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diff --git a/old/cetwy10.txt b/old/cetwy10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..eec6ef9 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/cetwy10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,10744 @@ +Project Gutenberg's Cetywayo and his White Neighbours, by H. Rider Haggard +#48 in our series by H. Rider Haggard + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: Cetywayo and his White Neighbours + Remarks on Recent Events in Zululand, Natal, and the Transvaal + +Author: H. Rider Haggard + +Release Date: August, 2005 [EBook #8667] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on July 31, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + + + + +Produced by John Bickers and Dagny + + + + +CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS +By H. Rider Haggard + +First Published 1882. + +Etext prepared by John Bickers, jbickers@ihug.co.nz + and Dagny, dagnypg@hotmail.com + + + + CETYWAYO + + AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + + OR, + + REMARKS ON RECENT EVENTS IN ZULULAND, + NATAL, AND THE TRANSVAAL. + + BY + + H. RIDER HAGGARD + + + + "I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating + in this way, for a change of Government in England may give them + again the old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance + of English politics than such an idea. I tell you there is no + Government--Whig or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical--who + would dare, under any circumstances, to give back this country + (the Transvaal). They would not dare, because the English people + would not allow them."--(/Extract from Speech of Sir Garnet + Wolseley, delivered at a Public Banquet in Pretoria, on the 17th + December 1879./) + + "There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding (from + the Transvaal); it was impossible to say what calamities such a + step as receding might not cause. . . . For such a risk he could + not make himself responsible. . . . Difficulties with the Zulu and + the frontier tribes would again arise, and looking as they must to + South Africa as a whole, the Government, after a careful + consideration of the question, came to the conclusion that we + could not relinquish the Transvaal."--(/Extract from Speech of + Lord Kimberley in the House of Lords, 24th May 1880. H. P. D., + vol. cclii., p. 208./) + + + + PREPARER'S NOTE + + This text was prepared from an 1882 edition published by Trubner & + Co., Ludgate Hill, London. + + + + INTRODUCTION + +The writer on Colonial Affairs is naturally, to some extent, +discouraged by the knowledge that the subject is an unattractive one +to a large proportion of the reading public. It is difficult to get up +anything beyond a transient interest in the affairs of our Colonial +dependencies; indeed, I believe that the mind of the British public +was more profoundly moved by the exodus of Jumbo, than it would be +were one of them to become the scene of some startling catastrophe. +This is the more curious, inasmuch as, putting aside all sentimental +considerations, which indeed seem to be out of harmony with the age we +live in: the trade done, even with such comparatively insignificant +colonies as our South African possessions, amounts to a value of many +millions of pounds sterling per annum. Now, as the preachers of the +new gospel that hails from Birmingham and Northampton have frequently +told us, trade is the life-blood of England, and must be fostered at +any price. It is therefore surprising that, looking on them in the +light of a commercial speculation, in which aspect (saith the +preacher) they are alone worthy of notice, a keener interest is not +taken in the well-being and development of the Colonies. We have only +to reflect to see how great are the advantages that the Mother Country +derives from the possession of her Colonial Empire; including, as they +do, a home for her surplus children, a vast and varied market for her +productions, and a wealth of old-fashioned loyalty and deep attachment +to the Old Country--"home," as it is always called--which, even if it +is out of date, might prove useful on emergency. It seems therefore, +almost a pity that some Right Honourable Gentlemen and their followers +should adopt the tone they do with reference to the Colonies. After +all, there is an odd shuffling of the cards going on now in England; +and great as she is, her future looks by no means sunny. Events in +these latter days develop themselves very quickly; and though the idea +may, at the present moment, seem absurd, surely it is possible that, +what between the rapid spread of Radical ideas, the enmity of Ireland, +the importation of foreign produce, and the competition of foreign +trade, to say nothing of all the unforeseen accidents and risks of the +future, the Englishmen of, say, two generations hence, may not find +their country in her present proud position. Perhaps, and stranger +things have happened in the history of the world, she may by that time +be under the protection of those very Colonies for which their +forefathers had such small affection. + +The position of South Africa with reference to the Mother Country is +somewhat different to that of her sister Colonies, in that she is +regarded, not so much with apathy tinged with dislike, as with +downright disgust. This feeling has its foundation in the many +troubles and expenses in which this country has been recently +involved, through local complications in the Cape, Zululand, and the +Transvaal: and indeed is little to be wondered at. But, whilst a large +portion of the press has united with a powerful party of politicians +in directing a continuous stream of abuse on to the heads of the white +inhabitants of South Africa, whom they do not scruple to accuse of +having created the recent disturbances in order to reap a money profit +from them: it does not appear to have struck anybody that the real +root of this crop of troubles might, after all, be growing nearer +home. The truth of the matter is, that native and other problems in +South Africa have, till quite lately, been left to take their chance, +and solve themselves as best they might; except when they have, in a +casual manner, been made the /corpus vile/ of some political +experiment. It was during this long period of inaction, when each +difficulty--such as the native question in Natal--was staved off to be +dealt with by the next Government, that the seed was sown of which we +are at present reaping the fruit. In addition to this, matters have +recently been complicated by the elevation of South African affairs to +the dignity of an English party question. Thus, the Transvaal +Annexation was made use of as a war-cry in the last general election, +a Boer rebellion was thereby encouraged, which resulted in a complete +reversal of our previous policy. + +Now, if there is any country dependent on England that requires the +application to the conduct of its affairs of a firm, considered, and +consistent policy, that country is South Africa. Boers and Natives are +quite incapable of realising the political necessities of any of our +parties, or of understanding why their true interests should be +sacrificed in order to minister to those necessities. It is our +wavering and uncertain policy, as applied to peoples, who look upon +every hesitating step as a sign of fear and failing dominion, that, in +conjunction with previous postponement and neglect, has really caused +our troubles in South Africa. For so long as the affairs of that +country are influenced by amateurs and sentimentalists, who have no +real interest in it, and whose knowledge of its circumstances and +conditions of life is gleaned from a few blue-books, superficially got +up to enable the reader to indite theoretical articles to the +"Nineteenth Century," or deliver inaccurate speeches in the House of +Commons--for so long will those troubles continue. + +If I may venture to make a suggestion, the affairs of South Africa +should be controlled by a Board or Council, like that which formerly +governed India, composed of moderate members of both parties, with an +admixture of men possessing practical knowledge of the country. I do +not know if any such arrangement would be possible under our +constitution, but the present system of government, by which the +control of savage races fluctuates in obedience of every variation of +English party politics, is most mischievous in its results. + +The public, however, is somewhat tired of South Africa, and the reader +may, perhaps, wonder why he should be troubled with more literature on +the subject. I can assure him that these pages are not written in +order to give me an opportunity of airing my individual experiences or +ideas. Their object is shortly--(1.) To give a true history of the +events attendant on the Annexation of the Transvaal, which act has so +frequently been assigned to the most unworthy motives, and has never +yet been fairly described by any one who was in a position to know the +facts; (2.) To throw as much publicity as possible on the present +disgraceful state of Zululand, resulting from our recent settlement in +that country; (3.) To show all interested in the Kafir races what has +been the character of our recent surrender in the Transvaal, and what +its effect will be on our abandoned native subjects living in that +country. + +It may, perhaps, seem an odd statement, considering that I have lived +in various parts of South Africa for about six years, and have, +perhaps, enjoyed exceptional advantage in forming my opinions, when I +say that my chief fear in publishing the present volume, is lest my +knowledge of my subject in all its bearings should not be really equal +to the task. It is, I know, the fashion to treat South African +difficulties as being simple of solution. Thus it only took Sir Garnet +Wolseley a few weeks to understand the whole position of Zulu affairs, +and to execute his memorable settlement of that country: whilst +eminent writers appear to be able, in scampering from Durban /via/ +Kimberley to Cape Town in a post-cart, to form decided opinions upon +every important question in South Africa. The power of thus rapidly +assimilating intricate knowledge, and of seeing straight through a +wall whilst ordinary individuals are still criticising the bricks, is +no doubt one of the peculiar privileges of genius--which is, perhaps +fortunately for South Africa--rare. To the common run of mind, +however, the difficulty of forming a sound and accurate judgment on +the interlacing problems that disclose themselves to the student of +the politics of South-Eastern Africa, is exceedingly great and the +work of years. + +But although it is by no means perfect, I think that my knowledge of +these problems and of their imminent issues is sufficiently intimate +to justify me in making a prophecy--namely, that unless the native and +other questions of South-Eastern Africa are treated with more honest +intelligence, and on a more settled plan than it has hitherto been +thought necessary to apply to them, the British taxpayer will find +that he has /by no means/ heard the last of that country and its wars. + +There is one more point to which, although it hardly comes within the +scope of this volume, I have made some allusion, and which I venture +to suggest deserves the consideration of thinking Englishmen. I refer +to the question of the desirability of allowing the Dutch in South +Africa, who are already numerically the strongest, to continue to +advance with such rapid strides towards political supremacy. That the +object of this party is to reduce Englishmen and English ideas to a +subordinate position in the State, if not actually to rid itself of +our rule and establish a republic, there is no manner of doubt. +Indeed, there exists a powerful organisation, the Africander Bond, +which has its headquarters in the Cape, and openly devotes its +energies to forwarding these ends, by offering a sturdy opposition to +the introduction of English emigrants and the use of the English +language, whilst striving in every way to excite class prejudices and +embitter the already strained relations between Englishman and Boer. +In considering this question, it is as well not to lose sight of the +fact that the Dutch are as a body, at heart hostile to our rule, +chiefly because they cannot tolerate our lenient behaviour to the +native races. Should they by any chance cease to be the subjects of +England, they will, I believe, become her open enemies. This of itself +would be comparatively unimportant, were it not for the fact that, in +the event of the blocking of the Suez Canal, it would be, to say the +least, inconvenient that the Cape should be in the hands of a hostile +population. + +In conclusion, I wish to state that this book is not written for any +party purpose. I have tried to describe a state of affairs which has +for the most part come under my own observation, and events in which I +have been interested, and at times engaged. That the naked truths of +such a business as the Transvaal surrender, or of the present +condition of Zululand, are unpleasant reading for an Englishman, there +is no doubt; but, so far as these pages are concerned, they owe none +of their ugliness to undue colouring or political bias. + +Windham Club, St. James' Square, + June 1882. + + + + + + CETYWAYO + + AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS + + + + + CETYWAYO AND THE ZULU SETTLEMENT + + Claims of affairs of Zululand to attention--Proposed visit of + Cetywayo to England--Chaka--His method of government--His death-- + Dingaan--Panda--Battle of the Tugela--John Dunn--Nomination of + Cetywayo--His coronation--His lady advocates--Their attacks on + officials--Was Cetywayo bloodthirsty?--Cause of the Zulu war--Zulu + military system--States of feeling amongst the Zulus previous to + the war--Cetywayo's position--His enemies--His intentions on the + Transvaal--Their frustration by Sir T. Shepstone--Cetywayo's + interview with Mr. Fynney--His opinion of the Boers--The + annexation in connection with the Zulu war--The Natal colonists + and the Zulu war--Sir Bartle Frere--The Zulu war--Cetywayo's half- + heartedness--Sir Garnet Wolseley's settlement--Careless selection + of chiefs--The Sitimela plot--Chief John Dunn--Appointment of Mr. + Osborn as British Resident--His difficult position--Folly and + cruelty of our settlement--Disappointment of the Zulus--Object and + result of settlement--Slaughter in Zululand--Cetywayo's son-- + Necessity of proper settlement of Zululand--Should Cetywayo be + restored? + +Zululand and the Zulu settlement still continue to receive some +attention from the home public, partly because those responsible for +the conduct of affairs are not quite at ease about it, and partly +because of the agitation in this country for the restoration of +Cetywayo. + +There is no doubt that the present state of affairs in Zululand is a +subject worthy of close consideration, not only by those officially +connected with them, but by the public at large. Nobody, either at +home or in the colonies, wishes to see another Zulu war, or anything +approaching to it. Unless, however, the affairs of Zululand receive a +little more attention, and are superintended with a little more +humanity and intelligence than they are at present, the public will +sooner or later be startled by some fresh catastrophe. Then will +follow the usual outcry, and the disturbance will be attributed to +every cause under the sun except the right one--want of common +precautions. + +The Zulu question is a very large one, and I only propose discussing +so much of it as necessary to the proper consideration of the proposed +restoration of Cetywayo to his throne. + +The king is now coming to England,[*] where he will doubtless make a +very good impression, since his appearance is dignified, and his +manners, as is common among Zulus of high rank, are those of a +gentleman. It is probable that his visit will lead to a popular +agitation in his favour, and very possibly to an attempt on the part +of the English Government to reinstate him in his kingdom. Already +Lady Florence Dixie waves his banner, and informs the public through +the columns of the newspapers how good, how big, and how beautiful he +is, and "F. W. G. X." describes in enthusiastic terms his pearl-like +teeth. But as there are interests involved in the question of his +reinstatement which are, I think, more important than Cetywayo's +personal proportions of mind or body, and as the results of such a +step would necessarily be very marked and far-reaching, it is as well +to try and understand the matter in all its bearing before anything is +done. + +[*] Since the above was written the Government have at the last moment + decided to postpone Cetywayo's visit to this country, chiefly on + account of the political capital which was being made out of the + event by agitators in Zululand. The project of bringing the king + to England does not, however, appear to have been abandoned. + +There has been a great deal of special pleading about Cetywayo. Some +writers, swayed by sentiment, and that spirit of partisanship that the +sight of royalty in distress always excites, whitewash him in such a +persistent manner that their readers are left under the impression +that the ex-king is a model of injured innocence and virtue. Others +again, for political reasons, paint him very black, and predict that +his restoration would result in the destruction, or at the least, +disorganisation, of our South African empire. The truth in this, as in +the majority of political controversies, lies somewhere between these +two extremes, though it is difficult to say exactly where. + +To understand the position of Cetywayo both with reference to his +subjects and the English Government, it will be necessary to touch, +though briefly, on the history of Zululand since it became a nation, +and also on the principal events of the ex-king's reign. + +Chaka, Cetywayo's great uncle, was the first Zulu king, and doubtless +one of the most remarkable men that has ever filled a throne since the +days of the Pharaohs. When he came to his chieftainship, about 1813, +the Zulu people consisted of a single small tribe; when his throne +became vacant in 1828, their name had become a living terror, and they +were the greatest Black power in South Africa. The invincible armies +of this African Attila had swept north and south, east and west, had +slaughtered more than a million human beings, and added vast tracts of +country to his dominions. Wherever his warriors went, the blood of +men, women, and children was poured out without stay or stint; indeed +he reigned like a visible Death, the presiding genius of a saturnalia +of slaughter. + +His methods of government and warfare were peculiar and somewhat +drastic, but most effective. As he conquered a tribe, he enrolled its +remnants in his army, so that they might in their turn help to conquer +others. He armed his regiments with the short stabbing assegai, +instead of the throwing assegai which they had been accustomed to use, +and kept them subject to an iron discipline. If a man was observed to +show the slightest hesitation about coming to close quarters with the +enemy, he was executed as soon as the fight was over. If a regiment +had the misfortune to be defeated, whether by its own fault or not, it +would on its return to headquarters find that a goodly proportion of +the wives and children belonging to it had been beaten to death by +Chaka's orders, and that he was waiting their arrival to complete his +vengeance by dashing out their brains. The result was, that though +Chaka's armies were occasionally annihilated, they were rarely +defeated, and they never ran away. I will not enter in the history of +his numerous cruelties, and indeed they are not edifying. Amongst +other things, like Nero, he killed his own mother, and then caused +several persons to be executed because they did not show sufficient +sorrow at her death. + +At length, in 1828, he too suffered the fate he had meted out to so +many, and was killed by his brothers, Dingaan and Umhlangan, by the +hands of one Umbopa. He was murdered in his hut, and as his life +passed out of him he is reported to have addressed these words to his +brothers, who were watching his end: "What! do you stab me, my +brothers, dogs of mine own house, whom I have fed? You hope to be +kings; but though you do kill me, think not that your line shall reign +for long. I tell you that I hear the sound of the feet of the great +white people, and that this land shall be trodden by them." He then +expired, but his last words have always been looked upon as a prophecy +by the Zulus, and indeed they have been partly fulfilled. + +Having in his turn killed Umhlangan, his brother by blood and in +crime, Dingaan took possession of the throne. He was less pronounced +than Chaka in his foreign policy, though he seems to have kept up the +family reputation as regards domestic affairs. It was he who, +influenced, perhaps, by Chaka's dying prophecy about white men, +massacred Retief, the Boer leader, and his fifty followers, in the +most treacherous manner, and then falling on the emigrant Boers in +Natal, murdered men, women, and children to the number of nearly six +hundred. There seems, however, to have been but little love lost +between any of the sons of Usengangacona (the father of Chaka, +Dingaan, Umhlangan, and Panda), for in due course Panda, his brother, +conspired with the Boers against Dingaan, and overthrew him with their +assistance. Dingaan fled, and was shortly afterwards murdered in +Swaziland, and Panda ascended the throne in 1840. + +Panda was a man of different character to the remainder of his race, +and seems to have been well content to reign in peace, only killing +enough people to keep up his authority. Two of his sons, Umbelazi and +Cetywayo, of whom Umbelazi was the elder and Panda's favourite, began, +as their father grew old, to quarrel about the succession to the +crown. On the question being referred to Panda, he is reported to have +remarked that when two young cocks quarrelled the best thing they +could do was to fight it out. Acting on this hint, each prince +collected his forces, Panda sending down one of his favourite +regiments to help Umbelazi. The fight took place in 1856 on the banks +of the Tugela. A friend of the writer, happening to be on the Natal +side of the river the day before the battle, and knowing it was going +to take place, swam his horse across in the darkness, taking his +chance of the alligators, and hid in some bush on a hillock commanding +the battlefield. It was a hazardous proceeding, but the sight repaid +the risk, though he describes it as very awful, more especially when +the regiment of veterans sent by Panda joined in the fray. It came up +at the charge, between two and three thousand strong, and was met near +his hiding-place by one of Cetywayo's young regiments. The noise of +the clash of their shields was like the roar of the sea, but the old +regiment, after a struggle in which men fell thick and fast, +annihilated the other, and passed on with thinned ranks. Another of +Cetywayo's regiments took the place of the one that had been +destroyed, and this time the combat was fierce and long, till victory +again declared for the veterans' spears. But they had brought it dear, +and were in no position to continue their charge; so the leaders of +that brave battalion formed its remnants into a ring, and, like the +Scotch at Flodden-- + + + "The stubborn spearmen still made good + The dark, impenetrable wood; + Each stepping where his comrade stood + The instant that he fell," + + +till there were none left to fall. The ground around them was piled +with dead. + +But this gallant charge availed Umbelazi but little, and by degrees +Cetywayo's forces pressed his men back to the banks of the Tugela, and +finally into it. Thousands fell upon the field and thousands perished +in the river. When my friend swam back that night, he had nothing to +fear from the alligators: they were too well fed. Umbelazi died on the +battlefield of a broken heart, at least it is said that no wound could +be found on his person. He probably expired in a fit brought on by +anxiety of mind and fatigue. A curious story is told of Cetywayo with +reference to his brother's death. After the battle was over a Zulu +from one of his own regiments presented himself before him with many +salutations, saying, "O prince! now canst thou sleep in peace, for +Umbelazi is dead." "How knowest thou that he is dead?" said Cetywayo. +"Because I slew him with my own hand," replied the Zulu. "Thou dog!" +said the prince, "thou hast dared to lift thy hand against the blood +royal, and now thou makest it a matter of boasting. Wast thou not +afraid? By Chaka's head thou shalt have thy reward. Lead him away." +And the Zulu, who was but lying after all, having possessed himself of +the bracelets off the dead prince's body, was instantly executed. The +probability is that Cetywayo acted thus more from motives of policy +than from affection to his brother, whom indeed he hoped to destroy. +It did not do to make too light of the death of an important prince: +Umbelazi's fate to-day might be Cetywayo's fate to-morrow. This story +bears a really remarkable resemblance to that of the young man who +slew Saul, the Lord's anointed, and suffered death on account thereof +at the hands of David. + +This battle is also memorable as being the occasion of the first +public appearance of Mr. John Dunn, now the most important chief in +Zululand, and, be it understood, the unknown quantity in all future +transactions in that country. At that time Dunn was a retainer of +Umbelazi's, and fought on his side in the Tugela battle. After the +fight, however, he went over to Cetywayo and became his man. From that +time till the outbreak of the Zulu war he remained in Zululand as +adviser to Cetywayo, agent for the Natal Government, and purveyor of +firearms to the nation at large. As soon as Cetywayo got into trouble +with the Imperial Government, Dunn, like a prudent man, deserted him +and came over to us. In reward Sir Garnet Wolseley advanced him to the +most important chieftainship in Zululand, which he hopes to make a +stepping-stone to the vacant throne. His advice was largely followed +by Sir Garnet in the bestowal of the other chieftainships, and was +naturally not quite disinterested. He has already publicly announced +his intention of resisting the return of the king, his old master, by +force of arms, should the Government attempt to reinstate him. + +A period of sixteen years elapsed before Cetywayo reaped the fruits of +the battle of the Tugela by succeeding to the throne on the death of +his father, Panda, the only Zulu monarch who has as yet come to his +end by natural causes. + +In 1861, however, Cetywayo was, at the instance of the Natal +Government, formally nominated heir to the throne by Mr. Shepstone, it +being thought better that a fixed succession should be established +with the concurrence of the Natal Government than that matters should +be left to take their chance on Panda's death. Mr. Shepstone +accomplished his mission successfully, though at great personal risk. +For some unknown reason, Cetywayo, who was blown up with pride, was at +first adverse to being thus nominated, and came down to the royal +kraal with three thousand armed followers, meaning, it would see, to +kill Mr. Shepstone, whom he had never before met. Panda, the old king, +had an inkling of what was to happen, but was powerless to control his +son, so he confined himself to addressing the assembled multitude in +what I have heard Sir Theophilus Shepstone say was the most eloquent +and touching speech he ever listened to, the subject being the duties +of hospitality. He did not at the time know how nearly the speech +concerned him, or that its object was to preserve his life. This, +however, soon became manifest when, exception being taken to some +breech of etiquette by one of his servants, he was surrounded by a mob +of shouting savages, whose evident object was to put an end to him and +those with him. For two hours he remained sitting there, expecting +that every moment would be his last, but showing not the slightest +emotion, till at length he got an opportunity of speaking, when he +rose and said, "I know that you mean to kill me; it is an easy thing +to do; but I tell you Zulus, that for every drop of my blood that +falls to the ground, a hundred men will come out of the sea yonder, +from the country of which Natal is one of the cattle-kraals, and will +bitterly avenge me." As he spoke he turned and pointed towards the +ocean, and so intense was the excitement that animated it, that the +whole great multitude turned with him and stared towards the horizon, +as though they expected to see the long lines of avengers creeping +across the plains. Silence followed his speech; his imperturbability +and his well-timed address had saved his life. From that day his name +was a power in the land.[*] + +[*] A very good description of this scene was published in the /London + Quarterly Review/ in 1878. The following is an extract: + + "In the centre of those infuriated savages he (Mr. Shepstone) sat + for more than two hours outwardly calm, giving confidence to his + solitary European companion by his own quietness, only once + saying, 'Why, Jem, you're afraid,' and imposing restraint on his + native attendants. Then, when they had shouted, as Cetywayo + himself said in our hearing, 'till their throats were so sore that + they could shout no more,' they departed. But Sompseu (Mr. + Shepstone) had conquered. Cetywayo, in describing the scene to us + and our companion on a visit to him a short time afterwards, said, + 'Sompseu is a great man: no man but he could have come through + that day alive.' Similar testimony we have had from some of the + Zulu assailants, from the native attendants, and the companion + above mentioned. Next morning Cetywayo humbly begged an interview, + which was not granted but on terms of unqualified submission. From + that day Cetywayo has submitted to British control in the measure + in which it has been exercised, and has been profuse in his + expressions of respect and submission to Mr. T. Shepstone; but in + his heart, as occasional acts and speeches show, he writhes under + the restraint, and bitterly hates the man who imposed it." + +It was on this occasion that a curious incident occurred which +afterwards became of importance. Among the Zulus there exists a +certain salute, "Bayete," which it is the peculiar and exclusive +privilege of Zulu royalty to receive. The word means, or is supposed +to mean, "Let us bring tribute." On Mr. Shepstone's visit the point +was raised by the Zulu lawyers as to what salute he should receive. It +was not consistent with their ideas that the nominator of their future +king should be greeted with any salute inferior to the Bayete, and +this, as plain Mr. Shepstone, it was impossible to give him. The +difficulty was obvious, but the Zulu mind proved equal to it. He was +solemnly announced to be a Zulu king, and to stand in the place of the +great founder of their nation, Chaka. Who was so fit to proclaim the +successor to the throne as the great predecessor of the prince +proclaimed? To us this seems a strange, not to say ludicrous, way of +settling a difficulty, but there was nothing in it repugnant to Zulu +ideas. Odd as it was, it invested Mr. Shepstone with all the +attributes of a Zulu king, such as the power to make laws, order +executions, &c., and those attributes in the eyes of Zulus he still +retains. + +In 1873 messengers came down from Zululand to the Natal Government, +bringing with them the "king's head," that is, a complimentary present +of oxen, announcing the death of Panda. "The nation," they said, "was +wandering; it wanders and wanders, and wanders again;" the spirit of +the king had departed from them; his words had ceased, and "none but +children were left." The message ended with a request that Mr. +Shepstone, as Cetywayo's "father," should come and instal him on the +throne. A month or two afterwards there came another message, again +requesting his attendance; and on the request being refused by the +Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, there came a third message, to which the +Natal Government returned a favourable answer. + +Accordingly Mr. Shepstone proceeded to Zululand, and on the 3rd +September 1873 proclaimed Cetywayo king with all due pomp and +ceremony. It was on this occasion that, in the presence of, and with +the enthusiastic assent of, both king and people, Mr. Shepstone, +"standing in the place of Cetywayo's father, and so representing the +nation," enunciated the four following articles, with a view to +putting an end to the continual slaughter that darkens the history of +Zululand:-- + +1. That the indiscriminate shedding of blood shall cease in the land. + +2. That no Zulu shall be condemned without open trial, and the public +examination of witnesses for and against, and that he shall have a +right to appeal to the king. + +3. That no Zulu's life shall be taken without the previous knowledge +and consent of the king, after such trial has taken place, and the +right of appeal has been allowed to be exercised. + +4. That for minor crimes the loss of property, all or a portion, shall +be substituted for the punishment of death. + +Nobody will deny that these were admirable regulations, and that they +were received as such at the time by the Zulu king and people. But +there is no doubt that their ready acceptance by the king was a +sacrifice to his desire to please "his father Sompseu" (Mr. Shepstone) +and the Natal Government, with both of which he was particularly +anxious to be on good terms. He has never adhered to these coronation +regulations, or promises, as they have been called, and the +probability is that he never intended to adhere to them. However this +may be, I must say that personally I have been unable to share the +views of those who see in the breach of these so-called promises a +justification of the Zulu war. After all, what do they amount to, and +what guarantee was there for their fulfilment? They merely represent a +very laudable attempt on the part of the Natal Government to keep a +restraining hand on Zulu cruelty, and to draw the bonds of friendship +as tight as the idiosyncrasies of a savage state would allow. The +Government of Natal had no right to dictate the terms to a Zulu king +on which he was to hold his throne. The Zulu nation was an independent +nation, and had never been conquered or annexed by Natal. If the +Government of that colony was able by friendly negotiation to put a +stop to Zulu slaughter, it was a matter for congratulation on +humanitarian grounds; but it is difficult to follow the argument that +because it was not able, or was only partially able, to do so, +therefore England was justified in making war on the Zulus. On the +other hand, it is perfectly ludicrous to observe the way in which +Cetywayo's advocates overshoot the mark in arguing this and similar +points; especially his lady advocates, whose writings upon these +subjects bear about the same resemblance to the truth that the speech +to the jury by the counsel for the defence in a hopeless murder case +does to the summing up of the judge. Having demonstrated that the +engagements entered into by Cetywayo meant nothing, they will proceed +to show that, even if they did, cold-blooded murder, when perpetrated +by a black paragon like Cetywayo, does not amount to a great offence. +In the mouths of these gentle apologists for slaughter, massacre +masquerades under the name of "executions," and is excused on the plea +of being, "after all," only the enforcement of "an old custom." Again, +the employment of such phrases, in a solemn answer to a remonstrance +from the Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, as "I do kill; but do not +consider that I have done anything yet in the way of killing. . . . I +have not yet begun; I have yet to kill," are shown to mean nothing at +all, and to be "nothing more than the mere irritation of the +moment."[*] Perhaps those of Cetywayo's subjects who suffered on +account of this mere momentary irritation took a more serious view of +it. It is but fair to the particular authority from whom I quote (Miss +Colenso's "History of the Zulu War," pp. 230-231) to state that she +considers this reply from the "usually courteous and respectful king" +as "no doubt petulant and wanting in due respect." Considering that +the message in question (which can be read in the footnote) was a +point-blank defiance of Sir Henry Bulwer, admitting that there had +been slaughter, but that it was nothing compared to what was coming, +most people will not think Miss Colenso's description of it too +strong. + +[*] The following is the text of the message:-- + + "Did I ever tell Mr. Shepstone I would not kill? Did he tell the + white people that I made such an arrangement? Because if he did he + has deceived them. I do kill; but do not consider that I have done + anything yet in the way of killing. Why do the white people start + at nothing? I have not yet begun; I have yet to kill; it is the + custom of our nation, and I shall not depart from it. Why does the + Governor of Natal speak to me about my laws? Do I go to Natal and + dictate to him about his laws? I shall not agree to any laws or + rules from Natal, and by doing so throw the large kraal which I + govern into the water. My people will not listen unless they are + killed; and while wishing to be friends with the English, I do not + agree to give my people over to be governed by laws sent to me by + them. Have I not asked the English to allow me to wash my spears + since the death of my father 'Umpandi,' and they have kept playing + with me all this time, treating me like a child? Go back and tell + the English that I shall now act on my own account, and if they + wish me to agree to their laws, I shall leave and become a + wanderer; but before I go it will be seen, as I shall not go + without having acted. Go back and tell the white men this, and let + them hear it well. The Governor of Natal and I are equal; he is + Governor of Natal, and I am Governor here." + +To admit that the Zulu king has the right to kill as many of his +subjects as he chooses, so long as they will tolerate being killed, is +one thing, but it is certainly surprising to find educated Europeans +adopting a line of defence of these proceedings on his behalf that +amounts to a virtual expression of approval, or at least of easy +toleration. Has philanthropy a deadening effect on the moral sense, +that the people who constitute themselves champions for the +unfortunate Zulu king and the oppressed Boers cannot get on to their +hobbies without becoming blind to the difference between right and +wrong? Really an examination of the utterances of these champions of +oppressed innocence would almost lead one to that conclusion. On the +one hand they suppress and explain away facts, and on the other supply +their want of argument by reckless accusations and vicious attacks on +the probity of such of their fellow-Englishmen, especially if in +office, as have had the misfortune to pursue a course of action or to +express opinions not pleasing to them or their proteges. For instance, +an innocent and unenlightened reader of the very interesting work from +which I have just quoted probably lays it down with the conviction +that both Sir Bartle Frere and Sir Theophilus Shepstone are very +wicked men and full of bad motives, and will wonder how a civilised +Government could employ such monsters of bloodthirsty duplicity. As he +proceeds he will also find that there is not much to be said for the +characters of either Sir Garnet Wolseley or Lord Chelmsford; whilst as +regards such small fry as Mr. John Shepstone, the present Secretary of +Native Affairs in Natal, after passing through Miss Colenso's mill +their reputations come out literally in rags and tatters. He will be +shocked to find that not only did one and all of these gentlemen make +gross errors of judgment, but, trusted and distinguished servants of +their country as they are, they were one and all actuated by dark +personal motives that will not bear examination. + +Heaven help the members of the Shepstone family when they fall into +the hands of the gentler but more enthusiastic sex, for Miss Colenso +is not their only foe. In a recent publication called a "Defence of +Zululand and its Kings," Lady Florence Dixie gibbets Mr. Henrique +Shepstone, and points him out to be execrated by a Cetywayo- +worshipping public, because the ex-king is to be sent to England in +his charge; when, according to Lady Dixie, he will certainly be +scoundrel enough to misinterpret all that Cetywayo says for his own +ends, and will thereby inflict a "cruel wrong" upon him, and render +his visit to England "perfectly meaningless." Perhaps it has never +occurred to Lady Dixie that this is a very serious charge to bring +against an honourable man, whose reputation is probably as dear to him +as the advancement of Cetywayo's cause is to her. It is all very well +to be enthusiastic, but ladies should remember that there are other +people in the world to be considered beside Cetywayo. + +As regards the question of Cetywayo's bloodthirstiness, which is so +strenuously denied by his apologists, I cannot say that a careful +study of the blue books bearing on the subject brings me to the same +conclusion. It is true that there is not much information on the +point, for the obvious reason that the history of slaughters in +Zululand in the vast majority of cases only reached Natal in the form +of rumours, which nobody thought it worth while to report. There were +no newspaper correspondents in Zululand. There is not, however, any +doubt that Cetywayo was in the habit of killing large numbers of +people; indeed it was a matter of the commonest notoriety; nor, as +will be seen from the message I have transcribed, did he himself deny +it, when, being angry, he spoke the truth. At the same time that this +message was sent, we find Mr. Osborn, then resident magistrate at +Newcastle in Natal, who is certainly not given to exaggeration, +writing to the Secretary for Native Affairs thus:--"From all I have +been able to learn, Cetywayo's conduct has been, and continues to be, +disgraceful. He is putting people to death in a shameful manner, +especially girls. The dead bodies are placed by his order in the +principal paths, especially where the paths intersect each other +(cross roads). A few of the parents of the young people so killed +buried the bodies, and thus brought Cetywayo's wrath on themselves, +resulting not only on their own death, but destruction of the whole +family. . . . It is really terrible that such horrible savagery could +take place on our own borders. . . . Uhamu reproved Cetywayo the other +day, reminded him of his promises to Mr. Shepstone, and begged him to +spare the people. This advice, as could be expected, was not +relished." + +Again, Mr. Fynney, in his report of his visit to Zululand in 1877, +states that though the king and his "indunas" (councillors) denied +that men were killed without trial, the people told a very different +tale. Thus he says, "In every instance, where I had so far gained the +confidence of the Zulus as to cause them to speak freely, was I +assured of the truthfulness of the statement that the king, Cetywayo, +caused his people to be put to death in great numbers; and when I +remarked that of course he did so after a fair and proper trial, in +some cases my remark was greeted with a suppressed laugh or a smile. +Some remarked, 'Yes, a trial of bullets;' others, 'Yes, we get a +trial, but that means surrounding the kraal at daybreak and shooting +us down like cattle.' One asked me what the Government in Natal +intended doing, or what was thought in Natal about the killing, +saying, 'It was not in the night that Sompseu spoke, but in the +sunshine; the king was not alone, but his people were around him, and +the ears of all Zululand heard these words, and the hearts of all +Zulus were joyful, and in gladness they lifted up their hands saying: +The mouth of our white father has spoken good words; he has cautioned +his child in the presence of his people, and a good sun has risen this +day over Zululand! How is it now? Has the king listened? Does he hold +fast those words? No! not one. The promises he made are all broken. +What does Sompseu say to this? You should dine at my kraal yonder for +a few days, and see the izizi (cattle and other property of people who +have been killed) pass, and you would then see with your own eyes how +a case is tried.'" Farther on Mr. Fynney says, "When a charge is made +against a Zulu, the question is generally asked, 'Has he any cattle?' +and if answered in the affirmative, there is little chance of escape. +Instances of killing occurred while I was in Zululand, and to my +knowledge no trial was allowed. An armed party was despatched on the +morning I left Ondine, and, as I was informed, to kill." + +There is no reason to suppose that Mr. Fynney was in any way +prejudiced in making these remarks; on the contrary, he was simply +carrying out an official mission, and reporting for the general +information of the Governments of Natal and the Transvaal. It is, +however, noticeable that neither these nor similar passages are ever +alluded to by Cetywayo's advocates, whose object seems to be rather to +suppress the truth than to put it fairly before the public, if by such +suppression they think they can advance the cause of the ex-king. + +The whole matter of Cetywayo's private policy, however, appears to me +to be very much beside the question. Whether or no he slaughtered his +oppressed subjects in bygone years, which there is no doubt he did, is +not our affair, since we were not then, as we are now, responsible for +the good government of Zululand; and seeing the amount of slaughter +that goes on under our protectorate, it ill becomes us to rake up +these things against Cetywayo. What we have to consider is his foreign +policy, not the domestic details of his government.[*] + +[*] A gentleman, who has recently returned from travelling in + Zululand, relates the following story as nearly as possible in the + words in which it was told to him by a well-known hunter in + Zululand, Piet Hogg by name, now residing near Dundee on the Zulu + border. The story is a curious one as illustrative of Zulu + character, and scarcely represents Cetywayo in as amiable a light + as one might wish. Piet Hogg and my informant were one day talking + about the king when the former said, "I was hunting and trading in + Zululand, and was at a military kraal occupied by Cetywayo, where + I saw a Basuto who had been engaged by the king to instruct his + people in building houses, that were to be /square/ instead of + circular (as are all Zulu buildings), for which his pay was to be + thirty head of cattle. The Basuto came to Cetywayo in my presence, + and said that the square buildings were made; he now wished to + have his thirty head of cattle and to depart. Cetywayo having + obtained what he required, began to think the man overpaid, so + said, 'I have observed that you like ---- (a Zulu woman belonging + to the kraal); suppose you take her instead of the thirty head of + cattle.' Now this was a very bad bargain for the Basuto, as the + woman was not worth more, in Zulu estimation, than ten head of + cattle; but the Basuto, knowing with whom he had to deal, thought + it might be better to comply with the suggestion rather than + insist upon his rights, and asked to be allowed till the next + morning to consider the proposal. After he had been dismissed on + this understanding, Cetywayo sent for the woman, and accused her + of misconduct with the Basuto, the punishment of which, if proved, + would be death. She denied this vehemently, with protestations and + tears. He insisted, but, looking up at a tree almost denuded of + leaves which grew close by, said, significantly, 'Take care that + not a leaf remains on that tree by the morning.' The woman + understood the metaphor, and in an hour or two, aided by other + strapping Zulu females, attacked the unfortunate Basuto and killed + him with clubs. But Cetywayo having thus, like the monkey in the + fable, employed a cat's paw to do his dirty work, began to think + the Basuto's untimely death might have an ugly appearance in my + eyes, so gave orders in my presence that, as a punishment, six of + the women who had killed the Basuto should also be put to death. + This was too much for me, knowing as I did, all that had passed. I + reproached Cetywayo for his cruelty, and declared I would leave + Zululand without trading there, and without making him the present + he expected. I also said I should take care the great English + 'Inkose' (the Governor of Natal) should hear of his conduct and + the reason of my return. Cetywayo was then on friendly terms with + the English, and being impressed by my threats, he reconsidered + his orders, and spared the lives of the women." + +I do not propose to follow out all the details of the boundary dispute +between Cetywayo and the Transvaal, or to comment on the different +opinions held on the point by the various authorities, English and +Zulu. The question has been, for the moment, settled by the Transvaal +Convention, and is besides a most uninteresting one to the general +reader. + +Nor shall I enter into a discussion concerning the outrages on which +Sir Bartle Frere based his ultimatum previous to the Zulu war. They +were after all insignificant, although sufficient to serve as a /casus +belli/ to a statesman determined to fight. The Zulu war was, in the +opinion of Sir B. Frere, necessary in self-defence, which is the first +principle of existence. If it admits of justification, it is on the +ground that the Zulu army was a menace to the white population of +South Africa, and that it was therefore necessary to destroy it, lest +at some future time it should destroy the whites. It is ridiculous to +say that the capture of two Zulu women in Natal and their subsequent +murder, or the expulsion on political grounds of a few missionaries, +justified us in breaking up a kingdom and slaughtering ten thousand +men. Sir Bartle Frere declared war upon the Zulus because he was +afraid, and had good reason to be afraid, that if he did not, Cetywayo +would before long sweep either the Transvaal or Natal; whilst, on the +other hand, the Zulus fought us because our policy was too +philanthropic to allow them to fight anybody else. This statement may +appear strange, but a little examination into Zulu character and +circumstances will, I think, show it to be correct. + +It must be remembered that for some years before Panda's death the +Zulus had not been engaged in any foreign war. When Cetywayo ascended +the throne, it was the general hope and expectation of the army, and +therefore of the nation, that this period of inaction would come to an +end, and that the new king would inaugurate an active foreign policy. +They did not greatly care in what direction the activity developed +itself, provided it did develop. It must also be borne in mind that +every able-bodied man in the Zulu country was a member of a regiment, +even the lads being attached to regiments as carriers, and the women +being similarly enrolled, though they did not fight. The Zulu military +system was the universal-service system of Germany brought to an +absolute perfection, obtained by subordinating all the ties and duties +of civil life to military ends. Thus, for instance, marriage could not +be contracted at will, but only by the permission of the king, which +was generally delayed until a regiment was well advanced in years, +when a number of girls were handed over to it to take to wife. This +regulation came into force because it was found that men without home +ties were more ferocious and made better soldiers, and the result of +these harsh rules was that the Zulu warrior, living as he did under +the shadow of a savage discipline, for any breach of which there was +but one punishment, death, can hardly be said to have led a life of +domestic comfort, such as men of all times and nations have thought +their common right. But even a Zulu must have some object in life, +some shrine at which to worship, some mistress of his affections. Home +he had none, religion he had none, mistress he had none, but in their +stead he had his career as a warrior, and his hope of honour and +riches to be gained by the assegai. His home was on the war-track with +his regiment, his religion the fierce denunciation of the isanusi,[*] +and his affections were fixed on the sudden rush of battle, the red +slaughter, and the spoils of the slain. "War," says Sir T. Shepstone, +in a very remarkable despatch written about a year before the outbreak +of the Zulu war, "is the universal cry among the soldiers, who are +anxious to live up to their traditions, . . . . and the idea is +gaining ground among the people that their nation has outlived the +object of its existence." Again he says, "The engine (the Zulu +military organisation) has not ceased to exist or to generate its +forces, although the reason or excuse for its existence has died away: +these forces have continued to accumulate and are daily accumulating +without safety-valve or outlet." + +[*] /Witch-doctor./ These persons are largely employed in Zululand to + smell out witches who are supposed to have bewitched others, and + are of course very useful as political agents. Any person + denounced by them is at once executed. A friend of the writer's + was once present at a political smelling-out on a large scale, and + describes it as a very curious and unpleasant scene. The men, of + whom there were some thousands, were seated in a circle, as pale + with terror as Zulus can be. Within the circle were several witch + doctors; one of whom amidst his or her incantations would now and + again step forward and touch some unfortunate man with a forked + stick. The victim was instantly led away a few paces and his neck + twisted. The circle awaited each denunciation in breathless + expectation, for not a man among them knew whose turn it might be + next. On another occasion, an unfortunate wretch who had been + similarly condemned by an isanusi rushed up to the same + gentleman's waggon and besought shelter. He was hidden under some + blankets, but presently his pursuers arrived, and insisted upon + his being handed over. All possible resistance was made, until the + executioners announced that they would search the waggon and kill + him there. It was then covenanted that he should have a start in + the race for life. He was, however, overtaken and killed. These + instances will show how dark and terrible is the Zulu superstition + connected with witchcraft, and what a formidable weapon it becomes + in the hands of the king or chief. + +Desirable as such a state of feeling may be in an army just leaving +for the battlefield, it is obvious that for some fifty thousand men, +comprising the whole manhood of the nation, to be continually on the +boil with sanguinary animosity against the human race in general, is +an awkward element to fit into the peaceable government of a state. + +Yet this was doubtless the state of affairs with which Cetywayo had to +contend during the latter years of his reign. He found himself +surrounded by a great army, in a high state of efficiency and warlike +preparation, proclaiming itself wearied with camp life, and clamouring +to be led against an enemy, that it might justify its traditions and +find employment for its spears. Often and often he must have been +sorely puzzled to find excuses wherewithal to put it off. Indeed his +position was both awkward and dangerous: on the one hand was Scylla in +the shape of the English Government, and on the other the stormy and +uncertain Charybdis of his clamouring regiments. Slowly the idea must +have began to dawn upon him that unless he found employment for the +army, which, besides being disgusted with his inactivity, was somewhat +wearied with his cruelties, for domestic slaughter had ceased to +divert and had begun to irritate: the army, or some enterprising +members of it, might put it beyond his power ever to find employment +for it at all, and bring one of his brothers to rule in his stead. + +And yet who was he to fight, if fight he must? There were three +possible enemies--1. The Swazis; 2. The Transvaal Boers; 3. The +English. + +Although the English may have held a place on Cetywayo's list as +possible foes, there is no ground for supposing that, until shortly +before the war, he had any wish to fight with us. Indeed, whereas +their hatred of the Boers was pronounced, and openly expressed, both +the Zulu king and people always professed great respect for +Englishmen, and even a certain amount of liking and regard. + +Therefore, when Cetywayo had to settle on an enemy to attack, it was +not the English that he chose, but the Swazis, whose territory +adjoined his own, lying along the borders of the Transvaal towards +Delagoa Bay. The Swazis are themselves Zulus, and Cetywayo claimed +certain sovereign rights over them, which, however, they refused to +recognise. They are a powerful tribe, and can turn out about 10,000 +fighting men, quite enough for Cetywayo's young warriors to try their +mettle on. Still the king does not appear to have wished to undertake +the war without first obtaining the approval of the Natal Government, +to whom he applied several times for permission "to wash his spears," +saying that he was but half a king until he had done so. The Natal +Government, however, invariably replied that he was on no account to +do anything of the sort. This shows the inconveniences of possessing a +complimentary feudal hold over a savage potentate, the shadow of power +without the reality. The Governor of Natal could not in decency +sanction such a proceeding as a war of extermination against the +Swazis, but if it had occurred without his sanction, the Swazis would +have suffered no doubt, but the Zulu spears would have been +satisfactorily washed, and there would have been no Zulu war. As it +is, Englishmen have been killed instead of Swazis. + +Thwarted in his designs on the Swazis, Cetywayo next turned his +attention to the Transvaal Boers. The Zulus and the Boers had never +been good friends since the days of the massacre of Retief, and of +late years their mutual animosity had been greatly increased owing to +their quarrels about the boundary question previously alluded to. This +animosity reached blood-heat when the Boer Government, acting with the +arrogance it always displayed towards natives, began to lay its +commands upon Cetywayo about his relations with the Amaswazi, the +alleged trespassing on Boer territory, and other matters. The +arrogance was all the more offensive because it was impotent. The +Boers were not in a position to undertake the chastisement of the +Zulus. But the king and council of Zululand now determined to try +conclusions with the Transvaal on the first convenient opportunity, +and this time without consulting the Government of Natal. The +opportunity soon occurred. Secocoeni, the powerful chief of the +Bapedi, one of the tribes whose territories border on the Transvaal, +came to a difference with the Boers over another border question. +There is good ground for supposing that Cetywayo incited him to +withstand the Boer demands; it is certain that during the course of +the war that followed he assisted him with advice, and more +substantially still, with Zulu volunteers. + +To be brief, the Secocoeni war resulted in the discomfiture of the +Transvaal forces. Another result of this struggle was to throw the +whole state into the most utter confusion, of which the Dutch +burghers, always glad of an opportunity to defy the law, took +advantage to refuse to pay taxes. National bankruptcy ensued, and +confusion grew worse confounded. + +Cetywayo took note of all this, and saw that now was his opportunity +to attack. The Boers had suffered both in morale and prestige from +their defeat by Secocoeni, who was still in arms against them; whilst +the natives were proportionately elated by their success over the +dreaded white men. There was, he knew well, but little chance of a +rapid concentration to resist a sudden raid, especially when made by +such a powerful army, or rather chain of armies, as he could set in +motion. Everything favoured the undertaking; indeed, humanly speaking, +it is difficult to see what could have saved the greater part of the +population of the Transvaal from sudden extinction, if a kind +Providence had not just then put it into the head of Lord Carnarvon to +send out Sir T. Shepstone as Special Commissioner to their country. +When Cetywayo heard that his father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) was +going up to the Transvaal, he held his hand, sent out spies, and +awaited the course of events. The following incident will show with +what interest he was watching what took place. At the Vaal River a +party of Boers met the Special Commissioner and fired salutes to +welcome him. It was immediately reported to Cetywayo by his spies that +the Boers had fired over Sir T. Shepstone's waggon. Shortly afterwards +a message arrived at Pretoria from Cetywayo to inquire into the truth +of the story, coolly announcing his intention of sweeping the +Transvaal if it were true that "his father" had been fired at. In a +conversation with Mr. Fynney after the Annexation Cetywayo alludes to +his intentions in these words:-- + +"I heard that the Boers were not treating him (Sompseu) properly, and +that they intended to put him in a corner. If they had done so I +should not have waited for anything more. /Had but one shot been +fired/, I should have said, 'What more do I wait for? they have +touched my father.' I should have poured my men over the land, and I +can tell you, son of Mr. Fynney, the land would have burned with +fire." This will show how eagerly Cetywayo was searching for an excuse +to commence his attack on the Transvaal. When the hope of finding a +pretext in the supposed firing at Sir T. Shepstone or any incident of +a similar nature faded away, he appears to have determined to carry +out his plans without any immediate pretext, and to make a /casus +belli/ of his previous differences with the Government of the +Republic. Accordingly he massed his impis (army corps) at different +points along the Transvaal border, where they awaited the signal to +advance and sweep the country. Information of Cetywayo's doings and of +his secret plans reached Pretoria shortly before the Annexation, and +confirmed the mind of the Special Commissioner as to the absolute +necessity of that measure to save the citizens of the Republic from +coming to a violent end, and South Africa from being plunged into a +native war of unexampled magnitude. The day before the Annexation took +place, when it was quite certain that it would take place, a message +was sent to Cetywayo by Sir T. Shepstone telling him of what was about +to happen, and telling him too in the sternest and most +straightforward language, that the Transvaal had become the Queen's +land like Natal, and that he must no more think of attacking it than +he would of attacking Natal. Cetywayo on receiving the message at once +disbanded his armies and sent them to their kraals. "Kabuna," he said +to the messenger, "my impis were gathered; now at my father's (Sir T. +Shepstone's) bidding I send them back to their homes." + +This fact, namely, that at the bidding of his old mentor Sir T. +Shepstone, Cetywayo abandoned his long-cherished plans, and his +undoubted opportunity of paying off old scores with the Boers in a +most effectual manner, and gave up a policy that had so many charms +for him, must be held by every unprejudiced man to speak volumes in +his favour. It must be remembered that it was not merely to oblige his +"father Sompseu" that he did this, but to meet the wishes of the +English Government, and the act shows how anxious he was to retain the +friendship and fall in with the views of that Government. Evidently +Cetywayo had no animosity against us in April 1877. + +In his interview with Mr. Fynney, Cetywayo speaks out quite frankly as +to what his intentions had been; he says, "I know all about the +soldiers being on their way up, but I would have asked Sompseu to +allow the soldiers to stand on one side for just a little while, only +a little, and see what my men could do. It would have been unnecessary +for the Queen's people to trouble. My men were all ready, and how big +must that stone have been, with my father Sompseu digging at one side +and myself at the other, that would not have toppled over? Even though +the size of that mountain (pointing to a mountain range), we could put +it on its back. Again I say I am glad to know the Transvaal is +English ground; perhaps now there may be rest." + +This and other passages show beyond all doubt from what an awful +catastrophe the Transvaal was saved by the Annexation. That Cetywayo +personally detested the Boers is made clear by his words to Mr. +Fynney. "'The Boers,' he says, 'are a nation of liars; they are a bad +people, bad altogether. I do not want them near my people; they lie +and claim what is not theirs, and ill-use my people. Where is Thomas?' +(President Burgers). I informed him that Mr. Burgers had left the +Transvaal. 'Then let them pack up and follow Thomas,' said he. 'Let +them go. The Queen does not want such people as those about her land. +What can the Queen make of them or do with them? Their evil ways +puzzled both Thomas and Rudolph, Landdrost of Utrecht; they will not +be quiet.'" + +It is very clear that if Cetywayo had been left to work his will, a +great many of the Boers would have found it necessary to "pack up and +follow Thomas," whilst many more would have never needed to pack +again. + +I am aware that attempts have been made to put another explanation on +Cetywayo's warlike preparations against the Boers. It has been said +that the Zulu army was called up by Sir T. Shepstone to coerce the +Transvaal. It is satisfactory to be able, from intimate personal +knowledge, to give unqualified denial to that statement, which is a +pure invention, as indeed is easily proved by clear evidence, which I +have entered into in another part of this book. Cetywayo played for +his own hand all along, and received neither commands nor hints from +the Special Commissioner to get his army together. Indeed, when Sir T. +Shepstone discovered what was going on, he suffered great anxiety lest +some catastrophe should occur before he was in a position to prevent +it. Nothing short of the Annexation could have saved the Transvaal at +that moment, and the conduct of the Boers after the danger had been +taken on to the shoulders of the Imperial Government is a startling +instance of national ingratitude. + +Here again the Zulu king was brought face to face with the ubiquitous +British Government, and that too at a particularly aggravating moment. +He was about to commence his attack when he was met with a polite, +"Hands off; this is British territory." No wonder that we find him in +despair renewing his prayer that Sompseu will allow him to make "one +little raid only, one small swoop," and saying that "it is the custom +of our country, when a new king is placed over the nation, to wash +their spears, and it has been done in the case of all former kings of +Zululand. I am no king, but sit in a heap. I cannot be a king till I +have washed my assegais." All of which is doubtless very savage and +very wrong, but such is the depravity of human nature, that there is +something taking about it for all that. + +It was at this period of the history of South Africa that many people +think we made our crowning mistake. We annexed the Transvaal, say +they, six months too soon. As things have turned out, it would have +been wiser to have left Zulus and Transvaal Boers to try conclusions, +and done our best to guard our own frontiers. There is no doubt that +such a consummation of affairs would have cleared the political +atmosphere wonderfully; the Zulus would have got enough fighting to +last them some time, and the remainder of the Boers would have +entreated our protection and become contented British subjects; there +would have been no Isandhlwana and no Majuba Hill. But to these I say +who could foresee the future, and who, in the then state of kindly +feeling towards the Boers, could wish to leave them, and all the +English mixed up with them, to undergo, unprepared as they were, the +terrible experience of a Zulu invasion? Besides, what guarantee was +there that the slaughter would stop in the Transvaal, or that the +combat would not have developed into a war of races throughout South +Africa? Even looking at the matter in the light of after events, it is +difficult to regret that humanity was on this occasion allowed to take +precedence of a more cold-blooded policy. If the opponents of the +Annexation, or even the members of the Transvaal Independence +Committee, knew what a Zulu invasion meant, they would scarcely have +been so bitter about that act. + +From the time of the Annexation it was a mere matter of opinion as to +which direction the Zulu explosion would take. The safety-valves were +loaded whilst the pressure daily increased, and all acquainted with +the people knew that it must come sooner or later. + +Shortly after the Transvaal became British territory the old Zulu +boundary question came to the fore again and was made more complicated +than ever by Sir T. Shepstone, who had hitherto favoured the Zulu +claims, taking the Boer side of the controversy, after examination of +the locality and of persons acquainted with the details of the matter. +There was nothing wonderful in this change of opinion, though of +course it was attributed to various motives by advocates of the Zulu +claims, and there is no doubt that Cetywayo himself did not at all +like it, and, excited thereto by vexation and the outcry of his +regiments, adopted a very different and aggressive tone in his +communications with the English authorities. Indeed his irritation +against the Boers and everybody connected with them was very great. +Probably if he had been left alone he would in time have carried out +his old programme, and attacked the Transvaal. But, fortunately for +the Transvaal, which, like sailors and drunken men, always seems to +have had a special Providence taking care of it: at this juncture Sir +Bartle Frere appeared upon the scene, and after a few preliminaries +and the presentation of a strong ultimatum, which was quite +impracticable so far as Cetywayo was concerned, since it demanded what +it was almost impossible for him to concede--the disbandment of his +army--invaded Zululand. + +It is generally supposed that the Natal colonists had a great deal to +do with making the Zulu war, but this is not the case. It is quite +true that they were rejoiced at the prospect of the break-up of +Cetywayo's power, because they were very much afraid of him and of his +"celibate man-slaying machine," which, under all the circumstances, is +not wonderful. But the war was a distinctly Imperial war, made by an +Imperial officer, without consultation with Colonial authorities, on +Imperial grounds, viz., because Cetywayo menaced Her Majesty's power +in South Africa. Of course, if there had been no colonies there would +have been no war, but in that way only are they responsible for it. +Natal, however, has not grudged to pay 250,000 pounds towards its +expenses, which is a great deal more than it can afford, and, +considering that the foolish settlement made by Sir Garnet Wolseley is +almost sure to involve the colony in trouble, quite as much as should +be asked. + +The fact of the matter was, that Sir Bartle Frere was a statesman who +had the courage of his convictions; he saw that a Zulu disturbance of +one kind or another was inevitable, so he boldly took the initiative. +If things had gone right with him, as he supposed they would, praise +would have been lavished on him by the Home authorities, and he would +have been made a peer, and perhaps Governor-General of India to boot; +but he reckoned without his Lord Chelmsford, and the element of +success which was necessary to gild his policy in the eyes of the home +public was conspicuous by its absence. As it was, no language was +considered to be too bad to apply to this "imperious proconsul" who +had taken upon himself to declare a war. If it is any consolation to +him, he has at any rate the gratitude of the South African Colonies, +not so much for what he has done, for that is being carefully +nullified by the subsequent action of the Home Government, but +because, believing his policy to be right, he had the boldness to +carry it out at the risk of his official reputation. Sir Bartle Frere +took a larger view of the duties of the governor of a great dependency +than to constitute himself the flickering shadow of the Secretary of +State in Downing Street, who, knowing little of the real interests of +the colony, is himself only the reflection of those that hold the +balance of power, to whom the subject is one of entire indifference, +provided that there is nothing to pay. + +The details of the Zulu war are matters of melancholy history, which +it is useless to recapitulate here. With the exception of the affair +at Rorke's Drift, there is nothing to be proud of in connection with +it, and a great deal to be ashamed of, more especially its final +settlement. There is, however, one point that I wish to submit to the +consideration of my readers, and that is, that Cetywayo was never +thoroughly in earnest about the war. If he had been in earnest, if he +had been determined to put out his full strength, he would certainly +have swept Natal from end to end after his victory at Isandhlwana. +There was no force to prevent his doing so: on the contrary, it is +probable that if he had advanced a strong army over the border, a +great number of the Natal natives would have declared in his favour +through fear of his vengeance, or at the least would have remained +neutral. He had ample time at his disposal to have executed the +manoeuvre twice over before the arrival of the reinforcements, of +which the results must have been very dreadful, and yet he never +destroyed a single family. The reason he has himself given for this +conduct is that he did not wish to irritate the white man; that he had +not made the war, and was only anxious to defend his country. + +When the fighting came to an end after the battle of Ulundi, there +were two apparent courses open to us to take. One was to take over the +country and rule it for the benefit of the Zulus, and the other to +enforce the demands in Sir Bartle Frere's ultimatum, and, taking such +guarantees as circumstances would admit of, leave Cetywayo on the +throne. Instead of acting on either of these plans, however, Sir +Garnet Wolseley proceeded, in the face of an extraordinary consensus +of adverse opinion, which he treated with calm contempt, to execute +what has proved to be a very cruel settlement. Sir Garnet Wolseley has +the reputation of being an extremely able man, and it is only fair to +him to suppose that he was not the sole parent of this political +monster, by which all the blood and treasure expended on the Zulu war +were made of no account, but that it was partially dictated to him by +authorities at home, who were anxious to gratify English opinion, and +partly ignorant, partly careless of the consequences. At the same +time, it is clear that he is responsible for the details of the +scheme, since immediately after the capture of Cetywayo he writes a +despatch about them which was considered so important, that a member +of his staff was sent to England in charge of it. In this document he +informs the Secretary of State that Cetywayo's rule was resolutely +built up "without any of the ordinary and lawful foundations of +authority, and by the mere vigour and vitality of an individual +character." It is difficult to understand what Sir Garnet means in +this passage. If the fact of being the rightful and generally accepted +occupant of the throne is not an "ordinary and lawful foundation of +authority," what is? As regards Cetywayo having built up his rule by +the "mere vigour and vitality of an individual character," he is +surely in error. Cetywayo's position was not different to that of his +immediate predecessors. If Sir Garnet had applied the remark to Chaka, +the first king, to the vigour and vitality of whose individual +character Zululand owes its existence as a nation, it would have been +more appropriate. The despatch goes on to announce that he has made up +his mind to divide the country into thirteen portions, in order to +prevent the "possibility of any reunion of its inhabitants under one +rule," and ends in these words: "I have laboured with the great aim of +establishing for Her Majesty's subjects in South Africa, both white +and coloured, as well as for this spirited people against whom +unhappily we have been involved in war, the enduring foundations of +peace, happiness and prosperity." The spirited people were no doubt +vastly thankful, but the white man, reading such a passage as this, +and knowing the facts of the case, will only recognise Sir Garnet +Wolseley's admirable talent for ironical writing. + +Sir Garnet entered into an agreement with each of his kinglets, who, +amongst other things, promised that they would not make war without +the sanction of the British Government. He also issued a paper of +instructions to the gentleman who was first appointed British Resident +(who, by the way, very soon threw up his post in despair). From this +document we learn that all the ex-king's brothers are to "be under the +eye of the chief John Dunn," but it is chiefly remarkable for the +hostility it evinces to all missionary enterprise. The Resident is +instructed to "be careful to hold yourself entirely aloof from all +missionary or proselytising enterprises," and that "grants of land by +former kings to missionaries cannot