention /until after it has been ratified/, and +the necessity for further concession proved by experience." + +I wish to draw particular attention to the last part of this message, +which is extremely typical of the line of policy adopted throughout in +the Transvaal business. The English Government dared not make any +further concession to the Boers, because they felt that they had +already strained the temper of the country almost to breaking in the +matter. On the other hand, they were afraid that if they did not do +something, the Boers would tear up the Convention, and they would find +themselves face to face with the old difficulty. Under these +circumstances, they have fallen back upon their temporising and +un-English policy, which leaves them a back-door to escape through, +whatever turn things take. Should the Boers now suddenly turn round +and declare, which is extremely probable, that they repudiate their +debt to us, or that they are sick of the presence of a British +Resident, the Government will be able to announce that "the necessity +for further concession" has now been "proved by experience," and thus +escape the difficulty. In short, this telegram has deprived the +Convention of whatever finality it may have possessed, and made it, as +a document, as worthless as it is as a practical settlement. That this +is the view taken of it by the Boers themselves, is proved by the text +of the Ratification which followed on the receipt of this telegram. + +The tone of this document throughout is, in my opinion, considering +from whom it came, and against whom it is directed, very insolent. And +it amply confirms what I have previously said, that the Boers looked +upon themselves as a victorious people making terms with those they +have conquered. The Ratification leads off thus: "The Volksraad is not +satisfied with this Convention, and considers that the members of the +Triumvirate performed a fervent act of love for the Fatherland when +they upon their own responsibility signed such an unsatisfactory state +document." This is damning with faint praise indeed. It then goes on +to recite the various points of object, stating that the answers from +the English Government proved that they were well founded. "The +English Government," it says, "acknowledges indirectly by this answer +(the telegram of 21st October, quoted above) that the difficulties +raised by the Volksraad are neither fictitious nor unfounded, inasmuch +/as it desires from us the concession/ that we, the Volksraad, shall +submit it to a practical test." It will be observed that English is +here represented as begging the favour of a trial of her conditions +from the Volksraad of the Transvaal Boers. The Ratification is in +these words: "Therefore it is that the Raad here unanimously resolves +not to go into further discussion of the Convention, /and maintaining +all objections to the Convention/ as made before the Royal Commission +or stated in the Raad, and for the purpose of showing to everybody +that the love of peace and unity inspires us, /for the time and +provisionally/ submitting the articles of the Convention to a +practical test, /hereby complying with the request of the English +Government/ contained in the telegram of the 13th October 1881, +proceeds to ratify the Convention." + +It would have been interesting to have seen how such a Ratification as +this, which is no Ratification but an insult, would have been accepted +by Lord Beaconsfield. I think that within twenty-four hours of its +arrival in Downing Street, the Boer Volksraad would have received a +startling answer. But Lord Beaconsfield is dead, and by his successor +it was received with all due thankfulness and humility. His words, +however, on this subject still remain to us, and even his great rival +might have done well to listen to them. It was in the course of what +was, I believe, the last speech he made in the House of Lords, that +speaking about the Transvaal rising, he warned the Government that it +was a very dangerous thing to make peace with rebellious subjects in +arms against the authority of the Queen. The warning passed unheeded, +and the peace was made in the way I have described. + +As regards the Convention itself, it will be obvious to the reader +that the Boers have not any intention of acting up to its provisions, +mild as they are, if they can possibly avoid them, whilst, on the +other hand, there is no force at hand to punish their disregard or +breach. It is all very well to create a Resident with extensive +powers; but how is he to enforce his decisions? What is he to do if +his awards are laughed at and made a mockery of, as they are and will +be? The position of Mr. Hudson at Pretoria is even worse than that of +Mr. Osborn in Zululand. For instance, the Convention specifies in the +first article that the Transvaal is to be known as the Transvaal +State. The Boer Government have, however, thought fit to adopt the +name of "South African Republic" in all public documents. Mr. Hudson +was accordingly directed to remonstrate, which he did in a feeble way; +his remonstrance was politely acknowledged, but the country is still +officially called the South African Republic, the Convention and Mr. +Hudson's remonstrations notwithstanding. Mr. Hudson, however, appears +to be better suited to the position than would have been the case had +an Englishman, pure and simple, been appointed, since it is evident +that things that would have struck the latter as insults to the Queen +he represented, and his country generally, are not so understood by +him. In fact, he admirably represents his official superiors in his +capacity of swallowing rebuffs, and when smitten on one cheek +delightedly offering the other. + +Thus we find him attending a Boer meeting of thanksgiving for the +success that had waited on their arms and the recognition of their +independence, where most people will consider he was out of place. To +this meeting, thus graced by his presence, an address was presented by +a branch of the Africander Bond, a powerful institution, having for +its object the total uprootal of English rule and English customs in +South Africa, to which he must have listened with pleasure. In it he, +in common with other members of the meeting, is informed that "you +took up the sword and struck the Briton with such force" that "the +Britons through fear revived that sense of justice to which they could +not be brought by petitions," and that the "day will soon come that we +shall enter with you on one arena for the entire independence of South +Africa," i.e., independence from English rule. + +On the following day the Government gave a dinner, to which all those +who had done good service during the late hostilities were invited, +the British Resident being apparently the only Englishman asked. +Amongst the other celebrities present I notice the name of Buskes. +This man, who is an educated Hollander, was the moving spirit of the +Potchefstroom atrocities; indeed, so dark is his reputation that the +Royal Commission refused to transact business with him, or to admit +him into their presence. Mr. Hudson was not so particular. And now +comes the most extraordinary part of the episode. At the dinner it was +necessary that the health of Her Majesty as Suzerain should be +proposed, and with studied insolence this was done last of all the +leading political toasts, and immediately after that of the +Triumvirate. Notwithstanding this fact, and that the toast was couched +by Mr. Joubert, who stated that "he would not attempt to explain what +a Suzerain was," in what appear to be semi-ironical terms, we find +that Mr. Hudson "begged to tender his thanks to the Honourable Mr. +Joubert for the kind way in which he proposed the toast." + +It may please Mr. Hudson to see the name of the Queen thus +metaphorically dragged in triumph at the chariot wheels of the +Triumvirate, but it is satisfactory to know that the spectacle is not +appreciated in England: since, on a question in the House of Lords, by +the Earl of Carnarvon, who characterised it as a deliberate insult, +Lord Kimberley replied that the British Resident had been instructed +that in future he was not to attend public demonstrations unless he +had previously informed himself that the name of Her Majesty would be +treated with proper respect. Let us hope that this official reprimand +will have its effect, and that Mr. Hudson will learn therefrom that +there is such a thing as /trop de zele/--even in a good cause. + +The Convention is now a thing of the past, the appropriate rewards +have been lavishly distributed to its framers, and President Brand has +at last prevailed upon the Volksraad of the Orange Free State to allow +him to become a Knight Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, +--the same prize looked forward to by our most distinguished public +servants at the close of the devotion of their life to the service of +their country. But its results are yet to come--though it would be +difficult to forecast the details of their development. One thing, +however, is clear: the signing of that document signalised an entirely +new departure in South African affairs, and brought us within a +measurable distance of the abandonment, for the present at any rate, +of the supremacy of English rule in South Africa. + +This is the larger issue of the matter, and it is already bearing +fruit. Emboldened by their success in the Transvaal, the Dutch party +at the Cape are demanding, and the demand is to be granted, that the +Dutch tongue be admitted /pari passu/ with English, as the official +language in the Law Courts and the House of Assembly. When a country +thus consents to use a foreign tongue equally with its own, it is a +sure sign that those who speak it are rising to power. But "the Party" +looks higher than this, and openly aims at throwing off English rule +altogether, and declaring South Africa a great Dutch republic. The +course of events is favourable to their aspiration. Responsible +Government is to be granted to Natal, which country not being strong +enough to stand alone in the face of the many dangers that surround +her, will be driven into the arms of the Dutch party to save herself +from destruction. It will be useless for her to look for help from +England, and any feelings of repugnance she may feel to Boer rule will +soon be choked by necessity, and a mutual interest. It is, however, +possible that some unforeseen event, such as the advent to power of a +strong Conservative Ministry, may check the tide that now sets so +strongly in favour of Dutch supremacy. + +It seems to me, however, to be a question worthy of the consideration +of those who at present direct the destinies of the Empire, whether it +would not be wise, as they have gone so far, to go a little further +and favour a scheme for the total abandonment of South Africa, +retaining only Table Bay. If they do not, it is now quite within the +bounds of sober possibility that they may one day have to face a fresh +Transvaal rebellion, only on a ten times larger scale, and might find +it difficult to retain even Table Bay. If, on the other hand, they do, +I believe that all the White States in South Africa will confederate +of their own free-will, under the pressure of the necessity for common +action, and the Dutch element being preponderant, at once set to work +to exterminate the natives on general principles, in much the same +way, and from much the same motives that a cook exterminates black +beetles, because she thinks them ugly, and to clear the kitchen. + +I need hardly say that such a policy is not one that commands my +sympathy, but Her Majesty's Government having put their hand to the +plough, it is worth their while to consider it. It would at any rate +be in perfect accordance with their declared sentiments, and command +an enthusiastic support from their followers. + +As regards the smaller and more immediate issue of the retrocession, +namely, its effect on the Transvaal itself, it cannot be other than +evil. The act is, I believe, quite without precedent in our history, +and it is difficult to see, looking at it from those high grounds of +national morality assumed by the Government, what greater arguments +can be advanced in its favour, than could be found to support the +abandonment of,--let us say,--Ireland. Indeed a certain parallel +undoubtedly exists between the circumstances of the two countries. +Ireland was, like the Transvaal, annexed, though a long time ago, and +has continually agitated for its freedom. The Irish hate us, so did +the Boers. In Ireland, Englishmen are being shot, and England is +running the awful risk of bloodguiltiness, as it did in the Transvaal. +In Ireland, smouldering revolution is being fanned into flame by Mr. +Gladstone's speeches and acts, as it was in the Transvaal. In Ireland, +as in the Transvaal, there exists a strong loyal class that receives +insults instead of support from the Government, and whose property, as +was the case there, is taken from them without compensation, to be +flung as a sop to stop the mouths of the Queen's enemies. And so I +might go on, finding many such similarities of circumstances, but my +parallel, like most parallels, must break down at last. Thus--it +mattered little to England whether or no she let the Transvaal go, but +to let Ireland go would be more than even Mr. Gladstone dare attempt. + +Somehow, if you follow these things far enough, you always come to +vulgar first principles. The difference between the case of the +Transvaal and that of Ireland is a difference not of justice but of +cause, for both causes are equally unjust or just according as they +are viewed, but of mere common expediency. Judging from the elevated +standpoint of the national morality theory however, which, as we know, +soars above such truisms as the foolish statement that force is a +remedy, or that if you wish to retain your prestige you must not allow +defeats to pass unavenged, I cannot see why, if it was righteous to +abandon the Transvaal, it would not be equally righteous to abandon +Ireland! + +As for the Transvaal, that country is not to be congratulated on its +success, for it has destroyed all its hopes of permanent peace, has +ruined its trade and credit, and has driven away the most useful and +productive class in the community. The Boers, elated by their success +in arms, will be little likely to settle down to peaceable +occupations, and still less likely to pay their taxes, which, indeed, +I hear they are already refusing to do. They have learnt how easily +even a powerful Government can be upset, and the lesson is not likely +to be forgotten, for want of repetition to their own weak one. + +Already the Transvaal Government hardly knows which way to turn for +funds, and is, perhaps fortunately for itself, quite unable to borrow, +through want of credit. + +As regards the native question, I agree with Mr. H. Shepstone, who, in +his Report on this subject, says that he does not believe that the +natives will inaugurate any action against the Boers, so long as the +latter do not try to collect taxes, or otherwise interfere with them. +But if the Boer Government is to continue to exist, it will be bound +to raise taxes from the natives, since it cannot collect much from its +white subjects. The first general attempt of the sort will be the +signal for active resistance on the part of the natives, whom, if they +act without concert, the Boers will be able to crush in detail, though +with considerable loss. If, on the other hand, they should have +happened, during the last few years, to have learnt the advantages of +combination, as is quite possible, perhaps they will crush the Boers. + +The only thing that is at present certain about the matter is that +there will be bloodshed, and that before long. For instance, the +Montsoia difficulty in the Keate Award has in it the possibilities of +a serious war, and there are plenty such difficulties ready to spring +into life within and without the Transvaal. + +In all human probability it will take but a small lapse of time for +the Transvaal to find itself in the identical position from which we +relieved it by the Annexation. + +What course events will then take it is impossible to say. It may be +found desirable to re-annex the country, though, in my opinion, that +would be, after all that has passed, an unfortunate step; its +inhabitants may be cut up piecemeal by a combined movement of native +tribes, as they would have been, had they not been rescued by the +English Government in 1877, or it is possible that the Orange Free +State may consent to take the Transvaal under its wing: who can say? +There is only one thing that our recently abandoned possession can +count on for certain, and that is trouble, both from its white +subjects, and the natives, who hate the Boers with a bitter and a +well-earned hatred. + +The whole question, can, so far as its moral aspect is concerned, be +summed up in a few words. + +Whether or no the Annexation was a necessity at the moment of its +execution,--which I certainly maintain it was--it received the +unreserved sanction of the Home Authorities, and the relations of +Sovereign and subject, with all the many and mutual obligations +involved in that connection, were established between the Queen of +England and every individual of the motley population of the +Transvaal. Nor was this change an empty form, for, to the largest +proportion of that population, this transfer of allegiance brought +with it a priceless and a vital boon. To them it meant--freedom and +justice--for where, on any portion of this globe over which the +British ensign floats, does the law even wink at cruelty or wrong? + +A few years passed away, and a small number of the Queen's subjects in +the Transvaal rose in rebellion against Her authority, and inflicted +some reverses on Her arms. Thereupon, in spite of the reiterated +pledges given to the contrary--partly under stress of defeat, and +partly in obedience to the pressure of "advanced views"--the country +was abandoned, and the vast majority who had remained faithful to the +Crown, was handed to the cruel despotism of the minority who had +rebelled against it. + +Such an act of treachery to those to whom we were bound with double +chains--by