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diff --git a/8667.txt b/8667.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7605d18 --- /dev/null +++ b/8667.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10520 @@ +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] + +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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