be recognised by the British +Government," although Sir Garnet will allow missionaries to live in +the country if the chief of the district does not object. These +instructions created some adverse comment in England, with the result +that, in the supplementary instructions issued on the occasion of Mr. +Osborn's appointment as Resident, they were somewhat modified. In the +despatch to the Secretary of State in which he announces the new +appointment, Sir Garnet says that Mr. Osborn is to be the "councillor, +guide, and friend" of the native chiefs, and that to his "moral +influence" "we should look I think for the spread of civilisation and +the propagation of the Gospel." What a conglomeration of duties,--at +once "prophet, priest, and king!" Poor Mr. Osborn! + +Of the chiefs appointed under this unfortunate settlement, some were +so carelessly chosen that they have no authority whatsoever over the +districts to which they were appointed, their nominal subjects +preferring to remain under the leadership of their hereditary chief. +Several of Sir Garnet's little kings cannot turn out an hundred men, +whilst the hereditary chief, who has no official authority, can bring +up three or four thousand. Thus, for instance, a territory was given +to a chief called Infaneulela. The retainers of this gentleman live in +a kraal of five or six huts on the battlefield of Ulundi. A chief +called Dilligane, to whom the district should have been given, is +practically head man of the district, and takes every possible +opportunity of defying the nominee chief, Infaneulela, who is not +acknowledged by the people. Another case is that of Umgitchwa, to whom +a territory was given. In this instance there are two brothers, +Umgitchwa and Somhlolo, born of different mothers. Umgitchwa is the +elder, but Somhlolo is the son of a daughter of the king, and +therefore, according to Zulu custom, entitled to succeed to the +chieftainship. Somhlolo was disinherited by Sir Garnet on account of +his youth (he is about twenty-five and has many wives). But an ancient +custom is not to be thus abrogated by a stroke of the pen, and +Somhlolo is practically chief of the district. Fighting is imminent +between the two brothers. + +A third case is that of Hlubi, who, though being a good, well-meaning +man, is a Basuto, and being a foreigner, has no influence over the +Zulus under him. + +A fourth instance is that of Umlandela, an old and infirm Zulu, who +was made chief over a large proportion of the Umtetwa tribe on the +coast of Zululand. His appointment was a fatal mistake, and has +already led to much bloodshed under the following curious +circumstances, which are not without interest, as showing the +intricacy of Zulu plots. + +The Umtetwas were in the days of Chaka a very powerful tribe, but +suffered the same fate at his hands as did every other that ventured +to cross spears with him. They were partially annihilated, and whilst +some of the survivors, of whom the Umtetwas in Zululand are the +descendants, were embodied in the Zulu regiments, others were +scattered far and wide. Branches of this important tribe exist as far +off as the Cape Colony. Dingiswayo, who was the chief of the Umtetwas +when Chaka conquered the tribe, fled after his defeat into Basutoland, +and is supposed to have died there. After the Zulu war Sir G. Wolseley +divided the Umtetwa into two districts, appointing an Umtetwa chief +named Somkeli ruler over one, and Umlandela over the other. + +Umlandela, being a Zulu and worn with age, has never had any authority +over his nominal subjects, and has been anxious to rid himself of the +danger and responsibility of his chieftainship by transferring it on +to the shoulders of Mr. John Dunn, whose territory adjoins his own, +and who would be, needless to say, nothing loth to avail himself of +the opportunity of increasing his taxable area. Whilst this intrigue +was in progress all Zululand was convulsed with the news of our defeat +by the Boers and the consequent surrender of the Transvaal. It was +commonly rumoured that our forces were utterly destroyed, and that the +Boers were now the dominant Power. Following on the heels of this +intelligence was a rumour to the effect that Cetywayo was coming back. +These two reports, both of which had a foundation of truth, had a very +bad effect on the vulgar mind in Zululand, and resulted in the setting +in motion of a variety of plots, of which the following was the most +important. + +The Umtetwa tribe is among those who are not anxious for the return of +Cetywayo, but see in the present state of affairs an opportunity of +regaining the power they possessed before the days of Chaka. If they +were to have a king over Zululand they determined that it should be an +Umtetwa king, and Somkeli, one of the chiefs appointed by Sir Garnet, +was the man who aimed at the throne. He was not, however, anxious to +put out his hand at first further than he could draw it back, so he +adopted a very ingenious expedient. It will be remembered that the old +Chief Dingiswayo fled to Basutoland, where he is reported to have +married. It occurred to Somkeli that if he could produce a descendant +or a pseudo-descendant of Dingiswayo he would have no difficulty in +beginning operations by dispossessing Umlandela of his territory in +favour of the supposed lawful heir. In fact he wanted a cat to pull +the chestnuts out of the fire for him, who could easily be got rid of +afterwards. Accordingly one Sitimela was produced who is supposed to +be an escaped convict from Natal, who gave out that he was a grandson +of Dingiswayo by a Basuto woman, and a great medicine-man, able to +kill everybody by a glance of his eye. + +To this impostor adherents flocked from all parts of Zululand, and +Umlandela flying for his life into John Dunn's territory, Sitimela +seized upon the chieftainship. The Resident thereupon ordered him to +appear before him, but he, as might be expected, refused to come. As +it was positively necessary to put an end to the plot by some means, +since its further development would have endangered and perhaps +destroyed the weak-knee'd Zulu settlement, Mr. Osborn determined to +proceed to the scene of action. Mahomet would not go to the mountain, +so the mountain had to go to Mahomet. On arrival he pitched his tents +half way between the camps of Sitimela and John Dunn, who had +Umlandela under his charge, and summoned Somkeli, the author of the +plot, to appear before him. Ten days elapsed before the summons was +obeyed. During this time, and indeed until they finally escaped, the +Resident and his companion could not even venture to the spring, which +was close at hand, to wash, for fear of being assassinated. All day +long they could see lines of armed men swarming over the hills round +them, and hear them yelling their war-songs. At length Somkeli +appeared, accompanied by over a thousand armed warriors. He was +ordered to withdraw his forces from Sitimela's army and go home. He +went home, but did not withdraw his forces. The next day Sitimela +himself appeared before the Resident. He was ordered to come with ten +men: he came with two thousand all armed, wild with excitement and +"moutied" (medicined). To make this medicine they had killed and +pounded up a little cripple boy and several of Umlandela's wives. It +afterwards transpired that the only reason Sitimela did not then and +there kill the Resident was that he (Mr. Osborn) had with him several +chiefs who were secretly favourable to Sitimela's cause, and if he had +killed him he would, according to Zulu custom, have had to kill them +too. Mr. Osborn ordered Sitimela to disperse his forces or take the +consequences, and waited a few days for him to do so; but seeing no +signs of his compliance, he then ordered the neighbouring chiefs to +fall on him, and at length withdrew from his encampment,--none too +soon. That very night a party of Sitimela's men came down to kill him, +and finding the tent in which he and his companions had slept +standing, stabbed at its supposed occupants through the canvas. + +Sitimela was defeated by the forces ordered out by the Resident with a +loss of about 500 men. It is, however, worthy of note, and shows how +widespread was the conspiracy, that out of all the thousands promised, +Mr. Osborn was only able to call out two thousand men. + +The appointment, however, that has occasioned the most criticism is +that of John Dunn, who got the Benjamin share of Zululand in +preference to his brother chiefs. The converting of an Englishman into +a Zulu chief is such a very odd proceeding that it is difficult to +know what to think of it. John Dunn is an ambitious man, and most +probably has designs on the throne; he is also a man who understands +the value of money, of which he makes a great deal out of his +chieftainship. At the same time, it is clear that, so far as it goes, +his rule is better than that of the other chiefs; he has a uniform tax +fixed, and has even done something in the way of starting schools and +making roads. From all that I have been able to gather, his popularity +and influence with the Zulus are overrated, though he has lived +amongst them so many years, and taken so many of their women to wife. +His appointment was a hazardous experiment, and in the long run is +likely to prove a mischievous one, since any attempted amendment of +the settlement will be violently resisted by him on the ground of +vested interests. Also, if white men are set over Zulus at all, they +should be /gentlemen/ in the position of government officers, not +successful adventurers. + +Perhaps the only wise thing done in connection with the settlement was +the appointment of Mr. Osborn, C.M.G., as British Resident. It is not +easy to find a man fitted for that difficult and dangerous position, +for the proper filling of which many qualifications are required. +Possessed of an intimate knowledge of the Zulus, their language, and +their mode of thought and life, and being besides a very able and +energetic officer, Mr. Osborn would have saved the settlement from +breaking down if anybody could have saved it. As it is, by the +exercise of ceaseless energy and at great personal risk, he has +preserved it from total collapse. Of the dangers and anxieties to +which he is exposed, the account I have given of the Sitimela incident +is a sufficient example. He is, in fact, nothing but a shadow, for he +has no force at his command to ensure obedience to his decisions, or +to prevent civil war; and in Zululand, oddly enough, force is a +remedy. Should one chief threaten the peace of the country, he can +only deal with him by calling on another chief for aid, a position +that is neither dignified nor right. What is worst of all is that the +Zulus are beginning to discover what a shadow he is, and with this +weakened position he has to pit his single brains against all the +thousand and one plots which are being woven throughout Zululand. The +whole country teems with plots. Mnyamane, the late Prime Minister, and +one of the ablest, and perhaps the most influential man in Zululand, +is plotting for the return of Cetywayo. Bishop Colenso, again, is as +usual working his own wires, and creating agitations to forward his +ends, whatever they may be at the moment. John Dunn, on the other +hand, is plotting to succeed Cetywayo, and so on /ad infinitum/. Such +is the state of affairs with which our unfortunate Resident has to +contend. Invested with large imaginary powers, he has in reality +nothing but his personal influence and his own wits to help him. He +has no white man to assist him, but living alone in a broken-down +tent and some mud huts built by his son's hands (for the Government +have never kept their promise to put him up a house), in the midst of +thousands of restless and scheming savages, amidst plots against the +peace and against his authority, he has to do the best he can to carry +out an impracticable settlement, and to maintain the character of +English justice and the honour of the English name. Were Mr. Osborn to +throw up his post or to be assassinated, the authorities would find it +difficult to keep the whole settlement from collapsing like a card +castle. + +Nobody who understood Zulu character and aspirations could ever have +executed such a settlement as Sir Garnet Wolseley's, unless he did it +in obedience to some motive or instructions that it was not advisable +to publish. It is true that Sir Garnet's experience of the Zulus was +extremely small, and that he put aside the advice of those who did +know them with that contempt with which he is wont to treat colonists +and their opinions. Sir Garnet Wolseley does not like colonial people, +possibly because they have signally failed to appreciate heaven-born +genius in his person, or his slap-dash drumhead sort of way of +settling the fate of countries, and are, indeed, so rude as to openly +say, that, in their opinion, he did more mischief in Africa in a few +months, than it would take an ordinary official a lifetime to +accomplish. + +However this may be, stop his ears as much as he might, Sir Garnet +cannot have been entirely blind to the import of what he was doing, +and the only explanation of his action is that he entered on it more +with the idea of flattering and gratifying English public opinion, +than of doing his best for the Zulus or the white Colonists on their +borders. A great outcry had been raised at home, where, in common with +most South African affairs, the matter was not thoroughly understood, +against the supposed intended annexation of Zululand for the benefit +of "greedy colonists." It was argued that colonists were anxious for +the annexation in order that they might get the land to speculate +with, and doubtless this was, in individual instances, true. I fully +agree with those who think that it would be unwise to throw open +Zululand to the European settler, not on account of the Zulus, who +would benefit by the change, but because the result would be a state +of affairs similar to that in Natal, where there are a few white men +surrounded by an ever-growing mass of Kafirs. But there is a vast +difference between Annexation proper and the Protectorate it was our +duty to establish over the natives. Such an arrangement would have +presented few difficulties, and have brought with it many advantages. +White men could have been forbidden to settle in the country. A small +hut-tax, such as the Zulus would have cheerfully paid, would have +brought in forty or fifty thousand a year, an ample sum to defray the +expenses of the Resident and sub-Residents: the maintenance of an +adequate native force to keep order: and even the execution of +necessary public works. It is impossible to overrate the advantages +that must have resulted both to the Zulus and their white neighbours +from the adoption of this obvious plan, among them being lasting peace +and security to life and property; or to understand the folly and +cruelty that dictated the present arrangement, or rather want of +arrangement. Not for many years has England missed such an opportunity +of doing good, not only at no cost, but with positive advantage to +herself. Did we owe nothing to this people whose kingdom we had broken +up, and whom we had been shooting down by thousands? They may well +ask, as they do continually, what they have done that we should treat +them as we have and are doing? + +It cannot be too clearly understood, that, when the Zulus laid down +their arms they did so, hoping and believing that they would be taken +over by the English Government, which, having been fairly beaten by +it, they now looked on as their head or king, and be ruled like their +brethren in Natal. They expected to have to pay taxes and to have +white magistrates placed over them, and they or the bulk of them +looked forward to the change with pleasure. It must be remembered that +when once they have found their master, there exists no more law- +abiding people in the world than the Zulus, provided they are ruled +firmly, and above all justly. Believing that such a rule would fall to +their lot they surrendered when they did. How great, then, must their +surprise have been when they found, that without their wishes being +consulted in the matter, their own hereditary king was to be sent +away, and thirteen little kings set up in his place, with, strangest +of all, a white man as chief little king, whilst the British +Government contented itself with placing a Resident in the country, to +watch the troubles that must ensue. + +Such a settlement as this could only have one object and one result, +neither of which is at all creditable to the English people. The Zulus +were parcelled out among thirteen chiefs, in order that their strength +might be kept down by internecine war and mutual distrust and +jealousy: and, as though it were intended to render this result more +certain, territories were chucked about in the careless way I have +described, whilst central authority was abolished, and the vacant +throne is dangled before all eyes labelled "the prize of the +strongest." Of course Sir Garnet's paper agreements with the chiefs +were for the most part disregarded from the first. For instance, every +chief has his army and uses it too. In Zululand bloodshed is now a +thing of every-day occurrence, and the whole country is torn by fear, +uncertainly, and consequent want.[*] The settlement is bearing its +legitimate fruit; some thousands of Zulus have already been killed in +direct consequence of it, and more will doubtless follow. And this is +the outcome of all the blood and treasure spent over the Zulu war! +Well, we have settled Zululand on the most approved principles, and +thank Heaven, British influence has not been extended! + +[*] A severe famine is said to be imminent in Zululand. + +To show that I am not singular in my opinion as to the present state +of Zululand, I may be allowed to quote a few short extracts taken at +random, from half-a-dozen numbers of the "Natal Mercury." Talking of +the Zulu settlement terms as dictated by Sir G. Wolseley, the leading +article of the issue 21st November 1881 says:--"It will at once be +apparent that these terms have in several cases been flagrantly +violated, especially as regards clauses of 2, 3, 4, and 6. This last +will assuredly be broken again and yet again, so long as the British +Resident occupies the position of an official mollusc. The chiefs +themselves perceive and admit the evils that must arise out of the +absence of any effective central authority. These evils are so +obvious, they were so generally recognised at the outset as being +inherent in the scheme, that we might almost suppose their occurrence +had been deliberately anticipated as a desired outcome of the +settlement. The morality of such a line of policy would be precisely +on a par with that which is involved in the proposal to reinstate +Cetywayo as a means of dealing with the Boers. The creation of +thirteen kinglets in order that they might destroy each other, is as +humane and high-minded an effort of statesmanship as would be the +restoration of a banished king in order that he might eat up a people +to whom the same power has just given back their independence. To the +simple colonial mind such deep designs of Machiavellian statecraft are +as hateful as they are inhuman and dishonest." + +A correspondent of the "Mercury" in Zululand writes under date of 13th +October:-- + +"I send a line at the last moment to say that things are going from +bad to worse at railway speed. Up to the arrival of Sir Evelyn Wood, +the chiefs did not fully realise that they were really independent at +all. Now they do, and if I mistake not, like a beggar on horseback +will ride to the devil sharp. Oham has begun by killing a large number +of the Amagalusi people. My information is derived from native +sources, and may be somewhat exaggerated. It is that the killed at +Isandhlwana were few compared with those killed by Uhamu a few days +ago. Usibebu also and Undabuka are, I am told, on the point of coming +to blows; and if they do that it will be worse still, for Undabuka +will find supporters throughout the length and breadth of Zululand. +Undabuka, the full brother of the ex-king, is the protege of the +Bishop of Natal. The Bishop, I find, has again sent one of his agents +(Amajuba by name) calling for another deputation. The deputation is +now on its way to Natal, and that, I understand, against the express +refusal of the Resident to allow it." In the issue of 14th November is +published a letter from Mr. Nunn, a gentleman well known in Zululand, +from which, as it is too long to quote in its entirety, I give a few +extracts:--"/Oham's Camp, Oct.15./--The Zulus cannot comprehend the +Transvaal affair, and it has been industriously circulated among them +that the English have been beaten and forced to give back the +Transvaal. They do not understand gracious acts of restoration after +we have been beaten. Four times this year has Umnyamana called his +army together and menaced Oham, who has several times had to have +parties of his followers sleeping around his kraal in the hills +adjacent, so as to give him timely notice to fly. When Oham left his +kraal for the purpose of attending the meeting at Inslasatye, the same +day the whole of the Maquilisini Tribe came on to the hills adjacent +to Oham's kraal, the 'Injamin,' and threatened that district. This has +been the case on two or three former occasions, and simultaneously +Umnyamana's tribe and Undabuka's followers always flew to arms, thus +threatening on all sides. . . . Trading is and has been for months +entirely suspended in this district. The fields are unplanted, no +ploughs or Kafir-picks at work--all are in a state of excitement, not +knowing the moment a collision may take place. Hunger will stare many +in the face next year, and all the men yelling to their chiefs to be +let loose and put an end to this state of uncertainty." + +Mr. Nunn encloses an account by an eye-witness of a battle which took +place on the 2d October 1881 between Oham's army and the Maquilisini +Tribe. The following is an extract:--"On the 2nd there was a heavy +mist, and on moving forward the mounted party found themselves in the +midst of the enemy (the Maquilisini), and on hearing a cry to stab the +horses, they rode through them with no casualty (except one horse +slightly wounded with a bullet). The army, moving in a half circle, +now became generally engaged in a hand-to-hand fight, and our men were +checked and annoyed by a number of the enemy armed with guns, who were +in a stone-kraal and kept up a constant fire. Amatonga, now at the +head of the mounted party, charged and drove the enemy out of the +kraal, from which they three several times charged the enemy on the +flank, assisted by a small infantry party, and cut paths through their +ranks. The fight, which had now lasted nearly an hour, commenced to +flag, and Oham's army making a sudden rush entirely routed the enemy, +and the carnage lasted to the Bevan river, the boundary of the +Transvaal. No women or children were killed, but out of an army of +about 1500 of the enemy but few escaped" (sic) . . . . "The men, as +they were being killed, repeatedly exclaimed, 'We are dying through +Umnyamana and Umlabaku.'" + +In the "Natal Mercury" of the 13th March occurs the following:-- + +"/Zulu Country./--As to the state of the country it is something we +cannot describe; everything is upside down, and the chiefs appointed +by the government are mere nobodies, and have not any power over their +own people. Even the Resident is in a false position, and seems +perfectly powerless to act either way. We had one row, just arriving +at a kraal in time to save it from being eaten up. Witchcraft and +killing, one of the pretences on which the English made war, are of +every-day occurrence, and fifty times worse than they were before the +war. Oham and Tibysio (?) keep their men continually in the field, +consequently those districts are at present in a state of famine." + +Sir Garnet Wolseley executed the Zulu settlement on the 1st September +1879. The above extracts will suffice to show the state of the country +after it has been working for little more than two years. They will +also, I believe, suffice to convince any just and impartial mind that +I do not exaggerate when I say that it is an abomination and a +disgrace to England. The language may be strong, but when one hears of +1500 unfortunates (nearly twice as many as we lost at Isandhlwana) +being slaughtered in a single intertribal broil, it is time to use +strong language. It is not as though this were an unexpected or an +unavoidable development of events, every man who knew the Zulus +predicted the misery that must result from such a settlement, but +those who directed their destinies turned a deaf ear to all warnings. +They did not wish to hear. + +And now we are told that civil war is imminent between the Cetywayo or +anti-settlement party, and what I must, for want of a better name, +call the John Dunn party, or those who have acquired interests under +the settlement, and who for various reasons wish to see Cetywayo's +face no more. If this occurs, and it will occur unless the Government +makes up its mind to do something before long, the slaughter, not only +of men but also of women and children, will be enormous; fugitives +will pour into Natal, followed perhaps by their pursuers, and for +aught we know the war may spread into our own dominions. We are a +philanthropic people, very, when Bulgarians are concerned, or when the +subject is one that piques the morbid curiosity, or is the rage of the +moment, and the subject of addresses from great and eloquent speakers. +But we can sit still, and let such massacres as these take place, when +we have but to hold up our hand to stop them. When occasionally the +veil is lifted a little, and the public hears of "fresh fighting in +Zululand;" a question is asked in the House; Mr. Courtney, as usual, +has no information, but generally discredits the report, and it is put +aside as "probably not true." I am well aware that of the few who read +these words, many will discredit them, or say that they are written +for some object, or for party purposes. But it is not the case; they +are written in the interest of the truth, and in the somewhat faint +hope that they may awaken a portion of the public, however small, to a +knowledge of our responsibilities to the unfortunate Zulus. For try to +get rid of it as we may, those responsibilities rest upon our +shoulders. When we conquered the Zulu nation and sent away the Zulu +king, we undertook, morally at any rate, to provide for the future +good government of the country; otherwise, the Zulu war was unjust +indeed. If we continue to fail, as we have hitherto, to carry out our +responsibilities as a humane and Christian nation ought to do, our +lapse from what is right will certainly recoil upon our own heads, +and, in the stern lessons of future troubles and disasters, we shall +learn that Providence with the nation, as with the individual, makes a +neglected duty its own avenger. We have sown the wind, let us be +careful lest we reap the whirlwind. + +It is very clear that things cannot remain in their present condition. +If they do, it is probable that the Resident will sooner or later be +assassinated; not from any personal motives, but as a political +necessity, and some second Chaka will rise up and found a new Zulu +dynasty, sweeping away our artificial chiefs and divisions like +cobwebs. This idea seems to have penetrated into Lord Kimberley's +official mind, since in his despatch of instructions to Sir H. Bulwer, +written in February last, he says, "Probably if the chiefs are left to +themselves after a period more or less prolonged of war and anarchy, +some man will raise himself to the position of supreme chief." The +prospect of war and anarchy in Zululand does not, however, trouble +Lord Kimberley at all; in fact, the whole despatch is typical to a +degree of the Liberal Colonial policy. Lord Kimberley admits that what +little quiet the country has enjoyed under the settlement, "was due to +a mistaken belief on the part of the Zulus that the British Government +was ruling them, or would rule them through the Resident." He +evidently clearly sees all the evils and bloodshed that are resulting +and that must result from the present state of affairs; indeed he +recapitulates them, and then ends up by even refusing to allow such +slight measures of relief as the appointment of sub-Residents to be +carried out, although begged for by the chiefs, on the ground that it +might extend British influence. Of the interests of the Zulus himself +he is quite careless. The whole despatch can be summed up thus: "If +you can find any method to improve the state of affairs which will not +subject us to the smallest cost, risk, or responsibility, you can +employ it; if not, let them fight it out." Perhaps Lord Kimberley may +live (officially) long enough to find out that meanness and +selfishness do not always pay, and that it is not always desirable, +thus to sacrifice the respect, and crush the legitimate aspirations of +a generous people. + +Unless something is done before long, it is possible that John Dunn +may succeed after a bloody war in securing the throne; but this would +not prove a permanent arrangement, since he is now getting on in life +and has no son to carry on the dynasty. Another possibility, and one +that is not generally known, at any rate in this country, though it is +perhaps the most probable of all, is this. Cetywayo has left a son in +Zululand, who is being carefully educated under the care of Mnyamane, +the late King's Prime Minister. The boy is now about 16 years of age, +and is reported to possess very good abilities, and is the trump card +that Mnyamane will play as soon as the time is ripe. This young man is +the hereditary heir to the Zulu crown, and it is more than probable +that if he is proclaimed king the vast majority of the nation will +rally round him and establish him firmly on his throne. There is +little use in keeping Cetywayo confined whilst his son is at large. +The lad should have been brought to England and educated, so that he +might at some future time have assisted in the civilisation of his +country: as it is, he is growing up in a bad school. + +And now I come to the root of the whole matter, the question whether +or no, under all these circumstances, it is right or desirable to +re-establish Cetywayo on the throne of Zululand. In considering this +question, I think that Cetywayo's individuality ought to be out on one +side, however much we may sympathise with his position, as I confess I +do to some extent myself. After all, Cetywayo is only one man, whereas +the happiness, security, and perhaps the lives of many thousands are +involved in the issue of the question. In coming to any conclusion in +the matter it is necessary to keep in view the intentions of the +Government as regards our future connection with Zululand. If the +Government intends to do its duty and rule Zululand as it ought to be +ruled, by the appointment of proper magistrates, the establishment of +an adequate force, and the imposition of the necessary taxes; then it +would be the height of folly to permit Cetywayo to return, since his +presence would defeat the scheme. It must be remembered that there is +as yet nothing whatsoever to prevent this plan being carried out. It +would be welcomed with joy by the large majority of both Zulus and +Colonists. It would also solve the problem of the increase of the +native population of Natal, which is assuming the most alarming +proportions, since Zululand, being very much underpopulated, it would +be easy, were that country once quietly settled, to draft the majority +of the Natal Zulus back into it. This is undoubtedly the best course, +and indeed the only right course; but it does not at all follow that +it will be taken, since governments are unfortunately more concerned +at the prospect of losing votes than with the genuine interests of +their dependencies. The proper settlement of Zululand would not be +popular amongst a large class in this country, and therefore it is not +likely to be carried out, however right and necessary it may be. + +If nothing is going to be done, then it becomes a question whether or +no Cetywayo should be sent back. + +The large majority of the Natalians consider that his restoration +would be an act of suicidal folly, and their opinion is certainly +entitled to great weight, since they are after all the people +principally concerned. The issue of the experiment would be a matter +of comparative indifference to people living 7000 miles away, but is +naturally regarded with some anxiety by those who have their homes on +the borders of Zululand. It is very well to sympathise with savage +royalty in distress, but it must be borne in mind that there are +others to be considered besides the captive king. Many of the Zulus, +for instance, are by no means anxious to see him again, since they +look forward with just apprehension to the line of action he may take +with those who have not shown sufficient anxiety for his return, or +have in other ways incurred his resentment. One thing is clear, to +send the king back to Zululand is to restore the /status in quo/ as it +was before the war. There can be no half measures about it, no more +worthless paper stipulations; a Zulu king must either be allowed to +rule in his own fashion or not at all. The war would go for nothing, +and would doubtless have to be fought over again with one of +Cetywayo's successors. + +Also it must be remembered that it is one thing to talk of restoring +Cetywayo, and another to carry his restoration into effect. It would +not simply be a question of turning him down on the borders of +Zululand, and letting him find his own way back to his throne, for +such a proceeding would be the signal for the outbreak of civil war. +It is not to be supposed that John Dunn, and those whose interests are +identical with Dunn's, would allow the ex-king to reseat himself on +the throne without a struggle; indeed the former has openly declared +his intention of resisting the attempt by force of arms if necessary. +He is by no means anxious to give up the 15,000 pounds a year his +hut-tax brings in, and all the contingent profits and advantages of +his chieftainship. If we wish to restore Cetywayo we must first depose +Dunn; in fact, we must be ready to support his restoration by force of +arms. + +As regards Cetywayo himself, I cannot share the opinion of those who +think that he would be personally dangerous. He has learnt his lesson, +and would not be anxious to try conclusions with the English again; +indeed, I believe he would prove a staunch ally. But supposing him +re-established on the throne, how long would it be before a +revolution, or the hand of the assassin, to say nothing of the +ordinary chances of nature, put an end to him, and how do we know that +his successor in power would share his views? + +Cetywayo's rule, bad as it was, was perhaps preferable to the reign of +terror that we have established, under the name of a settlement. But +that we can still remedy if we choose to do so, whereas, if we once +restore Cetywayo, all power over the Zulus passes out of our hands. + +We have many interests to consider in South Africa, all of which will +be more or less affected by our action in this matter. On the whole, I +am of opinion that the Government that replaces Cetywayo on the throne +of his fathers will undertake a very grave responsibility, and must be +prepared to deal with many resulting complications, not the least of +which will be the utter exasperation of the white inhabitants of +Natal. + + + + + NATAL AND RESPONSIBLE GOVERNMENT + + Natal--Causes of increase of the native population--Happy + condition of the Natal Zulus--Polygamy--Its results on population + --The impossibility of eradicating it--Relations between a Zulu + and his wives--Connection between polygamy and native law-- + Missionary work amongst the Zulus--Its failure--Reasons of its + failure--Early days of Natal--Growth of the native question-- + Coming struggle between white and black over the land question-- + Difficulty of civilising the Zulu--Natal as a black settlement-- + The constitution of Natal--Request for responsible government--Its + refusal--The request renewed and granted--Terms and reason of Lord + Kimberley's offer--Infatuation of responsible government party in + Natal--Systematic abuse of colonists in England--Colonial + speculators--Grievances against the Imperial Government--Sir Henry + Bulwer--Uncertain future of Natal--Its available force--Exterior + dangers--The defence question shirked by the "party of progress"-- + The confederation question--The difficulty of obtaining desirable + immigrants--The only real key to the Natal native question--Folly + of accepting self-government till it is solved. + +Natal has an area of about 18,000 square miles, and its present +population is, roughly, 25,000 whites and 400,000 natives of the Zulu +race. When, in 1843, it first became a British colony, the number of +natives living within its borders was very small, and they were for +the most part wanderers, fragmentary remnants of the tribes that Chaka +had destroyed. I shall probably be under, rather than over the mark, +if I say, that the Zulu population of the colony has multiplied itself +by ten during the last thirty years. Two causes have combined to bring +about this extraordinary increase; firstly, wholesale immigration from +the surrounding territories; and secondly, the practice of polygamy. + +This immigration has been due to a great want of foresight, or want of +knowledge, on the part of the Home authorities, who have allowed it to +go on without check or hindrance till it has, in conjunction with its +twin evil polygamy, produced the state of affairs it is my object to +describe. Ever since its first establishment as a colony Natal has +been turned into a city of refuge for the native inhabitants of +Zululand, the Transvaal, Swaziland, and elsewhere. If news came to a +Zulu chief that his king purposed to eat him up, he at once fled +across the Tugela with his wives and followers and settled in Natal. +If the Boers or Swazis destroyed a tribe, the remnant found its way to +Natal. + +That country, indeed, is to the South African native a modern Isles of +the Blest. Once across the border line, and, whatever his crime, he is +in a position to defy his worst enemy, and can rest secure in the +protection of the Home and local Governments, and of the enactments +specially passed to protect him and his privileges. The Government +allots him land, or if it does not he squats on private land: bringing +with him his own peculiar and barbarous customs. In all the world I do +not know a race more favoured by circumstances than the Natal Zulus. +They live on the produce of the fields that their wives cultivate, or +rather scratch, doing little or no work, and having no occasion to do +any. They are very rich, and their taxes are a mere trifle, fifteen +shillings per annum for each hut. They bear no share of the curse that +comes to all other men as a birthright; they need not labour. +Protected by a powerful Government, they do not fear attack from +without, or internal disorder. What all men desire, riches and women, +are theirs in abundance, and even their children, the objects of so +much expense and sore perplexity to civilised parents, are to them a +source of wealth. Their needs are few; a straw hut, corn for food, and +the bright sun. They are not even troubled with the thought of a +future life, but, like the animals, live through their healthy, happy +days, and at last, in extreme old age, meet a death which for them has +no terrors, because it simply means extinction. When compared to that +of civilised races, or even of their own brethren in the interior, +their lot is indeed a happy one. + +But the stream of immigration, continuous though it has been, would +not by itself have sufficed to bring up the native population to its +present enormous total, without the assistance of the polygamous +customs of the immigrants. + +I believe that inquirers have ascertained, that, as a general rule, +the practice of polygamy has not the effect of bringing about an +abnormal growth of population. However this may be elsewhere, in +Natal, owing in great measure to the healthy customs of the Zulu +race,[*] the rate of increase is unprecedented. Many writers and other +authorities consider polygamy as an institution, to be at once wicked +and disgusting. As to its morality, it is a point upon which it is +difficult to express any opinion, nor, indeed, does the question enter +into the scope of what I have to say; but it must be remembered that +in the case of the Zulu his whole law and existence is mixed up with +the institution, and that it is necessary to him to repair the gaps +made in his ranks by war. Violent anti-polygamists in this country +always make a strong point of the cruelty it is supposed to involve to +the women, and talk about the "violation of their holiest feelings." +As a matter of fact, sad as it may appear, the Zulu women are much +attached to the custom, nor would they, as a general rule, consent to +marry a man who only purposed taking one wife. There are various +reasons for this: for instance, the first wife is a person of +importance, and takes precedence of all the others, a fact as much +appreciated by the Zulu woman as by the London lady. Again, the more +wives there are, the more wealth it brings into the family, since in +the ordinary course of nature more wives mean more female children, +who, when they come to a marriageable age, mean in their turn at least +ten cows each (the Government price for a wife). The amount thus +obtained is placed to the credit of the estate of the mother of the +girl married, and for this reason all Zulu women are extremely anxious +to have children, especially female children. Finally, the liking of +Zulu women for the custom is bred in them. It has been going on for +countless generations, and it is probable that it will go on for so +long as the race endures. Nations do not change such habits unless the +change is forced on them, with the alternative of extermination. + +[*] As soon as a Zulu woman is discovered to be pregnant, her husband + ceases to cohabit with her, nor does he live with her again until + the child is weaned, eighteen months, and sometimes two years, + after its birth. + +Polygamy will never be eradicated by moral persuasion, because, even +if a native could be brought to think it wrong, which is in itself +impossible, its abolition would affect his interests irredeemably. A +Zulu's wives are also his servants; they plough his land and husband +his grain, in addition to bearing his children. Had he but one wife +most of her time would be taken up with the latter occupation, and +then the mealie-planting and gathering would necessarily fall to the +lot of the husband, a state of affairs he would never consent to. +Again, if monogamy were established, girls would lose their value, and +a great source of wealth would be destroyed. It must, however, be +understood that Zulu girls are not exactly sold; the cows received by +the parents are by a legal fiction supposed to be a gift presented, +not a price paid. Should the wife subsequently run away, they are, I +believe, returnable. + +On these subjects, as is not to be wondered at when so many interests +are concerned, the Zulu law is a little intricate. The cleverest +counsel in the Temple could not give an opinion on such a case as the +following:-- + +A. has four wives and children by Nos. 1 and 3. On his death his +brother, B., a rich man, takes over his wives and property, and has +children by each of the four women. He has also children by other +wives. On his death, in extreme old age, how should the property be +divided amongst the descendants of the various marriages? + +It is clear that if such a case as this is to be dealt with at all it +must be under native law, and this is one of the great dangers of +polygamy. Once rooted in a state it necessitates a double system of +laws, since civilised law is quite unable to cope with the cases daily +arising from its practice. It is sometimes argued that the law +employed is a matter of indifference, provided that substantial +justice is done, according to the ideas of people concerned, and this +is doubtless very true if it is accepted as a fact that the Zulu +population of Natal is always to remain in its present condition of +barbarism. To continue to administer their law is to give it the +sanction of the white man's authority, and every day that it is so +administered makes it more impossible to do away with it. I say "more +impossible" advisedly, because I believe its abrogation is already +impossible. There is no satisfactory way out of the difficulty, +because it has its roots in, and draws its existence from, the +principle of polygamy, which I believe will last while the people +last. + +Some rely on the Missionary to effect this stupendous change, and turn +a polygamous people into monogamists. But it is a well-known fact that +the missionaries produce no more permanent effect on the Zulu mind +than a child does on the granite rock which he chips at with a chisel. +How many real Christians are there in Zululand and Natal, and of that +select and saintly band how many practise monogamy? But very few, and +among those few there is a large proportion of bad characters, men who +have adopted Christianity as a last resource. I mean no disrespect to +the missionaries, many of whom are good men, doing their best under +the most unpromising conditions, though some are simply traders and +political agitators. But the fact remains the same. Christianity makes +no appreciable progress amongst the Zulu natives, whilst, on the other +hand, no one having any experience in the country will, if he can +avoid it, have a so-called Christian Kafir in his house, because the +term is but too frequently synonymous with that of drunkard and thief. +I do not wish it to be understood that it is the fact of his +Christianity that so degrades the Zulu, because I do not think it has +anything to do with it. It is only that the novice, standing on the +threshold of civilisation, as a rule finds the vices of the white man +more congenial than his virtues. + +The Zulus are as difficult to convince of the truths of Christianity +as were the Jews, whom they so much resemble in their customs. They +have a natural disinclination to believe that which they cannot see, +and, being constitutionally very clever and casuistical, are prepared +to argue each individual point with an ability very trying to +missionaries. It was one of these Zulus, known as the Intelligent +Zulu, but in reality no more intelligent than his fellows, whose +shrewd remarks first caused doubts to arise in the mind of Bishop +Colenso, and through him in those of thousands of others. + +Another difficulty in the way of the Missionary is, that he is obliged +to insist on the putting away of surplus wives, and thus to place +himself out of court at the outset. It is quite conceivable that in +the opinion of wild and savage men, it is preferable to let the new +teaching alone, rather than to adopt it at the cost of such a radical +change in their domestic arrangements. As a case in point I may quote +that of Hlubi, the Basutu appointed chief of one of the divisions of +Zululand, by Sir G. Wolseley. Hlubi is at heart a Christian, and a +good man, and anxious to be baptized. The missionaries, however, +refuse to baptize him, because he has two wives. Hlubi therefore +remains a heathen, saying, not unnaturally, that he feels it would be +impossible for him to put away a woman with whom he has lived for so +many years. + +Whilst polygamy endures Christianity will advance with but small +strides. It seems to me that we are beginning at the wrong end. We +must civilise first and Christianise afterwards. As well try to sow +corn among rocks and look to gather a full crop, as expect the words +of Grace and Divine love to bear fruit in the hearts of a people whose +forefathers have for countless generations been men of blood, whose +prized traditions are one long story of slaughter, and who, if they +are now at peace are, as it were, only gathering strength for a surer +spring. First, the soil must be prepared before the seed is sown. + +To do this there is but one way. Abolish native customs and laws, +especially polygamy, and bring our Zulu subjects within the pale of +our own law. Deprive them of their troops of servants in the shape of +wives, and thus force them to betake themselves to honest labour like +the rest of mankind. + +There is only one objection in the way of the realisation of this +scheme, which would, doubtless, bring about, in the course of a +generation, a much better state of things, and gather many thousand +converts into the fold of the Church; and that is, the opportunity +has, so far as Natal is concerned, been missed--the time has gone by +when it could have been carried out. To young countries, as to young +men, there come sometimes opportunities of controlling their future +destinies which, if not seized at the moment, pass away for ever, or +only to return after long and troubled years. Natal has had her +chance, and it has gone away from her, though through no fault of her +own. If, when the colony was first settled, the few natives who then +lived there had been forced to conform to the usages of civilised life +or to quit its borders; if refugees had been refused admission save on +the same terms, it would not occupy the very serious position it does +at the present moment. + +To understand the situation into which Natal has drifted with +reference to its native inhabitants, it is necessary to premise that +that country has hitherto had practically no control over its own +affairs, more especially as regards native legislation. + +In its early days it was a happy, quiet place, a favoured clime, where +the traveller or settler could find good shooting, cheap labour, and +cheap living. No enemy threatened its rest, and the natives were +respectful and peaceful in their behaviour. But it was in those days +that the native difficulty, that Upas tree that now overshadows and +poisons the whole land, took root; for slowly, from all parts, all +through that quiet time, by ones, by tens, by hundreds, refugees were +flowing in, and asking and receiving land to settle on from the +Government. + +It is not, however, to be supposed that the local officials did not +perceive the gathering danger, since it has again and again been +pointed out to different Secretaries of State, and again and again +been ignored by them, or put off for the consideration of their +successors. Hand-to-mouth legislation has always been the +characteristic of our rule in South Africa. On one occasion Sir +Theophilus, then Mr. Shepstone, went so far as to offer to personally +draw off a large portion of the native population, and settle them on +some vacant territory bordering on the Cape Colony, but the suggestion +was not acceded to, for fear lest the execution of the scheme should +excite disturbances amongst the natives of the Cape. Thus year after +year has passed away--plan after plan has been put aside,--and nothing +has been done. + +In the colony a great deal of abuse is poured out on the head of Sir +T. Shepstone, to whom the present native situation is unjustly +attributed by a certain party of politicians. Sir T. Shepstone was for +very many years Secretary for Native Affairs in Natal, but until he +came to England, shortly before the termination of his official +career, he was personally unknown to the Colonial Office, and had no +influence there. It was totally out of his power to control the policy +of the Home Government with reference to the Natal natives; he could +only take things as he found them, and make the best of such materials +as came to his hand. As he could not keep the natives out of the +colony or prevent polygamy, he did what he could towards making them +loyal and contented subjects. How well he succeeded, and with what +consummate tact and knowledge he must have exercised his authority, is +shown by the fact that in all these years there has been but one +native disturbance, namely that of Langalibalele, and by the further +fact that the loyalty of the Natal Zulus stood the strain of the Zulu +war. Also, there never has been, and probably never will be, another +white man so universally beloved and reverenced by the natives +throughout the length and breadth of South Africa. + +But Sir T. Shepstone's influence for good will pass away, as all +purely personal influence must, and meanwhile, what is the situation? +On the one hand, there is a very slowly increasing, scattered, and +mixed population of about 25,000 whites, capable, at the outside, of +putting a force of 4000 men in the field. On the other, there is a +warlike native population, united by the ties of race and common +interests, numbering at the present moment between 400,000 and +500,000, and increasing by leaps and bounds: capable of putting quite +80,000 warriors into the field, and possessing, besides, numerous +strongholds called locations. At present these two rival populations +live side by side in peace and amity, though at heart neither loves +the other. The two races are so totally distinct that it is quite +impossible for them to have much community of feeling; they can never +mingle; their ideas are different, their objects are different, and in +Natal their very law is different. Kafirs respect and like individual +Englishmen, but I doubt whether they are particularly fond of us as a +race, though they much prefer us to any other white men, and are +devoted to our rule, so long as it is necessary to them. The average +white man, on the other hand, detests the Kafir, and looks on him as a +lazy good-for-nothing, who ought to work for him and will not work for +him, whilst he is quite incapable of appreciating his many good +points. It is an odd trait about Zulus that only gentlemen, in the +true sense of the word, can win their regard, or get anything out of +them. + +It is obvious that, sooner or later, these two races must come into +contact, the question being how long the present calm will last. To +this question I will venture to suggest an answer,--I believe the +right one. It will last until the native gets so cramped for room that +he has no place left to settle on, except the white man's lands. The +white man will then try to turn him off, whereupon the native will +fall back on the primary resource of killing him, and possessing +himself of the land by force. This plan, simultaneously carried out on +a large scale, would place the colony at the mercy of its native +inhabitants. + +Nor is the time so very far distant when Englishmen and Zulus will +stand face to face over this land question. In the early days of the +colony, locations were established in the mountainous districts, +because they were comparatively worthless, and the natives were +settled in them by tribes. Of what goes on in these locations very +little is known, except that they are crowded, and that the +inhabitants are as entirely wedded to their savage customs as their +forefathers were before them. As there is no more room in the +locations, many thousands of Kafirs have settled upon private lands, +sometimes with and sometimes without the leave of the owners. But, for +many reasons, this is a state of affairs that cannot go on for ever. +In a few years, the private lands will be filled up, as well as the +locations, and what then? + +Zulus are a people who require a very large quantity of land, since +they possess great numbers of cattle which must have grazing room. +Also their cultivation being of the most primitive order, and +consisting as it does of picking out the very richest patches of land, +and cropping them till they are exhausted, all ordinary land being +rejected as too much trouble to work, the possession, or the right of +usor, of several hundred acres is necessary to the support of a single +family. Nor, if we may judge from precedent, and its well-marked +characteristics, is it to be supposed that this race will at the pinch +suit itself to circumstances, take up less land, and work harder. +Zulus would rather fight to the last than discard a cherished and an +ancient custom. Savages they are, and savages they will remain, and in +the struggle between them and civilisation it is possible that they +may be conquered, but I do not believe that they will be converted. +The Zulu Kafir is incompatible with civilisation. + +It will be seen, from what I have said, that Natal might more properly +be called a Black settlement than an English colony. Looking at it +from the former point of view, it is a very interesting experiment. +For the first time probably since their race came into existence, Zulu +natives have got a chance given them of increasing and multiplying +without being periodically decimated by the accidents of war, whilst +at the same time enjoying the protection of a strong and a just +government. It remains to be seen what use they will make of their +opportunity. That they will avail themselves of it for the purposes of +civilising themselves I do not believe; but it seems to me possible +that they will learn from the white man the advantages of combination, +and aim at developing themselves into a powerful and united black +nation. + +It is in the face of this state of things that Lord Kimberley now +proposes to grant responsible government to the white inhabitants of +Natal, should they be willing to accept it, providing that it is to +carry with it the responsibility of ruling the natives, and further, +of defending the colony from the attacks of its neighbours, whether +white or coloured. + +Natal has hitherto been ruled under a hybrid constitution, which, +whilst allowing the Legislative Assembly of the colony to pass laws, +&c., reserves all real authority to the Crown. There has, however, +been for some years past a growing agitation amongst a proportion of +its inhabitants, instituted with the object of inducing the Home +Government to concede practical independence to the colony, Her +Majesty having on several occasions been petitioned on the subject by +the Legislative Council. On the 13th February 1880, Sir G. Wolseley, +who was at the time Governor of Natal, wrote what I can only call, a +very intemperate despatch to the Secretary of State, commenting on the +prayer for responsible government, which he strongly condemned. He +also took the opportunity to make a series of somewhat vicious attacks +on the colonists in general, whose object in asking for independence +was, he implied, to bring the black man in relations of "appropriate +servitude to his white superior." It would appear, however, from words +used by him towards the end of his despatch, that the real reason of +his violence was, that he feared, that one of the first acts of the +Natal Parliament would be to put an end to his settlement in Zululand, +which was and is the laughing-stock of the colony. He was probably +right in this supposition. The various charges he brings against the +colonists are admirably and conclusively refuted in a minute adopted +by the Legislative Council of Natal, dated 20th December 1880. + +In a despatch, dated 15th March 1881, Lord Kimberley refuses to accede +to the request for the grant of Responsible Government. + +On the 28th of December, the Legislative Council again petitioned the +Crown on the subject, and forward to Lord Kimberley a report of a +Select committee appointed to consider the matter, in which the +following words occur:-- + +"Your committee hold that while the colony may well be held +responsible for its defence from such aggression as may be caused by +the acts or policy of a responsible government, it cannot justly be +saddled with the obligation to meet acts of aggression from bordering +territories that have arisen out of the circumstances or measures over +which such government have had no control; although, as a matter of +fact, the brunt of defence (must be borne?) in the first instance by +the colonists. The Council, therefore, neither exercises, nor desires +to exercise, any control over territories adjacent to or bordering on +the colony; for the preservation of its own internal peace and order +the colony is prepared to provide. The duty of protecting the colony +from external foes, whether by sea or land, devolves on the Empire as +a whole, otherwise to be a section of that Empire constitutes no real +privilege." + +To this report, somewhat to the surprise of the Natalians, Lord +Kimberley returned, in a despatch addressed to Sir H. Bulwer, on the +occasion of his departure to take up the Governorship of Natal, and +dated 2d February 1882, a most favourable reply. In fact, he is so +obliging as to far exceed the wishes of the Natalians, as expressed in +the passage just quoted, and to tell them that Her Majesty's +Government is not only ready to give them responsible government, but +that it will expect them to defend their own frontiers, independently +of any assistance from the Imperial Government. He further informs +them that the Imperial troops will be withdrawn, and that the only +responsibility Her Majesty's Government will retain with reference to +the colony will be that of its defence against aggression by foreign +powers. + +This sudden change of face on the part of the Imperial Government, +which had up till now flatly refused to grant /any measure/ of self- +government to Natal, may at first seem rather odd, but on examination +it will be found to be quite in accordance with the recently developed +South African policy of Mr. Gladstone's Government. There is little +doubt that it is an article of faith among the Liberal party that the +less the mother-country has to do with her colonies, and more +especially her South African colonies, the better. A grand step was +made in the direction of the abandonment of our South African Empire +when we surrendered the Transvaal to the Boers, and it is clear that +if our troops can be withdrawn from Natal and all responsibility for +the safety of that colony put an end to, the triumph of self- +effacement will be still more complete. But there is another and more +immediate reason for Lord Kimberley's generous offer. He knows, no one +better, that the policy pursued in South Africa, both as regards the +Transvaal and Zululand, must produce its legitimate fruit--bloodshed-- +before very long. He, or rather his Government, is consequently +anxious to cut the connection before anything of the sort occurs, when +they will be able to attribute the trouble, whatever it is, to the +ill-advised action of the Colonial Legislature. + +What is still more strange, however, is that the colonists, having +regard to the position they occupy with reference to the Kafirs that +surround them, to whom they bear the same relative proportion that the +oases do in the desert, or the islands of an archipelago to the ocean +that washes their shores, should wish for such a dangerous boon as +that of self-government, if indeed they really do wish it. When I +lived in Natal, I often heard the subject discussed, and watched the +Legislative Council pass its periodical resolutions about it, but I +confess I always looked on the matter as being more or less of a +farce. There exists, however, in Natal a knot of politicians who are +doubtless desirous of the change, partly because they think that it +would be really beneficial, and partly because they are possessed by a +laudable ambition to fill the high positions of Prime Minister, +Treasurer, &c., in the future Parliament. But these gentlemen for the +most part live in towns, where they are comparatively safe should a +native rising occur. I have not noticed the same enthusiasm for +responsible government among those Natalians who live up country in +the neighbourhood of the locations. + +Still there does exist a considerable party who are in favour of the +change, a party that has recently sprung into existence. Many things +have occurred within the last few years to irritate and even +exasperate people in Natal with the Imperial Government, and generally +with the treatment that they have received at our hands. For instance, +colonists are proverbially sensitive, and it is therefore rather hard +that every newspaper correspondent or itinerant bookmaker who comes to +their shores, should at once proceed to print endless letters and +books abusing them without mercy. The fact of the matter is that these +gentlemen come, and put up at the hotels and pot-shops, where they +meet all the loafers and bad characters in the country, whom they take +to be specimens of the best class of colonists, whom they describe +accordingly as the "riddlings of society." Into the quiet, +respectable, and happy homes that really give the tone to the colony +they do not enter. + +It is also a favourite accusation to bring against the people of Natal +that they make the South African wars in order to make money out of +them. For instance, in a leading article of one of the principal +English journals, it was stated not long ago, that the murmurs of the +colonists at being forced to eat the bread of humiliation in the +Transvaal matter, arose from no patriotic feeling, but from sorrow at +the early termination of a war out of which they hoped to suck no +small advantage. This statement is quite untrue. + +No doubt a great deal of money has been made out of the wars by a few +colonial speculators, some of it, maybe, dishonestly; but this is not +an unusual occurrence in a foreign war. Was no money made dishonestly +by English speculators and contractors in the Crimean War? Cannot +Manchester boast manufacturers ready to supply our enemies,--for cash +payments,--with guns to shoot us with, or any other material of war? + +It is not to be supposed that because a few speculators made fortunes +out of the Commissariat that the whole colony participated in the +spoils of the various wars. On the contrary, the marjority of its +inhabitants have suffered very largely. Not only have they run +considerable personal risk, but since, and owing to, the Zulu and Boer +wars the cost of living has almost, if not quite doubled, which, +needless to say, has not been the case with their incomes. It is +therefore particularly cruel that Natal should be gibbeted as the +abode of scoundrels of the worst sort, men prepared to bring about +bloodshed in order to profit by it. Sir Garnet Wolseley, however, +found in this report of colonial dishonesty a convenient point of +vantage from which to attack the colonists generally, and in his +despatch about responsible government we may be sure he did not spare +them. The Legislative Council thus comments on his remarks: "To +colonists a war means the spreading among them of distress, alarm, and +confusion, peril to life and property in outlying districts, the +arrest of progress, and general disorganisation. . . . The Council +regard with pain and indignation the uncalled-for and cruel stigma +thus cast upon the colonists by Sir Garnet Wolseley." + +At first sight these accusations may not appear to have much to do +with the question of whether or no the colonists should accept +responsible government, but in reality they have, inasmuch as they +create a feeling of soreness that inclines the Natalians to get rid of +Imperial interference and the attendant criticism at any price. + +More substantial grievances against the English Government are the +present condition of the native problem, which the colonists justly +attribute to Imperial mismanagement, and that triumph of genius, Sir +Garnet Wolseley's settlement in Zululand. They see these evils, which +they know were preventable, growing more formidable day by day, and +they imagine, or some of them do, that if they had free institutions +it would still be in their power to stop that growth. + +The whole question has now been referred to the colony, which is to +elect a fresh Legislative Assembly on the issue of responsible +government. The struggle between "the party of progress," i.e., the +responsible government section, and the reactionists, or those who are +prepared to dispense with "freedom," provided they can be sure of +safety, is being carried on keenly, and at present it is doubtful +which side will have a majority. I do not, however, believe that the +majority of any Council returned will consent to accept Lord +Kimberley's proposal as it stands; to walk into a parlour in which the +spider is so very obvious, and to deliberately undertake the +guardianship of all the Imperial interests in South-Eastern Africa. If +they do, they will, in my opinion, deserve all they will get.