the strong ties of a common citizenship, and by those +claims to England's protection from violence and wrong which have +hitherto been wont to command it, even where there was no duty to +fulfil, and no authority to vindicate--stands--I believe--without +parallel on our records, and marks a new departure in our history. + +I cannot end these pages without expressing my admiration of the +extremely able way in which the Boers managed their revolt, when once +they felt that, having undertaken the thing, it was a question of life +and death with them. It shows that they have good stuff in them +somewhere, which, under the firm but just rule of Her Majesty, might +have been much developed, and it makes it the more sad that they +should have been led to throw off that rule, and have been allowed to +do so by an English Government. + +In conclusion, there is one point that I must touch on, and that is +the effect of the retrocession on the native mind, which I can only +describe as most disastrous. The danger alluded to in the Report of +the Royal Commission has been most amply realised, and the prevailing +belief in the steadfastness of our policy, and the inviolability of +our plighted word, which has hitherto been the great secret of our +hold on the Kafirs, has been rudely shaken. The motives that +influenced, or are said to have influenced, the Government in their +act, are naturally quite unintelligible to savages, however clever, +who do believe that force is a remedy, and who have seen the +inhabitants of a country ruled by England, defeat English soldiers and +take possession of it, whilst those who remained loyal to England were +driven out of it. It will not be wonderful if some of them, say the +natives of Natal, deduce therefrom conclusions unfavourable to +loyalty, and evince a desire to try the same experiment. + +It is, however, unprofitable to speculate on the future, which must be +left to unfold itself. + +The curtain is, so far as this country is concerned, down for the +moment on the South African stage; when it rises again, there is but +too much reason to fear that it will reveal a state of confusion, +which, unless it is more wisely and consistently dealt with in the +future than it has been in the past, may develop into chaos. + + + + + APPENDIX + + + + I + + THE POTCHEFSTROOM ATROCITIES, &C. + +There were more murders and acts of cruelty committed during the war +at Potchefstroom, where the behaviour of the Boers was throughout both +deceitful and savage, than at any other place. + +When the fighting commenced a number of ladies and children, the wives +and children of English residents, took refuge in the fort. Shortly +after it had been invested they applied to be allowed to return to +their homes in the town till the war was over. The request was refused +by the Boer commander, who said that as they had gone there, they +might stop and "perish" there. One poor lady, the wife of a gentleman +well known in the Transvaal, was badly wounded by having the point of +a stake, which had been cut in two by a bullet, driven into her side. +She was at the time in a state of pregnancy, and died some days +afterwards in great agony. Her little sister was shot through the +throat, and several other women and children suffered from bullet +wounds, and fever arising from their being obliged to live for months +exposed to rain and heat, with insufficient food. + +The moving spirit of all the Potchefstroom atrocities was a cruel +wretch of the name of Buskes, a well-educated man, who, as an advocate +of the High Court, had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. + +One deponent swears that he saw this Buskes wearing Captain Fall's +diamond ring, which he had taken from Sergeant Ritchie, to whom it was +handed to be sent to England, and also that he had possessed himself +of the carriages and other goods belonging to prisoners taken by the +Boers.[*] Another deponent (whose name is omitted in the Blue Book for +precautionary reasons) swears, "That on the next night the patrol +again came to my house accompanied by one Buskes, who was secretary of +the Boer Committee, and again asked where my wife and daughter were. I +replied, in bed; and Buskes then said, 'I must see for myself.' I +refused to allow him, and he forced me, with a loaded gun held to my +breast, to open the curtains of the bed, when he pulled the bedclothes +half off my wife, and altogether off my daughter. I then told him if I +had a gun I would shoot him. He placed a loaded gun at my breast, when +my wife sprang out of bed and got between us." + +[*] Buskes was afterwards forced to deliver up the ring. + +I remember hearing at the time that this Buskes (who is a good +musician) took one of his victims, who was on the way to execution, +into the chapel and played the "Dead March in Saul," or some such +piece, over him on the organ. + +After the capture of the Court House a good many Englishmen fell into +the hands of the Boers. Most of these were sentenced to hard labour +and deprivation of "civil rights." The sentence was enforced by making +them work in the trenches under a heavy fire from the fort. One poor +fellow, F. W. Finlay by name, got his head blown off by a shell from +his own friends in the fort, and several loyal Kafirs suffered the +same fate. After these events the remaining prisoners refused to +return to the trenches till they had been "tamed" by being thrashed +with the butt end of guns, and by threats of receiving twenty-five +lashes each. + +But their fate, bad as it was, was not so awful as that suffered by +Dr. Woite and J. Van der Linden. + +Dr. Woite had attended the Boer meeting which was held before the +outbreak, and written a letter from thence to Major Clarke, in which +he had described the talk of the Boers as silly bluster. He was not a +paid spy. This letter was, unfortunately for him, found in Major +Clarke's pocket-book, and because of it he was put through a form of +trial, taken out and shot dead, all on the same day. He left a wife +and large family, who afterwards found their way to Natal in a +destitute condition. + +The case of Van der Linden is somewhat similar. He was one of Raaf's +Volunteers, and as such had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. +In the execution of his duty he made a report to his commanding +officer about the Boer meeting, and which afterwards fell into the +hands of the Boers. On this he was put through the form of trial, and, +though in the service of the Queen, was found guilty of treason and +condemned to death. One of his judges, a little less stony-hearted +than the rest, pointed out that "when the prisoner committed the crime +martial law had not yet been proclaimed, nor the State," but it +availed him nothing. He was taken out and shot. + +A Kafir named Carolus was also put through the form of trial and shot, +for no crime at all that I can discover. + +Ten unarmed Kafir drivers, who had been sent away from the fort, were +shot down in cold blood by a party of Boers. Several witnesses depose +to having seen their remains lying together close to Potchefstroom. + +Various other Kafirs were shot. None of the perpetrators of these +crimes were brought to justice. The Royal Commission comments on these +acts as follows:-- + +"In regard to the deaths of Woite, Van de Linden, and Carolus, the +Boer leaders do not deny the fact that those men had been executed, +but sought to justify it. The majority of your Commissioners felt +bound to record their opinion that the taking of the lives of these +men was an act contrary to the rules of civilised warfare. Sir H. de +Villiers was of opinion that the executions in these cases, having +been ordered by properly constituted Court Martial of the Boers' +forces after due trial, did not fall under the cognisance of your +Commissioners. + +"Upon the case of William Finlay the majority of your Commissioners +felt bound to record the opinion that the sacrifice of Finlay's life, +through forced labour under fire in the trenches, was an act contrary +to the rules of civilised warfare. /Sir H. de Villiers did not feel +justified by the facts of the case in joining in this expression of +opinion/ (sic). As to the case of the Kafir Andries, your +Commissioners decided that, although the shooting of this man appeared +to them, from the information laid before them, to be not in +accordance with the rules of civilised warfare, under all the +circumstances of the case, it was not desirable to insist upon a +prosecution. + +"The majority of your Commissioners, although feeling it a duty to +record emphatically their disapproval of the acts that resulted in the +deaths of Woite, Van der Linden, Finlay, and Carolus, yet found it +impossible to bring to justice the persons guilty of these acts." + +It will be observed that Sir H. de Villiers does not express any +disapproval, emphatic or otherwise, of these wicked murders. + +But Potchefstroom did not enjoy a monopoly of murder. + +In December 1880, Captain Elliot, who was a survivor from the Bronker +Spruit massacre, and Captain Lambart, who had been taken prisoner by +the Boers whilst bringing remounts from the Free State, were released +from Heidelberg on parole on condition that they left the country. An +escort of two men brought them to a drift of the Vaal river, where +they refused to cross, because they could not get their cart through, +the river being in flood. The escort then returned to Heidelberg and +reported that the officers would not cross. A civil note was then sent +back to Captains Elliot and Lambart, signed by P. J. Joubert, telling +them "to pass the Vaal river immediately by the road that will be +shown to you." What secret orders, if any, were sent with this letter +has never transpired; but I decline to believe that, either in this or +in Barber's case, the Boer escort took upon themselves the +responsibility of murdering their prisoners, without authority of some +kind for the deed. + +The men despatched from Heidelberg with the letter found Lambert and +Elliot wandering about and trying to find the way to Standerton. They +presented the letter, and took them towards a drift in the Vaal. +Shortly before they got there the prisoners noticed that their escort +had been reinforced. It would be interesting to know, if these extra +men were not sent to assist in the murder, how and why they turned up +as they did and joined themselves to the escort. The prisoners were +taken to an old and disused drift of the Vaal river and told to cross. +It was now dark, and the river was much swollen with rain; in fact, +impassable for the cart and horses. Captains Elliot and Lambart begged +to be allowed to outspan till the next morning, but were told that +they must cross, which they accordingly attempted to do. A few yards +from the bank the cart stuck on a rock, and whilst in this position +the Boer escort poured a volley into it. Poor Elliot was instantly +killed, one bullet fracturing his skull, another passing through the +back, a third shattering the right thigh, and a fourth breaking the +left wrist. The cart was also riddled, but, strange to say, Captain +Lambert was untouched, and succeeded in swimming to the further bank, +the Boers firing at him whenever the flashes of lightning revealed his +whereabouts. After sticking some time in the mud of the bank he +managed to effect his escape, and next day reached the house of an +Englishman called Groom, living in the Free State, and from thence +made his way to Natal. + +Two of the murderers were put through a form of trial, after the +conclusion of peace, and acquitted. + +The case of the murder of Dr. Barber is of a somewhat similar +character to that of Elliot, except that there is in this case a +curious piece of indirect evidence that seems to connect the murder +directly with Piet Joubert, one of the Triumvirate. + +In the month of February 1881, two Englishmen came to the Boer laager +at Lang's Nek to offer their services as doctors. Their names were Dr. +Barber, who was well known to the Boers, and his assistant, Mr. Walter +Dyas, and they came, not from Natal, but the Orange Free State. On +arrival at the Boer camp they were at first well received, but after a +little while seized, searched, and tied up all night to a disselboom +(pole of a waggon). Next morning they were told to mount their horses, +and started from the camp escorted by two men who were to take them +over the Free State line. + +When they reached the Free State line the Boers told them to get off +their horses, which they were ordered to bring back to the camp. They +did so, bade good-day to their escort, and started to walk on towards +their destination. When they had gone about forty yards Dyas heard the +report of a rifle, and Barber called out, "My God, I am shot!" and +fell dead. + +Dyas went down on his hands and knees and saw one of the escort +deliberately aim at him. He then jumped up, and ran dodging from right +to left, trying to avoid the bullet. Presently the man fired, and he +felt himself struck through the thigh. He fell with his face to the +men, and saw his would-be assassin put a fresh cartridge into his +rifle and aim at him. Turning his face to the ground he awaited his +death, but the bullet whizzed past his head. He then saw the men take +the horses and go away, thinking they had finished him. After waiting +a while he managed to get up, and struggled to a house not far off, +where he was kindly treated and remained till he recovered. + +Some time after this occurrence a Hottentot, named Allan Smith, made a +statement at Newcastle, from which it appears that he had been taken +prisoner by the Boers and made to work for them. One night he saw +Barber and Dyas tied to the disselboom, and overheard the following, +which I will give in his own words:-- + +"I went to a fire where some Boers were sitting; among them was a low- +sized man, moderately stout, with a dark-brown full beard, apparently +about thirty-five years of age. I do not know his name. /He was +telling his comrades that he had brought an order from Piet Joubert/ +to Viljoen, to take the two prisoners to the Free State line /and +shoot them there/. He said, in the course of conversation, 'Piet +Joubert het gevraacht waarom was de mensche neet dood geschiet toen +hulle bijde eerste laager gekom het.' ('Piet Joubert asked why were +the men not shot when they came to the first laager.') They then saw +me at the fire, and one of them said, 'You must not talk before that +fellow; he understands what you say, and will tell everybody.' + +"Next morning Viljoen told me to go away, and gave me a pass into the +Free State. He said (in Dutch), 'you must not drive for any Englishmen +again. If we catch you doing so we will shoot you, and if you do not +go away quick, and we catch you hanging about when we bring the two +men to the line, we will shoot you too.'" + +Dyas, who escaped, made an affidavit with reference to this statement +in which he says, "I have read the foregoing affidavit of Allan Smith, +and I say that the person described in the third paragraph thereof as +bringing orders from Piet Joubert to Viljoen, corresponds with one of +the Boers who took Dr. Barber and myself to the Free State, and to the +best of my belief he is the man who shot Dr. Barber." + +The actual murderers were put on their trial in the Free State, and, +of course, acquitted. In his examination at the trial, Allan Smith +says, "It was a young man who said that Joubert had given orders that +Barber had to be shot. . . . It was not at night, but in the morning +early, when the young man spoke about Piet Joubert's order." + +Most people will gather, from what I have quoted, that there exists a +certain connection between the dastardly murder of Dr. Barber (and the +attempted murder of Mr. Dyas), and Piet Joubert, one of that "able" +Triumvirate of which Mr. Gladstone speaks so highly. + +I shall only allude to one more murder, though more are reported to +have occurred, amongst them--that of Mr. Malcolm, who was kicked to +death by Boers,--and that is Mr. Green's. + +Mr. Green was an English gold-digger, and was travelling along the +main road to his home at Spitzcop. The road passed close by the +military camp at Lydenburg, into which he was called. On coming out he +went to a Boer patrol with a flag of truce, and whilst talking to them +was shot dead. The Rev. J. Thorne, the English clergyman at Lydenburg, +describes this murder in an affidavit in the following words:-- + +"That I was the clergyman who got together a party of Englishmen and +brought down the body of Mr. Green who was murdered by the Boers and +buried it. I have ascertained the circumstances of the murder, which +were as follows:--Mr. Green was on his way to the gold-fields. As he +was passing the fort, he was called in by the officers, and sent out +again with a message to the Boer commandant. Immediately on leaving +the camp, he went to the Boer guard opposite with a flag of truce in +his hand; while parleying with the Boers, who proposed to make a +prisoner of him, he was shot through the head." + +No prosecution was instituted in this case. Mr. Green left a wife and +children in a destitute condition. + + + + II + + PLEDGES GIVEN BY MR. GLADSTONE'S GOVERNMENT + AS TO THE RETENTION OF THE + TRANSVAAL AS A BRITISH COLONY + +The following extracts from the speeches, despatches, and telegrams of +members of the present Government, with reference to the proposed +retrocession of the Transvaal, are not without interest:-- + +During the month of May 1880, Lord Kimberley despatched a telegram to +Sir Bartle Frere, in which the following words occur: "/Under no +circumstances can the Queen's authority in the Transvaal be +relinquished./" + +In a despatch dated 20th May, and addressed to Sir Bartle Frere, Lord +Kimberley says, "That the sovereignty of the Queen in the Transvaal +could not be relinquished." + +In a speech in the House of Lords on the 24th May 1880, Lord Kimberley +said:-- + +"There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding; it was +impossible to say what calamities such a step as receding might not +cause. We had, at the cost of much blood and treasure, restored peace, +and the effect of our now reversing our policy would be to leave the +province in a state of anarchy, and possibly to cause an internecine +war. For such a risk he could not make himself responsible. The number +of the natives in the Transvaal was estimated at about 800,000, and +that of the whites less than 50,0000. Difficulties with the Zulus and +frontier tribes would again arise, and, looking as they must to South +Africa as a whole, the Government, after a careful consideration of +the question, came to the conclusion /that we could not relinquish the +Transvaal/. Nothing could be more unfortunate than uncertainty in +respect to such a matter." + +On the 8th June 1880, Mr. Gladstone, in reply to a Boer memorial, +wrote as follows:-- + +"It is undoubtedly a matter for much regret that it should, since the +Annexation, have appeared that so large a number of the population of +Dutch origin in the Transvaal are opposed to the annexation of that +territory, but it is impossible now to consider that question as if it +were presented for the first time. We have to do with a state of +things which has existed for a considerable period, during which +/obligations have been contracted, especially, though not exclusively, +towards the native population, which cannot be set aside/. Looking to +all the circumstances, both of the Transvaal and the rest of South +Africa, and to the necessity of preventing a renewal of disorders, +which might lead to disastrous consequences, not only to the Transvaal +but to the whole of South Africa, /our judgment is that the Queen +cannot be advised to relinquish the Transvaal/." + +Her Majesty's Speech, delivered in Parliament on the 6th January 1881, +contains the following words: "A rising in the Transvaal has recently +imposed upon me the duty of /vindicating my authority/." + +These extracts are rather curious reading in face of the policy +adopted by the Government, after our troops had been defeated. + + + + III + + THE CASE OF INDABEZIMBI + +This is a case which came under my own notice. The complainant is now +a tenant of my own. When Indabezimbi appeared before Mr. Cochrane and +myself, his appearance fully bore out his description of the assault +made upon him. We did everything in our power to help him to recover +his son and his property, but without effect. The matter was fully +reported to Sir Hercules Robinson and Sir E. Wood, and a question was +asked on the subject in the House of Commons. I append Mr. Courtney's +answer. This case, which is perfectly authentic, will prove +instructive reading, as showing the treatment the Kafir must expect at +the hands of the Boer, now that he is no longer protected by us. It +must be remembered that the vast majority of such incidents are never +heard of. The Kafirs suffer, and are still. The assault and robbery of +Indabezimbi took place in Natal territory. + + + Statement of Indabezimbi + +"I used to work on Mr. Robson's son's place, and on his death I went +to Meyer's (in the Utrecht district of the Transvaal) about a year +ago. I took all my property with me. There lived on the farm old Isaac +Meyer, Solomon Meyer, who died during the war, young Isaac Meyer, Jan +Meyer, Martinus Meyer, also a man called Cornelius, a 'bijwooner,' who +loved in Solomon's place after he died. + +"According to custom, I sent my son to work for old Isaac Meyer, as I +lived on his place. When the war began all the Meyer family moved +further into the Transvaal, my son going with them as herd. I went up +to Klip River with them as driver, where the river forms the boundary +between the Free State and Transvaal. I returned at once, leaving my +son with the Meyers. He was a small boy about twelve years of age. At +the termination of the war the Meyers sent for me to drive them down. +I met them a day's journey this side of Klip River. I asked them where +my son was. Old Isaac Meyer told me he had sent him to look for +horses; he did not return; and another boy was sent who brought the +horses. The horses were found close by. No one went to look for my +son. I asked old Isaac Meyer for leave to go and offer a reward +amongst the Kafirs for my son. He refused, saying I must drive him +home, and then he would give me a pass to come back and look for him. +On our arrival at the farm I and my wife again applied to old Isaac +Meyer to be allowed to go and see about my son. He refused, saying I +must first shear the sheep. I replied that he well knew that I could +not shear sheep. I said, 'How can I work when my heart is sore for my +son?' Meyer said again that I must wait awhile as the rivers were +full. I said how could that matter, seeing that both in coming and +going with the waggons we crossed no rivers? As he refused me a pass, +I started without one to seek my son. On arrival at Mavovo's kraal I +met my brother, who told me that I must go no further, or the Boers +would shoot me. Having no pass I returned. On my return my wives told +me that the Meyers had come every morning to look for me with guns to +shoot me, telling them that 'it was now no longer the days for +sjamboking (flogging with hide whips) the natives, but the days for +shooting them.' On hearing this I collected my goods, and by morning +had everything on the Natal side of the Buffalo River--on Natal +ground. About mid-day Martinus Meyer overtook us by Degaza's kraal and +asked me what I was doing on the Natal side of the river. I told him I +was leaving for Natal, because I found it altogether too hot for me in +the Transvaal. He said that if I came back he would make everything +comfortable. I refused. He then attacked me with a knobkerrie, and +would have killed me had not one of my wives, seeing that I was badly +hurt, knocked him down with a piece of iron. Martinus then mounted his +horse and galloped off. I then got on my horse and fled. My wives hid +themselves. In the afternoon there came to the waggon Jan Meyer, +Martinus Meyer, young Isaac Meyer, and the man called Cornelius. They +hunted all about for us with the object of shooting us, as they told +Degaza's Kafirs. My wives then saw them inspan the waggon and take +everything away. I had a waggon, twelve oxen, four cows, and a mare, +also a box containing two hundred pounds in gold, a telescope, +clothes, and other things. My wives found the box broken on the ground +and all the contents gone. Forty sacks of grain belonging to me were +also taken. I was robbed of everything I had, with the exception of +the horse I escaped on. The waggon was one I hired from my brother (a +relation); the oxen were my own brother's. Eighty pounds of the money +I got from the Standard Bank in Newcastle for oxen sold to the owner +of the store on the Ingagane Drift. The rest I had accumulated in fees +from doctoring. I am a doctor amongst my own people. I come now to ask +you to allow me to settle on your land as a refugee. + + "(Signed) Indabezimbi, + his X mark. + +"This statement was made by Indabezimbi at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, +on the Seventeenth of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one, in the +presence of the undersigned witnesses. + + "(Signed) H. Rider Haggard. + A. H. D. Cochrane. + J. H. Gay Roberts. + +"N.B.--The outrage of which Indabezimbi has here given an account +occurred within a week of the present date, August 17th, 1881." + + + Statement of the woman Nongena, Wife of Indabezimbi + +"My master's name is Isaac Meyer; he lives in the Transvaal, south of +Utrecht. We have lived on the farm about a year. On the farm lived +also Jan Meyer, Martinus Meyer, and young Isaac Meyer, sons of old +Isaac Meyer. There was also another man on the farm, whose name I do +not know. When the waggon went up with the Meyers' family to the +centre of the Transvaal, when the late war broke out, my husband drove +old Isaac Meyer's waggon, and my son Ungazaan also went to drive on +stock. After my husband had driven the waggon to its destination in +the Transvaal he returned to the kraal, leaving his son Ungazaan with +the Meyers. After the war was over my husband was sent for by the +Meyers to drive back the waggons. On arrival of the Meyers at the farm +I found my husband had returned, but my son was left behind. I asked +my master where my son was; my master replied, 'He did not know, he +had sent to boy to bring up horses, but he had not brought them.' +Another boy was sent who brought the horses. He said he had not seen +the boy Ungazaan since he left to look for the horses, as they had +left the place the morning after the boy was missing. My husband asked +for a pass to go back and look for the boy; Meyer refused, and my +husband went without one to look for Ungazaan, my son. He returned +without the boy, owing, he said, to the want of a pass. My husband +dared not go into the country without a pass. During my husband's +absence, the three sons of old Isaac Meyer, namely, Martinus, Jan, and +Isaac, came every morning to search for my husband, saying, 'We will +kill him, he leaves our work to go without our leave for look for the +boy.' They came once with sjamboks, but afterwards with guns, saying +they would kill him if they found him. On hearing this my husband +said, 'We cannot then stay here longer.' He then went at once and +borrowed a waggon and twelve oxen, and during the night we packed the +waggon three times, and took three loads across the Buffalo River to +Degaza's kraal, which is on Natal ground, forty sacks of grain, 200 +pounds in a box, with clothes and other things, also mats and skins, +and four head of cattle and a horse. All these things were at Degaza's +kraal before sunrise the next morning. The Induna Kabane, at the +magistrate's office at Newcastle, knows of the money, and from whence +it came. All the money is our money. + +"About mid-day on the day after the night we moved, Martinus came on +horseback to us at Degaza's kraal, and I saw him beating my husband +with a kerrie; he hit him also in the mouth with his fist. He hit my +husband on the head with a kerrie; he beat my husband on the foot when +he was trying to creep away in a hut, and would have killed him had +not one of his wives named Camgagaan hit Martinus on the head with a +piece of iron. Martinus, on recovery, rode away; my husband also fled +on a horse. + +"I with the other wives fled, and hid ourselves close by in the grass +and stones. Presently we saw from our own hiding-place three white +men, armed with guns, seeking for us. Their names were Martinus Meyer, +Jan Meyer, and Isaac Meyer, all three sons of old Isaac Meyer. They +sought us in vain. From our hiding-place we heard the waggon driven +away; and later, when we went back to Degaza's kraal, they told us +that the Meyers had inspanned the waggon, and had returned with it to +the Transvaal side of the Buffalo River. The names of those who saw +the Boers go away with the waggon are Gangtovo, Capaches, Nomatonga, +Nomamane, and others. The Boers took away on the waggon that night all +the last load we had brought over from the Transvaal, together with +all our clothes; and some of the sacks first brought over were loaded +up, all our cattle were taken, and our box was broken, and the 200 +pounds taken away. We found the pieces of the box on the ground when +we came from our hiding-place. We then fled. The people at Degaza's +kraal told us that the Boers had said that they would return, and take +away that which they were forced to leave behind when they took the +first load. We have since heard from Degaza that the Boers came back +again and took what remained of our property at Degaza's kraal. Degaza +saw the Boers take the things himself. + +"This is all I know of the facts. The assaults and robbery took place, +as near as I can say, about fourteen days ago." + + (Signed) Nongena, + her X mark. + +Gagaoola, also wife of Indabezimbi, states:--"I have heard all that +Nongena has told you. Her words are true; I was present when the +assault and robbery took place." + + (Signed) Gagaoola, + her X mark. + +These statements were made to us at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, on the +Twenty-second of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one. + + A. H. D. Cochrane. + H. Rider Haggard. + + (Signed) Ayah, + her X mark, + Interpreter. + + + Indabezimbi + +"Mr. Alderman Fowler asked the Under Secretary of State for the +Colonies, whether the British Resident at Pretoria had brought under +the notice of the Transvaal Government the circumstances of an outrage +committed in August last, by a party of Boers, on the person and +property of a Kafir named Indabezimbi, who was at that time residing +in Natal; and whether any steps had been taken by the authorities of +the Transvaal either to institute a judicial inquiry into the matter, +or to surrender the offenders to the Government of Natal. + +"Mr. Courtney.--On the 13th of October the British Resident reported +that, according to promise, the Government has caused an investigation +to be made at Utrecht, and informed him that the result was somewhat +to invalidate the statement of Indabezimbi; but that the documents +connected with the investigation at Utrecht would speedily be +forwarded to him with a view to correspondence through him with the +Natal Government. No further communication has been received. It must +be observed that, in the absence of any extradition convention, a +judicial inquiry in this case is practically impossible, the outrage, +whatever it was, having been committed in Natal, and the offenders +being in the Transvaal. Her Majesty's Government are taking active +steps to re-establish a system of extradition, in pursuance of Article +29, of the Convention. The despatches on this subject will be given to +Parliament when the correspondence is completed." + + + + IV + + A BOER ADVERTISEMENT + +It may be interesting to Englishmen to know what treatment is meted +out to such of their fellow-countrymen as have been bold enough, or +forced by necessity, to remain in the Transvaal since the +retrocession. The following is a translation of an advertisement +recently published in the "Volkstem," a Transvaal paper, and is a fair +sample of what "loyalists" have to expect. + + + "WARNING + + "We, the undersigned Burghers of the Ward Aapies river, hereby warn + all loyal persons who have registered themselves with the British + Resident, that they are not to come into our houses, or into our + farms, and still less to offer to shake hands. They can greet us + at a distance on the road /like Kafirs/, and those who act + contrary to this notice can expect the result." + + +Presumably "the result" that the Englishman who takes the liberty to +offer to shake hands with a Boer can expect, is to be beaten or +murdered. This notice is signed by the Justice of the Peace or "Veld +Cornet" of the district. Anybody who knows the estimation in which a +Kafir is held by the Boers will understand its peculiar insolence. + + + + V + + "TRANSVAAL'S" LETTER TO THE "STANDARD" + +The following letter appeared in the issue of the "Standard" of the +31st May 1882, and is dated Pretoria, 27th April. It is signed +"Transvaal," probably because the author, were he to put his name at +the foot of so candid a document, would find himself in much the same +position as that occupied at the present moment by an Irish landlord +who has outraged the susceptibilities of the Land League. He would be +rigorously "boycotted," and might, in the event of any disturbance, be +made into a target. The Transvaal Boers are very sensitive to +criticism, especially where their native policy is concerned. I take +the liberty to reprint the letter here, partly because I feel sure +that I will be forwarding the wishes of the writer by assisting to +give publicity to his facts, and partly on account of the striking and +recent confirmation it affords, on every point, to my remarks on the +same subject:-- + +"Sir,--In calling your attention to what is going on on the south- +western border of the Transvaal, I may possibly tell you of some +things which you may already have heard of, for in the present +isolated condition of the country, without telegraphs, and with a very +imperfect postal system, added to the jealousy of the Boer Government +in keeping their actions secret from the outside world, it is not only +very difficult to get at the truth of what is happening, but the +people in one portion of the country are in many cases totally +ignorant of what is going on in another. Nevertheless, I feel it +incumbent on me to call the attention of the English people, through +your widely circulating journal, to what has come under my observation +with reference to the disgraceful native war which is, and has been, +raging on the south-west border of this country. + +"During the late Boer war, you may be aware of the fact that a very +large number, if not all, of the natives, were strongly in favour of +the English Government, and only awaited the signal from it to rush +upon their old oppressors. But the natives, although forbidden by the +English Government from joining with them against the Boers (it is +hardly necessary to say that had it not been for this the war would +have had a very different ending), nevertheless afforded an asylum and +protection to the lives and property of refugee Englishmen and +loyalists. Notable among these natives was a Chief named Montsiou, +whose tribe is situated just outside the borders of the Transvaal to +the south-west. This Chief and his people received numbers of refugees +who fled to them for protection from the rapacity of the Boers, and +watched over them and their property throughout the war. For this +offence the Boers swore to be revenged on him, and hardly was the war +finished when they commenced commandeering in the Potchefstroom +district, under the pretence of protecting their borders, but with the +ostensible purpose of inflicting chastisement on this loyal Chief; +and, the better to effect their purpose, they allied themselves with a +neighbouring Chief, who had some old grudge against him, and, by +promises of assistance and hopes of plunder, induced him to commence a +war, under cover of which they could join, and thus effect the purpose +they had in view. + +"The Chiefs whom the Boers had instigated to harass Montsiou got the +worst of it, and the action of the Boers, who were actively +commandeering in the Potchefstroom (district?), under Commandant +Cronge, was brought to