[*] + +[*] Since this chapter was written the Natal constituencies have, as I + thought probable, declared against the acceptance of Lord + Kimberley's offer in its present form, by returning a majority of + anti-responsible Government men. It is, however, probable that the + new Legislative Council will try to re-open negotiations on a + different, or, at any rate, a modified basis. + +The Natalians are fortunate at the present crisis in having, by dint +of vigorous agitation against the appointment of Mr. Sendall, a +gentleman selected by Lord Kimberley to govern them, obtained the +reappointment of their former Governor, Sir Henry Bulwer. Sir Henry, +during his first tenure of office, lost credit with the South African +colonists on account of his lukewarmness with reference to the Zulu +war, but the course of events has gone far towards justifying his +views. He is one of the most hard-working and careful Governors that +Natal has ever had, and, perhaps, the most judicious. Of a temperate +and a cautious mind, he may be more safely trusted to pilot a country +so surrounded with difficulties and dangers as Natal is, than most +men, and it is to be hoped that the application to the questions of +the day, of the strong common sense that he possesses in such an +eminent degree, may have a cooling effect on the hot heads and excited +imaginations of the "party of progress." + +In considering the pros and cons of the responsible government +question, it must be steadily kept in sight that Natal is not likely +to be a country with a peaceful future. To begin with, she has her +native inhabitants to deal with. To-day they number, say 450,000, +fifteen or twenty years hence they will number a million, or perhaps +more. These men are no longer the docile overgrown children they were +twenty years ago. The lessons of our performances in the Zulu and Boer +wars, more especially the latter, have not been lost upon them, and +they are beginning to think that the white man, instead of being the +unconquerable demigod they thought him, is somewhat of a humbug. +Pharaoh, we know, grew afraid of the Israelites; Natal, with a much +weaker power at command than that of Pharaoh, has got to cope with a +still more dangerous element, and one that cannot be induced to depart +into the wilderness. + +And after all what does the power of Natal amount to? Let us be +liberal, and say six thousand men, it is the outside. In the event of +a native rising, or any other serious war, I believe that of this +number, at least two thousand would make themselves scarce. There +exists in all colonies a floating element of individuals who have +drifted there for the purpose of making money, but who have no real +affection for the (temporary) country of their adoption. Their capital +is, as a rule, small and easily realised, and the very last thing that +they would think of doing, would be to engage in a deadly life or +death struggle, on behalf of a land that they only look on as a milch +cow, out of which their object is to draw as much as possible. On the +contrary, they would promptly seek another cow, leaving the old one to +the tender mercies of the butcher. + +Their defection would leave some 4000 men to cope with the difficulty, +whatever it was, of which number at least 1000 would be ineffective +from age and various other causes, whilst of the remainder, quite 1000 +would be obliged to remain where they were to protect women and +children in outlying districts. This would leave a total effective +force of 2000 men, or, deducting 500 for garrison purposes, of 1500 +ready to take the field. But it would take some time to collect, arm, +and equip even this number, and in the meanwhile, in the case of a +sudden and preconcerted native rising, half the inhabitants of the +colony would be murdered in detail. + +But Natalians have got other dangers to fear besides those arising +from the presence of this vast mass of barbarism in their midst. After +a period of anarchy a new king may possess himself of the throne of +Zululand, and it is even possible that he might, under circumstances +that will arise hereafter, lead his armies into Natal, and create a +difficulty with which the 1500 available white men would find it +difficult to cope. Or the Boers of the Orange Free State and Transvaal +may get tired of paying customs dues at Durban, and march 5000 men +down to take possession of the port! Perhaps Natal might provide +herself with an effective force by enrolling an army of 10,000 or +20,000 Kafirs, but it seems to me that the proceeding would be both +uncertain and expensive, and, should the army take it into its head to +mutiny, very dangerous to boot. + +It is a noticeable fact that those who so ardently advocate the +acceptance of Lord Kimberley's offer, in all their speeches, +addresses, and articles, almost entirely shirk this question of +defence, which is, after all, the root of the matter. I have formed my +estimate of the number of men forthcoming in time of danger, on the +supposition that a burgher law was in force in Natal, that is, that +every man remaining in the country should be obliged to take a part in +its defence. But they do not even hint at a burgher law--in fact, they +repudiate the idea, because they know that it would not be tolerated. +The universal service system is not the Natalian's idea of happiness. +They simply avoid the question, calling it the "defence bugbear," and +assume that it will all be arranged in some unforeseen way. + +The only suggestion that I have yet seen as regards the arrangements +for the future defence of the colony should it become independent, is +a somewhat ominous one, namely:--that Natal should enter into a close +alliance, offensive and defensive, with the Transvaal and the Orange +Free State. But, as the advocates of "freedom" would soon find, the +Orange Free State (for even if willing to help them, the Transvaal +will for some years have enough to do with its own affairs) will not +come forward for nothing. There would first have to be a few business +formalities with reference to the customs dues collected in Durban, on +goods passing through to the interior, which yield the bulk of the +Natal revenue: and possibly, some concessions to Boer public opinion +as regards the English mode of dealing with the Natal natives. I +incline to the opinion that in relying on the assistance of the Boers +in time of trouble the inhabitants of Natal would be leaning on a +broken reed. They are more likely to find them in arms against them +than fighting on their side. + +The party of progress also talks much about the prospects of +confederation with the Cape, if once they get responsible government. +Most people, however, will think that the fact of their being +independent, and therefore responsible for their own defence, will +hardly prove an inducement to the Cape to offer to share those +responsibilities. The only confederation possible to Natal as a self- +governing community will be a Boer confederation, to which it may be +admitted--on certain terms. Another cry is that the moment responsible +government is established immigrants will flow into the country, and +thus restore the balance of races. I take the liberty to doubt the +truth of this supposition. The intending emigrant from Europe does +not, it is true, understand the ins and outs of the Natal native +question, but he does now that it is a place where there are wars and +rumours of wars, and where he might possibly be killed, and the result +is that he wisely goes to some other colony, that has equal advantages +to offer and no Kafirs. To suppose that the emigrant would go to Natal +when he came to understand that it was an independent settlement of a +few white men, living in the midst of a mass of warlike Kafirs, when +Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States, are all holding +out their arms to him, is to suppose him a bigger fool than he is. At +the best of times Natal is not likely to attract many desirable +emigrants: under a responsible government I do not believe that it +will attract any. + +It seems to me, that there is only one condition of affairs under +which it would be at all possible for the Natalians to assume the +responsibilities of self-government with any safety, and that is when +the great bulk of the native population has been removed back to +whence it came--Zululand. Causes of a diametrically opposite nature to +those that have been at work among the natives of Natal, have been in +operation amongst their brethren in Zululand. In Natal, peace, +polygamy, plenty and immigration have bred up an enormous native +population. In Zululand, war, private slaughter by the king's order, +and the severe restrictions put upon marriage, have kept down the +increase of the race; also an enormous number of individuals have fled +from the one country into the other. I do not suppose that the +population of Zululand amounts, at the present moment, to much more +than half that of Natal. + +In this state of affairs lies the only real key to the Natal native +difficulty. Let Zululand be converted into a black colony under +English control, and its present inhabitants be established in +suitable locations; then let all the natives of Natal, with the +exception of those who choose to become monogamists and be subject to +civilised law, be moved into Zululand, and also established in +locations. There would be plenty of room for them all. Of course there +would be difficulties in the way of the realisation of this scheme, +but I do not think that they would prove insuperable. It is probable, +however, that it would require a show of force before the Natal +natives would consent to budge. Indeed, it is absurd to suppose, that +anything would induce them to leave peaceful Natal, and plunge into +the seething cauldron of bloodshed, extortion, and political plots +that we have cooked up in Zululand under the name of a settlement. +Proper provisions must first be made for the government of the +country, and security to life and property made certain. Till this is +done, no natives in their senses will return to Zululand. + +Till this is done, too, or till some other plan is discovered by means +of which the native difficulty can be effectively dealt with, the +Natalians will indeed be foolish if they discard the protection of +England, and accept the fatal boon of self-government. If they do, +their future career may be brilliant; but I believe that it will be +brief. + +It is no answer to urge that at present the natives seem quite quiet, +and that there is no indication of disturbance. + +History tells us that before the destruction of doomed Pompeii, +Vesuvius was very still; only day by day the dark cloud hanging over +the mountain's summit grew denser and blacker. We know what happened +to Pompeii. + +I do not wish to suggest anything unpleasant, far from it; but +sometimes, I cannot help thinking, that it is perhaps a matter worth +the consideration of the Natalians, whether it might not be as well, +instead of talking about responsible government: to improve upon the +example of the inhabitants of Pompeii, and take to their ships +/before/ the volcano begins to work. + +It seems to me that there is an ugly cloud gathering on the political +horizon in Natal. + + + + + THE TRANSVAAL + + + + CHAPTER I + + ITS INHABITANTS, LAWS, AND CUSTOMS + + Invasion by Mosilikatze--Arrival of the emigrant Boers-- + Establishment of the South African republic--The Sand River + convention--Growth of the territory of the republic--The native + tribes surrounding it--Capabilities of the country--Its climate-- + Its inhabitants--The Boers--Their peculiarities and mode of life-- + Their abhorrence of settled government and payment of taxes--The + Dutch patriotic party--Form of government previous to the + annexation--Courts of law--The commando system--Revenue + arrangements--Native races in the Transvaal. + +The Transvaal is a country without a history. Its very existence was +hardly known of until about fifty years ago. Of its past we know +nothing. The generations who peopled its great plains have passed +utterly out of the memory and even the traditions of man, leaving no +monument to mark that they have existed, not even a tomb. + +During the reign of Chaka, 1813-1828, whose history has been sketched +in a previous chapter, one of his most famous generals, Mosilikatze, +surnamed the Lion, seceded from him with a large number of his +soldiers, and striking up in a north-westerly direction, settled in or +about what is now the Morico district of the Transvaal. The country +through which Mosilikatze passed was at that time thickly populated +with natives of the Basutu or Macatee race, whom the Zulus look upon +with great contempt. Mosilikatze expressed the feelings of his tribe +in a practical manner, by massacring every living soul of them that +came within his reach. That the numbers slaughtered were very great, +the numerous ruins of Basutu kraals all over the country testify. + +It was Chaka's intention to follow up Mosilikatze and destroy him, but +he was himself assassinated before he could do so. Dingaan, his +successor, however, carried out his brother's design, and despatched a +large force to punish him. This army, after marching over 300 miles, +burst upon Mosilikatze, drove him back with slaughter, and returned +home triumphant. The invasion is important, because the Zulus claim +the greater part of the Transvaal territory by virtue of it. + +About the time that Mosilikatze was conquered, 1835-1840, the +discontented Boers were leaving the Cape Colony exasperated at the +emancipation of the slaves by the Imperial authorities. First they +made their way to Natal, but being followed thither by the English +flag they travelled further inland over the Vaal River and founded the +town of Mooi River Dorp or Potchefstroom. Here they were joined by +other malcontents from the Orange Sovereignty, which, although +afterwards abandoned, was at that time a British possession. Acting +upon + + + The good old rule, the simple plan + Of let him take who has the power, + And let him keep who can, + + +the Boers now proceeded to possess themselves of as much territory as +they wanted. Nor was this a difficult task. The country was, as I have +said, peopled by Macatees, who are a poor-spirited race as compared to +the Zulus, and had had what little courage they possessed crushed out +of them by the rough handling they had received at the hands of +Mosilikatze and Dingaan. The Boers, they argued, could not treat them +worse than the Zulus had done. Occasionally a Chief, bolder than the +rest, would hold out, and then such an example was made of him and his +people that few cared to follow in his footsteps. + +As soon as the Boers were fairly settled in their new home, they began +to think about setting up a Government. First they tried a system of +Commandants, with a Commandant-general, but this does not seem to have +answered. Next, those of their number who lived in Lydenburg district +(where the gold fields now are) set up a Republic, with a President +and Volksraad, or popular assembly. This example was followed by the +other white inhabitants of the country, who formed another Republic +and elected another President, with Pretoria for their capital. The +two republics were subsequently incorporated. + +In 1852 the Imperial authorities, having regard to the expense of +maintaining an effective government over an unwilling people in an +undeveloped and half-conquered country, concluded a convention with +the emigrant Boers "beyond the Vaal River." The following were the +principal stipulations of this convention, drawn up between Major Hogg +and Mr. Owen, Her Majesty's Assistant-Commissioners for the settling +and adjusting of the affairs of the eastern and north-eastern +boundaries of the Colony of the Cape of Good Hope on the one part, and +a deputation representative of the emigrant farmers north of the Vaal +River on the other. It was guaranteed "in the fullest manner on the +part of the British Government to the emigrant farmers beyond the Vaal +River the right to manage their own affairs, and to govern themselves +according to their own laws, without any interference on the part of +the British Government, and that no encroachment shall be made by the +said Government on the territory beyond to the north of the Vaal +River, with the further assurance that the warmest wish of the British +Government is to promote peace, free trade, and friendly intercourse +with the emigrant farmers now inhabiting, or who hereafter may inhabit +that country, it being understood that this system of non-interference +is binding on both parties." + +Next were disclaimed, on behalf of the British Government, "all +alliances whatever and with whomsoever of the coloured nations to the +north of the Vaal River." + +It was also agreed "that no slavery is or shall be permitted or +practised in the country to the north of the Vaal River by the +emigrant farmers." + +It was further agreed "that no objection shall be made by any British +authority against the emigrant Boers purchasing their supplies of +ammunition in any of the British colonies and possessions of South +Africa; it being mutually understood that all trade in ammunition with +the native tribes is prohibited both by the British Government and the +emigrant farmers on both sides of the Vaal River." + +These were the terms of this famous convention, which is as slipshod +in its diction as it is vague in its meaning. What, for instance, is +meant by the territory to the north of the Vaal River? According to +the letter of the agreement, Messrs. Hogg and Owen ceded all the +territory between the Vaal and Egypt. This historical document was the +Charta of the new-born South African Republic. Under its provisions, +the Boers, now safe from interference on the part of the British, +established their own Government and promulgated their "Grond Wet," or +Constitution. + +The history of the Republic between 1852 and 1876 is not very +interesting, and is besides too wearisome to enter into here. It +consists of an oft-told tale of civil broils, attacks on native +tribes, and encroachment on native territories. Until shortly before +the Annexation, every burgher was, on coming of age, entitled to +receive from the Government 6000 acres of land. As these rights were +in the early days of the Republic frequently sold to speculators for +such trifles as a bottle of brandy or half a dozen of beer, and as the +seller still required his 6000 acres: for a Boer considers it beneath +his dignity to settle on less, it is obvious that it required a very +large country to satisfy all demands. To meet these demands, the +territories of the Republic had to be stretched like an elastic band, +and they were stretched accordingly,--at the expense of the natives. +The stretching process was an ingenious one, and is very well +described in a minute written by Mr. Osborn, the late Magistrate at +Newcastle, dated 22d September, 1876, in these words:-- + +"The Boers, as they have done in other cases and are still doing, +encroached by degrees on native territory, commencing by obtaining +permission to graze stock upon portions of it at certain seasons of +the year, followed by individual graziers obtaining from native +headmen a sort of right or license to squat upon certain defined +portions, ostensibly in order to keep other Boer squatters away from +the same land. These licenses, temporarily intended as friendly or +neighbourly acts by unauthorised headmen, after a few seasons of +occupation by the Boer, are construed by him as title, and his +permanent occupation ensues. Damage for trespass is levied by him from +the very man from whom he obtained the right to squat, to which the +natives submit out of fear of the matter reaching the ears of the +paramount chief, who would in all probability severely punish them for +opening the door to encroachment by the Boer. After a while, however, +the matter comes to a crisis in consequence of the incessant disputes +between the Boers and the natives; one or other of the disputants lays +the case before the paramount chief, who, when hearing both parties, +is literally frightened with violence and threats by the Boer into +granting him the land. Upon this the usual plan followed by the Boer +is at once to collect a few neighbouring Boers, including a field +cornet, or even an acting provisional field cornet, appointed by the +field cornet or provisional cornet, the latter to represent the +Government, although without instructions authorising him to act in +the matter. A few cattle are collected among themselves, which the +party takes to the chief, and his signature is obtained to a written +document alienating to the Republican Boers a large slice of all his +territory. The contents of this document are, as far as I can make +out, never clearly or intelligibly explained to the chief who signs +and accepts of the cattle under the impression that it is all in +settlement of hire for the grazing licenses granted by his headmen. +This, I have no hesitation in saying, is the usual method by which the +Boers obtain what they call cessions to them of territories by native +chiefs. In Secocoeni's case they allege that his father Sequati cedes +to them the whole of his territory (hundreds of square miles) for a +hundred head of cattle." + +So rapidly did this progress go on that the little Republic to the +"North of the Vaal River," had at the time of the Annexation grown +into a country of the size of France. Its boundaries had only been +clearly defined where they abutted on neighbouring White Communities, +or on the territories of great native powers, on which the Government +had not dared to infringe to any marked degree, such as those of Lo +Bengula's people in the north. But wheresoever on the State's borders +there had been no white Power to limit its advances, or where the +native tribes had found themselves too isolated or too weak to resist +aggressions, there the Republic had by degrees encroached and extended +the shadow, if not the substance, of its authority. + +The Transvaal has a boundary line of over 1,600 miles in +circumference, and of this a large portion is disputed by different +native tribes. Speaking generally, the territory lies between the 22 +and 28 degrees of South Latitude and the 25 and 32 degrees of East +Longitude, or between the Orange Free State, Natal and Griqualand West +on the south, and the Limpopo River on the north; and between the +Lebombo mountains on the east, and the Kalihari desert on the west. On +the north of its territory live three great tribes, the Makalaka, the +Matabele (descendants of the Zulus who deserted Chaka under +Mosilikatze) and the Matyana. These tribes are all warlike. On the +west, following the line down to the Diamond Field territory, are the +Sicheli, the Bangoaketsi, the Baralong and the Koranna tribes. Passing +round by Griqualand West, the Free State, and Natal, we reach Zululand +on the south-east corner; then come the Lebombo mountains on the east, +separating the Transvaal from Amatonga land, and from the so-called +Portuguese possessions, which are entirely in the hands of native +tribes, most of them subject to the great Zulu chief, Umzeila, who has +his stronghold in the north-east. + +It will be observed that the country is almost surrounded by native +tribes. Besides these there are about one million native inhabitants +living within its borders. In one district alone, Zoutpansberg, it is +computed that there are 364,250 natives, as compared to about 750 +whites. + +If a beautiful and fertile country were alone necessary to make a +state and its inhabitants happy and prosperous, happiness and +prosperity would rain upon the Transvaal and the Dutch Boers. The +capabilities of this favoured land are vast and various. Within its +borders are to be found highlands and lowlands, vast stretches of +rolling veldt like gigantic sheep downs, hundreds of miles of swelling +bushland, huge tracts of mountainous country, and even little glades +spotted with timber that remind one of an English park. There is every +possible variety of soil and scenery. Some districts will grow all +tropical produce, whilst others are well suited for breeding sheep, +cattle and horses. Most of the districts will produce wheat and all +other cereals in greater perfection and abundance than any of the +other South African colonies. Two crops of cereals may be obtained +from the soil every year, and both the vine and tobacco are cultivated +with great success. Coffee, sugar-cane and cotton have been grown with +profit in the northern parts of the State. Also the undeveloped +mineral wealth of the country is very great. Its known minerals are +gold, copper, lead, cobalt, iron, coal, tin and plumbago: copper and +iron having long been worked by the natives. Altogether there is +little doubt that the Transvaal is the richest of all the South +African states, and had it remained under English rule it would, with +the aid of English enterprise and capital, have become a very wealthy +and prosperous country. However there is little chance of that now. + +Perhaps the greatest charm of the Transvaal lies in its climate, which +is among the best in the world, and in all the southern districts very +healthy. During the winter months, that is from April to October, +little or no rain falls, and the climate is cold and bracing. In +summer it is rather warm, but not overpoweringly hot, the thermometer +at Pretoria averaging from 65 to 73 degrees, and in the winter from 59 +to 56 degrees. The population of the Transvaal is estimated at about +40,000 whites, mostly of Dutch origin, consisting of about thirty vast +families: and one million natives. There are several towns, the +largest of which are Pretoria and Potchefstroom. + +Such is the country that we annexed in 1877, and were drummed out of +in 1881. Now let us turn to its inhabitants. It has been the fashion +to talk of the Transvaal as though nobody but Boers lived in it. In +reality the inhabitants were divided into three classes: 1. Natives; +2. Boers; 3. English. I say were divided, because the English class +can now hardly be said to exist, the country having been made too hot +to hold it, since the war. The natives stand in the proportion of +nearly twenty to one to the whites. The Boers were in their turn much +more numerous than the English, but the latter owned nearly all the +trading establishments in the country, and also a very large amount of +property. + +The Transvaal Boers have been very much praised up by members of the +Government in England, and others who are anxious to advance their +interests, as against English interests. Mr. Gladstone, indeed, can +hardly find words strong enough to express his admiration of their +leaders, those "able men," since they inflicted a national humiliation +on us; and doubtless they are a people with many good points. That +they are not devoid of sagacity can be seen by the way they have dealt +with the English Government. + +The Boers are certainly a peculiar people, though they can hardly be +said to be "zealous of good works." They are very religious, but their +religion takes it colour from the darkest portions of the Old +Testament; lessons of mercy and gentleness are not at all to their +liking, and they seldom care to read the Gospels. What they delight in +are the stories of wholesale butchery by the Israelites of old; and in +their own position they find a reproduction of that of the first +settlers in the Holy Land. Like them they think they are entrusted by +the Almighty with the task of exterminating the heathen native tribes +around them, and are always ready with a scriptural precedent for +slaughter and robbery. The name of the Divinity is continually on +their lips, sometimes in connection with very doubtful statements. +They are divided into three sects, none of which care much for the +other two. These are the Doppers, who number about half the +population, the Orthodox Reform, and the Liberal Reform, which is the +least numerous. Of these three sects, the Doppers are by far the most +uncompromising and difficult to deal with. They much resemble the +puritans of Charles the First's time, of the extreme Hew-Agag-in- +pieces stamp. + +It is difficult to agree with those who call the Boers cowards, an +accusation which the whole of their history belies. A Boer does not +like fighting if he can avoid it, because he sets a high value on his +own life; but if he is cornered, he will fight as well as anybody +else. The Boers fought well enough, in the late war, though that, it +is true, is no great criterion of courage, since they were throughout +flushed with victory, and, owing to the poor shooting of the British +troop, in but little personal danger. One very unpleasant +characteristic they have, and that is an absence of regard for the +truth, especially where land is concerned. Indeed the national +characteristic is crystallised into a proverb, "I am no slave to my +word." It has several times happened to me, to see one set of highly +respectable witnesses in a land case, go into the box and swear +distinctly that they saw a beacon placed on a certain spot, whilst an +equal number on the other side will swear that they saw it placed a +mile away. Filled as they are with a land hunger, to which that of the +Irish peasant is a weak and colourless sentiment, there is little that +they will not do to gratify their taste. It is the subject of constant +litigation amongst them, and it is by no means uncommon for a Boer to +spend several thousand pounds in lawsuits over a piece of land not +worth as many hundreds. + +Personally Boers are fine men, but as a rule ugly. Their women-folk +are good-looking in early life, but get very stout as they grow older. +They, in common with most of their sex, understand how to use their +tongues; indeed, it is said, that it was the women who caused the +rising against the English Government. None of the refinements of +civilisation enter into the life of an ordinary Boer. He lives in a +way that would shock an English labourer at twenty-five shillings the +week, although he is very probably worthy fifteen or twenty thousand +pounds. His home is but too frequently squalid and filthy to an +extraordinary degree. He himself has no education, and does not care +that his children should receive any. He lives by himself in the +middle of a great plot of land, his nearest neighbour being perhaps +ten or twelve miles away, caring but little for the news of the +outside world, and nothing for its opinions, doing very little work, +but growing daily richer through the increase of his flocks and herds. +His expenses are almost nothing, and as he gets older, wealth +increases upon him. The events in his life consist of an occasional +trip on "commando," against some native tribe, attending a few +political meetings, and the journeys he makes with his family to the +nearest town, some four times a year, in order to be present at +"Nachtmaal" or communion. Foreigners, especially Englishmen, he +detests, but he is kindly and hospitable to his own people. Living +isolated as he does, the lord of a little kingdom, he naturally comes +to have a great idea of himself, and a corresponding contempt for all +the rest of mankind. Laws and taxes are things distasteful to him, and +he looks upon it as an impertinence that any court should venture to +call him to account for his doings. He is rich and prosperous, and the +cares of poverty, and all the other troubles that fall to the lot of +civilised men, do not affect him. He has no romance in him, nor any of +the higher feelings and aspirations that are found in almost every +other race; in short, unlike the Zulu he despises, there is little of +the gentleman in his composition, though he is at times capable of +acts of kindness and even generosity. His happiness is to live alone +in the great wilderness, with his children, his men-servants and his +maid-servants, his flocks and his herds, the monarch of all he +surveys. If civilisation presses him too closely, his remedy is a +simple one. He sells his farm, packs up his goods and cash in his +waggon, and starts for regions more congenially wild. Such are some of +the leading characteristics of that remarkable product of South +Africa, the Transvaal Boer, who resembles no other white man in the +world. + +Perhaps, however, the most striking of all his oddities is his +abhorrence of all government, more especially if that government be +carried out according to English principles. The Boers have always +been more or less in rebellion; they rebelled against the rule of the +Company when the Cape belonged to Holland, they rebelled against the +English Government in the Cape, they were always in a state of semi- +rebellion against their own government in the Transvaal, and now they +have for the second time, with the most complete success, rebelled +against the English Government. The fact of the matter is that the +bulk of their number hate all Governments, because Governments enforce +law and order, and they hate the English Government worst of all, +because it enforces law and order most of all. It is not liberty they +long for, but license. The "sturdy independence" of the Boer resolves +itself into a determination not to have his affairs interfered with by +any superior power whatsoever, and not to pay taxes if he can possibly +avoid it. But he has also a specific cause of complaint against the +English Government, which would alone cause him to do his utmost to +get rid of it, and that is its mode of dealing with natives, which is +radically opposite to his own. This is the secret of Boer patriotism. +To understand it, it must be remembered that the Englishman and the +Boer look at natives from a different point of view. The Englishman, +though he may not be very fond of him, at any rate regards the Kafir +as a fellow human being with feelings like his own. The average Boer +does not. He looks upon the "black creature" as having been delivered +into his hand by the "Lord" for his own purposes, that is, to shoot +and enslave. He must not be blamed too harshly for this, for, besides +being naturally of a somewhat hard disposition, hatred of the native +is hereditary, and is partly induced by the history of many a bloody +struggle. Also the native hates the Boer fully as much as the Boer +hates the native, though with better reason. Now native labour is a +necessity to the Boer, because he will not as a rule do hard manual +labour himself, and there must be some one to plant and garner the +crops, and herd the cattle. On the other hand, the natives are not +anxious to serve the Boers, which means little or no pay and plenty of +thick stick, and sometimes worse. The result of this state of affairs +is that the Boer often has to rely on forced labour to a very great +extent. But this is a thing that an English Government will not +tolerate, and the consequence is that under its rule he cannot get the +labour that is necessary to him. + +Then there is the tax question. If he lives under the English flag the +money has to be paid regularly, but under his own Government he pays +or not as he likes. It was this habit of his of refusing payment of +taxes that brought the Republic into difficulties in 1877, and that +will ere long bring it into trouble again. He cannot understand that +cash is necessary to carry on a Government, and looks upon a tax as +though it were so much money stolen from him. These things are the +real springs of the "sturdy independence" and the patriotism of the +ordinary Transvaal farmer. Doubtless, there are some who are really +patriotic; for instance, one of their leaders, Paul Kruger. But with +the majority, patriotism is only another word for unbounded license +and forced labour. + +These remarks must not be taken to apply to the Cape Boers, who are a +superior class of men, since they, living under a settled and +civilised Government, have been steadily improving, whilst their +cousins, living every man for his own hand, have been deteriorating. +The old Voortrekkers, the fathers and grandfathers of the Transvaal +Boer of to-day, were, without doubt, a very fine set of men, and +occasionally you may in the Transvaal meet individuals of the same +stamp whom it is a pleasure to know. But these are generally men of a +certain age with some experience of the world; the younger men are +very objectionable in their manners. + +The real Dutch Patriotic party is not to be found in the Transvaal, +but in the Cape Colony. Their object, which, as affairs now are, is +well within the bounds of possibility, is by fair means or foul to +swamp the English element in South Africa, and to establish a great +Dutch Republic. It was this party, which consists of clever and well +educated men, who raised the outcry against the Transvaal Annexation, +because it meant an enormous extension of English influence, and who +had the wit, by means of their emissaries and newspapers, to work upon +the feeling of the ignorant Transvaal farmers until they persuaded +them to rebel; and finally, to avail themselves of the yearnings of +English radicalism for the disruption of the Empire and the +minimisation of British authority, to get the Annexation cancelled. +All through this business the Boers have more or less danced in +obedience to strings pulled at Cape Town, and it is now said that one +of the chief wire-pullers, Mr. Hofmeyer, is to be asked to become +President of the Republic. These men are the real patriots of South +Africa, and very clever ones too, not the Transvaal Boers, who vapour +about their blood and their country and the accursed Englishman to +order, and are in reality influenced by very small motives, such as +the desire to avoid payment of taxes, or to hunt away a neighbouring +Englishman, whose civilisation and refinement are as offensive as his +farm is desirable. Such are the Dutch inhabitants of the Transvaal. I +will now give a short sketch of their institutions as they were before +the Annexation, and to which the community has reverted since its +recision, with, I believe, but few alterations. + +The form of government is republican, and to all intents and purposes, +manhood suffrage prevails, supreme power resting in the people. The +executive power of the State centres in a President elected by the +people to hold office for a term of five years, every voter having a +voice in his election. He is assisted in the execution of his duties +by an Executive Council, consisting of the State Secretary and such +other three members as are selected for that purpose by the +legislative body, the Volksraad. The State Secretary holds office for +four years, and is elected by the Volksraad. The members of the +Executive all have seats in the Volksraad, but have no votes. The +Volksraad is the legislative body of the State, and consists of forty- +two members. The country is divided into twelve electoral districts, +each of which has the right to return three members; the Gold Fields +have also the right of electing two members, and the four principal +towns, one member each. There is no power in the State competent to +either prorogue or dissolve the Volksraad except that body itself, so +that an appeal to the country on a given subject or policy is +impossible without its concurrence. Members are elected for four +years, but half retire by rotation every two years, the vacancies +being filled by re-elections. Members must have been voters for three +years, and be not less than thirty years of age, must belong to a +Protestant Church, be resident in the country, and owners of immovable +property therein. A father and son cannot sit in the same Raad, +neither can seats be occupied by coloured persons, bastards, or +officials. + +For each electoral district there is a magistrate or Landdrost whose +duties are similar to those of a Civil Commissioner. These districts +are again subdivided into wards presided over by field cornets, who +exercise judicial powers in minor matters, and in times of war have +considerable authority. The Roman Dutch law is the common law of the +country, as it is of the colonies of the Cape of Good Hope and Natal, +and of the Orange Free State. + +Prior to the Annexation justice was administered in a very primitive +fashion. First, there was the Landdrosts' Court, from which an appeal +lay to a court consisting of the Landdrost and six councillors elected +by the public. This was a court of first instance as well as a court +of appeal. Then there was a Supreme Court, consisting of three +Landdrosts from three different districts, and a jury of twelve +selected from the burghers of the State. There was no appeal from this +court, but cases have sometimes been brought under the consideration +of the Volksraad as the supreme power. It is easy to imagine what the +administration of justice was like when the presidents of all the law +courts in the country were elected by the mob, not on account of their +knowledge of the law, but because they were popular. Suitors before +the old Transvaal courts found the law surprisingly uncertain. A High +Court of Justice was, however, established after the Annexation, and +has been continued by the Volksraad, but an agitation is being got up +against it, and it will possibly be abolished in favour of the old +system. + +In such a community as that of the Transvaal Boers, the question of +public defence was evidently of the first importance. This is provided +for under what is known as the Commando system. The President, with +the concurrence of the Executive Council, has the right of declaring +war, and of calling up a Commando, in which the burghers are placed +under the field cornets and commandants. These last are chosen by the +field cornets for each district, and a Commandant-general is chosen by +the whole laager or force, but the President is the Commander-in-Chief +of the army. All the inhabitants of the state between sixteen and +sixty, with a few exceptions, are liable for service. Young men under +eighteen, and men over fifty, are only called out under circumstances +of emergency. Members of the Volksraad, officials, clergymen, and +school-teachers are exempt from personal service, unless martial law +is proclaimed, but must contribute an amount not exceeding 15 pounds +towards the expense of the war. All legal proceedings in civil cases +are suspended against persons on commando, no summonses can be made +out, and as soon as martial law is proclaimed no legal execution can +be prosecuted, the pounds are closed, and transfer dues payments are +suspended, until after thirty days from the recall of the proclamation +of martial law. Owners of land residing beyond the borders of the +Republic are also liable, in addition to the ordinary war tax, to +place a fit and proper substitute at the disposal of the Government, +or otherwise to pay a fine of 15 pounds. The first levy of the +burghers is, of men from eighteen to thirty-four years of age; the +second, thirty-four to fifty; and the third, from sixteen to eighteen, +and from fifty to sixty years. Every man is bound to provide himself +with clothing, a gun, and ammunition, and there must be enough waggons +and oxen found between them to suffice for their joint use. Of the +booty taken, one quarter goes to Government and the rest to the +burghers. The most disagreeable part of the commandeering system is, +however, yet to come; personal service is not all that the resident in +the Transvaal Republic has to endure. The right is vested in field +cornets to commandeer articles as well as individuals, and to call +upon inhabitants to furnish requisites for the commando. As may be +imagined, it goes very hard on these occasions with the property of +any individual whom the field cornet may not happen to like. + +Each ward is expected to turn out its contingent ready and equipped +for war, and this can only be done by seizing goods right and left. +One unfortunate will have to find a waggon, another to deliver his +favourite span of trek oxen, another his riding-horse, or some +slaughter cattle, and so on. Even when the officer making the levy is +desirous of doing his duty as fairly as he can, it is obvious that +very great hardships must be inflicted under such a system. +Requisitions are made more with regard to what is wanted, than with a +view to an equitable distribution of demands; and like the Jews in the +time of the Crusades, he who has got most must pay most, or take the +consequences, which may be unpleasant. Articles which are not +perishable, such as waggons, are supposed to be returned, but if they +come back at all they are generally worthless. + +In case of war, the native tribes living within the borders of the +State are also expected to furnish contingents, and it is on them that +most of the hard work of the campaign generally falls. They are put in +the front of the battle, and have to do the hand-to-hand fighting, +which, however, if of the Zulu race, they do not object to. + +The revenue of the State is so arranged that the burden of it should +fall as much as possible on the trading community and as little as +possible on the farmer. It is chiefly derived from licenses on trades, +professions, and callings, 30s. per annum quit-rent on farms, transfer +dues and stamps, auction dues, court fees, and contributions from such +native tribes as can be made to pay them. Since we have given up the +country, the Volksraad has put a very heavy tax on all imported goods, +hoping thereby to beguile the Boers into paying taxes without knowing +it, and at the same time strike a blow at the trading community, which +is English in its proclivities. The result has been to paralyse what +little trade there was left in the country, and to cause great +dissatisfaction amongst the farmers, who cannot understand why, now +that the English are gone, they should have to pay twice as much for +their sugar and coffee as they have been accustomed to do. + + +I will conclude this chapter with a few words about the natives, who +swarm in and around the Transvaal. They can be roughly divided into +two great races, the Amazulu and their offshoots, and the Macatee or +Basutu tribes. All those of Zulu blood, including the Swazies, +Mapock's Kafirs, the Matabele, the Knobnodes, and others are very +warlike in disposition, and men of fine physique. The Basutus (who +must not be confounded with the Cape Basutus), however, differ from +these tribes in every respect, including their language, which is +called Sisutu, the only mutual feeling between the two races being +their common detestation of the Boers. They do not love war; in fact, +they are timid and cowardly by nature, and only fight when they are +obliged to. Unlike the Zulus, they are much addicted to the arts of +peace, show considerable capacities for civilisation, and are even +willing to become Christians. There would have been a far better field +for the Missionary in the Transvaal than in Zululand and Natal. +Indeed, the most successful mission station I have seen in Africa is +near Middelburg, under the control of Mr. Merensky. In person the +Basutus are thin and weakly when compared to the stalwart Zulu, and it +is their consciousness of inferiority both to the white men, and their +black brethren, that, together with their natural timidity, makes them +submit as easily as they do to the yoke of the Boer. + + + + CHAPTER II + + EVENTS PRECEDING THE ANNEXATION + + Mr. Burgers elected president--His character and aspirations--His + pension from the English Government--His visit to England--The + railway loan--Relations of the republic with native tribes--The + pass laws--Its quarrel with Cetywayo--Confiscation of native + territory by the Keate award--Treaty with the Swazi king--The + Secocoeni war--Capture of Johannes' stronghold by the Swazi allies + --Attack on Secocoeni's mountain--Defeat and dispersion of the + Boers--Elation of the natives--Von Schlickmann's volunteers-- + Cruelties perpetrated--Abel Erasmus--Treatment of natives by Boers + --Public meeting at Potchefstroom in 1768--The slavery question-- + Some evidence on the subject--Pecuniary position of the Transvaal + prior to the annexation--Internal troubles--Divisions amongst the + Boers--Hopeless condition of the country. + +In or about the year 1872, the burghers of the Republic elected Mr. +Burgers their President. This remarkable man was a native of the Cape +Colony, and passed the first sixteen or seventeen years of his life, +he once informed me, on a farm herding sheep. He afterwards became a +clergyman noted for the eloquence of his preaching, but his ideas +proving too broad for his congregation, he resigned his cure, and in +an evil moment for himself took to politics. + +President Burgers was a man of striking presence and striking talents, +especially as regards his oratory, which was really of a very high +class, and would have commanded attention in our own House of Commons. +He possessed, however, a mind of that peculiarly volatile order, that +is sometimes met with in conjunction with great talents, and which +seems to be entirely without ballast. His intellect was of a balloon- +like nature, and as incapable of being steered. He was always soaring +in the clouds, and, as is natural to one in that elevated position, +taking a very different and more sanguine view of affairs to that +which men of a more lowly, and perhaps a more practical, turn of mind +would do. + +But notwithstanding his fly-away ideas, President Burgers was +undoubtedly a true patriot, labouring night and day for the welfare of +the state of which he had to undertake the guidance: but his +patriotism was too exalted for his surroundings. He wished to elevate +to the rank of a nation a people who had not got the desire to be +elevated; with this view he contracted railway loans, made wars, +minted gold, &c., and then suddenly discovered that the country +refused to support him. In short, he was made of a very different clay +to that of the people he had to do with. He dreamt of a great Dutch +Republic "with eight millions of inhabitants," doing a vast trade with +the interior through the Delagoa Bay Railway. They, on the other hand, +cared nothing about republics or railways, but fixed their affections +on forced labour and getting rid of the necessity of paying taxes--and +so between them the Republic came to grief. But it must be borne in +mind that President Burgers was throughout actuated by good motives; +he did his best by a stubborn and stiff-necked people; and if he +failed, as fail he did, it was more their fault than his. As regards +the pension he received from the English Government, which has so +often been brought up against him, it was after all no more than his +due after five years of arduous work. If the Republic had continued to +exist, it is to be presumed that they would have made some provision +for their old President, more especially as he seems to have exhausted +his private means in paying the debts of the country. Whatever may be +said of some of the other officials of the Republic, its President +was, I believe, an honest man. + +In 1875, Mr. Burgers proceeded to Europe, having, he says in a +posthumous document recently published, been empowered by the +Volksraad "to carry out my plans for the development of the country, +by opening up a direct communication for it, free from the trammels of +British ports and influence." According to this document, during his +absence, two powerful parties, viz., "the faction of unprincipled +fortune-hunters, rascals, and runaways on the one hand, and the +faction of the extreme orthodox party in a certain branch of the Dutch +Reform Church on the other, began to co-operate against the Government +of the Republic and me personally. . . . . . Ill as I was, and +contrary to the advice of my medical men, I proceeded to Europe, in +the beginning of 1875, to carry out my project, and no sooner was my +back turned on the Transvaal, than the conspiring elements began to +act. The new coat of arms and flag adopted in the Raad by an almost +unanimous vote were abolished. The laws for a free and secular +education were tampered with, and my resistance to a reckless +inspection and disposal of Government lands, still occupied by +natives, was openly defied. The Raad, filled up to a large extent with +men of ill repute, who, under the cloak of progress and favour to the +Government view, obtained their seats, was too weak to cope with the +skill of the conspirators, and granted leave to the acting President +to carry out measures diametrically opposed to my policy. /Native +lands/ were inspected and given out to a few speculators, who held +large numbers of claims to lands which were destined for citizens, and +so a war was prepared for me, on my return from Europe, which I could +not avert." This extract is interesting, as showing the state of +feeling existing between the President and his officers previous to +the outbreak of the Secocoeni war. It also shows how entirely he was +out of sympathy with the citizens, seeing that as soon as his back was +turned, they, with Mr. Joubert and Paul Kruger at their head, at once +undid all the little good he had done. + +When Mr. Burgers got to England, he found that city capitalists would +have nothing whatever to say to his railway scheme. In Holland, +however, he succeeded in getting 90,000 pounds of the 300,000 pounds +he wished to borrow at a high rate of interest, and by passing a bond +on five hundred government farms. This money was immediately invested +in a railway plant, which, when it arrived at Delagoa Bay, had to be +mortgaged to pay the freight on it, and that was the end of the +Delagoa Bay railway scheme, except that the 90,000 pounds is, I +believe, still owing to the confiding shareholders in Holland. + +On his return to the Transvaal the President was well received, and +for a month or so all went smoothly. But the relations of the Republic +with the surrounding native tribes had by this time become so bad that +an explosion was imminent somewhere. In the year 1874 the Volksraad +raised the price of passes under the iniquitous pass law, by which +every native travelling through the territory was made to pay from 1 +pound to five pounds. In case of non-payment the native was made +subject to a fine of from 1 pound to 10 pounds, and to a beating of +from "ten to twenty-five lashes." He was also to go into service for +three months, and have a certificate thereof, for which he must pay +five shillings; the avowed object of the law being to obtain a supply +of Kafir labour. This was done in spite of the earnest protest of the +President, who gave the Raad distinctly to understand that by +accepting this law they would, in point of fact, annul treaties +concluded with the chiefs on the south-western borders. It was not +clear, however, if this amended pass law ever came into force. It is +to be hoped it did not, for even under the old law natives were +shamefully treated by the Boers, who would pretend that they were +authorised by the Government to collect the tax; the result being that +the unfortunate Kafir was frequently obliged to pay twice over. +Natives had such a horror of the pass laws of the country, that when +travelling to the Diamond Fields to work they would frequently go +round some hundreds of miles rather than pass through the Transvaal. + +That the Volksraad should have thought it necessary to enact such a +law in order that the farmers should obtain a supply of Kafir labour +in a territory that had nearly a million of native inhabitants, who, +unlike the Zulus, are willing to work if only they meet with decent +treatment, is in itself an instructive commentary on the feelings +existing between the Boer master and Kafir servant. + +But besides the general quarrel with the Kafir race in its entirety, +which the Boers always have on hand, they had just then several +individual differences, in each of which there lurked the +possibilities of disturbance. + +To begin with, their relations with Cetywayo were by no means +amicable. During Mr. Burgers' absence the Boer Government, then under +the leadership of P. J. Joubert, sent Cetywayo a very stern message--a +message that gives the reader the idea that Mr. Joubert was ready to +enforce it with ten thousand men. After making various statements and +demands with reference to the Amaswazi tribe, the disputed boundary +line, &c., it ends thus:-- + +"Although the Government of the South African Republic has never +wished, and does not now desire, that serious disaffection and +animosities should exist between you and them, yet it is not the less +of the greatest consequence and importance for you earnestly to weigh +these matters and risks, and to satisfy them; the more so, if you on +your side also wish that peace and friendship shall be maintained +between you and us." + +The Secretary for Native Affairs for Natal comments on this message in +these words: "The tone of this message to Cetywayo is not very +friendly, it has the look of an ultimatum, and if the Government of +the Transvaal were in circumstances different to what it is, the +message would suggest an intention to coerce if the demands it conveys +are not at once complied with; but I am inclined to the opinion that +no such intention exists, and that the transmission of a copy of the +message to the Natal Government is intended as a notification that the +Transvaal Government has proclaimed the territory hitherto in dispute +between it and the Zulus to be Republican territory, and that the +Republic intends to occupy it." + +In the territories marked out by a decision known as the Keate Award, +in which Lieutenant-Governor Keate of Natal, at the request of both +parties, laid down the boundary line between the Boers and certain +native tribes, the Boer Government carried it with a yet higher hand, +insomuch as the natives of those districts, being comparatively +unwarlike, were less likely to resist. + +On the 18th August 1875, Acting President Joubert issued a +proclamation by which a line was laid down far to the southward of +that marked out by Mr. Keate, and consequently included more territory +within the elastic boundaries of the Republic. A Government notice of +the same date invites all claiming lands now declared to belong to the +Republic, to send in their claims to be settled by a land commission. + +On the 6th March 1876, another chief in the same neighbourhood +(Montsoia) writes to the Lieutenant-Governor of Griqualand West in +these terms:-- + +"My Friend,--I wish to acquaint you with the doings of some people +connected with the Boers. A man-servant of mine has been severely +injured in the head by one of the Boers' servants, which has proved +fatal. Another of my people has been cruelly treated by a Boer tying a +rein about his neck, and then mounting his horse and dragging him +about the place. My brother Molema, who is the bearer of this, will +give you full particulars." + +Molema explains the assaults thus: "The assaulted man is not dead; his +skull was fractured. The assault was committed by a Boer named Wessels +Badenhorst, who shamefully ill-treated the man, beat him till he +fainted, and, on his revival, fastened a rim around his neck, and made +him run to the homestead by the side of his (Badenhorst's) horse +cantering. At the homestead he tied him to the waggon-wheel, and +flogged him again till Mrs. Badenhorst stopped her husband." + +Though it will be seen that the Boers were on good terms neither with +the Zulus nor the Keate Award natives, they still had one Kafir ally, +namely, Umbandeni, the Amaswazi king. This alliance was concluded +under circumstances so peculiar that they are worthy of a brief +recapitulation. It appears that in the winter of the year 1875 Mr. +Rudolph, the Landdrost of Utrecht, went to Swazieland, and, imitating +the example of the Natal Government with Cetywayo, crowned Umbandeni +king, on behalf of the Boer Government. He further made a treaty of +alliance with him, and promised him a commando to help him in case of +his being attacked by the Zulus. Now comes the curious part of the +story. On the 18th May 1876, a message came from this same Umbandeni +to Sir H. Bulwer, of which the following is an extract:--"We are sent +by our king to thank the Government of Natal for the information sent +to him last winter by that Government, and conveyed by Mr. Rudolph, of +the intended attack on his people by the Zulus. We are further +instructed by the king to thank the Natal Government for the influence +it used to stop the intended raid, and for instructing a Boer commando +to go to his country to render him assistance in case of need; and +further for appointing Mr. Randolph at the head of the commando to +place him (Umbandeni) as king over the Amaswazi, and to make a treaty +with him and his people on behalf of the Natal Government. . . . . . +The Transvaal Government has asked Umbandeni to acknowledge himself a +subject of the Republic, but he has distinctly refused to do so." In a +minute written on this subject, the Secretary for Native Affairs for +Natal says, "No explanation or assurance was sufficient to convince +them (Umbandeni's messengers) that they had on that occasion made +themselves subjects of the South African Republic; they declared it +was not their wish or intention to do so, and that they would refuse +to acknowledge a position into which they had been unwittingly +betrayed." I must conclude this episode by quoting the last paragraph +of Sir H. Bulwer's covering despatch, because it concerns larger +issues than the supposed treaty: "It will not be necessary that I +should at present add any remarks to those contained in the minute for +the Secretary for Native Affairs, but I would observe that the +situation arising out of the relations of the Government of the South +African Republic with the neighbouring states is so complicated, and +presents so many elements of confusion and of danger to the peace of +this portion of South Africa, that I trust some way may be found to an +early settlement of questions that ought not, in my opinion, to be +left alone, as so many have been left, to take the chance of the +future." + +And now I come to the last and most imminent native difficulty that at +the time faced the Republic. On the borders of Lydenburg district +there lived a powerful chief named Secocoeni. Between this chief and +the Transvaal Government difficulties arose in the beginning of 1876 +on the usual subject--land. The Boers declared that they had bought +the land from the Swazies, who had conquered portions of the country, +and that the Swazies offered to make it "clean from brambles," i.e., +kill everybody living on it; but that they (the Boers) said that they +were to let them be, that they might be their servants. The Basutus, +on the other hand, said that no such sale ever took place, and, even +if it did take place, it was invalid, because the Swazies were not in +occupation of the land, and therefore could not sell it. It was a +Christian Kafir called Johannes, a brother of Secocoeni, who was the +immediate cause of the war. This Johannes used to live at a place +called Botsobelo, the mission-station of Mr. Merensky, but moved to a +stronghold on the Spekboom river, in the disputed territory. The Boers +sent to him to come back, but he refused, and warned the Boers off his +land. Secocoeni was then appealed to, but declared that the land +belonged to his tribe, and would be occupied by Johannes. He also told +the Boers "that he did not wish to fight, but that he was quite ready +to do so if they preferred it." Thereupon the Transvaal Government +declared war, although it does not appear that the natives committed +any outrage or acts of hostility before the declaration. As regards +the Boers' right to Secocoeni's country, Sir H. Barkly sums up the +question thus, in a despatch addressed to President Burgers, dated +28th Nov. 1876:--"On the whole, it seems perfectly clear, and I feel +bound to repeat it, that Sikukuni was neither /de jure/ or /de facto/ +a subject of the Republic when your Honour declared war against him in +June last." As soon as war had been declared, the clumsy commando +system was set working, and about 2500 white men collected; the +Swazies also were applied to to send a contingent, which they did, +being only too glad of the opportunity of slaughter. + +At first all went well, and the President, who accompanied the +commando in person, succeeded in reducing a mountain stronghold, +which, in his high-flown way, he called a "glorious victory" over a +"Kafir Gibraltar." + +On the 14th July another engagement took place, when the Boers and +Swazies attacked Johannes' stronghold. The place was taken with +circumstances of great barbarity by the Swazies, for when the signal +was given to advance the Boers did not move. Nearly all the women were +killed, and the brains of the children were dashed out against the +stones; in one instance, before the captive mother's face. Johannes +was badly wounded, and died two days afterwards. When he was dying he +said to his brother, "I am going to die. I am thankful I do not die by +the hands of these cowardly Boers, but by the hand of a black and +courageous nation like myself . . ." He then took leave of his people, +told his brother to read the Bible, and expired. The Swazies were so +infuriated at the cowardice displayed by the Boers on this occasion +that they returned home in great dudgeon. + +On the 2nd of August Secocoeni's mountain, which is a very strong +fortification, was attacked in two columns, or rather an attempt was +made to attack it, for when it came to the pinch only about forty men, +mostly English and Germans, would advance. Thereupon the whole +commando retreated with great haste, the greater part of it going +straight home. In vain the President entreated them to shoot him +rather than desert him; they had had enough of Secocoeni and his +stronghold, and home they went. The President then retreated with what +few men he had left to Steelport, where he built a fort, and from +thence returned to Pretoria. The news of the collapse of the commando +was received throughout the Transvaal, and indeed the whole of South +Africa, with the greatest dismay. For the first time in the history of +that country the white man had been completely worsted by a native +tribe, and that tribe wretched Basutus, people whom the Zulus call +their "dogs." It was glad tidings to every native from the Zambesi to +the Cape, who learnt thereby that the white man was not so invincible +as he used to be. Meanwhile the inhabitants of Lydenburg were filled +with alarm, and again and again petitioned the Governors of the Cape +and Natal for assistance. Their fears were, however, to a great extent +groundless, for, with the exception of occasional cattle-lifting, +Secocoeni did not follow up his victory. + +On the 4th September the President opened the special sitting of the +Volksraad, and presented to that body a scheme for the establishment +of a border force to take the place of the commando system, announcing +that he had appointed a certain Captain Von Schlickmann to command it. +He also requested the Raad to make some provision for the expenses of +the expedition, which they had omitted to do in their former sitting. + +Captain Von Schlickmann determined to carry on the war upon a +different system. He got together a band of very rough characters on +the Diamond Fields, and occupied the fort built by the President, from +whence he would sally out from time to time and destroy kraals. He +seems, if we may believe the reports in the blue books and the stories +of eye-witnesses, to have carried on his proceedings in a somewhat +savage way. The following is an extract from a private letter written +by one of his volunteers:-- + +"About daylight we came across four Kafirs. Saw them first, and +charged in front of them to cut off their retreat. Saw they were +women, and called out not to fire. In spite of that, one of the poor +things got her head blown off (a d----d shame). . . . Afterwards two +women and a baby were brought to the camp prisoners. The same night +they were taken out by our Kafirs and murdered in cold blood by the +order of ----. Mr. ---- and myself strongly protested against it, but +without avail. I never heard such a cowardly piece of business in my +life. No good will come of it, you may depend. . . . ---- says he +would cut all the women and children's throats he catches. Told him +distinctly he was a d----d coward." + +Schlickmann was, however, a mild-mannered man when compared to a +certain Abel Erasmus, afterwards denounced at a public dinner by Sir +Garnet Wolseley as a "fiend in human form." This gentleman, in the +month of October, attacked a friendly kraal of Kafirs. The incident is +described thus in a correspondent's letter:-- + +"The people of the kraals, taken quite by surprise, fled when they saw +their foes, and most of them took shelter in the neighbouring bush. +Two or three men were distinctly seen in their flight from the kraal, +and one of them is known to have been wounded. According to my +informant the remainder were women and children, who were pursued into +the bush, and there, all shivering and shrieking, were put to death by +the Boers' Kafirs, some being shot, but the majority stabbed with +assegais. After the massacre he counted thirteen women and three +children, but he says he did not see the body of a single man. Another +Kafir said, pointing to a place in the road where the stones were +thickly strewn, 'the bodies of the women and children lay like these +stones.' The Boer before mentioned, who has been stationed outside, +has told one of his own friends, whom he thought would not mention it, +that the shrieks were fearful to hear." + +Several accounts of, or allusion to, this atrocity can be found in the +blue books, and I may add that it, in common with others of the same +stamp, was the talk of the country at the time. + +I do not relate these horrors out of any wish to rake up old stories +to the prejudice of the Boers, but because I am describing the state +of the country before the Annexation, in which they form an +interesting and important item. Also, it is as well that people in +England should know into what hands they have delivered over the +native tribes who trusted in their protection. What happened in 1876 +is probably happening again now, and will certainly happen again and +again. The character of the Transvaal Boer and his sentiments towards +the native races have not modified during the last five years, but, on +the contrary, a large amount of energy, which has been accumulating +during the period of British protection, will now be expended on their +devoted heads. + +As regards the truth of these atrocities, the majority of them are +beyond the possibility of doubt; indeed, to the best of my knowledge, +no serious attempt has ever been made to refute such of them as have +come into public notice, except in a general way, for party purposes. +As, however, they may be doubted, I will quote the following extract +from a despatch written by Sir H. Barkly to Lord Carnarvon, dated 18th +December 1876:-- + +"As Von Schlickmann has since fallen fighting bravely, it is not +without reluctance that I join in affixing this dark stain on his +memory, but truth compels me to add the following extract from a +letter which I have since received from one whose name (which I +communicate to your Lordship privately) forbids disbelief: 'There is +no longer the /slightest doubt/ as to the murder of the two women and +the child at Steelport by the direct order of Schlickmann, and in the +attack on the kraal near which these women were captured (or some +attack about that period) he ordered his men to cut the throats of all +the wounded! This is no mere report; it is positively true.'" He +concludes by expressing a hope that the course of events will enable +Her Majesty's Government to take such steps "as will terminate this +wanton and useless bloodshed, and prevent the recurrence of the +/scenes of injustice, cruelty, and rapine which abundant evidence is +every day forthcoming to prove have rarely ceased to disgrace the +Republics beyond the Vaal ever since they first sprang into +existence./"[*] + +[*] The italics are my own.--Author. + +These are strong words, but none too strong for the facts of the case. +Injustice, cruelty, and rapine have always been the watchwords of the +Transvaal Boers. The stories of wholesale slaughter in the earlier +days of the Republic are very numerous. One of the best known of those +shocking occurrences took place in the Zoutpansberg war in 1865. On +this occasion a large number of Kafirs took refuge in caves, where the +Boers smoked them to death. Some years afterwards Dr. Wangeman, whose +account is, I believe, thoroughly reliable, describes the scene of +their operations in these words:-- + +"The roof of the first cave was black with smoke; the remains of the +logs which were burnt lay at the entrance. The floor was strewn with +hundreds of skulls and skeletons. In confused heaps lay karosses, +kerries, assegais, pots, spoons, snuff-boxes, and the bones of men, +giving one the impression that this was the grave of a whole people. +Some estimate the number of those who perished here from twenty to +thirty thousand. This is, I believe, too high. In the one chamber +there were from two hundred to three hundred skeletons; the other +chambers I did not visit." + +In 1868 a public meeting was held at Potchefstroom to consider the war +then going on with the Zoutpansberg natives. According to the report +of the proceedings, the Rev. Mr. Ludorf said that "on a particular +occasion a number of native children, who were too young to be +removed, had been collected in a heap, covered with long grass, and +burned alive. Other atrocities had also been committed, but these were +too horrible to relate." When called upon to produce his authority for +this statement, Mr. Ludorf named his authority "in a solemn +declaration to the State Attorney." At this same meeting Mr. J. G. +Steyn, who had been Landdrost of Potchefstroom, said "there now was +innocent blood on our hands which had not yet been avenged, and the +curse of God rested on the land in consequence." Mr. Rosalt remarked +that "it was a singular circumstance that in the different colonial +Kafir wars, as also in the Basutu wars, one did not hear of destitute +children being found by the commandoes, and asked how it was that +every petty commando that took the field in this Republic invariably +found numbers of destitute children. He gave it as his opinion that +the present system of apprenticeship was an essential cause of our +frequent hostilities with the natives." Mr. Jan Talyard said, +"Children were forcibly taken from their parents, and were then called +destitute and apprenticed." Mr. Daniel Van Nooren was heard to say, +"If they had to clear the country, and could not have the children +they found, he would shoot them." Mr. Field-Cornet Furstenburg stated +"that when he was at Zoutpansberg with his burghers, the chief Katse- +Kats was told to come down from the mountains; that he sent one of his +subordinates as a proof of amity; that whilst a delay of five days was +guaranteed by Commandant Paul Kruger, who was then in command, orders +were given at the same time to attack the natives at break of day, +which was accordingly done, but which resulted in total failure." +Truly, this must have been an interesting meeting. + +Before leaving these unsavoury subjects, I must touch on the question +of slavery. It has been again and again denied, on behalf of the +Transvaal Boers, that slavery existed in the Republic. Now, this is, +strictly speaking, true; slavery did not exist, but apprenticeship did +--the rose was called by another name, that is all. The poor destitute +children who were picked up by kindhearted Boers, after the +extermination of their parents, were apprenticed to farmers till they +came of age. It is a remarkable fact that these children never +attained their majority. You might meet oldish men in the Transvaal +who were not, according to their masters' reckoning, twenty-one years +of age. The assertion that slavery did not exist in the Transvaal is +only made to hoodwink the English public. I have known men who have +owned slaves, and who have seen whole waggon-loads of "black ivory," +as they were called, sold for about 15 pounds a-piece. I have at this +moment a tenant, Carolus by name, on some land I own in Natal, now a +well-to-do man, who was for many years--about twenty, if I remember +right--a Boer slave. During those years, he told me, he worked from +morning till night, and the only reward he received was two calves. He +finally escaped into Natal. + +If other evidence is needed it is not difficult to find, so I will +quote a little. On the 22d August 1876 we find Khama, king of the +Bamangwato, one of the most worthy chiefs in South Africa, sending a +message to "Victoria, the great Queen of the English people," in these +words:-- + +"I write to you, Sir Henry, in order that your Queen may preserve for +me my country, it being in her hands. The Boers are coming into it, +and I do not like them. Their actions are cruel among us black people. +We are like money, they sell us and our children. I ask Her Majesty to +pity me, and to hear that which I write quickly. I wish to hear upon +what conditions Her Majesty will receive me, and my country and my +people, under her protection. I am weary with fighting. I do not like +war, and I ask Her Majesty to give me peace. I am very much distressed +that my people are being destroyed by war, and I wish them to obtain +peace. I ask Her Majesty to defend me, as she defends all her people. +There are three things which distress me very much--war, selling +people, and drink. All these things I shall find in the Boers, and it +is these things which destroy people to make an end of them in the +country. /The custom of the Boers has always been to cause people to +be sold, and to-day they are still selling people./ Last year I saw +them pass with two waggons full of people whom they had bought at the +river at Tanane" (Lake Ngate). + +The Special Correspondence of the "Cape Argus," a highly respectable +journal, writes thus on the 28th November 1876:--"The Boer from whom +this information was gleaned has furnished besides some facts which +may not be uninteresting, as a commentary on the repeated denials by +Mr. Burgers of the existence of slavery. During the last week slaves +have been offered for sale on his farm. The captives have been taken +from Secocoeni's country by Mapoch's people, and are being exchanged +at the rate of a child for a heifer. He also assures us that the whole +of the Highveld is bring replenished with Kafir children, whom the +Boers have been lately purchasing from the Swazies at the rate of a +horse for a child. I should like to see this man and his father as +witnesses before an Imperial Commission. He let fall one or two +incidents of the past which were brought to mind by the occurrences of +the present. In 1864, he says, 'The Swazies accompanied the Boers +against Males. The Boers did nothing but stand by and witness the +fearful massacre. The men and women were also murdered. One poor woman +sat clutching her baby of eight days old. The Swazies stabbed her +through the body, and when she found that she could not live, she +wrung the baby's neck with her own hands to save it from future +misery. On the return of that Commando the children who became too +weary to continue the journey were killed on the road. The survivors +were sold as slaves to the farmers.'" + +The same gentleman writes in the issue of the 12th December as +follows:--"The whole world may know it, for it is true, and +investigation will only bring out the horrible details, that through +the whole course of this Republic's existence it has acted in +contravention of the Sand River Treaty; and slavery has occurred not +only here and there in isolated cases, but as an unbroken practice, +and has been one of the peculiar institutions of the country, mixed up +with all its social and political life. It has been at the root of +most of its wars. It has been carried on regularly even in times of +peace. It has been characterised by all those circumstances which have +so often roused the British nation to an indignant protest, and to +repeated efforts to banish the slave trade from the world. The Boers +have not only fallen on unsuspecting kraals simply for the purpose of +obtaining the women and children and cattle, but they have carried on +a traffic through natives who have kidnapped the children of their +weaker neighbours, and sold them to the white man. Again, the Boers +have sold and exchanged their victims among themselves. Waggon-loads +of slaves have been conveyed from one end of the country to the other +for sale, and that with the cognisance of, and for the direct +advantage of, the highest officials of the land. The writer has +himself seen in a town, situated in the south of the Republic, the +children who had been brought down from a remote northern district. +One fine morning, in walking through the streets, he was struck with +the number of little black strangers standing about certain houses, +and wondered where they could have come from. He learnt a few hours +later that they were part of loads which were disposed of on the +outskirts of the town the day before. The circumstances connected with +some of these kidnapping excursions are appalling, and the barbarities +practised by cruel masters upon some of these defenceless creatures +during the course of their servitude are scarcely less horrible than +those reported from Turkey. It is no disgrace in this country for an +official to ride a fine horse which was got for two Kafir children, to +procure whom the father and mother were shot. No reproach is inherited +by the mistress who, day after day, tied up her female servant in an +agonising posture, and had her beaten until there was no sound part in +her body, securing her in the stocks during the intervals of torture. +That man did not lose caste who tied up another woman and had her +thrashed until she brought forth at the whipping-post. These are +merely examples of thousands of cases which could be proved were an +Imperial Commission to sit, and could the wretched victims of a +prolonged oppression recover sufficiently from the dread of their old +tyrants to give a truthful report." + +To come to some evidence more recently adduced. On the 9th May 1881, +an affidavit was sworn to by the Rev. John Thorne, curate of St. John +the Evangelist, Lydenburg, Transvaal, and presented to the Royal +Commission appointed to settle Transvaal affairs, in which he +states:--"That I was appointed to the charge of a congregation in +Potchefstroom, about thirteen years ago, when the Republic was under +the presidency of Mr. Pretorius.[*] I remember noticing one morning, +as I walked through the streets, a number of young natives, whom I +knew to be strangers. I inquired where they came from. I was told that +they had just been brought from Zoutpansberg. This was the locality +from which slaves were chiefly brought at that time, and were traded +for under the name of 'Black Ivory.' One of these natives belonged to +Mr. Munich, the State Attorney. It was a matter of common remark at +that time, that the President of the Republic was himself one of the +greatest dealers in slaves." In the fourth paragraph of the same +affidavit Mr. Thorne says, "That the Rev. Doctor Nachtigal, of the +Berlin Missionary Society, was the interpreter for Shatane's people in +the private office of Mr. Roth, and, at the close of the interview, +told me what had occurred. On my expressing surprise, he went on to +relate that he had information on native matters which would surprise +me more. He then produced the copy of a register, kept in the +landdrost's office, of men, women, and children, to the number of four +hundred and eighty (480), who had been disposed of by one Boer to +another for a consideration. In one case an ox was given in exchange, +in another goats, in a third a blanket, and so forth. Many of these +natives he (Mr. Nachtigal) knew personally. The copy was certified as +true and correct by an official of the Republic, and I would mention +his name now, only that I am persuaded that it would cost the man his +life if his act became known to the Boers." + +[*] One of the famous Triumvirate. + +On the 16th May 1881, a native, named Frederick Molepo, was examined +by the Royal Commission. The following are extracts from his +examination:-- + +"(Sir E. Wood.) Are you a Christian?--Yes. + +"(Sir H. de Villiers.) How long were you a slave?--Half a year. + +"How do you know that you were a slave? Might you not have been an +apprentice?--No, I was not apprenticed. + +"How do you know?--They got me from my parents, and ill-treated me. + +"(Sir E. Wood.) How many times did you get the stick?--Every day. + +"(Sir H. de Villiers.) What did the Boers do with you when they caught +you?--They sold me. + +"How much did they sell you for?--One cow and a big pot." + +On the 28th May 1881, amongst the other documents handed in for the +consideration of the Royal Commission, is the statement of a headman, +whose name it has been considered advisable to omit in the blue book +for fear the Boers should take vengeance on him. He says, "I say, that +if the English Government dies I shall die too; I would rather die +than be under the Boer Government. I am the man who helped to make +bricks for the church you see now standing in the square here +(Pretoria), as a slave without payment. As a representative of my +people I am still obedient to the English Government, and willing to +obey all commands from them, even to die for their cause in this +country, rather than submit to the Boers. + +"I was under Shambok, my chief, who fought the Boers formerly, but he +left us, and we were /put up to auction/ and sold among the Boers. I +want to state this myself to the Royal Commission in Newcastle. I was +bought by Fritz Botha and sold by Frederick Botha, who was then veld +cornet (justice of the peace) of the Boers."