the notice of the Royal Commission through +complaints made by loyal Boers, and resulted in an inquiry into the +subject, which showed that his opponent was the aggressor, and was +acting under the advice of and assistance from the Boers. The Royal +Commission managed to patch matters up, but no sooner were their +labours over, and the country fairly handed over to the Boers, than +Moshete and Masouw, instigated by the Boers, commenced again harassing +Montsiou, with the avowed purpose of bringing on a war, and so far +succeeded as to oblige Montsiou to take up arms in self-defence. + +"From that time forward the war has gone on increasing in dimensions, +until other Chiefs have been drawn into it, and the Boer volunteers +fighting against Montsiou and Monkoroane are almost equal in numbers +to the natives. The Boers, while doing all they can to crush Montsiou +on account of the protection he afforded loyalists during the late war +against the English Government, are careful not to do it in an +official way, because that might cause trouble with England, whereas, +by aiding and assisting it privately, they could do quite as much +without incurring responsibility. You may naturally ask how I know all +this, and what proofs I can advance in support of it. Some time after +the Royal Commission had left the country, and the war had commenced +again, Piet Joubert, who is Commandant-General, went down to the +border with the object of putting an end to the war. This, I presume, +he did for the sake of appearances, for it is well known that he +entertains a strong hatred against those natives who in any way showed +a partiality for British rule; and when it is remembered that Piet +Joubert's journey did not result in a cessation of hostilities, but in +an increase, and that ever since his journey the war has increased in +area and in numbers, and that in no single instance has a Boer +volunteer been prevented from crossing the border, or ammunition for +use against Montsiou been stopped, the sincerity of his intentions may +well be doubted. + +"Then, again, officers in the Boer Jagers went about Pretoria +endeavouring to obtain volunteers to fight against Montsiou, saying +that they were to have some months' leave from the Government, and +that subscriptions would be raised to assist those men who had no +private means. This took place almost immediately after Piet Joubert's +return from the border, and while he was in Pretoria, and the general +opinion was that he was at the bottom of it; but as it became rather +more public than was intended, the British Resident was obliged to +take notice of it, and the result was that the Boers, though in +general treating the British Resident with little consideration, +thought it wisest to carry on their operations in a more private +manner, more especially as their object could be attained quite as +effectually in this way. + +"While the Boers are assisting Moshete and Masouw by every means in +their power, with the sole object of crushing Montsiou and Monkoroane, +another loyal Chief, the Colonial Government, no doubt under +instructions from home, are doing their best to prevent volunteers or +ammunition reaching them, and have already rested men in Kimberley, +who have been trying to raise volunteers to go to their assistance. + +"The result of this is, that the loyal Chiefs are suffering under a +double disadvantage; for while their enemies are receiving every +assistance, they are blockaded on all sides, and, through the action +of the English Government in preventing them obtaining assistance, are +rapidly falling a prey to the Boers. Those only who know anything of +the Boer method of warfare against natives will know what this means; +and in spite of the Boer Government doing all they can to keep things +secret, horrible tales of the cruelties perpetrated by them leak out +occasionally. + +"It seems to me a disgraceful thing, and a stain on the honour of +England, that these loyal Chiefs and their tribes should be robbed, +plundered, and shot down like dogs, simply because they afforded +protection to the lives and property of Englishmen during the late +war, and yet these things are going on and are being perpetrated on +the border of England's Colonies. If England will not step in and +insist on the Boers putting a stop to this murderous war, then in +God's name let her not prevent these poor natives from obtaining +ammunition and assistance to enable them to defend their country. They +succoured our countrymen, and if we cannot succour them, the least we +can do is not to interfere to prevent them from protecting themselves! + +"Of course, it suits the Boer Government to make out that they have +nothing to do with the war, and cannot prevent Boer Volunteers from +fighting these Chiefs; and so long as the English Government rests +satisfied with these answers, so long will this disgraceful state of +things go on. Let the English Government be firm, however, and insist +on the Boers taking no part in this war, and it will cease--a sure +proof that the Boer Government have the power to stop it if they have +the will. + +"Not only are the Boers wreaking vengeance upon Montsiou and +Monkoroane, but a friend of theirs, a Chief of the name of Kalafin, +whose tribe is situated in the Zeerust district, Transvaal, has been +robbed by them of everything he possessed. This Chief had English +sympathies; and as he presumed to build a wall round his town he gave +the Boers the excuse they wanted. He was ordered to take the wall +down, which he did, at the same time proving that he only built it to +prevent his cattle straying among the huts. He was then ordered to +come to Pretoria, which he did accordingly. He was then ordered to pay +a fine of three thousand cattle, which fine he paid. No sooner was +this done than the Boers, bent on his ruin, raised the fine to ten +thousand head. The poor Chief in vain pleaded his inability to pay. It +was the old story of the wolf and the lamb. Because he couldn't pay, +the Boers construed it into an act of disobedience, and at once +ordered their men to go in and take everything he possessed. This +tribe is small and weak, which the Boers well knew. Eye-witnesses of +what followed say it was a heartrending sight. The women, with +children in their arms, pleaded in vain to the Boers to leave them +something or they would starve, but the latter only jeered at them. +What these poor people will do God only knows, for the Boers stripped +them of every living thing they possessed, and with the proceeds of +this robbery the Boer Government intend to replenish their coffers. + +"The British Resident, Mr. Hudson, it is believed, shuts his eyes to +many things. No doubt his is a difficult position to fill; and +doubtless he is aware that, if he reports everything to the English +Government, the Boers have it in their power to make his position +anything but a pleasant one. In any case, the English portion of the +community here, while admitting his good qualities socially, have +little confidence in him officially. + +"My object in writing this letter, however, is not so much to show +what a disgraceful state the Government is in, as to try and awaken +sympathy in the breasts of my countrymen for the cause of these loyal +Chiefs. While the Government are writing despatches to the British +Resident, these Chiefs and their people are being ruined past +remedying." + + + + VI + + A VISIT TO THE CHIEF SECOCOENI[*] + +[*] This paper was written just before the Annexation of the Transvaal + in 1877. + +Towards the end of March I had occasion to visit the Basuto chief +Secocoeni, in his native stronghold beyond the Loolu Berg, a range to +the north-east of Pretoria, about 250 miles away; and as this journey +was typical of travelling in the wilds of South Africa, an account of +it may prove interesting. + +It is perhaps necessary to explain, for the benefit of those who are +not acquainted with South African politics, that Secocoeni is the +chieftain who has been at war with the late Transvaal Republic, who +drove back its forces, capturing some 7000 head of cattle. It is from +this raid that the present state of affairs has arisen; so that this +obscure chief, with his 9000 warriors, has materially affected the +future destinies of South Africa. Negotiations of peace had been set +on foot, and it was in connection with these delicate matters that the +journey was to be undertaken. + +"Going to Secocoeni at this time of year! Ah!" said one gentleman. +"Well, look here. I sent five natives through that country in this +same month (March) last year; out of those five, three died of the +fever, and the other two just got through with their lives. I only +tell you, you know, that you may take precautions. This is a bad fever +year." However, fever or no fever, we had to go. As it was necessary +to travel rapidly, we could only take four riding-horses, three for +ourselves and the fourth for a Zulu named "Lankiboy," who also led a +pack-horse, and carried an enormous "knob-kerry," or shillelagh, stuck +in his button-hole, as though it were a wedding-bouquet. + +Behind our saddles were fastened our saddle-bags, containing a change +of clothing, and in front we strapped a rug and a mackintosh. Our +commissariat consisted of four tins of potted ham, and our medicine- +chest of some quinine, Cockle's pills, and a roll of sticking-plaster, +which, with a revolver and a hunting-knife or two, completed our +equipment. + +We knew little of our route save that our destination lay due east, so +due east we steered. After riding for about twenty miles, and crossing +the Mahaliesburg range, that stretches away north for hundreds of +miles, we came to a Boer's house, where we off-saddled to feed our +horses. It must be understood that the Boers were the one certain +difficulty, and one of the possible dangers, to be encountered on our +road, for at no time are they are pleasant people to deal with, and +just now they are remarkably unpleasant towards Englishmen. + +For instance, at this first house, we managed to get some forage for +our horses, before our scowling host found out who we were, but not a +bit could we get to eat. "Have you no bread, myn Heer?" "We have no +bread to spare." "Have you any eggs?" "We have no eggs." "Can you let +us have some milk?" "Susan, have you got any milk to give these carles +(fellows)?" Finally, we succeeded in buying three cups of milk for a +shilling, "as a favour," and that is all we got from sunrise to +sunset. + +Riding, on empty stomachs, for another sixty miles over the plains, we +came to a Boer's house where we had to sleep. Just before we reached +the door, I noticed what I have often seen since, some graves in a +row, with heaps of stones piled over them. It appears that these +people do not care about bring buried in consecrated ground, their +only anxiety being to be put in a coffin, and they are generally laid +to rest near to their doors. There is neither railing nor headstone, +and no trees or flowers, those green emblematic garments with which +civilised people try to hide the ugliness of death. I remember once +seeing several graves within two or three yards of the public road, so +that in a year or so the waggons will be rumbling over the heads of +those who lie beneath. + +When you ride up to a Boer's house, the etiquette is to wait until +some member of the family asks you to off-saddle, and then you must go +in and shake hands with every one, a most disagreeable custom. None of +the women--who are very plain--rise to meet one, they just hold out +their hands. This house was a fair specimen of the sort of habitation +indulged in by the ordinary Boer. The main room was about eighteen +feet square, with that kind of door which allows the upper half to +open whilst the lower remains shut, such as is used in stables in +England. The flooring is made of cow-dung, into which peach stones are +trodden at the threshold, in order to prevent its wearing away. The +furniture consists of a deal table and some chairs, rather nearly made +of strips of hide fastened to a wooden frame. There is no ceiling, but +only beams, to which are fastened strips of "biltong," or game's +flesh, dried in the sun. Out of this room open one or two more, in +which the whole family sleep, without much attempt at privacy. + +Sitting about the room were two or three young mothers, without +stockings and nursing babies; in the corner, on a chair, made twice as +large as any of the others, reposed the mother of the family, a woman +of large size. The whole house was pervaded by a sickly odour, like +that of a vault, whilst the grime and filth of it baffle description. +And this was the place we had to eat and sleep in. However, there was +no help for it; the only thing to do was to light one's pipe, and +smoke. After an hour or so, supper was put upon the table, consisting +of a bowl full of boiled bones, a small stack of mealie cobs, and, be +it added, some good bread-and-butter. The eating arrangements of these +people are certainly very trying. The other day we had to eat our +dinner in a Boer's house, with a reeking ox-hide, just torn from the +animal, lying on the floor beside us, together with portions of the +poor beast's head whose flesh we were eating. However, on this +occasion we were spared the ox-hide, and, being very hungry, managed +to put up with the other discomforts. After a long grace our suppers +were served out to us. I remember I got an enormous bone with but +little flesh on it, which, if I may form an opinion from its great +size and from a rapid anatomical survey, must have been the tibia of +an ox. A young Boer sat opposite to me--a wonderful fellow. He got +through several mealie cobs (and large ones too) whilst I was eating +half a one. His method was peculiar, and shows what practice can do. +He shoved a mealie cob into his mouth, gave it a bite and a wrench, +just like one of those patent American threshing machines, brought the +cob out perfectly clear of grain, and took another. After the supper +was over, we had another long grace ending with: "voor spijze en drunk +de Heer ik dank" (for food and drink the Lord I thank). + +After supper we went outside in order to escape the feet-washing +ceremony (all in the same water) which this "simple pastoral people" +are said to indulge in, and which they might expect the "uitlander" +(stranger) to enter into with enthusiasm. When we came back, we found +that the women--who, by-the-by, do not eat till the men have finished +--had done their meal, and gone to bed, having first made us up a +luxurious couch on the floor, consisting of a filthy feather-bed, and +an equally filthy blanket. My heart misgave me when I looked at that +bed. It may have been fancy, but once or twice I thought it moved. +However, there was no choice, unless we chose to sit up all night; so +in we got, looking for all the world like three big sun-burned dolls +put to bed by some little girl. I, as the youngest, blew out the +light, and then!--from every side /they/ came. Up one's arms, up one's +legs, down one's back they scampered, till life became a burden. Sleep +was impossible; one could only lie awake and calculate the bites per +minute, and the quantity of blood one would lose before daybreak. Cold +as it was, I would have turned out and slept in the veldt, only my rug +was over my two companions as well as myself, so I could not take it. +I have slept in a good many different places, and in very fairly +uncomfortable places, but I never had such a night before. + +At the first grey dawn of morning the old "frau" came stumbling out of +the bedroom, and sat down without ceremony in her big chair. Waiting +till she thought that we had reached a sufficiently advanced stage in +our toilette--and her idea of what that was must have been a strange +one--she shouted out to her daughters that they could "com," and in +they all came. Very glad were we when we had paid our bill, which was +a heavy one, and were in the saddle once more, riding through the cold +morning mist that lay in masses on all the ridges of the hills like +snow on mountains. + +It was needful to start early, for we had more than sixty miles to +cover, and our ponies had done a good journey the day before. The work +that one can get out of these ponies is marvellous. There was my pony, +"Mettle," who had my eleven stone to carry, to say nothing of the +saddle, heavy saddle-bags, and a roll of rugs, who came in at the end +of his journey as fresh as paint. We cantered easily over the great +high-veldt prairies, now and then passing clumps of trees, outposts of +the bush-veldt. These enormous plains, notwithstanding their dreary +vastness, have a wild beauty of their own. The grass is what is called +sour grass, and has a peculiar blue tinge, but stock do not like it so +well as the low-veldt grass, which is sweeter, and fattens them more +quickly, though it does not put them in such good fettle. The rock +here is all white sandstone, and thinly overlaps an enormous bed of +coal, cropping up from beneath the water-washed surface. At this time +of year there are very few beasts or birds of any sort to be seen, +though in the winter the veldt is one moving mass of "trek" or +migratory game. + +Our destination that day was Botsabelo, the most important mission- +station, and one of the very few successful ones, in South-Eastern +Africa. As we neared it, the country gradually broke into hills of +peculiar and beautiful formation, which rendered the last two hours of +our ride, in the dark, through an unknown country, rather a difficult +job. However, we stumbled through streams, and over boulders, and +about nine o'clock were lucky enough to come right upon the station, +where we were most kindly received by Dr. Merensky. The station itself +stands on the brow of a hill surrounded by gardens and orchards; +beneath it lie slope and mountain, stream and valley, over which are +dotted numbers of kraals, to say nothing of three or four substantial +houses occupied by the assistant missionary and German artisans. Near +Dr. Merensky's house stands the church, by far the best I have seen in +the Transvaal, and there is also a store with some well-built +workshops around it. All the neighbouring country belongs to the +station, which is, in fact, like a small independent State, 40,000 +acres in extent. On a hill-top overshadowing the station, are placed +the fortifications, consisting of thick walls running in a circle with +upstanding towers, in which stand one or two cannon; but it all +reminds one more of an old Norman keep, with its village clustered in +its protecting shadow, than of a modern mission establishment. + +Dr. Merensky commenced his labours in Secocoeni's country, but was +forced to fly from thence by night, with his wife and new-born baby, +to escape being murdered by that Chief's orders, who, like most Kafir +potentates, has an intense aversion to missionaries. Twelve years ago +he established this station, and, gathering his scattered converts +around him, defied Secocoeni to drive him thence. Twice that Chief has +sent out a force to sweep him away, and murder his people, and twice +they have come and looked, and, like false Sextus, turned back again. +The Boers, too, have more than once threatened to destroy him, for it +is unpleasant to them to have so intelligent a witness in their midst, +but they have never dared to try. The place is really impregnable to +Basutus and Boers; Zulus might carry it, with their grand steady rush, +but it would be at a terrible sacrifice of life. In fact, Dr. Merensky +has been forced, by the pressure of circumstances, to teach his men +the use of a rifle, as well as the truths of Christianity; to trust in +God, but also to "keep their powder dry." At a few minutes' notice he +can turn out 200 well-armed natives, ready for offence or defence; and +the existence of such a stronghold is of great advantage to the few +English in the neighbourhood, for the Boers know well that should they +attack them they might draw down the vengeance of Dr. Merensky's +formidable body of Christian soldiers. + +We only passed one night at Botsabelo, and next morning went on to +Middelburg, or Nazareth, which is an hour's ride from the station. +Here, too, we met with a warm welcome from the handful of English +residents, but we were eager to push on as rapidly as possible, for +our kind friends told us that it would be impossible to proceed to +Secocoeni's on horseback, because of the deadly nature of the country +for horses. So we had to hire an ox-waggon, which they provisioned for +us, and, much to our disgust (as we were pressed for time), were +obliged to fall back on that dilatory method of travelling. + +We decided that we would take the three oldest and least valuable +horses with us, in order to proceed with them from Fort Weeber, which +was our next point, to Secocoeni's town, whither waggons could not +reach. Few English readers are aware that there is a mysterious +disease among horses in South Africa, peculiar to the country, called +"horse-sickness." During the autumn season it carries off thousands of +horses annually, though some are good and others bad years--a bad +fever year being generally a bad horse-sickness year also, and /vice +versa/. A curious feature about it is, that as the veldt gets "tamed," +that is, fed off by domesticated animals, the sickness gradually +disappears. No cure has yet been discovered for it, and very few +horses pull through--perhaps, five per cent. These are called "salted +horses," and are very valuable; as, although they are not proof +against the disease, they are not so liable to take it. A salted horse +may be known by the peculiar looseness and roughness of his skin, and +also by a certain unmistakable air of depression, as though he felt +that the responsibilities of life pressed very heavily upon him. He is +like a man who has dearly bought his experience; he can never forget +the terrible lesson taught in the buying. + +On the fourth day from our start we left Middelburg, and, taking a +north-east course from this outpost of civilisation, overtook the +waggon, and camped, after a twenty miles' trek, just on the edge of +the bush-veldt. We had two young Boers to drive our waggons--terrible +louts. However, they understood how to drive a waggon, and whilst one +of them drove, the other would sit for hours, with a vacant stare on +his face, thinking. It is a solemn fact that, from the time we left +Middelburg till the time we returned, neither of those fellows +touched water, that is, to wash themselves. The only luxury in the +shape of comforts of the toilette which they allowed themselves was a +comb with a brass back, carefully tied to the roof of the waggon with +two strips of ox-hide thick enough to have held a hundredweight of +lead. I don't think they ever used it--it was too great a luxury for +general use--but they would occasionally untie it and look at it. Our +own outfit in the waggon was necessarily scanty, consisting of a few +iron pots and plates, a kettle, some green blankets, a lantern, and an +old anti-friction grease-can used for water, which gave it a fine +flavour of waggon-wheels. We also had a "cartle," or wooden frame, +across which were stretched strips of hide fitted into the waggon +about two feet above the floor, and intended to sleep on; but the less +said about that the better. + +After we left the great high-veldt plains, over which the fresh breeze +was sweeping, we dropped down into a beautiful bush-clad valley with +mountains on either side. It was like making a sudden descent into the +tropics. Not a breath of wind stirred the trees, and the sun shone +with a steady burning heat. Scarcely a sound broke the silence, save +the murmur of the river we crossed and recrossed, the occasional pipe +of a bird, and the melancholy cry, half sigh, half bark, of an old +baboon, who was swinging himself along, indignant at our presence. + +If the sights and sounds were beautiful, the sun was hot, and the road +fearful, and we were indeed glad when we reached "Whitehead's Cobalt +Mine," and were most kindly received by the gentlemen who superintend +the works. The house used to belong to some Boer, who had deserted the +place, but left behind him a beautiful orchard of orange and peach +trees. The place is very feverish and unhealthy, and the white ants so +troublesome that everything has to be stood in sardine tins full of +ashes. + +On our way from the house we went to see the cobalt mine, which is on +a hillside a mile away. It has only been established about three +years, and has existed hitherto under the greatest difficulties as +regards labour, transport, machinery, danger from surrounding native +tribes, &c.; but it has already, the proprietor informed me, reduced +the price of cobalt--the blue dye used to colour such things as the +willow-pattern plates--by one-half in the English market, bringing it +down from somewhere about 140 pounds to 80 pounds a ton. We were very +much astonished to see the amount of work which had been done, as we +expected to find a pit such as the Kafirs work for copper, but instead +of that there was a large slanting shaft quite a hundred yards long, +to say nothing of various openings out of it following branch leads of +ore. There is also a vertical shaft one hundred feet deep, through +which the ore comes up, and by which one can ascend and descend in a +bucket. After we emerged from this awful hole, we went into another, a +drive running straight into the mountain for more than three hundred +feet, following a vein of black oxide of cobalt, which is much more +valuable than the ore; and, though the vein is rarely more than a foot +in thickness, pays very well. Leaving the mine, we rode on past some +old Kafir copper-workings--circular pits--which must have been +abandoned, to judge from their appearance, a hundred years ago, till +we came to the banks of the great "Olifants'" or "Elephants'" river. +This magnificent stream, though it is unnavigable owing to frequent +rapids, has stretches miles long, down which a man-of-war could steam, +and after its junction with the Elands' River it grows larger and +larger till, pursuing a north-east course, it at length falls into the +mighty Limpopo. It is a very majestic but somewhat sluggish stream, +and its water is not very good. You cannot see the river till you are +right upon it, owing to the great trees with which its steep banks are +fringed, and in the early morning it is quite hidden from bank to bank +by a dense mass of billows of white mist, indescribably strange to +look upon. + +But, beautiful as this country is, it is most unhealthy for man and +beast. The close odour, the long creeping lines of mist, the rich rank +vegetation, the steady heat of day and night, all say one word, +"fever," and fever of the most virulent type. The traveller through +this sort of country is conscious of a latent fear lest he should some +day begin to feel hot when he ought to be cold, and cold when he ought +to be hot, and so be stricken down, to rise prematurely old, or +perhaps to die, and be buried in a lonely grave covered with stones to +keep off the jackals. We were travelling in the very worst fever- +month, March, when the summer vegetation is commencing to rot, and +throw off its poisonous steam. What saved us here and afterwards, at +Secocoeni's, was our temperate living, hard exercise, and plenty of +quinine and tobacco-smoke. + +All the country through which we were passing is good game-veldt, but +we saw very little and killed nothing. This was chiefly owing to the +fact that we did not dare go out of hearing of the waggon-wheels, for +fear of getting lost in the bush, a thing very easily done. A few +years back this veldt swarmed with big game, with elephants and +giraffes, and they are even now occasionally seen. We managed now and +again to get a glimpse of some of the beautiful "Impala" buck, or of a +small lot of blue wilderbeestes vanishing between the trees, like a +troop of wild horses. There are still plenty of lions about, but we +did not hear any: whether it was that they had gone to the high-veldt +after the cattle, or that they do not roar so much in summer, I do not +know. Perhaps it is as well that we did not, for the roar of a lion is +very generally followed by what the Dutch call a "skrech." After +roaring once or twice to wake the cattle up, and make them generally +uneasy, the lion stations himself about twenty yards to the windward +of the waggon. The oxen get wind of him and promptly "skrech," that +is, break their rims and run madly into the veldt. This is just what +the lion wants, for now he can pick out a fat ox and quietly approach +him from the other side till he is within springing distance. He then +jumps upon him, crushes his neck with one bite, and eats him at his +leisure. + +And so we trekked on through the sunrise, through the burning mid-day +and glowing sunsets, steering by the sun and making our own road; now +through tambouki grass higher than the oxen, and now through dense +bush, till at length, one day, we said good-bye to the Olifants' just +where the Elands' River flows into it, and turned our faces eastward. +This course soon brought us on to higher ground and away from the +mimosa, which loves the low, hot valleys, into the region of the sugar +bush, which thrives upon the hill-sides. This sugar bush is a very +handsome and peculiar plant, with soft thick leaves, standing about +twenty feet high. It bears a brush-like flower, each of which in the +Cape Colony contains half a teaspoonful of delicious honey; but, +curiously enough, though in other respects the tree is precisely +similar, this is not the case in the Transvaal or Natal. At the proper +season the Cape farmers go out with buckets and shake the flowers till +they have collected sufficient honey to last them for the winter, a +honey more fragrant than that made by bees. + +After a long ride over the open, which must once have been thickly +populated, to judge from the number of remains of kraals, we came at +length to Fort Weeber. The fort is very badly situated in the hollow +of a plain, and so surrounded by fine hills that it is entirely +commanded. It consists of a single sod wall about two feet thick and +five high, capped with loose stones, whilst at two of the corners +stand, on raised platforms, a six-pounder and a three-pounder +Whitworth gun. Inside the wall are built rows of mud huts, which are +occupied by the garrison, leaving an open square, in the midst of +which is placed the magazine. We found the garrison in a wretched +condition. They have not received any pay except Government "good- +fors" (promissory notes, generally known as "good-for-nothings"), so +they are in a state of abject poverty; whilst they are rendered +harmless as regards offensive operations, by the death, from horse- +sickness, of eighty-two of the ninety horses they owned. However, the +officers and garrison gave us a very grand reception. As we rode up, +they fired a salute of twelve guns, and then, after we had dismounted +and been received by the officers, we were taken through a lane made +by the garrison drawn up in a double line, and, just as we got to the +middle, "bang" went the eighty rifles over our heads. Then an address +was read (the volunteers are great people for addresses), but a more +practical welcome soon followed in the shape of a good dinner. + +Next morning we started, a party of seven, including the interpreter, +to ride over the Loolu Berg to Secocoeni's, a distance of about +thirty-eight miles. + +For the first five miles we passed through the most curious granite +formation, a succession of small hills entirely composed of rounded +boulders of granite, weighing from five to 1000 tons, and looking +exactly like piles of gigantic snow-balls hurled together by some +mighty hand. The granite formation prevails in all this part of the +country, and individual boulders sometimes take very curious shapes; +for instance, in the bush-veldt we passed a great column towering high +above the trees, composed of six boulders getting smaller and smaller +from the base up, and each accurately balanced on the one beneath it. +Then we crossed the range of hills which overlooks the fort, and +passing Secocoeni's old kraal where he used to live before he +retreated to his fastnesses, we arrived at a great alluvial valley +nine miles broad, on the other side of which rises the Loolu. It was +on this plain that the only real fight between the volunteers and +Secocoeni's men took place, when the former managed to get between the +Basutus and the hills, and shot them down like game, killing over 200 +men. Leaving the battle-field, where the skeletons still lie, a little +to our right, we crossed the plain and came to the foot of the Loolu, +all along the base of which stand neat villages inhabited by +Secocoeni's people. Some of these villages have been burnt by the +volunteers, and the remainder are entirely deserted, their inhabitants +having built fresh huts among the rocks in almost inaccessible places. +The appearance of these white huts peeping out all over the black +rocks was very curious, and reminded one of the Swiss chalets. + +By the stream that runs along past the villages we off-saddled, as +both ourselves and our horses were nearly exhausted by the burning +heat; but as there was not much time to lose, after a short rest we +started off again, and rode on over a bed of magnetic iron lying on +the ground in great lumps of almost pure metal, until we came to a +stretch of what looked remarkably like gold-bearing quartz, and then +to a limestone formation. The whole country is evidently rich beyond +measure in minerals. All this time we were passing through scenery +inexpressibly wild and grand, and when we had arrived at the highest +spot of the pass, it reached a climax of savage beauty. About forty +miles in front of us towered up another magnificent range of blue- +tinged mountains known as the Blue Berg, whilst all around us rose +great bush-clad hills, opening away in every direction towards +gorgeous-coloured valleys. The scene was so grand and solemn that I do +not think it lies in the power of words to describe it. + +Here we had to dismount to descend a most fearful precipitous path +consisting of boulders piled together in the wildest confusion, from +one to another of which we had to jump, driving the horses before us. +Half-way down we off-saddled to rest ourselves, and as we did so we +noticed that the gall was running from one of the horses' noses. We +knew too well what was the matter, and so left him there to die during +the night. This horse was by far the finest we had with us, and his +owner used to boast that the poor beast had often carried him, a heavy +man, from his house to Pretoria, a distance of nearly ninety miles, in +one day. He was also a "salted" horse. It is a curious thing that the +sickness generally kills the best horses first. + +After a short rest we started on again, and at the end of another hour +reached the bottom of the pass. From thence we rode along a gulley, +that alternately narrowed and widened, till at length it brought us +right on to Secocoeni's beautiful, fever-stricken home. + +All three of us had seen a good deal of scenery in different parts of +the world, and one of the party was intimately acquainted with the +finest spots in South Africa, but we were forced to admit that we had +never seen anything half so lovely as Secocoeni's valley. We had seen +grander views, indeed the scene from the top of the pass was grander, +but never anything that so nearly approached perfection in detail. +Beautiful it was, beautiful beyond measure, but it was the sort of +beauty under whose veil are hidden fever and death. And so we pushed +on, through the still hot eventide, till at length we came to the +gates of the town, where we found "Makurupiji," Secocoeni's "mouth" or +prime minister, who had evidently been informed of our coming by his +spies waiting to receive us.