[*] + +[*] I have taken the liberty to quote all these extracts exactly as + they stand in the original, instead of weaving their substance + into my narrative, in order that I may not be accused, as so often + happens to authors who write upon this subject, of having + presented a garbled version of the truth. The original of every + extract is to be found in blue books presented to Parliament. I + have thought it best to confine myself to these, and avoid + repeating stories of cruelties and slavery, however well + authenticated, that have come to my knowledge privately, such + stories being always more or less open to suspicion. + +It would be easy to find more reports of the slave-trading practices +of the Boers, but as the above are fair samples it will not be +necessary to do so. My readers will be able from them to form some +opinion as to whether or not slavery or apprenticeship existed in the +Transvaal. If they come to the conclusion that it did, it must be +borne in mind that what existed in the past will certainly exist again +in the future. Natives are not now any fonder of working for Boers +than they were a few years back, and Boers must get labour somehow. +If, on the other hand, it did not exist, then the Boers are a grossly +slandered people, and all writers on the subject, from Livingstone +down, have combined to take away their character. + +Leaving native questions for the present, we must now return to the +general affairs of the country. When President Burgers opened the +special sitting of the Volksraad, on the 4th September, he appealed, +it will be remembered, to that body for pecuniary aid to liquidate the +expenses of the war. This appeal was responded to by the passing of a +war tax, under which every owner of a farm was to pay 10 pounds, the +owner of half a farm 5 pounds, and so on. The tax was not a very just +one, since it fell with equal weight on the rich man, who held twenty +farms, and the poor man, who held but one. Its justice or injustice +was, however, to a great extent immaterial, since the free and +independent burghers, including some of the members of the Volksraad +who had imposed it, promptly refused to pay it, or indeed, whilst they +were about it, any other tax. As the Treasury was already empty, and +creditors were pressing, this refusal was most ill-timed, and things +began to look very black indeed. Meanwhile, in addition to the +ordinary expenditure, and the interest payable on debts, money had to +be found to pay Von Schlickmann's volunteers. As there was no cash in +the country, this was done by issuing Government promissory notes, +known as "goodfors," or vulgarly as "good for nothings," and by +promising them all booty, and to each man a farm of two thousand +acres, lying east and north-east of the Loolu mountains; in other +words, in Secocoeni's territory, which did not belong to the +Government to give away. The officials were the next to suffer, and +for six months before the Annexation these unfortunate individuals +lived as best they could, for they certainly got no salary, except in +the case of a postmaster, who was told to help himself to his pay in +stamps. The Government issued large numbers of bills, but the banks +refused to discount them, and in some cases the neighbouring Colonies +had to advance money to the Transvaal post-cart contractors, who were +carrying the mails, as a matter of charity. The Government even +mortgaged the great salt-pan near Pretoria for the paltry sum of 400 +pounds, whilst the leading officials of the Government were driven to +pledging their own private credit in order to obtain the smallest +article necessary to its continuance. In fact, to such a pass did +things come that when the country was annexed a single threepenny bit +(which had doubtless been overlooked) was found in the Treasury chest, +together with acknowledgments of debts to the extent of nearly 300,000 +pounds. + +Nor was the refusal to pay taxes, which they were powerless to +enforce, the only difficulty with which the Government had to contend. +Want of money is as bad and painful a thing to a State as to an +individual, but there are perhaps worse things than want of money, one +of which is to be deserted by your own friends and household. This was +the position of the Government of the Republic; no sooner was it +involved in overwhelming difficulties than its own subjects commenced +to bait it, more especially the English portion of its subjects. They +complained to the English authorities about the commandeering of +members of their family or goods; they petitioned the British +Government to interfere, and generally made themselves as unpleasant +as possible to the local Authorities. Such a course of action was +perhaps natural, but it can hardly be said to be either quite logical +or just. The Transvaal Government had never asked them to come and +live in the country, and if they did so, it must be remembered that +many of the agitators had accumulated property, to leave which would +mean ruin; and they saw that, unless something was done, its value +would be destroyed. + +Under the pressure of all these troubles the Boers themselves split up +into factions, as they are always ready to do. The Dopper party +declared that they had had enough progress, and proposed the extremely +conservative Paul Kruger as President, Burgers' time having nearly +expired. Paul Kruger accepted the candidature, although he had +previously promised his support to Burgers, and distrust of each other +was added to the other difficulties of the Executive, the Transvaal +becoming a house very much divided against itself. Natives, Doppers, +Progressionists, Officials, English, were all pulling different ways, +and each striving for his own advantage. Anything more hopeless than +the position of the country on the 1st January 1877 it is impossible +to conceive. Enemies surrounded it; on every border there was the +prospect of a serious war. In the exchequer there was nothing but +piles of overdue bills. The President was helpless, and mistrustful of +his officers, and the officers were caballing against the President. +All the ordinary functions of Government had ceased, and trade was +paralysed. Now and then wild proposals were made to relieve the State +of its burdens, some of which partook of the nature of repudiation, +but these were the exception; the majority of the inhabitants, who +would neither fight nor pay taxes, sat still and awaited the +catastrophe, utterly careless of all consequences. + + + + CHAPTER III + + THE ANNEXATION + + Anxiety of Lord Carnarvon--Despatch of Sir T. Shepstone as Special + Commissioner to the Transvaal--Sir T. Shepstone, his great + experience and ability--His progress to Pretoria and reception + there--Feelings excited by the arrival of the mission--The + annexation /not/ a foregone conclusion--Charge brought against Sir + T. Shepstone of having called up the Zulu army to sweep the + Transvaal--Its complete falsehood--Cetywayo's message to Sir T. + Shepstone--Evidence on the matter summed up--General desire of the + natives for English rule--Habitual disregard of their interests-- + Assembly of the Volksraad--Rejection of Lord Carnarvon's + Confederation Bill and of President Burgers' new constitution-- + President Burgers' speeches to the Raad--His posthumous statement + --Communication to the Raad of Sir T. Shepstone's intention to + annex the country--Despatch of Commission to inquire into the + alleged peace with Secocoeni--Its fraudulent character discovered + --Progress of affairs in the Transvaal--Paul Kruger and his party + --Restlessness of natives--Arrangements for the annexation--The + annexation proclamation. + +The state of affairs described in the previous chapter was one that +filled the Secretary of State for the Colonies with alarm. During his +tenure of office, Lord Carnarvon evidently had the permanent welfare +of South Africa much at heart, and he saw with apprehension that the +troubles that were brewing in the Transvaal were of a nature likely to +involve the Cape and Natal in a native war. Though there is a broad +line of demarcation between Dutch and English, it is not so broad but +that a victorious nation like the Zulus might cross it, and beginning +by fighting the Boer, might end by fighting the white man irrespective +of race. When the reader reflects how terrible would be the +consequences of a combination of native tribes against the Whites, and +how easily such a combination might at that time have been brought +about in the first flush of native successes, he will understand the +anxiety with which all thinking men watched the course of events in +the Transvaal in 1876. + +At last they took such a serious turn that the Home Government saw +that some action must be taken if the catastrophe was to be averted, +and determined to despatch Sir Theophilus Shepstone as Special +Commissioner to the Transvaal, with powers, should it be necessary, to +annex the country to Her Majesty's dominions, "in order to secure the +peace and safety of Our said colonies and of Our subjects elsewhere." + +The terms of his Commission were unusually large, leaving a great deal +to his discretionary power. In choosing that officer for the execution +of a most difficult and delicate mission, the Government, doubtless, +made a very wise selection. Sir Theophilus Shepstone is a man of +remarkable tact and ability, combined with great openness and +simplicity of mind, and one whose name will always have a leading +place in South African history. During a long official lifetime he has +had to do with most of the native races in South Africa, and certainly +knows them and their ways better than any living man; whilst he is by +them all regarded with a peculiar and affectionate reverence. He is +/par excellence/ their great white chief and "father," and a word from +him, even now that he has retired from active life, still carries more +weight than the formal remonstrances of any governor in South Africa. + +With the Boers he is almost equally well acquainted, having known many +of them personally for years. He possesses, moreover, the rare power +of winning the regard and affection, as well as the respect, of those +about him in such a marked degree that those who have served him once +would go far to serve him again. Sir T. Shepstone, however, has +enemies like other people, and is commonly reported among them to be a +disciple of Machiavelli, and to have his mind steeped in all the +darker wiles of Kafir policy. The Annexation of the Transvaal is by +them attributed to a successful and vigorous use of those arts that +distinguished the diplomacy of two centuries ago. Falsehood and +bribery are supposed to have been the great levers used to effect the +change, together with threats of extinction at the hands of a savage +and unfriendly nation. + +That the Annexation was a triumph of mind over matter is quite true, +but whether or not that triumph was unworthily obtained, I will leave +those who read this short chronicle of the events connected with it to +judge. I saw it somewhat darkly remarked in a newspaper the other day +that the history of the Annexation had evidently yet to be written; +and I fear that the remark represents the feeling of most people about +the event; implying as it did, that it was carried out, by means +certainly mysterious, and presumably doubtful. I am afraid that those +who think thus will be disappointed in what I have to say about the +matter, since I know that the means employed to bring the Boers-- + + "Fracti bello, fatisque repulsi"-- + +under her Majesty's authority were throughout as fair and honest as +the Annexation itself was, in my opinion, right and necessary. + +To return to Sir T. Shepstone. He undoubtedly had faults as a ruler, +one of the most prominent of which was that his natural mildness of +character would never allow him to act with severity even when +severity was necessary. The very criminals condemned to death ran a +good chance of reprieve when he had to sign their death-warrants. He +had also that worst of faults (so called), in one fitted by nature to +become great--want of ambition, a failing that in such a man marks him +the possessor of an even and a philosophic mind. It was no seeking of +his own that raised him out of obscurity, and when his work was done +to comparative obscurity he elected to return, though whether a man of +his ability and experience in South African affairs should, at the +present crisis, be allowed to remain there, is another question. + +On the 20th December 1876, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President +Burgers, informing him of his approaching visit to the Transvaal, to +secure, if possible, the adjustment of the existing troubles, and the +adoption of such measures as might be best calculated to prevent their +recurrence in the future. + +On his road to Pretoria, Sir Theophilus received a hearty welcome from +the Boer as well as the English inhabitants of the country. One of +these addresses to him says: "Be assured, high honourable Sir, that we +burghers, now assembled together, entertain the most friendly feeling +towards your Government, and that we shall agree with anything you may +do in conjunction with our Government for the progress of our State, +the strengthening against our native enemies, and for the general +welfare of all the inhabitants of the whole of South Africa. Welcome +in Heidelberg, and welcome in the Transvaal." + +At Pretoria the reception of the Special Commissioner was positively +enthusiastic; the whole town came out to meet him, and the horses +having been taken out of the carriage, he was dragged in triumph +through the streets. In his reply to the address presented to him, Sir +Theophilus shadowed forth the objects of his mission in these words: +"Recent events in this country have shown to all thinking men the +absolute necessity for closer union and more oneness of purpose among +the Christian Governments of the southern portion of this Continent: +the best interests of the native races, no less than the peace and +prosperity of the white, imperatively demand it, and I rely upon you +and upon your Government to co-operate with me in endeavouring to +achieve the great and glorious end of inscribing on a general South +African banner the appropriate motto--'Eendragt maakt magt' (Unity +makes strength)." + +A few days after his arrival a commission was appointed, consisting of +Messrs. Henderson and Osborn, on behalf of the Special Commissioner, +and Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen, on behalf of the Transvaal +Government, to discuss the state of the country. This commission came +to nothing, and was on both sides nothing more than a bit of by-play. + +The arrival of the mission was necessarily regarded with mixed +feelings by the inhabitants of the Transvaal. By one party it was +eagerly greeted, viz., the English section of the population, who +devoutly hoped that it had come to annex the country. With the +exception of the Hollander element, the officials also were glad of +its arrival, and secretly hoped that the country would be taken over, +when there would be more chance of their getting their arrear pay. The +better educated Boers also were for the most part satisfied that there +was no hope for the country unless England helped it in some way, +though they did not like having to accept the help. But the more +bigoted and narrow-minded among them were undoubtedly opposed to +English interference, and under their leader, Paul Kruger, who was at +the time running for the President's chair, did their best to be rid +of it. They found ready allies in the Hollander clientele, with which +Mr. Burgers had surrounded himself, headed by the famous Dr. Jorissen, +who was, like most of the rulers of this singular State, an +ex-clergyman, but now an Attorney-general, not learned in the law. +These men were for the most part entirely unfit for the positions they +held, and feared that in the event of the country changing hands they +might be ejected from them; and also, they did all Englishmen the +favour to regard them, with that particularly virulent and general +hatred which is a part of the secret creed of many foreigners, more +especially of such as are under our protection. As may easily be +imagined, what between all these different parties and the presence of +the Special Commissioner, there were certainly plenty of intrigues +going on in Pretoria during the first few months of 1877, and the +political excitement was very great. Nobody knew how far Sir T. +Shepstone was prepared to go, and everybody was afraid of putting out +his hand further than he could pull it back, and trying to make +himself comfortable on two stools at once. Members of the Volksraad +and other prominent individuals in the country who had during the day +been denouncing the Commissioner in no measured terms, and even +proposing that he and his staff should be shot as a warning to the +English Government, might be seen arriving at his house under cover of +the shades of evening, to have a little talk with him, and express the +earnest hope that it was his intention to annex the country as soon as +possible. It is necessary to assist at a peaceable annexation to learn +the depth of meanness human nature is capable of. + +In Pretoria, at any rate, the ladies were of great service to the +cause of the mission, since they were nearly all in favour of a change +of government, and, that being the case, they naturally soon brought +their husbands, brothers, and lovers to look at things from the same +point of view. It was a wise man who said that in any matter where it +is necessary to obtain the goodwill of a population you should win +over the women; that done, you need not trouble yourself about the +men. + +Though the country was thus overflowing with political intrigues, +nothing of the kind went on in the Commissioner's camp. It was not he +who made the plots to catch the Transvaalers; on the contrary, they +made the plots to catch him. For several months all that he did was to +sit still and let the rival passions work their way, fighting what the +Zulus afterwards called the "fight of sit down." When anybody came to +see him he was very glad to meet them, pointed out the desperate +condition of the country, and asked them if they could suggest a +remedy. And that was about all he did do, beyond informing himself +very carefully as to all that was going on in the country, and the +movements of the natives within and outside its borders. There was no +money spent on bribery, as has been stated, though it is impossible to +imagine a state of affairs in which it would have been more easy to +bribe, or in which it could have been done with greater effect; unless +indeed the promise that some pension should be paid to President +Burgers can be called a bribe, which it was certainly never intended +to be, but simply a guarantee that after having spent all his private +means on behalf of the State he should not be left destitute. The +statement that the Annexation was effected under a threat that if the +Government did not give its consent Sir T. Shepstone would let loose +the Zulus on the country is also a wicked and malicious invention, but +with this I shall deal more at length further on. + +It must not, however, be understood that the Annexation was a foregone +conclusion, or that Sir T. Shepstone came up to the Transvaal with the +fixed intention of annexing the country without reference to its +position, merely with a view of extending British influence, or, as +has been absurdly stated, in order to benefit Natal. He had no fixed +purpose, whether it were necessary or no, of exercising the full +powers given to him by his commission; on the contrary, he was all +along most anxious to find some internal resources within the State by +means of which Annexation could be averted, and of this fact his +various letters and despatches give full proof. Thus, in his letter to +President Burgers, of the 9th April 1877, in which he announces his +intention of annexing the country, he says: "I have more than once +assured your Honour that if I could think of any plan by which the +independence of the State could be maintained by its own internal +resources I would most certainly not conceal that plan from you." It +is also incidentally remarkably confirmed by a passage in Mr. Burgers' +posthumous defence, in which he says: "Hence I met Shepstone alone in +my house, and opened up the subject of his mission. With a candour +that astonished me, he avowed that his purpose was to annex the +country, as he had sufficient grounds for it, unless I could so alter +as to satisfy his Government. My plan of a new constitution, modelled +after that of America, of a standing police force of two hundred +mounted men, was then proposed. He promised to give me time to call +the Volksraad together, and to /abandon his design/ if the Volksraad +would adopt these measures, and the country be willing to submit to +them, and to carry them out." Further on he says: "In justice to +Shepstone I must say that I would not consider an officer of my +Government to have acted faithfully if he had not done what Shepstone +did." + +It has also been frequently alleged in England, and always seems to be +taken as the groundwork of argument in the matter of the Annexation, +that the Special Commissioner represented that the majority of the +inhabitants wished for the Annexation, and that it was sanctioned on +that ground. This statement shows the great ignorance that exists in +this country of South African affairs, an ignorance which in this case +has been carefully fostered by Mr. Gladstone's Government for party +purposes, they having found it necessary to assume, in order to make +their position in the matter tenable, that Sir T. Shepstone and other +Officials had been guilty of misrepresentation. Unfortunately, the +Government and its supporters have been more intent upon making out +their case than upon ascertaining the truth of their statements. If +they had taken the trouble to refer to Sir T. Shepstone's despatches, +they would have found that the ground on which the Transvaal was +annexed was, not because the majority of the inhabitants wished for +it, but because the State was drifting into anarchy, was bankrupt, and +was about to be destroyed by native tribes. They would further have +found that Sir T. Shepstone never represented that the majority of the +Boers were in favour of Annexation. What he did say was that most +thinking men in the country saw no other way out of the difficulty; +but what proportion of the Boers can be called "thinking men?" He also +said, in the fifteenth paragraph of his despatch to Lord Carnarvon of +6th March 1877, that petitions signed by 2500 people, representing +every class of the community, out of a total adult population of 8000, +had been presented to the Government of the Republic, setting forth +its difficulties and dangers, and praying it "to treat with me for +their amelioration or removal." He also stated, and with perfect +truth, that many more would have signed had it not been for the +terrorism that was exercised, and that all the towns and villages in +the country desired the change, which was a patent fact. + +This is the foundation on which the charge of misrepresentation is +built--a charge which has been manipulated so skilfully, and with such +a charming disregard for the truth, that the British public has been +duped into believing it. When it is examined into, it vanishes into +thin air. + +But a darker charge has been brought against the Special Commissioner +--a charge affecting his honour as a gentleman and his character as a +Christian; and, strange to say, has gained a considerable credence, +especially amongst a certain party in England. I allude to the +statement that he called up the Zulu army with the intention of +sweeping the Transvaal if the Annexation was objected to. I may state, +from my own personal knowledge, that the report is a complete +falsehood, and that no such threat was ever made, either by Sir T. +Shepstone or by anybody connected with him, and I will briefly prove +what I say. + +When the mission first arrived at Pretoria, a message came from +Cetywayo to the effect that he had heard that the Boers had fired at +"Sompseu" (Sir T. Shepstone), and announcing his intention of +attacking the Transvaal if "his father" was touched. About the middle +of March alarming rumours began to spread as to the intended action of +Cetywayo with reference to the Transvaal; but as Sir T. Shepstone did +not think that the king would be likely to make any hostile movement +whilst he was in the country, he took no steps in the matter. Neither +did the Transvaal Government ask his advice and assistance. Indeed, a +remarkable trait in the Boers is their supreme self-conceit, which +makes them believe that they are capable of subduing all the natives +in Africa, and of thrashing the whole British army if necessary. +Unfortunately, the recent course of events has tended to confirm them +in their opinion as regards their white enemies. To return: towards +the second week in April, or the week before the proclamation of +annexation was issued, things began to look very serious; indeed, +rumours that could hardly be discredited reached the Special +Commissioner that the whole of the Zulu army was collected in a chain +of Impis or battalions, with the intention of bursting into the +Transvaal and sweeping the country. Knowing how terrible would be the +catastrophe if this were to happen, Sir T. Shepstone was much alarmed +about the matter, and at a meeting with the Executive Council of the +Transvaal Government he pointed out to them the great danger in which +the country was placed. This was done in the presence of several +officers of his Staff, and it was on this friendly exposition of the +state of affairs that the charge that he had threatened the country +with invasion by the Zulus was based. On the 11th of April, or the day +before the Annexation, a message was despatched to Cetywayo, telling +him of the reports that had reached Pretoria, and stating that if they +were true he must forthwith give up all such intentions, as the +Transvaal would at once be placed under the sovereignty of Her +Majesty, and that if he had assembled any armies for purposes of +aggression they must be disbanded at once. Sir T. Shepstone's message +reached Zululand not a day too soon. Had the Annexation of the +Transvaal been delayed by a few weeks even--and this is a point which +I earnestly beg Englishmen to remember in connection with that act-- +Cetywayo's armies would have entered the Transvaal, carrying death +before them, and leaving a wilderness behind them. + +Cetywayo's answer to the Special Commissioner's message will +sufficiently show, to use Sir Theophilus' own words in his despatch on +the subject, "the pinnacle of peril which the Republic and South +Africa generally had reached at the moment when the Annexation took +place." He says, "I thank my Father Sompseu (Sir T. Shepstone) for his +message. I am glad that he has sent it, because the Dutch have tired +me out, and I intended to fight them once and once only, and to drive +them over the Vaal. Kabana (name of messenger), you see my Impis +(armies) are gathered. It was to fight the Dutch I called them +together; now I will send them back to their homes. Is it well that +two men ('amadoda-amabili') should be made 'iziula' (fools)? In the +reign of my father Umpanda the Boers were constantly moving their +boundary further into my country. Since his death the same thing has +been done. I had therefore determined to end it once for all!" The +message then goes on to other matters, and ends with a request to be +allowed to fight the Amaswazi, because "they fight together and kill +one another. This," says Cetywayo naively, "is wrong, and I want to +chastise them for it." + +This quotation will suffice to convince all reasonable men, putting +aside all other matters, from what imminent danger the Transvaal was +delivered by the much-abused Annexation. + +Some months after that event, however, it occurred to the ingenious +mind of some malicious individual in Natal that, properly used, much +political capital might be made out of this Zulu incident, and the +story that Cetywayo's army had been called up by Sir Theophilus +himself to overawe, and, if necessary, subdue the Transvaal, was +accordingly invented and industriously circulated. Although Sir T. +Shepstone at once caused it to be authoritatively contradicted, such +an astonishing slander naturally took firm root, and on the 12th April +1879 we have Mr. M. W. Pretorius, one of the Boer leaders, publicly +stating at a meeting of the farmers that "previous to the Annexation +Sir T. Shepstone had threatened the Transvaal with an attack from the +Zulus as an argument for advancing the Annexation." Under such an +imputation the Government could no longer keep silence, and +accordingly Sir Owen Lanyon, who was then Administrator of the +Transvaal, caused the matter to be officially investigated, with these +results, which are summed up by him in a letter to Mr. Pretorius, +dated 1st May 1879:-- + +1. The records of the Republican Executive Council contained no +allusion to any such statement. + +2. Two members of that Council filed statements in which they +unreservedly denied that Sir T. Shepstone used the words or threats +imputed to him. + +3. Two officers of Sir T. Shepstone's staff, who were always present +with him at interviews with the Executive Council, filed statements to +the same effect. + +"I have no doubt," adds Sir Owen Lanyon, "that the report has been +originated and circulated by some evil-disposed persons." + +In addition to this evidence we have a letter written to the Colonial +Office by Sir T. Shepstone, dated London, August 12, 1879, in which he +points out that Mr. Pretorius was not even present at any of the +interviews with the Executive Council on which occasion he accuses him +of having made use of the threats. He further shows that the use of +such a threat on his part would have been the depth of folly, and +"knowingly to court the instant and ignominious failure of my +mission," because the Boers were so persuaded of their own prowess +that they could not be convinced that they stood in any danger from +native sources, and also because "such play with such keen-edged tools +as the excited passions of savages are, and especially such savages as +I knew the Zulus to be, is not what an experience of forty-two years +in managing them inclined me to." And yet, in the face of all this +accumulated evidence, this report continues to be believed, that is, +by those who wished to believe it. + +Such are the accusations that have been brought against the manner of +the Annexation and the Officer who carried it out, and never were +accusations more groundless. Indeed both for party purposes, and from +personal animus, every means, fair or foul, has been used to discredit +it and all connected with it. To take a single instance, one author +(Miss Colenso, p. 134, "History of the Zulu War") actually goes the +length of putting a portion of a speech made by President Burgers into +the mouth of Sir T. Shepstone, and then abusing him for his incredible +profanity. Surely this exceeds the limits of fair criticism. + +Before I go on to the actual history of the Annexation there is one +point I wish to submit to my reader. In England the change of +Government has always been talked of as though it only affected the +forty thousand white inhabitants of the country, whilst everybody +seems to forget that this same land had about a million human beings +living on it, its original owners, and only, unfortunately for +themselves, possessing a black skin, and therefore entitled to little +consideration,--even at the hands of the most philanthropic Government +in the world. It never seems to have occurred to those who have raised +so much outcry on behalf of the forty thousand Boers, to inquire what +was thought of the matter by the million natives. If they were to be +allowed a voice in their own disposal, the country was certainly +annexed by the wish of a very large majority of its inhabitants. It is +true that Secocoeni, instigated thereto by the Boers, afterwards +continued the war against us, but, with the exception of this one +chief, the advent of our rule was hailed with joy by every native in +the Transvaal, and even he was glad of it at the time. During our +period of rule in the Transvaal the natives have had, as they foresaw, +more peace than at any time since the white man set foot in the land. +They have paid their taxes gladly, and there has been no fighting +among themselves; but since we have given up the country we hear a +very different tale. It is this million of men, women, and children +who, notwithstanding their black skins, live and feel, and have +intelligence as much as ourselves, who are the principal, because the +most numerous sufferers from Mr. Gladstone's conjuring tricks, that +can turn a Sovereign into a Suzerain as airily as the professor of +magic brings a litter of guinea-pigs out of a top hat. It is our +falsehood and treachery to them whom we took over "for ever," as we +told them, and whom we have now handed back to their natural enemies +to be paid off for their loyalty to the Englishman, that is the +blackest stain in all this black business, and that has destroyed our +prestige, and caused us to be looked on amongst them, for they do not +hide their opinion, as "cowards and liars." + +But very little attention, however, seems to have been paid to native +views or claims at any time in the Transvaal; indeed they have all +along been treated as serfs of the soil, to be sold with it, if +necessary, to a new master. It is true that the Government, acting +under pressure from the Aborigines Protection Society, made, on the +occasion of the Surrender, a feeble effort to secure the independence +of some of the native tribes; but when the Boer leaders told them +shortly that they would have nothing of the sort, and that, if they +were not careful, they would reoccupy Laing's Nek, the proposal was at +once dropped, with many assurances that no offence was intended. The +worst of the matter is that this treatment of our native subjects and +allies will assuredly recoil on the heads of future innocent +Governments. + +Shortly after the appointment of the Joint-Commission alluded to at +the beginning of this chapter, President Burgers, who was now in +possession of the Special Commissioner's intentions, should he be +unable to carry out reforms sufficiently drastic to satisfy the +English Government, thought it best to call together the Volksraad. In +the meantime, it had been announced that the "rebel" Secocoeni had +sued for peace and signed a treaty declaring himself a subject of the +Republic. I shall have to enter into the question of this treaty a +little further on, so I will at present only say that it was the first +business laid before the Raad, and, after some discussion, ratified. +Next in order to the Secocoeni peace came the question of +Confederation, as laid down in Lord Carnarvon's Permissive Bill. This +proposal was laid before them in an earnest and eloquent speech by +their President, who entreated them to consider the dangerous position +of the Republic, and to face their difficulties like men. The question +was referred to a committee, and an adverse report being brought up, +was rejected without further consideration. It is just possible that +intimidation had something to do with the summary treatment of so +important a matter, seeing that whilst it was being argued a large mob +of Boers, looking very formidable with their sea-cow hide whips, +watched every move of their representatives through the windows of the +Volksraad Hall. It was Mr. Chamberlain's caucus system in practical +and visible operation. + +A few days after the rejection of the Confederation Bill, President +Burgers, who had frequently alluded to the desperate condition of the +Republic, and stated that either some radical reform must be effected +or the country must come under the British flag, laid before the Raad +a brand new constitution of a very remarkable nature, asserting that +they must either accept it or lose their independence. + +The first part of this strange document dealt with the people and +their rights, which remained much as they were before, with the +exception that the secrecy of all letters entrusted to the post was to +be inviolable. The recognition of this right is an amusing incident in +the history of a free Republic. Under following articles the Volksraad +was entrusted with the charge of the native inhabitants of the State, +the provision for the administration of justice, the conduct of +education, the regulation of money-bills, &c. It is in the fourth +chapter, however, that we come to the real gist of the Bill, which was +the endowment of the State President with the authority of a dictator. +Mr. Burgers thought to save the State by making himself an absolute +monarch. He was to be elected for a period of seven years instead of +five years, and to be eligible for re-election. In him was vested the +power of making all appointments without reference to the legislature. +All laws were to be drawn up by him, and he was to have the right of +veto on Volksraad resolutions, which body he could summon and dissolve +at will. Finally, his Executive Council was to consist of heads of +departments appointed by himself, and of one member of the Volksraad. +The Volksraad treated this Bill in much the same way as they had dealt +with the Permissive Confederation Bill, gave it a casual +consideration, and threw it out. + +The President, meanwhile, was doing his best to convince the Raad of +the danger of the country; that the treasury was empty, whilst duns +were pressing, that enemies were threatening on every side, and, +finally, that Her Majesty's Special Commissioner was encamped within a +thousand yards of them, watching their deliberations with some +interest. He showed them that it was impossible at once to scorn +reform and reject friendly offers, that it was doubtful if anything +could save them, but that if they took no steps they were certainly +lost as a nation. The "Fathers of the land," however, declined to +dance to the President's piping. Then he took a bolder line. He told +them that a guilty nation never can evade the judgment that follows +its steps. He asked them "conscientiously to advise the people not +obstinately to refuse a union with a powerful Government. He could not +advise them to refuse such a union. . . . He did not believe that a +new constitution would save them; for as little as the old +constitution had brought them to ruin, so little would a new +constitution bring salvation. . . . If the citizens of England had +behaved towards the Crown as the burghers of this State had behaved to +their Government, England would never have stood so long as she had." +He pointed out to them their hopeless financial position. "To-day," he +said, "a bill for 1100 pounds was laid before me for signature; but I +would sooner have cut off my right hand than sign that paper--(cheers) +--for I have not the slightest ground to expect that, when that bill +becomes due, there will be a penny to pay it with." And finally, he +exhorted them thus: "Let them make the best of the situation, and get +the best terms they possibly could; let them agree to join their hands +to those of their brethren in the south, and then from the Cape to the +Zambesi there would be one great people. Yes, there was something +grand in that, grander even than their idea of a Republic, something +which ministered to their national feeling--(cheers)--and would this +be so miserable? Yes, this would be miserable for those who would not +be under the law, for the rebel and the revolutionist, but welfare and +prosperity for the men of law and order." + +These powerful words form a strong indictment against the Republic, +and from them there can be little doubt that President Burgers was +thoroughly convinced of the necessity and wisdom of the Annexation. It +is interesting to compare them, and many other utterances of his made +at this period, with the opinions he expresses in the posthumous +document recently published, in which he speaks somewhat jubilantly of +the lessons taught us on Laing's Nek and Majuba by such "an inherently +weak people as the Boers," and points to them as striking instances of +retribution. In this document he attributes the Annexation to the +desire to advance English supremacy in South Africa, and to lay hold +of the way to Central South Africa. It is, however, noticeable that he +does not in any way indicate how it could have been averted, and the +State continue to exist; and he seems all along to feel that his case +is a weak one, for in explaining, or attempting to explain, why he had +never defended himself from the charges brought against him in +connection with the Annexation, he says: "Had I not endured in +silence, had I not borne patiently all the accusations, but out of +selfishness or fear told the plain truth of the case, the Transvaal +would never have had the consideration it has now received from Great +Britain. However unjust the Annexation was, my self-justification +would have /exposed the Boers to such an extent/, and the state of the +country in such a way, that it would have deprived them both of the +sympathy of the world and the consideration of the English +politicians." In other words, "If I had told the truth about things as +I should have been obliged to do to justify myself, there would have +been no more outcry about the Annexation, because the whole world, +even the English Radicals, would have recognised how necessary it was, +and what a fearful state the country was in." + +But to let that pass, it is evident that President Burgers did not +take the same view of the Annexation in 1877 as he did in 1881, and +indeed his speeches to the Volksraad would read rather oddly printed +in parallel columns with his posthumous statement. The reader would be +forced to one of two conclusions, either on one of the two occasions +he is saying what he does not mean, or he must have changed his mind. +As I believe him to have been an honest man, I incline to the latter +supposition; nor do I consider it so very hard to account for, taking +into consideration his natural Dutch proclivities. In 1877 Burgers is +the despairing head of a State driving rapidly to ruin, if not to +actual extinction, when the strong hand of the English Government is +held out to him. What wonder that he accepts it gladly on behalf of +his country, which is by its help brought into a state of greater +prosperity than it has ever before known? In 1881 the wheel has gone +round, and great events have come about whilst he lies dying. The +enemies of the Boers have been destroyed, the powers of the Zulus and +Secocoeni are no more; the country has prospered under a healthy rule, +and its finances have been restored. More,--glad tidings have come +from Mid-Lothian, to the "rebel and the revolutionist," whose hopes +were flagging, and eloquent words have been spoken by the new English +Dictator that have aroused a great rebellion. And, to crown all, +English troops have suffered one massacre and three defeats, and +England sues for peace from the South African peasant, heedless of +honour or her broken word, so that the prayer be granted. With such +events before him, that dying man may well have found cause to change +his opinion. Doubtless the Annexation was wrong, since England disowns +her acts; and may not that dream about the great South African +Republic come true after all? Has not the pre-eminence of the +Englishman received a blow from which it can never recover, and is not +his control over Boers and natives irredeemably weakened? And must he, +--Burgers,--go down to posterity as a Dutchman who tried to forward +the interests of the English party? No, doubtless the Annexation was +wrong; but it has done good, for it has brought about the downfall of +the English: and we will end the argument in the very words of his +last public utterance, with which he ends his statement: "South Africa +gained more from this, and has made a larger step forward in the march +of freedom than most people can conceive." + +Who shall say that he is wrong? the words of dying men are sometimes +prophetic! South Africa has made a great advance towards the "freedom" +of a Dutch Republic. + +This has been a digression, but I hope not an uninteresting one. To +return--on the 1st March, Sir T. Shepstone met the Executive Council, +and told them that in his opinion there was now but one remedy to be +adopted, and that was that the Transvaal should be united with English +Colonies of South Africa under one head, namely the Queen, saying at +the same time that the only thing now left to the Republic was to make +the best arrangements it could for the future benefit of its +inhabitants, and to submit to that which he saw to be, and every +thinking man saw to be, inevitable. So soon as this information was +officially communicated to the Raad, for a good proportion of its +members were already acquainted with it unofficially, it flew from a +state of listless indifference into vigorous and hasty action. The +President was censured, and a Committee was appointed to consider and +report upon the situation, which reported in favour of the adoption of +Burgers' new constitution. Accordingly, the greatest part of this +measure, which had been contemptuously rejected a few days before, was +adopted almost without question, and Mr. Paul Kruger was appointed +Vice-President. On the following day, a very drastic treason law was +passed, borrowed from the Statute book of the Orange Free State, which +made all public expression of opinion, if adverse to the Government, +or in any way supporting the Annexation party, high treason. This +done, the Assembly prorogued itself until--October 1881. + +During and after the sitting of the Raad, rumours arose that the Chief +Secocoeni's signature to the treaty of peace, ratified by that body, +had been obtained by misrepresentation. As ratified, this treaty +consisted of three articles, according to which Secocoeni consented, +first to become a subject of the Republic, and obey the laws of the +country; secondly, to agree to a certain restricted boundary line and, +thirdly, to pay 2000 head of cattle; which, considering he had +captured quite 5000 head, was not exorbitant. + +Towards the end of February a written message was received from +Secocoeni by Sir T. Shepstone, dated after the signing of the supposed +treaty. The original, which was written in Sisutu, was a great +curiosity. The following is a correct translation:-- + + + "For Myn Heer Sheepstone,--I beg you, Chief, come help me, the + Boers are killing me, and I don't know the reasons why they should + be angry with me; Chief, I beg you come with Myn Heer Merensky.--I + am Sikukuni." + + +This message was accompanied by a letter from Mr. Merensky, a well- +known and successful missionary, who had been for many years resident +in Secocoeni's country, in which he stated that he heard on very good +authority that Secocoeni had distinctly refused to agree to that +article of the treaty by which he became a subject of the State. He +adds that he cannot remain "silent while such tricks are played." + +Upon this information, Sir T. Shepstone wrote to President Burgers, +stating that "if the officer in whom you have placed confidence has +withheld any portion of the truth from you, especially so serious a +portion of it, he is guilty of a wrong towards you personally, as well +as towards the Government, because he has caused you to assume an +untenable position," and suggesting that a joint commission should be +despatched to Secocoeni, to thoroughly sift the question in the +interest of all concerned. This suggestion was after some delay agreed +to, and a commission was appointed, consisting of Mr. Van Gorkom, a +Hollander, and Mr. Holtshausen, a member of the Executive Council, on +behalf of the Transvaal Government, and Mr. Osborn, R.M., and Captain +Clarke, R.A., on behalf of the Commissioner, whom I accompanied as +Secretary. + +At Middelburg the native Gideon who acted as interpreter between +Commandant Ferreira, C.M.G. (the officer who negotiated the treaty on +behalf of the Boer Government), and Secocoeni was examined, and also +two natives, Petros and Jeremiah, who were with him, but did not +actually interpret. All these men persisted that Secocoeni had +positively refused to become a subject of the Republic, and only +consented to sign the treaty on the representations of Commandant +Ferreira that it would only be binding, as regards to the two articles +about the cattle and the boundary line. + +The Commission then proceeded to Secocoeni's town, accompanied by a +fresh set of interpreters, and had a long interview with Secocoeni. +The chief's Prime Minister or "mouth," Makurupiji, speaking in his +presence, and on his behalf and making use of the pronoun "I" before +all the assembled headmen of the tribe, gave an account of the +interview between Commandant Ferreira in the presence of that +gentleman, who accompanied the commission and Secocoeni, in almost the +same words as had been used by the interpreters at Middelburg. He +distinctly denied having consented to become a subject of the Republic +or to stand under the law, and added that he feared he "had touched +the feather to" (signed) things that he did not know of in the treaty. +Commandant Ferreira then put some questions, but entirely failed to +shake the evidence; on the contrary, he admitted by his questions that +Secocoeni had not consented to become a subject of the Republic. +Secocoeni had evidently signed the piece of paper under the impression +that he was acknowledging his liability to pay 2000 head of cattle, +and fixing a certain portion of his boundary line, and on the distinct +understanding that he was not to become a subject of the State. + +Now it was the Secocoeni war that had brought the English Mission into +the country, and if it could be shown that the Secocoeni war had come +to a successful termination, it would go far towards helping the +Mission out again. To this end, it was necessary that the Chief should +declare himself a subject of the State, and thereby, by implication +acknowledge himself to have been a rebel, and admit his defeat. All +that was required was a signature, and that once obtained the treaty +was published and submitted to the Raad for confirmation, without a +whisper being heard of the conditions under which this ignorant Basutu +was induced to sign. Had no Commission visited Secocoeni, this treaty +would afterwards have been produced against him in its entirety. +Altogether, the history of the Secocoeni Peace Treaty does not +reassure one as to the genuineness of the treaties which the Boers are +continually producing, purporting to have been signed by native +chiefs, and as a general rule presenting the State with great tracts +of country in exchange for a horse or a few oxen. However fond the +natives may be of their Boer neighbours, such liberality can scarcely +be genuine. On the other hand, it is so easy to induce a savage to +sign a paper, or even, if he is reticent, to make a cross for him, and +once made, as we all know, /litera scripa manet/, and becomes title to +the lands. + +During the Secocoeni investigation, affairs in the Transvaal were +steadily drifting towards anarchy. The air was filled with rumours; +now it was reported that an outbreak was imminent amongst the English +population at the Gold Fields, who had never forgotten Von +Schlickmann's kind suggestion that they should be "subdued;" now it +was said that Cetywayo had crossed the border, and might shortly be +expected at Pretoria; now that a large body of Boers were on their +road to shoot the Special Commissioner, his twenty-five policemen and +Englishmen generally, and so on. + +Meanwhile, Paul Kruger and his party were not letting the grass grow +under their feet, but worked public feeling with great vigour, with +the double object of getting Paul made President and ridding +themselves of the English. Articles in his support were printed in the +well-known Dutch paper "Die Patriot," published in the Cape Colony, +which are so typical of the Boers and of the only literature that has +the slightest influence over them, that I will quote a few extracts +from one of them. + +After drawing a very vivid picture of the wretched condition of the +country as compared to what it was when the Kafirs had "a proper +respect" for the Boers, before Burgers came into power, the article +proceeds to give the cause of this state of affairs. "God's word," it +says, "gives us the solution. Look at Israel, while the people have a +godly king, everything is prosperous, but under a godless prince the +land retrogrades, and the whole of the people must suffer. Read +Leviticus, chapter 26, with attention, &c. In the day of the +Voortrekkers (pioneers), a handful of men chased a thousand Kafirs and +made them run; so also in the Free State War (Deut. xxxii. 30; Jos. +xxiii. 10; Lev. xxvi. 8). But mark, now when Burgers became President, +he knows no Sabbath, he rides through the land in and out of town on +Sunday, he knows not the church and God's service (Lev. xxvi. 2-3) to +the scandal of pious people. And he formerly was a priest too. And +what is the consequence? No harvest (Lev. xxvi. 16), an army of 6,000 +men runs because one man falls (Lev. xxvi. 17, &c.) What is now the +remedy?" The remedy proves to be Paul Kruger, "because there is no +other candidate. Because our Lord clearly points him out to be the +man, for why is there no other candidate? Who arranged it this way?" +Then follows a rather odd argument in favour of Paul's election, +"Because he himself (P. Kruger) acknowledges in his own reply that he +is /incompetent/, but that all his ability is from our Lord. Because +he is a warrior. Because he is a Boer." Then Paul Kruger, the warrior +and the Boer, is compared to Joan of Arc, "a simple Boer girl who came +from behind the sheep." The Burghers of Transvaal are exhorted to +acknowledge the hand of the Lord, and elect Paul Kruger, or look for +still heavier punishment. (Lev. xxvi. 18 /et seq/.) Next the "Patriot" +proceeds to give a bit of advice to "our candidate, Paul Kruger." He +is to deliver the land from the Kafirs. "The Lord has given you the +heart of a warrior, arise and drive them," a bit of advice quite +suited to his well-known character. But this chosen vessel was not to +get all the loaves and fishes; on the contrary, as soon as he had +fulfilled his mission of "driving" the Kafirs, he was to hand over his +office to a "good" president. The article ends thus: "If the Lord +wills to use you now to deliver this land from its enemies, and a day +of peace and prosperity arises again, and you see that you are not +exactly the statesman to further govern the Republic, then it will be +your greatest honour to say, 'Citizens, I have delivered you from the +enemy, I am no statesman, but now you have peace and time to choose +and elect a /good/ President.'" + +An article such as the above is instructive reading as showing the low +calibre of the minds that are influenced by it. Yet such writings and +sermons have more power among the Boers than any other arguments, +appealing as they do to the fanaticism and vanity of their nature, +which causes them to believe that the Divinity is continually +interfering on their behalf at the cost of other people. It will be +noticed that the references given are all to the Old Testament, and +nearly all refer to acts of blood. + +These doctrines were not, however, at all acceptable to Burgers' +party, or the more enlightened members of the community, and so bitter +did the struggle of rival opinions become that there is very little +doubt that had the country not been annexed, civil war would have been +added to its other calamities. Meanwhile the natives were from day to +day becoming more restless, and messengers were constantly arriving at +the Special Commissioner's camp, begging that their tribe might be put +under the Queen, and stating that they would fight rather than submit +any longer to the Boers. + +At length on the 9th April, Sir T. Shepstone informed the Government +of the Republic that he was about to declare the Transvaal British +territory. He told them that he had considered and reconsidered his +determination, but that he could see no possible means within the +State by which it could free itself from the burdens that were sinking +it to destruction, adding that if he could have found such means he +would certainly not have hidden them from the Government. This +intimation was received in silence, though all the later proceedings +with reference to the Annexation were in reality carried out in +concert with the Authorities of the Republic. Thus on the 13th March +the Government submitted a paper of ten questions to Sir T. Shepstone +as regards the future condition of the Transvaal under English rule, +whether the debts of the State would be guaranteed, &c. To these +questions replies were given which were on the whole satisfactory to +the Government. As these replies formed the basis of the proclamation +guarantees, it is not necessary to enter into them. + +It was further arranged by the Republican Government that a formal +protest should be entered against the Annexation, which was +accordingly prepared and privately shown to the Special Commissioner. +The annexation proclamation was also shown to President Burgers, and a +paragraph eliminated at his suggestion. In fact, the Special +Commissioner and the President, together with most of his Executive, +were quite at one as regards the necessity of the proclamation being +issued, their joint endeavours being directed to the prevention of any +disturbance, and to secure a good reception for the change. + +At length, after three months of inquiry and negotiation, the +proclamation of annexation was on the 12th of April 1877 read by Mr. +Osborn, accompanied by some other gentlemen of Sir T. Shepstone's +staff. It was an anxious moment for all concerned. To use the words of +the Special Commissioner in his despatch home on the subject, "Every +effort had been made during the previous fortnight by, it is said, +educated Hollanders, and who had but lately arrived in the country to +rouse the fanaticism of the Boers and induce them to offer 'bloody' +resistance to what it was known I intended to do. The Boers were +appealed to in the most inflammatory language by printed manifestoes +and memorials; . . . . it was urged that I had but a small escort +which could easily be overpowered." In a country so full of +desperadoes and fanatical haters of anything English, it was more than +possible than though such an act would have been condemned by the +general sense of the country, a number of men could easily be found +who would think they were doing a righteous act in greeting the +"annexationists" with an ovation of bullets. I do not mean that the +anxiety was personal, because I do not think the members of that small +party set any higher value on their lives than other people, but it +was absolutely necessary for the success of the act itself, and for +the safety of the country, that not a single shot should be fired. Had +that happened it is probable that the whole country would have been +involved in confusion and bloodshed, the Zulus would have broken in, +and the Kafirs would have risen; in fact, to use Cetywayo's words, +"the land would have burned with fire." + +It will therefore be easily understood what an anxious hour that was +both for the Special Commissioner sitting up at Government House, and +for his Staff down on the Market Square, and how thankful they were +when the proclamation was received with hearty cheers by the crowd. +Mr. Burgers' protest, which was read immediately afterwards, was +received in respectful silence. + +And thus the Transvaal Territory passed for a while into the great +family of the English Colonies. I believe that the greatest political +opponent of the act will bear tribute to the very remarkable ability +with which it was carried out. When the variety and number of the +various interests that had to be conciliated, the obstinate nature of +the individuals who had to be convinced, as well as the innate hatred +of the English name and ways which had to be overcome to carry out +this act successfully, are taken into consideration: together with a +thousand other matters, the neglect of any one of which would have +sufficed to make failure certain, it will be seen what tact and skill, +and knowledge of human nature were required to execute so difficult a +task. It must be remembered that no force was used, and that there +never was any threat of force. The few troops that were to enter the +Transvaal were four weeks' march from Pretoria at the time. There was +nothing whatsoever to prevent the Boers putting a summary stop to the +proceedings of the Commissioner if they had thought fit. + +That Sir Theophilus played a bold and hazardous game nobody will deny, +but, like most players who combine boldness with coolness of head and +justice of cause, he won; and, without shedding a single drop of +blood, or even confiscating an acre of land, and at no cost, annexed a +great country, and averted a very serious war. That same country four +years later cost us a million of money, the loss of nearly a thousand +men killed and wounded, and the ruin of many more confiding thousands, +to surrender. It is true, however, that nobody can accuse the +retrocession of having been conducted with judgment or ability--very +much the contrary. + +There can be no more ample justification of the necessity of the issue +of the annexation proclamation than the proclamation itself-- + +First, it touches on the Sand River Convention of 1852, by which +independence was granted to the State, and shows that the "evident +objects and inciting motives" in granting such guarantee were to +promote peace, free-trade and friendly intercourse, in the hope and +belief that the Republic "would become a flourishing and self- +sustaining State, a source of strength and security to neighbouring +European communities, and a point from which Christianity and +civilisation might rapidly spread toward Central Africa." It goes on +to show how these hopes have been disappointed, and how that +"increasing weakness in the State itself on the one side, and more +than corresponding growth of real strength and confidence among the +native tribes on the other have produced their natural and inevitable +consequence. . . . that after more or less of irritating conflict with +aboriginal tribes to the north, there commenced about the year 1867 +gradual abandonment to the natives in that direction of territory, +settled by burghers of the Transvaal in well-built towns and villages +and on granted farms." + +It goes on to show that "this decay of power and ebb of authority in +the north, is being followed by similar processes in the south under +yet more dangerous circumstances. People of this State residing in +that direction have been compelled within the last three months, at +the bidding of native chiefs and at a moment's notice, to leave their +farms and homes, their standing crops. . . . . all to be taken +possession of by natives, but that the Government is more powerless +than ever to vindicate its assumed rights or to resist the declension +that is threatening its existence." It then recites how all the other +colonies and communities of South Africa have lost confidence in the +State, how it is in a condition of hopeless bankruptcy, and its +commerce annihilated whilst the inhabitants are divided into factions, +and the Government has fallen into "helpless paralysis." How also the +prospect of the election of a new President, instead of being looked +forward to with hope, would, in the opinion of all parties, be the +signal for civil war, anarchy, and bloodshed. How that this state of +things affords the very strongest temptation to the great neighbouring +native powers to attack the country, a temptation that they were only +too ready and anxious to yield to, and that the State was in far too +feeble a condition to repel such attacks, from which it had hitherto +only been saved by the repeated representations of the Government of +Natal. The next paragraphs I will quote as they stand, for they sum up +the reasons for the Annexation. + +"That the Secocoeni war, which would have produced but little effect +on a healthy constitution, has not only proved suddenly fatal to the +resources and reputation of the Republic, but has shown itself to be a +culminating point in the history of South Africa, in that a Makatee or +Basutu tribe, unwarlike and of no account in Zulu estimation, +successfully withstood the strength of the State, and disclosed for +the first time to the native powers outside the Republic, from the +Zambesi to the Cape, the great change that had taken place in the +relative strength of the white and black races, that this disclosure +at once shook the prestige of the white man in South Africa, and +placed every European community in peril, that this common danger has +caused universal anxiety, has given to all concerned the right to +investigate its cause, and to protect themselves from its +consequences, and has imposed the duty upon those who have the power +to shield enfeebled civilisation from the encroachments of barbarism +and inhumanity." It proceeds to point out that the Transvaal will be +the first to suffer from the results of its own policy, and that it is +for every reason perfectly impossible for Her Majesty's Government to +stand by and see a friendly white State ravaged, knowing that its own +possessions will be the next to suffer. That H. M. Government, being +persuaded that the only means to prevent such a catastrophe would be +by the annexation of the country, and, knowing that this was the wish +of a large proportion of the inhabitants of the Transvaal, the step +must be taken. Next follows the formal annexation. + +Together with the proclamation, an address was issued by Sir T. +Shepstone to the burghers of the State, laying the facts before them +in a friendly manner, more suited to their mode of thought than it was +possible to do in a formal proclamation. This document, the issue of +which was one of those touches that ensured the success of the +Annexation, was a powerful summing up in colloquial language of the +arguments used in the proclamation strengthened by quotations from the +speeches of the President. It ends with these words: "It remains only +for me to beg of you to consider and weigh what I have said calmly and +without undue prejudice. Let not mere feeling or sentiment prevail +over your judgment. Accept what Her Majesty's Government intends shall +be, and what you will soon find from experience, is a blessing not +only to you and your children, but to the whole of South Africa +through you, and I believe that I speak these words to you as a friend +from my heart." + +Two other proclamations were also issued, one notifying the assumption +of the office of Administrator of the Government by Sir T. Shepstone, +and the other repealing the war-tax, which was doubtless an unequal +and oppressive impost. + +I have in the preceding pages stated all the principal grounds of the +Annexation and briefly sketched the history of that event. In the next +chapter I propose to follow the fortunes of the Transvaal under +British Rule. + + + + CHAPTER IV + + THE TRANSVAAL UNDER BRITISH RULE + + Reception of the annexation--Major Clarke and the Volunteers-- + Effect of the annexation on credit and commerce--Hoisting of the + Union Jack--Ratification of the annexation by Parliament--Messrs. + Kruger and Jorissen's mission to England--Agitation against the + annexation in the Cape Colony--Sir T. Shepstone's tour--Causes of + the growth of discontent among the Boers--Return of Messrs. + Jorissen and Kruger--The Government dispenses with their services + --Despatch of a second deputation to England--Outbreak of war with + Secocoeni--Major Clarke, R.A.