[*] + +[*] Makurupiji committed suicide after the town had been stormed, + preferring death to imprisonment. + +Conducted by this grandee, we went on past the Chief's kraals, down to +the town, whence flocked men, women, and children, to look on the +white lords; all in a primitive state of dress, consisting of a strip +of skin tied round the middle, and the women with their hair powdered +with some preparation of iron, which gave it a metallic blue tinge. + +At length we stopped just opposite a beautiful fortified kopje[*] +perforated by secret caves where the ammunition of the tribe is +hidden. No stranger is allowed to enter these caves, or even to ascend +the kopje, though they do not object to one's inspecting some of the +other fortifications. Dismounting from our wearied horses, we passed +through a cattle kraal and came into the presence of "Swasi," +Secocoeni's uncle, a fat old fellow who was busily engaged in braying +a skin. Nearly every male Basutu one meets, be he high or low, is +braying a hide of some sort, either by rubbing or by masticating it. +It is a curious sight to come across some twenty of these fellows, +every one of them twisting or chewing away. + +[*] Afterwards stormed in the attack on Secocoeni's town by Sir Garnet + Wolseley. + +Swasi was a sort of master of the household; his duty it was to +receive strangers and see that they were properly looked after; so, +after shaking hands with us furiously (he was a wonderful fellow to +shake hands), he conducted us to our hut. It stood in a good-sized +courtyard beautifully paved with a sort of concrete of limestone which +looked very clean and white, and surrounded by a hedge of reeds and +sticks tightly tied together, inside which ran a slightly raised +bench, also made of limestone. The hut itself was neatly thatched, the +thatch projecting several feet, so as to form a covering to a narrow +verandah that ran all round it. Inside it was commodious, and +ornamented after the Egyptian style with straight and spiral lines, +painted on with some kind of red ochre, and floored with a polished +substance. Certainly these huts are as much superior to those of the +Zulus as those who dwell in them are inferior to that fine race. What +the Basutus gain in art and handiness they lose in manliness and +gentlemanly feeling. + +We had just laid ourselves down on the grass mats in the courtyard-- +for it was too hot to go into the hut--thoroughly exhausted with our +day's work and the heat, when in came two men, each of them dragging a +fine indigenous sheep. They were accompanied by Makurupiji, who +brought us a message from Secocoeni to the effect that he, the Chief, +sent to greet us, the great Chiefs; that he sent us also a morsel to +eat, lest we should be hungry in his house. It was but a morsel--it +should have been an ox, for great Chiefs should eat much meat--but he +himself was pinched with hunger, his belt was drawn very tight by the +Boers. He was poor, and so his gift was poor; still, he would see if +to-morrow he could find a beast that had something besides the skin on +its bones, that he might offer it to us. After this magniloquent +address the poor animals were trundled out by the other gate to have +their throats cut. + +After getting some supper and taking our quinine, we turned in and +slept that night in the best way that the heat would let us, rising +next morning with the vain hope of getting a bathe. Of all the +discomforts we experienced at Secocoeni's, the scarcity and badness of +the water was the worst. Bad water, when you are in a hotbed of fever, +is a terrible privation. And so we had to go unwashed, with the +exception of having a little water poured over our hands out of +gourds. We must have presented a curious sight at breakfast that +morning. Before us knelt a sturdy Kafir, holding a stick in each hand, +on which were respectively speared a leg and a side of mutton, from +which we cut off great hunks with our hunting-knives, and, taking them +in our fingers, devoured them like beasts of prey. If we got a bit we +did not like, our mode of dispensing of it was simple and effective. +We threw it to one of the natives standing round us, among whom was +the heir-apparent, who promptly gobbled it up. + +Breakfast finished, a message came from Secocoeni asking for spirits +to drink. But we were not to be taken in in this way, for we knew well +that if we sent the Chief spirits we should get no business done that +day, and we did not care to run the risk of fever by stopping longer +than we could help; so we sent back a message to the effect that +business must come first and spirits afterwards. The head men, who +brought this message, said that they could perfectly understand our +objection, as far as Secocoeni and ourselves were concerned, since we +had to talk, but as they had only to sit still and listen there could +be no possible objection to their having something to drink. This +argument was ingenious, but we did not see the force of it, as our +stock of spirits, which we had brought more for medicine than anything +else, was very limited. Still, we were obliged to promise them a "tot" +after the talking was over, in order to keep them civil. + +Our message had the desired effect, for presently Secocoeni sent to +say that it was now time to talk, and that his head men would lead us +to him. So we started up, accompanied by "Makurupiji," "Swasi," and +"Galook," the general of his forces, a fat fellow with a face exactly +like a pig. The sun beat down with such tremendous force that, though +we had only three-quarters of a mile to walk, we felt quite tired by +the time we reached the Chief's kraals. Passing through several cattle +kraals, we came to a shed under which sat the heir-apparent dressed in +a gorgeous blanket with his court around him. Leaving him, we entered +an inner cattle kraal, where, in one corner, stood a large, roughly- +built shed, under the shade of which squatted over a hundred of the +head men of the tribe, gathered together by Secocoeni to "witness."[*] + +[*] As each chief came up to the meeting-place he would pass before + the enclosure where Secocoeni was sitting and salute him, by + softly striking the hands together, and saying something that + sounded like "Marema." + +Opening out of this kraal was the chief's private enclosure, where +stood his huts. As we drew near, Secocoeni, who had inspired such +terror into the bold Burghers of the Republic, the chief of nine +thousand warriors, the husband of sixty-four wives, the father of a +hundred children, rose from the ox-hide on which he was seated, under +the shade of a tree, and came to the gate to meet us. And a queer +sight this potentate was as he stood there shaking hands through the +gate. Of middle age, about forty-five years of age, rather fat, with a +flat nose, and small, twinkling, black eyes, he presented an entirely +hideous and semi-repulsive appearance. His dress consisted of a cotton +blanket over which was thrown a tiger-skin kaross, and on his head was +stuck an enormous old white felt hat, such as the Boers wear, and +known as a "wilderbeeste chaser." + +After we had been duly introduced, he retreated to his ox-hide, and we +went and squatted down among the head men. Secocoeni took no active +part in the proceedings that followed; he sat in his enclosure and +occasionally shouted out some instructions to Makurupiji, who was +literally his "mouth," speaking for him and making use of the pronoun +"I." During the four hours or so that we were there Secocoeni never +stopped chewing an intoxicating green leaf, very much resembling that +of the pomegranate, of which he occasionally sent us some. + +After the business of the Commission had come to an end, and some of +our party started on their homeward journey, we were detained by +Secocoeni, who wished to see us privately. He sent for us to his +private enclosure, and we sat down on his ox-hide with him and one or +two head men. It was very curious to see this wily old savage shoving +a handful of leaves into his mouth, and giving his head a shake, and +then making some shrewd remark which went straight to the bottom of +whatever question was in hand. At length we bade Secocoeni good-bye, +having promised to deliver all his respectful messages to our chief, +and, thoroughly wearied, arrived at our own hut. Tired as we were, we +thought it would be better to start for the fort at once, rather than +risk the fever for another night. So we made up our minds to a long +moonlight ride, and, saddling up, got out of Secocoeni's town about +3.30 P.M., having looked our last upon this beautiful fever-trap, +which only wants water scenery to make it absolutely perfect. Half-way +up, we saw the poor horse we had left sick the day before, lying dead, +with dry foam all round his mouth, and half his skin taken off by some +passing Basutu. A couple of hundred yards farther on we found another +dying, left by the party who had started before us. It was in truth a +valley of the shadow of death. Luckily our horses lasted us back to +the fort, but one died there, and the other two are dead since. + +Beautiful as was the scene by day, in the light of the full moon it +was yet more surpassingly lovely. It was solemn, weird. Every valley +became a mysterious deep, and every hill, stone, and tree shone with +that cold pale lustre which the moon alone can throw. Silence reigned, +the silence of the dead, broken only once or twice by the wild +whistling challenge of one of Secocoeni's warriors as he came bounding +down the rocks, to see who we were that passed. The effect of the +fires by the huts, perched among the rocks at the entrance to the +pass, was very strange and beautiful, reminding one of the midnight +fires of the Gnomes in the fairy tales. + +And so we rode on, hour after hour, through the night, till we well- +nigh fell asleep in our saddles, and at length, about two o'clock in +the morning, we reached the waggons to find the young Boers fast +asleep in our bed. We kicked them out, and, after swallowing some +biscuits, tumbled in ourselves for the few hours' rest which we so +sadly needed. + +On the following morning, Thursday, two of the party bade farewell to +our hosts at the fort and started on one of the quickest possible +treks, leaving our companion to proceed across country to the fort +established by President Burgers, or "Porocororo," as the Basutus call +him, at Steelport. + +We returned to Middelburg by an entirely different route from that by +which we came. Leaving the valley of the Olifants to our right, we +trekked along the high-veldt, and thus avoided all the fever country. +Roughly speaking, we had about 120 miles of country to get over to +reach Middelburg, and we determined to do this in three days and two +nights, so as to get in on the Saturday night, as we were much pressed +for time. Now, according to English ideas, it is no great thing to +travel 120 miles in three days; but it is six days' journey in an ox- +waggon over bad country, and we were going to do it in half that time +by doubling the speed. + +Of course, to do this we had to trek night and day. For instance, on +the first day we inspanned at 10.30 A.M. and trekked till within an +hour of sundown; at sundown we inspanned, and with one outspan trekked +till sunrise; outspanned for two hours, and on again, being seventeen +and a half hours under the yoke out of the twenty-four, and covering +fifty-five miles. Of course, one cannot do this sort of travelling for +more than two or three days without killing the oxen; as it was, +towards the end, as soon as the yokes were lifted off, the poor beasts +dropped down as though they were shot, and most of them went lame. +Another great disadvantage is that one suffers very much from want of +sleep. The jolting of the springless machine, as it lumbered over +rocks a foot high and through deep spruits or streams, brought our +heads down with such a fearful jar on the saddle-bags that we used for +pillows, that all sleep was soon knocked out of them; or, even if we +were lucky enough to be crossing a stretch of tolerably smooth ground, +there was a swaying motion that rubbed one's face up and down till the +skin was nearly worn through, polishing the saddle-bags to such an +extent that we might almost have used them for looking-glasses as well +as pillows. + +At Secocoeni's kraal we had engaged two boys to carry our packs as far +as the fort, who, on their arrival, were so well satisfied with the +way in which we treated them that they requested to be allowed to +proceed with us. These young barbarians, who went respectively by the +names of "Nojoke" and "Scowl," as being the nearest approach in +English to their Sisutu names, were the greatest possible source of +amusement to us, with their curious ways.[*] I never saw such fellows +to sleep; it is a positive fact that Nojoke used frequently to take +his rest coiled up like a boa constrictor in a box at the end of the +waggon, in which box stood three iron pots with their sharp legs +sticking up. On those legs he peacefully slumbered when the waggon was +going over ground that prohibited our even stopping in it. "Scowl" was +not a nice boy to look at, for his naked back was simply cut to pieces +and covered with huge weals, of which everybody, doubtless, thought we +were the cause. On inquiring how he came to get such a tremendous +thrashing, it turned out that these Basutus have a custom of sending +young men of a certain age[+] out in couples, each armed with a good +"sjambok" (a whip cut from the hide of a sea-cow), to thrash one +another till one gives in, and that it was in one of these encounters +that the intelligent Scowl got so lacerated; but, as he remarked with +a grin, "/My back is nothing, the chiefs should see that of the other +boy." + +[*] Of these two lads, Nojoke subsequently turned out worthless, and + went to the Diamond Fields, whilst Scowl became an excellent + servant, until he took to wearing a black coat, and turned + Christian, when he shortly afterwards developed into a drunkard + and a thief. + +[+] The age of puberty. + +We spent one night at Middelburg, and next morning, bidding adieu to +our kind English friends, started for Pretoria, taking care to end our +first day's journey at a house where an Englishman lived, so as to +ensure a clean shakedown. Here we discovered that the horse I was +riding (the sole survivor of the five we had started with) had got the +sickness, and so we had to leave him and hire another. This horse, by +the by, recovered, which is the only instance of an animal's +conquering the disease which has yet come under my observation. We +hired the new horse from a Boer, who charged us exactly three times +its proper price, and then preached us a sermon quite a quarter of an +hour long on his hospitality, his kindness of heart, and his +willingness to help strangers. I must tell you that, just as we were +going to sleep the night before, a stranger had come and asked for a +shakedown, which was given to him in the same room. We had risen +before daybreak, and my companion was expatiating to me, in clear and +forcible language, on the hypocrisy and scoundrelism of this Boer, +when suddenly a sleepy voice out of the darkness murmured thickly, "I +say, stranger, guess you shouldn't lose your temper; guess that 'ere +Boer is acting after the manner of human natur'." And then the owner +of the voice turned over and went to sleep again. + +We had over sixty miles to ride that day, and it must have been about +eight o'clock at night, on the sixteenth day of our journey, when we +reached Pretoria and rode straight up to our camp, where we were +heartily greeted. I am sure that some of our friends must have felt a +little disappointed at seeing us arrive healthy and fat, without a +sign of fever, after all their melancholy predictions. It would not +have been "human natur'" if they had not. When we got to the camp, I +called out to Masooku, my Zulu servant, to come and take the horses. +Next moment I heard a rush and a scuttle in the tent like the +scrimmage in a rabbit-burrow when one puts in the ferrets, and Masooku +shouted out in Zulu, "He has come back! by Chaka's head, I swear it! +It is his voice, his own voice, that calls me; my father's, my +chief's!" + +And so ended one of the hardest and most interesting journeys +imaginable--a journey in which the risk only added to the pleasure. +Still, I should not care to make it again at the same time of year. + + + + VII + + A ZULU WAR-DANCE + +In all that world-wide empire which the spirit of the English +colonisation has conquered from out of the realms of the distant and +unknown, and added year by year to the English dominions, it is +doubtful whether there be any one spot of corresponding area, +presenting so many large questions, social and political, as the +colony of Natal. Wrested some thirty years ago from the patriarchal +Boers, and peopled by a few scattered scores of adventurous emigrants, +Natal has with hard toil gained for itself a precarious foothold +hardly yet to be called an existence. Known chiefly to the outside +world as the sudden birthplace of those tremendous polemical missiles +which battered so fiercely, some few years ago, against the walls of +the English Church, it is now attracting attention to the shape and +proportion of that unsolved riddle of the future, the Native Question. +In those former days of rude and hand-to-mouth legislation, when the +certain evil of the day had to be met and dealt with before the +possible evil of the morrow, the seeds of great political trouble were +planted in the young colony, seeds whose fruit is fast ripening before +our eyes. + +When the strong aggressive hand of England has grasped some fresh +portion of the earth's surface, there is yet a spirit of justice in +her heart and head which prompts the question, among the first of such +demands, as to how best and most fairly to deal by the natives of the +newly-acquired land. In earlier times, when steam was not, and +telegraphs and special correspondents were equally unknown agencies +for getting at the truth of things, this question was more easily +answered across a width of dividing ocean or continent. Then distant +action might be prompt and sharp on emergency, and no one would be the +wiser. But of late years, owing to these results of civilisation, +harsh measures have, by the mere pressure of public opinion, and +without consideration of their necessity in the eyes of the colonists, +been set aside as impracticable and inhuman. In the case of Natal, +most of the early questions of possession and right were settled, +sword in hand, by the pioneer Dutch, who, after a space of terrible +warfare, drove back the Zulus over the Tugela, and finally took +possession of the land. But they did not hold it long. The same +hateful invading Englishman, with his new ideas and his higher forms +of civilisation, who had caused them to quit the "Old Colony," the +land of their birth, came and drove them, /vi et armis/, from the land +of their adoption. And it was not long before these same English +became lords of this red African soil, from the coast up to the +Drakensberg. Still there were difficulties; for although the new- +comers might be lords of the soil, there remained yet a remnant, and a +very troublesome remnant, of its original and natural masters: +shattered fragments of the Zulu power in Natal, men who had once swept +over the country in the army of Chaka the Terrible, Chaka of the Short +Spear, but who had remained behind in the fair new land, when Chaka's +raids had been checked by the white man and his deadly weapons. +Remnants, too, of conquered aboriginal tribes, who had found even +Chaka's rule easier than that of their own chieftains, swelled the +amount to a total of some 100,000 souls. + +One of the first acts of the English Government, when it took up the +reins, was to allot to each of these constituent fragments a large +portion of the land. This might perhaps have been short-sighted +legislation, but it arose from the necessity of the moment. According +to even the then received ideas of colonisation and its duties, it was +hardly possible--danger apart--to drive all the natives over the +frontier, so they were allowed to stay and share the rights and +privileges of British subjects. But the evil did not stop there. Ere +long some political refugees, defeated in battle, fled before the +avenging hand of the conqueror, and craved place and protection from +the Government of Natal. It was granted; and the principle once +established, body after body of men poured in: for, in stepping over +the boundary line, they left the regions of ruin and terrible death, +and entered those of peace, security, and plenty. + +Thus it is that the native population of Natal, fed from within and +without, has in thirty years increased enormously in number. Secluded +from the outside world in his location, the native has lived in peace +and watched his cattle grow upon a thousand hills. His wealth has +become great and his wives many. He no longer dreads swift "death by +order of the king," or by word of the witch-doctor. No "impi," or +native regiment, can now sweep down on him and "eat him up," that is, +carry off his cattle, put his kraal to the flames, and himself, his +people, his wives, and children to the assegai. For the first time in +the story of the great Kafir race, he can, when he rises in the +morning, be sure that he will not sleep that night, stiff, in a bloody +grave. He has tasted the blessings of peace and security, and what is +the consequence? He has increased and multiplied until his numbers are +as grains of sand on the sea-shore. Overlapping the borders of his +location, he squats on private lands, he advances like a great tidal +wave, he cries aloud for room, more room. This is the trouble which +stares us in the face, looming larger and more distinct year by year; +the great over-growing problem which thoughtful men fear must one day +find a sudden and violent solution. Thus it comes to pass that there +hangs low on the horizon of South Africa the dark cloud of the Native +Question. How and when it will burst no man can pretend to say, but +some time and in some way burst it must, unless means of dispersing it +can be found. + +There is now at work among the Kafir population the same motive power +which has raised in turn all white nations, and, having built them up +to a certain height, has then set to work to sap them until they have +fallen--the power of civilisation. Hand in hand the missionary and the +trader have penetrated the locations. The efforts of the teacher have +met with but a partial success. "A Christian may be a good man in his +way, but he is a Zulu spoiled," said Cetywayo, King of the Zulus, when +arguing the question of Christianity with the Secretary for Native +Affairs; and such is, not altogether wrongly, the general feeling of +the natives. With the traders it has been different. Some have dealt +honestly--and more, it is to be feared, dishonestly--not only with +those with whom they have had dealings, but with their fellow-subjects +and their Government. It is these men chiefly who have, in defiance of +the law, supplied the natives with those two great modern elements of +danger and destruction, the gin-bottle and the rifle. The first is as +yet injurious only to the recipients, but it will surely react on +those who have taught them its use; the danger of possessing the rifle +may come home to us any day and at any moment. + +Civilisation, it would seem, when applied to black races, produces +effects diametrically opposite to those we are accustomed to observe +in white nations: it debases before it can elevate; and as regards the +Kafirs it is doubtful, and remains to be proved, whether it has much +power to elevate them at all. Take the average Zulu warrior, and it +will be found that, in his natural state, his vices are largely +counter-balanced by his good qualities. In times of peace he is a +simple, pastoral man, leading a good-humoured easy life with his wives +and his cattle, perfectly indolent and perfectly happy. He is a kind +husband and a kinder father; he never disowns his poor relations; his +hospitality is extended alike to white and black; he is open in his +dealings and faithful to his word, and his honesty is a proverb in the +land. True, if war breaks out and the thirst for slaughter comes upon +him, he turns into a different man. When the fierce savage spirit is +once aroused, blood alone will cool it. But even then he has virtues. +If he is cruel, he is brave in the battle; if he is reckless of the +lives of others, he regards not his own; and when death comes, he +meets it without fear, and goes to the spirits of his fathers boldly, +as a warrior should. And now reverse the picture, and see him in the +dawning light of that civilisation which, by intellect and by nature, +he is some five centuries behind. See him, ignoring its hidden +virtues, eagerly seize and graft its most prominent vices on to his +own besetting sins. Behold him by degrees adding cunning to his +cruelty, avarice to his love of possession, replacing his bravery by +coarse bombast and insolence, and his truth by lies. Behold him +inflaming all his passions with the maddening drink of the white man, +and then follow him through many degrees of degradation until he falls +into crime and ends in a jail. Such are, in only too many instances, +the consequences of this partial civilisation, and they are not even +counterbalanced, except in individual cases, by the attempt to learn +the truths of a creed which he cannot, does not, pretend to +understand. And if this be the result in the comparatively few +individuals who have been brought under these influences, it may be +fair to argue that it will differ only in degree, not in kind, when +the same influences are brought to bear on the same material in +corresponding proportions. Whatever may or may not be the effects of +our partial civilisation when imperfectly and spasmodically applied to +the vast native population of South Africa, one thing must, in course +of time, result from it. The old customs, the old forms, the old +feelings, must each in turn die away. The outer expression of these +will die first, and it will not be long before the very memory of them +will fade out of the barbaric heart. The rifle must replace, and, +indeed, actually has replaced, the assegai and the shield, and +portions of the cast-off uniforms of all the armies of Europe are to +be seen where, until lately, the bronze-like form of the Kafir warrior +went naked as on the day he was born. But so long as native customs +and ceremonies still linger in some of the more distant locations, so +long will they exercise a certain attraction for dwellers amid tamer +scenes. It is therefore from a belief in the magnetism of contrast +that the highly-civilised reader is invited to come to where he can +still meet the barbarian face to face and witness that wild ceremony, +half jest, half grim earnest--a Zulu war dance. + +It was the good fortune of the writer of this sketch to find himself, +some years ago, travelling through the up-country districts of Natal, +in the company of certain high officials of the English Government. +The journey dragged slowly enough by waggon, and some monotonous weeks +had passed before we pitched our camp, one drizzling gusty night, on a +high plateau, surrounded by still loftier hills. A wild and dismal +place it looked in the growing dusk of an autumn evening, nor was it +more suggestively cheerful when we rode away from it next morning in +the sunshine, leaving the waggons to follow slowly. Our faces were set +towards a great mountain, towering high above its fellows, called +Pagadi's Kop--Pagadi being a powerful chief who had fled from the +Zulus in the early days of the colony, and had ever since dwelt +loyally and peacefully here in this wild place, beneath the protection +of the Crown. Messengers had been duly sent to inform him that he was +to receive the honour of a visit, for your true savage never likes to +be taken by surprise. Other swift-footed runners had come back with +the present of a goat, and the respectful answer, so Oriental in its +phraseology, that "Pagadi was old, he was infirm, yet he would arise +and come to greet his lords." Every mile or so of our slow progress a +fresh messenger would spring up before us suddenly, as though he had +started out of the earth at our feet, and prefixing his greeting with +the royal salute, given with up-raised arm, "Bayete! Bayete!"--a +salutation only accorded to Zulu royalty, to the governors of the +different provinces, and to Sir T. Shepstone, the Secretary for Native +Affairs--he would deliver his message or his news and fall into the +rear. Presently came one saying, "Pagadi is very old and weak; Pagadi +is weary; let his lords forgive him if he meet them not this day. +To-morrow, when the sun is high, he will come to their place of +encampment and greet his lords and hold festival before them. But let +his lords, the white lords of all the land from the Great Mountain to +the Black Water, go up to his kraal, and let them take the biggest hut +and drink of the strongest beer. There his son, the chief that is to +be, and all his wives, shall greet them; let his lords be honoured by +Pagadi, through them." An acknowledgment was sent, and we still rode +on, beginning the ascent of the formidable stronghold, on the flat top +of which was placed the chief's kraal. A hard and stiff climb it was, +up a bridle path with far more resemblance to a staircase than a road. +But if the road was bad, the scenery and the vegetation were wild and +beautiful in the extreme. Now we came to a deep "kloof" or cleft in +the steep mountain-side, at the bottom of which, half hidden by the +masses of ferns and rich rank greenery, trickled a little stream; now +to an open space of rough ground, covered only with huge, weather- +washed boulders. A little further on lay a Kafir mealie-garden, where +the tall green stalks were fairly bent to the ground by the weight of +the corn-laden heads, and beyond that, again, a park-like slope of +grassy veldt. And ever, when we looked behind us, the vast undulating +plain over which we had come stretched away in its mysterious silence, +till it blended at length with the soft blue horizon. + +At last, after much hard and steady climbing, we reached the top and +stood upon a perfectly level space ten or twelve acres in extent, +exactly in the centre of which was placed the chief's kraal. Before we +dismounted we rode to the extreme western edge of the plateau, to look +at one of the most perfectly lovely views it is possible to imagine. +It was like coming face to face with great primeval Nature, not Nature +as we civilised people know her, smiling in corn-fields, waving in +well-ordered woods, but Nature as she was on the morrow of the +Creation. There, to our left, cold and grey and grand, rose the great +peak, flinging its dark shadow far beyond its base. Two thousand feet +and more beneath us lay the valley of the Mooi river, with the broad +tranquil stream flashing silver through its midst. Over against us +rose another range of towering hills, with sudden openings in their +blue depths through which could be seen the splendid distances of a +champaign country. Immediately at our feet, and seeming to girdle the +great gaunt peak, lay a deep valley, through which the Little +Bushman's River forced its shining way. All around rose the great +bush-clad hills, so green, so bright in the glorious streaming +sunlight, and yet so awfully devoid of life, so solemnly silent. It +was indeed a sight never to be forgotten, this wide panoramic out- +look, with its towering hills, its smiling valleys, its flashing +streams, its all-pervading sunlight, and its deep sad silence. But it +was not always so lifeless and so still. Some few years ago those +hills, those plains, those rivers were teeming each with their various +creatures. But a short time since, and standing here at eventide, the +traveller could have seen herds of elephants cooling themselves yonder +after their day's travel, whilst the black-headed white-tusked sea-cow +rose and plunged in the pool below. That bush-clad hill was the +favourite haunt of droves of buffaloes and elands, and on that plain +swarmed thousands upon thousands of springbok and of quagga, of +hartebeest and of oribi. All alien life must cease before the white +man, and so these wild denizens of forest, stream, and plain have +passed away never to return. + +Turning at length from the contemplation of a scene so new and so +surprising, we entered the stockade of the kraal. These kraals consist +of a stout outer palisade, and then, at some distance from the first, +a second enclosure, between which the cattle are driven at night, or +in case of danger. At the outer entrance we were met by the chief's +eldest son, a finely-built man, who greeted us with much respect and +conducted us through rows of huts to the dwelling-places of the +chief's family, fenced off from the rest by a hedge of Tambouki grass. +In the centre of these stood Pagadi's hut, which was larger and more +finely woven and thatched than the rest. It is impossible to describe +these huts better than by saying that they resemble enormous straw +beehives of the old-fashioned pattern. In front of the hut were +grouped a dozen or so of women clad in that airiest of costumes, a +string of beads. They were Pagadi's wives, and ranged from the first +shrivelled-up wife of his youth to the plump young damsel bought last +month. The spokeswoman of the party, however, was not one of the +wives, but a daughter of Pagadi's, a handsome girl, tall, and +splendidly formed, with a finely-cut face. This prepossessing young +lady entreated her lords to enter, which they did, in a very unlordly +way, on their hands and knees. So soon as the eye became accustomed to +the cool darkness of the hut, it was sufficiently interesting to +notice the rude attempts at comfort with which it was set forth. The +flooring, of a mixture of clay and cow-dung, looked exactly like black +marble, so smooth and polished had it been made, and on its shining, +level surface couches of buckskin and gay blankets were spread in an +orderly fashion. Some little three-legged wooden sleeping-pillows and +a few cooking-pots made up its sole furniture besides. In one corner +rested a bundle of assegais and war-shields, and opposite the door +were ranged several large calabashes full of "twala" or native beer. +The chief's son and all the women followed us into the hut. The ladies +sat themselves down demurely in a double row opposite to us, but the +young chieftain crouched in a distant corner apart and played with his +assegais. We partook of the beer and exchanged compliments, almost +Oriental in their dignified courtesy, in the soft and liquid Zulu +language, but not for long, for we still had far to ride. The stars +were shining in southern glory before we reached the place of our +night's encampment, and supper and bed were even more than usually +welcome. There is a pleasure in the canvas-sheltered meal, in the +after-pipe and evening talk of the things of the day that has been and +those of the day to come, here, amid these wild surroundings, which is +unfelt and unknown in scenes of greater comfort and higher +civilisation. There is a sense of freshness and freedom in the wind- +swept waggon-bed that is not to be exchanged for the softest couch in +the most luxurious chamber. And when at length the morning comes, +sweet in the scent of flowers, and glad in the voice of birds, it +finds us ready to greet it, not hiding it from us with canopy and +blind, as is the way of cities. + +The scene of the coming spectacle of this bright new day lies spread +before us, and certainly no spot could have been better chosen for +dramatic effect. In front of the waggons is a large, flat, open space, +backed by bold rising ground with jutting crags and dotted clumps of +luxuriant vegetation. All around spreads the dense thorn-bush, +allowing but of one way of approach, from the left. During the morning +we could hear snatches of distant chants growing louder and louder as +time wore on, and could catch glimpses of wild figures threading the +thorns, warriors hastening to the meeting-place. All through the past +night the farmers for miles around had been aroused by the loud +insistent cries of the chief's messengers as they flitted far and +wide, stopping but a moment wherever one of their tribe sojourned, and +bidding him come, and bring plume and shield, for Pagadi had need of +him. This day, we may be sure, the herds are left untended, the +mealie-heads ungathered, for the herdsmen and the reapers have come +hither to answer to the summons of their chief. Little reck they +whether it be for festival or war; he needs them, and has called them, +and that is enough. Higher and higher rose the fitful distant chant, +but no one could be seen. Suddenly there stood before us a creature, a +woman, who, save for the colour of her skin, might have been the +original of any one of Macbeth's "weird sisters." Little, withered, +and bent nearly double by age, her activity was yet past +comprehension. Clad in a strange jumble of snake-skins, feathers, +furs, and bones, a forked wand in her outstretched hand, she rushed to +and fro before the little group of white men. Her eyes gleamed like +those of a hawk through her matted hair, and the genuineness of her +frantic excitement was evident by the quivering flesh and working +face, and the wild, spasmodic words she spoke. The spirit at least of +her rapid utterances may thus be rendered:-- + +"Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, ai. Oh, ye warriors that shall dance before the +great ones of the earth, come! Oh, ye dyers of spears, ye plumed +suckers of blood, come! I, the Isanusi, I, the witch-finder, I, the +wise woman, I, the seer of strange sights, I, the reader of dark +thoughts, call ye! Come, ye fierce ones; come, ye brave ones, come, +and do honour to the white lords! Ah, I hear ye! Ah, I smell ye! Ah, I +see ye; ye come, ye come!" + +Hardly had her invocation trailed off into the "Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, +ai," with which it had opened, when there rushed over the edge of the +hill, hard by, another figure scarcely less wild, but not so repulsive +in appearance. This last was a finely-built warrior arrayed in the +full panoply of savage war. With his right hand he grasped his spears, +and on his left hung his large black ox-hide shield, lined on its +inner side with spare assegais. From the "man's" ring round his head +arose a single tall grey plume, robbed from the Kafir crane. His broad +shoulders were bare, and beneath the arm-pits was fastened a short +garment of strips of skin, intermixed with ox-tails of different +colours. From his waist hung a rude kilt made chiefly of goat's hair, +whilst round the calf of the right leg was fixed a short fringe of +black ox-tails. As he stood before us with lifted weapon and +outstretched shield, his plume bending to the breeze, and his savage +aspect made more savage still by the graceful, statuesque pose, the +dilated eye and warlike mould of the set features, as he stood there, +an emblem and a type of the times and the things which are passing +away, his feet resting on ground which he held on sufferance, and his +hands grasping weapons impotent as a child's toy against those of the +white man,--he who was the rightful lord of all,--what reflections did +he not induce, what a moral did he not teach! + +The warrior left us little time, however, for either reflections or +deductions, for, striking his shield with his assegai, he rapidly +poured forth this salutation:-- + +"Bayete, Bayete, O chief from the olden times, O lords and chief of +chiefs! Pagadi, the son of Masingorano, the great chief, the leader of +brave ones, the son of Ulubako, greets you. Pagadi is humble before +you; he comes with warrior and with shield, but he comes to lay them +at your feet. O father of chiefs, son of the great Queen over the +water, is it permitted that Pagad' approach you? Ou, I see it is, your +face is pleasant; Bayete, Bayete!" + +He ends, and, saluting again, springs forward, and, flying hither and +thither, chants the praises of his chief. "Pagadi," he says, "Pagad', +chief and father of the Amocuna, is coming. Pagad', the brave in +battle, the wise in council, the slayer of warriors; Pagad' who slew +the tiger in the night time; Pagadi, the rich in cattle, the husband +of many wives, the father of many children. Pagad' is coming, but not +alone; he comes surrounded with his children, his warriors. He comes +like a king at the head of his brave children. Pagadi's soldiers are +coming; his soldiers who know well how to fight; his soldiers and his +captains who make the hearts of brave men to sink down; his shakers of +spears; his quaffers of blood. Pagad' and his soldiers are coming; +tremble all ye, ou, ou, ou!" + +As the last words die on his lips the air is filled with a deep, +murmuring sound like distant thunder; it swells and rolls, and finally +passes away to give place to the noise of the rushing of many feet. +Over the brow of the hill dashes a compact body of warriors, running +swiftly in lines of four, with their captain at their head, all clad +in the same wild garb as the herald. Each bears a snow-white shield +carried on the slant, and above each warrior's head rises a grey +heron's plume. These are the advance-guard, formed of the "greys" or +veteran troops. As they come into full view the shields heave and +fall, and then from every throat bursts the war-song of the Zulus. +Passing us swiftly, they take up their position in a double line on +our right, and stand there solemnly chanting all the while. Another +rush of feet, and another company flits over the hill towards us, but +they bear coal-black shields, and the drooping plumes are black as +night; they fall into position next the firstcomers, and take up the +chant. Now they come faster and faster, but all through the same gap +in the bush. The red shields, the dun shields, the mottled shields, +the yellow shields, follow each other in quick but regular succession, +till at length there stands before us a body of some five hundred men, +presenting, in their savage dress, their various shields and flashing +spears, as wild a spectacle as it is possible to conceive. + +But it is not our eyes only that are astonished, for from each of +those five hundred throats there swells a chant never to be forgotten. +From company to company it passes, that wild, characteristic song, so +touching in its simple grandeur, so expressive in its deep, pathetic +volume. The white men who listened had heard the song of choirs +ringing down resounding aisles, they had been thrilled by the roll of +oratorios pealing in melody, beautiful and complex, through the +grandest of man's theatres, but never till now had they heard music of +voices so weird, so soft and yet so savage, so simple and yet so all- +expressive of the fiercest passions known to the human heart. Hark! +now it dies; lower and lower it sinks, it grows faint, despairing: +"Why does he not come, our chief, our lord? Why does he not welcome +his singers? Ah! see, they come, the heralds of our lord! our chief is +coming to cheer his praisers, our chief is coming to lead his +warriors." Again it rises and swells louder and louder, a song of +victory and triumph. It rolls against the mountains, it beats against +the ground: "He is coming, he is here, attended by his chosen. Now we +shall go forth to slay; now shall we taste of the battle." Higher yet +and higher, till at length the chief, Pagadi, swathed in war-garments +of splendid furs, preceded by runners and accompanied by picked +warriors, creeps slowly up. He is old and tottering, and of an +unwieldy bulk. Two attendants support him, whilst a third bears his +shield, and a fourth (oh bathos!) a cane-bottomed chair. One moment +the old man stands and surveys his warriors and listens to the +familiar war-cry. As he stands, his face is lit with the light of +battle, the light of remembered days. The tottering figure straightens +itself, the feeble hand becomes strong once more. With a shout, the +old man shakes off his supporters and grasps his shield, and then, +forgetting his weakness and his years, he rushes to his chieftain's +place in the centre of his men. And as he comes the chant grows yet +louder, the time yet faster, till it rises, and rings, and rolls, no +longer a chant, but a war-cry, a paean of power. Pagadi stops and +raises his hand, and the place is filled with a silence that may be +felt. But not for long. The next moment five hundred shields are +tossed aloft, five hundred spears flash in the sunshine, and with a +sudden roar, forth springs the royal salute, "Bayete!" + +The chief draws back and gives directions to his /indunas/, his +thinkers, his wise ones, men distinguished from their fellows by the +absence of shield and plume; the /indunas/ pass on the orders to the +captains, and at once the so-called dance begins. First they manoeuvre +a little in absolute silence, and changing their position with +wonderful precision and rapidity; but as their blood warms there comes +a sound as of the hissing of ten thousand snakes, and they charge and +charge again. A pause, and the company of "greys" on our right, +throwing itself into open order, flits past us like so many vultures +to precipitate itself with a wild, whistling cry on an opposing body +which rushed to meet it. They join issue, they grapple; on them swoops +another company, then another and another, until nothing is to be +distinguished except a mass of wild faces heaving; of changing forms +rolling and writhing, twisting and turning, and, to all appearances, +killing and being killed, whilst the whole air is pervaded with a +shrill, savage sibillation. It is not always the same cry; now it is +the snorting of a troop of buffaloes, now the shriek of the eagle as +he seizes his prey, anon the terrible cry of the "night-prowler," the +lion, and now--more thrilling than all--the piercing wail of a woman. +But whatever the cry, the cadence rises and falls in perfect time and +unanimity; no two mix with one another so as to mar the effect of +each. + +Again the combatants draw back and pause, and then forth from the +ranks springs a chosen warrior, and hurls himself on an imaginary foe. +He darts hither and thither with wild activity, he bounds five feet +into the air like a panther, he twists through the grass like a snake, +and, finally, making a tremendous effort, he seems to slay his airy +opponent, and sinks exhausted to the ground. The onlookers mark their +approval or disapproval of the dancer's feats by the rising and +falling of the strange whistling noise which, without the slightest +apparent movement of face or lip, issues from each mouth. Warrior +after warrior comes forth in turn from the ranks and does battle with +his invisible foe, and receives his meed of applause. The last warrior +to spring forward with a wild yell is the future chief, Pagadi's son +and successor, our friend of yesterday. He stands, with his shield in +one hand and his lifted battle-axe--borne by him alone--in the other, +looking proudly around, and rattling his lion-claw necklets, whilst +from every side bursts forth a storm of sibillating applause, not from +the soldiers only, but from the old men, women, and children. Through +all his fierce pantomimic dance it continues, and when he has ended it +redoubles, then dies away, but only to burst out again and again with +unquenchable enthusiasm. + +In order, probably, to give the warriors a brief breathing space, +another song is now set up, and it is marvellous the accuracy and +knowledge of melody with which the parts are sung, like a glee of +catch, the time being kept by a conductor, who rushes from rank to +rank beating time with a wand. Yet it is hardly like chanting, rather +like a weird, sobbing melody, with tones in it which range from the +deepest bass to the shrillest treble. It ends in a long sigh, and then +follows a scene, a tumult, a melee, which hardly admits of a +description in words. The warriors engage in a mimic combat, once more +they charge, retreat, conquer, and are defeated, all in turns. In +front of them, exciting them to new exertions, with word and gesture, +undulate in a graceful dance of their own the "intombis," the young +beauties of the tribe, with green branches in their hands, and all +their store of savage finery glittering on their shapely limbs. Some +of these maidens are really handsome, and round them again dance the +children, armed with mimic spears and shields. Wild as seems the +confusion, through it all, even the moments of highest excitement, +some sort of rough order is maintained; more, it would seem, by mutual +sounds than by word of command or sense of discipline. + +Even a Zulu warrior must, sooner or later, grow weary, and at length +the signal is given for the dance to end. The companies are drawn up +in order again, and receive the praise and thanks of those in whose +honour they had been called together. To these compliments they reply +in a novel and imposing fashion. At a given signal each man begins to +softly tap his ox-hide shield with the handle of his spear, producing +a sound somewhat resembling the murmur of the distant sea. By slow +degrees it grows louder and louder, till at length it rolls and +re-echoes from the hills like thunder, and comes to its conclusion +with a fierce, quick rattle. This is the royal war-salute of the +Zulus, and is but rarely to be heard. One more sonorous salute with +voice and hand, and then the warriors disappear as they came, dropping +swiftly and silently over the brow of the hill in companies. In a few +moments no sign or vestige of dance or dancers remained, save, before +our eyes, the well-trodden ground, a few lingering girls laden with +large calabashes of beer, and in our ears some distant dying snatches +of chants. The singers were on their joyful way to slay and devour the +oxen provided as a stimulus and reward for them by their chief's +liberality. + +When the last dusky figure had topped the rising ground over which the +homeward path lay, and had stood out for an instant against the +flaming background of the western sun, and then dropped, as it were, +back into its native darkness beyond those gates of fire, the old +chief drew near. He had divested himself of his heavy war-dress, and +sat down amicably amongst us. + +"Ah," he said, taking the hand of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, and +addressing him by his native name, "Ah! t'Sompseu, t'Sompseu, the +seasons are many since first I held this your hand. Then we two were +young, and life lay bright before us, and now you have grown great, +and are growing grey, and I have grown very old! I have eaten the corn +of my time, till only the cob is left for me to suck, and, /ow/, it is +bitter. But it is well that I should grasp this your hand once more, +oh, holder of the Spirit of Chaka,[*] before I sit down and sleep with +my fathers. /Ow/, I am glad." + +[*] The reader must bear in mind that the Zulu warrior is buried + sitting and in full war-dress. Chaka, or T'chaka, was the founder + of the Zulu power. + +Imposing as was this old-time war-dance, it is not difficult to +imagine the heights to which its savage grandeur must have swelled +when it was held--as was the custom at each new year--at the kraal of +Cetywayo, King of the Zulus. Then 30,000 warriors took part in it, and +a tragic interest was added to the fierce spectacle by the slaughter +of many men. It was, in fact, a great political opportunity for +getting rid of the "irreconcilable" element from council and field. +Then, in the moment of wildest enthusiasm, the witch-finder darted +forward and lightly touched with a switch some doomed man, sitting, it +may be, quietly among the spectators, or capering with his fellow- +soldiers. Instantly he was led away, and his place knew him no more. + +Throughout the whole performance there was one remarkable and genuine +feature, the strong personal attachment of each member of the tribe to +its chief--not only to the fine old chief, Pagadi, their leader in +former years, but to the head and leader for the years to come. + +It must be remembered that this system of chieftainship and its +attendant law is, to all the social bearings of South African native +life, what the tree is to its branches; it has grown through long, +long ages amid a people slow to forget old traditions, and equally +slow to receive new ideas; dependent on it are all the native's +customs, all his keen ideas of right and justice; in it lies embodied +his history of the past, and from it springs his hope for the future. +Surely even the most uncompromising of those marching under the banner +of civilisation must hesitate before they condemn this deep-rooted +system to instant uprootal.[*] The various influences of the white man +have eaten into the native system as rust into iron, and their action +will never cease till all be destroyed. The bulwarks of barbarism, its +minor customs and minor laws, are gone, or exist only in name; but its +two great principles, polygamy and chieftainship, yet flourish and are +strong. Time will undo his work, and find for these also a place among +forgotten things. And it is the undoubted duty of us English, who +absorb people and territories in the high name of civilisation, to be +true to our principles and our aim, and aid the great destroyer by any +and every safe and justifiable means. But between the legitimate means +and the rash, miscalculating uprootal of customs and principles, which +are not the less venerable and good in their way because they do not +accord with our own present ideas, there is a great gulf fixed. Such +an uprootal might precipitate an outburst of the very evils it aims at +destroying. + +[*] I do not wish the remarks in this paper, which was written some + years ago, to be taken as representing my present views on the + Natal native question, formed after a longer and more intimate + acquaintance with its peculiarities, for which I beg to refer the + reader to the chapter on Natal.--Author. + +What the ultimate effect of our policy will be, when the leaven has +leavened the whole, when the floodgates are lifted, and this vast +native population (which, contrary to all ordinary precedent, does +/not/ melt away before the sun of the white man's power) is let loose +in its indolent thousands, unrestrained, save by the bonds of +civilised law, who can presume to say? But this is not for present +consideration. Subject to due precautions, the path of progress must +of necessity be followed, and the results of such following left in +the balancing hands of Fate and the future. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cetywayo and his White Neighbours +by H. Rider Haggard + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + +This file should be named cetwy10.txt or cetwy10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, cetwy11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, cetwy10a.txt + +Produced by John Bickers and Dagny + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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