--The Gunn of Gunn plot--Mission of + Captain Paterson and Mr. Sergeaunt to Matabeleland--Its melancholy + termination--The Isandhlwana disaster--Departure of Sir T. + Shepstone for England--Another Boer meeting--The Pretoria Horse-- + Advance of the Boers on Pretoria--Arrival of Sir B. Frere at + Pretoria and dispersion of the Boers--Arrival of Sir Garnet + Wolseley--His proclamation--The Secocoeni expedition--Proceedings + of the Boers--Mr. Pretorius--Mr. Gladstone's Mid-Lothian speeches, + their effect--Sir G. Wolseley's speech at Pretoria, its good + results--Influx of Englishmen and cessation of agitation-- + Financial position of the country after three years of British + rule--Letter of the Boer leaders to Mr. Courtney. + +The news of the Annexation was received all over the country with a +sigh of relief, and in many parts of it with great rejoicings. At the +Gold Fields, for instance, special thanksgiving services were held, +and "God save the Queen" was sung in church. Nowhere was there the +slightest disturbance, but, on the contrary, addresses of +congratulation and thanks literally poured in by every mail, many of +them signed by Boers who have since been conspicuous for their bitter +opposition to English rule. At first, there was some doubt as to what +would be the course taken under the circumstances by the volunteers +enlisted by the late Republic. Major Clarke, R.A., was sent to convey +the news, and to take command of them, unaccompanied save by his Kafir +servant. On arrival at the principal fort, he at once ordered the +Republican flag to be hauled down and the Union Jack run up, and his +orders were promptly obeyed. A few days afterwards some members of the +force thought better of it, and having made up their minds to kill +him, came to the tent where he was sitting to carry out their purpose. +On learning their kind intentions, Major Clarke fixed his eye-glass in +his eye, and, after steadily glaring at them through it for some time, +said, "You are all drunk, go back to your tents." The volunteers, +quite overcome by his coolness and the fixity of his gaze, at once +slipped off, and there was no further trouble. About three weeks after +the Annexation, the 1-13th Regiment arrived at Pretoria, having been +very well received all along the road by the Boers, who came from +miles round to hear the band play. Its entry into Pretoria was quite a +sight; the whole population turned out to meet it; indeed the feeling +of rejoicing and relief was so profound that when the band began to +play "God save the Queen" some of the women burst into tears. + +Meanwhile the effect of the Annexation on the country was perfectly +magical. Credit and commerce were at once restored; the railway bonds +that were down to nothing in Holland rose with one bound to par, and +the value of landed property nearly doubled. Indeed it would have been +possible for any one, knowing what was going to happen, to have +realised large sums of money by buying land in the beginning of 1877, +and selling it shortly after the Annexation. + +On the 24th May, being Her Majesty's birthday, all the native chiefs +who were anywhere within reach, were summoned to attend the first +formal hoisting of the English flag. The day was a general festival, +and the ceremony was attended by a large number of Boers and natives +in addition to all the English. At mid-day, amidst the cheers of the +crowd, the salute of artillery, and the strains of "God save the +Queen," the Union Jack was run up a lofty flagstaff, and the Transvaal +was formally announced to be British soil. The flag was hoisted by +Colonel Brooke, R.E., and the present writer. Speaking for myself, I +may say that it was one of the proudest moments of my life. Could I +have foreseen that I should live to see that same flag, then hoisted +with so much joyous ceremony, within a few years shamefully and +dishonourably hauled down and buried,[*] I think it would have been +the most miserable. + +[*] The English flag was during the signing of the Convention at + Pretoria formally buried by a large crowd of Englishmen and loyal + natives. + +The Annexation was as well received in England as it was in the +Transvaal. Lord Carnarvon wrote to Sir T. Shepstone to convey "the +Queen's entire approval of your conduct since you received Her +Majesty's commission, with a renewal of my own thanks on behalf of the +Government for the admirable prudence and discretion with which you +have discharged a great and unwonted responsibility." It was also +accepted by Parliament with very few dissentient voices, since it was +not till afterwards, when the subject became useful as an +electioneering howl, that the Liberal party, headed by our "powerful +popular minister," discovered the deep iniquity that had been +perpetrated in South Africa. So satisfied were the Transvaal Boers +with the change that Messrs. Kruger, Jorissen, and Bok, who formed the +deputation to proceed to England and present President Burgers' formal +protest against the Annexation, found great difficulty in raising one- +half of the necessary expenses--something under one thousand pounds-- +towards the cost of the undertaking. The thirst for independence +cannot have been very great when all the wealthy burghers in the +Transvaal put together would not subscribe a thousand pounds towards +retaining it. Indeed, at this time the members of the deputation +themselves seem to have looked upon their undertaking as being both +doubtful and undesirable, since they informed Sir T. Shepstone that +they were going to Europe to discharge an obligation which had been +imposed upon them, and if the mission failed, they would have done +their duty. Mr. Kruger said that if they did fail, he would be found +to be as faithful a subject under the new form of government as he had +been under the old; and Dr. Jorissen admitted with equal frankness +that "the change was inevitable, and expressed his belief that the +cancellation of it would be calamitous." + +Whilst the Annexation was thus well received in the country +immediately interested, a lively agitation was commenced in the +Western Province of the Cape Colony, a thousand miles away, with a +view of inducing the Home Government to repudiate Sir T. Shepstone's +act. The reason of this movement was that the Cape Dutch party, caring +little or nothing for the real interests of the Transvaal, did care a +great deal about their scheme to turn all the white communities of +South Africa into a great Dutch Republic, to which they thought the +Annexation would be a deathblow. As I have said elsewhere, it must be +borne in mind that the strings of the anti-annexation agitation have +all along been pulled in the Western Province, whilst the Transvaal +Boers have played the parts of puppets. The instruments used by the +leaders of the movement in the Cape were, for the most part, the +discontented and unprincipled Hollander element, a newspaper of an +extremely abusive nature called the "Volkstem," and another in Natal +known as the "Natal Witness," lately edited by the notorious Aylward, +which has an almost equally unenviable reputation. + +On the arrival of Messrs. Jorissen and Kruger in England, they were +received with great civility by Lord Carnarvon, who was, however, +careful to explain to them that the Annexation was irrevocable. In +this decision they cheerfully acquiesced, assuring his lordship of +their determination to do all they could to induce the Boers to accept +the new state of things, and expressing their desire to be allowed to +serve under the new Government. + +Whilst these gentlemen were thus satisfactorily arranging matters with +Lord Carnarvon, Sir T. Shepstone was making a tour round the country +which resembled a triumphal progress more than anything else. He was +everywhere greeted with enthusiasm by all classes of the community, +Boers, English, and natives, and numerous addresses were presented to +him couched in the warmest language, not only by Englishmen but also +by Boers. + +It is very difficult to reconcile the enthusiasm of a great number of +the inhabitants of the Transvaal for English rule, and the quite +acquiescence of the remainder, at this time, with the decidedly +antagonistic attitude assumed later on. It appears to me, however, +that there are several reasons that go far towards accounting for it. +The Transvaal, when we annexed it, was in the position of a man with a +knife at his throat, who is suddenly rescued by some one stronger than +he, on certain conditions which at the time he gladly accepts, but +afterwards, when the danger is passed, wishes to repudiate. In the +same way the inhabitants of the South African Republic, were in the +time of need very thankful for our aid, but after a while, when the +recollection of their difficulties had grown faint, when their debts +had been paid and their enemies defeated, they began to think that +they would like to get rid of us again, and start fresh on their own +account, with a clean sheet. What fostered agitation more than +anything else, however, was the perfect impunity in which it was +allowed to be carried on. Had only a little firmness and decision been +shown in the first instance there would have been no further trouble. +We might have been obliged to confiscate half-a-dozen farms, and +perhaps imprison as many free burghers for a few months, and there it +would have ended. Neither Boers or natives understand our namby-pamby +way of playing at government; they put it down to fear. What they +want, and what they expect, is to be governed with a just but a firm +hand. Thus when the Boers found that they could agitate with impunity, +they naturally enough continued to agitate. Anybody who knows them +will understand that it was very pleasant to them to find themselves +in possession of that delightful thing, a grievance, and, instead of +stopping quietly at home on their farms, to feel obliged to proceed, +full of importance and long words, to a distant meeting, there to +spout and listen to the spouting of others. It is so much easier to +talk politics than to sow mealies. Some attribute the discontent among +the Boers to the postponement of the carrying out of the annexation +proclamation promises with reference to the free institutions to be +granted to the country, but in my opinion it had little or nothing to +do with it. The Boers never understood the question of responsible +government, and never wanted that institution; what they did want was +to be free of all English control, and this they said twenty times in +the most outspoken language. I think there is little doubt the causes +I have indicated are the real sources of the agitation, though there +must be added to them their detestation of our mode of dealing with +natives, and of being forced to pay taxes regularly, and also the +ceaseless agitation of the Cape wire-pullers, through their agents the +Hollanders, and their organs in the press. + +On the return of Messrs. Kruger and Jorissen to the Transvaal, the +latter gentleman resumed his duties as Attorney-General, on which +occasion, if I remember aright, I myself had the honour of +administering to him the oath of allegiance to Her Majesty, that he +afterwards kept so well. The former reported the proceedings of the +deputation to a Boer meeting, when he took a very different tone to +that in which he addressed Lord Carnarvon, announcing that if there +existed a majority of the people in favour of independence, he still +was Vice-President of the country. + +Both these gentlemen remained for some time in the pay of the British +Government, Mr. Jorissen as Attorney-General, and Mr. Kruger as member +of the Executive Council. The Government, however, at length found it +desirable to dispense with their services, though on different +grounds. Mr. Jorissen had, like several other members of the +Republican Government, been a clergyman, and was quite unfit to hold +the post of Attorney-General in an important colony like the +Transvaal, where legal questions were constantly arising requiring all +the attention of a trained mind; and after he had on several occasions +been publicly admonished from the bench, the Government retired him on +liberal terms. Needless to say, his opposition to English rule then +became very bitter. Mr. Kruger's appointment expired by law in +November 1877, and the Government did not think it advisable to +re-employ him. The terms of his letter of dismissal can be found on +page 135 of Blue Book (c. 144), and involving as they do a serious +charge of misrepresentation in money matters, are not very creditable +to him. After this event he also pursued the cause of independence +with increased vigour. + +During the last months of 1877 and the first part of 1878 agitation +against British rule went on unchecked, and at last grew to alarming +proportions, so much so that Sir T. Shepstone, on his return from the +Zulu border in March 1878, where he had been for some months +discussing the vexed and dangerous question of the boundary line with +the Zulus, found it necessary to issue a stringent proclamation +warning the agitators that their proceedings and meetings were +illegal, and would be punished according to law. This document which +was at the time vulgarly known as the "Hold-your-jaw" proclamation, +not being followed by action, produced but little effect. + +On the 4th April 1878 another Boer meeting was convened, at which it +was decided to send a second deputation to England, to consist this +time of Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, with Mr. Bok as secretary. This +deputation proved as abortive as the first, Sir M. Hicks Beach +assuring it, in a letter dated 6th August 1878, that it is +"impossible, for many reasons, . . . . that the Queen's sovereignty +should now be withdrawn." + +Whilst the Government was thus hampered by internal disaffection, it +had also many other difficulties on its hands. First, there was the +Zulu boundary question, which was constantly developing new dangers to +the country. Indeed, it was impossible to say what might happen in +that direction from one week to another. Nor were its relations with +Secocoeni satisfactory. It will be remembered that just before the +Annexation this chief had expressed his earnest wish to become a +British subject, and even paid over part of the fine demanded from him +by the Boer Government to the Civil Commissioner, Major Clarke. In +March 1878, however, his conduct towards the Government underwent a +sudden change, and he practically declared war. It afterwards +appeared, from Secocoeni's own statement, that he was instigated to +this step by a Boer, Abel Erasmus by name--the same man who was +concerned in the atrocities in the first Secocoeni war--who constantly +encouraged him to continue the struggle. I do not propose to minutely +follow the course of this long war, which, commencing in the beginning +of 1878, did not come to an end till after the Zulu war: when Sir +Garnet Wolseley attacked Secocoeni's stronghold with a large force of +troops, volunteers, and Swazi allies, and took it with great +slaughter. The losses on our side were not very heavy, so far as white +men were concerned, but the Swazies are reported to have lost 400 +killed and 500 wounded. + +The struggle was, during the long period preceding the final attack, +carried on with great courage and ability by Major Clarke, R.A., +C.M.G., whose force, at the best of times, only consisted of 200 +volunteers and 100 Zulus. With this small body of men he contrived, +however, to keep Secocoeni in check, and to take some important +strongholds. It was marked also by some striking acts of individual +bravery, of which one, performed by Major Clarke himself, whose +reputation for cool courage and presence of mind in danger is +unsurpassed in South Africa, is worthy of notice; and which, had +public attention been more concentrated on the Secocoeni war, would +doubtless have won him the Victoria Cross. On one occasion, on +visiting one of the outlying forts, he found that a party of hostile +natives, who were coming down to the fort on the previous day with a +flag of truce, had been accidentally fired upon, and had at once +retreated. As his system in native warfare was always to try and +inspire his enemy with perfect faith in the honour of Englishmen, and +their contempt of all tricks and treachery even towards a foe, he was +very angry at this occurrence, and at once, unarmed and unattended +save by his native servant, rode up into the mountains to the kraal +from which the white flag party had come on the previous day, and +apologised to the Chief for what had happened. When I consider how +very anxious Secocoeni's natives were to kill or capture Clarke, whom +they held in great dread, and how terrible the end of so great a +captain would in all probability have been had he taken alive by these +masters of refined torture, I confess that I think this act of +gentlemanly courage is one of the most astonishing things I ever heard +of. When he rode up those hills he must have known that he was +probably going to meet his death at the hands of justly incensed +savages. When Secocoeni heard of what Major Clarke had done he was so +pleased that he shortly afterwards released a volunteer whom he had +taken prisoner, and who would otherwise, in all probability, have been +tortured to death. I must add that Major Clarke himself never reported +to or alluded to this incident, but an account of it can be found in a +despatch written by Sir O. Lanyon to the Secretary of State, dated 2d +February 1880. + +Concurrently with, though entirely distinct from, the political +agitation that was being carried on among the Boers having for object +the restoration of independence, a private agitation was set on foot +by a few disaffected persons against Sir T. Shepstone, with the view +of obtaining his removal from office in favour of a certain Colonel +Weatherley. The details of this impudent plot are so interesting, and +the plot itself so typical of the state of affairs with which Sir T. +Shepstone had to deal, that I will give a short account of it. + +After the Annexation had taken place, there were naturally enough a +good many individuals who found themselves disappointed in the results +so far as they personally were concerned; I mean that they did not get +so much out of it as they expected. Among these was a gentleman called +Colonel Weatherley, who had come to the Transvaal as manager of a +gold-mining company, but getting tired of that had taken a prominent +part in the Annexation, and who, being subsequently disappointed about +an appointment, became a bitter enemy of the Administrator. I may say +at once that Colonel Weatherley seems to me to have been throughout +the dupe of the other conspirators. + +The next personage was a good-looking desperado, who called himself +Captain Gunn of Gunn, and who was locally somewhat irreverently known +as the very Gunn of very Gunn. This gentleman, whose former career had +been of a most remarkable order, was, on the annexation of the +country, found in the public prison charged with having committed +various offences, but on Colonel Weatherley's interesting himself +strongly on his behalf, he was eventually released without trial. On +his release, he requested the Administrator to publish a Government +notice declaring him innocent of the charges brought against him. This +Sir T. Shepstone declined to do, and so, to use his own words, in a +despatch to the High Commissioner on the subject, Captain Gunn of Gunn +at once became "what in this country is called a patriot." + +The third person concerned was a lawyer, who had got into trouble on +the Diamond Fields, and who felt himself injured because the rules of +the High Court did not allow him to practise as an advocate. The +quartet was made up by Mr. Celliers, the editor of the patriotic +organ, the "Volkstem," who, since he had lost the Government printing +contract, found that no language could be too strong to apply to the +/personnel/ of the Government, more especially its head. Of course, +there was a lady in it; what plot would be complete without? She was +Mrs. Weatherley, now, I believe, Mrs. Gunn of Gunn. These gentlemen +began operations by drawing up a long petition to Sir Bartle Frere as +High Commissioner, setting forth a string of supposed grievances, and +winding up with a request that the Administrator might be "promoted to +some other sphere of political usefulness." This memorial was +forwarded by the "committee," as they called themselves, to various +parts of the country for signature, but without the slightest success, +the fact of the matter being that it was not the Annexor but the +Annexation that the Boers objected to. + +At this stage in the proceedings Colonel Weatherley went to try and +forward the good cause with Sir Bartle Frere at the Cape. His letters +to Mrs. Weatherley from thence, afterwards put into Court in the +celebrated divorce case, contained many interesting accounts of his +attempts in that direction. I do not think, however, that he was +cognisant of what was being concocted by his allies in Pretoria, but +being a very vain, weak man, was easily deceived by them. With all his +faults he was a gentleman. As soon as he was gone a second petition +was drawn up by the "committee," showing "the advisability of +immediately suspending our present Administrator, and temporarily +appointing and recommending for Her Majesty's royal and favourable +consideration an English gentleman of high integrity and honour, in +whom the country at large has respect and confidence." + +The English gentleman of high integrity and honour of course proves to +be Colonel Weatherley, whose appointment is, further on, "respectfully +but earnestly requested," since he had "thoroughly gained the +affections, confidence, and respect of Boers, English, and other +Europeans in this country." But whilst it is comparatively easy to +write petitions, there is sometimes a difficulty in getting people to +sign them, as proved to be the case with reference to the documents +under consideration. When the "committee" and the employes in the +office of the "Volkstem" had affixed their valuable signatures it was +found to be impossible to induce anybody else to follow their example. +Now, a petition with some half dozen signatures attached would not, it +was obvious, carry much weight with the Imperial Government, and no +more could be obtained. + +But really great minds rise superior to such difficulties, and so did +the "committee," or some of them, or one of them. If they could not +get genuine signatures to their petitions, they could at any rate +manufacture them. This great idea once hit out, so vigorously was it +prosecuted that they, or some of them, or one of them, produced in a +very little while no less than 3883 signatures, of which sixteen were +proved to be genuine, five were doubtful, and all the rest fictitious. +But the gentleman, whoever he was, who was the working partner in the +scheme--and I may state, by way of parenthesis, that when Gunn of Gunn +was subsequently arrested, petitions in process of signature were +found under the mattress of his bed--calculated without his host. He +either did not know, or had forgotten, that on receipt of such +documents by a superior officer, they are at once sent to the officer +accused to report upon. This course was followed in the present case, +and the petitions were discovered to be gross impostures. The +ingenuity exercised by their author or authors was really very +remarkable, for it must be remembered that not one of the signatures +was forged; they were all invented, and had, of course, to be written +in a great variety of hands. The plan generally pursued was to put +down the names of people living in the country, with slight +variations. Thus "De /V/illiers" became "De /W/illiers," and "Van +Z/y/l" "Van Z/u/l." I remember that my own name appeared on one of the +petitions with some slight alteration. Some of the names were +evidently meant to be facetious. Thus there was a "Jan Verneuker," +which means "John the Cheat." + +Of the persons directly or indirectly concerned in this rascally plot, +the unfortunate Colonel Weatherly subsequently apologised to Sir T. +Shepstone for his share in the agitation, and shortly afterwards died +fighting bravely on Kambula. Captain Gunn of Gunn and Mrs. Weatherley, +after having given rise to the most remarkable divorce case I ever +heard,--it took fourteen days to try--were, on the death of Colonel +Weatherley, united in the bonds of holy matrimony, and are, I believe, +still in Pretoria. The lawyer vanished I know not where, whilst Mr. +Celliers still continues to edit that admirably conducted journal the +"Volkstem;" nor, if I may judge from the report of a speech made by +him recently at a Boer festival, which, by the way, was graced by the +presence of our representative, Mr. Hudson, the British Resident: has +his right hand forgotten its cunning, or rather his tongue lost the +use of those peculiar and recherche epithets that used to adorn the +columns of the "Volkstem." I see that he, on this occasion, denounced +the English element as being "poisonous and dangerous" to a State, and +stated, amidst loud cheers, that "he despised" it. Mr. Cellier's lines +have fallen in pleasant places; in any other country he would long ago +have fallen a victim to the stern laws of libel. I recommend him to +the notice of enterprising Irish newspapers. Such is the freshness and +vigour of his style that I am confident he would make the fortune of +any Hibernian journal. + +Some little time after the Gunn of Gunn frauds a very sad incident +happened in connection with the Government of the Transvaal. Shortly +after the Annexation, the Home Government sent out Mr. Sergeaunt, +C.M.G., one of the Crown Agents for the Colonies, to report on the +financial condition of the country. He was accompanied, in an +unofficial capacity, amongst other gentlemen, by Captain Patterson and +his son, Mr. J Sergeaunt; and when he returned to England, these two +gentlemen remained behind to go on a shooting expedition. About this +time Sir Bartle Frere was anxious to send a friendly mission to Lo +Bengula, king of the Matabele, a branch of the Zulu tribe, living up +towards the Zambesi. This chief had been making himself unpleasant by +causing traders to be robbed, and it was thought desirable to +establish friendly relations with him, so it was suggested to Captain +Patterson and Mr. Sergeaunt that they should combine business with +pleasure, and go on a mission to Lo Bengula, an offer which they +accepted, and shortly afterwards started for Matabeleland with an +interpreter and a few servants. They reached their destination in +safety; and having concluded their business with the king, started on +a visit to the Zambesi Falls on foot, leaving the interpreter with the +wagon. The falls were about twelve days' walk from the king's kraal, +and they were accompanied thither by young Mr. Thomas, the son of the +local missionary, two Kafir servants, and twenty native bearers +supplied by Lo Bengula. The next thing that was heard of them was that +they had all died through drinking poisoned water, full details of the +manner of their deaths being sent down by Lo Bengula. + +In the first shock and confusion of such news it was not very closely +examined, at any rate by the friends of the dead men, but, on +reflection, there were several things about it that appeared strange. +For instance, it was well known that Captain Patterson had a habit, +for which indeed, we had often laughed at him, of, however thirsty he +might be, always having his water boiled when he was travelling, in +order to destroy impurities: and it seemed odd, that he should on this +one occasion, have neglected the precaution. Also, it was curious that +the majority of Lo Bengula's bearers appeared to have escaped, whereas +all the others were, without exception, killed; nor even in that +district is it usual to find water so bad that it will kill with the +rapidity it had been supposed to do in this case, unless indeed it had +been designedly poisoned. These doubts of the poisoning-by-water-story +resolved themselves into certainty when the waggon returned in charge +of the interpreter, when, by putting two and two together, we were +able to piece out the real history of the diabolical murder of our +poor friends with considerable accuracy, a story which shows what +bloodthirsty wickedness a savage is capable of when he fancies his +interests are threatened. + +It appeared that, when Captain Patterson first interviewed Lo Bengula, +he was not at all well received by him. I must, by way of explanation, +state that there exists a Pretender to his throne, Kruman by name, +who, as far as I can make out, is the real heir to the kingdom. This +man had, for some cause or other, fled the country, and for a time +acted as gardener to Sir T. Shepstone in Natal. At the date of Messrs. +Patterson and Sergeaunt's mission to Matabeleland he was living, I +believe, in the Transvaal. Captain Patterson, on finding himself so +ill received by the king, and not being sufficiently acquainted with +the character of savage chiefs, most unfortunately, either by accident +or design, dropped some hint in the course of conversation about this +Kruman. From that moment, Lo Bengula's conduct towards the mission +entirely changed, and, dropping his former tone, he became profusely +civil; and from that moment, too, he doubtless determined to kill +them, probably fearing that they might forward some scheme to oust him +and place Kruman, on whose claim a large portion of his people looked +favourably, on the throne. + +When their business was done, and Captain Patterson told the king that +they were anxious, before returning, to visit the Zambesi Falls, he +readily fell in with their wish, but, in the first instance, refused +permission to young Thomas, the son of the missionary, to accompany +them, only allowing him to do so on the urgent representation of +Captain Patterson. The reason for this was, no doubt, that he had +kindly feelings towards the lad, and did not wish to include him in +the slaughter. + +Captain Patterson was a man of extremely methodical habits, and, +amongst other things, was in the habit of making notes of all that he +did. His note-book had been taken off his body, and sent down to +Pretoria with the other things. In it we found entries of his +preparations for the trip, including the number and names of the +bearers provided by Lo Bengula. We also found the chronicle of the +first three days' journey, and that of the morning of the fourth day, +but there the record stopped. The last entry was probably made a few +minutes before he was killed; and it is to be observed that there was +no entry of the party having been for several days without water, as +stated by the messengers, and then finding the poisoned water. + +This evidence by itself would not have amounted to much, but now comes +the curious part of the story, showing the truth of the old adage, +"Murder will out." It appears that when the waggon was coming down to +Pretoria in charge of the interpreter, it was outspanned one day +outside the borders of Lo Bengula's country, when some Kafirs-- +Bechuanas, I think--came up, asked for some tobacco, and fell into +conversation with the driver, remarking that he had come up with a +full waggon, and now he went down with an empty one. The driver +replied by lamenting the death by poisoned water of his masters, +whereupon one of the Kafirs told him the following story:--He said +that a brother of his was out hunting, a little while back, in the +desert for ostriches, with a party of other Kafirs, when hearing shots +fired some way off, they made for the spot, thinking that white men +were out shooting, and that they would be able to beg meat. On +reaching the spot, which was by a pool of water, they saw the bodies +of three white men lying on the ground, and also those of a Hottentot +and a Kafir, surrounded by an armed party of Kafirs. They at once +asked the Kafirs what they had been doing killing the white men, and +were told to be still, for it was by "order of the king." They then +learned the whole story. It appeared that the white men had made a +mid-day halt by the water, when one of the bearers, who had gone to +the edge of the pool, suddenly shouted to them to come and look at a +great snake in the water. Captain Patterson ran up, and, as he leaned +over the edge, was instantly killed by a blow with an axe; the others +were then shot and assegaied. The Kafir further described the clothes +that his brother had seen on the bodies, and also some articles that +had been given to his party by the murderers, that left little doubt +as to the veracity of his story. And so ended the mission to +Matabeleland. + +No public notice was taken of the matter, for the obvious reason that +it was impossible to get at Lo Bengula to punish him; nor would it +have been easy to come by legal evidence to disprove the ingenious +story of the poisoned water, since anybody trying to reach the spot of +the massacre would probably fall a victim to some similar accident +before he got back again. It is devoutly to be hoped that the +punishment he deserves will sooner or later overtake the author of +this devilish and wholesale murder. + +The beginning of 1879 was signalised by the commencement of operations +in Zululand and by the news of the terrible disaster at Isandhlwana, +which fell on Pretoria like a thunderclap. It was not, however, any +surprise to those who were acquainted with Zulu tactics and with the +plan of attack adopted by the English commanders. In fact, I know that +one solemn warning of what would certainly happen to him, if he +persisted in his plan of advance, was addressed to Lord Chelmsford, +through the officer in command at Pretoria, by a gentlemen whose +position and long experience of the Zulus and their mode of attack +should have carried some weight. If it ever reached him, he took, to +the best of my recollection, no notice of it whatever. + +But though some such disaster was daily expected by a few, the +majority of both soldiers and civilians never dreamed of anything of +the sort, the general idea being that the conquest of Cetywayo was a +very easy undertaking: and the shock produced by the news of +Isandhlwana was proportionally great, especially as it reached +Pretoria in a much exaggerated form. I shall never forget the +appearance of the town that morning; business was entirely suspended, +and the streets were filled with knots of men talking, with scared +faces, as well they might: for there was scarcely anybody but had lost +a friend, and many thought that their sons or brothers were among the +dead on that bloody field. Among others, Sir T. Shepstone lost one +son, and thought for some time that he had lost three. + +Shortly after this event Sir T. Shepstone went to England to confer +with the Secretary of State on various matters connected with the +Transvaal, carrying with him the affection and respect of all who knew +him, not excepting the majority of the malcontent Boers. He was +succeeded by Colonel, now Sir Owen Lanyon, who was appointed to +administer the Government during the absence of Sir T. Shepstone. + +By the Boers, however, the news of our disaster was received with +great and unconcealed rejoicing, or at least by the irreconcilable +portion of that people. England's necessity was their opportunity, and +one of which they certainly meant to avail themselves. Accordingly, +notices were sent out summoning the burghers of the Transvaal to +attend a mass meeting on the 18th March, at a place about thirty miles +from Pretoria. Emissaries were also sent to native chiefs, to excite +them to follow Cetywayo's example, and massacre all the English within +reach, of whom a man called Solomon Prinsloo was one of the most +active. The natives, however, notwithstanding the threats used towards +them, one and all declined the invitation. + +It must not be supposed that all the Boers who attended these meetings +did so of their own free will; on the contrary, a very large number +came under compulsion, since they found that the English authorities +were powerless to give them protection. The recalcitrants were +threatened with all sorts of pains and penalties if they did not +attend, a favourite menace being that they should be made "biltong" of +when the country was given back (i.e., be cut into strips and hung in +the sun to dry). Few, luckily for themselves, were brave enough to +tempt fortune by refusing to come, but those who did, have had to +leave the country since the war. Whatever were the means employed, the +result was an armed meeting of about 3000 Boers, who evidently meant +mischief. + +Just about this time a corps had been raised in Pretoria, composed, +for the most part, of gentlemen, and known as the Pretoria Horse; for +the purpose of proceeding to the Zulu border, where cavalry, +especially cavalry acquainted with the country, was earnestly needed. +In the emergency of the times officials were allowed to join this +corps, a permission of which I availed myself, and was elected one of +the lieutenants.[*] The corps was not, after all, allowed to go to +Zululand on account of the threatening aspect adopted by the Boers, +against whom it was retained for service. In my capacity as an officer +of the corps I was sent out with a small body of picked men, all good +riders and light weights, to keep up a constant communication between +the Boer camp and the Administrator, and found the work both +interesting and exciting. My head-quarters were at an inn about +twenty-five miles from Pretoria, to which our agents in the meeting +used to come every evening and report how matters were proceeding, +whereupon, if the road was clear, I despatched a letter to head- +quarters; or, if I feared that the messengers would be caught /en +route/ by Boer patrols and searched, I substituted different coloured +ribbons according to what I wished to convey. There was a relief +hidden in the trees or rocks every six miles, all day and most of the +night, whose business it was to take the despatch or ribbon and gallop +on with it to the next station, in which way we used to get the +despatches into town in about an hour and a quarter. + +[*] It is customary in South African volunteer forces to allow the + members to elect their own officers, provided the men elected are + such as the Government approves. This is done, so that the corps + may not afterwards be able to declare that they have no confidence + in their officers in action, or to grumble at their treatment by + them. + +On one or two occasions the Boers came to the inn and threatened to +shoot us, but as our orders were to do nothing unless our lives were +actually in danger, we took no notice. The officer who came out to +relieve me had not, however, been there more than a day or two before +he and all his troopers, were hunted back into Pretoria by a large mob +of armed Boers whom they only escaped by very hard riding. + +Meanwhile the Boers were by degrees drawing nearer and nearer to the +town, till at last they pitched their laagers within six miles, and +practically besieged it. All business was stopped, the houses were +loopholed and fortified, and advantageous positions were occupied by +the military and the various volunteer corps. The building, normally +in the occupation of the Government mules, fell to the lot of the +Pretoria Horse, and, though it was undoubtedly a post of honour, I +honestly declare that I have no wish to sleep for another month in a +mule stable that has not been cleaned out for several years. However, +by sinking a well, and erecting bastions and a staging for sharp- +shooters, we converted it into an excellent fortress, though it would +not have been of much use against artillery. Our patrols used to be +out all night, since we chiefly feared a night attack, and generally +every preparation was made to resist the onset that was hourly +expected, and I believe that it was that state of preparedness that +alone prevented it. + +Whilst this meeting was going on, and when matters had come to a point +that seemed to render war inevitable, Sir B. Frere arrived at Pretoria +and had several interviews with the Boer leaders, at which they +persisted in demanding their independence, and nothing short of it. +After a great deal of talk the meeting finally broke up without any +actual appeal to arms, though it had, during its continuance, assumed +many of the rights of government, such as stopping post-carts and +individuals, and sending armed patrols about the country. The +principal reason of its break-up was that the Zulu war was now drawing +to a close, and the leaders saw that there would soon be plenty of +troops available to suppress any attempt at revolt, but they also saw +to what lengths they could go with impunity. They had for a period of +nearly two months been allowed to throw the whole country into +confusion, to openly violate the laws, and to intimidate and threaten +Her Majesty's loyal subjects with war and death. The lesson was not +lost on them; but they postponed action till a more favourable +opportunity offered. + +Sir Bartle Frere before his departure took an opportunity at a public +dinner given him at Potchefstroom of assuring the loyal inhabitants of +the country that the Transvaal would never be given back. + +Meanwhile a new Pharaoh had arisen in Egypt, in the shape of Sir G. +Wolseley, and on the 29th June 1879 we find him communicating the fact +to Sir O. Lanyon in very plain language, telling him that he +disapproved of his course of action with regard to Secocoeni, and that +"in future you will please take orders only from me." + +As soon as Sir Garnet had completed his arrangements for the +pacification of Zululand, he proceeded to Pretoria, and having caused +himself to be sworn in as Governor, set vigorously to work. I must say +that in his dealings with the Transvaal he showed great judgment and a +keen appreciation of what the country needed, namely, strong +government; the fact of the matter being, I suppose, that being very +popular with the Home authorities he felt that he could more or less +command their support in what he did, a satisfaction not given to most +governors, who never know but that they may be thrown overboard in +emergency, in lighten the ship. + +One of his first acts was to issue a proclamation, stating that +"Whereas it appears that, notwithstanding repeated assurances of the +contrary given by Her Majesty's representatives in this territory, +uncertainty or misapprehension exists amongst some of Her Majesty's +subjects as to the intention of Her Majesty's Government regarding the +maintenance of British rule and sovereignty over the territory of the +Transvaal: and whereas it is expedient that all grounds for such +uncertainty or misapprehension should be removed once and for all +beyond doubt or question: now therefore I do hereby proclaim and make +known, in the name and on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, that it is +the will and determination of Her Majesty's Government that this +Transvaal territory shall be, /and shall continue to be for ever/, an +integral portion of Her Majesty's dominions in South Africa." + +Alas! Sir G. Wolseley's estimate of the value of a solemn pledge thus +made in the name of Her Majesty, whose word has hitherto been held to +be sacred, differed greatly to that of Mr. Gladstone and his +Government. + +Sir Garnet Wolseley's operations against Secocoeni proved eminently +successful, and were the best arranged bit of native warfare that I +have yet heard of in South Africa. One blow was struck, and only one, +but that was crushing. Of course the secret of his success lay in the +fact that he had an abundance of force; but it was not ensured by that +alone, good management being very requisite in an affair of the sort, +especially where native allies have to be dealt with. The cost of the +expedition, not counting other Secocoeni war expenditure, amounted to +over 300,000 pounds, all of which is now lost to this country. + +Another step in the right direction undertaken by Sir Garnet was the +establishment of an Executive Council and also of a Legislative +Council, for the establishment of which Letters Patent were sent from +Downing Street in November 1880. + +Meanwhile the Boers, paying no attention to the latter proclamation, +for they guessed that it, like other proclamations in the Transvaal, +would be a mere /brutum fulmen/, had assembled for another mass +meeting, at which they went forward a step, and declared a Government +which was to treat with the English authorities. They had now learnt +that they could do what they liked with perfect impunity, provided +they did not take the extreme course of massacring the English. They +had yet to learn that they might even do that. At the termination of +this meeting, a vote of thanks was passed to "Mr. Leonard Courtney of +London, and other members of the British Parliament." It was wise of +the Boer leaders to cultivate Mr. Courtney of London. As a result of +this meeting, Pretorius, one of the principal leaders, and Bok, the +secretary, were arrested on a charge of treason, and underwent a +preliminary examination; but as the Secretary of State, Sir M. Hicks +Beach, looked rather timidly on the proceeding, and the local +authorities were doubtful of securing a verdict, the prosecution was +abandoned, and necessarily did more harm than good, being looked upon +as another proof of the impotence of the Government. + +Shortly afterwards, Sir G. Wolseley changed his tactics, and, instead +of attempting to imprison Pretorius, offered him a seat on the +Executive Council, with a salary attached. This was a much more +sensible way of dealing with him, and he at once rose to the bait, +stating his willingness to join the Government after a while, but that +he could not publicly do so at the moment lest he should lose his +influence with those who were to be brought round through him. It does +not, however, appear that Mr. Pretorius ever did actually join the +Executive, probably because he found public opinion too strong to +allow him to do so. + +In December 1879, a new light broke upon the Boers, for, in the +previous month Mr. Gladstone had been delivering his noted attack on +the policy of the Conservative Government. Those Mid-Lothian speeches +did harm, it is said, in many parts of the world; but I venture to +think that they have proved more mischievous in South Africa than +anywhere else; at any rate, they have borne fruit sooner. It is not to +be supposed that Mr. Gladstone really cared anything about the +Transvaal or its independence when he was denouncing the hideous +outrage that had been perpetrated by the Conservative Government in +annexing it. On the contrary, as he acquiesced in the Annexation at +the time (when Lord Kimberley stated that it was evidently +unavoidable), and declined to rescind it when he came into power, it +is to be supposed that he really approved of it, or at the least +looked on it as a necessary evil. However this may be, any stick will +do to beat a dog with, and the Transvaal was a convenient point on +which to attack the Government. He probably neither knew nor cared +what effect his reckless words might have on ignorant Boers thousands +of miles away; and yet, humanly speaking, many a man would have been +alive and strong to-day, whose bones now whiten the African Veldt, had +those words never been spoken. Then, for the first time, the Boers +learnt that, if they played their cards properly and put on sufficient +pressure, they would, in the event of the Liberal party coming to +office, have little difficulty in coercing it as they wished. + +There was a fair chance at the time of the utterance of the Mid- +Lothian speeches that the agitation would, by degrees, die away; Sir +G. Wolseley had succeeded in winning over Pretorius, and the Boers in +general were sick of mass meetings. Indeed, a memorial was addressed +to Sir G. Wolseley by a number of Boers in the Potchefstroom district, +protesting against the maintenance of the movement against Her +Majesty's rule, which, considering the great amount of intimidation +exercised by the malcontents, may be looked upon as a favourable sign. + +But when it slowly came to be understood among the Boers that a great +English Minister had openly espoused their cause, and that he would +perhaps soon be all-powerful, the moral gain to them was incalculable. +They could now go to the doubting ones and say,--we must be right +about the matter, because, putting our own feelings out of the +question, the great Gladstone says we are. We find the committee of +the Boer malcontents, at their meeting in March 1880, reading a letter +to Mr. Gladstone, "in which he was thanked for the great sympathy +shown to their fate," and a hope expressed that, if he succeeded in +getting power, he would not forget them. In fact, a charming unanimity +prevailed between our great Minister and the Boer rebels, for their +interests were the same, the overthrow of the Conservative Government. +If, however, every leader of the Opposition were to intrigue, or +countenance intrigues with those who are seeking to undermine the +authority of Her Majesty, whether they be Boers or Irishmen, in order +to help himself to power, the country might suffer in the long run. + +But whatever feelings may have prompted Her Majesty's opposition, the +Home Government, and their agent, Sir Garnet Wolseley, blew no +uncertain blast, if we may judge from their words and actions. Thus we +find Sir Garnet speaking as follows at a banquet given in his honour +at Pretoria:-- + +"I am told that these men (the Boers) are told to keep on agitating in +this way, for a change of Government in England may give them again +the old order of things. Nothing can show greater ignorance of English +politics than such an idea; I tell you that there is no Government, +Whig or Tory, Liberal, Conservative, or Radical, /who would dare under +any circumstances to give back this country/. They would not dare, +because the English people would not allow them. To give back the +country, what would it mean? To give it back to external danger, to +the danger of attack by hostile tribes on its frontier, and who, if +the English Government were removed for one day, would make themselves +felt the next. Not an official of Government paid for months; it would +mean national bankruptcy. No taxes being paid, the same thing +recurring again which had existed before would mean danger without, +anarchy and civil war within, every possible misery; the strangulation +of trade, and the destruction of property." + +It is very amusing to read this passage by the light of after events. +On other occasions Sir Garnet Wolseley will probably not be quite so +confident as to the future when it is to be controlled by a Radical +Government. + +This explicit and straightforward statement of Sir Garnet's produced a +great effect on the loyal inhabitants of the Transvaal, which was +heightened by the publication of the following telegram from the +Secretary of State:--"You may fully confirm explicit statements made +from the time to time as to inability of Her Majesty's Government to +entertain /any proposal/ for withdrawal of the Queen's sovereignty." + +On the faith of these declarations many Englishmen migrated to the +Transvaal and settled there, whilst those who were in the country now +invested all their means, being confident that they would not lose +their property through its being returned to the Boers. The excitement +produced by Mr. Gladstone's speeches began to quiet down and be +forgotten for the time, arrear taxes were paid up by the malcontents, +and generally the aspect of affairs was such, in Sir Garnet Wolseley's +opinion, as justified him in writing, in April 1880, to the Secretary +of State expressing his belief that the agitation was dying out.[*] +Indeed, so sanguine was he on that point that he is reported to have +advised the withdrawal of the cavalry regiment stationed in the +territory, a piece of economy that was one of the immediate causes of +the revolt. + +The reader will remember the financial condition of the country at the +time of the Annexation, which was one of utter bankruptcy. After three +years of British rule, however, we find, notwithstanding the constant +agitation that had been kept up, that the total revenue receipts for +the first quarter of 1879 and 1880 amounted to 22,773 pounds, and +44,982 pounds respectively. That is to say, that, during the last year +of British rule, the revenue of the country more than doubled itself, +and amounted to about 160,000 pounds a-year, taking the quarterly +returns at the low average of 40,000 pounds. It must, however, be +remembered that this sum would have been very largely increased in +subsequent years, most probably doubled. At any rate the revenue would +have been amply sufficient to make the province one of the most +prosperous in South Africa, and to have enabled it to shortly repay +all debts due to the British Government, and further to provide for +its own defence. Trade also, which in April 1877, was completely +paralysed, had increased enormously. So early as the middle of 1879, +the Committee of the Transvaal Chamber of Commerce pointed out, in a +resolution adopted by them, that the trade of the country had in two +years, risen from almost nothing to the considerable sum of two +millions sterling per annum, and that it was entirely in the hands of +those favourable to British rule. They also pointed out that more than +half the land tax was paid by Englishmen, or other Europeans adverse +to Boer Government. Land, too, had risen greatly in value, of which I +can give the following instance. About a year after the Annexation I, +together with a friend, bought a little property on the outskirts of +Pretoria, which, with a cottage we put up on it, cost some 300 pounds. +Just before the rebellion we fortunately determined to sell it, and +had no difficulty in getting 650 pounds for it. I do not believe that +it would now fetch a fifty pound note. + +[*] In Blue Book No. (C. 2866) of September 1881, which is descriptive + of various events connected with the Boer rising, is published, as + an appendix, a despatch from Sir Garnet Wolseley, dated October + 1879. This despatch declares the writer's opinion that the Boer + discontent is on the increase. Its publication thus--/apropos des + bottes/--nearly two years after it was written, is rather an + amusing incident. It certainly gives one the idea that Sir Garnet + Wolseley, fearing that his reputation for infallibility might be + attacked by scoffers for not having foreseen the Boer rebellion, + and perhaps uneasily conscious of other despatches very different + in tenor and subsequent in date: and, mindful of the withdrawal of + the cavalry regiment by his advice, had caused it to be tacked on + to the Blue Book as a documentary "I told you so," and a proof + that, whoever else was blinded, he foresaw. It contains, however, + the following remarkable passage:--"Even were it not impossible, + for many other reasons, to contemplate a withdrawal of our + authority from the Transvaal, the position of insecurity in which + we should leave this loyal and important section of the community + (the English inhabitants), by exposing them to the certain + retaliation of the Boers, would constitute, in my opinion, an + insuperable obstacle to retrocession. Subjected to the same + danger, moreover, would be those of the Boers, whose superior + intelligence and courageous character has rendered them loyal to + our Government." + + As the Government took the trouble to publish the despatch, it is + a pity that they did not think fit to pay more attention to its + contents. + +I cannot conclude this chapter better than by drawing attention to a +charming specimen of the correspondence between the Boer leaders and +their friend Mr. Courtney. The letter in question, which is dated 26th +June, purports to be written by Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, but it is +obvious that it owes its origin to some member or members of the Dutch +party at the Cape, from whence, indeed, it is written. This is +rendered evident both by its general style, and also by the use of +such terms as "Satrap," and by references to Napoleon III. and +Cayenne, about whom Messrs. Kruger and Joubert know no more than they +do of Peru and the Incas. + +After alluding to former letters, the writers blow a blast of triumph +over the downfall of the Conservative Government, and then make a +savage attack on the reputation of Sir Bartle Frere. The "stubborn +Satrap" is throughout described as a liar, and every bad motive +imputed to him. Really, the fact that Mr. Courtney should encourage +such epistles as this is enough to give colour to the boast made by +some of the leading Boers, after the war, that they had been +encouraged to rebel by a member of the British Government. + +At the end of this letter, and on the same page of the Blue Book, is +printed the telegram recalling Sir Bartle Frere, dated 1st August +1880. It really reads as though the second document was consequent to +the first. One thing is very clear, the feelings of Her Majesty's new +Government towards Sir Bartle Frere differed only in the method of +their expression, from those set forth by the Boer leaders in their +letter to Mr. Courtney, whilst their object, namely, to be rid of him, +was undoubtedly identical with that of the Dutch party in South +Africa. + + + + CHAPTER V + + THE BOER REBELLION + + Accession of Mr. Gladstone to power--His letters to the Boer + leaders and the loyals--His refusal to rescind the annexation--The + Boers encouraged by prominent members of the Radical party--The + Bezuidenhout incident--Despatch of troops to Potchefstroom--Mass + meeting of the 8th December 1880--Appointment of the Triumvirate + and declaration of the republic--Despatch of Boer proclamation to + Sir O. Lanyon--His reply--Outbreak of hostilities at Potchefstroom + --Defence of the court-house by Major Clarke--The massacre of the + detachment of the 94th under Colonel Anstruther--Dr. Ward--The + Boer rejoicings--The Transvaal placed under martial law-- + Abandonment of their homes by the people of Pretoria--Sir Owen + Lanyon's admirable defence organisation--Second proclamation + issued by the Boers--Its complete falsehood--Life at Pretoria + during the siege--Murders of natives by the Boers--Loyal conduct + of the native chiefs--Difficulty of preventing them from attacking + the Boers--Occupation of Lang's Nek by the Boers--Sir George + Colley's departure to Newcastle--The condition of that town--The + attack on Lang's Nek--Its desperate nature--Effect of victory on + the Boers--The battle at the Ingogo--Our defeat--Sufferings of the + wounded--Major Essex--Advance of the Boers into Natal--Constant + alarms--Expected attack on Newcastle--Its unorganised and + indefensible condition--Arrival of the reinforcements and retreat + of the Boers to the Nek--Despatch of General Wood to bring up more + reinforcements--Majuba Hill--Our disaster, and death of Sir George + Colley--Cause of our defeat--A Boer version of the disaster--Sir + George Colley's tactics. + +When the Liberal ministry became an accomplished fact instead of a +happy possibility, Mr. Gladstone did not find it convenient to adopt +the line of policy with reference to the Transvaal, that might have +been expected from his utterances whilst leader of the Opposition. On +the contrary, he declared in Parliament that the Annexation could not +be cancelled, and on the 8th June 1880 we find him, in answer to a +Boer petition, written with the object of inducing him to act up to +the spirit of his words and rescind the Annexation, writing thus:-- +"Looking to all circumstances, both of the Transvaal and the rest of +South Africa, and to the necessity of preventing a renewal of +disorders which might lead to disastrous consequences, not only to the +Transvaal, but to the whole of South Africa, our judgment is, that the +/Queen cannot be advised to relinquish her sovereignty over the +Transvaal;/ but, consistently with the maintenance of that +sovereignty, we desire that the white inhabitants of the Transvaal +should, without prejudice to the rest of the population, enjoy the +fullest liberty to manage their local affairs. We believe that this +liberty may be most easily and promptly conceded to the Transvaal as a +member of a South African confederation." + +Unless words have lost their signification, this passage certainly +means that the Transvaal must remain a British colony, but that +England will be prepared to grant it responsible government, more +especially if it will consent to a confederation scheme. Mr. +Gladstone, however, in a communication dated 1st June 1881, and +addressed to the unfortunate Transvaal loyals, for whom he expresses +"respect and sympathy," interprets his meaning thus: "It is stated, as +I observe, that a promise was given to me that the Transvaal should +never be given back. There is no mention of the terms or date of this +promise. If the reference be to my letter, of 8th June 1880, to +Messrs. Kruger and Joubert, I do not think the language of that letter +justifies the description given. Nor am I sure in what manner or to +what degree the fullest liberty to manage their local affairs, which I +then said Her Majesty's Government desired to confer on the white +population of the Transvaal, differs from the settlement now about +being made in its bearing on the interests of those whom your +Committee represents." + +Such twisting of the meaning of words would, in a private person, be +called dishonest. It will also occur to most people that Mr. Gladstone +might have spared the deeply wronged and loyal subjects of Her Majesty +whom he was addressing, the taunt he levels at them in the second +paragraph I have quoted. If asked, he would no doubt say that he had +not the slightest intention of laughing at them; but when he +deliberately tells them that it makes no difference to their interests +whether they remain Her Majesty's subjects under a responsible +Government, or become the servants of men who were but lately in arms +against them and Her Majesty's authority, he is either mocking them, +or offering an insult to their understandings. + +By way of comment on his remarks, I may add that he had, in a letter +replying to a petition from these same loyal inhabitants, addressed to +him in May 1880, informed them that he had already told the Boer +representatives that the Annexation could not be rescinded. Although +Mr. Gladstone is undoubtedly the greatest living master of the art of +getting two distinct and opposite sets of meanings out of one set of +words, it would try even his ingenuity to make out, to the +satisfaction of an impartial mind, that he never gave any pledge about +the retention of the Transvaal. + +Indeed, it is from other considerations clear that he had no intention +of giving up the country to the Boers, whose cause he appears to have +taken up solely for electioneering purposes. Had he meant to do so, he +would have carried out his intention on succeeding to office, and, +indeed, as things have turned out, it is deeply to be regretted that +he did not; for, bad as such a step would have been, it would at any +rate have had a better appearance than our ultimate surrender after +three defeats. It would also have then been possible to secure the +repayment of some of the money owing to this country, and to provide +for the proper treatment of the natives, and the compensation of the +loyal inhabitants who could no longer live there: since it must +naturally have been easier to make terms with the Boers before they +had defeated our troops. + +On the other hand, we should have missed the grandest and most soul- +stirring display of radical theories, practically applied, that has as +yet lightened the darkness of this country. But although Mr. Gladstone +gave his official decision against returning the country, there seems +to be little doubt that communications on the subject were kept up +with the Boer leaders through some prominent members of the Radical +party, whom, it was said, went so far as to urge the Boers to take up +arms against us. When Mr. White came to this country on behalf of the +loyalists, after the surrender, he stated that this was so at a public +meeting, and said further that he had in his possession proofs of his +statements. He even went so far as to name the gentleman he accused, +and to challenge him to deny it. I have not been able to gather that +Mr. White's statements were contradicted. + +However this may be, after a pause, agitation in the Transvaal +suddenly recommenced with redoubled vigour. It began through a man +named Bezuidenhout, who refused to pay his taxes. Thereupon a waggon +was seized in execution under the authority of the court and put up to +auction, but its sale was prevented by a crowd of rebel Boers, who +kicked the auctioneer off the waggon and dragged the vehicle away. +This was on the 11th November 1880. When this intelligence reached +Pretoria, Sir Owen Lanyon sent down a few companies of the 21st +Regiment, under the command of Major Thornhill, to support the +Landdrost in arresting the rioters, and appointed Captain Raaf, +C.M.G., to act as special messenger to the Landdrost's Court at +Potchefstroom, with authority to enrol special constables to assist +him to carry out the arrests. On arrival at Potchefstroom Captain Raaf +found that, without an armed force, it was quite impossible to effect +any arrest. On the 26th November Sir Owen Lanyon, realising the +gravity of the situation, telegraphed to Sir George Colley, asking +that the 58th Regiment should be sent back to the Transvaal. Sir +George replied that he could ill spare it on account of "daily +expected outbreak of Pondos and possible appeal for help from Cape +Colony," and that the Government must be supported by the loyal +inhabitants. + +It will be seen that the Boers had, with some astuteness, chosen a +very favourable time to commence operations. The hands of the Cape +Government were full with the Basutu war, so no help could be expected +from it. Sir G. Wolseley had sent away the only cavalry regiment that +remained in the country, and lastly, Sir Owen Lanyon had quite +recently allowed a body of 300 trained volunteers, mostly, if not +altogether, drawn from among the loyalists, to be raised for service +in the Basutu war, a serious drain upon the resources of a country so +sparsely populated as the Transvaal. + +Meanwhile a mass meeting had been convened by the Boers for the 8th +January to consider Mr. Gladstone's letter, but the Bezuidenhout +incident had the effect of putting forward the date of assembly by a +month, and it was announced that it would be held on the 8th December. +Subsequently the date was shifted to the 15th, and then back again to +the 8th. Every effort was made, by threats of future vengeance, to +secure the presence of as many burghers as possible; attempts were +also made to persuade the native chiefs to send representatives, and +to promise to join in an attack on the English. These entirely failed. +The meeting was held at a place called Paarde Kraal, and resulted in +the sudden declaration of the Republic and the appointment of the +famous triumvirate Kruger, Joubert, and Pretorius. It then moved into +Heidelberg, a little town about sixty miles from Pretoria, and on the +16th December the Republic was formally proclaimed in a long +proclamation, containing a summary of the events of the few preceding +years, and declaring the arrangements the malcontents were willing to +make with the English authorities. The terms offered in this document +are almost identical with those finally accepted by Her Majesty's +Government, with the exception that in the proclamation of the 16th +December the Boer leaders declare their willingness to enter into +confederation, and to guide their native policy by general rules +adopted in concurrence "with the Colonies and States of South Africa." +This was a more liberal offer than that which we ultimately agreed to, +but then the circumstances had changed. + +This proclamation was forwarded to Sir Owen Lanyon with a covering +letter, in which the following words occur:--"We declare in the most +solemn manner that we have no desire to spill blood, and that from our +side we do not wish war. It lies in your hands to force us to appeal +to arms in self-defence. . . . . We expect your answer within twice +twenty-four hours." + +I beg to direct particular attention to these paragraphs, as they have +a considerable interest in view of what followed. + +The letter and proclamation reached Government House, Pretoria, at +10.30 on the evening of Friday the 17th December. Sir Owen Lanyon's +proclamation, written in reply, was handed to the messenger at noon on +Sunday, 19th December, or within about thirty-six hours of his +arrival, and could hardly have reached the rebel camp, sixty miles +off, before dawn the next day, the 20th December, on which day, at +about one o'clock, a detachment of the 94th was ambushed and destroyed +on the road between Middelburg and Pretoria, about eighty miles off, +by a force despatched from Heidelburg for that purpose some days +before. On the 16th December, or the /same day/ on which the +Triumvirate had despatched the proclamation to Pretoria containing +their terms, and expressing in the most solemn manner that they had no +desire to shed blood, a large Boer force was attacking Potchefstroom. + +So much then for the sincerity of the professions of their desire to +avoid bloodshed. + +The proclamation sent by Sir O. Lanyon in reply recited in its +preamble the various acts of which the rebels had been guilty, +including that of having "wickedly sought to incite the said loyal +native inhabitants throughout the province to take up arms against Her +Majesty's Government," announced that matters had now been put into +the hands of the officer commanding Her Majesty's troops, and promised +pardon to all who would disperse to their homes. + +It was at Potchefstroom, which town had all along been the nursery of +the rebellion, that actual hostilities first broke out. Potchefstroom +as a town is much more Boer in its sympathies than Pretoria, which is, +or rather was, almost purely English. Sir Owen Lanyon had, as stated +before, sent a small body of soldiers thither to support the civil +authorities, and had also appointed Major Clarke, C.M.G., an officer +of noted coolness and ability, to act as Special Commissioner for the +district. + +Major Clarke's first step was to try, in conjunction with Captain +Raaf, to raise a corps of volunteers, in which he totally failed. +Those of the townsfolk who were not Boers at heart had too many +business relations with the surrounding farmers, and perhaps too +little faith in the stability of English rule after Mr. Gladstone's +utterances, to allow them to indulge in patriotism. At the time of the +outbreak, between seventy and eighty thousand sterling was owing to +firms in Potchefstroom by neighbouring Boers, a sum amply sufficient +to account for their lukewarmness in the English cause. Subsequent +events have shown that the Potchefstroom shopkeepers were wise in +their generation. + +On the 15th December a large number of Boers came into the town and +took possession of the printing-office in order to print the +proclamation already alluded to. Major Clarke made two attempts to +enter the office and see the leaders, but without success. + +On the 16th a Boer patrol fired on some of the mounted infantry, and +the fire was returned. These were the first shots fired during the +war, and they were fired by Boers. Orders were thereupon signalled to +Clarke by Lieutenant-Colonel Winsloe, 21st Regiment, now commanding at +the fort which he afterwards defended so gallantly, that he was to +commence firing. Clarke was in the Landdrost's office on the Market +Square with a force of about twenty soldiers under Captain Falls and +twenty civilians under Captain Raaf, C.M.G., a position but ill-suited +for defensive purposes, from whence fire was accordingly opened, the +Boers taking up positions in the surrounding houses commanding the +office. Shortly after the commencement of the fighting, Captain Falls +was shot dead whilst talking to Major Clarke, the latter having a +narrow escape, a bullet grazing his head just above the ear. The +fighting continued during the 17th and till the morning of the 18th, +when the Boers succeeded in firing the roof, which was of thatch, by +throwing fire-balls on to it. Major Clarke then addressed the men, +telling them that, though personally he did not care about his own +life, he did not see that they could serve any useful purpose by being +burned alive, so he should surrender, which he did, with a loss of +about six killed and wounded. The camp meanwhile had repulsed with +loss the attack made on it, and was never again directly attacked. + +Whilst these events were in progress at Potchefstroom, a much more +awful tragedy was in preparation on the road between Middelburg and +Pretoria. + +On the 23rd November Colonel Bellairs, at the request of Sir Owen +Lanyon, directed a concentration on Pretoria of most of the few +soldiers that there were in the territory, in view of the disturbed +condition of the country. In accordance with these orders, Colonel +Anstruther marched from Lydenburg, a town about 180 miles from +Pretoria, on the 5th December, with the headquarters and two companies +of the 94th Regiment, being a total of 264 men, three women, and two +children, and the disproportionately large train of thirty-four ox- +waggons, or an ox-waggon capable of carrying five thousand pounds' +weight to every eight persons. And here I may remark that it is this +enormous amount of baggage, without which it appears to be impossible +to move the smallest body of men, that renders infantry regiments +almost useless for service in South Africa except for garrisoning +purposes. Both Zulus and Boers can get over the ground at thrice the +pace possible to the unfortunate soldier, and both races despise them +accordingly. The Zulus call our infantry "pack oxen." In this +particular instance, Colonel Anstruther's defeat, or rather, +annihilation, is to a very great extent referable to his enormous +baggage train; since, in the first place, had he not lost valuable +days in collecting more waggons, he would have been safe in Pretoria +before danger arose. It must also be acknowledged that his +arrangements on the line of march were somewhat reckless, though it +can hardly be said that he was ignorant of his danger. Thus we find +that Colonel Bellairs wrote to Colonel Anstruther, warning him of the +probability of an attack, and impressing on him the necessity of +keeping a good look-out, the letter being received and acknowledged by +the latter on the 17th December. + +To this warning was added a still more impressive one, that came to my +knowledge privately. A gentleman well known to me received, on the +morning after the troops had passed through the town of Middelburg on +their way to Pretoria, a visit from an old Boer with whom he was on +friendly terms, who had purposely come to tell him that a large patrol +was out to ambush the troops on the Pretoria road. My informant having +convinced himself of the truth of the statement, at once rode after +the soldiers, and catching them up some distance from Middelburg, told +Colonel Anstruther what he had heard, imploring him, he said, with all +the energy he could command, to take better precautions against +surprise. The Colonel, however, laughed at his fears, and told him +that if the Boers came "he would frighten them away with the big +drum." + +At one o'clock on Sunday, the 20th December, the column was marching +along about a mile and a half from a place known as Bronker's Spruit, +and thirty-eight miles from Pretoria, when suddenly a large number of +mounted Boers were seen in loose formation on the left side of the +road. The band was playing at the time, and the column was extended +over more than half a mile, the rear-guard being about a hundred yards +behind the last waggon. The band stopped playing on seeing the Boers, +and the troops halted, when a man was seen advancing with a white +flag, whom Colonel Anstruther went out to meet, accompanied by +Conductor Egerton, a civilian. They met about one hundred and fifty +yards from the column, and the man gave Colonel Anstruther a letter, +which announced the establishment of the South African Republic, +stated that until they heard Lanyon's reply to their proclamation they +did not know if they were at war or not; that, consequently, they +could not allow any movements of troops which would be taken as a +declaration of war. This letter was signed by Joubert, one of the +Triumvirate. Colonel Anstruther replied that he was ordered to +Pretoria, and to Pretoria he must go. + +Whilst this conference was going on, the Boers, of whom there were +quite five hundred, had gradually closed round the column, and took up +positions behind rocks and trees which afforded them excellent cover, +whilst the troops were on a bare plain, and before Colonel Anstruther +reached his men a murderous fire was poured in upon them from all +sides. The fire was hotly returned by the soldiers. Most of the +officers were struck down by the first volley, having, no doubt, been +picked out by the marksmen. The firing lasted about fifteen minutes, +and at the end of that time seven out of the nine officers were down +killed and wounded; an eighth (Captain Elliot), one of two who escaped +untouched, being reserved for an even more awful fate. The majority of +the men were also down, and had the hail of lead continued much longer +it is clear that nobody would have been left. Colonel Anstruther, who +was lying badly wounded in five places, seeing what a hopeless state +affairs were in, ordered the bugler to sound the cease firing, and +surrendered. One of the three officers who were not much hurt was, +most providentially, Dr. Ward, who had but a slight wound in the +thigh; all the others, except Captain Elliot and one lieutenant, were +either killed or died from the effects of their wounds. There were +altogether 56 killed and 101 wounded, including a woman, Mrs. Fox. +Twenty more afterwards died of their wounds. The Boer loss appears to +have been very small. + +After the fight Conductor Egerton, with a sergeant, was allowed to +walk into Pretoria to obtain medical assistance, the Boers refusing to +give him a horse, or even to allow him to use his own. The Boer leader +also left Dr. Ward eighteen men and a few stores for the wounded, with +which he made shift as best he could. Nobody can read this gentleman's +report without being much impressed with the way in which, though +wounded himself, he got through his terrible task of, without +assistance, attending to the wants of 101 sufferers. Beginning the +task at two P.M., it took him till six the next morning before he had +seen the last man. It is to be hoped that his services have met with +some recognition. Dr. Ward remained near the scene of the massacre +with his wounded men till the declaration of peace, when he brought +them down to Maritzburg, having experienced great difficulty in +obtaining food for them during so many weeks. + +This is a short account of what I must, with reluctance, call a most +cruel and carefully planned massacre. I may mention that a Zulu +driver, who was with the rear-guard, and escaped into Natal, stated +that the Boers shot all the wounded men who formed that body. His +statement was to a certain extent borne out by the evidence of one of +the survivors, who stated that all the bodies found in that part of +the field (nearly three-quarters of a mile away from the head of the +column), had a bullet hole through the head or breast in addition to +their other wounds. + +The Administrator in the Transvaal in council thus comments on the +occurrence in an official minute:--"The surrounding and gradual +hemming in under a flag of truce of a force, and the selection of +spots from which to direct their fire, as in the case of the +unprovoked attack by the rebels upon Colonel Anstruther's force, is a +proceeding of which very few like incidents can be mentioned in the +annals of civilised warfare." + +The Boer leaders, however, were highly elated at their success, and +celebrated it in a proclamation of which the following is an +extract:--"Inexpressible is the gratitude of the burghers for this +blessing conferred on them. Thankful to the brave General F. Joubert +and his men who have upheld the honour of the Republic on the +battlefield. Bowed down in the dust before Almighty God, who had thus +stood by them, and, with a loss of over a hundred of the enemy, only +allowed two of ours to be killed." + +In view of the circumstances of the treacherous hemming in and +destruction of this small body of unprepared men, most people would +think this language rather high-flown, not to say blasphemous. + +On the news of this disaster reaching Pretoria, Sir Owen Lanyon issued +a proclamation placing the country under martial law. As the town was +large, straggling, and incapable of defence, all the inhabitants, +amounting to over four thousand souls, were ordered up to camp, where +the best arrangements possible were made for their convenience. In +these quarters they remained for three months, driven from their +comfortable homes, and cheerfully enduring all the hardships, want, +and discomforts consequence on their position, whilst they waited in +patience for the appearance of that relieving column that never came. +People in England hardly understand what these men and women went +through because they chose to remain loyal. Let them suppose that all +the inhabitants of an ordinary English town, with the exception of the +class known as poor people, which can hardly be said to exist in a +colony, were at an hour's notice ordered--all, the aged, and the sick, +delicate women, and tiny children--to leave their homes to the mercy +of the enemy, and crowd up in a little space under shelter of a fort, +with nothing but canvas tents or sheds to cover them from the fierce +summer suns and rains, and the coarsest rations to feed them; whilst +the husbands and brothers were daily engaged with a cunning and +dangerous enemy, and sometimes brought home wounded or dead. They +will, then, have some idea of what was gone through by the loyal +people of Pretoria, in their weak confidence in the good faith of the +English Government. + +The arrangements made for the defence of the town were so ably and +energetically carried out by Sir Owen Lanyon, assisted by the military +officers, that no attack upon it was ever attempted. It seems to me +that the organisation that could provide for the penning up of four +thousand people for months, and carry it out without the occurrence of +a single unpleasantness or expression of discontent, must have had +something remarkable about it. Of course, it would have been +impossible without the most loyal co-operation on the part of those +concerned. Indeed, everybody in the town lent a helping hand; judges +served out rations, members of the Executive inspected nuisances, and +so forth. There was only one instance of "striking;" and then, of all +people in the world, it was the five civil doctors who, thinking it a +favourable opportunity to fleece the Government, combined to demand +five guineas a-day each for their services. I am glad to say that they +did not succeed in their attempt at extortion. + +On the 23d December, the Boer leaders issued a second proclamation in +reply to that of Sir O. Lanyon of the 18th, which is characterised by +an utter absence of regard for the truth, being, in fact, nothing but +a tissue of impudent falsehoods. It accuses Sir O. Lanyon of having +bombarded women and children, of arming natives against the Boers, and +of firing on the Boers without declaring war. Not one of these +accusations has any foundation in fact, as the Boers well knew; but +they also knew that Sir Owen, being shut up in Pretoria, was not in a +position to rebut their charges, which they hoped might, to some +extent, be believed, and create sympathy for them in other parts of +the world. This was the reason for the issue of the proclamation, +which well portrays the character of its framers. + +Life at Pretoria was varied by occasional sorties against the Boer +laagers, situated at different points in the neighbourhood, generally +about six or eight miles from the town. These expeditions were carried +out with considerable success, though with some loss, the heaviest +incurred being when the Boers, having treacherously hoisted the white +flag, opened a heavy fire on the Pretoria forces, as soon as they, +beguiled into confidence, emerged from their cover. In the course of +the war, one in every four of the Pretoria mounted volunteers was +killed or wounded. + +But perhaps the most serious of all the difficulties the Government +had to meet, was that of keeping the natives in check. As has before +been stated they were devotedly attached to our rule, and, during the +three years of its continuance, had undergone what was to them a +strange experience, they had neither been murdered, beaten, or +enslaved. Naturally they were in no hurry to return to the old order +of things, in which murder, flogging, and slavery were events of +everyday occurrence. Nor did the behaviour of the Boers on the +outbreak of the war tend to reconcile them to any such idea. Thus we +find that the farmers had pressed a number of natives from Waterberg +into one of their laagers (Zwart Koppies); two of them tried to run +away, a Boer saw them and shot them both. Again, on the 7th January a +native reported to the authorities at Pretoria that he and some others +were returning from the Diamond Fields driving some sheep. A Boer came +and asked them to sell the sheep. They refused, whereupon he went +away, but returning with some other Dutchmen fired on the Kafirs, +killing one. + +On the 2d January information reached Pretoria that on the 26th +December some Boers fired on some natives who were resting outside +Potchefstroom and killed three; the rest fled, whereupon the Boers +took the cattle they had with them. + +On the 11th January some men, who had been sent from Pretoria with +despatches for Standerton, were taken prisoners. Whilst prisoners they +saw ten men returning from the Fields stopped by the Boers and ordered +to come to the laager. They refused and ran away, were fired on, five +being killed and one getting his arm broken. + +These are a few instances of the treatment meted out to the +unfortunate natives, taken at haphazard from the official reports. +There are plenty more of the same nature if anybody cares to read +them. + +As soon as the news of the rising reached them, every chief of any +importance sent in to offer aid to Government, and many of them, +especially Montsoia, our old ally in the Keate Award district, took +the loyals of the neighbourhood under their protection. Several took +charge of Government property and cattle during the disturbances, and +one had four or five thousand pounds in gold, the product of a +recently collected tax given him to take care of by the Commissioner +of his district, who was afraid that the money would be seized by the +Boers. In every instance the property entrusted to their charge was +returned intact. The loyalty of all the native chiefs under very +trying circumstances (for the Boers were constantly attempting to +cajole or frighten them into joining them) is a remarkable proof of +the great affection of the Kafirs, more especially those of the Basutu +tribes, who love peace better than war, for the Queen's rule. The +Government of Pretoria need only have spoken one word, to set an +enormous number of armed men in motion against the Boers, with the +most serious results to the latter. Any other Government in the world +would, in its extremity, have spoken that word, but, fortunately for +the Boers, it is against English principles to set black against white +under any circumstances. + +Besides the main garrison at Pretoria there were forts defended by +soldiery and loyals at the following places:--Potchefstroom, +Rustenburg, Lydenburg, Marabastad, and Wakkerstroom, none of which +were taken by the Boers.[*] + +[*] Colonel Winsloe, however, being short of provisions, was beguiled + by the fraudulent representations and acts of the Boer commander + into surrendering the fort at Potchefstroom during the armistice. + +One of the first acts of the Triumvirate was to despatch a large force +from Heidelberg with orders to advance into Natal Territory, and seize +the pass over the Drakensberg known as Lang's Nek, so as to dispute +the advance of any relieving column. This movement was promptly +executed, and strong Boer troops patrolled Natal country almost up to +Newcastle. + +The news of the outbreak, followed as it was by that of the Bronker's +Spruit massacre, and Captain Elliot's murder, created a great +excitement in Natal. All available soldiers were at once despatched up +country, together with a naval brigade, who, on arrival at Newcastle, +brought up the strength of the Imperial troops of all arms to about a +thousand men. On the 10th January Sir George Colley left Maritzburg to +join the force at Newcastle, but at this time nobody dreamt that he +meant to attack the Nek with such an insignificant column. It was +known that the loyals and troops who were shut up in the various towns +in the Transvaal had sufficient provisions to last for some months, +and that there was therefore nothing to necessitate a forlorn hope. +Indeed the possibility of Sir George Colley attempting to enter the +Transvaal was not even speculated upon until just before his advance, +it being generally considered as out of the question. + +The best illustration I can give of the feeling that existed about the +matter is to quote my own case. I had been so unfortunate as to land +in Natal with my wife and servants just as the Transvaal troubles +began, my intention being to proceed to a place I had near Newcastle. +For some weeks I remained in Maritzburg, but finding that the troops +were to concentrate on Newcastle, and being besides heartily wearied +of the great expense and discomfort of hotel life in that town, I +determined to go on up country, looking on it as being as safe as any +place in the Colony. Of course the possibility of Sir George attacking +the Nek before the arrival of the reinforcements did not enter into my +calculations, as I thought it a venture that no sensible man would +undertake. On the day of my start, however, there was a rumour about +the town that the General was going to attack the Boer position. +Though I did not believe it, I thought it as well to go and ask the +Colonial Secretary, Colonel Mitchell, privately, if there was any +truth in it, adding that if there was, as I had a pretty intimate +knowledge of the Boers and their shooting powers, and what the +inevitable result of such a move would be, I should certainly prefer, +as I had ladies with me, to remain where I was. Colonel Mitchell told +me frankly that he knew no more about Sir George's plans than I did; +but he added I might be sure that so able and prudent a soldier would +not do anything rash. His remark concurred with my own opinion; so I +started, and on arrival at Newcastle a week later was met by the +intelligence that Sir George had advanced that morning to attack the +Nek. To return was almost impossible, since both horses and travellers +were pretty nearly knocked up. Also, anybody who has travelled with +his family in summer-time over the awful track of alternate slough and +boulders between Maritzburg and Newcastle, known in the Colony as a +road, will understand, that at the time, the adventurous voyagers +would far rather risk being shot than face a return journey. + +The only thing to do under the circumstances was to await the course +of events, which were now about to develop themselves with startling +rapidity. The little town of Newcastle was at this time an odd sight, +and remained so all through the war. The hotels were crowded to +overflowing with refugees, and on every spare patch of land were +erected tents, mud huts, canvas houses, and every kind of covering +that could be utilised under the pressure of necessity, to house the +many homeless families who had succeeded in effecting their escape +from the Transvaal, many of whom were reduced to great straits. + +On the morning of the 28th January, anybody listening attentively in +the neighbourhood of Newcastle could hear the distant boom of heavy +guns. We were not kept long in suspense, for in the afternoon news +arrived that Sir George had attacked the Nek, and failed with heavy +loss. The excitement in the town was intense, for, in addition to +other considerations, the 58th Regiment, which had suffered most, had +been quartered there for some time, and both the officers and men were +personally known to the inhabitants. + +The story of the fight is well known, and needs little repetition, and +a sad story it is. The Boers, who at that time were some 2000 strong, +were posted and entrenched on steep hills, against which Sir George +Colley hurled a few hundred soldiers. It was a forlorn hope, but so +gallant was the charge, especially that of the mounted squadron led by +Major Bronlow, that at one time it nearly succeeded. But nothing could +stand under the withering fire from the Boer schanses, and as regards +the foot soldiers, they never had a chance. Colonel Deane tried to +take them up the hill with a rush, with the result that by the time +they reached the top, some of the men were actually sick from +exhaustion, and none could hold a rifle steady. There on the bare +hill-top, they crouched and lay, while the pitiless fire from redoubt +and rock lashed them like hail, till at last human nature could bear +it no longer, and what was left of them retired slowly down the slope. +But for many, that gallant charge was their last earthly action. As +they charged they fell, and where they fell they were afterwards +buried. The casualties, killed and wounded, amounted to 195, which, +considering the small number of troops engaged in the actual attack, +is enormously heavy, and shows more plainly than words can tell, the +desperate nature of the undertaking. Amongst the killed were Colonel +Deane, Major Poole, Major Hingeston, and Lieutenant Elwes. Major Essex +was the only staff officer engaged who escaped, the same officer who +was one of the fortunate four who lived through Isandhlwana. On this +occasion his usual good fortune attended him, for though his horse was +killed and his helmet knocked off, he was not touched. The Boer loss +was very trivial. + +Sir George Colley, in his admirably lucid despatch about this +occurrence addressed to the Secretary of State for War, does not enter +much into the question as to the motives that prompted him to attack, +simply stating that his object was to relieve the besieged towns. He +does not appear to have taken into consideration, what was obvious to +anybody who knew the country and the Boers, that even if he had +succeeded in forcing the Nek, in itself almost an impossibility, he +could never have operated with any success in the Transvaal with so +small a column, without cavalry, and with an enormous train of +waggons. He would have been harassed day and night by the Boer +skirmishers, his supplies cut off, and his advance made practically +impossible. Also the Nek would have been re-occupied behind him, since +he could not have detached sufficient men to hold it, and in all +probability Newcastle, his base of supplies, would have fallen into +the hands of the enemy. + +The moral effect of our defeat on the Boers was very great. Up to this +time there had been many secret doubts amongst a large section of them +as to what the upshot of an encounter with the troops might be; and +with this party, in the same way that defeat, or even the anxiety of +waiting to be attacked, would have turned the scale one way, victory +turned it the other. It gave them unbounded confidence in their own +superiority, and infused a spirit of cohesion and mutual reliance into +their ranks which had before been wanting. Waverers wavered no longer, +but gave a loyal adherence to the good cause, and, what was still more +acceptable, large numbers of volunteers,--whatever President Brand may +say to the contrary,--poured in from the Orange Free State. + +What Sir George Colley's motive was in making so rash a move is, of +course, quite inexplicable to the outside observer. It was said at the +time in Natal that he was a man with a theory: namely, that small +bodies of men properly handled were as useful and as likely to obtain +the object in view as a large force. Whether or no this was so, I am +not prepared to say; but it is undoubtedly the case that very clever +men have sometimes very odd theories, and it may be that he was a +striking instance in point. + +For some days after the battle at Lang's Nek affairs were quiet, and +it was hoped that they would remain so till the arrival of the +reinforcements, which were on their way out. The hope proved a vain +one. On the 7th February it was reported that the escort proceeding +from Newcastle to the General's camp with the post, a distance of +about eighteen miles, had been fired on and forced to return. + +On the 8th, about mid-day, we were all startled by the sound of +fighting, proceeding apparently from a hill known as Scheins Hoogte, +about ten miles from Newcastle. It was not know that the General +contemplated any move, and everybody was entirely at a loss to know +what was going on, the general idea being, however, that the camp near +Lang's Nek had been abandoned, and that Sir George was retiring on +Newcastle. + +The firing grew hotter and hotter, till at last it was perfectly +continuous, the cannon evidently being discharged as quickly as they +could be loaded, whilst their dull booming was accompanied by the +unceasing crash and roll of the musketry. Towards three o'clock the +firing slackened, and we thought it was all over, one way or the +other, but about five o'clock it broke out again with increased +vigour. At dusk it finally ceased. About this time some Kafirs came to +my house and told us that an English force was hemmed in on a hill +this side of the Ingogo River, that they were fighting bravely, but +that "their arms were tired," adding that they thought they would be +all killed at night. + +Needless to say we spent that night with heavy hearts, expecting every +minute to hear the firing begin again, and ignorant of what fate had +befallen our poor soldiers on the hill. Morning put an end to our +suspense, and we then learnt that we had suffered what, under the +circumstances, amounted to a crushing defeat. It appears that Sir +George had moved out with a force of five companies of the 60th +Regiment, two guns, and a few mounted men, to, in his own words, +"patrol the road, and meet and escort some waggons expected from +Newcastle." As soon as he passed the Ingogo he was surrounded by a +body of Boers sent after him from Lang's Nek, on a small triangular +plateau, and sharply assailed on all sides. With a break of about two +hours, from three to five, the assault was kept up till nightfall, +with very bad results so far as we were concerned, seeing that out of +a body of about 500 men, over 150 were killed and wounded. The +reinforcements sent for from the camp apparently did not come into +action. For some unexplained reason the Boers did not follow up their +attack that night, perhaps because they did not think it possible that +our troops could effect their escape back to the camp, and considered +that the next morning would be soon enough to return and finish the +business. The General, however, determined to get back, and scratch +teams of such mules, riding-horses, and oxen as had lived through the +day being harnessed to the guns, the dispirited and exhausted +survivors of the force managed to ford the Ingogo, now swollen by rain +which had fallen in the afternoon, poor Lieutenant Wilkinson, the +Adjutant of the 60th, losing his life in the operation, and to +struggle through the dense darkness back to camp. + +On the hill-top they had lately held, the dead lay thick. There, too, +exposed to the driving rain and bitter wind lay the wounded, many of +whom would be dead before the rising of the morrow's sun. It must, +indeed, have been a sight never to be forgotten by those who saw it. +The night--I remember well--was cold and rainy, the great expanses of +hill and plain being sometimes lit by the broken gleams of an +uncertain moon, and sometimes plunged into intensest darkness by the +passing of a heavy cloud. Now and again flashes of lightning threw +every crag and outline into vivid relief, and the deep muttering of +distant thunder made the wild gloom more solemn. Then a gust of icy +wind would come tearing down the valleys to be followed by a pelting +thunder shower--and thus the night wore away. + +When one reflects what discomfort, and even danger, an ordinary +healthy person would suffer if left after a hard day's work to lie all +night in the rain and wind on the top of a stony mountain, without +food, or even water to assuage his thirst, it becomes to some degree +possible to realise what the sufferings of our wounded after the +battle of Ingogo must have been. Those who survived were next day +taken to the hospital at Newcastle. + +What Sir George Colley's real object was in exposing himself to the +attack has never transpired. It can hardly have been to clear the +road, as he says in his despatch, because the road was not held by the +enemy, but only visited occasionally by their patrols. The result of +the battle was to make the Boers, whose losses were trifling, more +confident than ever, and to greatly depress our soldiers. Sir George +had now lost between three and four hundred men, out of his column of +little over a thousand, which was thereby entirely crippled. Of his +staff Officers Major Essex now alone survived, his usual good fortune +having carried him safe through the battle of Ingogo. What makes his +repeated escapes the more remarkable is that he was generally to be +found in the heaviest firing. A man so fortunate as Major Essex ought +to be rewarded for his good fortune if for no other reason, though, if +reports are true, there would be no need to fall back on that to find +grounds on which to advance a soldier who has always borne himself so +well. + +Another result of the Ingogo battle was that the Boers, knowing that +we had no force to cut them off, and always secure of a retreat into +the Free State, passed round Newcastle in Free State Territory, and +descended from fifteen hundred to two thousand strong into Natal for +the purpose of destroying the reinforcements which were now on their +way up under General Wood. This was on the 11th of February, and from +that date till the 18th, the upper districts of Natal were in the +hands of the enemy, who cut the telegraph wires, looted waggons, stole +herds of cattle and horses, and otherwise amused themselves at the +expense of Her Majesty's subjects in Natal. + +It was a very anxious time for those who knew what Boers are capable +of, and had women and children to protect, and who were never sure if +their houses would be left standing over their heads from one day to +another. + +Every night we were obliged to place out Kafirs as scouts to give us +timely warning of the approach of marauding parties, and to sleep with +loaded rifles close to our hands, and sometimes, when things looked +very black, in our clothes, with horses ready saddled in the stable. +Nor were our fears groundless, for one day a patrol of some five +hundred Boers encamped on the next place, which by the way belonged to +a Dutchman, and stole all the stock on it, the property of an +Englishman. They also intercepted a train of waggons, destroyed the +contents, and burnt them. Numerous were the false alarms it was our +evil fortune to experience. For instance, one night I was sitting in +the drawing-room reading, about eleven o'clock, with a door leading on +to the verandah slightly ajar, for the night was warm, when suddenly I +heard myself called by name in a muffled voice, and asked if the place +was in the possession of the Boers. Looking towards the door I saw a +full-cocked revolver coming round the corner, and on opening it in +some alarm, I could indistinctly discern a line of armed figures in a +crouching attitude stretching along the verandah into the garden +beyond. It turned out to be a patrol of the mounted police, who had +received information that a large number of Boers had seized the place +and had come to ascertain the truth of the report. As we gathered from +them that the Boers were certainly near, we did not pass a very +comfortable night. + +Meanwhile, we were daily expecting to hear that the troops had been +attacked along the line of march, and knowing the nature of the +country and the many opportunities it affords for ambuscading and +destroying one of our straggling columns encumbered with innumerable +waggons, we had the worst fears for the result. At length a report +reached us to the effect that the reinforcements were expected on the +morrow, and that they were not going to cross the Ingagaan at the +ordinary drift, which was much commanded by hills, but at a lower +drift on our own place, about three miles from Newcastle, which was +only slightly commanded. We also heard that it was the intention of +the Boers to attack them at this point and to fall back on my house +and the hills beyond. Accordingly, we thought it about time to +retreat, and securing a few valuables such as plate, we made our way +into the town, leaving the house and its contents to take their +chance. At Newcastle an attack was daily expected, if for no other +reason, to obtain possession of the stores collected there. + +The defences of the place were, however, in a wretched condition, no +proper outlook was kept, and there was an utter want of effective +organisation. The military element at the camp had enough to do to +look after itself, and did not concern itself with the safety of the +town; and the mounted police--a Colonial force paid by the Colony--had +been withdrawn from the little forts round Newcastle, as the General +wanted them for other purposes, and a message sent that the town must +defend its own forts. There were, it is true, a large number of able- +bodied men in the place who were willing to fight, but they had no +organisation. The very laager was not finished until the danger was +past. + +Then there was a large party who were for surrendering the town to the +Boers, because if they fought it might afterwards injure their trade. +With this section of the population the feeling of patriotism was +strong, no doubt, but that of pocket was stronger. I am convinced that +the Boers would have found the capture of Newcastle an easy task, and +I confess that what I then saw did not inspire me with great hopes of +the safety of the Colony when it gets responsible government, and has +to depend for protection on burgher forces. Colonial volunteer forces +are, I think, as good troops as any in the world; but an unorganised +colonial mob, pulled this way and that by different sentiments and +interests, is as useless as any other mob, with the difference that it +is more impatient of control. + +For some unknown reason the Boer leaders providentially changed their +minds about attacking the reinforcements, and their men were withdrawn +to the Nek as swiftly and silently as they had been advanced, and on +the 17th February the reinforcements marched into Newcastle to the +very great relief of the inhabitants, who had been equally anxious for +their own safety and that of the troops. Personally, I was never in my +life more pleased to see Her Majesty's uniform; and we were equally +rejoiced on returning home to find that nothing had been injured. +After this we had quiet for a while. + +On the 21st February, we heard that two fresh regiments had been sent +up to the camp at Lang's Nek, and that General Wood had been ordered +down country by Sir George Colley to bring up more reinforcements. +This item of news caused much surprise, as nobody could understand, +why, now that the road was clear, and that there was little chance of +its being again blocked, a General should be sent down to do work, +which could, to all appearance, have been equally well done by the +Officers in command of the reinforcing regiments, with the assistance +of their transport riders. It was, however, understood that an +agreement had been entered into between the two Generals, that no +offensive operations should be undertaken till Wood returned. + +With the exception of occasional scares, there was no further +excitement till Sunday the 27th February, when, whilst sitting on the +verandah after lunch, I thought I heard the sound of distant +artillery. Others present differed with me, thinking the sound was +caused by thunder, but as I adhered to my opinion, we determined to +ride into town and see. On arrival there, we found the place full of +rumours, from which we gathered that some fresh disaster had occurred: +and that messages were pouring down the wires from Mount Prospect +camp. We then went on to camp, thinking that we should learn more +there, but they knew nothing about it, several officers asking us what +new "shave" we had got hold of. A considerable number of troops had +been marched from Newcastle that morning to go to Mount Prospect, but +when it was realised that something had occurred, they were stopped, +and marched back again. Bit by bit we managed to gather the truth. At +first we heard that our men had made a most gallant resistance on the +hill, mowing down the advancing enemy by hundreds, till at last, their +ammunition failing, they fought with their bayonets, using stones and +meat tins as missiles. I wish that our subsequent information had been +to the same effect. + +It appears that on the evening of the 26th, Sir George Colley, after +mess, suddenly gave orders for a force of a little over six hundred +men, consisting of detachments from no less than three different +regiments, the 58th, 60th, 92d, and the Naval Brigade, to be got ready +for an expedition, without revealing his plans to anybody, until late +in the afternoon: and then without more ado, marched them up to the +top of Majuba--a great square-topped mountain to the right of, and +commanding the Boer position at Lang's Nek. The troops reached the top +about three in the morning, after a somewhat exhausting climb, and +were stationed at different points of the plateau in a scientific way. +Whilst the darkness lasted, they could, by the glittering of the +watch-fires, trace from this point of vantage the position of the Boer +laagers that lay 2000 yards beneath them, whilst the dawn of day +revealed every detail of the defensive works, and showed the country +lying at their feet like a map. + +On arrival at the top, it was represented to the General that a rough +entrenchment should be thrown up, but he would not allow it to be done +on account of the men being wearied with their marching up. This was a +fatal mistake. Behind an entrenchment, however slight, one would think +that 600 English soldiers might have defied the whole Boer army, and +much more the 200 or 300 men by whom they were hunted down Majuba. It +appears that about 10.15 A.M. Colonel Steward and Major Fraser again +went to General Colley "to arrange to start the sailors on an +entrenchment" . . . "Finding the ground so exposed, the General did +not give orders to entrench." + +As soon as the Boers found out that the hill was in the occupation of +the English, their first idea was to leave the Nek, and they began to +inspan with that object, but discovering that there were no guns +commanding them, they changed their mind, and set to work to storm the +hill instead. As far as I have been able to gather, the number of +Boers who took the mountain was about 300, or possibly 400; I do not +think there were more than that. The Boers themselves declare solemnly +that they were only 100 strong, but this I do not believe. They slowly +advanced up the hill till about 11.30, when the real attack began, the +Dutchmen coming on more rapidly and confidently, and shooting with +ever-increasing accuracy, as they found our fire quite ineffective. + +About a quarter to one, our men retreated to the last ridge, and +General Colley was shot through the head. After this, the retreat +became a rout, and the soldiers rushed pell-mell down the precipitous +sides of the hill, the Boers knocking them over by the score as they +went, till they were out of range. A few were also, I heard, killed by +the shells from the guns that were advanced from the camp to cover the +retreat, but as this does not appear in the reports, perhaps it is not +true. Our loss was about 200 killed and wounded, including Sir George +Colley, Drs. Landon and Cornish, and Commander Romilly, who was shot +with an explosive bullet, and died after some days' suffering. When +the wounded Commander was being carried to a more sheltered spot, it +was with great difficulty that the Boers were prevented from +massacring him as he lay, they being under the impression that he was +Sir Garnet Wolseley. As was the case at Ingogo, the wounded were left +on the battlefield all night in very inclement weather, to which some +of them succumbed. It is worthy of note that after the fight was over, +they were treated with considerable kindness by the Boers. + +Not being a soldier, of course I cannot venture to give any military +reasons as to how it was, that what was after all a considerable +force, was so easily driven from a position of great natural strength; +but I think I may, without presumption, state my opinion was to the +real cause, which was the villanous shooting of the British soldier. +Though the troops did not, as was said at the time, run short of +ammunition, it is clear that they fired away a great many rounds at +men who, in storming the hill, must necessarily have exposed +themselves more or less, of whom they managed to hit--certainly not +more than six or seven,--which was the outside of the Boer casualties. +From this it is clear that they can neither judge distance nor hit a +moving object, nor did they probably know that when shooting down hill +it is necessary to aim low. Such shooting as the English soldier is +capable of may be very well when he has an army to aim at, but it is +useless in guerilla warfare against a foe skilled in the use of the +rifle and the art of taking shelter. + +A couple of months after the storming of Majuba, I, together with a +friend, had a conversation with a Boer, a volunteer from the Free +State in the late war, and one of the detachment that stormed Majuba, +who gave us a circumstantial account of the attack with the greatest +willingness. He said that when it was discovered that the English had +possession of the mountain, they thought that the game was up, but +after a while bolder counsels prevailed, and volunteers were called +for to storm the hill. Only seventy men could be found to perform the +duty, of whom he was one. They started up the mountain in fear and +trembling, but soon found that every shot passed over their heads, and +went on with greater boldness. Only three men, he declared, were hit +on the Boer side; one was killed, one was hit in the arm, and he +himself was the third, getting his face grazed by a bullet, of which +he showed us the scar. He stated that the first to reach the top ridge +was a boy of twelve, and that as soon as the troops saw them they +fled, when, he said, he paid them out for having nearly killed him, +knocking them over one after another "like bucks" as they ran down the +hill, adding that it was "alter lecker" (very nice). He asked us how +many men we had lost during the war, and when we told him about seven +hundred killed and wounded, laughed in our faces, saying he knew that +our dead amounted to several thousands. On our assuring him that this +was not the case, he replied, "Well, don't let's talk of it any more, +because we are good friends now, and if we go on you will lie, and I +shall lie, and then we shall get angry. The war is over now, and I +don't want to quarrel with the English; if one of them takes off his +hat to me I always acknowledge it." He did not mean any harm in +talking thus; it is what Englishmen have to put up with now in South +Africa; the Boers have beaten us, and act accordingly. + +This man also told us that the majority of the rifles they picked up +were sighted for 400 yards, whereas the latter part of the fighting +had been carried on within 200. + +Sir George Colley's death was much lamented in the Colony, where he +was deservedly popular; indeed, anybody who had the honour of knowing +that kind-hearted gentleman, could not do otherwise than deeply regret +his untimely end. What his motive was in occupying Majuba in the way +he did, has never, so far as I am aware, transpired. The move, in +itself, would have been an excellent one, had it been made in force, +or accompanied by a direct attack on the Nek--but, as undertaken, +seems to have been objectless. There were, of course, many rumours as +to the motives that prompted his action, of which the most probable +seems to be that, being aware of what the Home Government intended to +do with reference to the Transvaal, he determined to strike a blow to +try and establish British Supremacy first, knowing how mischievous any +apparent surrender would be. Whatever his faults may have been as a +General, he was a brave man, and had the honour of his country much at +heart. + +It was also said by soldiers who saw him the night the troops marched +up Majuba, that the General was "not himself," and it was hinted that +continual anxiety and the chagrin of failure had told upon his mind. +As against this, however, must be set the fact that his telegrams to +the Secretary of State for War, the last of which he must have +despatched only about half-an-hour before he was shot, are cool and +collected, and written in the same unconcerned tone,--as though he +were a critical spectator of an interesting scene--that characterises +all his communications, more especially his despatches. They at any +rate give no evidence of shaken nerve or unduly excited brain, nor can +I see that any action of his with reference to the occupation of +Majuba is out of keeping with the details of his generalship upon +other occasions. He was always confident to rashness, and possessed by +the idea that every man in the ranks was full of as high a spirit, and +as brave as he was himself. Indeed most people will think, that so far +from its being a rasher action, the occupation of Majuba, bad +generalship as it seems, was a wiser move than either the attack on +the Nek or the Ingogo fiasco. + +But at the best, all his movements are difficult to be understand by a +civilian, though they may, for ought we know, have been part of an +elaborate plan, perfected in accordance with the rules of military +science, of which, it is said, he was a great student. + + + + CHAPTER VI + + THE RETROCESSION OF THE TRANSVAAL + + The Queen's Speech--President Brand and Lord Kimberley--Sir Henry + de Villiers--Sir George Colley's plan--Paul Kruger's offer--Sir + George Colley's remonstrance--Complimentary telegrams--Effect of + Majuba on the Boers and English Government--Collapse of the + Government--Reasons of the Surrender--Professional sentimentalists + --The Transvaal Independence Committee--Conclusion of the + armistice--The preliminary peace--Reception of the news in Natal-- + Newcastle after the declaration of peace--Exodus of the loyal + inhabitants of the Transvaal--The value of property in Pretoria-- + The Transvaal officials dismissed--The Royal Commission--Mode of + trial of persons accused of atrocities--Decision of the Commission + and its results--The severance of territory question--Arguments + /pro/ and /con/--Opinion of Sir E. Wood--Humility of the + Commissioners and its cause--Their decision on the Keate award + question--The Montsoia difficulty--The compensation and financial + clauses of the report of the Commission--The duties of the British + Resident--Sir E. Wood's dissent from the report of the Commission + --Signing of the Convention--Burial of the Union Jack--The native + side of the question--Interview between the Commissioners and the + native chiefs--Their opinion of the surrender--Objections of the + Boer Volksraad to the Convention--Mr. Gladstone temporises--The + ratification--Its insolent tone--Mr. Hudson, the British Resident + --The Boer festival--The results of the Convention--The larger + issue of the matter--Its effect on the Transvaal--Its moral + aspects--Its effect on the native mind. + +When Parliament met in January 1881, the Government announced, through +the mediumship of the Queen's Speech, that it was their intention to +vindicate Her Majesty's authority in the Transvaal. I have already +briefly described the somewhat unfortunate attempts to gain this end +by force of arms: and I now propose to follow the course of the +diplomatic negotiations entered into by the Ministry with the same +object. + +As soon as the hostilities in the Transvaal took a positive form, +causing great dismay among the Home authorities, whose paths, as we +all know, are the paths of peace--at any price; and whilst, in the +first confusion of calamity, they knew not where to turn, President +Brand stepped upon the scene in the character of "Our Mutual Friend," +and, by the Government at any rate, was rapturously welcomed. + +This gentleman has for many years been at the head of the Government +of the Orange Free State, whose fortunes he had directed with +considerable ability. He is a man of natural talent and kind-hearted +disposition, and has the advancement of the Boer cause in South Africa +much at heart. The rising in the Transvaal was an event that gave him +a great and threefold opportunity: first, of interfering with the +genuinely benevolent object of checking bloodshed; secondly, of +advancing the Dutch cause throughout South Africa under the cloak of +amiable neutrality, and striking a dangerous blow at British supremacy +over the Dutch and British prestige with the natives; and, thirdly, of +putting the English Government under a lasting obligation to him. Of +this opportunity he has availed himself to the utmost in each +particular. + +So soon as things began to look serious, Mr. Brand put himself into +active telegraphic communication with the various British authorities +with the view of preventing bloodshed by inducing the English +Government to accede to the Boer demands. He was also earnest in his +declarations that the Free State was not supporting the Transvaal; +which, considering that it was practically the insurgent base of +supplies, where they had retired their women, children, and cattle, +and that it furnished them with a large number of volunteers, was +perhaps straining the truth. + +About this time also we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing to Mr. Brand +that "if /only/ the Transvaal Boers will desist from armed opposition +to the Queen's authority," he thinks some arrangement might be made. +This is the first indication made public of what was passing in the +minds of Her Majesty's Government, on whom its radical supporters were +now beginning to put the screw, to induce or threaten them into +submitting to the Boer demands. + +Again, on the 11th January, the President telegraphed to Lord +Kimberley through the Orange Free State Consul in London, suggesting +that Sir H. de Villiers, the Chief Justice at the Cape, should be +appointed a Commissioner to go to the Transvaal to settle matters. +Oddly enough, about the same time the same proposition emanated from +the Dutch party in the Cape Colony, headed by Mr. Hofmeyer, a +coincidence that inclines one to the opinion that these friends of the +Boers had some further reason for thus urging Sir Henry de Villiers' +appointment as Commissioner beyond his apparent fitness for the post, +of which his high reputation as a lawyer and in his private capacity +was a sufficient guarantee. + +The explanation is not hard to find, the fact being that, rightly or +wrongly, Sir Henry de Villiers, who is himself of Dutch descent, is +noted throughout South Africa for his sympathies with the Boer cause, +and both President Brand and the Dutch party in the Cape shrewdly +suspected, that, if the settling of differences were left to his +discretion, the Boers and their interests would receive very gentle +handling. The course of action adopted by him, when he became a member +of the Royal Commission, went far to support this view, for it will be +noticed in the Report of the Commissioners that in every single point +he appears to have taken the Boer side of the contention. Indeed so +blind was he to their faults, that he would not even admit that the +horrible Potchefstroom murders and atrocities, which are condemned +both by Sir H. Robinson and Sir Evelyn Wood in language as strong as +the formal terms of a report will allow, were acts contrary to the +rules of civilised warfare. If those acts had been perpetrated by +Englishmen on Boers, or even on natives, I venture to think Sir Henry +de Villiers would have looked at them in a very different light. + +In the same telegram in which President Brand recommends the +appointment of Sir Henry de Villiers, he states that the allegations +made by the Triumvirate in the proclamation in which they accused Sir +Owen Lanyon of committing various atrocities, deserve to be +investigated, as they maintain that the collision was commenced by the +authorities. Nobody knew better than Mr. Brand that any English +official would be quite incapable of the conduct ascribed to Sir Owen +Lanyon, whilst, even if the collision had been commenced by the +authorities, which as it happened it was not, they would under the +circumstances have been amply justified in so commencing it. This +remark by President Brand in his telegram was merely an attempt to +throw an air of probability over a series of slanderous falsehoods. + +Messages of this nature continued to pour along the wires from day to +day, but the tone of those from the Colonial Office grew gradually +humbler; thus we find Lord Kimberley telegraphing on the 8th February, +that if the Boers would desist from armed opposition all reasonable +guarantees would be given as to their treatment after submission, and +that a scheme would be framed for the "permanent friendly settlement +of difficulties." It will be seen that the Government had already +begun to water the meaning of their declaration that they would +vindicate Her Majesty's authority. No doubt Mr. Chamberlain, Mr. +Courtney, and their followers, had given another turn to the Radical +screw. + +It is, however, clear that at this time no idea of the real aims of +the Government had entered into the mind of Sir George Colley, since +on the 7th February he telegraphed home a plan which he proposed to +adopt on entering the Transvaal, which included a suggestion that he +should grant a complete amnesty only to those Boers who would sign a +declaration of loyalty. + +In answer to this he was ordered to do nothing of the sort, but to +promise protection to everybody and refer everything home. + +Then came the battle of Ingogo, which checked for the time the flow of +telegrams, or rather varied their nature, for those despatched during +the next few days deal with the question of reinforcements. On the +13th February, however, negotiations were reopened by Paul Kruger, one +of the Triumvirate, who offered, if all the troops were ordered to +withdraw from the Transvaal to give them a free passage through the +Nek, to disperse the Boers and to consent to the appointment of a +Commission. + +The offer was jumped at by Lord Kimberley, who, without making +reference to the question of withdrawing the soldiers, offered, if +only the Boers would disperse, to appoint a Commission with extensive +powers to develop the "permanent friendly settlement" scheme. The +telegram ends thus: "Add, that if this proposal is accepted, you now +are authorised to agree to suspension of hostilities on our part." +This message was sent to General Wood, because the Boers had stopped +the communications with Colley. On the 19th, Sir George Colley replies +in these words, which show his astonishment at the policy adopted by +the Home Government, and which, in the opinion of most people, redound +to his credit-- + +"Latter part of your telegram to Wood not understood. There can be no +hostilities if no resistance is made, but am I to leave Lang's Nek in +Natal territory in Boer occupation, and our garrisons isolated and +short of provisions, or occupy former and relieve latter?" Lord +Kimberley hastens to reply that the garrisons must be left free to +provision themselves, "but we do not mean that you should march to the +relief of garrisons or occupy Lang's Nek, if an arrangement proceeds." + +It will be seen that the definition of what vindication of Her +Majesty's authority consisted grew broader and broader; it now +included the right of the Boers to continue to occupy their positions +in the Colony of Natal. + +Meanwhile the daily fire of complimentary messages was being kept up +between President Brand and Lord Kimberley, who alternatively gave +"sincere thanks to Lord Kimberley" and "fully appreciated the friendly +spirit" of President Brand, till on the 21st February the latter +telegraphs through Colley: "Hope of amicable settlement by +negotiation, but this will be greatly facilitated if somebody on spot +and friendly disposed to both, could by personal communication with +both endeavour to smooth difficulties. Offers his services to Her +Majesty's Government, and Kruger and Pretorius and Joubert are +willing." Needless to say his services were accepted. + +Presently, however, on 27th February, Sir George Colley made his last +move, and took possession of Majuba. His defeat and death had the +effect of causing another temporary check in the peace negotiations, +whilst Sir Frederick Roberts with ample reinforcements was despatched +to Natal. It had the further effect of increasing the haughtiness of +the Boer leaders, and infusing a corresponding spirit of pliability or +generosity into the negotiations of Her Majesty's Government. + +Thus on 2d March, the Boers, through President Brand and Sir Evelyn +Wood, inform the Secretary of State for the Colonies, that they are +willing to negotiate, but decline to submit or cease opposition. Sir +Evelyn Wood, who evidently did not at all like the line of policy +adopted by the Government, telegraphed that he thought the best thing +to do would be for him to engage the Boers, and disperse them /vi et +armis/, without any guarantees, "considering the disasters we have +sustained," and that he should, "if absolutely necessary," be +empowered to promise life and property to the leaders, but that they +should be banished from the country. In answer to this telegram, Lord +Kimberley informs him that Her Majesty's Government will amnesty +/everybody/ except those who have committed acts contrary to the rules +of civilised warfare, and that they will agree to anything, and +appoint a Commission to carry out the details, and "be ready for +friendly communications with /any persons/ appointed by the Boers." + +Thus was Her Majesty's authority finally re-established in the +Transvaal. + +It was not a very grand climax, nor the kind of arrangement to which +Englishmen are accustomed, but perhaps, considering the circumstances, +and the well-known predilections of those who made the settlement, it +was as much as could be expected. + +The action of the Government must not be considered, as though they +were unfettered in their judgment; it can never be supposed that they +acted as they did, because they thought such action right or even +wise, for that would be to set them down as men of a very low order of +intelligence, which they certainly are not. + +It is clear that no set of sensible men, who had after much +consideration given their decision that under all the circumstances, +the Transvaal must remain British territory, and who, on a revolt +subsequently breaking out in that territory, had declared that Her +Majesty's rule must be upheld, would have, putting aside all other +circumstances, deliberately stultified themselves by almost +unconditionally, and of their own free will, abandoning the country, +and all Her Majesty's subjects living in it. That would be to pay a +poor tribute to their understanding, since it is clear that if reasons +existed for retaining the Transvaal before the war, as they were +satisfied there did, those reasons would exist with still greater +force after a war had been undertaken and three crushing defeats +sustained, which if left unavenged must, as they knew, have a most +disastrous effect on our prestige throughout the South African +continent. + +I prefer to believe that the Government was coerced into acting as it +did by Radical pressure, both from outside, and from its immediate +supporters in the House, and that it had to choose between making an +unconventional surrender in the Transvaal and losing the support of a +very powerful party. Under these circumstances it, being Liberal in +politics, naturally followed its instincts, and chose surrender. + +If such a policy was bad in itself, and necessarily mischievous in its +consequences, so much the worse for those who suffered by it; it was +clear that the Government could not be expected to lose votes in order +to forward the true interests of countries so far off as the South +African Colonies, which had had the misfortune to be made a party +question of, and must take the consequences. + +There is no doubt that the interest brought to bear on the Government +was very considerable, for not only had they to deal with their own +supporters, and with the shadowy caucus that was ready to let the lash +of its displeasure descend even on the august person of Mr. Gladstone, +should he show signs of letting slip so rich an opportunity for the +vindication of the holiest principles of advanced Radicalism, but also +with the hydra-headed crowd of visionaries and professional +sentimentalists who swarm in this country, and who are always ready to +take up any cause, from that of Jumbo, or of a murderer, to that of +oppressed peoples, such as the Bulgarians, or the Transvaal Boers. + +These gentlemen, burning with zeal, and filled with that confidence +which proverbially results from the hasty assimilation of imperfect +and erroneous information, found in the Transvaal question a great +opportunity of making a noise: and--as in a disturbed farmyard the +bray of the domestic donkey, ringing loud and clear among the +utterances of more intelligent animals, overwhelms and extinguishes +them--so, and with like effect, amongst the confused sound of various +English opinions about the Boer rising, rose the trumpet-note of the +Transvaal Independence Committee and its supporters. + +As we have seen, they did not sound in vain. + +On the 6th of March an armistice with the Boers had been entered into +by Sir Evelyn Wood, which was several times prolonged, up to the 21st +March, when Sir Evelyn Wood concluded a preliminary peace with the +Boer leaders, which, under certain conditions, guaranteed the +restoration of the country within six months, and left all other +points to be decided by a Royal Commission. + +The news of this peace was at first received in the Colony in the +silence of astonishment. Personally, I remember, I would not believe +that it was true. It seemed to us, who had been witnesses of what had +passed, and knew what it all meant, something so utterly incredible +that we thought there must be a mistake. + +If there had been any one redeeming circumstance about it, if the +English arms had gained a single decisive victory, it might have been +so, but it was hard for Englishmen, just at first, to understand that +not only had the Transvaal been to all appearance wrested from them by +force of arms, but that they were henceforth to be subject, as they +well knew would be the case, to the coarse insults of victorious +Boers, and the sarcasms of keener-witted Kafirs. + +People in England seem to fancy that when men go to the Colonies they +lose all sense of pride in their country, and think of nothing but +their own advantage. I do not think that this is the case, indeed, I +believe that, individual for individual, there exists a greater sense +of loyalty, and a deeper pride in their nationality, and in the proud +name of England, among Colonists, than among Englishmen proper. +Certainly the humiliation of the Transvaal surrender was more keenly +felt in South Africa than it was at home; but, perhaps, the +impossibility of imposing upon people in that country with the farrago +of nonsense about blood-guiltiness and national morality, which was +made such adroit use of at home, may have made the difference. + +I know that personally I would not have believed it possible that I +could feel any public event so keenly as I did this; indeed, I quickly +made up my mind that if the peace was confirmed, the neighbourhood of +the Transvaal would be no fit or comfortable residence for an +Englishman, and that I would, at any cost, leave the country,--which I +accordingly did. + +Newcastle was a curious sight the night after the peace was declared, +every hotel and bar was crowded with refugees, who were trying to +relieve their feelings, by cursing the name of Gladstone, with a +vigour, originality, and earnestness, that I have never heard +equalled; and declaring in ironical terms how proud they were to be +citizens of England--a country that always kept its word. Then they +set to work with many demonstrations of contempt to burn the effigy of +the Right Honourable Gentleman at the head of Her Majesty's +Government, an example, by the way, that was followed throughout South +Africa. + +Even Sir Evelyn Wood, who is very popular in the Colony, was hissed as +he walked through the town, and great surprise was expressed that a +soldier who came out expressly to fight the Boers, should consent to +become the medium of communication in such a dirty business. And, +indeed, there was some excuse for all this bitterness, for the news +meant ruin to very many. + +But if people in Natal and at the Cape received the news with +astonishment, how shall I describe its effect upon the unfortunate +loyal inhabitants in the Transvaal, on whom it burst like a +thunderbolt? + +They did not say much however, and indeed, there was nothing to be +said, they simply began to pack up such things as they could carry +with them, and to leave the country, which they well knew would +henceforth be utterly untenable for Englishmen or English +sympathisers. In a few weeks they came pouring down through Newcastle +by hundreds; it was the most melancholy exodus that can be imagined. +There were people of all classes, officials, gentlefolk, work-people, +and loyal Boers, but they had a connecting link; they had all been +loyal, and they were all ruined. + +Most of these people had gone to the Transvaal since it became a +British Colony, and invested all they had in it, and now their capital +was lost and their labour rendered abortive; indeed, many of them whom +one had known as well to do in the Transvaal, came down to Natal +hardly knowing how they would feed their families next week. + +It must be understood that so soon as the Queen's sovereignty was +withdrawn the value of landed and house property in the Transvaal went +down to nothing, and has remained there ever since. Thus a fair-sized +house in Pretoria brought in a rental varying from ten to twenty +pounds a month during British occupation, but after the declaration of +peace, owners of houses were glad to get people to live in them to +keep them from falling into ruin. Those who owned land or had invested +money in businesses suffered in the same way; their property remains, +neither profitable or saleable, and they themselves are precluded by +their nationality from living on it, the art of "Boycotting" not being +peculiar to Ireland. + +Nor were they the only sufferers, the officials, many of whom had +taken to the Government service as a permanent profession, in which +they expected to pass their lives, were suddenly dismissed, mostly +with a small gratuity, which would about suffice to pay their debts, +and told to find their living as best they could. It was indeed a case +of /vae victis/,--woe to the conquered loyalists.[*] + +[*] The following extract is clipped from a recent issue of the + "Transvaal Advertiser." It describes the present condition of + Pretoria:-- + + "The streets grown over with rank vegetation, the water-furrows + uncleaned and unattended, emitting offensive and unhealthy + stenches, the houses showing evident signs of dilapidation and + decay, the side paths, in many places, dangerous to pedestrians; + in fact, everything the eye can rest upon indicates the downfall + which has overtaken this once prosperous city. The visitor can, if + he be so minded, betake himself to the outskirts and suburbs, + where he will perceive the same sad evidences of neglect, public + grounds unattended, roads uncared for, mills and other public + works crumbling into ruin. These palpable signs of decay most + strongly impress him. A blight seems to have come over this lately + fair and prosperous town. Rapidly it is becoming a 'deserted + village,' a 'city of the dead.'" + +The Commission appointed by Her Majesty's Government consisted of Sir +Hercules Robinson, Sir Henry de Villiers, and Sir Evelyn Wood, +President Brand being also present in his capacity of friend of both +parties, and to their discretion were left the settlement of all +outstanding questions. Amongst these, were the mode of trial of those +persons who had been guilty of acts contrary to the rules of civilised +warfare, the question of severance of territory from the Transvaal on +the Eastern boundary, the settlement of the boundary in the Keate- +Award districts, the compensation for losses sustained during the war, +the functions of the British Resident, and other matters. Their place +of meeting was at Newcastle in Natal, and from thence they proceeded +to Pretoria. + +The first question of importance that came before the Commission was +the mode of trial to be adopted in the cases of those persons accused +of acts contrary to the usages of civilised warfare, such as murder. +The Attorney-General for the Transvaal strongly advised that a special +Tribunal should be constituted to try these cases, principally because +"after a civil war in which all the inhabitants of a country, with +very few exceptions, have taken part, a jury of fair and impartial +men, truly unbiassed, will be very difficult to get together." It is +satisfactory to know that the Commissioners gave this somewhat obvious +fact "their grave consideration," which, according to their Report, +resulted in their determining to let the cases go before the ordinary +court, and be tried by a jury, because in referring them to a +specially constituted court which would have done equal justice +without fear or favour, "the British Government would have made for +itself, among the Dutch population of South Africa, a name for +vindictive oppression, which no generosity in other affairs could +efface." + +There is more in this determination of the Commissioners, or rather of +the majority of them--for Sir E. Wood, to his credit be it said, +refused to agree in their decision--than meets the eye, the fact of +the matter being that it was privately well known to them, that, +though the Boer leaders might be willing to allow a few of the +murderers to undergo the form of a trial, neither they nor the Boers +themselves, meant to permit the farce to go any further. Had the men +been tried by a special tribunal they would in all probability have +been condemned to death, and then would have come the awkward question +of carrying out the sentence on individuals whose deeds were looked +on, if not with general approval, at any rate without aversion by the +great mass of their countrymen. In short, it would probably have +become necessary either to reprieve them or to fight the Boers again, +since it was very certain that they would not have allowed them to be +hung. Therefore the majority of the Commissioners, finding themselves +face to face with a dead wall, determined to slip round it instead of +boldly climbing it, by referring the cases to the Transvaal High +Court, cheerfully confident of what the result must be. + +After all, the matter was, much cry about little wool, for of all the +crimes committed by the Boers--a list of some of which will be found +in the Appendix to this book--in only three cases were a proportion of +the perpetrators produced and put through the form of trial. Those +three were, the dastardly murder of Captain Elliot, who was shot by +his Boer escort while crossing the Vaal river on parole; the murder of +a man named Malcolm, who was kicked to death in his own house by +Boers, who afterwards put a bullet through his head to make the job +"look better;" and the murder of a doctor named Barber, who was shot +by his escort on the border of the Free State. A few of the men +concerned in the first two of these crimes were tried in Pretoria: and +it was currently reported at that time, that in order to make their +acquittal certain our Attorney-General received instructions not to +exercise his right of challenging jurors on behalf of the Crown. +Whether or not this is true I am not prepared to say, but I believe it +is a fact that he did not exercise that right, though the counsel of +the prisoners availed themselves of it freely, with the result that in +Elliot's case, the jury was composed of eight Boers and one German, +nine being the full South African jury. The necessary result followed; +in both cases the prisoners were acquitted in the teeth of the +evidence. Barber's murderers were tried in the Free State, and were, +as might be expected, acquitted. + +Thus it will be seen that of all the perpetrators of murder and other +crimes during the course of the war not one was brought to justice. + +The offence for which their victims died was, in nearly every case, +that they had served, were serving, or were loyal to Her Majesty the +Queen. In no single case has England exacted retribution for the +murder of her servants and citizens; but nobody can read through the +long list of these dastardly slaughters without feeling that they will +not go unavenged. The innocent blood that has been shed on behalf of +this country, and the tears of children and widows now appeal to a +higher tribunal than that of Mr. Gladstone's Government, and assuredly +they will not appeal in vain. + +The next point of importance dealt with by the Commission was the +question whether or no any territory should be severed from the +Transvaal, and kept under English rule for the benefit of the native +inhabitants. Lord Kimberley, acting under pressure put upon him by +members of the Aborigines Protection Society, instructed the +Commission to consider the advisability of severing the districts of +Lydenburg and Zoutpansberg, and also a strip of territory bordering on +Zululand and Swazieland from the Transvaal, so as to place the +inhabitants of the first two districts out of danger of maltreatment +by the Boers, and to interpose a buffer between Zulus, and Swazies, +and Boer aggression, and /vice versa/. + +The Boer leaders had, it must be remembered, acquiesced in the +principle of such a separation in the preliminary peace signed by Sir +Evelyn Wood and themselves. The majority of the Commission, however +(Sir Evelyn Wood dissenting), finally decided against the retention of +either of these districts, a decision which I think was a wise one, +though I arrive at that conclusion on very different grounds to those +adopted by the majority of the Commission. + +Personally, I cannot see that it is the duty of England to play +policeman to the whole world. To have retained these native districts +would have been to make ourselves responsible for their good +government, and to have guaranteed them against Boer encroachment, +which I do not think that we were called upon to do. It is surely not +incumbent upon us, having given up the Transvaal to the Boers, to +undertake the management of the most troublesome part of it, the Zulu +border. Besides, bad as the abandonment of the Transvaal is, I think +that if it was to be done at all, it was best to do it thoroughly, +since to have kept some natives under our protection, and to have +handed over the rest to the tender mercies of the Boers, would only be +to render our injustice more obvious, whilst weakening the power of +the natives themselves to combine in self-defence; since those under +our protection would naturally have little sympathy with their more +unfortunate brethren--their interests and circumstances being +different. + +The Commission do not seem to have considered the question from these +points of view, but putting them on one side, there are many other +considerations connected with it, which are ably summed up in their +Report. Amongst these is the danger of disturbances commenced between +Zulus or Swazies and Boers, spreading into Natal, and the probability +of the fomenting of disturbances amongst the Zulus by Boers. The great +argument for the retention of some territory, if only as a symbol that +the English had not been driven out of the country, is, however, set +forth in the forty-sixth paragraph of the Report, which runs as +follows:--"The moral considerations that determine the actions of +civilised Governments are not easily understood by barbarians, in +whose eyes successful force is alone the sign of superiority, and it +appeared possible that the surrender by the British Crown of one of +its possessions to those who had been in arms against it, might be +looked upon by the natives in no other way than as a token of the +defeat and decay of the British Power, and that thus a serious shock +might be given to British authority in South Africa, and the capacity +of Great Britain to govern and direct the vast native population +within and without her South African dominions--a capacity resting +largely on the renown of her name--might be dangerously impaired." + +These words coming from so unexpected a source do not, though couched +in such mild language, hide the startling importance of the question +discussed. On the contrary, they accurately and with double weight +convey the sense and gist of the most damning argument against the +policy of the retrocession of the Transvaal in its entirety; and +proceeding from their own carefully chosen commissioners, can hardly +have been pleasant reading to Lord Kimberley and his colleagues. + +The majority of the Commission then proceeds to set forth the +arguments advanced by the Boers against the retention of any +territory, which appear to have been chiefly of a sentimental +character, since we are informed that "the people, it seemed certain, +would not have valued the restoration of a mutilated country. +Sentiment in a great measure had led them to insurrection, and the +force of such it was impossible to disregard." Sir E. Wood in his +dissent, states, that he cannot even agree with the premises of his +colleagues' argument, since he is convinced that it was not sentiment +that had led to the outbreak, but a "general and rooted aversion to +taxation." If he had added, and a hatred not only of English rule, but +of all rule, he would have stated the complete cause of the Transvaal +rebellion. In the next paragraph of the Report, however, we find the +real cause of the pliability of the Commission in the matter, which is +the same that influenced them in their decision about the mode of +trial of the murderers and other questions:--they feared that the +people would appeal to arms if they decided against their wishes. + +Discreditable and disgraceful as it may seem, nobody can read this +Report without plainly seeing that the Commissioners were, in treating +with the Boers on these points, in the position of ambassadors from a +beaten people getting the best terms they could. Of course, they well +knew that this was not the case, but whatever the Boer leaders may +have said, the Boers themselves did not know this, or even pretend to +look at the matter in any other light. When we asked for the country +back, said they, we did not get it; after we had three times defeated +the English we did get it; the logical conclusion from the facts being +that we got it because we defeated the English. This was their tone, +and it is not therefore surprising that whenever the Commission +threatened to decide anything against them, they, with a smile, let it +know that if it did, they would be under the painful necessity of +re-occupying Lang's Nek. It was never necessary to repeat the threat, +since the majority of the Commission would thereupon speedily find a +way to meet the views of the Boer representatives. + +Sir Evelyn Wood, in his dissent, thus correctly sums up the matter:-- +"To contend that the Royal Commission ought not to decide contrary to +the wishes of the Boers, because such decision might not be accepted, +is to deny to the Commission the very power of decision that it was +agreed should be left in its hands." Exactly so. But it is evident +that the Commission knew its place, and so far from attempting to +exercise any "power of decision," it was quite content with such +concessions as it could obtain by means of bargaining. Thus, as an +additional reason against the retention of any territory, it is urged +that if this territory was retained "the majority of your +Commissioners . . . would have found themselves in no favourable +position for obtaining the concurrence of the Boer leaders as to other +matters." In fact, Her Majesty's Commission appointed, or supposed to +be appointed, to do Her Majesty's will and pleasure, shook in its +shoes before men who had lately been rebels in arms against Her +authority, and humbly submitted itself to their dicta. + +The majority of the Commission went on to express their opinion, that +by giving away about the retention of territory they would be able to +obtain better terms for the natives generally, and larger powers for +the British Resident. But, as Sir Evelyn Wood points out in his +Report, they did nothing of the sort, the terms of the agreement about +the Resident and other native matters being all consequent on and +included in the first agreement of peace. Besides, they seem to have +overlooked the fact that such concessions as they did obtain are only +on paper, and practically worthless, whilst all /bona fide/ advantages +remained with the Boers. + +The decision of the Commissioners in the question of the Keate Award, +which next came under their consideration, appears to have been a +judicious one, being founded on the very careful Report of Colonel +Moysey, R.E., who had been for many months collecting information on +the spot. The Keate Award Territory is a region lying to the south- +west of the Transvaal, and was, like many other districts in that +country, originally in the possession of natives, of the Baralong and +Batlapin tribes. Individual Boers having, however, /more suo/ taken +possession of tracts of land in the district, difficulties speedily +arose between their Government and the native chiefs, and in 1871 Mr. +Keate, Lieutenant-Governor of Natal, was by mutual consent called in +to arbitrate on the matter. His decision was entirely in favour of the +natives, and was accordingly promptly and characteristically +repudiated by the Boer Volksraad. From that time till the rebellion +the question remained unsettled, and was indeed a very thorny one to +deal with. The Commission, acting on the principle /in medio +tutissimus ibis/, drew a line through the midst of the disputed +territory, or, in other words, set aside Mr. Keate's award and +interpreted the dispute in favour of the Boers. + +This decision was accepted by all parties at the time, but it has not +resulted in the maintenance of peace. The principal Chief, Montsoia, +is an old ally and staunch friend of the English, a fact which the +Boers were not able to forget or forgive, and they appear to have +stirred up rival Chiefs to attack him, and to have allowed volunteers +from the Transvaal to assist them. Montsoia has also enlisted some +white volunteers, and several fights have taken place, in which the +loss of life has been considerable. Whether or no the Transvaal +Government is directly concerned it is impossible to say, but from the +fact that cannon are said to have been used against Montsoia it would +appear that it is, since private individuals do not, as a rule, own +Armstrong guns.[*] + +[*] I beg to refer any reader interested in this matter to the letter + of "Transvaal" to the "Standard," which I have republished in the + Appendix to this book. + +Amongst the questions remaining for the consideration of the +Commissioners was that of what compensation should be given for losses +during the war. Of course, the great bulk of the losses sustained were +of an indirect nature, resulting from the necessary and enormous +depreciation in the value of land and other property, consequent on +the retrocession. Into this matter the Home Government declined to +enter, thereby saving its pocket at the price of its honour, since it +was upon English guarantees that the country would remain a British +possession, that the majority of the unfortunate loyals invested their +money in it. It was, however, agreed by the Commission (Sir H. de +Villiers dissenting) that the Boers should be liable for compensation +in cases where loss had been sustained through commandeering seizure, +confiscation, destruction, or damage of property. The sums awarded +under these heads have already amounted to about 110,000 pounds, which +sum has been defrayed by the Imperial Government, the Boer authorities +stating that they were not in a position to pay it. + +In connection with this matter, I will pass to the Financial clauses +of the Report. When the country was annexed, the public debt amounted +to 301,727 pounds. Under British rule this debt was liquidated to the +extent of 150,000 pounds, but the total was brought up by a +Parliamentary grant, a loan from the Standard Bank, and sundries to +390,404 pounds, which represented the public debt of the Transvaal on +the 31st December 1880. This was further increased by moneys advanced +by the Standard Bank and English Exchequer during the war, and till +the 8th August 1881, during which time the country yielded no revenue, +to 457,393 pounds. To this must be added an estimated sum of 200,000 +pounds for compensation charges, pension allowances, &c., and a +further sum of 383,000 pounds, the cost of the successful expedition +against Secocoeni, that of the unsuccessful one being left out of +account, bringing up the total public debt to over a million, of which +about 800,000 pounds is owing to this country. + +This sum, with the characteristic liberality that distinguished them +in their dealings with the Boers, but which was not so marked where +loyals were concerned, the Commissioners (Sir Evelyn Wood dissenting) +reduced by a stroke of the pen to 265,000 pounds, thus entirely +remitting an approximate sum of 500,000 pounds, or 600,000 pounds. To +the sum of 265,000 pounds still owing, must be added say another +150,000 pounds for sums lately advanced to pay the compensation +claims, bringing up the actual amount now owing to England to +something under half a million, of which I say with confidence she +will never see a single 10,000 pounds. As this contingency was not +contemplated, or if contemplated, not alluded to by the Royal +Commission, provision was made for a sinking fund, by means of which +the debt, which is a second charge on the revenues of the States, is +to be extinguished in twenty-five years. + +It is a strange instance of the proverbial irony of fate, that whilst +the representatives of the Imperial Government were thus showering +gifts of hundreds of thousands of pounds upon men who had spurned the +benefits of Her Majesty's rule, made war upon her forces, and murdered +her subjects, no such consideration was extended to those who had +remained loyal to her throne. Their claims for compensation were +passed by unheeded; and looking from the windows of the room in which +they sat in Newcastle, the members of the Commission might have seen +them flocking down from a country that could no longer be their home; +those that were rich among them made poor, and those that were poor +reduced to destitution. + +The only other point which it will be necessary for me to touch on in +connection with this Report is the duties of the British Resident and +his relations to the natives. He was to be invested as representative +of the Suzerain with functions for securing the execution of the terms +of peace as regards: (1.) The control of the foreign relations of the +State; (2.) The control of the frontier affairs of the State; and (3.) +The protection of the interests of the natives in the State. + +As regards the first of these points, it was arranged that the +interests of subjects of the Transvaal should be left in the hands of +Her Majesty's representatives abroad. Since Boers are, of all people +in the world, the most stay-at-home, our ambassadors and consuls are +not likely to be troubled much on their account. With reference to the +second point, the Commission made stipulations that would be admirable +if there were any probability of their being acted up to. The Resident +is to report any encroachment on native territory by Boers to the High +Commissioner, and when the Resident and the Boer Government differ, +the decision of the Suzerain is to be final. This is a charming way of +settling difficulties, but the Commission forgets to specify how the +Suzerain's decision is to be enforced. After what has happened, it can +hardly have relied on awe of the name of England to bring about the +desired obedience! + +But besides thus using his beneficent authority to prevent subjects of +the Transvaal from trespassing on their neighbour's land, the Resident +is to exercise a general supervision over the interests of all the +natives in the country. Considering that they number about a million, +and are scattered over a territory larger than France, one would think +that this duty alone would have taken up the time of any ordinary man; +and, indeed, Sir Evelyn Wood was in favour of the appointment of sub- +residents to assist him. The majority of the Commission refused, +however, to listen to any such suggestion--believing, they said, "that +the least possible interference with the independent Government of the +State would be the wisest." Quite so, but I suppose it never occurred +to them to ask the natives what their views of the matter were! The +Resident was also to be a member of a Native Location Committee, which +was at some future time, to provide land for natives to live on. + +In perusing this Report it is easy to follow with more or less +accuracy the individual bent of its framers. Sir Hercules Robinson +figures throughout as a man who has got a disagreeable business to +carry out, in obedience to instructions that admit of no trifling +with, and who has set himself to do the best he can for his country, +and those who suffer through his country's policy, whilst obeying +those instructions. He has evidently choked down his feelings and +opinions as an individual, and turned himself into an official +machine, merely registering in detail the will of Lord Kimberley. With +Sir Henry de Villiers the case is very different, one feels throughout +that the task is to him a congenial one, and that the Boer cause has +in him an excellent friend. Indeed, had he been an advocate of their +cause instead of a member of the Commission, he could not have +espoused their side on every occasion with greater zeal. According to +him they were always in the right, and in them he could find no guile. +Mr. Hofmeyer and President Brand exercised a wise discretion from +their own point of view, when they urged his appointment as Special +Commissioner. I now come to Sir Evelyn Wood, who was in the position +of an independent Englishman, neither prejudiced in favour of the +Boers, or the reverse, and on whom, as a military man, Lord Kimberley +would find it difficult to put the official screw. The results of his +happy position are obvious in the paper attached to the end of the +Report, and signed by him, in which he totally and entirely differs +from the majority of the Commission on every point of importance. Most +people will think that this very outspoke and forcible dissent deducts +somewhat from the value of the Report, and throws a shadow of doubt on +the wisdom of its provisions. + +The formal document of agreement between Her Majesty's Government and +the Boer leaders, commonly known as the Convention, was signed by both +parties at Pretoria on the afternoon of the 3d August 1881, in the +same room in which, nearly four years before, the Annexation +Proclamation was signed by Sir T. Shepstone. + +Whilst this business was being transacted in Government House, a +curious ceremony was going on just outside, and within sight of the +windows. This was the ceremonious burial of the Union Jack, which was +followed to the grave by a crowd of about 2000 loyalists and native +chiefs. On the outside of the coffin was written the word "Resurgam," +and an eloquent oration was delivered over the grave. Such +demonstrations are, no doubt, foolish enough, but they are not +entirely without political significance. + +But a more unpleasant duty awaited the Commissioners than that of +attaching their signatures to a document,--consisting of the necessity +of conveying Her Majesty's decision as to the retrocession, to about a +hundred native Chiefs, until now Her Majesty's subjects, who had been +gathered together to hear it. It must be borne in mind that the +natives had not been consulted as to the disposal of the country, +although they outnumber the white people in the proportion of twenty +to one, and that, beyond some worthless paper stipulations, nothing +had been done for their interests. + +Personally, I must plead guilty to what I know is by many, especially +by those who are attached to the Boer cause, considered as folly if +not worse, namely, a sufficient interest in the natives, and sympathy +with their sufferings to bring me to the conclusion, that in acting +thus we have inflicted a cruel injustice upon them. It seems to me, +that as they were the original owners of the soil, they were entitled +to some consideration in the question of its disposal, and +consequently and incidentally, of their own. I am aware that it is +generally considered that the white man has a right to the black man's +possessions and land, and that it is his high and holy mission to +exterminate the wretched native and take his place. But with this +conclusion I venture to differ. So far as my own experience of natives +has gone, I have found that in all the essential qualities of mind and +body, they very much resemble white men, with the exception that they +are, as a race, quicker-witted, more honest, and braver, than the +ordinary run of white men. Of them might be aptly quoted the speech +Shakespeare puts into Shylock's mouth: "Hath not a Jew eyes? hath not +a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions?" In the +same way I ask, Has a native no feelings or affections? does he not +suffer when his parents are shot, or his children stolen, or when he +is driven a wanderer from his home? Does he not know fear, feel pain, +affection, hate and gratitude? Most certainly he does; and this being +so, I cannot believe that the Almighty, who made both white and black, +gave to the one race the right or mission of exterminating, or even of +robbing or maltreating the other, and calling the process the advance +of civilisation. It seems to me, that on only one condition, if at +all, have we the right to take the black man's land; and that is, that +we provide them with an equal and a just Government, and allow no +maltreatment of them, either as individuals or tribes: but, on the +contrary, do our best to elevate them, and wean them from savage +customs. Otherwise, the practice is surely undefensible. + +I am aware, however, that with the exception of a small class, these +are sentiments which are not shared by the great majority of the +public, either at home or abroad. Indeed, it can be plainly seen how +little sympathy they command, from the fact that but scanty +remonstrance was raised at the treatment meted out to our native +subjects in the Transvaal, when they were, to the number of nearly a +million, handed over from the peace, justice, and security, that on +the whole characterise our rule, to a state of things, and +possibilities of wrong and suffering which I will not try to describe. + +To the chiefs thus assembled Sir Hercules Robinson, as President of +the Royal Commission, read a statement, and then retired, refusing to +allow them to speak in answer. The statement informed the natives that +"Her Majesty's Government, with that sense of justice which befits a +great and powerful nation," had returned the country to the Boers, +"whose representatives, Messrs. Kruger, Pretorius, and Joubert, I +now," said Sir Hercules, "have much pleasure in introducing to you." +If reports are true, the native Chiefs had, many of them personally, +and all of them by reputation, already the advantage of a very +intimate acquaintance with all three of these gentlemen, so that an +introduction was somewhat superfluous. + +Sir Hercules went on to explain to them that locations would be +allotted to them at some future time; that a British Resident would be +appointed, whose especial charge they would be, but that they must +bear in mind that he was not the ruler of the country, but the +Government, "subject to Her Majesty's suzerain rights." Natives were, +no doubt, expected to know by intuition what suzerain rights are. The +statement then goes on to give them good advice as to the advantages +of indulging in manual labour when asked to do so by the Boers, and +generally to show them how bright and happy is the future that lies +before them. Lest they should be too elated by such good tidings, they +are, however, reminded that it will be necessary to retain the law +relating to passes, which is, in the hands of a people like the Boers, +about as unjust a regulation as a dominant race can invent for the +oppression of a subject people, and had, in the old days of the +Republic, been productive of much hardship. The statement winds up by +assuring them that their "interests will never be forgotten or +neglected by Her Majesty's Government." Having read the document the +Commission hastily withdrew, and after their withdrawal the Chiefs +were "allowed" to state their opinions to the Secretary for Native +Affairs. + +In availing themselves of this permission, it is noticeable that no +allusion was made to all the advantages they were to reap under the +Convention, nor did they seem to attach much importance to the +appointment of the British Resident. On the contrary, all their +attention was given to the great fact that the country had been ceded +to the Boers, and that they were no longer the Queen's subjects. We +are told, in Mr. Shepstone's Report, that they "got very excited," and +"asked whether it was thought that they had no feelings or hearts, +that they were thus treated as a stick or piece of tobacco, which +could be passed from hand to hand without question." Umgombarie, a +Zoutpansberg Chief, said, "I am Umgombarie. I have fought with the +Boers, and have many wounds, and they know that what I say is true. +. . . I will never consent to place myself under their rule. I belong +to the English Government. I am not a man who eats with both sides of +his jaw at once; I only use one side. I am English, I have said." +Silamba said, "I belong to the English. I will never return under the +Boers. You see me, a man of my rank and position, is it right that +such as I should be seized and laid on the ground and flogged, as has +been done to me and other chiefs?" + +Sinkanhla said: "We hear and yet do not hear, we cannot understand. We +are troubling you, Chief, by talking in this way; we hear the Chiefs +say that the Queen took the country because the people of the country +wished it, and again that the majority of the owners of the country +did not wish their rule, and that therefore the country was given +back. We should like to have the man pointed out from among us black +people who objects to the rule of the Queen. We are the real owners of +the country; we were here when the Boers came, and without asking +leave, settled down and treated us in every way badly. The English +Government then came and took the country; we have now had four years +of rest and peaceful and just rule. We have been called here to-day, +and are told that the country, our country, has been given to the +Boers by the Queen. This is a thing which surprises us. Did the +country, then, belong to the Boers? Did it not belong to our fathers +and forefathers before us, long before the Boers came here? We have +heard that the Boers' country is at the Cape. If the Queen wishes to +give them their land, why does she not give them back the Cape?" + +I have quoted this speech at length, because, although made by a +despised native, it sets forth their case more powerfully and in +happier language than I can do. + +Umyethile said: "We have no heart for talking. I have returned to the +country from Sechelis, where I had to fly from Boer oppression. Our +hearts are black and heavy with grief to-day at the news told us, we +are in agony, our intestines are twisting and writhing inside of us, +just as you see a snake do when it is struck on the head. . . . We do +not know what has become of us, but we feel dead; it may be that the +Lord may change the nature of the Boers, and that we will not be +treated like dogs and beasts of burden as formerly, but we have no +hope of such a change, and we leave you with heavy hearts and great +apprehension as to the future." In his Report, Mr. Shepstone (the +Secretary for Native Affairs) says: "One chief, Jan Sibilo, who has +been, he informed me, personally threatened with death by the Boers +after the English leave, could not restrain his feelings, but cried +like a child." + +I have nothing to add to these extracts, which are taken from many +such statements. They are the very words of the persons most +concerned, and will speak for themselves. + +The Convention was signed on the 3d August 1881, and was to be +formally ratified by a Volksraad or Parliament of the Burghers within +three months of that date, in default of which it was to fall to the +ground and become null and void. + +Anybody who has followed the course of affairs with reference to the +retrocession of the Transvaal, or who has even taken the trouble to +read through this brief history, will probably come to the conclusion +that, under all the circumstances, the Boers had got more than they +could reasonably expect. Not so, however, the Boers themselves. On the +28th September the newly-elected Volksraad referred the Convention to +a General Committee to report on, and on the 30th September the Report +was presented. On the 3d October a telegram was despatched through the +British Resident to "His Excellency W. E. Gladstone," in which the +Volksraad states that the Convention is not acceptable-- + +(1.) Because it is in conflict with the Sand River Treaty of 1852. + +(2.) Because it violates the peace agreement entered into with Sir +Evelyn Wood, in confidence of which the Boers laid down their arms. + +The Volksraad consequently declared that modifications were desirable, +and that certain articles /must/ be altered. + +To begin with, they declare that the "conduct of foreign relations +does not appertain to the Suzerain, only supervision," and that the +articles bearing on these points must consequently be modified. They +next attack the native question, stating that "the Suzerain has not +the right to interfere with our Legislature," and state that they +cannot agree to Article 3, which gives the Suzerain a right of veto on +Legislation connected with the natives, to Article 13, by virtue of +which natives are to be allowed to acquire land, and to the last part +of Article 26, by which it is provided that whites of alien race +living in the Transvaal shall not be taxed in excess of the taxes +imposed on Transvaal citizens. + +They further declare that it is "infra dignitatem" for the President +of the Transvaal to be a member of a Commission. This refers to the +Native Location Commission, on which he is, in the terms of the +Convention, to sit, together with the British Resident, and a third +person jointly appointed. + +They next declare that the amount of the debt for which the Commission +has made them liable should be modified. Considering that England had +already made them a present of from 600,000 pounds to 800,000 pounds, +this is a most barefaced demand. Finally, they state that "Articles +15, 16, 26, and 27, are superfluous, and only calculated to wound our +sense of honour" (sic). + +Article 15 enacts that no slavery or apprenticeship shall be +tolerated. + +Article 16 provides for religious toleration. + +Article 26 provides for the free movement, trading, and residence of +all persons, other than natives, conforming themselves to the laws of +the Transvaal. + +Article 27 gives to all the right of free access to the Courts of +Justice. + +Putting the "sense of honour" of the Transvaal Volksraad out of the +question, past experience has but too plainly proved that these +Articles are by no means superfluous. + +In reply to this message, Sir Hercules Robinson telegraphs to the +British Resident on the 21st October in the following words:-- + +"Having forwarded Volksraad Resolution of 15th to Earl of Kimberley, I +am desired to instruct you in reply to repeat to the Triumvirate that +Her Majesty's Government cannot entertain any proposals for a +modification of the Convention /until after it has been ratified/, and +the necessity for further concession proved by experience." + +I wish to draw particular attention to the last part of this message, +which is extremely typical of the line of policy adopted throughout in +the Transvaal business. The English Government dared not make any +further concession to the Boers, because they felt that they had +already strained the temper of the country almost to breaking in the +matter. On the other hand, they were afraid that if they did not do +something, the Boers would tear up the Convention, and they would find +themselves face to face with the old difficulty. Under these +circumstances, they have fallen back upon their temporising and +un-English policy, which leaves them a back-door to escape through, +whatever turn things take. Should the Boers now suddenly turn round +and declare, which is extremely probable, that they repudiate their +debt to us, or that they are sick of the presence of a British +Resident, the Government will be able to announce that "the necessity +for further concession" has now been "proved by experience," and thus +escape the difficulty. In short, this telegram has deprived the +Convention of whatever finality it may have possessed, and made it, as +a document, as worthless as it is as a practical settlement. That this +is the view taken of it by the Boers themselves, is proved by the text +of the Ratification which followed on the receipt of this telegram. + +The tone of this document throughout is, in my opinion, considering +from whom it came, and against whom it is directed, very insolent. And +it amply confirms what I have previously said, that the Boers looked +upon themselves as a victorious people making terms with those they +have conquered. The Ratification leads off thus: "The Volksraad is not +satisfied with this Convention, and considers that the members of the +Triumvirate performed a fervent act of love for the Fatherland when +they upon their own responsibility signed such an unsatisfactory state +document." This is damning with faint praise indeed. It then goes on +to recite the various points of object, stating that the answers from +the English Government proved that they were well founded. "The +English Government," it says, "acknowledges indirectly by this answer +(the telegram of 21st October, quoted above) that the difficulties +raised by the Volksraad are neither fictitious nor unfounded, inasmuch +/as it desires from us the concession/ that we, the Volksraad, shall +submit it to a practical test." It will be observed that English is +here represented as begging the favour of a trial of her conditions +from the Volksraad of the Transvaal Boers. The Ratification is in +these words: "Therefore it is that the Raad here unanimously resolves +not to go into further discussion of the Convention, /and maintaining +all objections to the Convention/ as made before the Royal Commission +or stated in the Raad, and for the purpose of showing to everybody +that the love of peace and unity inspires us, /for the time and +provisionally/ submitting the articles of the Convention to a +practical test, /hereby complying with the request of the English +Government/ contained in the telegram of the 13th October 1881, +proceeds to ratify the Convention." + +It would have been interesting to have seen how such a Ratification as +this, which is no Ratification but an insult, would have been accepted +by Lord Beaconsfield. I think that within twenty-four hours of its +arrival in Downing Street, the Boer Volksraad would have received a +startling answer. But Lord Beaconsfield is dead, and by his successor +it was received with all due thankfulness and humility. His words, +however, on this subject still remain to us, and even his great rival +might have done well to listen to them. It was in the course of what +was, I believe, the last speech he made in the House of Lords, that +speaking about the Transvaal rising, he warned the Government that it +was a very dangerous thing to make peace with rebellious subjects in +arms against the authority of the Queen. The warning passed unheeded, +and the peace was made in the way I have described. + +As regards the Convention itself, it will be obvious to the reader +that the Boers have not any intention of acting up to its provisions, +mild as they are, if they can possibly avoid them, whilst, on the +other hand, there is no force at hand to punish their disregard or +breach. It is all very well to create a Resident with extensive +powers; but how is he to enforce his decisions? What is he to do if +his awards are laughed at and made a mockery of, as they are and will +be? The position of Mr. Hudson at Pretoria is even worse than that of +Mr. Osborn in Zululand. For instance, the Convention specifies in the +first article that the Transvaal is to be known as the Transvaal +State. The Boer Government have, however, thought fit to adopt the +name of "South African Republic" in all public documents. Mr. Hudson +was accordingly directed to remonstrate, which he did in a feeble way; +his remonstrance was politely acknowledged, but the country is still +officially called the South African Republic, the Convention and Mr. +Hudson's remonstrations notwithstanding. Mr. Hudson, however, appears +to be better suited to the position than would have been the case had +an Englishman, pure and simple, been appointed, since it is evident +that things that would have struck the latter as insults to the Queen +he represented, and his country generally, are not so understood by +him. In fact, he admirably represents his official superiors in his +capacity of swallowing rebuffs, and when smitten on one cheek +delightedly offering the other. + +Thus we find him attending a Boer meeting of thanksgiving for the +success that had waited on their arms and the recognition of their +independence, where most people will consider he was out of place. To +this meeting, thus graced by his presence, an address was presented by +a branch of the Africander Bond, a powerful institution, having for +its object the total uprootal of English rule and English customs in +South Africa, to which he must have listened with pleasure. In it he, +in common with other members of the meeting, is informed that "you +took up the sword and struck the Briton with such force" that "the +Britons through fear revived that sense of justice to which they could +not be brought by petitions," and that the "day will soon come that we +shall enter with you on one arena for the entire independence of South +Africa," i.e., independence from English rule. + +On the following day the Government gave a dinner, to which all those +who had done good service during the late hostilities were invited, +the British Resident being apparently the only Englishman asked. +Amongst the other celebrities present I notice the name of Buskes. +This man, who is an educated Hollander, was the moving spirit of the +Potchefstroom atrocities; indeed, so dark is his reputation that the +Royal Commission refused to transact business with him, or to admit +him into their presence. Mr. Hudson was not so particular. And now +comes the most extraordinary part of the episode. At the dinner it was +necessary that the health of Her Majesty as Suzerain should be +proposed, and with studied insolence this was done last of all the +leading political toasts, and immediately after that of the +Triumvirate. Notwithstanding this fact, and that the toast was couched +by Mr. Joubert, who stated that "he would not attempt to explain what +a Suzerain was," in what appear to be semi-ironical terms, we find +that Mr. Hudson "begged to tender his thanks to the Honourable Mr. +Joubert for the kind way in which he proposed the toast." + +It may please Mr. Hudson to see the name of the Queen thus +metaphorically dragged in triumph at the chariot wheels of the +Triumvirate, but it is satisfactory to know that the spectacle is not +appreciated in England: since, on a question in the House of Lords, by +the Earl of Carnarvon, who characterised it as a deliberate insult, +Lord Kimberley replied that the British Resident had been instructed +that in future he was not to attend public demonstrations unless he +had previously informed himself that the name of Her Majesty would be +treated with proper respect. Let us hope that this official reprimand +will have its effect, and that Mr. Hudson will learn therefrom that +there is such a thing as /trop de zele/--even in a good cause. + +The Convention is now a thing of the past, the appropriate rewards +have been lavishly distributed to its framers, and President Brand has +at last prevailed upon the Volksraad of the Orange Free State to allow +him to become a Knight Grand Cross of Saint Michael and Saint George, +--the same prize looked forward to by our most distinguished public +servants at the close of the devotion of their life to the service of +their country. But its results are yet to come--though it would be +difficult to forecast the details of their development. One thing, +however, is clear: the signing of that document signalised an entirely +new departure in South African affairs, and brought us within a +measurable distance of the abandonment, for the present at any rate, +of the supremacy of English rule in South Africa. + +This is the larger issue of the matter, and it is already bearing +fruit. Emboldened by their success in the Transvaal, the Dutch party +at the Cape are demanding, and the demand is to be granted, that the +Dutch tongue be admitted /pari passu/ with English, as the official +language in the Law Courts and the House of Assembly. When a country +thus consents to use a foreign tongue equally with its own, it is a +sure sign that those who speak it are rising to power. But "the Party" +looks higher than this, and openly aims at throwing off English rule +altogether, and declaring South Africa a great Dutch republic. The +course of events is favourable to their aspiration. Responsible +Government is to be granted to Natal, which country not being strong +enough to stand alone in the face of the many dangers that surround +her, will be driven into the arms of the Dutch party to save herself +from destruction. It will be useless for her to look for help from +England, and any feelings of repugnance she may feel to Boer rule will +soon be choked by necessity, and a mutual interest. It is, however, +possible that some unforeseen event, such as the advent to power of a +strong Conservative Ministry, may check the tide that now sets so +strongly in favour of Dutch supremacy. + +It seems to me, however, to be a question worthy of the consideration +of those who at present direct the destinies of the Empire, whether it +would not be wise, as they have gone so far, to go a little further +and favour a scheme for the total abandonment of South Africa, +retaining only Table Bay. If they do not, it is now quite within the +bounds of sober possibility that they may one day have to face a fresh +Transvaal rebellion, only on a ten times larger scale, and might find +it difficult to retain even Table Bay. If, on the other hand, they do, +I believe that all the White States in South Africa will confederate +of their own free-will, under the pressure of the necessity for common +action, and the Dutch element being preponderant, at once set to work +to exterminate the natives on general principles, in much the same +way, and from much the same motives that a cook exterminates black +beetles, because she thinks them ugly, and to clear the kitchen. + +I need hardly say that such a policy is not one that commands my +sympathy, but Her Majesty's Government having put their hand to the +plough, it is worth their while to consider it. It would at any rate +be in perfect accordance with their declared sentiments, and command +an enthusiastic support from their followers. + +As regards the smaller and more immediate issue of the retrocession, +namely, its effect on the Transvaal itself, it cannot be other than +evil. The act is, I believe, quite without precedent in our history, +and it is difficult to see, looking at it from those high grounds of +national morality assumed by the Government, what greater arguments +can be advanced in its favour, than could be found to support the +abandonment of,--let us say,--Ireland. Indeed a certain parallel +undoubtedly exists between the circumstances of the two countries. +Ireland was, like the Transvaal, annexed, though a long time ago, and +has continually agitated for its freedom. The Irish hate us, so did +the Boers. In Ireland, Englishmen are being shot, and England is +running the awful risk of bloodguiltiness, as it did in the Transvaal. +In Ireland, smouldering revolution is being fanned into flame by Mr. +Gladstone's speeches and acts, as it was in the Transvaal. In Ireland, +as in the Transvaal, there exists a strong loyal class that receives +insults instead of support from the Government, and whose property, as +was the case there, is taken from them without compensation, to be +flung as a sop to stop the mouths of the Queen's enemies. And so I +might go on, finding many such similarities of circumstances, but my +parallel, like most parallels, must break down at last. Thus--it +mattered little to England whether or no she let the Transvaal go, but +to let Ireland go would be more than even Mr. Gladstone dare attempt. + +Somehow, if you follow these things far enough, you always come to +vulgar first principles. The difference between the case of the +Transvaal and that of Ireland is a difference not of justice but of +cause, for both causes are equally unjust or just according as they +are viewed, but of mere common expediency. Judging from the elevated +standpoint of the national morality theory however, which, as we know, +soars above such truisms as the foolish statement that force is a +remedy, or that if you wish to retain your prestige you must not allow +defeats to pass unavenged, I cannot see why, if it was righteous to +abandon the Transvaal, it would not be equally righteous to abandon +Ireland! + +As for the Transvaal, that country is not to be congratulated on its +success, for it has destroyed all its hopes of permanent peace, has +ruined its trade and credit, and has driven away the most useful and +productive class in the community. The Boers, elated by their success +in arms, will be little likely to settle down to peaceable +occupations, and still less likely to pay their taxes, which, indeed, +I hear they are already refusing to do. They have learnt how easily +even a powerful Government can be upset, and the lesson is not likely +to be forgotten, for want of repetition to their own weak one. + +Already the Transvaal Government hardly knows which way to turn for +funds, and is, perhaps fortunately for itself, quite unable to borrow, +through want of credit. + +As regards the native question, I agree with Mr. H. Shepstone, who, in +his Report on this subject, says that he does not believe that the +natives will inaugurate any action against the Boers, so long as the +latter do not try to collect taxes, or otherwise interfere with them. +But if the Boer Government is to continue to exist, it will be bound +to raise taxes from the natives, since it cannot collect much from its +white subjects. The first general attempt of the sort will be the +signal for active resistance on the part of the natives, whom, if they +act without concert, the Boers will be able to crush in detail, though +with considerable loss. If, on the other hand, they should have +happened, during the last few years, to have learnt the advantages of +combination, as is quite possible, perhaps they will crush the Boers. + +The only thing that is at present certain about the matter is that +there will be bloodshed, and that before long. For instance, the +Montsoia difficulty in the Keate Award has in it the possibilities of +a serious war, and there are plenty such difficulties ready to spring +into life within and without the Transvaal. + +In all human probability it will take but a small lapse of time for +the Transvaal to find itself in the identical position from which we +relieved it by the Annexation. + +What course events will then take it is impossible to say. It may be +found desirable to re-annex the country, though, in my opinion, that +would be, after all that has passed, an unfortunate step; its +inhabitants may be cut up piecemeal by a combined movement of native +tribes, as they would have been, had they not been rescued by the +English Government in 1877, or it is possible that the Orange Free +State may consent to take the Transvaal under its wing: who can say? +There is only one thing that our recently abandoned possession can +count on for certain, and that is trouble, both from its white +subjects, and the natives, who hate the Boers with a bitter and a +well-earned hatred. + +The whole question, can, so far as its moral aspect is concerned, be +summed up in a few words. + +Whether or no the Annexation was a necessity at the moment of its +execution,--which I certainly maintain it was--it received the +unreserved sanction of the Home Authorities, and the relations of +Sovereign and subject, with all the many and mutual obligations +involved in that connection, were established between the Queen of +England and every individual of the motley population of the +Transvaal. Nor was this change an empty form, for, to the largest +proportion of that population, this transfer of allegiance brought +with it a priceless and a vital boon. To them it meant--freedom and +justice--for where, on any portion of this globe over which the +British ensign floats, does the law even wink at cruelty or wrong? + +A few years passed away, and a small number of the Queen's subjects in +the Transvaal rose in rebellion against Her authority, and inflicted +some reverses on Her arms. Thereupon, in spite of the reiterated +pledges given to the contrary--partly under stress of defeat, and +partly in obedience to the pressure of "advanced views"--the country +was abandoned, and the vast majority who had remained faithful to the +Crown, was handed to the cruel despotism of the minority who had +rebelled against it. + +Such an act of treachery to those to whom we were bound with double +chains--by the strong ties of a common citizenship, and by those +claims to England's protection from violence and wrong which have +hitherto been wont to command it, even where there was no duty to +fulfil, and no authority to vindicate--stands--I believe--without +parallel on our records, and marks a new departure in our history. + +I cannot end these pages without expressing my admiration of the +extremely able way in which the Boers managed their revolt, when once +they felt that, having undertaken the thing, it was a question of life +and death with them. It shows that they have good stuff in them +somewhere, which, under the firm but just rule of Her Majesty, might +have been much developed, and it makes it the more sad that they +should have been led to throw off that rule, and have been allowed to +do so by an English Government. + +In conclusion, there is one point that I must touch on, and that is +the effect of the retrocession on the native mind, which I can only +describe as most disastrous. The danger alluded to in the Report of +the Royal Commission has been most amply realised, and the prevailing +belief in the steadfastness of our policy, and the inviolability of +our plighted word, which has hitherto been the great secret of our +hold on the Kafirs, has been rudely shaken. The motives that +influenced, or are said to have influenced, the Government in their +act, are naturally quite unintelligible to savages, however clever, +who do believe that force is a remedy, and who have seen the +inhabitants of a country ruled by England, defeat English soldiers and +take possession of it, whilst those who remained loyal to England were +driven out of it. It will not be wonderful if some of them, say the +natives of Natal, deduce therefrom conclusions unfavourable to +loyalty, and evince a desire to try the same experiment. + +It is, however, unprofitable to speculate on the future, which must be +left to unfold itself. + +The curtain is, so far as this country is concerned, down for the +moment on the South African stage; when it rises again, there is but +too much reason to fear that it will reveal a state of confusion, +which, unless it is more wisely and consistently dealt with in the +future than it has been in the past, may develop into chaos. + + + + + APPENDIX + + + + I + + THE POTCHEFSTROOM ATROCITIES, &C. + +There were more murders and acts of cruelty committed during the war +at Potchefstroom, where the behaviour of the Boers was throughout both +deceitful and savage, than at any other place. + +When the fighting commenced a number of ladies and children, the wives +and children of English residents, took refuge in the fort. Shortly +after it had been invested they applied to be allowed to return to +their homes in the town till the war was over. The request was refused +by the Boer commander, who said that as they had gone there, they +might stop and "perish" there. One poor lady, the wife of a gentleman +well known in the Transvaal, was badly wounded by having the point of +a stake, which had been cut in two by a bullet, driven into her side. +She was at the time in a state of pregnancy, and died some days +afterwards in great agony. Her little sister was shot through the +throat, and several other women and children suffered from bullet +wounds, and fever arising from their being obliged to live for months +exposed to rain and heat, with insufficient food. + +The moving spirit of all the Potchefstroom atrocities was a cruel +wretch of the name of Buskes, a well-educated man, who, as an advocate +of the High Court, had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. + +One deponent swears that he saw this Buskes wearing Captain Fall's +diamond ring, which he had taken from Sergeant Ritchie, to whom it was +handed to be sent to England, and also that he had possessed himself +of the carriages and other goods belonging to prisoners taken by the +Boers.[*] Another deponent (whose name is omitted in the Blue Book for +precautionary reasons) swears, "That on the next night the patrol +again came to my house accompanied by one Buskes, who was secretary of +the Boer Committee, and again asked where my wife and daughter were. I +replied, in bed; and Buskes then said, 'I must see for myself.' I +refused to allow him, and he forced me, with a loaded gun held to my +breast, to open the curtains of the bed, when he pulled the bedclothes +half off my wife, and altogether off my daughter. I then told him if I +had a gun I would shoot him. He placed a loaded gun at my breast, when +my wife sprang out of bed and got between us." + +[*] Buskes was afterwards forced to deliver up the ring. + +I remember hearing at the time that this Buskes (who is a good +musician) took one of his victims, who was on the way to execution, +into the chapel and played the "Dead March in Saul," or some such +piece, over him on the organ. + +After the capture of the Court House a good many Englishmen fell into +the hands of the Boers. Most of these were sentenced to hard labour +and deprivation of "civil rights." The sentence was enforced by making +them work in the trenches under a heavy fire from the fort. One poor +fellow, F. W. Finlay by name, got his head blown off by a shell from +his own friends in the fort, and several loyal Kafirs suffered the +same fate. After these events the remaining prisoners refused to +return to the trenches till they had been "tamed" by being thrashed +with the butt end of guns, and by threats of receiving twenty-five +lashes each. + +But their fate, bad as it was, was not so awful as that suffered by +Dr. Woite and J. Van der Linden. + +Dr. Woite had attended the Boer meeting which was held before the +outbreak, and written a letter from thence to Major Clarke, in which +he had described the talk of the Boers as silly bluster. He was not a +paid spy. This letter was, unfortunately for him, found in Major +Clarke's pocket-book, and because of it he was put through a form of +trial, taken out and shot dead, all on the same day. He left a wife +and large family, who afterwards found their way to Natal in a +destitute condition. + +The case of Van der Linden is somewhat similar. He was one of Raaf's +Volunteers, and as such had taken the oath of allegiance to the Queen. +In the execution of his duty he made a report to his commanding +officer about the Boer meeting, and which afterwards fell into the +hands of the Boers. On this he was put through the form of trial, and, +though in the service of the Queen, was found guilty of treason and +condemned to death. One of his judges, a little less stony-hearted +than the rest, pointed out that "when the prisoner committed the crime +martial law had not yet been proclaimed, nor the State," but it +availed him nothing. He was taken out and shot. + +A Kafir named Carolus was also put through the form of trial and shot, +for no crime at all that I can discover. + +Ten unarmed Kafir drivers, who had been sent away from the fort, were +shot down in cold blood by a party of Boers. Several witnesses depose +to having seen their remains lying together close to Potchefstroom. + +Various other Kafirs were shot. None of the perpetrators of these +crimes were brought to justice. The Royal Commission comments on these +acts as follows:-- + +"In regard to the deaths of Woite, Van de Linden, and Carolus, the +Boer leaders do not deny the fact that those men had been executed, +but sought to justify it. The majority of your Commissioners felt +bound to record their opinion that the taking of the lives of these +men was an act contrary to the rules of civilised warfare. Sir H. de +Villiers was of opinion that the executions in these cases, having +been ordered by properly constituted Court Martial of the Boers' +forces after due trial, did not fall under the cognisance of your +Commissioners. + +"Upon the case of William Finlay the majority of your Commissioners +felt bound to record the opinion that the sacrifice of Finlay's life, +through forced labour under fire in the trenches, was an act contrary +to the rules of civilised warfare. /Sir H. de Villiers did not feel +justified by the facts of the case in joining in this expression of +opinion/ (sic). As to the case of the Kafir Andries, your +Commissioners decided that, although the shooting of this man appeared +to them, from the information laid before them, to be not in +accordance with the rules of civilised warfare, under all the +circumstances of the case, it was not desirable to insist upon a +prosecution. + +"The majority of your Commissioners, although feeling it a duty to +record emphatically their disapproval of the acts that resulted in the +deaths of Woite, Van der Linden, Finlay, and Carolus, yet found it +impossible to bring to justice the persons guilty of these acts." + +It will be observed that Sir H. de Villiers does not express any +disapproval, emphatic or otherwise, of these wicked murders. + +But Potchefstroom did not enjoy a monopoly of murder. + +In December 1880, Captain Elliot, who was a survivor from the Bronker +Spruit massacre, and Captain Lambart, who had been taken prisoner by +the Boers whilst bringing remounts from the Free State, were released +from Heidelberg on parole on condition that they left the country. An +escort of two men brought them to a drift of the Vaal river, where +they refused to cross, because they could not get their cart through, +the river being in flood. The escort then returned to Heidelberg and +reported that the officers would not cross. A civil note was then sent +back to Captains Elliot and Lambart, signed by P. J. Joubert, telling +them "to pass the Vaal river immediately by the road that will be +shown to you." What secret orders, if any, were sent with this letter +has never transpired; but I decline to believe that, either in this or +in Barber's case, the Boer escort took upon themselves the +responsibility of murdering their prisoners, without authority of some +kind for the deed. + +The men despatched from Heidelberg with the letter found Lambert and +Elliot wandering about and trying to find the way to Standerton. They +presented the letter, and took them towards a drift in the Vaal. +Shortly before they got there the prisoners noticed that their escort +had been reinforced. It would be interesting to know, if these extra +men were not sent to assist in the murder, how and why they turned up +as they did and joined themselves to the escort. The prisoners were +taken to an old and disused drift of the Vaal river and told to cross. +It was now dark, and the river was much swollen with rain; in fact, +impassable for the cart and horses. Captains Elliot and Lambart begged +to be allowed to outspan till the next morning, but were told that +they must cross, which they accordingly attempted to do. A few yards +from the bank the cart stuck on a rock, and whilst in this position +the Boer escort poured a volley into it. Poor Elliot was instantly +killed, one bullet fracturing his skull, another passing through the +back, a third shattering the right thigh, and a fourth breaking the +left wrist. The cart was also riddled, but, strange to say, Captain +Lambert was untouched, and succeeded in swimming to the further bank, +the Boers firing at him whenever the flashes of lightning revealed his +whereabouts. After sticking some time in the mud of the bank he +managed to effect his escape, and next day reached the house of an +Englishman called Groom, living in the Free State, and from thence +made his way to Natal. + +Two of the murderers were put through a form of trial, after the +conclusion of peace, and acquitted. + +The case of the murder of Dr. Barber is of a somewhat similar +character to that of Elliot, except that there is in this case a +curious piece of indirect evidence that seems to connect the murder +directly with Piet Joubert, one of the Triumvirate. + +In the month of February 1881, two Englishmen came to the Boer laager +at Lang's Nek to offer their services as doctors. Their names were Dr. +Barber, who was well known to the Boers, and his assistant, Mr. Walter +Dyas, and they came, not from Natal, but the Orange Free State. On +arrival at the Boer camp they were at first well received, but after a +little while seized, searched, and tied up all night to a disselboom +(pole of a waggon). Next morning they were told to mount their horses, +and started from the camp escorted by two men who were to take them +over the Free State line. + +When they reached the Free State line the Boers told them to get off +their horses, which they were ordered to bring back to the camp. They +did so, bade good-day to their escort, and started to walk on towards +their destination. When they had gone about forty yards Dyas heard the +report of a rifle, and Barber called out, "My God, I am shot!" and +fell dead. + +Dyas went down on his hands and knees and saw one of the escort +deliberately aim at him. He then jumped up, and ran dodging from right +to left, trying to avoid the bullet. Presently the man fired, and he +felt himself struck through the thigh. He fell with his face to the +men, and saw his would-be assassin put a fresh cartridge into his +rifle and aim at him. Turning his face to the ground he awaited his +death, but the bullet whizzed past his head. He then saw the men take +the horses and go away, thinking they had finished him. After waiting +a while he managed to get up, and struggled to a house not far off, +where he was kindly treated and remained till he recovered. + +Some time after this occurrence a Hottentot, named Allan Smith, made a +statement at Newcastle, from which it appears that he had been taken +prisoner by the Boers and made to work for them. One night he saw +Barber and Dyas tied to the disselboom, and overheard the following, +which I will give in his own words:-- + +"I went to a fire where some Boers were sitting; among them was a low- +sized man, moderately stout, with a dark-brown full beard, apparently +about thirty-five years of age. I do not know his name. /He was +telling his comrades that he had brought an order from Piet Joubert/ +to Viljoen, to take the two prisoners to the Free State line /and +shoot them there/. He said, in the course of conversation, 'Piet +Joubert het gevraacht waarom was de mensche neet dood geschiet toen +hulle bijde eerste laager gekom het.' ('Piet Joubert asked why were +the men not shot when they came to the first laager.') They then saw +me at the fire, and one of them said, 'You must not talk before that +fellow; he understands what you say, and will tell everybody.' + +"Next morning Viljoen told me to go away, and gave me a pass into the +Free State. He said (in Dutch), 'you must not drive for any Englishmen +again. If we catch you doing so we will shoot you, and if you do not +go away quick, and we catch you hanging about when we bring the two +men to the line, we will shoot you too.'" + +Dyas, who escaped, made an affidavit with reference to this statement +in which he says, "I have read the foregoing affidavit of Allan Smith, +and I say that the person described in the third paragraph thereof as +bringing orders from Piet Joubert to Viljoen, corresponds with one of +the Boers who took Dr. Barber and myself to the Free State, and to the +best of my belief he is the man who shot Dr. Barber." + +The actual murderers were put on their trial in the Free State, and, +of course, acquitted. In his examination at the trial, Allan Smith +says, "It was a young man who said that Joubert had given orders that +Barber had to be shot. . . . It was not at night, but in the morning +early, when the young man spoke about Piet Joubert's order." + +Most people will gather, from what I have quoted, that there exists a +certain connection between the dastardly murder of Dr. Barber (and the +attempted murder of Mr. Dyas), and Piet Joubert, one of that "able" +Triumvirate of which Mr. Gladstone speaks so highly. + +I shall only allude to one more murder, though more are reported to +have occurred, amongst them--that of Mr. Malcolm, who was kicked to +death by Boers,--and that is Mr. Green's. + +Mr. Green was an English gold-digger, and was travelling along the +main road to his home at Spitzcop. The road passed close by the +military camp at Lydenburg, into which he was called. On coming out he +went to a Boer patrol with a flag of truce, and whilst talking to them +was shot dead. The Rev. J. Thorne, the English clergyman at Lydenburg, +describes this murder in an affidavit in the following words:-- + +"That I was the clergyman who got together a party of Englishmen and +brought down the body of Mr. Green who was murdered by the Boers and +buried it. I have ascertained the circumstances of the murder, which +were as follows:--Mr. Green was on his way to the gold-fields. As he +was passing the fort, he was called in by the officers, and sent out +again with a message to the Boer commandant. Immediately on leaving +the camp, he went to the Boer guard opposite with a flag of truce in +his hand; while parleying with the Boers, who proposed to make a +prisoner of him, he was shot through the head." + +No prosecution was instituted in this case. Mr. Green left a wife and +children in a destitute condition. + + + + II + + PLEDGES GIVEN BY MR. GLADSTONE'S GOVERNMENT + AS TO THE RETENTION OF THE + TRANSVAAL AS A BRITISH COLONY + +The following extracts from the speeches, despatches, and telegrams of +members of the present Government, with reference to the proposed +retrocession of the Transvaal, are not without interest:-- + +During the month of May 1880, Lord Kimberley despatched a telegram to +Sir Bartle Frere, in which the following words occur: "/Under no +circumstances can the Queen's authority in the Transvaal be +relinquished./" + +In a despatch dated 20th May, and addressed to Sir Bartle Frere, Lord +Kimberley says, "That the sovereignty of the Queen in the Transvaal +could not be relinquished." + +In a speech in the House of Lords on the 24th May 1880, Lord Kimberley +said:-- + +"There was a still stronger reason than that for not receding; it was +impossible to say what calamities such a step as receding might not +cause. We had, at the cost of much blood and treasure, restored peace, +and the effect of our now reversing our policy would be to leave the +province in a state of anarchy, and possibly to cause an internecine +war. For such a risk he could not make himself responsible. The number +of the natives in the Transvaal was estimated at about 800,000, and +that of the whites less than 50,0000. Difficulties with the Zulus and +frontier tribes would again arise, and, looking as they must to South +Africa as a whole, the Government, after a careful consideration of +the question, came to the conclusion /that we could not relinquish the +Transvaal/. Nothing could be more unfortunate than uncertainty in +respect to such a matter." + +On the 8th June 1880, Mr. Gladstone, in reply to a Boer memorial, +wrote as follows:-- + +"It is undoubtedly a matter for much regret that it should, since the +Annexation, have appeared that so large a number of the population of +Dutch origin in the Transvaal are opposed to the annexation of that +territory, but it is impossible now to consider that question as if it +were presented for the first time. We have to do with a state of +things which has existed for a considerable period, during which +/obligations have been contracted, especially, though not exclusively, +towards the native population, which cannot be set aside/. Looking to +all the circumstances, both of the Transvaal and the rest of South +Africa, and to the necessity of preventing a renewal of disorders, +which might lead to disastrous consequences, not only to the Transvaal +but to the whole of South Africa, /our judgment is that the Queen +cannot be advised to relinquish the Transvaal/." + +Her Majesty's Speech, delivered in Parliament on the 6th January 1881, +contains the following words: "A rising in the Transvaal has recently +imposed upon me the duty of /vindicating my authority/." + +These extracts are rather curious reading in face of the policy +adopted by the Government, after our troops had been defeated. + + + + III + + THE CASE OF INDABEZIMBI + +This is a case which came under my own notice. The complainant is now +a tenant of my own. When Indabezimbi appeared before Mr. Cochrane and +myself, his appearance fully bore out his description of the assault +made upon him. We did everything in our power to help him to recover +his son and his property, but without effect. The matter was fully +reported to Sir Hercules Robinson and Sir E. Wood, and a question was +asked on the subject in the House of Commons. I append Mr. Courtney's +answer. This case, which is perfectly authentic, will prove +instructive reading, as showing the treatment the Kafir must expect at +the hands of the Boer, now that he is no longer protected by us. It +must be remembered that the vast majority of such incidents are never +heard of. The Kafirs suffer, and are still. The assault and robbery of +Indabezimbi took place in Natal territory. + + + Statement of Indabezimbi + +"I used to work on Mr. Robson's son's place, and on his death I went +to Meyer's (in the Utrecht district of the Transvaal) about a year +ago. I took all my property with me. There lived on the farm old Isaac +Meyer, Solomon Meyer, who died during the war, young Isaac Meyer, Jan +Meyer, Martinus Meyer, also a man called Cornelius, a 'bijwooner,' who +loved in Solomon's place after he died. + +"According to custom, I sent my son to work for old Isaac Meyer, as I +lived on his place. When the war began all the Meyer family moved +further into the Transvaal, my son going with them as herd. I went up +to Klip River with them as driver, where the river forms the boundary +between the Free State and Transvaal. I returned at once, leaving my +son with the Meyers. He was a small boy about twelve years of age. At +the termination of the war the Meyers sent for me to drive them down. +I met them a day's journey this side of Klip River. I asked them where +my son was. Old Isaac Meyer told me he had sent him to look for +horses; he did not return; and another boy was sent who brought the +horses. The horses were found close by. No one went to look for my +son. I asked old Isaac Meyer for leave to go and offer a reward +amongst the Kafirs for my son. He refused, saying I must drive him +home, and then he would give me a pass to come back and look for him. +On our arrival at the farm I and my wife again applied to old Isaac +Meyer to be allowed to go and see about my son. He refused, saying I +must first shear the sheep. I replied that he well knew that I could +not shear sheep. I said, 'How can I work when my heart is sore for my +son?' Meyer said again that I must wait awhile as the rivers were +full. I said how could that matter, seeing that both in coming and +going with the waggons we crossed no rivers? As he refused me a pass, +I started without one to seek my son. On arrival at Mavovo's kraal I +met my brother, who told me that I must go no further, or the Boers +would shoot me. Having no pass I returned. On my return my wives told +me that the Meyers had come every morning to look for me with guns to +shoot me, telling them that 'it was now no longer the days for +sjamboking (flogging with hide whips) the natives, but the days for +shooting them.' On hearing this I collected my goods, and by morning +had everything on the Natal side of the Buffalo River--on Natal +ground. About mid-day Martinus Meyer overtook us by Degaza's kraal and +asked me what I was doing on the Natal side of the river. I told him I +was leaving for Natal, because I found it altogether too hot for me in +the Transvaal. He said that if I came back he would make everything +comfortable. I refused. He then attacked me with a knobkerrie, and +would have killed me had not one of my wives, seeing that I was badly +hurt, knocked him down with a piece of iron. Martinus then mounted his +horse and galloped off. I then got on my horse and fled. My wives hid +themselves. In the afternoon there came to the waggon Jan Meyer, +Martinus Meyer, young Isaac Meyer, and the man called Cornelius. They +hunted all about for us with the object of shooting us, as they told +Degaza's Kafirs. My wives then saw them inspan the waggon and take +everything away. I had a waggon, twelve oxen, four cows, and a mare, +also a box containing two hundred pounds in gold, a telescope, +clothes, and other things. My wives found the box broken on the ground +and all the contents gone. Forty sacks of grain belonging to me were +also taken. I was robbed of everything I had, with the exception of +the horse I escaped on. The waggon was one I hired from my brother (a +relation); the oxen were my own brother's. Eighty pounds of the money +I got from the Standard Bank in Newcastle for oxen sold to the owner +of the store on the Ingagane Drift. The rest I had accumulated in fees +from doctoring. I am a doctor amongst my own people. I come now to ask +you to allow me to settle on your land as a refugee. + + "(Signed) Indabezimbi, + his X mark. + +"This statement was made by Indabezimbi at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, +on the Seventeenth of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one, in the +presence of the undersigned witnesses. + + "(Signed) H. Rider Haggard. + A. H. D. Cochrane. + J. H. Gay Roberts. + +"N.B.--The outrage of which Indabezimbi has here given an account +occurred within a week of the present date, August 17th, 1881." + + + Statement of the woman Nongena, Wife of Indabezimbi + +"My master's name is Isaac Meyer; he lives in the Transvaal, south of +Utrecht. We have lived on the farm about a year. On the farm lived +also Jan Meyer, Martinus Meyer, and young Isaac Meyer, sons of old +Isaac Meyer. There was also another man on the farm, whose name I do +not know. When the waggon went up with the Meyers' family to the +centre of the Transvaal, when the late war broke out, my husband drove +old Isaac Meyer's waggon, and my son Ungazaan also went to drive on +stock. After my husband had driven the waggon to its destination in +the Transvaal he returned to the kraal, leaving his son Ungazaan with +the Meyers. After the war was over my husband was sent for by the +Meyers to drive back the waggons. On arrival of the Meyers at the farm +I found my husband had returned, but my son was left behind. I asked +my master where my son was; my master replied, 'He did not know, he +had sent to boy to bring up horses, but he had not brought them.' +Another boy was sent who brought the horses. He said he had not seen +the boy Ungazaan since he left to look for the horses, as they had +left the place the morning after the boy was missing. My husband asked +for a pass to go back and look for the boy; Meyer refused, and my +husband went without one to look for Ungazaan, my son. He returned +without the boy, owing, he said, to the want of a pass. My husband +dared not go into the country without a pass. During my husband's +absence, the three sons of old Isaac Meyer, namely, Martinus, Jan, and +Isaac, came every morning to search for my husband, saying, 'We will +kill him, he leaves our work to go without our leave for look for the +boy.' They came once with sjamboks, but afterwards with guns, saying +they would kill him if they found him. On hearing this my husband +said, 'We cannot then stay here longer.' He then went at once and +borrowed a waggon and twelve oxen, and during the night we packed the +waggon three times, and took three loads across the Buffalo River to +Degaza's kraal, which is on Natal ground, forty sacks of grain, 200 +pounds in a box, with clothes and other things, also mats and skins, +and four head of cattle and a horse. All these things were at Degaza's +kraal before sunrise the next morning. The Induna Kabane, at the +magistrate's office at Newcastle, knows of the money, and from whence +it came. All the money is our money. + +"About mid-day on the day after the night we moved, Martinus came on +horseback to us at Degaza's kraal, and I saw him beating my husband +with a kerrie; he hit him also in the mouth with his fist. He hit my +husband on the head with a kerrie; he beat my husband on the foot when +he was trying to creep away in a hut, and would have killed him had +not one of his wives named Camgagaan hit Martinus on the head with a +piece of iron. Martinus, on recovery, rode away; my husband also fled +on a horse. + +"I with the other wives fled, and hid ourselves close by in the grass +and stones. Presently we saw from our own hiding-place three white +men, armed with guns, seeking for us. Their names were Martinus Meyer, +Jan Meyer, and Isaac Meyer, all three sons of old Isaac Meyer. They +sought us in vain. From our hiding-place we heard the waggon driven +away; and later, when we went back to Degaza's kraal, they told us +that the Meyers had inspanned the waggon, and had returned with it to +the Transvaal side of the Buffalo River. The names of those who saw +the Boers go away with the waggon are Gangtovo, Capaches, Nomatonga, +Nomamane, and others. The Boers took away on the waggon that night all +the last load we had brought over from the Transvaal, together with +all our clothes; and some of the sacks first brought over were loaded +up, all our cattle were taken, and our box was broken, and the 200 +pounds taken away. We found the pieces of the box on the ground when +we came from our hiding-place. We then fled. The people at Degaza's +kraal told us that the Boers had said that they would return, and take +away that which they were forced to leave behind when they took the +first load. We have since heard from Degaza that the Boers came back +again and took what remained of our property at Degaza's kraal. Degaza +saw the Boers take the things himself. + +"This is all I know of the facts. The assaults and robbery took place, +as near as I can say, about fourteen days ago." + + (Signed) Nongena, + her X mark. + +Gagaoola, also wife of Indabezimbi, states:--"I have heard all that +Nongena has told you. Her words are true; I was present when the +assault and robbery took place." + + (Signed) Gagaoola, + her X mark. + +These statements were made to us at Hilldrop, Newcastle, Natal, on the +Twenty-second of August, Eighteen hundred and eighty-one. + + A. H. D. Cochrane. + H. Rider Haggard. + + (Signed) Ayah, + her X mark, + Interpreter. + + + Indabezimbi + +"Mr. Alderman Fowler asked the Under Secretary of State for the +Colonies, whether the British Resident at Pretoria had brought under +the notice of the Transvaal Government the circumstances of an outrage +committed in August last, by a party of Boers, on the person and +property of a Kafir named Indabezimbi, who was at that time residing +in Natal; and whether any steps had been taken by the authorities of +the Transvaal either to institute a judicial inquiry into the matter, +or to surrender the offenders to the Government of Natal. + +"Mr. Courtney.--On the 13th of October the British Resident reported +that, according to promise, the Government has caused an investigation +to be made at Utrecht, and informed him that the result was somewhat +to invalidate the statement of Indabezimbi; but that the documents +connected with the investigation at Utrecht would speedily be +forwarded to him with a view to correspondence through him with the +Natal Government. No further communication has been received. It must +be observed that, in the absence of any extradition convention, a +judicial inquiry in this case is practically impossible, the outrage, +whatever it was, having been committed in Natal, and the offenders +being in the Transvaal. Her Majesty's Government are taking active +steps to re-establish a system of extradition, in pursuance of Article +29, of the Convention. The despatches on this subject will be given to +Parliament when the correspondence is completed." + + + + IV + + A BOER ADVERTISEMENT + +It may be interesting to Englishmen to know what treatment is meted +out to such of their fellow-countrymen as have been bold enough, or +forced by necessity, to remain in the Transvaal since the +retrocession. The following is a translation of an advertisement +recently published in the "Volkstem," a Transvaal paper, and is a fair +sample of what "loyalists" have to expect. + + + "WARNING + + "We, the undersigned Burghers of the Ward Aapies river, hereby warn + all loyal persons who have registered themselves with the British + Resident, that they are not to come into our houses, or into our + farms, and still less to offer to shake hands. They can greet us + at a distance on the road /like Kafirs/, and those who act + contrary to this notice can expect the result." + + +Presumably "the result" that the Englishman who takes the liberty to +offer to shake hands with a Boer can expect, is to be beaten or +murdered. This notice is signed by the Justice of the Peace or "Veld +Cornet" of the district. Anybody who knows the estimation in which a +Kafir is held by the Boers will understand its peculiar insolence. + + + + V + + "TRANSVAAL'S" LETTER TO THE "STANDARD" + +The following letter appeared in the issue of the "Standard" of the +31st May 1882, and is dated Pretoria, 27th April. It is signed +"Transvaal," probably because the author, were he to put his name at +the foot of so candid a document, would find himself in much the same +position as that occupied at the present moment by an Irish landlord +who has outraged the susceptibilities of the Land League. He would be +rigorously "boycotted," and might, in the event of any disturbance, be +made into a target. The Transvaal Boers are very sensitive to +criticism, especially where their native policy is concerned. I take +the liberty to reprint the letter here, partly because I feel sure +that I will be forwarding the wishes of the writer by assisting to +give publicity to his facts, and partly on account of the striking and +recent confirmation it affords, on every point, to my remarks on the +same subject:-- + +"Sir,--In calling your attention to what is going on on the south- +western border of the Transvaal, I may possibly tell you of some +things which you may already have heard of, for in the present +isolated condition of the country, without telegraphs, and with a very +imperfect postal system, added to the jealousy of the Boer Government +in keeping their actions secret from the outside world, it is not only +very difficult to get at the truth of what is happening, but the +people in one portion of the country are in many cases totally +ignorant of what is going on in another. Nevertheless, I feel it +incumbent on me to call the attention of the English people, through +your widely circulating journal, to what has come under my observation +with reference to the disgraceful native war which is, and has been, +raging on the south-west border of this country. + +"During the late Boer war, you may be aware of the fact that a very +large number, if not all, of the natives, were strongly in favour of +the English Government, and only awaited the signal from it to rush +upon their old oppressors. But the natives, although forbidden by the +English Government from joining with them against the Boers (it is +hardly necessary to say that had it not been for this the war would +have had a very different ending), nevertheless afforded an asylum and +protection to the lives and property of refugee Englishmen and +loyalists. Notable among these natives was a Chief named Montsiou, +whose tribe is situated just outside the borders of the Transvaal to +the south-west. This Chief and his people received numbers of refugees +who fled to them for protection from the rapacity of the Boers, and +watched over them and their property throughout the war. For this +offence the Boers swore to be revenged on him, and hardly was the war +finished when they commenced commandeering in the Potchefstroom +district, under the pretence of protecting their borders, but with the +ostensible purpose of inflicting chastisement on this loyal Chief; +and, the better to effect their purpose, they allied themselves with a +neighbouring Chief, who had some old grudge against him, and, by +promises of assistance and hopes of plunder, induced him to commence a +war, under cover of which they could join, and thus effect the purpose +they had in view. + +"The Chiefs whom the Boers had instigated to harass Montsiou got the +worst of it, and the action of the Boers, who were actively +commandeering in the Potchefstroom (district?), under Commandant +Cronge, was brought to the notice of the Royal Commission through +complaints made by loyal Boers, and resulted in an inquiry into the +subject, which showed that his opponent was the aggressor, and was +acting under the advice of and assistance from the Boers. The Royal +Commission managed to patch matters up, but no sooner were their +labours over, and the country fairly handed over to the Boers, than +Moshete and Masouw, instigated by the Boers, commenced again harassing +Montsiou, with the avowed purpose of bringing on a war, and so far +succeeded as to oblige Montsiou to take up arms in self-defence. + +"From that time forward the war has gone on increasing in dimensions, +until other Chiefs have been drawn into it, and the Boer volunteers +fighting against Montsiou and Monkoroane are almost equal in numbers +to the natives. The Boers, while doing all they can to crush Montsiou +on account of the protection he afforded loyalists during the late war +against the English Government, are careful not to do it in an +official way, because that might cause trouble with England, whereas, +by aiding and assisting it privately, they could do quite as much +without incurring responsibility. You may naturally ask how I know all +this, and what proofs I can advance in support of it. Some time after +the Royal Commission had left the country, and the war had commenced +again, Piet Joubert, who is Commandant-General, went down to the +border with the object of putting an end to the war. This, I presume, +he did for the sake of appearances, for it is well known that he +entertains a strong hatred against those natives who in any way showed +a partiality for British rule; and when it is remembered that Piet +Joubert's journey did not result in a cessation of hostilities, but in +an increase, and that ever since his journey the war has increased in +area and in numbers, and that in no single instance has a Boer +volunteer been prevented from crossing the border, or ammunition for +use against Montsiou been stopped, the sincerity of his intentions may +well be doubted. + +"Then, again, officers in the Boer Jagers went about Pretoria +endeavouring to obtain volunteers to fight against Montsiou, saying +that they were to have some months' leave from the Government, and +that subscriptions would be raised to assist those men who had no +private means. This took place almost immediately after Piet Joubert's +return from the border, and while he was in Pretoria, and the general +opinion was that he was at the bottom of it; but as it became rather +more public than was intended, the British Resident was obliged to +take notice of it, and the result was that the Boers, though in +general treating the British Resident with little consideration, +thought it wisest to carry on their operations in a more private +manner, more especially as their object could be attained quite as +effectually in this way. + +"While the Boers are assisting Moshete and Masouw by every means in +their power, with the sole object of crushing Montsiou and Monkoroane, +another loyal Chief, the Colonial Government, no doubt under +instructions from home, are doing their best to prevent volunteers or +ammunition reaching them, and have already rested men in Kimberley, +who have been trying to raise volunteers to go to their assistance. + +"The result of this is, that the loyal Chiefs are suffering under a +double disadvantage; for while their enemies are receiving every +assistance, they are blockaded on all sides, and, through the action +of the English Government in preventing them obtaining assistance, are +rapidly falling a prey to the Boers. Those only who know anything of +the Boer method of warfare against natives will know what this means; +and in spite of the Boer Government doing all they can to keep things +secret, horrible tales of the cruelties perpetrated by them leak out +occasionally. + +"It seems to me a disgraceful thing, and a stain on the honour of +England, that these loyal Chiefs and their tribes should be robbed, +plundered, and shot down like dogs, simply because they afforded +protection to the lives and property of Englishmen during the late +war, and yet these things are going on and are being perpetrated on +the border of England's Colonies. If England will not step in and +insist on the Boers putting a stop to this murderous war, then in +God's name let her not prevent these poor natives from obtaining +ammunition and assistance to enable them to defend their country. They +succoured our countrymen, and if we cannot succour them, the least we +can do is not to interfere to prevent them from protecting themselves! + +"Of course, it suits the Boer Government to make out that they have +nothing to do with the war, and cannot prevent Boer Volunteers from +fighting these Chiefs; and so long as the English Government rests +satisfied with these answers, so long will this disgraceful state of +things go on. Let the English Government be firm, however, and insist +on the Boers taking no part in this war, and it will cease--a sure +proof that the Boer Government have the power to stop it if they have +the will. + +"Not only are the Boers wreaking vengeance upon Montsiou and +Monkoroane, but a friend of theirs, a Chief of the name of Kalafin, +whose tribe is situated in the Zeerust district, Transvaal, has been +robbed by them of everything he possessed. This Chief had English +sympathies; and as he presumed to build a wall round his town he gave +the Boers the excuse they wanted. He was ordered to take the wall +down, which he did, at the same time proving that he only built it to +prevent his cattle straying among the huts. He was then ordered to +come to Pretoria, which he did accordingly. He was then ordered to pay +a fine of three thousand cattle, which fine he paid. No sooner was +this done than the Boers, bent on his ruin, raised the fine to ten +thousand head. The poor Chief in vain pleaded his inability to pay. It +was the old story of the wolf and the lamb. Because he couldn't pay, +the Boers construed it into an act of disobedience, and at once +ordered their men to go in and take everything he possessed. This +tribe is small and weak, which the Boers well knew. Eye-witnesses of +what followed say it was a heartrending sight. The women, with +children in their arms, pleaded in vain to the Boers to leave them +something or they would starve, but the latter only jeered at them. +What these poor people will do God only knows, for the Boers stripped +them of every living thing they possessed, and with the proceeds of +this robbery the Boer Government intend to replenish their coffers. + +"The British Resident, Mr. Hudson, it is believed, shuts his eyes to +many things. No doubt his is a difficult position to fill; and +doubtless he is aware that, if he reports everything to the English +Government, the Boers have it in their power to make his position +anything but a pleasant one. In any case, the English portion of the +community here, while admitting his good qualities socially, have +little confidence in him officially. + +"My object in writing this letter, however, is not so much to show +what a disgraceful state the Government is in, as to try and awaken +sympathy in the breasts of my countrymen for the cause of these loyal +Chiefs. While the Government are writing despatches to the British +Resident, these Chiefs and their people are being ruined past +remedying." + + + + VI + + A VISIT TO THE CHIEF SECOCOENI[*] + +[*] This paper was written just before the Annexation of the Transvaal + in 1877. + +Towards the end of March I had occasion to visit the Basuto chief +Secocoeni, in his native stronghold beyond the Loolu Berg, a range to +the north-east of Pretoria, about 250 miles away; and as this journey +was typical of travelling in the wilds of South Africa, an account of +it may prove interesting. + +It is perhaps necessary to explain, for the benefit of those who are +not acquainted with South African politics, that Secocoeni is the +chieftain who has been at war with the late Transvaal Republic, who +drove back its forces, capturing some 7000 head of cattle. It is from +this raid that the present state of affairs has arisen; so that this +obscure chief, with his 9000 warriors, has materially affected the +future destinies of South Africa. Negotiations of peace had been set +on foot, and it was in connection with these delicate matters that the +journey was to be undertaken. + +"Going to Secocoeni at this time of year! Ah!" said one gentleman. +"Well, look here. I sent five natives through that country in this +same month (March) last year; out of those five, three died of the +fever, and the other two just got through with their lives. I only +tell you, you know, that you may take precautions. This is a bad fever +year." However, fever or no fever, we had to go. As it was necessary +to travel rapidly, we could only take four riding-horses, three for +ourselves and the fourth for a Zulu named "Lankiboy," who also led a +pack-horse, and carried an enormous "knob-kerry," or shillelagh, stuck +in his button-hole, as though it were a wedding-bouquet. + +Behind our saddles were fastened our saddle-bags, containing a change +of clothing, and in front we strapped a rug and a mackintosh. Our +commissariat consisted of four tins of potted ham, and our medicine- +chest of some quinine, Cockle's pills, and a roll of sticking-plaster, +which, with a revolver and a hunting-knife or two, completed our +equipment. + +We knew little of our route save that our destination lay due east, so +due east we steered. After riding for about twenty miles, and crossing +the Mahaliesburg range, that stretches away north for hundreds of +miles, we came to a Boer's house, where we off-saddled to feed our +horses. It must be understood that the Boers were the one certain +difficulty, and one of the possible dangers, to be encountered on our +road, for at no time are they are pleasant people to deal with, and +just now they are remarkably unpleasant towards Englishmen. + +For instance, at this first house, we managed to get some forage for +our horses, before our scowling host found out who we were, but not a +bit could we get to eat. "Have you no bread, myn Heer?" "We have no +bread to spare." "Have you any eggs?" "We have no eggs." "Can you let +us have some milk?" "Susan, have you got any milk to give these carles +(fellows)?" Finally, we succeeded in buying three cups of milk for a +shilling, "as a favour," and that is all we got from sunrise to +sunset. + +Riding, on empty stomachs, for another sixty miles over the plains, we +came to a Boer's house where we had to sleep. Just before we reached +the door, I noticed what I have often seen since, some graves in a +row, with heaps of stones piled over them. It appears that these +people do not care about bring buried in consecrated ground, their +only anxiety being to be put in a coffin, and they are generally laid +to rest near to their doors. There is neither railing nor headstone, +and no trees or flowers, those green emblematic garments with which +civilised people try to hide the ugliness of death. I remember once +seeing several graves within two or three yards of the public road, so +that in a year or so the waggons will be rumbling over the heads of +those who lie beneath. + +When you ride up to a Boer's house, the etiquette is to wait until +some member of the family asks you to off-saddle, and then you must go +in and shake hands with every one, a most disagreeable custom. None of +the women--who are very plain--rise to meet one, they just hold out +their hands. This house was a fair specimen of the sort of habitation +indulged in by the ordinary Boer. The main room was about eighteen +feet square, with that kind of door which allows the upper half to +open whilst the lower remains shut, such as is used in stables in +England. The flooring is made of cow-dung, into which peach stones are +trodden at the threshold, in order to prevent its wearing away. The +furniture consists of a deal table and some chairs, rather nearly made +of strips of hide fastened to a wooden frame. There is no ceiling, but +only beams, to which are fastened strips of "biltong," or game's +flesh, dried in the sun. Out of this room open one or two more, in +which the whole family sleep, without much attempt at privacy. + +Sitting about the room were two or three young mothers, without +stockings and nursing babies; in the corner, on a chair, made twice as +large as any of the others, reposed the mother of the family, a woman +of large size. The whole house was pervaded by a sickly odour, like +that of a vault, whilst the grime and filth of it baffle description. +And this was the place we had to eat and sleep in. However, there was +no help for it; the only thing to do was to light one's pipe, and +smoke. After an hour or so, supper was put upon the table, consisting +of a bowl full of boiled bones, a small stack of mealie cobs, and, be +it added, some good bread-and-butter. The eating arrangements of these +people are certainly very trying. The other day we had to eat our +dinner in a Boer's house, with a reeking ox-hide, just torn from the +animal, lying on the floor beside us, together with portions of the +poor beast's head whose flesh we were eating. However, on this +occasion we were spared the ox-hide, and, being very hungry, managed +to put up with the other discomforts. After a long grace our suppers +were served out to us. I remember I got an enormous bone with but +little flesh on it, which, if I may form an opinion from its great +size and from a rapid anatomical survey, must have been the tibia of +an ox. A young Boer sat opposite to me--a wonderful fellow. He got +through several mealie cobs (and large ones too) whilst I was eating +half a one. His method was peculiar, and shows what practice can do. +He shoved a mealie cob into his mouth, gave it a bite and a wrench, +just like one of those patent American threshing machines, brought the +cob out perfectly clear of grain, and took another. After the supper +was over, we had another long grace ending with: "voor spijze en drunk +de Heer ik dank" (for food and drink the Lord I thank). + +After supper we went outside in order to escape the feet-washing +ceremony (all in the same water) which this "simple pastoral people" +are said to indulge in, and which they might expect the "uitlander" +(stranger) to enter into with enthusiasm. When we came back, we found +that the women--who, by-the-by, do not eat till the men have finished +--had done their meal, and gone to bed, having first made us up a +luxurious couch on the floor, consisting of a filthy feather-bed, and +an equally filthy blanket. My heart misgave me when I looked at that +bed. It may have been fancy, but once or twice I thought it moved. +However, there was no choice, unless we chose to sit up all night; so +in we got, looking for all the world like three big sun-burned dolls +put to bed by some little girl. I, as the youngest, blew out the +light, and then!--from every side /they/ came. Up one's arms, up one's +legs, down one's back they scampered, till life became a burden. Sleep +was impossible; one could only lie awake and calculate the bites per +minute, and the quantity of blood one would lose before daybreak. Cold +as it was, I would have turned out and slept in the veldt, only my rug +was over my two companions as well as myself, so I could not take it. +I have slept in a good many different places, and in very fairly +uncomfortable places, but I never had such a night before. + +At the first grey dawn of morning the old "frau" came stumbling out of +the bedroom, and sat down without ceremony in her big chair. Waiting +till she thought that we had reached a sufficiently advanced stage in +our toilette--and her idea of what that was must have been a strange +one--she shouted out to her daughters that they could "com," and in +they all came. Very glad were we when we had paid our bill, which was +a heavy one, and were in the saddle once more, riding through the cold +morning mist that lay in masses on all the ridges of the hills like +snow on mountains. + +It was needful to start early, for we had more than sixty miles to +cover, and our ponies had done a good journey the day before. The work +that one can get out of these ponies is marvellous. There was my pony, +"Mettle," who had my eleven stone to carry, to say nothing of the +saddle, heavy saddle-bags, and a roll of rugs, who came in at the end +of his journey as fresh as paint. We cantered easily over the great +high-veldt prairies, now and then passing clumps of trees, outposts of +the bush-veldt. These enormous plains, notwithstanding their dreary +vastness, have a wild beauty of their own. The grass is what is called +sour grass, and has a peculiar blue tinge, but stock do not like it so +well as the low-veldt grass, which is sweeter, and fattens them more +quickly, though it does not put them in such good fettle. The rock +here is all white sandstone, and thinly overlaps an enormous bed of +coal, cropping up from beneath the water-washed surface. At this time +of year there are very few beasts or birds of any sort to be seen, +though in the winter the veldt is one moving mass of "trek" or +migratory game. + +Our destination that day was Botsabelo, the most important mission- +station, and one of the very few successful ones, in South-Eastern +Africa. As we neared it, the country gradually broke into hills of +peculiar and beautiful formation, which rendered the last two hours of +our ride, in the dark, through an unknown country, rather a difficult +job. However, we stumbled through streams, and over boulders, and +about nine o'clock were lucky enough to come right upon the station, +where we were most kindly received by Dr. Merensky. The station itself +stands on the brow of a hill surrounded by gardens and orchards; +beneath it lie slope and mountain, stream and valley, over which are +dotted numbers of kraals, to say nothing of three or four substantial +houses occupied by the assistant missionary and German artisans. Near +Dr. Merensky's house stands the church, by far the best I have seen in +the Transvaal, and there is also a store with some well-built +workshops around it. All the neighbouring country belongs to the +station, which is, in fact, like a small independent State, 40,000 +acres in extent. On a hill-top overshadowing the station, are placed +the fortifications, consisting of thick walls running in a circle with +upstanding towers, in which stand one or two cannon; but it all +reminds one more of an old Norman keep, with its village clustered in +its protecting shadow, than of a modern mission establishment. + +Dr. Merensky commenced his labours in Secocoeni's country, but was +forced to fly from thence by night, with his wife and new-born baby, +to escape being murdered by that Chief's orders, who, like most Kafir +potentates, has an intense aversion to missionaries. Twelve years ago +he established this station, and, gathering his scattered converts +around him, defied Secocoeni to drive him thence. Twice that Chief has +sent out a force to sweep him away, and murder his people, and twice +they have come and looked, and, like false Sextus, turned back again. +The Boers, too, have more than once threatened to destroy him, for it +is unpleasant to them to have so intelligent a witness in their midst, +but they have never dared to try. The place is really impregnable to +Basutus and Boers; Zulus might carry it, with their grand steady rush, +but it would be at a terrible sacrifice of life. In fact, Dr. Merensky +has been forced, by the pressure of circumstances, to teach his men +the use of a rifle, as well as the truths of Christianity; to trust in +God, but also to "keep their powder dry." At a few minutes' notice he +can turn out 200 well-armed natives, ready for offence or defence; and +the existence of such a stronghold is of great advantage to the few +English in the neighbourhood, for the Boers know well that should they +attack them they might draw down the vengeance of Dr. Merensky's +formidable body of Christian soldiers. + +We only passed one night at Botsabelo, and next morning went on to +Middelburg, or Nazareth, which is an hour's ride from the station. +Here, too, we met with a warm welcome from the handful of English +residents, but we were eager to push on as rapidly as possible, for +our kind friends told us that it would be impossible to proceed to +Secocoeni's on horseback, because of the deadly nature of the country +for horses. So we had to hire an ox-waggon, which they provisioned for +us, and, much to our disgust (as we were pressed for time), were +obliged to fall back on that dilatory method of travelling. + +We decided that we would take the three oldest and least valuable +horses with us, in order to proceed with them from Fort Weeber, which +was our next point, to Secocoeni's town, whither waggons could not +reach. Few English readers are aware that there is a mysterious +disease among horses in South Africa, peculiar to the country, called +"horse-sickness." During the autumn season it carries off thousands of +horses annually, though some are good and others bad years--a bad +fever year being generally a bad horse-sickness year also, and /vice +versa/. A curious feature about it is, that as the veldt gets "tamed," +that is, fed off by domesticated animals, the sickness gradually +disappears. No cure has yet been discovered for it, and very few +horses pull through--perhaps, five per cent. These are called "salted +horses," and are very valuable; as, although they are not proof +against the disease, they are not so liable to take it. A salted horse +may be known by the peculiar looseness and roughness of his skin, and +also by a certain unmistakable air of depression, as though he felt +that the responsibilities of life pressed very heavily upon him. He is +like a man who has dearly bought his experience; he can never forget +the terrible lesson taught in the buying. + +On the fourth day from our start we left Middelburg, and, taking a +north-east course from this outpost of civilisation, overtook the +waggon, and camped, after a twenty miles' trek, just on the edge of +the bush-veldt. We had two young Boers to drive our waggons--terrible +louts. However, they understood how to drive a waggon, and whilst one +of them drove, the other would sit for hours, with a vacant stare on +his face, thinking. It is a solemn fact that, from the time we left +Middelburg till the time we returned, neither of those fellows +touched water, that is, to wash themselves. The only luxury in the +shape of comforts of the toilette which they allowed themselves was a +comb with a brass back, carefully tied to the roof of the waggon with +two strips of ox-hide thick enough to have held a hundredweight of +lead. I don't think they ever used it--it was too great a luxury for +general use--but they would occasionally untie it and look at it. Our +own outfit in the waggon was necessarily scanty, consisting of a few +iron pots and plates, a kettle, some green blankets, a lantern, and an +old anti-friction grease-can used for water, which gave it a fine +flavour of waggon-wheels. We also had a "cartle," or wooden frame, +across which were stretched strips of hide fitted into the waggon +about two feet above the floor, and intended to sleep on; but the less +said about that the better. + +After we left the great high-veldt plains, over which the fresh breeze +was sweeping, we dropped down into a beautiful bush-clad valley with +mountains on either side. It was like making a sudden descent into the +tropics. Not a breath of wind stirred the trees, and the sun shone +with a steady burning heat. Scarcely a sound broke the silence, save +the murmur of the river we crossed and recrossed, the occasional pipe +of a bird, and the melancholy cry, half sigh, half bark, of an old +baboon, who was swinging himself along, indignant at our presence. + +If the sights and sounds were beautiful, the sun was hot, and the road +fearful, and we were indeed glad when we reached "Whitehead's Cobalt +Mine," and were most kindly received by the gentlemen who superintend +the works. The house used to belong to some Boer, who had deserted the +place, but left behind him a beautiful orchard of orange and peach +trees. The place is very feverish and unhealthy, and the white ants so +troublesome that everything has to be stood in sardine tins full of +ashes. + +On our way from the house we went to see the cobalt mine, which is on +a hillside a mile away. It has only been established about three +years, and has existed hitherto under the greatest difficulties as +regards labour, transport, machinery, danger from surrounding native +tribes, &c.; but it has already, the proprietor informed me, reduced +the price of cobalt--the blue dye used to colour such things as the +willow-pattern plates--by one-half in the English market, bringing it +down from somewhere about 140 pounds to 80 pounds a ton. We were very +much astonished to see the amount of work which had been done, as we +expected to find a pit such as the Kafirs work for copper, but instead +of that there was a large slanting shaft quite a hundred yards long, +to say nothing of various openings out of it following branch leads of +ore. There is also a vertical shaft one hundred feet deep, through +which the ore comes up, and by which one can ascend and descend in a +bucket. After we emerged from this awful hole, we went into another, a +drive running straight into the mountain for more than three hundred +feet, following a vein of black oxide of cobalt, which is much more +valuable than the ore; and, though the vein is rarely more than a foot +in thickness, pays very well. Leaving the mine, we rode on past some +old Kafir copper-workings--circular pits--which must have been +abandoned, to judge from their appearance, a hundred years ago, till +we came to the banks of the great "Olifants'" or "Elephants'" river. +This magnificent stream, though it is unnavigable owing to frequent +rapids, has stretches miles long, down which a man-of-war could steam, +and after its junction with the Elands' River it grows larger and +larger till, pursuing a north-east course, it at length falls into the +mighty Limpopo. It is a very majestic but somewhat sluggish stream, +and its water is not very good. You cannot see the river till you are +right upon it, owing to the great trees with which its steep banks are +fringed, and in the early morning it is quite hidden from bank to bank +by a dense mass of billows of white mist, indescribably strange to +look upon. + +But, beautiful as this country is, it is most unhealthy for man and +beast. The close odour, the long creeping lines of mist, the rich rank +vegetation, the steady heat of day and night, all say one word, +"fever," and fever of the most virulent type. The traveller through +this sort of country is conscious of a latent fear lest he should some +day begin to feel hot when he ought to be cold, and cold when he ought +to be hot, and so be stricken down, to rise prematurely old, or +perhaps to die, and be buried in a lonely grave covered with stones to +keep off the jackals. We were travelling in the very worst fever- +month, March, when the summer vegetation is commencing to rot, and +throw off its poisonous steam. What saved us here and afterwards, at +Secocoeni's, was our temperate living, hard exercise, and plenty of +quinine and tobacco-smoke. + +All the country through which we were passing is good game-veldt, but +we saw very little and killed nothing. This was chiefly owing to the +fact that we did not dare go out of hearing of the waggon-wheels, for +fear of getting lost in the bush, a thing very easily done. A few +years back this veldt swarmed with big game, with elephants and +giraffes, and they are even now occasionally seen. We managed now and +again to get a glimpse of some of the beautiful "Impala" buck, or of a +small lot of blue wilderbeestes vanishing between the trees, like a +troop of wild horses. There are still plenty of lions about, but we +did not hear any: whether it was that they had gone to the high-veldt +after the cattle, or that they do not roar so much in summer, I do not +know. Perhaps it is as well that we did not, for the roar of a lion is +very generally followed by what the Dutch call a "skrech." After +roaring once or twice to wake the cattle up, and make them generally +uneasy, the lion stations himself about twenty yards to the windward +of the waggon. The oxen get wind of him and promptly "skrech," that +is, break their rims and run madly into the veldt. This is just what +the lion wants, for now he can pick out a fat ox and quietly approach +him from the other side till he is within springing distance. He then +jumps upon him, crushes his neck with one bite, and eats him at his +leisure. + +And so we trekked on through the sunrise, through the burning mid-day +and glowing sunsets, steering by the sun and making our own road; now +through tambouki grass higher than the oxen, and now through dense +bush, till at length, one day, we said good-bye to the Olifants' just +where the Elands' River flows into it, and turned our faces eastward. +This course soon brought us on to higher ground and away from the +mimosa, which loves the low, hot valleys, into the region of the sugar +bush, which thrives upon the hill-sides. This sugar bush is a very +handsome and peculiar plant, with soft thick leaves, standing about +twenty feet high. It bears a brush-like flower, each of which in the +Cape Colony contains half a teaspoonful of delicious honey; but, +curiously enough, though in other respects the tree is precisely +similar, this is not the case in the Transvaal or Natal. At the proper +season the Cape farmers go out with buckets and shake the flowers till +they have collected sufficient honey to last them for the winter, a +honey more fragrant than that made by bees. + +After a long ride over the open, which must once have been thickly +populated, to judge from the number of remains of kraals, we came at +length to Fort Weeber. The fort is very badly situated in the hollow +of a plain, and so surrounded by fine hills that it is entirely +commanded. It consists of a single sod wall about two feet thick and +five high, capped with loose stones, whilst at two of the corners +stand, on raised platforms, a six-pounder and a three-pounder +Whitworth gun. Inside the wall are built rows of mud huts, which are +occupied by the garrison, leaving an open square, in the midst of +which is placed the magazine. We found the garrison in a wretched +condition. They have not received any pay except Government "good- +fors" (promissory notes, generally known as "good-for-nothings"), so +they are in a state of abject poverty; whilst they are rendered +harmless as regards offensive operations, by the death, from horse- +sickness, of eighty-two of the ninety horses they owned. However, the +officers and garrison gave us a very grand reception. As we rode up, +they fired a salute of twelve guns, and then, after we had dismounted +and been received by the officers, we were taken through a lane made +by the garrison drawn up in a double line, and, just as we got to the +middle, "bang" went the eighty rifles over our heads. Then an address +was read (the volunteers are great people for addresses), but a more +practical welcome soon followed in the shape of a good dinner. + +Next morning we started, a party of seven, including the interpreter, +to ride over the Loolu Berg to Secocoeni's, a distance of about +thirty-eight miles. + +For the first five miles we passed through the most curious granite +formation, a succession of small hills entirely composed of rounded +boulders of granite, weighing from five to 1000 tons, and looking +exactly like piles of gigantic snow-balls hurled together by some +mighty hand. The granite formation prevails in all this part of the +country, and individual boulders sometimes take very curious shapes; +for instance, in the bush-veldt we passed a great column towering high +above the trees, composed of six boulders getting smaller and smaller +from the base up, and each accurately balanced on the one beneath it. +Then we crossed the range of hills which overlooks the fort, and +passing Secocoeni's old kraal where he used to live before he +retreated to his fastnesses, we arrived at a great alluvial valley +nine miles broad, on the other side of which rises the Loolu. It was +on this plain that the only real fight between the volunteers and +Secocoeni's men took place, when the former managed to get between the +Basutus and the hills, and shot them down like game, killing over 200 +men. Leaving the battle-field, where the skeletons still lie, a little +to our right, we crossed the plain and came to the foot of the Loolu, +all along the base of which stand neat villages inhabited by +Secocoeni's people. Some of these villages have been burnt by the +volunteers, and the remainder are entirely deserted, their inhabitants +having built fresh huts among the rocks in almost inaccessible places. +The appearance of these white huts peeping out all over the black +rocks was very curious, and reminded one of the Swiss chalets. + +By the stream that runs along past the villages we off-saddled, as +both ourselves and our horses were nearly exhausted by the burning +heat; but as there was not much time to lose, after a short rest we +started off again, and rode on over a bed of magnetic iron lying on +the ground in great lumps of almost pure metal, until we came to a +stretch of what looked remarkably like gold-bearing quartz, and then +to a limestone formation. The whole country is evidently rich beyond +measure in minerals. All this time we were passing through scenery +inexpressibly wild and grand, and when we had arrived at the highest +spot of the pass, it reached a climax of savage beauty. About forty +miles in front of us towered up another magnificent range of blue- +tinged mountains known as the Blue Berg, whilst all around us rose +great bush-clad hills, opening away in every direction towards +gorgeous-coloured valleys. The scene was so grand and solemn that I do +not think it lies in the power of words to describe it. + +Here we had to dismount to descend a most fearful precipitous path +consisting of boulders piled together in the wildest confusion, from +one to another of which we had to jump, driving the horses before us. +Half-way down we off-saddled to rest ourselves, and as we did so we +noticed that the gall was running from one of the horses' noses. We +knew too well what was the matter, and so left him there to die during +the night. This horse was by far the finest we had with us, and his +owner used to boast that the poor beast had often carried him, a heavy +man, from his house to Pretoria, a distance of nearly ninety miles, in +one day. He was also a "salted" horse. It is a curious thing that the +sickness generally kills the best horses first. + +After a short rest we started on again, and at the end of another hour +reached the bottom of the pass. From thence we rode along a gulley, +that alternately narrowed and widened, till at length it brought us +right on to Secocoeni's beautiful, fever-stricken home. + +All three of us had seen a good deal of scenery in different parts of +the world, and one of the party was intimately acquainted with the +finest spots in South Africa, but we were forced to admit that we had +never seen anything half so lovely as Secocoeni's valley. We had seen +grander views, indeed the scene from the top of the pass was grander, +but never anything that so nearly approached perfection in detail. +Beautiful it was, beautiful beyond measure, but it was the sort of +beauty under whose veil are hidden fever and death. And so we pushed +on, through the still hot eventide, till at length we came to the +gates of the town, where we found "Makurupiji," Secocoeni's "mouth" or +prime minister, who had evidently been informed of our coming by his +spies waiting to receive us.[*] + +[*] Makurupiji committed suicide after the town had been stormed, + preferring death to imprisonment. + +Conducted by this grandee, we went on past the Chief's kraals, down to +the town, whence flocked men, women, and children, to look on the +white lords; all in a primitive state of dress, consisting of a strip +of skin tied round the middle, and the women with their hair powdered +with some preparation of iron, which gave it a metallic blue tinge. + +At length we stopped just opposite a beautiful fortified kopje[*] +perforated by secret caves where the ammunition of the tribe is +hidden. No stranger is allowed to enter these caves, or even to ascend +the kopje, though they do not object to one's inspecting some of the +other fortifications. Dismounting from our wearied horses, we passed +through a cattle kraal and came into the presence of "Swasi," +Secocoeni's uncle, a fat old fellow who was busily engaged in braying +a skin. Nearly every male Basutu one meets, be he high or low, is +braying a hide of some sort, either by rubbing or by masticating it. +It is a curious sight to come across some twenty of these fellows, +every one of them twisting or chewing away. + +[*] Afterwards stormed in the attack on Secocoeni's town by Sir Garnet + Wolseley. + +Swasi was a sort of master of the household; his duty it was to +receive strangers and see that they were properly looked after; so, +after shaking hands with us furiously (he was a wonderful fellow to +shake hands), he conducted us to our hut. It stood in a good-sized +courtyard beautifully paved with a sort of concrete of limestone which +looked very clean and white, and surrounded by a hedge of reeds and +sticks tightly tied together, inside which ran a slightly raised +bench, also made of limestone. The hut itself was neatly thatched, the +thatch projecting several feet, so as to form a covering to a narrow +verandah that ran all round it. Inside it was commodious, and +ornamented after the Egyptian style with straight and spiral lines, +painted on with some kind of red ochre, and floored with a polished +substance. Certainly these huts are as much superior to those of the +Zulus as those who dwell in them are inferior to that fine race. What +the Basutus gain in art and handiness they lose in manliness and +gentlemanly feeling. + +We had just laid ourselves down on the grass mats in the courtyard-- +for it was too hot to go into the hut--thoroughly exhausted with our +day's work and the heat, when in came two men, each of them dragging a +fine indigenous sheep. They were accompanied by Makurupiji, who +brought us a message from Secocoeni to the effect that he, the Chief, +sent to greet us, the great Chiefs; that he sent us also a morsel to +eat, lest we should be hungry in his house. It was but a morsel--it +should have been an ox, for great Chiefs should eat much meat--but he +himself was pinched with hunger, his belt was drawn very tight by the +Boers. He was poor, and so his gift was poor; still, he would see if +to-morrow he could find a beast that had something besides the skin on +its bones, that he might offer it to us. After this magniloquent +address the poor animals were trundled out by the other gate to have +their throats cut. + +After getting some supper and taking our quinine, we turned in and +slept that night in the best way that the heat would let us, rising +next morning with the vain hope of getting a bathe. Of all the +discomforts we experienced at Secocoeni's, the scarcity and badness of +the water was the worst. Bad water, when you are in a hotbed of fever, +is a terrible privation. And so we had to go unwashed, with the +exception of having a little water poured over our hands out of +gourds. We must have presented a curious sight at breakfast that +morning. Before us knelt a sturdy Kafir, holding a stick in each hand, +on which were respectively speared a leg and a side of mutton, from +which we cut off great hunks with our hunting-knives, and, taking them +in our fingers, devoured them like beasts of prey. If we got a bit we +did not like, our mode of dispensing of it was simple and effective. +We threw it to one of the natives standing round us, among whom was +the heir-apparent, who promptly gobbled it up. + +Breakfast finished, a message came from Secocoeni asking for spirits +to drink. But we were not to be taken in in this way, for we knew well +that if we sent the Chief spirits we should get no business done that +day, and we did not care to run the risk of fever by stopping longer +than we could help; so we sent back a message to the effect that +business must come first and spirits afterwards. The head men, who +brought this message, said that they could perfectly understand our +objection, as far as Secocoeni and ourselves were concerned, since we +had to talk, but as they had only to sit still and listen there could +be no possible objection to their having something to drink. This +argument was ingenious, but we did not see the force of it, as our +stock of spirits, which we had brought more for medicine than anything +else, was very limited. Still, we were obliged to promise them a "tot" +after the talking was over, in order to keep them civil. + +Our message had the desired effect, for presently Secocoeni sent to +say that it was now time to talk, and that his head men would lead us +to him. So we started up, accompanied by "Makurupiji," "Swasi," and +"Galook," the general of his forces, a fat fellow with a face exactly +like a pig. The sun beat down with such tremendous force that, though +we had only three-quarters of a mile to walk, we felt quite tired by +the time we reached the Chief's kraals. Passing through several cattle +kraals, we came to a shed under which sat the heir-apparent dressed in +a gorgeous blanket with his court around him. Leaving him, we entered +an inner cattle kraal, where, in one corner, stood a large, roughly- +built shed, under the shade of which squatted over a hundred of the +head men of the tribe, gathered together by Secocoeni to "witness."[*] + +[*] As each chief came up to the meeting-place he would pass before + the enclosure where Secocoeni was sitting and salute him, by + softly striking the hands together, and saying something that + sounded like "Marema." + +Opening out of this kraal was the chief's private enclosure, where +stood his huts. As we drew near, Secocoeni, who had inspired such +terror into the bold Burghers of the Republic, the chief of nine +thousand warriors, the husband of sixty-four wives, the father of a +hundred children, rose from the ox-hide on which he was seated, under +the shade of a tree, and came to the gate to meet us. And a queer +sight this potentate was as he stood there shaking hands through the +gate. Of middle age, about forty-five years of age, rather fat, with a +flat nose, and small, twinkling, black eyes, he presented an entirely +hideous and semi-repulsive appearance. His dress consisted of a cotton +blanket over which was thrown a tiger-skin kaross, and on his head was +stuck an enormous old white felt hat, such as the Boers wear, and +known as a "wilderbeeste chaser." + +After we had been duly introduced, he retreated to his ox-hide, and we +went and squatted down among the head men. Secocoeni took no active +part in the proceedings that followed; he sat in his enclosure and +occasionally shouted out some instructions to Makurupiji, who was +literally his "mouth," speaking for him and making use of the pronoun +"I." During the four hours or so that we were there Secocoeni never +stopped chewing an intoxicating green leaf, very much resembling that +of the pomegranate, of which he occasionally sent us some. + +After the business of the Commission had come to an end, and some of +our party started on their homeward journey, we were detained by +Secocoeni, who wished to see us privately. He sent for us to his +private enclosure, and we sat down on his ox-hide with him and one or +two head men. It was very curious to see this wily old savage shoving +a handful of leaves into his mouth, and giving his head a shake, and +then making some shrewd remark which went straight to the bottom of +whatever question was in hand. At length we bade Secocoeni good-bye, +having promised to deliver all his respectful messages to our chief, +and, thoroughly wearied, arrived at our own hut. Tired as we were, we +thought it would be better to start for the fort at once, rather than +risk the fever for another night. So we made up our minds to a long +moonlight ride, and, saddling up, got out of Secocoeni's town about +3.30 P.M., having looked our last upon this beautiful fever-trap, +which only wants water scenery to make it absolutely perfect. Half-way +up, we saw the poor horse we had left sick the day before, lying dead, +with dry foam all round his mouth, and half his skin taken off by some +passing Basutu. A couple of hundred yards farther on we found another +dying, left by the party who had started before us. It was in truth a +valley of the shadow of death. Luckily our horses lasted us back to +the fort, but one died there, and the other two are dead since. + +Beautiful as was the scene by day, in the light of the full moon it +was yet more surpassingly lovely. It was solemn, weird. Every valley +became a mysterious deep, and every hill, stone, and tree shone with +that cold pale lustre which the moon alone can throw. Silence reigned, +the silence of the dead, broken only once or twice by the wild +whistling challenge of one of Secocoeni's warriors as he came bounding +down the rocks, to see who we were that passed. The effect of the +fires by the huts, perched among the rocks at the entrance to the +pass, was very strange and beautiful, reminding one of the midnight +fires of the Gnomes in the fairy tales. + +And so we rode on, hour after hour, through the night, till we well- +nigh fell asleep in our saddles, and at length, about two o'clock in +the morning, we reached the waggons to find the young Boers fast +asleep in our bed. We kicked them out, and, after swallowing some +biscuits, tumbled in ourselves for the few hours' rest which we so +sadly needed. + +On the following morning, Thursday, two of the party bade farewell to +our hosts at the fort and started on one of the quickest possible +treks, leaving our companion to proceed across country to the fort +established by President Burgers, or "Porocororo," as the Basutus call +him, at Steelport. + +We returned to Middelburg by an entirely different route from that by +which we came. Leaving the valley of the Olifants to our right, we +trekked along the high-veldt, and thus avoided all the fever country. +Roughly speaking, we had about 120 miles of country to get over to +reach Middelburg, and we determined to do this in three days and two +nights, so as to get in on the Saturday night, as we were much pressed +for time. Now, according to English ideas, it is no great thing to +travel 120 miles in three days; but it is six days' journey in an ox- +waggon over bad country, and we were going to do it in half that time +by doubling the speed. + +Of course, to do this we had to trek night and day. For instance, on +the first day we inspanned at 10.30 A.M. and trekked till within an +hour of sundown; at sundown we inspanned, and with one outspan trekked +till sunrise; outspanned for two hours, and on again, being seventeen +and a half hours under the yoke out of the twenty-four, and covering +fifty-five miles. Of course, one cannot do this sort of travelling for +more than two or three days without killing the oxen; as it was, +towards the end, as soon as the yokes were lifted off, the poor beasts +dropped down as though they were shot, and most of them went lame. +Another great disadvantage is that one suffers very much from want of +sleep. The jolting of the springless machine, as it lumbered over +rocks a foot high and through deep spruits or streams, brought our +heads down with such a fearful jar on the saddle-bags that we used for +pillows, that all sleep was soon knocked out of them; or, even if we +were lucky enough to be crossing a stretch of tolerably smooth ground, +there was a swaying motion that rubbed one's face up and down till the +skin was nearly worn through, polishing the saddle-bags to such an +extent that we might almost have used them for looking-glasses as well +as pillows. + +At Secocoeni's kraal we had engaged two boys to carry our packs as far +as the fort, who, on their arrival, were so well satisfied with the +way in which we treated them that they requested to be allowed to +proceed with us. These young barbarians, who went respectively by the +names of "Nojoke" and "Scowl," as being the nearest approach in +English to their Sisutu names, were the greatest possible source of +amusement to us, with their curious ways.[*] I never saw such fellows +to sleep; it is a positive fact that Nojoke used frequently to take +his rest coiled up like a boa constrictor in a box at the end of the +waggon, in which box stood three iron pots with their sharp legs +sticking up. On those legs he peacefully slumbered when the waggon was +going over ground that prohibited our even stopping in it. "Scowl" was +not a nice boy to look at, for his naked back was simply cut to pieces +and covered with huge weals, of which everybody, doubtless, thought we +were the cause. On inquiring how he came to get such a tremendous +thrashing, it turned out that these Basutus have a custom of sending +young men of a certain age[+] out in couples, each armed with a good +"sjambok" (a whip cut from the hide of a sea-cow), to thrash one +another till one gives in, and that it was in one of these encounters +that the intelligent Scowl got so lacerated; but, as he remarked with +a grin, "/My back is nothing, the chiefs should see that of the other +boy." + +[*] Of these two lads, Nojoke subsequently turned out worthless, and + went to the Diamond Fields, whilst Scowl became an excellent + servant, until he took to wearing a black coat, and turned + Christian, when he shortly afterwards developed into a drunkard + and a thief. + +[+] The age of puberty. + +We spent one night at Middelburg, and next morning, bidding adieu to +our kind English friends, started for Pretoria, taking care to end our +first day's journey at a house where an Englishman lived, so as to +ensure a clean shakedown. Here we discovered that the horse I was +riding (the sole survivor of the five we had started with) had got the +sickness, and so we had to leave him and hire another. This horse, by +the by, recovered, which is the only instance of an animal's +conquering the disease which has yet come under my observation. We +hired the new horse from a Boer, who charged us exactly three times +its proper price, and then preached us a sermon quite a quarter of an +hour long on his hospitality, his kindness of heart, and his +willingness to help strangers. I must tell you that, just as we were +going to sleep the night before, a stranger had come and asked for a +shakedown, which was given to him in the same room. We had risen +before daybreak, and my companion was expatiating to me, in clear and +forcible language, on the hypocrisy and scoundrelism of this Boer, +when suddenly a sleepy voice out of the darkness murmured thickly, "I +say, stranger, guess you shouldn't lose your temper; guess that 'ere +Boer is acting after the manner of human natur'." And then the owner +of the voice turned over and went to sleep again. + +We had over sixty miles to ride that day, and it must have been about +eight o'clock at night, on the sixteenth day of our journey, when we +reached Pretoria and rode straight up to our camp, where we were +heartily greeted. I am sure that some of our friends must have felt a +little disappointed at seeing us arrive healthy and fat, without a +sign of fever, after all their melancholy predictions. It would not +have been "human natur'" if they had not. When we got to the camp, I +called out to Masooku, my Zulu servant, to come and take the horses. +Next moment I heard a rush and a scuttle in the tent like the +scrimmage in a rabbit-burrow when one puts in the ferrets, and Masooku +shouted out in Zulu, "He has come back! by Chaka's head, I swear it! +It is his voice, his own voice, that calls me; my father's, my +chief's!" + +And so ended one of the hardest and most interesting journeys +imaginable--a journey in which the risk only added to the pleasure. +Still, I should not care to make it again at the same time of year. + + + + VII + + A ZULU WAR-DANCE + +In all that world-wide empire which the spirit of the English +colonisation has conquered from out of the realms of the distant and +unknown, and added year by year to the English dominions, it is +doubtful whether there be any one spot of corresponding area, +presenting so many large questions, social and political, as the +colony of Natal. Wrested some thirty years ago from the patriarchal +Boers, and peopled by a few scattered scores of adventurous emigrants, +Natal has with hard toil gained for itself a precarious foothold +hardly yet to be called an existence. Known chiefly to the outside +world as the sudden birthplace of those tremendous polemical missiles +which battered so fiercely, some few years ago, against the walls of +the English Church, it is now attracting attention to the shape and +proportion of that unsolved riddle of the future, the Native Question. +In those former days of rude and hand-to-mouth legislation, when the +certain evil of the day had to be met and dealt with before the +possible evil of the morrow, the seeds of great political trouble were +planted in the young colony, seeds whose fruit is fast ripening before +our eyes. + +When the strong aggressive hand of England has grasped some fresh +portion of the earth's surface, there is yet a spirit of justice in +her heart and head which prompts the question, among the first of such +demands, as to how best and most fairly to deal by the natives of the +newly-acquired land. In earlier times, when steam was not, and +telegraphs and special correspondents were equally unknown agencies +for getting at the truth of things, this question was more easily +answered across a width of dividing ocean or continent. Then distant +action might be prompt and sharp on emergency, and no one would be the +wiser. But of late years, owing to these results of civilisation, +harsh measures have, by the mere pressure of public opinion, and +without consideration of their necessity in the eyes of the colonists, +been set aside as impracticable and inhuman. In the case of Natal, +most of the early questions of possession and right were settled, +sword in hand, by the pioneer Dutch, who, after a space of terrible +warfare, drove back the Zulus over the Tugela, and finally took +possession of the land. But they did not hold it long. The same +hateful invading Englishman, with his new ideas and his higher forms +of civilisation, who had caused them to quit the "Old Colony," the +land of their birth, came and drove them, /vi et armis/, from the land +of their adoption. And it was not long before these same English +became lords of this red African soil, from the coast up to the +Drakensberg. Still there were difficulties; for although the new- +comers might be lords of the soil, there remained yet a remnant, and a +very troublesome remnant, of its original and natural masters: +shattered fragments of the Zulu power in Natal, men who had once swept +over the country in the army of Chaka the Terrible, Chaka of the Short +Spear, but who had remained behind in the fair new land, when Chaka's +raids had been checked by the white man and his deadly weapons. +Remnants, too, of conquered aboriginal tribes, who had found even +Chaka's rule easier than that of their own chieftains, swelled the +amount to a total of some 100,000 souls. + +One of the first acts of the English Government, when it took up the +reins, was to allot to each of these constituent fragments a large +portion of the land. This might perhaps have been short-sighted +legislation, but it arose from the necessity of the moment. According +to even the then received ideas of colonisation and its duties, it was +hardly possible--danger apart--to drive all the natives over the +frontier, so they were allowed to stay and share the rights and +privileges of British subjects. But the evil did not stop there. Ere +long some political refugees, defeated in battle, fled before the +avenging hand of the conqueror, and craved place and protection from +the Government of Natal. It was granted; and the principle once +established, body after body of men poured in: for, in stepping over +the boundary line, they left the regions of ruin and terrible death, +and entered those of peace, security, and plenty. + +Thus it is that the native population of Natal, fed from within and +without, has in thirty years increased enormously in number. Secluded +from the outside world in his location, the native has lived in peace +and watched his cattle grow upon a thousand hills. His wealth has +become great and his wives many. He no longer dreads swift "death by +order of the king," or by word of the witch-doctor. No "impi," or +native regiment, can now sweep down on him and "eat him up," that is, +carry off his cattle, put his kraal to the flames, and himself, his +people, his wives, and children to the assegai. For the first time in +the story of the great Kafir race, he can, when he rises in the +morning, be sure that he will not sleep that night, stiff, in a bloody +grave. He has tasted the blessings of peace and security, and what is +the consequence? He has increased and multiplied until his numbers are +as grains of sand on the sea-shore. Overlapping the borders of his +location, he squats on private lands, he advances like a great tidal +wave, he cries aloud for room, more room. This is the trouble which +stares us in the face, looming larger and more distinct year by year; +the great over-growing problem which thoughtful men fear must one day +find a sudden and violent solution. Thus it comes to pass that there +hangs low on the horizon of South Africa the dark cloud of the Native +Question. How and when it will burst no man can pretend to say, but +some time and in some way burst it must, unless means of dispersing it +can be found. + +There is now at work among the Kafir population the same motive power +which has raised in turn all white nations, and, having built them up +to a certain height, has then set to work to sap them until they have +fallen--the power of civilisation. Hand in hand the missionary and the +trader have penetrated the locations. The efforts of the teacher have +met with but a partial success. "A Christian may be a good man in his +way, but he is a Zulu spoiled," said Cetywayo, King of the Zulus, when +arguing the question of Christianity with the Secretary for Native +Affairs; and such is, not altogether wrongly, the general feeling of +the natives. With the traders it has been different. Some have dealt +honestly--and more, it is to be feared, dishonestly--not only with +those with whom they have had dealings, but with their fellow-subjects +and their Government. It is these men chiefly who have, in defiance of +the law, supplied the natives with those two great modern elements of +danger and destruction, the gin-bottle and the rifle. The first is as +yet injurious only to the recipients, but it will surely react on +those who have taught them its use; the danger of possessing the rifle +may come home to us any day and at any moment. + +Civilisation, it would seem, when applied to black races, produces +effects diametrically opposite to those we are accustomed to observe +in white nations: it debases before it can elevate; and as regards the +Kafirs it is doubtful, and remains to be proved, whether it has much +power to elevate them at all. Take the average Zulu warrior, and it +will be found that, in his natural state, his vices are largely +counter-balanced by his good qualities. In times of peace he is a +simple, pastoral man, leading a good-humoured easy life with his wives +and his cattle, perfectly indolent and perfectly happy. He is a kind +husband and a kinder father; he never disowns his poor relations; his +hospitality is extended alike to white and black; he is open in his +dealings and faithful to his word, and his honesty is a proverb in the +land. True, if war breaks out and the thirst for slaughter comes upon +him, he turns into a different man. When the fierce savage spirit is +once aroused, blood alone will cool it. But even then he has virtues. +If he is cruel, he is brave in the battle; if he is reckless of the +lives of others, he regards not his own; and when death comes, he +meets it without fear, and goes to the spirits of his fathers boldly, +as a warrior should. And now reverse the picture, and see him in the +dawning light of that civilisation which, by intellect and by nature, +he is some five centuries behind. See him, ignoring its hidden +virtues, eagerly seize and graft its most prominent vices on to his +own besetting sins. Behold him by degrees adding cunning to his +cruelty, avarice to his love of possession, replacing his bravery by +coarse bombast and insolence, and his truth by lies. Behold him +inflaming all his passions with the maddening drink of the white man, +and then follow him through many degrees of degradation until he falls +into crime and ends in a jail. Such are, in only too many instances, +the consequences of this partial civilisation, and they are not even +counterbalanced, except in individual cases, by the attempt to learn +the truths of a creed which he cannot, does not, pretend to +understand. And if this be the result in the comparatively few +individuals who have been brought under these influences, it may be +fair to argue that it will differ only in degree, not in kind, when +the same influences are brought to bear on the same material in +corresponding proportions. Whatever may or may not be the effects of +our partial civilisation when imperfectly and spasmodically applied to +the vast native population of South Africa, one thing must, in course +of time, result from it. The old customs, the old forms, the old +feelings, must each in turn die away. The outer expression of these +will die first, and it will not be long before the very memory of them +will fade out of the barbaric heart. The rifle must replace, and, +indeed, actually has replaced, the assegai and the shield, and +portions of the cast-off uniforms of all the armies of Europe are to +be seen where, until lately, the bronze-like form of the Kafir warrior +went naked as on the day he was born. But so long as native customs +and ceremonies still linger in some of the more distant locations, so +long will they exercise a certain attraction for dwellers amid tamer +scenes. It is therefore from a belief in the magnetism of contrast +that the highly-civilised reader is invited to come to where he can +still meet the barbarian face to face and witness that wild ceremony, +half jest, half grim earnest--a Zulu war dance. + +It was the good fortune of the writer of this sketch to find himself, +some years ago, travelling through the up-country districts of Natal, +in the company of certain high officials of the English Government. +The journey dragged slowly enough by waggon, and some monotonous weeks +had passed before we pitched our camp, one drizzling gusty night, on a +high plateau, surrounded by still loftier hills. A wild and dismal +place it looked in the growing dusk of an autumn evening, nor was it +more suggestively cheerful when we rode away from it next morning in +the sunshine, leaving the waggons to follow slowly. Our faces were set +towards a great mountain, towering high above its fellows, called +Pagadi's Kop--Pagadi being a powerful chief who had fled from the +Zulus in the early days of the colony, and had ever since dwelt +loyally and peacefully here in this wild place, beneath the protection +of the Crown. Messengers had been duly sent to inform him that he was +to receive the honour of a visit, for your true savage never likes to +be taken by surprise. Other swift-footed runners had come back with +the present of a goat, and the respectful answer, so Oriental in its +phraseology, that "Pagadi was old, he was infirm, yet he would arise +and come to greet his lords." Every mile or so of our slow progress a +fresh messenger would spring up before us suddenly, as though he had +started out of the earth at our feet, and prefixing his greeting with +the royal salute, given with up-raised arm, "Bayete! Bayete!"--a +salutation only accorded to Zulu royalty, to the governors of the +different provinces, and to Sir T. Shepstone, the Secretary for Native +Affairs--he would deliver his message or his news and fall into the +rear. Presently came one saying, "Pagadi is very old and weak; Pagadi +is weary; let his lords forgive him if he meet them not this day. +To-morrow, when the sun is high, he will come to their place of +encampment and greet his lords and hold festival before them. But let +his lords, the white lords of all the land from the Great Mountain to +the Black Water, go up to his kraal, and let them take the biggest hut +and drink of the strongest beer. There his son, the chief that is to +be, and all his wives, shall greet them; let his lords be honoured by +Pagadi, through them." An acknowledgment was sent, and we still rode +on, beginning the ascent of the formidable stronghold, on the flat top +of which was placed the chief's kraal. A hard and stiff climb it was, +up a bridle path with far more resemblance to a staircase than a road. +But if the road was bad, the scenery and the vegetation were wild and +beautiful in the extreme. Now we came to a deep "kloof" or cleft in +the steep mountain-side, at the bottom of which, half hidden by the +masses of ferns and rich rank greenery, trickled a little stream; now +to an open space of rough ground, covered only with huge, weather- +washed boulders. A little further on lay a Kafir mealie-garden, where +the tall green stalks were fairly bent to the ground by the weight of +the corn-laden heads, and beyond that, again, a park-like slope of +grassy veldt. And ever, when we looked behind us, the vast undulating +plain over which we had come stretched away in its mysterious silence, +till it blended at length with the soft blue horizon. + +At last, after much hard and steady climbing, we reached the top and +stood upon a perfectly level space ten or twelve acres in extent, +exactly in the centre of which was placed the chief's kraal. Before we +dismounted we rode to the extreme western edge of the plateau, to look +at one of the most perfectly lovely views it is possible to imagine. +It was like coming face to face with great primeval Nature, not Nature +as we civilised people know her, smiling in corn-fields, waving in +well-ordered woods, but Nature as she was on the morrow of the +Creation. There, to our left, cold and grey and grand, rose the great +peak, flinging its dark shadow far beyond its base. Two thousand feet +and more beneath us lay the valley of the Mooi river, with the broad +tranquil stream flashing silver through its midst. Over against us +rose another range of towering hills, with sudden openings in their +blue depths through which could be seen the splendid distances of a +champaign country. Immediately at our feet, and seeming to girdle the +great gaunt peak, lay a deep valley, through which the Little +Bushman's River forced its shining way. All around rose the great +bush-clad hills, so green, so bright in the glorious streaming +sunlight, and yet so awfully devoid of life, so solemnly silent. It +was indeed a sight never to be forgotten, this wide panoramic out- +look, with its towering hills, its smiling valleys, its flashing +streams, its all-pervading sunlight, and its deep sad silence. But it +was not always so lifeless and so still. Some few years ago those +hills, those plains, those rivers were teeming each with their various +creatures. But a short time since, and standing here at eventide, the +traveller could have seen herds of elephants cooling themselves yonder +after their day's travel, whilst the black-headed white-tusked sea-cow +rose and plunged in the pool below. That bush-clad hill was the +favourite haunt of droves of buffaloes and elands, and on that plain +swarmed thousands upon thousands of springbok and of quagga, of +hartebeest and of oribi. All alien life must cease before the white +man, and so these wild denizens of forest, stream, and plain have +passed away never to return. + +Turning at length from the contemplation of a scene so new and so +surprising, we entered the stockade of the kraal. These kraals consist +of a stout outer palisade, and then, at some distance from the first, +a second enclosure, between which the cattle are driven at night, or +in case of danger. At the outer entrance we were met by the chief's +eldest son, a finely-built man, who greeted us with much respect and +conducted us through rows of huts to the dwelling-places of the +chief's family, fenced off from the rest by a hedge of Tambouki grass. +In the centre of these stood Pagadi's hut, which was larger and more +finely woven and thatched than the rest. It is impossible to describe +these huts better than by saying that they resemble enormous straw +beehives of the old-fashioned pattern. In front of the hut were +grouped a dozen or so of women clad in that airiest of costumes, a +string of beads. They were Pagadi's wives, and ranged from the first +shrivelled-up wife of his youth to the plump young damsel bought last +month. The spokeswoman of the party, however, was not one of the +wives, but a daughter of Pagadi's, a handsome girl, tall, and +splendidly formed, with a finely-cut face. This prepossessing young +lady entreated her lords to enter, which they did, in a very unlordly +way, on their hands and knees. So soon as the eye became accustomed to +the cool darkness of the hut, it was sufficiently interesting to +notice the rude attempts at comfort with which it was set forth. The +flooring, of a mixture of clay and cow-dung, looked exactly like black +marble, so smooth and polished had it been made, and on its shining, +level surface couches of buckskin and gay blankets were spread in an +orderly fashion. Some little three-legged wooden sleeping-pillows and +a few cooking-pots made up its sole furniture besides. In one corner +rested a bundle of assegais and war-shields, and opposite the door +were ranged several large calabashes full of "twala" or native beer. +The chief's son and all the women followed us into the hut. The ladies +sat themselves down demurely in a double row opposite to us, but the +young chieftain crouched in a distant corner apart and played with his +assegais. We partook of the beer and exchanged compliments, almost +Oriental in their dignified courtesy, in the soft and liquid Zulu +language, but not for long, for we still had far to ride. The stars +were shining in southern glory before we reached the place of our +night's encampment, and supper and bed were even more than usually +welcome. There is a pleasure in the canvas-sheltered meal, in the +after-pipe and evening talk of the things of the day that has been and +those of the day to come, here, amid these wild surroundings, which is +unfelt and unknown in scenes of greater comfort and higher +civilisation. There is a sense of freshness and freedom in the wind- +swept waggon-bed that is not to be exchanged for the softest couch in +the most luxurious chamber. And when at length the morning comes, +sweet in the scent of flowers, and glad in the voice of birds, it +finds us ready to greet it, not hiding it from us with canopy and +blind, as is the way of cities. + +The scene of the coming spectacle of this bright new day lies spread +before us, and certainly no spot could have been better chosen for +dramatic effect. In front of the waggons is a large, flat, open space, +backed by bold rising ground with jutting crags and dotted clumps of +luxuriant vegetation. All around spreads the dense thorn-bush, +allowing but of one way of approach, from the left. During the morning +we could hear snatches of distant chants growing louder and louder as +time wore on, and could catch glimpses of wild figures threading the +thorns, warriors hastening to the meeting-place. All through the past +night the farmers for miles around had been aroused by the loud +insistent cries of the chief's messengers as they flitted far and +wide, stopping but a moment wherever one of their tribe sojourned, and +bidding him come, and bring plume and shield, for Pagadi had need of +him. This day, we may be sure, the herds are left untended, the +mealie-heads ungathered, for the herdsmen and the reapers have come +hither to answer to the summons of their chief. Little reck they +whether it be for festival or war; he needs them, and has called them, +and that is enough. Higher and higher rose the fitful distant chant, +but no one could be seen. Suddenly there stood before us a creature, a +woman, who, save for the colour of her skin, might have been the +original of any one of Macbeth's "weird sisters." Little, withered, +and bent nearly double by age, her activity was yet past +comprehension. Clad in a strange jumble of snake-skins, feathers, +furs, and bones, a forked wand in her outstretched hand, she rushed to +and fro before the little group of white men. Her eyes gleamed like +those of a hawk through her matted hair, and the genuineness of her +frantic excitement was evident by the quivering flesh and working +face, and the wild, spasmodic words she spoke. The spirit at least of +her rapid utterances may thus be rendered:-- + +"Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, ai. Oh, ye warriors that shall dance before the +great ones of the earth, come! Oh, ye dyers of spears, ye plumed +suckers of blood, come! I, the Isanusi, I, the witch-finder, I, the +wise woman, I, the seer of strange sights, I, the reader of dark +thoughts, call ye! Come, ye fierce ones; come, ye brave ones, come, +and do honour to the white lords! Ah, I hear ye! Ah, I smell ye! Ah, I +see ye; ye come, ye come!" + +Hardly had her invocation trailed off into the "Ou, ou, ou, ai, ai, +ai," with which it had opened, when there rushed over the edge of the +hill, hard by, another figure scarcely less wild, but not so repulsive +in appearance. This last was a finely-built warrior arrayed in the +full panoply of savage war. With his right hand he grasped his spears, +and on his left hung his large black ox-hide shield, lined on its +inner side with spare assegais. From the "man's" ring round his head +arose a single tall grey plume, robbed from the Kafir crane. His broad +shoulders were bare, and beneath the arm-pits was fastened a short +garment of strips of skin, intermixed with ox-tails of different +colours. From his waist hung a rude kilt made chiefly of goat's hair, +whilst round the calf of the right leg was fixed a short fringe of +black ox-tails. As he stood before us with lifted weapon and +outstretched shield, his plume bending to the breeze, and his savage +aspect made more savage still by the graceful, statuesque pose, the +dilated eye and warlike mould of the set features, as he stood there, +an emblem and a type of the times and the things which are passing +away, his feet resting on ground which he held on sufferance, and his +hands grasping weapons impotent as a child's toy against those of the +white man,--he who was the rightful lord of all,--what reflections did +he not induce, what a moral did he not teach! + +The warrior left us little time, however, for either reflections or +deductions, for, striking his shield with his assegai, he rapidly +poured forth this salutation:-- + +"Bayete, Bayete, O chief from the olden times, O lords and chief of +chiefs! Pagadi, the son of Masingorano, the great chief, the leader of +brave ones, the son of Ulubako, greets you. Pagadi is humble before +you; he comes with warrior and with shield, but he comes to lay them +at your feet. O father of chiefs, son of the great Queen over the +water, is it permitted that Pagad' approach you? Ou, I see it is, your +face is pleasant; Bayete, Bayete!" + +He ends, and, saluting again, springs forward, and, flying hither and +thither, chants the praises of his chief. "Pagadi," he says, "Pagad', +chief and father of the Amocuna, is coming. Pagad', the brave in +battle, the wise in council, the slayer of warriors; Pagad' who slew +the tiger in the night time; Pagadi, the rich in cattle, the husband +of many wives, the father of many children. Pagad' is coming, but not +alone; he comes surrounded with his children, his warriors. He comes +like a king at the head of his brave children. Pagadi's soldiers are +coming; his soldiers who know well how to fight; his soldiers and his +captains who make the hearts of brave men to sink down; his shakers of +spears; his quaffers of blood. Pagad' and his soldiers are coming; +tremble all ye, ou, ou, ou!" + +As the last words die on his lips the air is filled with a deep, +murmuring sound like distant thunder; it swells and rolls, and finally +passes away to give place to the noise of the rushing of many feet. +Over the brow of the hill dashes a compact body of warriors, running +swiftly in lines of four, with their captain at their head, all clad +in the same wild garb as the herald. Each bears a snow-white shield +carried on the slant, and above each warrior's head rises a grey +heron's plume. These are the advance-guard, formed of the "greys" or +veteran troops. As they come into full view the shields heave and +fall, and then from every throat bursts the war-song of the Zulus. +Passing us swiftly, they take up their position in a double line on +our right, and stand there solemnly chanting all the while. Another +rush of feet, and another company flits over the hill towards us, but +they bear coal-black shields, and the drooping plumes are black as +night; they fall into position next the firstcomers, and take up the +chant. Now they come faster and faster, but all through the same gap +in the bush. The red shields, the dun shields, the mottled shields, +the yellow shields, follow each other in quick but regular succession, +till at length there stands before us a body of some five hundred men, +presenting, in their savage dress, their various shields and flashing +spears, as wild a spectacle as it is possible to conceive. + +But it is not our eyes only that are astonished, for from each of +those five hundred throats there swells a chant never to be forgotten. +From company to company it passes, that wild, characteristic song, so +touching in its simple grandeur, so expressive in its deep, pathetic +volume. The white men who listened had heard the song of choirs +ringing down resounding aisles, they had been thrilled by the roll of +oratorios pealing in melody, beautiful and complex, through the +grandest of man's theatres, but never till now had they heard music of +voices so weird, so soft and yet so savage, so simple and yet so all- +expressive of the fiercest passions known to the human heart. Hark! +now it dies; lower and lower it sinks, it grows faint, despairing: +"Why does he not come, our chief, our lord? Why does he not welcome +his singers? Ah! see, they come, the heralds of our lord! our chief is +coming to cheer his praisers, our chief is coming to lead his +warriors." Again it rises and swells louder and louder, a song of +victory and triumph. It rolls against the mountains, it beats against +the ground: "He is coming, he is here, attended by his chosen. Now we +shall go forth to slay; now shall we taste of the battle." Higher yet +and higher, till at length the chief, Pagadi, swathed in war-garments +of splendid furs, preceded by runners and accompanied by picked +warriors, creeps slowly up. He is old and tottering, and of an +unwieldy bulk. Two attendants support him, whilst a third bears his +shield, and a fourth (oh bathos!) a cane-bottomed chair. One moment +the old man stands and surveys his warriors and listens to the +familiar war-cry. As he stands, his face is lit with the light of +battle, the light of remembered days. The tottering figure straightens +itself, the feeble hand becomes strong once more. With a shout, the +old man shakes off his supporters and grasps his shield, and then, +forgetting his weakness and his years, he rushes to his chieftain's +place in the centre of his men. And as he comes the chant grows yet +louder, the time yet faster, till it rises, and rings, and rolls, no +longer a chant, but a war-cry, a paean of power. Pagadi stops and +raises his hand, and the place is filled with a silence that may be +felt. But not for long. The next moment five hundred shields are +tossed aloft, five hundred spears flash in the sunshine, and with a +sudden roar, forth springs the royal salute, "Bayete!" + +The chief draws back and gives directions to his /indunas/, his +thinkers, his wise ones, men distinguished from their fellows by the +absence of shield and plume; the /indunas/ pass on the orders to the +captains, and at once the so-called dance begins. First they manoeuvre +a little in absolute silence, and changing their position with +wonderful precision and rapidity; but as their blood warms there comes +a sound as of the hissing of ten thousand snakes, and they charge and +charge again. A pause, and the company of "greys" on our right, +throwing itself into open order, flits past us like so many vultures +to precipitate itself with a wild, whistling cry on an opposing body +which rushed to meet it. They join issue, they grapple; on them swoops +another company, then another and another, until nothing is to be +distinguished except a mass of wild faces heaving; of changing forms +rolling and writhing, twisting and turning, and, to all appearances, +killing and being killed, whilst the whole air is pervaded with a +shrill, savage sibillation. It is not always the same cry; now it is +the snorting of a troop of buffaloes, now the shriek of the eagle as +he seizes his prey, anon the terrible cry of the "night-prowler," the +lion, and now--more thrilling than all--the piercing wail of a woman. +But whatever the cry, the cadence rises and falls in perfect time and +unanimity; no two mix with one another so as to mar the effect of +each. + +Again the combatants draw back and pause, and then forth from the +ranks springs a chosen warrior, and hurls himself on an imaginary foe. +He darts hither and thither with wild activity, he bounds five feet +into the air like a panther, he twists through the grass like a snake, +and, finally, making a tremendous effort, he seems to slay his airy +opponent, and sinks exhausted to the ground. The onlookers mark their +approval or disapproval of the dancer's feats by the rising and +falling of the strange whistling noise which, without the slightest +apparent movement of face or lip, issues from each mouth. Warrior +after warrior comes forth in turn from the ranks and does battle with +his invisible foe, and receives his meed of applause. The last warrior +to spring forward with a wild yell is the future chief, Pagadi's son +and successor, our friend of yesterday. He stands, with his shield in +one hand and his lifted battle-axe--borne by him alone--in the other, +looking proudly around, and rattling his lion-claw necklets, whilst +from every side bursts forth a storm of sibillating applause, not from +the soldiers only, but from the old men, women, and children. Through +all his fierce pantomimic dance it continues, and when he has ended it +redoubles, then dies away, but only to burst out again and again with +unquenchable enthusiasm. + +In order, probably, to give the warriors a brief breathing space, +another song is now set up, and it is marvellous the accuracy and +knowledge of melody with which the parts are sung, like a glee of +catch, the time being kept by a conductor, who rushes from rank to +rank beating time with a wand. Yet it is hardly like chanting, rather +like a weird, sobbing melody, with tones in it which range from the +deepest bass to the shrillest treble. It ends in a long sigh, and then +follows a scene, a tumult, a melee, which hardly admits of a +description in words. The warriors engage in a mimic combat, once more +they charge, retreat, conquer, and are defeated, all in turns. In +front of them, exciting them to new exertions, with word and gesture, +undulate in a graceful dance of their own the "intombis," the young +beauties of the tribe, with green branches in their hands, and all +their store of savage finery glittering on their shapely limbs. Some +of these maidens are really handsome, and round them again dance the +children, armed with mimic spears and shields. Wild as seems the +confusion, through it all, even the moments of highest excitement, +some sort of rough order is maintained; more, it would seem, by mutual +sounds than by word of command or sense of discipline. + +Even a Zulu warrior must, sooner or later, grow weary, and at length +the signal is given for the dance to end. The companies are drawn up +in order again, and receive the praise and thanks of those in whose +honour they had been called together. To these compliments they reply +in a novel and imposing fashion. At a given signal each man begins to +softly tap his ox-hide shield with the handle of his spear, producing +a sound somewhat resembling the murmur of the distant sea. By slow +degrees it grows louder and louder, till at length it rolls and +re-echoes from the hills like thunder, and comes to its conclusion +with a fierce, quick rattle. This is the royal war-salute of the +Zulus, and is but rarely to be heard. One more sonorous salute with +voice and hand, and then the warriors disappear as they came, dropping +swiftly and silently over the brow of the hill in companies. In a few +moments no sign or vestige of dance or dancers remained, save, before +our eyes, the well-trodden ground, a few lingering girls laden with +large calabashes of beer, and in our ears some distant dying snatches +of chants. The singers were on their joyful way to slay and devour the +oxen provided as a stimulus and reward for them by their chief's +liberality. + +When the last dusky figure had topped the rising ground over which the +homeward path lay, and had stood out for an instant against the +flaming background of the western sun, and then dropped, as it were, +back into its native darkness beyond those gates of fire, the old +chief drew near. He had divested himself of his heavy war-dress, and +sat down amicably amongst us. + +"Ah," he said, taking the hand of Sir Theophilus Shepstone, and +addressing him by his native name, "Ah! t'Sompseu, t'Sompseu, the +seasons are many since first I held this your hand. Then we two were +young, and life lay bright before us, and now you have grown great, +and are growing grey, and I have grown very old! I have eaten the corn +of my time, till only the cob is left for me to suck, and, /ow/, it is +bitter. But it is well that I should grasp this your hand once more, +oh, holder of the Spirit of Chaka,[*] before I sit down and sleep with +my fathers. /Ow/, I am glad." + +[*] The reader must bear in mind that the Zulu warrior is buried + sitting and in full war-dress. Chaka, or T'chaka, was the founder + of the Zulu power. + +Imposing as was this old-time war-dance, it is not difficult to +imagine the heights to which its savage grandeur must have swelled +when it was held--as was the custom at each new year--at the kraal of +Cetywayo, King of the Zulus. Then 30,000 warriors took part in it, and +a tragic interest was added to the fierce spectacle by the slaughter +of many men. It was, in fact, a great political opportunity for +getting rid of the "irreconcilable" element from council and field. +Then, in the moment of wildest enthusiasm, the witch-finder darted +forward and lightly touched with a switch some doomed man, sitting, it +may be, quietly among the spectators, or capering with his fellow- +soldiers. Instantly he was led away, and his place knew him no more. + +Throughout the whole performance there was one remarkable and genuine +feature, the strong personal attachment of each member of the tribe to +its chief--not only to the fine old chief, Pagadi, their leader in +former years, but to the head and leader for the years to come. + +It must be remembered that this system of chieftainship and its +attendant law is, to all the social bearings of South African native +life, what the tree is to its branches; it has grown through long, +long ages amid a people slow to forget old traditions, and equally +slow to receive new ideas; dependent on it are all the native's +customs, all his keen ideas of right and justice; in it lies embodied +his history of the past, and from it springs his hope for the future. +Surely even the most uncompromising of those marching under the banner +of civilisation must hesitate before they condemn this deep-rooted +system to instant uprootal.[*] The various influences of the white man +have eaten into the native system as rust into iron, and their action +will never cease till all be destroyed. The bulwarks of barbarism, its +minor customs and minor laws, are gone, or exist only in name; but its +two great principles, polygamy and chieftainship, yet flourish and are +strong. Time will undo his work, and find for these also a place among +forgotten things. And it is the undoubted duty of us English, who +absorb people and territories in the high name of civilisation, to be +true to our principles and our aim, and aid the great destroyer by any +and every safe and justifiable means. But between the legitimate means +and the rash, miscalculating uprootal of customs and principles, which +are not the less venerable and good in their way because they do not +accord with our own present ideas, there is a great gulf fixed. Such +an uprootal might precipitate an outburst of the very evils it aims at +destroying. + +[*] I do not wish the remarks in this paper, which was written some + years ago, to be taken as representing my present views on the + Natal native question, formed after a longer and more intimate + acquaintance with its peculiarities, for which I beg to refer the + reader to the chapter on Natal.--Author. + +What the ultimate effect of our policy will be, when the leaven has +leavened the whole, when the floodgates are lifted, and this vast +native population (which, contrary to all ordinary precedent, does +/not/ melt away before the sun of the white man's power) is let loose +in its indolent thousands, unrestrained, save by the bonds of +civilised law, who can presume to say? But this is not for present +consideration. Subject to due precautions, the path of progress must +of necessity be followed, and the results of such following left in +the balancing hands of Fate and the future. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Cetywayo and his White Neighbours +by H. Rider Haggard + +*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS *** + +This file should be named cetwy10.txt or cetwy10.zip +Corrected EDITIONS of our eBooks get a new NUMBER, cetwy11.txt +VERSIONS based on separate sources get new LETTER, cetwy10a.txt + +Produced by John Bickers and Dagny + +Project Gutenberg eBooks are often created from several printed +editions, all of which are confirmed as Public Domain in the US +unless a copyright notice is included. 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